EP1630472B1 - Inflatable balloon for lighting purposes - Google Patents

Abstract

An air-inflatable balloon with a light-source at its center, consists of number of sections (5) which form meridians and are joined together to form a spherical-shaped body. The sections (5) of fabric are joined to one another along a meridian line (6) of the balloon (1) by high-frequency (HF) welding, which secures melting of at least one thermoplastic inter-layer along a connection- and/or overlap-zone of two adjacent sections (5) so that an air-tight join is secured along the weld-seams (6).

Description

The present invention relates to an air inflatable balloon for lighting purposes according to the preamble of claim 1.

The realization and use of such balloons, which are suitable for lighting large areas of space at outdoor events, such as on squares or ski slopes, has become quite common in recent years, thanks to the advantages offered by this type of lighting. Among these, mention should be made of the lightness of the installation (which is at most a matter of fixing a pole to the floor when, as in the case of helium-filled balloons, no electric cable is sufficient for lighting), and the complete absence of any Glare effects, as the light emanating from the balloon surface is diffuse and therefore can not cause a glare effect. It is therefore an ideal technology to set up temporary lighting for large spaces without the need for expensive fixed installations.

In practice, various types of inflatable balloons are known, which contain a light source inside, and which can be subdivided essentially into two categories, namely on the one hand in balloons filled with a gas that is lighter than air, and on the other Take off ground and just need to be anchored to the ground like a tethered balloon, and in air-filled balloons on the other hand.

The former category includes, for example, the balloon HeliMax Powermoon, which is manufactured from a material with the name Levapren of the German company Bayer by a likewise German company Noelle Industrielle Umwelttechnik GmbH in Rheinberg and is described in the Internet under http://www.powermoon.de/ ger.php? p = German.

This balloon can be made with a diameter up to 5.5m and behaves like a tethered balloon which is attached to the ground by means of a Systems of cables must be anchored so that he can not migrate. The helium-filled tethered balloon for lighting first proposed more than a century ago requires the use of an inert gas that is lighter than air, usually helium, which requirement severely limits its usefulness. In addition, the use of a different gas from the air that the balloon is absolutely impermeable to gases, so that no inflation gas escapes into the ambient air. The material used must therefore be absolutely impermeable - which requires that particularly costly fabrics must be considered - and must have no gas-permeable connection areas. All this makes the realization of helium-filled balloons extremely difficult and costly.

The other category of inflatable balloons for lighting is that of air inflatable balloons. Such balloons are much easier to manufacture and easier to handle than those previously described in the prior art because air is always present in an unrestricted amount. Of course, such balloons do not raise themselves from the ground, but are mounted on a suitable support rod, through which the electrical supply cable for the lighting and possibly also a pneumatic line to inflate the balloon at the beginning and possibly to maintain the optimum inflation pressure in the Balloon serves. The design advantage of air-inflated balloons over helium-filled balloons is, above all, that they can be made with ordinary fabrics (polyester or nylon) that are inexpensive and less buoyant when air impermeability is achieved by surface treatment, polyurethane coating, for example, to improve cost-effective fabrics suitable for use in inflatable balloons.

Typical of this type of balloon is that manufactured and sold under the name Sunglobe by the company Intercomm srl in 31030 Arcade (Tv) becomes. This balloon is fabricated and consists of a plurality of spines forming meridian lines along which the spines are joined together to form a substantially spherical body.

The problem with this balloon is to get absolutely airtight seams between the beads. According to the prior art, the spools are sewn together with the simplest technique with single or multiple seams with a thread. However, this solution does not allow to achieve sufficiently dense connection zones, so that the balloons thus produced tend to collapse over time, forcing the designer to provide a pump by means of which the internal pressure in the balloon is kept constant by pumping in fresh air.

Numerous in today's patent literature are the documents concerning inflatable balloons for lighting purposes. Here, by way of example only, is the French patent FR 717535 quoted from 1931, which shows an inflatable balloon in which it has already been attempted to solve the problem of the airtight closure of the grommet of the electric cable. Other examples of inflatable balloons, none of which, however, show the structure of the spine which characterizes the present invention, are disclosed in the patents US 4,463,513 . US 3,610,916 . USA 4'704'934 or DE 3015962 contain. The document US 2004/0042217 discloses the preamble of claim 1.

From the study of the known patent literature concerning the air or with an inert gas, which is lighter than air - inflatable balloons, which are provided with an internally mounted light source, as well as the production of such balloons, there is no teaching relating to the assembly of the spades, which form the spherical balloon, except that of sewing it along the edges. However, this system is not suitable, the required tightness of the substantially spherical body, the forming the balloon so that one is forced to take special precautions to keep the pressure in the balloon constant.

The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks of the above-mentioned prior art relating to inflatable lighting balloons consisting of individual interconnected fabric battens which together form a hollow body of substantially spherical shape.

This purpose is achieved by means of the present invention thanks to the properties according to the characterizing part of claim 1.

The assembly of the spools, which form the spherical body - in practice also called globe or ball - by means of a device for welding by high frequency (HF) makes it possible to effect the melting of at least one layer of thermoplastic material in an overlapping zone two adjacent spools is inserted, wherein the thermoplastic material of the intermediate layer may be a coating of the fabric which forms the spades of the balloon, or is present in a strip which is introduced into the overlapping and / or connecting zone during welding. In any event, such reflow of a layer of thermoplastic material allows for an absolutely airtight connection along the welds and between two adjacent fabric coils, thereby achieving the purpose of the present invention.

Further embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the attached drawings and are the subject of the dependent claims.

Fig. 1

Eine Gesamtansicht des erfindungsgemässen aufblasbaren Ballons mit seinen hauptsächlichen Komponenten,

Figuren 2 bis 5

Varianten der Hochfrequenz-Verschweissungsart für zwei benachbarte Spickel, wobei in den Figuren 2 und 3 eine Naht mit Überlappung der Spickel dargestellt ist, und in den Figuren 4 und 5 mit aneinandergelegten Spickeln und Verschweissung mittels eines Deckbandes,

Fig. 6

Eine Gesamtansicht einer Maschine zum Hochfrequenz-Verschweissen (HF) mit einem Stempel und einem Gegenstück, die der Bogenform des Spickels angepasst sind.

The present invention will be further described below with reference to the drawings; these show in the:

Fig. 1

An overall view of the inflatable balloon according to the invention with its main components,

FIGS. 2 to 5

Variants of Hochfrequenzverschweisungsart for two adjacent Spickel, wherein in the FIGS. 2 and 3 a seam with overlap of the spade is shown, and in the FIGS. 4 and 5 with adjoining spikes and welding by means of a shroud,

Fig. 6

An overall view of a high frequency welding (HF) machine with a punch and counterpart adapted to the arc shape of the spit.

In the Fig. 1 1 denotes the substantially spherical shape of the body which constitutes the actual inflatable balloon (often referred to in commercial brochures as a luminous globe or the like). According to the subject invention, the balloon 1 is filled with compressed air and, in contrast to the known helium-filled balloons, must therefore be supported by means of a supporting rod 2 which is supported on the ground, for example by means of a tripod 3 (or by any other attachment device). The rod 2 is preferably formed as a telescopic rod. In the interior of the balloon 1, a lighting fixture is housed (not shown in the figure) which illuminates the balloon 1 from the inside, which in turn can emit a diffused light in all directions - or only down if the balloon in the upper part with a equipped with a suitable reflective cap.

The device is, of course, provided with all the electrical and mechanical means required to supply air under a slight overpressure (which is a few millibars) and to supply the lighting fixture with electrical energy. All this corresponds to the known state of the art and is in brochures and instructions for use of the above-mentioned company Intercomm for the balloon Sunglobe detailed. Therefore, a more detailed description of the constructive details of the apparatus, for which reference is made to the cited documents, which contain a very detailed description of the inflatable balloon according to the invention, is unnecessary here. What, however, from the Fig. 1 As is important for the present invention is that the balloon 1 from individual coils 5, 5 ', 5 ", 5"', 5 ^iv , etc., which together along a meridian line 6, 6 ', 6 ", 6th '', etc., are connected. From the Fig. 1 It can also be seen that at the lower pole 4 of the balloon 1, a connecting disc 7 is present, in which all the spades 5, 5 ', 5 ", 5"', etc., converge. By means of this disc 7, the balloon 1 is attached substantially airtight to the support rod 2, which serves to support and power.

Thus, the present invention relates only to the interconnection of the fabric panels 5, 5 ', 5 ", 5"', etc., taking into account all the other characteristics of the inflatable luminous balloon apparatus known in the field and in the literature ,

Said compound is carried out according to the invention by the adjacent spokes 5, 5 ', 5 ", 5"', etc., along a meridian line 6, 6 ', 6 ", 6"', etc., are welded together by means of high frequency , This type of welding, which is known per se as the apparatus required for it, allows safe and rapid melting of at least one intermediate layer of thermoplastic material - as described in detail in the FIGS. 2 to 5 is shown - along a connecting and / or overlapping zone of two adjacent Spickel 5, 5 ', 5 ", 5"', etc. Thanks to this type of connection with high-frequency welding - according to the invention an intermediate layer of thermoplastic material must be present - it succeeds To obtain an absolutely airtight connection between two adjacent spiers, which gives the whole inflatable balloon the required property of absolute airtightness.

1. 1) Eine Zwischenschicht aus thermoplastischem Material muss längs einer Verbindungs- und/oder Überlappungszone zweier Spickel vorhanden sein, wobei Zwischenschicht zu verstehen ist als eine Schicht, die auf beiden Spickeln aufzuliegen kommt. Dies lässt sich auf verschiedene Arten erreichen, wie dies im Folgenden unter Bezugnahme auf einige in den Figuren 2 bis 5 dargestellten Beispiele erklärt wird.
2. 2) Die Verwendung von Hochfrequenz-Verschweissung wird mittels einer sogenannten "Hochfrequenz-Schweisspresse" bewerkstelligt, die von einem Hochfrequenzgenerator gespeist wird. Dabei handelt es sich um eine bekannte und in vielen Anwendungsbereichen verwendete Technologie, die jedoch in der Anwendung für die Herstellung leuchtender aufblasbarer Ballone, neu ist. Hinsichtlich der Konstruktion und Funktion einer solchen "Hochfrequenz-Schweisspresse" HF sei auf die umfangreiche Literatur verwiesen, die aus dem Internet und den einschlägigen Prospekten der verschiedenen Firmen, die solche Maschinen herstellen (siehe beispielsweise die Website http://www.heatwaves.nl/inhoud/dui/principe.html). Deshalb braucht die Erklärung dieser Technologie hier nicht verlängert zu werden, und kann auf den in der Fig. 6 dargestellten spezifischen Anwendungsfall beschränkt bleiben, der hier von besonderem Interesse ist.

For the realization of the present invention essentially two conditions must be met, namely:

1. 1) An intermediate layer of thermoplastic material must be present along a joining and / or overlapping zone of two chips, which intermediate layer is to be understood as a layer that comes to rest on both spiers. This can be achieved in various ways, as described below with reference to some in the FIGS. 2 to 5 explained examples is explained.
2. 2) The use of high frequency welding is accomplished by means of a so-called "high frequency welding press" powered by a high frequency generator. This is a well-known and widely used technology, but is new in the application of luminous inflatable balloons. With regard to the design and function of such a "high-frequency welding press" RF, reference should be made to the extensive literature available from the Internet and the relevant brochures of the various companies producing such machines (see, for example, the website http://www.heatwaves.nl /inhoud/dui/principe.html). Therefore, the explanation of this technology need not be extended here, and can be applied to the in the Fig. 6 specific application case, which is of particular interest here.

In the FIGS. 2 to 5 some preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown, in which the same elements (or components) are designated by the same reference numerals.

According to a first embodiment of the present invention, which is illustrated in all figures to 5, it is provided that the fabric 8, which forms the spars 5, 5 ', 5 ", 5"', etc., a fabric of polyester or Polyamide (nylon) is. Such fabrics are used today in countless applications in all fields and are very cost-effective. Especially their lower In the context of the present invention, price represents the most interesting aspect in comparison with that according to the known state of the art, according to which fabrics made of special fibers are used which cost much more (for example the Levaprene® from Bayer Leverkusen (DE), which in addition treated with Conti Vitroflex ® synthetic rubber, which is light and translucent, by the Conti Tech Elastomer Coatings GmbH in Northeim (DE) - see the website http://www.bayer.it/web/Bayer-IT.nsf/ Web Tutti / 54150 CE 46CB 0859 FC125DB000303717) -.

According to a further embodiment of the present invention, it is preferred that the thermoplastic intermediate layer 9 is a layer which covers the fabric 8 of the balloon 1 on its entire inner side (FIG. Fig. 2 ) and consists of a polyurethane film.

This solution is in the Fig. 2 in which the inside of the balloon is shown below (indicated by A as in the others FIGS. 3 to 5 ). The polyurethane film 9 has the advantage that it allows a cost-effective treatment of the fabric 8, the RF welding much easier and very resistant at low temperatures, such as occur when the balloon is used in the winter for night lighting a ski slope , In addition, the polyurethane is very resistant to mechanical friction because it has a high elasticity, which prevents cracking. Overall, it is to be regarded as an ideal material for a coating layer on the inner side of the tissue of the balloon, which is capable of making the balloon airtight and the high-frequency welding of the spades 5, 5 ', 5 ", 5"', etc. , to allow.

According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, incorporated in the FIGS. 3 and 4 is shown, it is provided that along the connecting and / or overlapping zone 10 of two adjacent chips 5, 5 'between the two fabric layers 8 for welding a strip 11 is made of polyester coated on at least one side with a polyurethane film 9. During the HF welding, the polyurethane film 9 melts and "sticks" airtight to the corresponding fabric 8, 8 'of the spout 5, 5' of the balloon 1.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, which in the Fig. 4 is shown, it is provided that on the outside B of the connecting and / the overlapping zone 10 of two adjacent spicers 5, 5 ', a polyester strip 12 is applied, which is provided on its side facing away from the ball B side with a polyurethane layer 9. Obviously, the advantage of this solution is that the presence of an "inner" polyester strip 11 and an "outer" polyester strip 12, each provided with interlayers of thermoplastic material 9, allows a "double" weld by the high frequency welding which ensures higher, if not double mechanical resistance and airtightness.

According to a further embodiment of the present invention, it is then provided that the layer 9, which lines the balloon on its inner side A, also has the property of strong light reflection. This property can be concentrated in particular in the upper part of the dome of the balloon 1, so that the light is reflected particularly downward.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is provided that the connecting and / or overlapping zone 10 of two adjacent chips 5, 5 'is between 1 and 3 cm wide, and preferably 2 cm wide. These dimensions ideally allow the production of inflatable balloons, which are absolutely airtight, and have a diameter of 80 cm to 3 m so that they cover most of the practical requirements for "provisional" lighting (events, construction sites, Places of road accidents).

A further preferred embodiment of the present invention then provides that the air in the balloon 1 is kept under constant pressure by means of a compressor (not shown), which - depending on the requirements - continuously or intermittently air through the support rod 2 and the connection 7 in the interior of the balloon 1 feeds. It is obvious that the better the balloon 1 is airtight, the smaller the need to restore the overpressure in the balloon 1. However, since no tissue remains 100% airtight over any length of time, and since no joints, and no matter how good, between the tissue or between tissue and for example the connection disc 7 can ensure absolute tightness, it makes sense to use a pump or to provide a compressor so that the pressure prevailing inside the balloon 1 pressure can be maintained. Of course, the use of this pump is reduced thanks to the present invention to an advantageous minimum, with all the advantages this entails.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, it is finally provided that the air pressure prevailing in the interior of the balloon 1 is maintained between 8 and 15 millibars: this is a very small value, which, however, has proved to be more than sufficient ensuring the perfect functioning of the balloon 1 according to the invention.

In the Fig. 6 Finally, only in the sense of additional information, an overall view of a high-frequency welding machine is shown. In this case, a lower punch 13 can be seen of convex curved shape, which corresponds to the shape of the meridian line of the spout 5 of the balloon 1 to be produced, and an upper punch 14, which has the same arc shape as the punch 13, but is concave: Between the two punches 13 and 14 are to be welded edges of the two spades 5 and 5 'inserted, and above or below these, at most, the strips 11 and / or 12 are inserted, as in connection with the in the Figures 3 until 5 shown embodiments has been described. The welding is then carried out under pressure, the two punches 13 and 14 are pressed against each other with high pressure, and using high-frequency electric current whose strength is adapted to the task. All of these details correspond to the state of the art and are familiar to the person skilled in the art, so that a more detailed description is not necessary here.

The advantage of the present invention is mainly that air-inflatable balloons can be inexpensively manufactured for lighting purposes because they are made of low-cost fabrics such as polyurethane-impregnated polyester or polyamide (nylon) and which ensure high air-tightness That the effort to keep the balloon always in perfectly inflated form, minimized.

List of reference numerals used in the figures

1

balloon

2

Stabilizer

3

tripod

4

Lower pole

5

Spickel

6

Meridian line

7

connecting disc

8th

tissue

9

Layer of thermoplastic material

10

overlap zone

11

Strip for welding

12

strip

13

Lower stamp

14

Upper stamp

Claims (9)

1. Balloon inflatable with compressed air having at its centre a source of illumination in the form of an electrical lamp and which consists of a plurality of gussets (5, 5', 5", etc.) which form meridians and are so connected to one another that they form an essentially spherical body, with the gussets (5, 5', 5", etc.) being manufactured from a particularly air impermeable fabric and with a connection disc (7) being present at the lower pole (4) of the sphere (1) at which all gussets (5, 5', 5", etc.) converge and which connects the balloon (1) in substantially airtight manner to a support rod (2),
   characterized in that
   the fabric gussets (5, 5', 5", etc.) are connected to one another along a meridian line (6, 6', 6", etc.) of the balloon (1) by means of highfrequency welding (HF) which ensures the melting of at least a thermoplastic intermediate layer along a connection zone and/or overlapping zone of two adjacent gussets (5, 5', 5", etc.) in such a manner that an airtight connection is ensured along the welded seams (6, 6', 6", etc.).
2. Inflatable balloon in accordance with claim 1,
   characterized in that
   the fabric (8), which forms the gussets (5, 5', 5", etc.), is a fabric of polyester or of polyamide (Nylon).
3. Inflatable balloon in accordance with the claims 1 or 2,
   characterized in that
   the thermoplastic intermediate layer (9) forms a layer which lines the fabric (8) of the balloon (1) at its inner side and consists of a polyurethane film.
4. Inflatable balloon in accordance with one of the preceding claims,
   characterized in that
   a welding strip (11) of polyester is laid along the connection zone and/or overlapping zone (10) of two adjacent gussets (5, 5', 5", etc.) between the two fabric layers (8, 8') and is coated at at least one of its sides with a polyurethane film (9).
5. Inflatable balloon in accordance with one of the preceding claims,
   characterized in that
   a strip (12) of polyester is also introduced onto the outer side (B) of the connection zone and/or overlapping zone (10) of two adjacent gussets (5, 5', 5", etc.), the strip being provided at its side (B) directed outwardly from the balloon (1) with a layer of polyurethane (9).
6. Inflatable balloon in accordance with claim 3,
   characterized in that
   the layer (9), which lines the balloon (1) at its inner side (A), also has the property of high light reflection.
7. Inflatable balloon in accordance with one of the preceding claims,
   characterized in that
   the width of the connection zone and/or overlapping zone (10) of two adjacent gussets (5, 5') lies between 1 and 3 cm and preferably amounts to 2 cm.
8. Inflatable balloon in accordance with one of the preceding claims,
   characterized in that
   the air in the interior of the balloon (1) is kept at constant pressure with the aid of a compressor which feeds air into the balloon without interruption or at times through the support rod (2) and the connection disc (7) - depending on the requirement.
9. Inflatable balloon in accordance with claim 1,
   characterized in that
   the air pressure in the interior of the balloon (1) is kept constant at a value of 8 to 15 millibar.

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