DK176565B1 - Furniture legs with light - Google Patents

Description

s DK 176565 B1

FURNITURE BENCH WITH LIGHT

The invention relates to a piece of furniture which is intended to stand on a floor of furniture legs, which furniture is equipped with light. The invention further relates to a method for illuminating a floor area around a piece of furniture.

Background

Proper lighting is of great importance to the well-being and functionality of people, and the way the light falls, its intensity and composition affect 10 people, both subconsciously and consciously. Therefore, lamps and light sources have been developed for a number of special purposes, locations and situations, thus also lamps or lights for placement on or lighting of furniture.

In connection with lighting in bedrooms and around beds, in addition to 15 a general lighting of the room is often needed or desired for light immediately near the bed, which is suitable for, for example, reading in bed. Furthermore, a night light is often needed in the room, partly in the form of a night light to give especially younger children a sufficiently safe feeling to fall asleep or just be alone in bed, and partly in the form of orientation lights.

20 The latter type of light is convenient for orienting yourself in the room at night if you have to get up and out of bed, for example to go to the toilet, comfort crying children, stretch legs or the like. For these purposes, numerous night lights for various locations have been developed preferably on the bed or in the immediate vicinity thereof. However, a variety of disadvantages are associated with the 25 known forms of night lighting.

With ordinary bedside lamps either placed on the wall, on the bed or the like, the person is exposed to the same amount of light in the bed as in the room, so the light must be switched off so as not to interfere with the bedroom or the night's sleep. Conversely, the light must be turned on in order to orientate it, which can be an extremely troublesome act in the half-sleep state and in the dark. Also, multiple switches for the same light are needed if this is to be used to find the bed when entering the room.

5 In addition, various night-light lamps are placed on the floor under the bed or fixed under the bed. However, these are disadvantageous by partly requiring some space and making cleaning difficult and partly by being naturally prevented from being able to radiate in all directions, since they are covered to some extent by the bed. On the other hand, other lamps, which are placed further on the bed, for example on the bed legs, are problematic by being exposed to shock and in part illuminating the room to a nuisance to a sleeping or sleeping person in the bed.

OBJECT AND DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION It is the object of the invention to provide an ideal lighting primarily for bedrooms which can provide an optimal orientation light without bothering a person in bed, thus avoiding the above problems.

The present invention thus relates to a furniture leg with light for a furniture adapted to stand on a floor, the furniture leg, oriented as in mounted condition on the furniture, comprises at least one disc at least partially of a transparent material mounted under the furniture leg and at least a light source is also placed under the furniture leg so that the light source is partially or completely shielded upwards by the furniture leg and can light out through the disc in directions over the floor.

This provides an optimal night light when the furniture leg is mounted on a piece of furniture. In part, the lighting can serve to soothe children without disturbing their sleep and sleep, as the floor area of the room will be lit 30, but in such a way that a person in bed will not be able to see the lighting. The light is also advantageous by being an optimal orientation light, as the floor surface is illuminated, as are the longest protruding elements and any objects on the floor. Although the light according to the invention is placed freely exposed and can radiate freely in almost all directions 360 degrees, the light is simultaneously encased in material and therefore constitutes a robust lamp which cannot be easily damaged. In the placement of the lighting according to the invention, the light is integrated into the furniture, thereby obtaining the advantage of avoiding extras under the furniture, which is an advantage of considerably facilitating cleaning under the furniture. At the same time, the area under the furniture is illuminated, making it easier to see dust and dirt, which will allow cleaning under the furniture 10 to be performed better and more thoroughly.

In one embodiment of the invention, the at least one light source emits light at approximately 360 degrees around the furniture leg. This ensures that the entire floor area around each piece of furniture is illuminated, so that one can orient to 15 all sides.

Another embodiment relates to a furniture leg according to the above, wherein the at least one disc is made of plexiglass or glass. These materials are advantageous by being cheap as well as being able to carry a large weight from furniture-20 easily.

In yet another embodiment, the at least one light source is located wholly or partially in a cavity of the at least one disc.

Another embodiment further comprises a sensor located below the at least one disk, which measures gravity changes and which measurements are used to control the brightness of the at least one light source. This is advantageous in that the lighting can be easily and quickly adjusted to the current need without a user having to find a contact.

30 4 DK 176565 B1

Another embodiment discloses a furniture leg according to the above and further comprising at least one layer of heat insulating or reflective material placed under the at least one transparent plate. This ensures that the floor on which the furniture leg is placed will not be damaged by any heat generation from the light sources. At the same time, such a heat insulating or reflective material layer will not be visible at a location as described above, and thus the visual effect of the lighting in the furniture legs will not be disturbed.

An embodiment further relates to a furniture leg where the at least one light source emits UV light. This is advantageous as UV light kills bacteria and house dust mites. House dust mites are found in large numbers especially in bed environments, so lighting with UV light just under the bed can limit the problem of allergy caused by house dust mites.

The present invention further relates to a furniture with light arranged to stand on a floor, the furniture comprising at least one furniture leg according to one or more of the aforementioned elements. The benefits are as mentioned above.

The present invention further relates to a method of illuminating a floor area around a piece of furniture with at least one piece of furniture, wherein at least one disc is mounted at least partially of a transparent material under the at least one piece of furniture and at least one light source is placed below the at least one piece of furniture. so that the light source is completely or partially shielded upwards by the furniture leg, and 25 where the light source is caused to illuminate through the disc in directions across the floor. The advantages hereof are as mentioned above for a furniture leg with light.

Finally, the invention includes a method for illuminating a floor area as described above and further comprising placing at least one sensor 30 under the at least one disk, measuring gravity changes with the at least one sensor, which measurements are used to control the at least one sensor. brightness of one light source.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 5 In the following, the invention is described with reference to the figures, in which figure 1 shows a bed with light in the bed legs according to the invention, figure 2 shows an embodiment of a light source in a furniture leg as seen from the side and 10 from below, figure 3-4 shows Figure 5 shows a light source in a furniture leg with a general orientation light and a directional guide light.

Description of Embodiments

Figure 1 shows a bed 100 with built-in lighting according to the invention. On each of the bed legs 101 is located at the bottom just above floor level 104 a light source 102. The foot 103 itself on the bed leg 101 is constructed of a metal or wooden disc 201, under which is mounted a plexiglass plate 202, in which there is an LED 102. This is shown in FIG. greater detail in Figure 2. The plexiglass plate 202 has a smaller diameter than the metal disk 201, which means that the plexiglass plate 202 is not immediately visible (covered by the metal disk) and that it looks 25 as if the bed 100 hovers above the ground 104. This effect is enhanced by the light as illustrated in Figure 1. This type of lighting is particularly advantageous by providing a light around the furniture, but only at a relatively small height above floor level 104. This means that the bed and the floor around it are nicely lit and clear to a a person who is around a distance from the furniture, but at the same time the light 30 cannot be seen from above the bed. Thus, the lighting will not interfere with a person in bed, so it is not necessary to switch off the light to fall asleep. At the same time, when the person sits up in bed, the floor and any items on the floor within a certain distance of the bed (depending on the brightness used) will be finely lit, which means that the person without first having to find a light switch without any problems easily 5 can orient themselves, find his slippers, the way to the door, cot etc. Furthermore, the placement of light in the bed feet is advantageous by preventing the person from hitting the bed legs, which often causes injury and pain in the feet and toes.

10 A more detailed embodiment of the lighting according to the invention is shown in Figure 2, where a single bed leg 101 is seen partly from the side to the left and from the bottom to the right in the figure. As mentioned above, underneath the bed leg is mounted a plate or disc 202 of a slightly smaller dimension 203 than the end of the bed foot 103 above and with a relatively small height 204 in the order of 5-30 mm. The disc 202 is made of plexiglass or other material which is to some extent transparent. The disc could also be made of glass. Furthermore, one or more light sources 102 are mounted either directly above the disk in a cavity in the underside of the bed base 103 or fully or partially down in the disk 203, whereby the light flows out through the disk and beyond the floor around the leg. In one embodiment, the light source illuminates in the majority of 360 degrees around the bed leg through the transparent material. Upwards, the light source is shielded by the bedbone. The light source or light sources are preferably loosely placed in the bed leg or disk so that they can be replaced as needed, but they can also be embedded in the disk 203. The disk of the transparent material may also be formed as a ring with the light source located more or less down the cavity. . This allows the light source to be changed if necessary without having to remove the disc first.

In yet another embodiment, a pressure sensor 205 is positioned on the underside 30 of the transparent plate 202 and thus between the furniture 100 and the floor 104.

This sensor 205 detects changes in the load on the bed 100 and 7 thus can detect whether a person is lying in bed or not or whether the weight changes, corresponding to a person having sat up in bed. This information is used to regulate and control the lighting so that the light is turned on or adjusted as soon as the person sets up or gets up and similarly turns off or dim when the person is asleep.

The power supply 206 to the light sources and wires for any pressure sensors in the furniture legs are routed either inside the legs if they are hollow, or along the legs 101 up under the bed 100. Here, the wires 206 can be assembled and 10, for example, fed directly to an electrical outlet or fed to a motor. for adjusting the bed's backrest, etc.

The design of the furniture leg itself and the way it is mounted on the furniture is not of importance to the invention. The lighting of the present invention is likewise not limited to beds and legs thereof, but can equally be used on other types of furniture or objects and in rooms other than bedrooms such as under door edges, on table legs, in hospital rooms etc.

The plexiglass disc 202 can be mounted on the furniture leg 101 in different ways, and two embodiments are outlined in Figures 3 and 4, both of which are advantageous in that the disc 202 can be easily removed if, for example, a light source 102 is to be replaced. In Figure 3, the transparent disc 202 is simply screwed up into the underside 301 of the furniture leg 101 by a plurality of screws 302.

The disc 202 can also be threaded 401 and screwed into a corresponding thread in the bed leg. This embodiment is advantageous by being able to easily adjust the length of the individual furniture legs in such a way that the furniture can be adapted to an uneven or sloping floor 104.

As mentioned earlier, the disc 202 is made of a material which light can shine through, for example, plexiglass or clear glass. The disc may also be colored to achieve illumination with specific wavelengths.

8 DK 176565 B1 Similarly, the light sources used 102 may be selected based on special wishes for light composition (color of light, 'hard' or 'soft' light) and / or intensity. A light source with minimal heat generation is advantageous by not damaging the floor 104 or the surface on which the bed leg 101 stands. For the same reason, in one embodiment of the invention, a material layer 303 having light reflective or insulating properties is placed below the transparent plate so that the light is either reflected away from the floor or so that the heat from the light does not reach down to the floor 104.

In one embodiment, UV light is used, which is advantageous in having the effect of killing bacteria. Likewise, UV light is also believed to significantly impair the living conditions of house dust mites. Allergy to house dust mites is a widespread allergy that affects about 10-15% of the adult population.

15 Household dust mites are found especially in large numbers in linens and mattresses, and where it is hot and humid. Lighting with UV light across the floor under the bed can therefore significantly reduce the number of house dust mites, thereby reducing the risk of developing house dust allergy as well as limiting the genes if the allergy has been developed.

Fig. 5 illustrates yet another embodiment of the illumination, in which general light 505 around the entire bed leg 101, as previously described, is supplemented by an additional light source 501 which emits light primarily concentrated in a particular direction (but still across the floor 104) and can be individually oriented as needed. This is achieved by mounting an additional light source 501 under the furniture leg, which is shielded except in a limited angular range 502. The angle range can be set by rotating the plate in which the additional light source is mounted, together with the light source 501 as illustrated by arrow 503. Alternatively, the additional light source 501 sits approximately centrally and only the shielding thereof is rotated, and thus the direction of the emitted light from the additional light source. For example, the directional light can be set to and advantageously by showing the way from the furniture and, for example, to the door to the room, so that in addition to the general lighting 505 of the floor 104 and objects around the furniture 100 as well as the furniture legs 101 itself obtains a guide that extends further into space.

5

It is to be understood that the invention, as disclosed in the present description and figures, may be modified or altered and continue to be included in the scope of protection of the claims below.

Claims (11)

A furniture leg with light for a furniture arranged to stand on a floor, said furniture leg, oriented as in the mounted state on the furniture, characterized in that at least 5 comprises a disc at least partially of a transparent material mounted under the furniture leg and at least a light source is also placed under the furniture leg so that the light source is partially or completely shielded upwards by the furniture leg and can light out through the slab in directions across the floor. A furniture leg according to claim 1, wherein the at least one light source emits light at approximately 360 degrees around the furniture leg. A furniture leg according to one or more of claims 1-2, wherein the at least one disc is made of plexiglass or glass. 15 A furniture leg according to one or more of claims 1-3, wherein the at least one light source is located wholly or partially in a cavity in the at least one disc. A furniture leg according to one or more of claims 1-4 further comprising a 20 sensor located below the at least one disk, which measures gravity changes and which measurements are used to control the brightness of the at least one light source. A furniture leg according to one or more of claims 1 to 5 further comprising at least one layer of heat insulating material placed below the at least one transparent plate. A furniture leg according to one or more of claims 1-6, further comprising at least one layer of reflective material placed below the at least one transparent plate. 11 DK 176565 B1 A furniture leg according to one or more of claims 1-7, wherein the at least one light source emits UV light. A furniture with light arranged to stand on a floor characterized by comprising at least one furniture leg according to one or more of claims 1-8. A method of illuminating a floor area around a piece of furniture with at least one piece of furniture where at least one disc is mounted at least partially of a transparent material under at least one piece of furniture and at least one light source is placed below at least one piece of furniture, thus that the light source is completely or partially shielded upwards by the furniture leg, and where the light source is caused to illuminate through the disc in directions across the floor. A method of illuminating a floor area according to claim 10 further comprising placing at least one sensor below the at least one disk, measuring gravity changes with the at least one sensor, which measurements are used to control the brightness of the at least one light source.