Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61N—ELECTROTHERAPY; MAGNETOTHERAPY; RADIATION THERAPY; ULTRASOUND THERAPY
  • A61N5/00—Radiation therapy
  • A61N5/06—Radiation therapy using light
  • A61N5/0613—Apparatus adapted for a specific treatment
  • A61N5/0616—Skin treatment other than tanning
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61N—ELECTROTHERAPY; MAGNETOTHERAPY; RADIATION THERAPY; ULTRASOUND THERAPY
  • A61N5/00—Radiation therapy
  • A61N5/06—Radiation therapy using light
  • A61N5/0613—Apparatus adapted for a specific treatment
  • A61N5/0618—Psychological treatment
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61N—ELECTROTHERAPY; MAGNETOTHERAPY; RADIATION THERAPY; ULTRASOUND THERAPY
  • A61N5/00—Radiation therapy
  • A61N5/06—Radiation therapy using light
  • A61N2005/063—Radiation therapy using light comprising light transmitting means, e.g. optical fibres
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61N—ELECTROTHERAPY; MAGNETOTHERAPY; RADIATION THERAPY; ULTRASOUND THERAPY
  • A61N5/00—Radiation therapy
  • A61N5/06—Radiation therapy using light
  • A61N2005/065—Light sources therefor
  • A61N2005/0651—Diodes
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61N—ELECTROTHERAPY; MAGNETOTHERAPY; RADIATION THERAPY; ULTRASOUND THERAPY
  • A61N5/00—Radiation therapy
  • A61N5/06—Radiation therapy using light
  • A61N2005/065—Light sources therefor
  • A61N2005/0654—Lamps
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61N—ELECTROTHERAPY; MAGNETOTHERAPY; RADIATION THERAPY; ULTRASOUND THERAPY
  • A61N5/00—Radiation therapy
  • A61N5/06—Radiation therapy using light
  • A61N2005/0658—Radiation therapy using light characterised by the wavelength of light used
  • A61N2005/0661—Radiation therapy using light characterised by the wavelength of light used ultraviolet
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61N—ELECTROTHERAPY; MAGNETOTHERAPY; RADIATION THERAPY; ULTRASOUND THERAPY
  • A61N5/00—Radiation therapy
  • A61N5/06—Radiation therapy using light
  • A61N2005/0664—Details
  • A61N2005/0665—Reflectors
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61N—ELECTROTHERAPY; MAGNETOTHERAPY; RADIATION THERAPY; ULTRASOUND THERAPY
  • A61N5/00—Radiation therapy
  • A61N5/06—Radiation therapy using light
  • A61N5/0613—Apparatus adapted for a specific treatment

Definitions

• This invention relates to lighting systems, in particular for enabling the synthesis in the human body of vitamin D.
• a lighting system comprising:
• This system provides UV-B light for indoor lighting applications, such as for part of an office lighting system.
• the UV-B lighting may be provided in combination with general visible lighting to provide a stimulation of the health effects as well as visual illumination, preferably the system may provide the appearance of natural daylight.
• the fabric output screen is at least partially transparent to UV-B light to allow the UV-B light to enter the indoor space.
• Fabric is not a commonly used material for UV transmission, normally material such as quartz, sapphire, ceramics or certain silicones are chosen but these have limitations when a large panel UV emitting light is desired.
• the fabric screen for example has a level of transparency which depends on the way the fabric is woven. This transparency is commonly expressed as a denier (D) measurement. Denier is a unit of measurement for the linear mass density of fibers and is the mass in grams of 9000m of the fiber in question. Denier is used to determine the diameter of the fibers in the fabric. The denier is based on a natural reference, that of a single strand of silk.
• a single strand of silk 9000m long weighs about 1 gram (g) and therefore is 1 denier.
• the linear density of yarn used in the manufacturing process also determines the perceived visual opacity of the article in the following, commonly used categories:
• the fibers in a 40- denier (40D) nylon fabric have a diameter over 6.5 times greater than the diameter of the silk strand and almost 1.5 times the diameter of fibers in a 20 denier (20D) nylon fabric.
• the fabric output screen is preferably at least partially opaque to visible light, giving a translucency with respect to eye visibility.
• the fabric has a low UV absorption coefficient because it exhibits no fluorescence or phosphorescence. This means the arrangement of UV-B LEDs is not visible and the visual appearance of the system is simply an unlit fabric screen, for example forming a panel in a modular ceiling installation.
• the fabric may have a pattern or visual color to match the general decor of the indoor space in which it is mounted.
• the housing for example comprises a base which carries the UV-B LEDs and a side wall around the base, wherein the side wall comprises a UV reflector. This improves the output efficiency of the system.
• the side wall for example comprises a polymer having embedded boron nitride particles.
• This reflector design can be made highly reflective to UV-B light.
• the reflectivity of the side walls is for example higher than 95% to the UV-B light.
• the side wall for example comprises a UV-resistant silicone polymer composite with boron nitride, or a boron nitride fluoropolymer composite.
• the fabric preferably comprises ultra-high-molecular- weight polyethylene fiber (UHMWPE), for example DSM Dyneema (trade mark). This material is highly transmissive to UV-B light. For purposes of comparison, so-called “tan-thru” fabrics
• the fibers in the DSM Dyneema for example, have a twine diameter of 3.3mm and weight of 5g/m.
• the fabric is woven in such way as to provide a minimum linear mass density for example of 40 to 200 denier. This means that the LEDs and components on the light engine are not visible to the human eye.
• the fabric output screen for example has an area of more than 1500cm 2 (e.g. 60cm x 60cm).
• the use of a fabric output screen enables a large size panel to be formed with low weight and low cost. These panels may be used as part of a modular ceiling and remain flush to the ceiling, or they may be freestanding or mounted on a wall or to a ceiling.
• the UV-B Narrow Band (NB) LEDs for example have a wavelength of 280nm to 315nm which can be easily fine-tuned to an optimal wavelength for making vitamin D in the human body.
• Each UV-B LED for example has an output power of 40( ⁇ W to 80( ⁇ W.
• the total number of UV-B LEDs can be for example in the range 10 to 40 in the panel.
• the invention also provides a lighting installation comprising: one or more lighting systems as defined above;
• the lighting installation for example comprises an office lighting installation.
• the lighting systems may each comprise a ceiling panel and the luminaires may each comprise a ceiling panel.
• the lighting systems may comprise a freestanding divider for offices or they may be fitted to a wall or ceiling. This provides a modular system.
• the ceiling panel embodiment may be preferable as it remains particularly unobtrusive within an office space.
• Fig. 1 shows a UV-lighting system
• Fig. 2 shows an office space with a ceiling having visible lighting and UV-B lighting.
• the invention provides a lighting system, comprising a housing, an arrangement of UV-B LEDs in the housing and a fabric output screen which provides a UV- B exit surface. This provides UV-B light for an indoor application in order to replicate the health benefits of natural sunlight.
• Figure 1 shows a UV-lighting system
• the system comprises a carrier 10 on which an arrangement of UV-B LEDs 12 is provided.
• the carrier 10 for example comprises a printed circuit board (PCB), and the UV-B LED are surface mount packages for mounting on the PCB.
• a side wall 14 forms a housing together with the carrier 10 and the UV-B LEDs 12 provide UV light outwardly, normally away from the carrier 10.
• the housing may be any desired shape, such as rectangular, square or circular.
• the housing has a low profile so that it may be integrated into a ceiling structure for example. Alternatively, it may for a light fitting to be suspended below a ceiling.
• the housing is closed opposite the carrier 10 by a fabric sheet 16.
• the fabric sheet 16 can be produced at low cost, low weight and with large area.
• the overall system may have a size of around 45 cm x 45 cm or 60cm x 60cm. In this way it may form a panel of a modular lighting system.
• the size is more than 1500cm 2 , for example more than 2000cm 2 for example more than 3000cm 2 .
• the fabric sheet comprises fibers of ultra-high- molecular- weight polyethylene (known as UHMWPE or UHMW).
• UHMWPE ultra-high- molecular- weight polyethylene
• This material is a type of thermoplastic polyethylene with extremely long chains, with a molecular mass usually between 3.5 and 7.5 million atomic mass units. The longer chain serves to transfer load more effectively to the polymer backbone by strengthening intermolecular interactions. This results in a very tough material.
• UHMWPE fibers are for example commercially available from the chemical company DSM (trade mark), under the trade name Dyneema (trade mark).
• DSM chemical company
• Dyneema trade mark
• the polymer chains When formed into fibers, the polymer chains for example attain a parallel orientation greater than 95% and a level of crystallinity from 39% to 75%.
• UHMWPE is very resistant to UV radiation (as well as to water, moisture, most chemicals and micro-organisms).
• UHMWPE fibers in this application is based on the recognition that the fibers are highly (compared to other fibers) transparent to UV light.
• the fibers for example have a diameter in the range 2mm to 5mm for example a twine diameter of 3.3mm and weight of in the range 2 to 10 g/m.
• the fabric is woven in such way as to provide a minimum linear mass density for example of 40 to 200 denier.
• the fabric is then opaque or translucent to light in the visible light spectrum so that the LEDs 12 and other components are not visible to the human eye.
• the fibers have an axial refractive index of 1.59 and a transverse refractive index of 1.53, hence a birefringence of 0.06. They are also highly transparent to infrared, near infrared and radar.
• the resulting fabric is for example at least 80% transmissive to UV light, preferably at least 90% transmissive and preferably at least 98% transmissive.
• the resulting structure is also opaque (or translucent) to visible light so that the visual appearance of the UV-B LED array is masked.
• the screen may have a desired visual color and/or pattern, selected for consistency with the decor of the indoor space in which the system is to be used.
• the side wall 14 is formed or a boron nitride powder filled polymer.
• the polymer is for example a silicone or fluoropolymer.
• This provides a structure which is highly reflective to UV-B light. For example, a reflection may be achieved of 95% or higher.
• the UV-B LEDs are designed to provide a dose of UV-B light which is sufficient to provide the advantages of vitamin D production, but not sufficient to cause skin damage.
• the light intensity of the system as a whole is based on each UV-B LED having an output power of 400 ⁇ W to 800 ⁇ W.
• the total number of UV-B LEDs can be for example in the range 10 to 40 in the panel, giving a total output power in the range 4mW to 30mW.
• UV-B LEDs are commercially available, and are mainly used in medical applications, for example for medical photometry. There are also commercially available UV-B lighting products for stimulating plant growth for illuminating terrariums.
• the UV-B wavelength is in the range 280nm to 315nm.
• Figure 2 shows an office space 20 with a ceiling 22 having visible lighting panels 24 (luminaries) and UV-B lighting panels 26 each of the type as described above. In combination, the panels provide the visual lighting required as well as a desired level of UV- B radiation.
• the system may be used as part of an office lighting system, but it may also be used for other indoor lighting applications.
• the example above makes use of a panel which is dedicated to the generation of UV-B radiation. It is also possible to combine UV-B radiation and visible lighting in the same panel. In such a case, a visually transparent (but typically diffusive) fabric is required so that both UV and visible light can escape from the panel. A diffusive fabric will again mask the appearance of the LED structure beneath.

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• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Biomedical Technology (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
• Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Radiology & Medical Imaging (AREA)
• Pathology (AREA)
• Nuclear Medicine, Radiotherapy & Molecular Imaging (AREA)
• Hospice & Palliative Care (AREA)
• Developmental Disabilities (AREA)
• Psychology (AREA)
• Psychiatry (AREA)
• Child & Adolescent Psychology (AREA)
• Social Psychology (AREA)
• Biophysics (AREA)
• Non-Portable Lighting Devices Or Systems Thereof (AREA)
• Circuit Arrangement For Electric Light Sources In General (AREA)
• Radiation-Therapy Devices (AREA)

Priority Applications (5)

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Publications (2)

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• 2017
  • 2017-10-04 WO PCT/EP2017/075147 patent/WO2018065443A2/en not_active Ceased
  • 2017-10-04 EP EP17787348.6A patent/EP3522982B1/en not_active Not-in-force
  • 2017-10-04 ES ES17787348T patent/ES2858097T3/es active Active
  • 2017-10-04 JP JP2019518543A patent/JP6963010B2/ja not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2017-10-04 US US16/339,182 patent/US11224759B2/en active Active
  • 2017-10-04 CN CN201780061945.6A patent/CN109803722B/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related

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