CH686740A5 - Lighting system. - Google Patents

Description

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TECHNICAL AREA

The present invention relates to the field of lighting technology. It relates to a lighting system comprising a plurality of electrically operated, light-emitting elements which are arranged in a spatially distributed manner and are supplied with current by two electrical lines in the form of flexible strands surrounded by an insulating jacket.

Such a lighting system is e.g. known from EP-A1 0 369 274 in connection with a busbar arrangement.

STATE OF THE ART

In lighting technology, in particular also for decorative purposes, fairy lights are often used, in which a plurality of light-emitting elements (glow lamps, incandescent lamps, LEDs or the like) are arranged at regular or irregular intervals along a two-core flexible cable. The elements are supplied with current at low voltage or mains voltage level via the cable, the individual elements usually being connected in parallel. The elements can either be non-detachably connected to the cable or can be designed to be pluggable, with either a base firmly connected to the cable being provided for receiving, or a multi-hole cable without a base being used, as described in the publication mentioned at the beginning.

A well-known application of such fairy lights is the decoration of Christmas or other trees. In this case, the light-emitting elements are usually designed as electrical candles. The fairy lights are wrapped spirally around the tree in order to distribute the light elements sufficiently evenly over the crown of the tree. While such a light decoration causes comparatively few problems in small trees, it is more difficult in large trees, in which the light elements have to be distributed over relatively large areas, and requires a considerable amount of time both for attachment and removal. Also in other cases, in which a large number of light points or sources must be distributed over a larger area with some uniformity, the use of light chains requires a greater effort, because the chains e.g. laid in a meander shape and the individual loops of the meander must be kept at a distance and fixed.

PRESENTATION OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a lighting system which is simple in construction, suitable for a wide variety of light sources and supply voltages and safe to use, and which is particularly simple

This enables the areal distribution of light sources even over larger areas.

The object is achieved in a lighting system of the type mentioned at the outset in that the electrical lines form a network with a plurality of nodes, in which nodes the two electrical lines run in close proximity to one another, and in that each of the light-emitting elements in one of the nodes arranged and connected to the two electrical lines there.

With the flexible light network according to the invention with its fixed mesh size and the light elements arranged in the network nodes, a predetermined but adaptable planar distribution of the light elements is obtained which, by laying out or throwing over the network, enables a decorative or lighting design of a (also larger) area in a particularly simple manner .

A first preferred embodiment of the lighting system according to the invention is characterized in that each of the light-emitting elements is held in a base arranged in the node, that the two electrical lines are guided through the base and contacted there for the purpose of drawing current for the respective light-emitting element , and that the light-emitting element is held interchangeably in its base. The mechanical and electrical structure of the network is greatly simplified by the use of the bases in the network nodes. In addition, the interchangeability of the elements ensures that the light density or the light configuration can be changed for the same knot density by deliberately omitting elements. For example, it is conceivable to implement different light patterns or figures with a basic network.

A second preferred embodiment of the lighting system according to the invention is characterized in that direct contacts are provided within each socket for the electrical connection between the light-emitting element and the two electrical lines, which have the light-emitting element at one end and one at the other end contact of the two electrical lines, and that the direct contacts for contacting the two electrical lines are each equipped with a contact tip, which contact tip pierces the insulating jacket of the electrical lines. Through the use of direct contacts with contact tips to pierce the insulating jacket, the number of components and the assembly effort for the network are minimized, on the one hand, and reliable contacting with simultaneously high electrical safety is achieved.

A first preferred embodiment variant of the base is characterized in that each base is composed of an upper base part and a lower base part, which parts can be connected to one another by connecting means, that in the lower base part there are conduit grooves for receiving and holding the lugs through the base.

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fenden electrical lines are provided; and that in the upper part of the base there are arranged as direct contacts perpendicular to the electrical lines, into which the light-emitting element can be inserted vertically from above, and which when assembling the upper part of the base and the lower part with their contact tips pierce the insulating jacket of the electrical lines underneath. With this base configuration, all light-emitting elements can be used that have contact pins that lead out on one side, e.g. Halogen lamps, pluggable light bulbs or LEDs. The light is mainly emitted to one side of the network.

A second preferred embodiment variant of the base is characterized in that each base is composed of a middle piece and a translucent upper and / or lower half-shell, that in the middle piece there are line grooves for receiving and holding the electrical lines running through the base, that in the middle piece between the grooves are also provided with a receptacle for the light-emitting element, and that contact springs are arranged in the center piece as direct contacts, between which the light-emitting element is held, and which with their contact tips pierce the insulating jacket of the adjacent electrical lines. With this base configuration, light-emitting elements such as Sofitel lamps are used, which are mainly held horizontally and emit their light on both sides of the network.

Further embodiments result from the dependent claims.

BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE FIGURES

The invention will be explained in more detail below on the basis of exemplary embodiments in connection with the figures. Show it

Figure 1 shows an embodiment of a light network operated with protective extra low voltage according to the invention.

2 shows an exemplary light-emitting element for the light network according to the invention in the form of a plug-in incandescent lamp;

3 shows in an enlarged detail the contacting of one of the electrical lines in the base according to FIG. 4;

4 shows the cross section through a base for the light network according to the invention in a first preferred embodiment, as is suitable for a lamp according to FIG. 2;

Fig. 5 in plan view the base of Figure 4 with the upper part (left half) and without the upper part (right half);

6 shows a top view of a base for the light network according to the invention in a second preferred embodiment variant (with the upper half shell removed); and

Fig. 7 shows the base of FIG. 6 in a perspective exploded view (without contact springs).

WAYS OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

In Fig. 1, an embodiment of a network according to the invention is shown in plan view. The network 1 is formed from two continuous electrical lines 3a (drawn with a solid line) and 3b (drawn with a dashed line), which are designed as flexible strands surrounded by an insulating jacket. The electrical lines 3a, b are laid in a wave-like or zigzag shape in such a way that they run at certain points in close proximity to one another and form nodes 2 there. A plurality of light-emitting elements 4, which are all connected in parallel, are arranged in the node 2 of the network 1. This type of circuit has the advantage that if one element fails, the other elements can continue to be operated without a fault. The nodes 2 can, depending on the application, all or only partially with such elements.

The network 1 shown is operated with protective extra-low voltage (e.g. 12 V or 24 V). In order to enable a connection to the normal 220 V network, a network transformer 7 is provided, which has a network line 8 and a corresponding network plug 9 on the primary side. On the secondary side, the network transformer 7 has two connection cables 6a, b, which can be connected to the electrical lines 3a, b of the network 1 by means of connection terminals 5a, b or the like. Instead of operating with a protective extra-low voltage and the associated galvanic isolation, operation directly on the 220 V network is also possible if the necessary safety regulations are observed with regard to the lines and the attachment of the light-emitting elements 4.

The network 1 is shown in a flat, expanded form in the figure. It goes without saying that the network can be brought into almost any other shape due to the flexible electrical lines 3a, b and in particular can be placed or thrown over spatial bodies such as spheres, cones, cylinders, cuboids or the like. The adaptation of the network 1 to such spatially extensive areas takes place the better, the softer the strand used for the network construction. It goes without saying that the mesh size of the net 1 can be varied within wide limits within the scope of the invention. In particular, it is also conceivable to provide a mesh size which varies within the network 1, in order to achieve an even better adaptation or a varying density of the light-emitting elements in certain applications. Furthermore, it is conceivable to provide several pairs of lines instead of the continuous two electrical lines 3a, b, which enable separate supply and thus control of certain parts of the network.

In principle, it is within the scope of the invention to route the electrical lines 3a, b within the network 1 in such a way that they intersect in the nodes 2 of the network. As indicated in Fig. 1, however, it is preferred to close the lines in this way

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lead that they do not cross in node 2, but only run in close proximity to each other. This type of cable routing, as is clear from the explanations below, simplifies the contacting and the arrangement of the light-emitting elements.

So that the two electrical lines 3a, b are held at the desired distance in the nodes 2, bases (15 in FIG. 4; 22 in FIG. 6) are provided on the nodes 2. Each of the light-emitting elements 4 is held in such a base. The two electrical lines 3; 3a, b are guided through the base and contacted there for the purpose of drawing current for the respective light-emitting element 4.

A first preferred embodiment variant of such a base is shown under reference number 15 together with an exemplary light-emitting element which can be used therein in FIGS. 2 to 5. Fig. 4 shows a cross section through the base 15. The base 15 consists of an upper base part 16 and a lower base part 17, which can be put together and connected to one another. The two base parts 16 and 17 are preferably made of an insulating, impact-resistant and weather-resistant plastic. In the example of FIG. 4, a screw 18 is used to connect the two parts. However, it is readily conceivable to provide a rivet instead of the screw 18, or to design the upper base part 16 and lower base part 17 in such a way that both are simply pressed against one another with corresponding during assembly Snap locking elements into each other (plastic clip connection technology). Finally, it is also possible to weld or glue the two base parts together.

In the lower base part 17, two line grooves 21a, b (21 in FIG. 3) are arranged in an arcuate and mirror-symmetrical manner to a central plane (see FIG. 5), in which the electrical lines 3a, b (3 in FIG. 3) are in the plane of the network 1 are performed. Spring-mounted contact sockets 19a, b (19 in FIG. 3), in which, for example, an incandescent lamp 10 of the type shown in FIG. 3, are embedded in the upper base part 16 as "direct contacts" above the line grooves 21a, b perpendicular to the electrical lines 3a, b. 2 shown type can be inserted with their contact pins 14a, b. The contact sockets 19a, b are provided at their lower ends with contact tips 20a, b (20 in FIG. 3) with which they pierce the insulating sheath of the electrical lines 3a, b when the base upper part 16 and base part 17 are joined and make contact with the strands underneath produce. This type of contacting is practically watertight. Additional protection is achieved by the base parts 16 and 17 which seal against the outside. For clarification, the type of contact described for a line 3 is shown enlarged again in FIG. 3. Of course, a bayonet or screw socket can be used instead of the two contact sockets 19a, b if the light-emitting element 4 is equipped with a corresponding foot.

Basically, the base 15 can be circular or square. For reasons of material savings, however, it is advantageous to provide for the base 15 the shape shown in FIG. 5, which realizes maximum support for the lines 3a, b with a minimum space requirement. The base 15 can also be made of transparent plastic in order to allow light emission on both sides of the network 1. When using the incandescent lamp 10 shown in FIG. 2, such a two-sided emission is only possible with difficulty because here the main emission direction from the incandescent filament 12 points upward through the lamp housing 11, while the downward light emission is impeded by the lamp base 13.

It goes without saying that, instead of the normal incandescent lamp 10, a flashing lamp, a halogen lamp or an LED can be inserted into the base 15. The light source itself can be used to create different colors for both incandescent lamps and LEDs. It is also conceivable, for example, to place a colored silicone cap over each base, which in addition to the color design also serves to protect the mechanical protection of the light-emitting element.

A second preferred embodiment variant of the base is shown under reference number 22 in FIGS. 6 and 7. The base 22 comprises - as can be seen in the exploded view in FIG. 7 - a disk-shaped middle piece 24 as well as an upper half-shell 25 and a lower half-shell 26, which are made of transparent plastic. In the middle piece 24 (as in the base part 17 of the base 15 from FIG. 4) arcuate cable grooves 29a, b are provided for guiding and holding the two electrical lines 3a, b (see the top view of the base 22 with the upper half shell 25 removed in FIG 6). A receptacle 30 for a light-emitting element, which in this example is designed as a sofa lamp 23, is arranged in the center piece 24 in the middle between the line grooves 29a, b. The sofa lamp 23 is held lying in the middle piece 24 and emits light through the transparent middle piece and the transparent half-shells 25 and 26 on both sides of the network 1.

The direct contact between the sofa lamp 23 and the lines 3a, b takes place by means of contact springs 27a, b, which are arranged in corresponding recesses in the center piece 24. The contact springs 27a, b are not shown in FIG. 7 for the sake of simplicity, but can be seen in a top view in FIG. 6. The contact springs 27a, b resiliently hold the sofa lamp 23 with their inner ends. Contact tips 28a, b are formed on their outer ends, by means of which they pierce the insulating jacket of the electrical lines 3a, b. Instead of being equipped with contact tips 28a, b, the contact springs 27a, b can of course also be equipped at their ends for the so-called clamping cutting technique, in which the electrical lines 3a, b are clamped into V-shaped contact pieces designed as knives on the inside. When together

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menbau the half-shells 25, 26 are pushed with their edge over the edge of the middle piece 24 and fastened there by clamping. For the free passage of the lines 3a, b in the assembled state, corresponding recesses are provided on the edges of the half-shells 25, 26.

Overall, the invention results in a lighting system which, in a simple and flexible manner, enables uniform distribution of light-emitting elements over a larger area, is at the same time safe to use, and permits the use of a wide variety of elements and supply voltages.

Claims (14)

Claims 1. Lighting system, comprising a plurality of electrically operated, light-emitting elements (4), which are arranged in a spatially distributed manner and are supplied with current by two electrical lines (3; 3a, b) in the form of flexible strands surrounded by an insulating jacket characterized in that the electrical lines (3; 3a, b) form a network (1) with a plurality of nodes (2), in which nodes (2) the two electrical lines (3; 3a, b) run in close proximity to one another , and that each of the light-emitting elements (4) is arranged in one of the nodes (2) and connected there to the two electrical lines (3; 3a, b). 2. Lighting system according to claim 1, characterized in that each of the light-emitting elements (4) is held in a base (15, 22) arranged in the node, and that the two electrical lines (3; 3a, b) through the base ( 15, 22) and are contacted there for the purpose of drawing current for the respective light-emitting element (4). 3. Lighting system according to claim 2, characterized in that the light-emitting element (4) in its base (15, 22) is held interchangeably. 4. Lighting system according to one of claims 2 and 3, characterized in that the two electrical lines (3; 3a, b) are cross-free and without interruption through the respective base (15, 22). 5. Lighting system according to one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that within each base (15, 22) for the electrical connection between the light-emitting element (4) and the two electrical lines (3; 3a, b) direct contacts (19; 19a, b; 27a, b) are provided which contact the light-emitting element (4) at one end and each of the two electrical lines (3; 3a, b) at their other end. 6. Lighting system according to claim 5, characterized in that the direct contacts (19; 19a, b; 27a, b) for contacting the two electrical lines (3; 3a, b) each with a contact tip (20; 20a, b; 28a, b) are equipped, which contact tip (20; 20a, b; 28a, b) penetrates the insulating jacket of the electrical lines (3; 3a, b). 7. Lighting system according to claim 6, characterized in that each base (15) is composed of an upper base part (16) and a lower base part (17), which parts (16, 17) can be connected to one another by connecting means that in the lower base part (17th ) Line grooves (21; 21a, b) are provided for receiving and holding the electrical lines (3; 3a, b) running through the base; and that in the base upper part (16) as direct contacts perpendicular to the electrical lines (3; 3a, b) are arranged contact sockets (19; 19a, b) into which the light-emitting element (4) can be inserted vertically from above, and which when assembling the base part (16) and base part (17) with their contact tips (20; 20a, b) penetrate the insulating jacket of the electrical lines (3; 3a, b) underneath. 8. Lighting system according to claim 7, characterized in that the connecting means comprise a screw (18). 9. Lighting system according to one of claims 8 and 9, characterized in that an element from the group of incandescent lamps, glow lamps, light-emitting diodes and halogen lamps, in particular an incandescent lamp (10), is used as the light-emitting element (4). 10. Lighting system according to claim 6, characterized in that each base (22) is composed of a central piece (24) and a translucent upper and / or lower half-shell (25 or 26), that in the central piece (24) conduit grooves (29a, b) for receiving and holding the electrical lines (3; 3a, b) running through the base (24), there is a receptacle (30) for the light-emitting element in the center piece (24) between the line grooves (29a, b) Element (4) is provided, and that contact springs (27a, b) lying as direct contacts are arranged in the middle piece (24), between which the light-emitting element (4) is held, and which with their contact tips (28a, b) the insulating jacket pierce the adjacent electrical lines (3; 3a, b). 11. Lighting system according to claim 10, characterized in that a Sofitten lamp (23) is used as the light-emitting element (4). 12. Lighting system according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the entire network (1) is knotted only from two continuous electrical lines (3a, b). 13. Lighting system according to one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the system is designed for protective extra-low voltage and can be connected to the mains voltage via a mains transformer (7). 14. Lighting system according to one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the system is designed for direct operation on the mains voltage. 5 10th 15 20th 25th 30th 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 5