FR2485162A1 - LIGHTING APPARATUS AND ACOUSTICAL GENERATOR COMBINED, IN PARTICULAR FOR OFFICES WITH INTEGRATED MODULAR ARRANGEMENT - Google Patents

Abstract

COMBINED SET OF A LIGHTING DEVICE AND AN ACOUSTIC GENERATOR, ESPECIALLY FOR OFFICES WITH INTEGRATED MODULAR LAYOUT. LEDIT TOGETHER INCLUDES A 16 REFLECTOR PLACED IN A HOUSING 15 SUBJECT TO A SUPPORT 14 AND PLACED SO THAT THE LIGHT AND SOUND WAVES COMING IN CONTACT WITH THEIT REFLECTOR 16 ARE DISPERSE IN SEVERAL DIRECTIONS THANKS TO ITS CONCAVITY AND ITS WAVES AND FINALLY COME IN CONTACT WITH THE CEILING 80 WHICH REFLECTS AND DISPERSES THEM MORE. SUCH A DISPERSION PRODUCES A PLEASANT AND UNINTELLIGIBLE SOUND, MUTING OUTSIDE SOUNDS THAT COULD DISTRACT OCCUPANTS FROM WORKSTATIONS. APPLICATION TO PREMISES WITH INTEGRATED MODULAR DEVELOPMENT.

Description

Modular modern offices present

  work that are separated by partitions generally having a height lower than that of the ceiling. Partitions and ceilings are sometimes acoustically arranged to absorb voice and machinery noise resulting from routine office activity, but not all sounds can be eliminated by such an arrangement and the

  distraction of people by noise is still a problem.

  As far as conversations are concerned, it turned out that the greatest distraction is due not to the loudness of the conversation, but to its intelligibility. Thus, it would be desirable to develop a sound system

  which can produce a deafening that diminishes the intelligi-

  ease of conversation without becoming a distraction.

  In the past, effective systems of muffling

  have been designed specifically for the working space

  particular in which they are located and as a result they are expensive. Most of these systems are installed in

  the ceiling and is therefore a permanent fixture of the office.

  The use of these systems has resulted in high costs.

  installation and maintenance and reduced the possibility of

  to move the system to various locations in the local

  office or in the event of evacuation of the premises and in

  the adaptability of the system is also challenged.

tion.

  Portable muffling devices

  anterior niche have often produced a continuous

  which can be inefficient, monotonous and more annoying than

sounds that they must hide.

  U.S. Patent Application 614,917, filed September 19, 1975, discloses an acoustic muting generator which is currently being used in a satisfactory manner to overcome the disadvantages of

the prior art.

  Accordingly, the subject of the present invention is an improved acoustic muffling generator which is also integrated into the general arrangement by incorporating

  the generator in an indirect light fixture that con-

  also an advantageous element of the modular office. The present invention relates to a combination of an acoustic conditioner and a lighting apparatus

  comprising an indirect lighting device and a device

  improved techniques designed to mute external sounds

neighborhood of said set.

  The assembly comprises a support, on which is mounted a housing which, seen from above, is generally circular,

  a reflector fixed to the housing and having an evident part

  curved and curved which is turned substantially upwards towards the ceiling and which, seen from above, is also circular, a light source mounted on the housing near the reflector and an acoustic transmitter also mounted on the housing near said reflector . The vertical axis of the housing is offset relative to the vertical axis of the recessed portion so as to form between the housing and the reflector a chamber or enclosure in which is placed the acoustic transmitter. This chamber contains an electronic circuit capable of producing an electrical signal and

  turn it into an audible

  positive modulator for periodically varying the frequencies of the sound signal. The acoustic transmitter is placed in the room so that the sound waves emanating from it

  are directed against the reflector.

  The recessed part of the advanced reflector of the

  The present invention comprises corrugated surfaces with inclined

  irregular sound that are exposed to sonic light waves

  res. Thus, said light waves and sound waves directed on the reflector are dispersed in several directions due to the concavity of the recessed portion of the reflector and its corrugations and they are finally directed against the ceiling of the room in which the assembly is placed and o

  they are still reflected and disseminated. Such a disper-

  light rays ensures a uniform diffusion of

  light in all the local and removes the bright spots.

  The advanced reflector is coupled to the acoustic transmitter

  that it also allows for a wider distribution of

  sound waves and therefore an effective increase in the size of the loudspeaker. As a result, the propagation of the low frequency sound waves is intensified, which gives a subharmonic to the resulting audible sound signal. This

  subharmonic gives, in combination with the

  of sound frequencies, a signal that effectively mutes

  the external sounds, but which are easily used by those occupying the workspace. The invention thus ensures a more efficient distribution of light and sound waves in the vicinity of the entire lighting apparatus.

  and a more advantageous muffling of the sound.

  This luminaire is also advantageous

  from the point of view of price and bulk. Since the light and sound sources are supported by the same equipment and use the same reflector, it is not necessary to have a lamp and an acoustic device

  separated. In addition, since the hearing aid

  The present invention is not visible to those occupying the workspace, it is less distracting than previous systems in which the sound source is known.

and visible of said people.

  The invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings by way of non-limiting example and in which FIG.

  an office with workstations separated by

  partitions on which are mounted several

  equipped with an acoustic muffler and a light fixture; Figure 2 is a sectional view showing one of the work stations shown in Figure 1 as well as the location of the assembly of the present invention between the ceiling and the head of a medium-sized adult person; Figure 3 is a view over the whole of the present invention; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary, large-scale sectional view of a portion of the assembly of the invention taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 3; FIG. 5 is a fragmentary section with large

  scale along line 5-5 of Figure 3 showing the

  Figure 6 is a large-scale fragmentary sectional view of another portion of the assembly of the present invention, taken substantially along the line 6-6 of Figure 3; FIG. 7 is a large-scale section of still another part of the whole of the invention, according to the

  line 7-7 of Figure 3, showing the circuit associated with the

  speaker; FIG. 8 is a large scale fragmentary section showing the light source and its housing attachment device, substantially along the line 8-s of FIG. 3; FIG. 9 is a fragmentary section of a wall of the assembly, substantially along line 9-9 of Figure 3,

  showing the volume and frequency controls of the invention

  tion; and FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram of the circuit of

the whole of the invention.

  Referring to the drawing, FIG.

  a combination of an acoustic apparatus and a lighting apparatus of the present invention, each of which is generally designated 10 and which is associated with a plurality of modules 12 which define individual workstations in a room , which by the way is a piece of a single volume. Each assembly 10 comprises a mobile support 14 in the form of a rod and a housing 15 in the form of a bowl mounted on

  this support 14, a reflector 16 placed on the housing and pre-

  sensing part-recess 18, a light source 20 and a

  acoustic transmitter 22 (FIG. 6) mounted on the reflector 16.

  FIG. 4 shows that the support 14 is fixed to the housing

  by a clamping device 24. A bolt 26 fixes the

  port 14 to the clamping device 24 which is itself mounted on the housing 15. A plurality of upwardly directed projections 26, one of which is shown in FIG. 5, are provided on the housing 15 to fix the reflector 16 therein. fixing screw 28 secured the reflector 16 to each projection 26 '

and therefore to housing 15.

  Referring to FIG. 3, it can be seen that the housing and the recessed portion 18 of the reflector 16 have, seen from above, a generally circular configuration, the circumference of the housing 15 being substantially greater than that of the

485,162

  part 18. The vertical axis of the housing 15 is shifted by

  port to that of the part 18 so as to form between them a chamber or enclosure 30 for containing the acoustic transmitter 22 to mount it on the assembly 10 of the lighting apparatus. The light source 20, which is placed in the recessed portion 18, is mounted in a socket 32 and comprises an incandescent lamp 34. An opening 36 (FIG. 8) is formed in the reflector and a spacer 38 for supporting the lamp, which is fixed to the reflector 16 by rivets 40, is placed behind the opening 36. The sleeve 32 passes through the opening 36 of the to be in contact with the spacer 38-to which it is fixed by screws 42. An orifice 44 is formed in the spacer 38 to allow the passage of

  electrical wires 46 extending to an electrical outlet

  than classical (not shown). Thus, it can be seen (FIGS. 3 and 8) that the light source 20 is placed in the opening 36 so that the lamp 34 overhangs the recessed portion 18 and is placed so as to direct the light waves towards this

last.

  The acoustic transmitter 22 (FIG. 6) comprises a loudspeaker

  speaker 48 fixed to the reflector for example by screws 50 and positioned to direct the sound waves through openings 49 of the side wall 51 of the reflector in the recessed portion 18. baffles 53 inclined downwardly and inwardly are formed on the reflector on the opposite side of the openings 49. The loudspeaker 48 is connected in a conventional manner to an electronic circuit 52 (FIG. 7) attached to a mounting frame 54 which is mounted on the reflector by rivets. 55 only one of which is represented. As shown

  FIG. 7, two printed circuit boards 56, on the

  which is the circuit 52 sound generator, are mounted each. on the chassis 54. Thus, it is possible to repair a defective assembly by replacing easily and quickly a printed circuit board 56. A power transformer 58 is mounted on the chassis 54. A button 60 of

  on-off and volume control (figure 9) mounted for

  on the reflector 16, is connected (not shown for clarity) to one of the printed circuit boards 56 and 24851t62

  allows the user to adjust the volume of the loudspeaker

  speaker 48 in a determined range. The volume control knob 60 can not increase the loudness beyond the level at which the masking sounds are still part of the ambient background noise in order to be sure that the acoustic transmitter 22 can not be brought a volume that could hinder

  people in this area. A button 62 for

  low-treble setting which is mounted on the reflector 16,

  is connected (not shown) to a circuit board 56

  to adjust, in a small range, the frequency of

  sound signals according to personal tastes and

  perceptions of user perception.

  The components of the electronic circuit 52 are all of semiconductor type and solid state to allow continuous use without release of heat or distortion of

  frequency. The circuit 52 (FIG. 10) comprises a source of

  energy 64 connected to an assembly 66 comprising a noise generator and an interference-free filter for producing an electronic signal which is amplified and filtered by the assembly 68 comprising an amplifier and a filter and transformed into an audible signal audible by the loudspeaker. In addition, the power source 64 supplies a wave modulator 70 which is connected to the assembly 66 comprising the noise generators and the interference-free filter by an interface 72 and which periodically varies the amplitude. sound signal

generated by the loudspeaker 48.

  Returning to Figure 6, see that the hollow part

  18 of the reflector 16 of the invention has a smaller surface area

  74 which is exposed to light and sound waves. The

  surface 74 has corrugations 76 of irregular inclination

  and is made of a conventional reflective material such as polished metal or equivalent material to provide effective reflection of light and sound waves. In Figure 6, there is shown sound waves 75 that emanate from the speaker 48, but it is understood that the light waves emanate in a similar manner to the lamp 34; thus, the term "waves" will be used in this specification to refer to

  the waves both bright and sonorous. 75 waves

  pant the recessed portion 18 are reflected in a plurality of directions; as a result of the concavity of the portion 18 and its undulations 76, contrary to the deflection in one direction of the waves by plane reflective surfaces. For example, the recessed portion 18 has a curvilinear portion 78 of its sidewall which has the effect of deflecting the waves 75, directed against it, substantially in the direction of the vertical axis of

  said recessed portion 18. The waves 75 reaching the corrugations

  The projections 76 are deflected in several directions determined by the angle of incidence of the wave 75 and the particular inclination of the wave 76 at the point of reflection. The

  reflector 16 of the present invention thus provides a

  uniform and widely spread lightwave

  sound 75 in the vicinity of the module 12.

  The assembly 10 is particularly interesting at a height between the ceiling 811 of the local and the head of a medium-sized adult person 82 standing-up like

  it can be seen in FIG. 2. The assembly 10 is mounted preferably

  one of the partitions 84 which separates the modules 12 and is placed on the panel 84 so that the reflector 16 is turned upwards towards the ceiling 80. Thus, the waves 75 coming into contact with the surfaces 74 of the reflector 16 are dispersed in several directions, as described above, and finally hit the ceiling 80 which reflects them again and disperses them. The reflector 16 and the ceiling 10 thus cooperate to impose on the waves 75 a

  advantageous effect of attenuation and propagation.

  To ensure uniform dispersion of the waves 75, the assembly 10 produces an improved sound signal intended to

  hide external sounds in the vicinity of the set 10.

  The recessed and curved portion 18 of the reflector 16 and the corrugated

  tions 76 of the latter allow for a wider

  This increases the size of the loudspeaker 48. As a result, the propagation of the low-frequency sound waves 75 is intensified, which imposes on the signal

  resulting in an advantageous subharmonic. In combination

  sound with the wave modulator 70, which varies periodically

  the signal to give the masking sound a natural "ebb and flow" which is characteristic of most background noise, the reflector 16 allows the set 10 to

  to produce a pleasant masking sound that easily adapts

  those occupying the office layout modules.

  Each set 10 can be set by the user.

  to adapt it to the particular sound environment of the region where the assembly 10 is located. For example, if the external sounds are at a low frequency such as that of the air rushing into a ventilation system, the The user may wish to adjust the bass and treble control knob 62 by increasing the treble to obtain a proper mix of high and low frequencies. On the other hand, if the external noises are at a high frequency like those which some machines make, the user can adjust the

  control button 62 so as to sound equilibrium

  to mix high and low frequencies and to

  effectively direct sound-s or unwanted noise.

  Thus, the invention relates to a combined assembly 10 of an acoustic conditioner and a lighting apparatus

  which is intended to be used in modules 12 of development-

  office, said assembly comprising a light source

  , an acoustic transmitter 22 and a reflector 16. The reflec-

  16 comprises a curved portion 18 having corrugations 76 so that the light and sound waves 75 emanating from the light source 20 and the acoustic transmitter 22 are dispersed in a plurality of directions by striking the reflector

  16. The waves 75 are therefore uniformly scattered in the vicinity.

  swim assembly 10 to ensure proper lighting and effective muffling. The audible signal that reaches the users of the modules 12 undergoes subtle frequency variations and has a slightly lower harmonic.

  which allows the user to get used easily.

  It goes without saying that many modifications can be made to the device described and shown, without leaving

of the scope of the invention.

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Claims (6)

  An assembly of a lighting apparatus characterized in that it comprises a support (14), a reflector (16) of the   light which is mounted on said support and a light source   mounted on the latter to direct the light against the reflector (16), an acoustic transmitter (22) mounted on said support (14) in a position in which it directs sound waves (75) against the reflector (16). ) to produce substantially indistinct and unintelligible sounds   in order to mask the sounds outside the vicinity of the set ble (10).   2. An assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a housing (15) and a device for retaining the reflector (16) on the latter, said reflector   (16) having substantially the shape of a bowl and being posi-   on the housing (15) so that the light and sound waves (75) come into contact with the shaped portion   bowl and are scattered in several directions.   3. An assembly according to claim 2, characterized in that the housing (15) has a generally circular shape and has a circumference greater than that of the reflector (16) in the form of bowl, its vertical axis being substantially offset from that of the curved portion thereof to form a chamber (30) in the housing (15), for   contain the light source (20) and the acoustic transmitter (22).   4. An assembly according to claim 3, characterized in   the acoustic transmitter (22) comprises a device des-   adapted to receive an electric signal from an electrical source, an electronic circuit (52) for transforming the electrical signal into an audible sound signal, and a speaker (48) for transmitting said sound signal by directing it on the reflector (16). ), said device for receiving the electrical signal, the electronic circuit (52) and the speaker   (48) being contained in said chamber (30).   5. An assembly according to claim 3, characterized in that a surface (74) of the reflector (16) which is exposed to the light and sound waves (75) has irregularly inclined corrugations (76) in order to disseminate the waves.   bright and sound in several directions.   6. An assembly according to claim 5, characterized   in that it is intended to be used in a room which includes   a ceiling (80) and to be positioned substantially between said ceiling and the eye height of a standing adult adult (82), said reflector (16) being placed on said set (10) of a lighting apparatus for directing the light and sound waves (75) substantially upward towards the ceiling (80) so that the latter reflects them to be dispersed   and additional attenuation.