Solid state lighting strip for mounting in or on a panel support element of a modular panel system

1. A modular panel system comprising a primary panel support element, a secondary panel support element detachably coupled to the primary panel support element, and a solid state lighting strip integrated with the secondary panel support element, the solid state lighting strip comprising:

a housing having a top surface facing the secondary panel support element and a bottom surface including a light exit window,

a plurality of solid state lighting elements disposed in the housing,

a light extraction layer disposed in the housing and between the solid state lighting elements,

a glare reducing layer at the light exit window, and

shielding reflectors between the lighting elements and the glare reducing layer,

wherein the light extraction layer and the glare reducing layer are arranged opposite each other,

wherein the plurality of solid state lighting elements are arranged adjacent to the light extraction layer such that light emitted by said solid state lighting elements is coupled into the glare reducing layer via the light extraction layer and the light exits through the light exit window of the housing,

wherein the plurality of solid state lighting elements comprises a first group of solid state lighting elements and a second group of solid state lighting elements on opposite sides of the light extraction layer, and

wherein a pitch of the solid state lighting elements in said groups is less than twice of a width of the light extraction layer.

2. The modular panel system of claim 1 , wherein the solid state lighting elements are placed at regular intervals between the light extraction layer and at least one of the side surfaces.

3. The modular panel system of claim 2 , wherein the surface of the light extraction layer opposite the surface facing the glare reducing layer carries a reflective member.

4. The modular panel system of claim 2 , wherein the inner walls of the housing are reflective.

5. The modular panel system of claim 1 , wherein each of the first and second groups of solid state lighting elements comprises subsets of solid state lighting elements having different colors, said subsets being individually controllable.

6. The modular panel system of claim 5 , wherein the solid state lighting elements in the first group are offset in relation to the solid state lighting elements in the second group by half said pitch.

7. The modular panel system recited in claim 1 , further comprising:

a support grid for attaching the primary panel support element to a building structure;

a plurality of panels supported by the support grid, wherein at least one first panel of said plurality of panels is mounted to the support grid via the primary panel support element and the secondary support element.

8. The modular panel system of claim 7 , wherein:

the primary and secondary panel support elements are placed in the support grid at a pitch (P);

each of the solid state lighting strips comprise a light exit window having a width (W); and

the ratio W/P lies in the range of 0.02 to 0.08.

9. The modular panel system of claim 8 , wherein the ratio W/P is about 0.04.

10. A lighting system including a plurality of solid state lighting strips of the modular panel system as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a controller for setting the light output of individual solid state lighting strips based at least in part of at least one of incident daylight, room layout and room occupancy.

11. A solid state lighting strip for mounting in a panel support element of a modular panel system, the solid state lighting strip comprising:

a housing having a top surface facing the panel support elements and a bottom surface including a light exit window,

a plurality of solid state lighting elements disposed in the housing,

a light extraction layer disposed in the housing and between the solid state lighting elements,

a glare reducing layer at the light exit window, and

shielding reflectors between the lighting elements and the glare reducing layer,

wherein the plurality of solid state lighting elements is arranged such that the light emitted by said lighting elements is coupled into the glare reducing layer via the light extraction layer,

wherein the solid state lighting strip is structured for integration in said panel support element such that at least one first panel of said modular panel system is primarily mounted to a support structure of said panel support element via the solid state lighting strip and such that a primary means of supporting the weight of the at least one first panel is via the solid state lighting strip,

wherein said panel support element comprises a primary support element fixed to a building structure and a secondary support element detachably coupled to the primary support element, and wherein the solid state lighting strip is disposed on the secondary support element.

12. The solid state lighting strip of claim 11 , wherein the modular panel system further comprises:

a support grid including the panel support element of claim 11 ;

wherein the support grid comprises the solid state lighting strip of claim 11 and wherein the panel support element of claim 11 is configured such that the at least one first panel is mounted to the support grid via the support structure of the panel support element of claim 11 .

13. The modular panel system of claim 12 , further comprising the at least one first panel.

14. A modular panel system comprising:

a support grid comprising support members for attaching to a building structure and panel support elements for extending between the support members; and

a plurality of panels supported by the panel support elements,

wherein the support grid comprises a plurality of solid state lighting strips, wherein each of the solid state lighting strips comprises:

a housing having a top surface facing a respective one of the panel support elements and a bottom surface including a light exit window,

a plurality of solid state lighting elements disposed in the housing,

a light extraction layer disposed in the housing and between the solid state lighting elements,

a glare reducing layer at the light exit window, and

shielding reflectors between the lighting elements and the glare reducing layer,

wherein the plurality of solid state lighting elements are arranged such that light emitted by said lighting elements is coupled into the glare reducing layer via the light extraction layer and the light exits through the light exit window of the housing,

wherein a first panel of the plurality of panels is primarily mounted to a support structure of a first panel support element of the panel support elements via a solid state lighting strip of the plurality of solid state lighting strips that is integrated in said first panel support element,

wherein the first panel is detachably mounted to said support grid via a support structure and wherein a primary means of supporting the weight of the first panel is via the solid state lighting strip.