CA3167173A1 - Portable lighting grid for use in film and television to suspend luminaires overhead or vertically - Google Patents

Abstract

A lighting grid includes a pair of longitudinal straps with lateral straps perpendicularly connected therebetween at regularly-spaced intervals. The straps are formed by webbing and are sewn together at the joining interconnections with a grommet installed at each of these points. Elastic mounting loops are provided at regularly-spaced intervals along the longitudinal straps between the lateral straps. A lighting grid system is formed by inserting luminaries being tubular shaped light emitting diode (LED) strips into the mounting loops between the longitudinal straps. The size of the lighting grid system may be increased by attaching any desired number of separate grids together in either side-by-side or end-to-end configurations. The size may be decreased by folding the longitudinal straps over themselves and securing at aligned grommets. The lighting grid system can be mounted in either vertical or horizontal orientations, and optionally within a frame structure, by lines attached to the grommets.

Description

PORTABLE LIGHTING GRID FOR USE IN FILM AND TELEVISION TO

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(1) Field of the Invention [0001] The invention pertains generally to mounting lights in video production. More specifically, the invention relates to a portable lighting grid for use in the film and television industries to suspend luminaries (LED lights) overhead or vertically.

(2) Description of the Related Art [0002] Proper lighting is critical in video production for the film and television industries. The decisions made in the way to light a particular scene depend on the way the director wants the audience to feel. Both the mood and atmosphere of the story are affected by the lighting and proper lighting is critical in telling a story's narrative. A film that is poorly lit will not be well received by audiences regardless of how good the story.

[0003] There are many different types of lights, often referred to as luminaries, used on set. Light emitting diode (LED) luminaries are popular for a variety of reasons including their soft illumination, light weights and durability. For example, to create the impression of a particular view outside of a window on a film set, a picture of the desired view may be reproduced on a silk screen, which is hung outside the window frame. A number of LED luminaries may then be suspended behind the silk screen thereby brightening the reproduction of the picture as seen through the window so that the view appears as envisioned when filmed.

[0004] FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate so-called "ladder light" systems for suspending tubular luminaries according to the prior art. As illustrated, each ladder light system includes two downward-handing straps mounted to a ceiling structure. The downward-hanging straps have the desired number of tubular luminaries horizontally mounted therebetween such that the system has an appearance similar to a ladder. The straps may include loop attachments spaced every six to twelve inches for holding an end of a tubular luminary inserted through the loop. The user may select into which loops to insert luminaries depending on the scene requirements. The top of the ladder system may have an aluminum pole with mounting brackets for securing the top of the ladder light system to the ceiling or another surface above the ladder. To accommodate for a variety of scene lighting heights, the straps are generally a bit on the long side. The two straps Date Recue/Date Received 2022-07-11 hang downward and, depending on the height of the ceiling and the length of the straps, unused strap ends are coiled or otherwise positioned out of the way on the floor. As illustrated in FIG. 2, multiple ladder light systems may be mounted side-by-side such as to properly light a wide scene.

[0005] Although the prior art ladder light systems have many benefits for vertical light suspending applications, not all scenes require vertically suspended luminaries. For horizontal lighting requirements, other heavier single source lights mounted on cranes with solid fabric diffusion screens are typically used. The ladder light systems described above also perform poorly outdoors as they are susceptible to swinging due to wind. Lastly, even for indoor or low-wind outdoor vertical applications where the prior art ladder light systems are well-suited, the unused portion of the downward-hanging strap ends, even when coiled neatly on the floor, present a tripping hazard and tend to get snagged on wheels or other passing equipment during set changes.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention there is disclosed a ladder light grid system having two heavy duty webbing strips held together with laterally sown in horizontal webbing strips. Individual lights are held in place with heavy duty elastic loops, sown in every 6"
for versatility and grommets added throughout the length of the main webbing strip for easy attachment to pipes, trusses and ropes and other means of attachment. Grommets interspersed throughout the webbing ladder also allow for easy addition of more units in either direction to increase the size of the lighted area.

[0007] According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention there is disclosed a lighting grid including a pair of longitudinal straps with lateral straps perpendicularly connected therebetween at regularly-spaced intervals. The straps are formed by webbing and are sewn together at the joining interconnections with a grommet installed at each of these points.
Elastic mounting loops are provided at regularly-spaced intervals along the longitudinal straps between the lateral straps.
A lighting grid system is formed by inserting luminaries being tubular shaped light emitting diode (LED) strips into the mounting loops between the longitudinal straps. The size of the lighting grid system may be increased by attaching any desired number of separate grids together in either side-by-side or end-to-end configurations. The size may be decreased by folding the longitudinal straps over themselves and securing at aligned grommets. The lighting grid system can be Date Recue/Date Received 2022-07-11 mounted in either vertical or horizontal orientations, and optionally within a frame structure, by lines attached to the grommets on the outer perimeter of the grid.

[0008] According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, disclosed is a ladder light grid system and method of utilization thereof that is easily scalable, reduces weight, set up time and wind susceptibility in comparison to conventional lighting set-ups while increasing the physical size of the light source and retaining the desired diffused softness.

[0009] These and other advantages and embodiments of the present invention will no doubt become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of preferred embodiments illustrated in the various figures and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] The invention will be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings which represent preferred embodiments thereof:

[0011] FIG. 1 illustrates a ladder light system for vertically suspending tubular luminaries according to the prior art.

[0012] FIG. 2 illustrates a combination of two ladder light systems for vertically suspending tubular luminaries according to the prior art.

[0013] FIG. 3 illustrates a front view of a lighting grid according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0014] FIG. 4 illustrates a side view of the lighting grid of FIG. 3 according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0015] FIG. 5 illustrates a front view of a lighting grid system including the grid of FIG. 3 with a plurality of tubular LED luminaries installed in a corresponding plurality of the elastic mounting loops according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0016] FIG. 6 illustrates a side-view of lighting an outdoor scene vertically utilizing the lighting grid system of FIG. 5 according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0017] FIG. 7 illustrates a top-plan view of lighting an outdoor scene horizontally utilizing the lighting grid system of FIG. 5 according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0018] FIG. 8 shows a lighting grid system mounted within a frame structure for crane lift deployment according to an exemplary embodiment.

Date Recue/Date Received 2022-07-11

[0019] FIG. 9 illustrates how the frame structure may be lifted by a crane to provide horizontally-orientated light above a desired scene.

[0020] FIG. 10 illustrates a front view of a lighting grid with both lateral straps and diagonal straps according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0021] FIG. 11 illustrates a lighting grid system according to FIG. 5 being mounted in a vertical orientation from a ceiling structure with unused portions being folded upward according to an exemplary embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] FIG. 3 illustrates a front view of a lighting grid 30 according to an exemplary embodiment. The lighting grid 30 includes a pair of longitudinal straps 32 and a plurality of lateral straps 34 perpendicularly connected between the longitudinal straps 32 at regularly-spaced intervals. Both the top of the lighting grid 30 and the bottom of the lighting grid 30 includes a lateral strap 34 attached between the corresponding ends of the longitudinal straps 32. (The bottom portion of the grid 30 is not shown in FIG. 3 due to the indeterminate length of longitudinal straps 32 in this figure, but is later illustrated in the examples of FIGS. 6-8). The longitudinal and lateral straps 32, 34 are formed by a strong flat material such as webbing and are sewn together at the joining interconnection sections. A grommet 36 is disposed at each of the interconnections between the lateral straps 34 and the longitudinal straps 32, and a plurality of elastic mounting loops 38 are provided at regularly-spaced intervals along the longitudinal straps 32 between the lateral straps 34.

[0023] In an exemplary embodiment, the longitudinal straps 32 are 18' long, the lateral straps 34 are 40" long and a lateral strap 34 is connected every 4'6" along the longitudinal straps 32. The elastic mounting loops 38 are provided every 6" along the longitudinal straps 32. However, the respective lengths of the longitudinal straps 32 and the lateral straps 34 along with the other dimensions may be adjusted in different embodiments as desired.

[0024] FIG. 4 illustrates a side view of the lighting grid 30 of FIG. 3 according to an exemplary embodiment. As illustrated, the elastic mounting loops 38 on each longitudinal strap 32 are formed by an elastic material layered lengthwise along the longitudinal strap 32 with loops 38 formed by seam lines 40 sewn on the sides of each loop. In some embodiments, an optional silk diffusion screen 42 may also be attached on the front side to further soften the lightening;

Date Recue/Date Received 2022-07-11 however, in many embodiments, the silk diffusion screen 42 is not required by selecting appropriately soft-lighted LED luminaries for mounting in the elastic mounting loops 38.

[0025] FIG. 5 illustrates a front view of a lighting grid system 50 including the grid 30 with a plurality of tubular LED luminaries 52 installed in a corresponding plurality of the elastic mounting loops 38. Depending on scene lighting requirements, an operator may select into which elastic mounting loops 38 a luminary is inserted. The tubular luminaries may be custom made strips having length of about 44" to 46", for example, with a plurality of LEDs along the strip, and each LED having the desired luminosity, color, softness, and other appropriate qualities. The luminaries are electronically powered and controlled by signals flowing in one or more wires, and the one or more wires are connected back to a decoder/control panel/dimmer board etc. thereby allowing the lighting operator to selectively turn on and off individual ones of the mounted luminaries as required for the scene being filmed. As the electronics for powering and controlling the luminaries is already well known in the art, further description of these aspects is omitted herein for brevity.

[0026] The lighting grid 30 and associated system 50 as described above may be utilized in different orientations both indoors and outdoors. FIG. 6 illustrates a side-view of lighting an outdoor scene vertically utilizing the lighting grid system 50 of FIG. 5 according to an exemplary embodiment. In this example, the scene is being filmed in a forest area where it would be difficult to position a crane or other supporting structures. Instead, existing trees are utilized to support the lighting grid system 50 and hold it in a vertical orientation. A plurality of three lighting grid systems 50, each suspending a plurality of LED luminaries 52, are attached to one another in a side-by-side configuration. The grommets 36 facilitate attachment of multiple lighting grid systems 50 to one another utilizing straps, lines 60 or other attachments such as carabiners or combination thereof. Likewise, the grommets 36 on the outer sides are attached to lines 60 that extend around tree trunks 62. The lines 60 may be ratchet straps pulled tight to thereby hold the entire combination of lighting grid systems 50 at the desired height above the ground and at the desired angle relative to the ground.

[0027] FIG. 7 illustrates a top-plan view of lighting an outdoor scene horizontally utilizing the lighting grid system 50 of FIG. 5 according to an exemplary embodiment. This example shows how a horizontal lighting orientation can be beneficially effected with very simple rigging Date Recue/Date Received 2022-07-11 requirements in an area where a crane lift system would not be possible.
Again, a plurality of three lighting grid systems 50, each suspending a plurality of LED luminaries 52, are attached to one another in a side-by-side configuration. The grommets 36 in the middle facilitate attachment of these separate lighting grid systems 50 to one another utilizing straps, lines 60 or other attachments such as carabiners or combination thereof. The grommets 36 on the outer corners are again attached to lines 60 that extend around tree trunks 62, except this time the line on each end goes to a different tree trunk 62. Again, the lines may be ratchet straps pulled tight to thereby hold the entire combination of lighting grid systems 50 at the desired height above the ground and at the desired angle relative to the ground.

[0028] As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the lateral straps 34 provide lateral support through each of the three lighting grid systems 50 and protect the LED luminaries 52 mounted on each from experiencing any lateral pulling forces. Of course, although three lighting grid systems 50 are shown in side-by-side configurations in the above examples, any number of lighting grids 30 mounted together in either side-by-side or end-to-end configuration (or both) may be utilized in other embodiments. The lighting grid system 50 is beneficially very scalable to create combined lighting grids of any desired overall size.

[0029] FIG. 8 shows a lighting grid system 50 mounted within a frame structure 80 for crane lift deployment according to an exemplary embodiment. In situations where crane lift is possible, a tubular metal fame 80 may be formed of the desired overall lighting size. For instance, in some embodiments, the tubular metal frame 80 may be a square pipe frame with each side being 20' long. A plurality of lighting grid systems 50 are mounted side-by-side within the tubular frame 80. As illustrated, in this example, only the corner grommets 36 on each lighting grid system 50 are attached to the frame with lines 60 and provide sufficient support to hold each lighting grid system 50 taut within the frame 80. Again, ratchet straps may be utilized for the lines 60 to ensure a secure fit and prevent drooping. The frame 80 may be attached to the boom 82 of a crane for lifting purposes.

[0030] FIG. 9 illustrates how the frame structure 80 may be lifted by a crane 90 to provide horizontally-orientated light above a desired scene. Likewise, the angle of the frame 80 may be adjusted as desired by the crane operator to direct the light at other angles above and beside the scene. Beneficially, the lighting grid system 50 disclosed herein is lighter weight than an Date Recue/Date Received 2022-07-11 equivalent number of heavier single source lights mounted on cranes with solid fabric diffusion screens to provide equivalent lighting effects. Thus, lighter weight cranes 90 may be utilized to support the lighting grid systems 50 disclosed herein reducing costs.

[0031] As opposed to single source light systems where a solid diffusion screen is generally always required to soften the light, the LED luminaries supported by the lighting grid systems 50 disclosed herein may be selected to provide softer light and the diffusion screen may be completely eliminated in many cases. Elimination of the diffusion screen is particularly beneficial for outdoor filming in high wind conditions and also rainy conditions.
Deployments of the lighting grid system 50 without a diffusion screen allow wind to pass through the spaces between the straps and luminaries with very little impact on stability. Likewise, the lighting grid system 50 in horizontal configuration without diffusion screen does not collect rain water. By alleviating the concerns of wind and rain, the lighting grid systems 50 disclosed herein may be left up overnight or when not in use thereby reducing setup/tear down times and further reducing video production costs.

[0032] A method of utilizing the lighting grid 30 of FIG. 3 involves attaching a plurality of lighting grids 30 to each other in a side-by-side configuration as illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7 (and/or to each other in an end-to-end configuration in a similar manner), or attaching a plurality of lighting grids 30 to supporting bars within a frame structure 80 as illustrated in FIG. 8. The grids 30 are attached by securing lines 60 to the grommets 36. A plurality of luminaries 52 are inserted into the elastic mounting loops 38 and electrical wiring as appropriate is connected to the luminaries 52 and to any control units, decoders, dimmer boxes, etc. The combination of multiple lighting grid systems 50 with luminaries 52 installed and wired therein is then lifted into the desired position. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the lifting process may be done with additional lines 60 that lift the combined grid systems 50 upwards at the desired angle. This lifting process may be similar to lifting and supporting a tarp when camping by utilizing tree trunks or other available mounting points. Alternatively, for the frame 80 mounted embodiments such as that shown in FIG. 8, the frame structure 80 may be lifted and angled by a crane 90. The additional lines 60 holding the combined lighting grid system 50 in the desired position and angle may be pulled tight by the use of ratchet straps.

[0033] FIG. 10 illustrates a front view of a lighting grid with both lateral straps 34 and diagonal Date Recue/Date Received 2022-07-11 straps 100 according to an exemplary embodiment. This embodiment is very similar to that of FIG. 3 with a difference being the addition of two diagonal straps 100 forming an X-shape in the area between each of the lateral straps 34. These diagonal straps 100 provide additional support in the diagonal direction which can help avoid the lighting grid deforming its shape when being pulled by supporting lines 60 at angles other than lengthwise and lateral.

[0034] In addition to facilitating joining multiple lighting grids 30 and systems 50 in either side-by-side and/or end-to-end configurations and facilitating mounting lighting grids and systems 30, 50 joined in these manners in both vertical and horizontal configurations, the grommets 36 disposed in the lighting grids 30 can also be utilized to reduce the size of the lighting grid system 50 for both different applications and to increase on-set safety.

[0035] FIG. 11 illustrates a lighting grid system 50 according to FIG. 5 being mounted in a vertical orientation from a ceiling structure 110 similar to the orientation of the prior art ladder lights shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. However, unlike how the unused strap ends of the prior art ladder lights are coiled or otherwise placed on the floor, in FIG. lithe unused portion of the light grid is folded upward onto itself and attached at grommets 36 by one more carabiners 112 or other attachment. Beneficially, the length of the longitudinal straps 32 may be reduced by folding them back on themselves such that the grommets 36 on the unused end align with grommets 36 on the used portions of the straps 32. The aligned grommets 36 provide a convenient point of attachment thereby allowing securing the folded portion and preventing unused strapping from lying on the floor 114. Folding and attaching the unused portion of the lighting grid 30 in this manner is both quick to do and to undo. The folded lighted grid system 50 is better sized to accommodate the required space and avoids straps on the floor 114 that may be a tripping hazard.

[0036] The lighting grid system 50 may also include a storage container in some embodiments being rectangular box with upward opening lid. A single lighting grid system 50 such as shown in FIG. 5, optionally with luminaries 52 already installed, may be stored in its own storage container. The container has a width a bit greater than the length of the luminaries 52 (which themselves are a bit longer than the length of the lateral straps 34). The lighting grid system 50 is placed into the storage container bottom first and the longitudinal straps 32 are folded back and forth with the tubular luminaries 52 entering and being stored in the container parallel to the lengthwise direction of the container. In this way, it is simple for operators to store each lighting Date Recue/Date Received 2022-07-11 grid system 50 and quick to transport and deploy the systems 50 at different locations by simply pulling them from the top of the container in a ready-to-use configuration and placing them back into the container in the same configuration when finished. The lighting grid systems 50 disclosed herein are thus beneficially portable.

[0037] Although the invention has been described in connection with preferred embodiments, it should be understood that various modifications, additions and alterations may be made to the invention by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
For instance, although the above description has focused on using the lighting grids 30, systems 50 and associated methods for video production in the film and television industries, the lighting grids 30, systems 50 and methods disclosed herein may also be employed for supporting luminaries in other applications as well such as the live entertainment and photography industries. The steps of the method of utilizing the lighting grids 30 and systems 50 described above are not restricted to the exact order described, and, in other configurations, described steps may be omitted or other intermediate steps added. The above-described dimensions may be adjusted in other embodiments. Functions of single components may be separated into multiple components, or the functions of multiple components may be combined into a single component.
For instance, although the longitudinal straps 32 and the lateral straps 34 are described as being separate straps in the above that are sewn together, in other embodiments, the longitudinal and lateral straps 34 may be integral with one another and formed by a single piece of strapping during the manufacturing process. All combinations and permutations of the above-described features and embodiments may be utilized in conjunction with the invention.

Date Recue/Date Received 2022-07-11

Claims (3)

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. An apparatus as shown or described herein.

2. A system as shown or described herein.

3. A method as shown or described herein.