Konica Minolta - Page 3

On March 2014, Konica Minolta announced it developed the world's most efficient OLED lighting panel - at 131 lm/W. Only two months later, the Japanese company announced it developed an even more efficient panel at 139 lm/W.

Konica's new panel has an emitting area of 15 square centimeters, a lifetime of 55,000 hours (LT50) at a brightness of 1,000 cd/m² and a CRI of 81. The color temperature is 2857K.

Konica Minolta brought their color-tunable flexible OLEDs to L+B 2014, and now the company posted this video showing these new panels. The exhibition (which KM calls the Cradle Of Life) shows three design concepts by Takram design engineering.

In the video you can see the rotating Irodori uses a layered spiral design that resembles peacock features, the small Ibuki uses two light-weight panels that seem to float in the air and the Habataki 2.0 seems like a bird fledgling leaving the nest.

Konica Minolta announced that it is starting to construct an OLED lighting fab at Konica Minolta Kofu Site (Chuo-shi, Yamanashi Prefecture). This fab will mass produce flexible OLED lighting panels (on plastic substrates). The construction will end in the summer of 2014 and mass production will commence in the fall of 2014.

Konica Minolta says that it reached the conclusion that light, bendable and durable OLED lighting panels on plastic substrates will "deliver new values to customers not only in general lighting and architecture sectors but also in electric appliances and automobile sector". Konica will invest ¥10 billion (almost $100 million) in the new fab.

Konica Minolta developed the world's most efficient OLED lighting panel - at 131 lm/W. The panel's emitting area is 15 square centimeters. KM says that now OLEDs are actually more efficient than consumer LEDs, and this is a major step forward for OLED lighting. We do not know the lifetime or any other features of this panel.

KM's previous panel featured 103 lm/W and the company incorporated three new technologies in the new panel that enabled them to reach the record efficiency. First up is a new phosphorescent blue material that improved the internal quantum efficiency. In addition, KM also implemented a new light extraction technology and a new "organic layer construction technique", based on optical simulation.

Konica Minolta announced that they will show flexible OLED "demonstration models" at the Light + Building 2014 Frankfurt trade show next month. KM says that not only are these the thinnest OLEDs ever on display, but the panels will also be color tunable, making them the first color-tunable flexible OLEDs in the world.

In the image above, you can see the three models Konica Minolta will have on display. From left to right: the Irodori (with color-tunable OLEDs) which rotates slowly, the Ibuki - a couple of those world's thinnest 70-micron OLED panels that seem to float in the air, and finally the Habtaki 2.0, which gives an impression of a bird fledgling leaving the nest.

There's an interesting article over at JapanTimes, covering the Lighting Japan 2014 event that took place last month. They also posted a nice video from the conference, showing several OLED installations from NEC Lighting, Philips, PIOL and others. There are also some flexbile (formable) OLEDs on display, I'm not sure if these are from LG Chem or Konica Minolta (the only two companies that actually produces flexible OLED lighting prototypes).

NEC Lighting is developing OLED lighting for a long time (over 10 years), and during the video you can see demonstrations of the company's OLED panels, including transparent ones (these were unveiled in 2013).

OLED lighting based emergency lighting has been suggested back in 2009 by Kenwood, and later in 2010 by Novaled and Willing. But now we finally have the first commercial product, the ETAP K4, in which the pictogram is the actual illuminating OLED surface. ETAP collaborated with Philips to enable this product and are using Lumiblades panels. The K4 is now available and it's about 40% more expensive then ETAP's high-end LED luminaire.

The size of the emergency panel is 227x134 mm, and it is 4 mm thick. The lit area is 210x105 mm. The panel should last for 10 years (the lifetime is 35,000 hours, LT70), and ETAP provides a 5 year warranty. The efficiency is 40 lm/W (this is based on Philips' Lumiblade Plus, developed by Konica Minolta).

A couple of months ago Konica Minolta unveiled new flexible OLED lighting prototypes, and today they sent me this beautiful video showing these new panels used in a motorized sample design called "luminous wing":

Unfortunately KM won't reveal any technical details yet, apart from the panel size (150x60 mm, but we knew that already) and the fact that the substrate is plastic. Back in 2010 KM (together with GE) unveiled flexible OLED panel prototypes that achieved 56 lm/W and "commercially viable lifetime" using soluble materials in a roll-to-roll process.

Konica Minolta will unveil new flexible OLED lighting panels at the Lighting Fair 2013 exhibition in Tokyo next month (March 5). Their flexible OLEDs will debut in a "variety of forms", and visitors to KM's booth will be able to experience those new panels. 

We do not have any more information yet - hopefully KM will give technical details soon (or during the exhibition). Back in 2010 KM (together with GE) unveiled flexible OLED panel prototypes, but it seems that now the company is set to actually releasing products. The 2010 prototypes achieved 56 lm/W (and "commercially viable lifetime") using soluble materials in a roll-to-roll process. In 2010 the companies announced plans to produce those panels in 2011, but obviously this never happened. We're not sure if GE is involved in these new panels.

Konica Minolta collaborated with Washi paper designer Eriko Horiki to create a unique luminous tapestry named "Lighting that breathes". Eriko says that this work "imbues the space with rich expression by synthesizing multiple elements: light, mirror, pinhole and Washi paper. This gives us a sense of what lighting of the future might hold".

Here are a couple of videos showing the making of this washi/OLED design: