JP7570026B2 - Lighting fixtures - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to lighting fixtures.

Patent document 1 discloses a hanging lighting fixture that includes a transparent, bowl-shaped shade member that covers a light-emitting part, expands from one end to the other end in a specific direction, has an opening at the other end, and has curved outer and inner surfaces that increase in thickness from one end to the other end in the specific direction.

JP 2009-129546 A

A hanging lighting fixture with a bowl-shaped shade member as disclosed in Patent Document 1 has the same shape when viewed from any direction, so there is no need to adjust the orientation of the lighting fixture when installing it. However, a hanging lighting fixture in the shape of a rectangular pillar looks different depending on the viewing direction, so a mechanism for adjusting the orientation of the lighting fixture is required.

The present disclosure aims to provide a hanging lighting fixture equipped with a mechanism for adjusting the orientation of the lighting fixture.

The lighting fixture according to the present disclosure is a columnar lighting fixture comprising a light source that emits light, a top plate that forms the top surface of the columnar shape and has a circular hole in the center, a support plate that is larger than the circular hole and supports the top plate from below and has a first through hole in the center, and a power cable that extends upward through the first through hole and connects to a power source provided on a member for hanging the lighting fixture.

This disclosure provides a hanging lighting fixture equipped with a mechanism for adjusting the lighting fixture's orientation.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a configuration of a lighting fixture according to an embodiment of the present invention; 2 is a cross-sectional view of the lighting fixture shown in FIG. 1 taken along line A-A. BB cross-sectional view of the lighting fixture shown in FIG. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing an example of a configuration for limiting the rotation angle of a lighting fixture;

Below, the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate. However, more detailed explanation than necessary may be omitted. For example, detailed explanation of already well-known matters and duplicate explanation of substantially identical configurations may be omitted. This is to avoid the following explanation becoming unnecessarily redundant and to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art. Note that the attached drawings and the following explanation are provided to enable those skilled in the art to fully understand the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the subject matter described in the claims.

(Present embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of a lighting fixture according to the present embodiment.

For ease of explanation, as shown in FIG. 1, the axis extending in the vertical direction (height direction) is the Z axis, one axis perpendicular to the Z axis is the X axis, and the axis perpendicular to the X and Z axes is the Y axis. The positive direction of the Z axis may be referred to as "up", the negative direction of the Z axis as "down", the positive direction of the X axis as "right", and the negative direction of the X axis as "left". The XY plane may be referred to as the horizontal plane, and a plane perpendicular to the XY plane as the vertical plane. However, these directional expressions are used for ease of explanation and are not intended to limit the orientation of the structure during actual use.

As shown in FIG. 1, the lighting fixture 1 has a shape of a substantially rectangular prism extending in the vertical direction. However, the shape of the lighting fixture 1 is not limited to a rectangular prism, and may be other rectangular prisms such as a triangular prism, a pentagonal prism, a hexagonal prism, or an octagonal prism. Furthermore, the shape of the lighting fixture 1 is not limited to a regular prism (e.g., a regular square prism), and may be any type of rectangular prism.

In addition, the shape of the lighting device 1 is not limited to a substantially rectangular prism shape, but may be a cylindrical shape. A cylindrical shape includes not only a circle with a constant radius, but also an ellipse. In addition, an example of the configuration of the lighting device 1 according to this embodiment will be described using a rectangular prism shape.

The lighting fixture 1 includes a light source 11, an electronic panel 12, a bottom panel 13, a control housing 14, a control unit 15, a power cable 16, a wire 17, and a lid 18.

The light source 11 is a device that is placed inside the rectangular prism and emits light. As shown in FIG. 1, the light source 11 is a spherical LED light bulb. Alternatively, the light source 11 may be a rod-shaped LED fluorescent lamp that extends downward.

The electronic panels 12 are arranged in a rectangular cylindrical shape so as to form the four side faces of a rectangular prism. That is, the lighting device 1 includes four electronic panels 12. Hereinafter, the intersection line of the side faces of the rectangular prism formed by adjacent electronic panels 12 is referred to as the side edge 30. The electronic panels 12 are capable of displaying images, and process and transmit light emitted by the light source 11. The image displayed on the electronic panels 12 may be either a still image or a video. Examples of the electronic panels 12 include a liquid crystal panel or an OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) panel.

People who look at lighting fixture 1 can see the image displayed on electronic panel 12, using the light emitted by light source 11 as a backlight. In addition, since the distance from light source 11 to each pixel of electronic panel 12 differs in lighting fixture 1, each pixel of electronic panel 12 receives a different amount of light. In addition, a diffusion sheet that diffuses light may be attached to the inside of electronic panel 12. With these configurations, the image displayed on electronic panel 12 of lighting fixture 1 is perceived by people who look at lighting fixture 1 as a different image from an image displayed on a general LCD monitor equipped with a flat backlight. Therefore, by using lighting fixture 1, it is possible to realize various effects that are difficult to achieve with a general LCD monitor.

The bottom panel 13 is arranged to form the bottom surface of a rectangular prism. That is, the four sides of the bottom panel 13 are fixed to the bottom sides of the four electronic panels 12. The bottom panel 13 may be a transparent panel or a translucent panel having a predetermined color. Alternatively, the lighting device 1 may not include a bottom panel 13.

The control housing 14 is arranged to form the upper part of a rectangular prism. The shape of the control housing 14 may be a rectangular prism, or may be a truncated pyramid as shown in FIG. 1. The upper surface of the control housing 14 is referred to as the upper plate 21. In other words, the upper plate 21 corresponds to the upper surface of the rectangular prism.

The control unit 15 is disposed inside the control housing 14 and is a device that controls the image display of the electronic panel 12. In addition, the control unit 15 may control the light emission of the light source 11. Examples of the light emission control of the light source 11 include control of the blinking pattern and light intensity of the light source 11. The control unit 15 may be a circuit board including a processor, a memory, and a communication I/F (Interface). The processor controls the image display of the electronic panel 12 and the light emission of the light source 11 based on a predetermined program and data read from the memory. The processor may also receive data of an image to be displayed on the electronic panel 12 and data related to the light emission control of the light source 11 from a predetermined server through the communication I/F and store the data in the memory. The communication I/F may be an I/F that performs wired communication such as Ethernet (registered trademark), or an I/F that performs wireless communication such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark).

<Mechanism for adjusting the direction of lighting fixtures>
Next, a mechanism for adjusting the orientation of lighting fixture 1 will be described with reference to Figures 2 to 4. Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of lighting fixture 1 shown in Figure 1 taken along line A-A. Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of lighting fixture 1 shown in Figure 1 taken along line B-B. Figure 4 is a perspective view showing an example of a configuration for limiting the rotation angle of lighting fixture 1. Figure 4 is a view of the vicinity of support plate 23 as viewed obliquely from the negative direction of the Z axis, with a surface parallel to the X axis facing forward. Note that illustration of control unit 15 and the like is omitted in Figures 2 and 3.

The top plate 21 of the control housing 14 has a circular hole 22 of a predetermined radius in the center. The circular hole 22 may be covered by a circular lid portion 18.

Under the upper plate 21, a support plate 23 is arranged, which is a plate that is larger than the radius of the circular hole 22 and supports the upper plate 21 from below. As shown in FIG. 3, the support plate 23 may be composed of a disk portion 23A that is a circular plate larger than the radius of the circular hole 22 and supports the upper plate 21 from below, and a convex portion 23B that is a flat cylindrical shape smaller than the radius of the circular hole 22 and fits into the circular hole 22. Alternatively, the support plate 23 may be configured to have the disk portion 23A but not the convex portion 23B. According to this configuration, as shown in FIG. 3, the upper plate 21 is supported by the disk portion 23A of the support plate 23. The upper plate 21 and the support plate 23 may be made of a material that has a certain degree of friction, for example, galvanized steel.

The lid 18 and the support plate 23 each have through holes 24A, 24B at their centers for passing the power cable 16 through. In addition, the lid 18 and the support plate 23 each have through holes 25A, 25B at positions a predetermined distance from the center for passing the wire 17 through. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the lid 18 and the support plate 23 each have two through holes 25A, 25B at positions equidistant from the center (e.g., the radius of the support plate 23) on a straight line M1 that passes through the center and is parallel to the horizontal plane.

The power cable 16 extends upward from the control unit 15 inside the control housing 14 through the through holes 24A, 24B in the support plate 23 and the lid 18, and connects to a power source (not shown) provided on a member for suspending the lighting fixture 1, such as a ceiling, beam, or lighting rail (hereinafter referred to as the "suspending member"). The light source 11, electronic panel 12, and control unit 15 operate using the power supplied through the power cable 16.

One end of the wire 17 is engaged with the through hole 25B of the support plate 23, and the other end is fixed to the hanging member. The wire 17 may be one, or may be two as shown in Figures 1 to 4, or may be three or more.

According to the above-mentioned configuration, the horizontal rotation of the support plate 23 about the line C that passes through the center of the support plate 23 and extends vertically as the axis of rotation is prevented by the wire 17. On the other hand, the top plate 21 is not connected to the support plate 23, but is supported by the disk portion 23A of the support plate 23. Therefore, the control housing 14 including the top plate 21 and the electronic panel 12 connected to the control housing 14 can rotate horizontally about the line C as the axis of rotation. Therefore, when the worker suspends and installs the lighting fixture 1, the worker can adjust the electronic panel 12 to any direction by rotating the top plate 21 horizontally about the line C as the axis of rotation. Note that, since there is a certain degree of friction between the top plate 21 and the support plate 23, the top plate 21 will not rotate horizontally on its own after the orientation of the electronic panel 12 is adjusted. As a result, for example, when different images are displayed on the four electronic panels 12, the worker can install the lighting fixture 1 so that each image faces in the direction he or she wants to show.

In addition, the protrusion 23B of the support plate 23 fits into the circular hole 22 of the top plate 21, so the top plate 21 does not shift horizontally relative to the support plate 23.

In addition, by providing the wire 17, the weight of the control housing 14, electronic panel 12, etc., resting on the support plate 23 is distributed not only to the power cable 16 but also to the wire 17. This allows the lighting fixture 1 to be hung more safely.

If the lighting fixture 1 can be suspended sufficiently safely by the power cable 16, the wire 17 does not need to be provided. In this case, a part of the power cable 16 may be fixed to the support plate 23. As a result, horizontal rotation of the support plate 23 about the line C as the axis of rotation is prevented by the torsional rigidity and/or the restoring force against torsion of the power cable 16. Therefore, the operator can rotate the control housing 14 and the electronic panel 12 horizontally about the line C as the axis of rotation, as in the case described above, and adjust the electronic panel 12 to any orientation.

<Mechanism for limiting the rotation angle of the control housing and electronic panel>
Next, the function of limiting the rotation angle of the control housing 14 and the electronic panel 12 will be described with reference to FIGS.

As shown in Figs. 1 to 4, the support plate 23 is provided with a protrusion 26 that protrudes downward at a position a predetermined distance R1 from the center. As shown in Fig. 1, the protrusion 26 may be provided on a line M2 that is perpendicular to the line M1 and passes through the center of the support plate 23. The protrusion 26 may be, for example, a screw that extends downward.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 4, the lighting device 1 has a rotation stopper 27 below the support plate 23. Although not shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the rotation stopper 27 is connected to the control housing 14 or the control unit 15. In other words, when the control housing 14 is rotated horizontally, the rotation stopper 27 moves together with the control housing 14.

The rotation stopper 27 has a collision plate 28 at a position where the protrusion 26 collides when the top plate 21 is rotated horizontally a predetermined angle with the straight line C as the rotation axis. For example, as shown in Figures 2 to 4, the rotation stopper 27 has the collision plate 28 at a predetermined horizontal distance R1 from the straight line C. As shown in Figures 2 to 4, the collision plate 28 may be a plate perpendicular to the horizontal rotation direction of the top plate 21 with the straight line C as the rotation axis.

The number of collision plates 28 may be one. In this case, the horizontal rotation angle of the upper panel 21 is limited to about 360 degrees. Alternatively, the number of collision plates 28 may be two, as shown in Figs. 2 to 4. In this case, the horizontal rotation angle of the upper panel 21 is limited to the angle formed by two straight lines extending from the straight line C to the positions of the two collision plates 28. For example, as shown in Figs. 1 to 3, when the two collision plates 28 are placed at positions with a predetermined distance R1 between them on either side of the straight line C, the horizontal rotation angle of the upper panel 21 is limited to about 180 degrees. This configuration can prevent the operator from rotating the upper panel 21 too much and twisting the power cable 16 too much when adjusting the orientation of the electronic panel 12.

Summary of the Disclosure
The lighting fixture (1) according to the present disclosure includes a light source (11) that is columnar extending in the vertical direction and emits light, an electronic panel (12) that forms columnar sides surrounding the light source and processes and transmits the light emitted by the light source, a top plate (21) that forms a columnar top surface and has a circular hole (22) in the center, a support plate (23) that is larger than the circular hole and supports the top plate from below, has a first through hole (24B) in the center and a second through hole (25B) at a position a predetermined distance from the center, a power cable (16) that extends upward through the first through hole and connects to a power source provided on a member for hanging the lighting fixture, and a wire (17) that has one end engaged with the second through hole and the other end fixed to the member for hanging the lighting fixture. The above-mentioned columnar shape may be a regular square prism.

With this configuration, the lighting fixture can be hung more safely by the wire. In addition, the support plate is prevented from rotating by the wire, so the top panel can be rotated horizontally. Therefore, when hanging and installing the lighting fixture, workers can rotate the top panel horizontally and adjust the electronic panel to any orientation.

The support plate may also include a disk portion (23A) that is a circular plate larger than the radius of the circular hole and supports the upper plate from below, and a convex portion (23B) that is a flattened cylinder smaller than the radius of the circular hole and fits into the circular hole.

With this configuration, the protrusion fits into the circular hole in the top plate, so the top plate does not shift horizontally relative to the support plate.

The lighting fixture may further include a protrusion (26) provided on the support plate and protruding below the support plate, and a collision plate (28) disposed at a position where the protrusion will collide when the top plate is rotated horizontally by a predetermined angle around a straight line (C) that passes through the center of the top plate and extends vertically as a rotation axis.

With this configuration, the angle at which the top plate can be rotated horizontally is limited by the protrusion and the collision plate, preventing the operator from rotating the top plate too far horizontally and twisting the power cable too much.

Although the embodiments have been described above with reference to the attached drawings, the present disclosure is not limited to such examples. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can conceive of various modifications, corrections, substitutions, additions, deletions, and equivalents within the scope of the claims, and it is understood that these also fall within the technical scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the components in the above-described embodiments may be combined in any manner as long as it does not deviate from the spirit of the invention.

The technology disclosed herein can be used in lighting fixtures.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Lighting fixture 11 Light source 12 Electronic panel 13 Bottom panel 14 Control housing 15 Control unit 16 Power cable 17 Wire 18 Lid 21 Top plate 22 Circular hole 23 Support plate 24A, 24B Through holes 25A, 25B Through holes 26 Protrusion 27 Rotation stopper 28 Collision plate 30 Side edge

Claims (3)

A column-shaped lighting fixture,
A light source that emits light;
a top plate forming the top surface of the columnar shape and having a circular hole at the center;
a support plate that is larger than the circular hole and supports the upper plate from below, the support plate having a first through hole at a center and a second through hole at a position a predetermined distance from the center ;
a power cable extending upward through the first through hole and connecting to a power source provided on a member for hanging the lighting fixture;
the support plate includes a disk portion that is a circular plate larger than a radius of the circular hole and supports the upper plate from below, and a convex portion that is a flattened cylinder smaller than the radius of the circular hole and fits into the circular hole,
The upper surface of the protrusion is substantially flush with the upper surface of the upper plate,
The second through hole is a hole for engaging one end of a wire whose other end is fixed to a member for hanging the lighting fixture.
Lighting fixtures. An electronic panel that forms the columnar side surface surrounding the light source and processes and transmits the light emitted by the light source.
2. A lighting fixture according to claim 1. A protrusion portion provided on the support plate and protruding downward from the support plate;
a collision plate disposed at a position where the collision plate collides with the protrusion when the upper plate is rotated horizontally by a predetermined angle around a straight line passing through the center of the upper plate and extending in a vertical direction as a rotation axis,
3. A lighting device according to claim 1 or 2.

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