Conventional downward-facing luminaires are well known, frequently stylish though sometimes merely boringly functional, and produce light to which people work, play, live, and want. For office lighting, a common type of luminaire is known as a “troffer”, in which light from an elongated fluorescent bulb is directed upward toward an inverted trough having a diffuse reflecting surface. The diffusely reflected light from the inverted trough is directed downward, toward a work surface in the office. These troffers are often sold as generally rectangular fixtures that fit into a ceiling grid, so that they may be positioned as needed during setup of the office.
With the proliferation of high power solid state light sources that increasingly cost less and less, luminaires that use solid state light sources instead of conventional light sources are becoming more and more common. One such luminaire is a troffer-style fixture disclosed in U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2012/0051041, entitled “Troffer-style fixture” and published on Mar. 1, 2012. The '041 application discloses a troffer-type luminaire with solid state light sources arranged in one or two stripes, down the center of the fixture, directing light upward. Directly beneath the stripe or stripes is a heat sink, which dissipates heat from the solid state light sources.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds