EP2232127B1

EP2232127B1 - Battery powered lamp unit

Info

Publication number: EP2232127B1
Application number: EP09700434.5A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Robert Salter
Original assignee: Salter Tessa
Current assignee: SALTER TESSA; SALTER, ROBERT
Priority date: 2008-01-07
Filing date: 2009-01-07
Publication date: 2016-03-30
Anticipated expiration: 2029-01-07
Also published as: ES2567206T3; GB0800175D0; WO2009087369A1; EP2232127A1; GB2456173A

Description

BACKGROUND

a. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a portable battery powered lamp unit, for example a table lamp stand unit, a floor standing lamp unit or a pendant lamp unit.

b. Related Art

Lamp units are normally powered by mains electricity, typically at 110 VAC or 230 VAC. The lamp unit, which may be a lamp stand unit, will have a base for resting on a table, the floor or other supporting surface, and a mains power lead will extend from the base towards a plug for connection to a wall or floor power outlet. When the lamp unit is used in just one location, this does not present any real difficulties, as the power lead can be routed or concealed in such a way that this does not present any tripping hazard to passers by.
There may, however, be a problem when the lamp stand unit is a portable lamp unit to be used in a temporary location or in a remote location where there may not be convenient access to mains power. In such situations, a mains power lead may have to be run some distance to the lamp plug, which can present a tripping hazard. It may even not even be possible to use such a lamp unit if there is no mains power supply available.
Patent document EP 0 806 608 A2 discloses a lamp unit with mains power plug and a rechargeable battery powered emergency power supply provided in a base portion of the lamp for use when the main power fails. Patent document US 6,082,877 discloses a lamp unit having a rechargeable battery power supply in a lower portion of a base of the lamp.
Patent document US 6,082,877 discloses an indoor lamp having a base, an upright tube supported by the base and a tube top assembly at the top of the upright tube. The tube top assembly supports a circular vented member that in turn supports a translucent cone on which are provided a plurality of solar panels that are used to recharge rechargeable batteries. A plurality of rechargeable batteries is provided inside the upright tube. An upright fluorescent lamp is mounted above the circular vented member inside the translucent cone. The tube top assembly comprises two switches for operating the rechargeable batteries. One of the switches is an on/off switch for the lamp and the other switch is a photocell on/off switch. Solar energy captured by the solar panels is used to recharge the rechargeable batteries.
Patent document EP 1 686 312 A1 discloses a lamp having a base body at the top of which is mounted a head containing a rechargeable battery that powers light sources on the head. A lamp shade for the light sources is mounted directly on an upper side of the head, and a quick release attachment system is provided between the lower surface of the head and the top of the base body so that both the attached lampshade and head can be quickly and easily attached and detached from the base body.
It has therefore been proposed to integrate a portable lamp stand unit with a rechargeable battery power source, for example as disclosed in US 6,102,549 , in which a battery power pack is removeably housed within a lamp base. While this arrangement does provide the benefit of doing away with the mains power lead and concealing the battery in the base, which then provides a stable platform for the lamp unit, a number of other disadvantages remain. In particular, such a lamp unit must be specially manufactured for the purpose, as the base must house and conceal the battery. This adds considerably to the cost of such a specialist lamp unit, as compared with a conventional mains powered lamp unit, which can be mass produced for a wider market. The relatively high cost is a particular disadvantage in the entertainment industry dealing with temporary decorative or feature lamp units for placement on dining tables or other table tops. Although a restaurant may have fixed table locations and a set decoration scheme, in temporary venues such as marquees it may be necessary to offer a wide range of different types of table top lamp units or standing lamps. It has therefore hitherto been prohibitively expensive to provide a wide variety of different types of portable battery powered lamp stand units in such situations.
It is an object of the present invention to address these issues.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention, there is provided a portable battery powered lamp unit, comprising: a lamp support for supporting a lamp, the lamp support comprising a supporting mount; a lamp; a lamp shade, the lamp shade comprising a diffusing surround that at least partially surrounds the lamp for diffusing light from said lamp and a first supporting member being connected to the diffusing surround in order to support the diffusing surround, said lamp and lamp shade being supported by the lamp support; a rechargeable battery power supply including a battery for supplying electrical power to light the lamp, said battery being held within the lamp shade and being supported by the lamp support; and a second supporting member being connected to the lamp and to the rechargeable battery power supply in order to support the lamp and the rechargeable battery power supply, characterised in that the first and second supporting members are separate supporting members, each of said supporting members being separately connected to the supporting mount whereby the lamp shade, the lamp and the rechargeable battery power supply share the same supporting mount.
The lamp support may be a lamp stand support including a base for resting on a supporting surface, the lamp and lamp shade being supported above the base and connected to the base at that shared mount.
Alternatively, the lamp support may be a pendant lamp support including a hanging support, in which case the lamp and lamp shade are supported below the hanging support and connected to the hanging support at the shared mount.
Providing the battery within the lamp shade avoids the problem of having to design and manufacture a custom lamp base for housing the battery. Almost all lamp stand units, and many lamp pendant units, have a standardised mount for holding and supporting a lamp shade. The mount most commonly takes the form of an annular shoulder, for example near the upper end of a lamp stand support, for example a supporting post or pole, or other upright member. A hanging pendant fitting may have a similar shoulder, inverted in comparison with that of a lamp stand. The invention may make use of this feature by providing a matching connection means for physically connecting the lamp shade, lamp and battery to this mount. The invention can therefore greatly simplify the task of making a portable battery powered lamp unit, whether of the lamp stand type or pendant type. For example, an assembly can be formed from the lamp, diffusing lamp surround, rechargeable battery power supply and the first and second supporting members, each supporting member including a mounting collar or ring for physical connection to a ring support of a lamp stand. An existing mains powered lamp can therefore be modified by removing the mains wiring, and then connecting this assembly to the lamp shade mount within the hollow volume defined by the lamp shade.
Furthermore, because the assembly includes the battery power source, different assemblies can be mounted to different lamp stand supports, to create a wide variety of different designs of a portable battery powered lamp stands, either for use as table top lamps stand units or floor lamp stand units.
Therefore, also according to the invention, there is provided an assembly for fitting to a supporting mount of a lamp support, the assembly comprising: a lamp; a diffusing surround that at least partially surrounds the lamp in order to diffuse light from the lamp and a first supporting member for supporting the diffusing surround;
a rechargeable battery power supply including a battery for supplying electrical power to light the lamp; and a second supporting member being connected to the lamp and to the rechargeable battery power supply in order to support the lamp and the rechargeable battery power supply; characterised in that the first and second supporting members are separate supporting members and each supporting member has a separate mounting collar for physical connection to a common ring support of said supporting mount.
In the case of the assembly according to the invention, the lamp stand support may be a lamp support for any type of lamp unit, including a table-top lamp stand unit, a floor-standing lamp stand unit, or a pendant lamp unit which hangs downwards from a ceiling or an inverted supporting structure.
The lamp shade comprises a diffusing surround that at least partially surrounds the lamp in order to diffuse light from the lamp, and within the surround the first supporting member for supporting the diffusing surround. This supporting member is connected to the mount in order to support the diffusing surround.
The second supporting member may include an integrated common supporting feature to which both the battery and lamp are removeably mounted. For example, the battery may be removeably mounted above the supporting feature and the lamp may be removeably mounted below the supporting feature.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the lamp may be removeably held within a lamp socket which is inverted relative to the lamp support, which may be a lamp base or a hanging pendant fitting. Also, the battery may be positioned above the lamp. Preferably, downwardly facing surfaces above the lamp, which may include an underside of the battery, or a housing that holds electronics associated with the battery power supply, or a common supporting means for the lamp and battery, may be painted a white or reflective colour in order to help diffuse light downwards onto a supporting table or the floor. The invention therefore also provides the benefit that the battery power supply and arrangement for holding this within the lamp shade, need not unduly affect or reduce the amount of useful light provided by the lamp stand unit.
The lamp shade may include a protective upper cover, this cover covering over the battery power supply held within the lamp shade. One advantage of this is that this can help to visually conceal the battery, and so improve the appearance of the lamp strand unit. However, this is particularly useful if the portable battery powered lamp stand unit is to be used outside, in order to protect the battery power supply and lamp from rainfall. The protective upper cover may also advantageously diffuse light from the lamp upwards and/or downwards.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be further described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portable battery powered lamp stand unit comprising a lamp stand support to which an illumination unit according to a preferred embodiment of the invention has been fitted by means of a mounting collar on a ring support, the illumination unit including a lamp and rechargeable battery power supply;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of a portable battery powered lamp stand unit according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, incorporating the illumination unit of Figure 1 plus a lamp shade, which are both removeably mounted to the lamp stand support by means of separate mounting collars on the same ring support; and
Figures 3 and 4 are enlarged views of parts of the portable battery powered lamp stand unit of Figure 2, showing in more detail the components of the lamp stand unit and particularly the mounting collars.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Figure 1 shows a portable battery powered lamp stand unit 100 comprising a lamp stand support 2 to which an illumination unit 4 has been mounted. The lamp stand support 2 has a base 6 for resting on a table. The lamp stand support, which in this example includes a shaft or post 8, rises from the base 6 towards a top end 10 of the lamp stand support 2. The lamp stand support 2 has been converted from a conventional mains powered lamp stand support, which originally had a mains cable leading from the base 6 up through a channel in the post 8 (not shown) towards a light bulb socket (also not shown) in a generally cylindrical the top end 10 of the stand. For safety, the cable has been removed, and the original bulb socket filled in.
With reference now also to Figures 2, 3 and 4, the invention makes use of connection means 9 that was provided in the original lamp stand unit for connecting a lamp shade 12 to the lamp stand support 2. Here, the same connection means 9 is used to connect the illumination unit 4 to the lamp stand support 2 within the hollow volume of the lamp shade 12 and so form a portable battery powered lamp stand unit 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. Here, the connection means 9 is formed from an annular mounting ledge 14 that extends in a horizontal plane around the generally cylindrical top end 10 of the post 8, together with a threaded locking ring 16 that is screwed down over matching threads 18 around the top end 10 of the post 8, in order to hold suitable mounting features of the illumination unit 4 and lamp shade 12, described in more detail below.
The illumination unit 4 includes a supporting member 20 that has a generally triangular outline formed by metal wire framework 21 that terminates at a lower end with a metal mounting collar 22. When the illumination unit 4 is to be assembled to the lamp stand support 2, the mounting collar 22 is passed over the threads 18 at the top end 10 of the post and then held on the ledge 14 until the locking ring 16 is threaded over the threads 18 to clamp the metal mounting collar 22 between the locking ring and the ledge. The mounting ledge 14 therefore serves as a ring support for the mounting collar 22. If there is ever any need to remove the illumination unit 4 from the post 8, then this process can readily be reversed.
The illumination unit 4 includes an efficient compact fluorescent lamp 24 powered by a rechargeable battery power supply 26. Both the lamp 24 and the battery power supply 26 are held within the volume defined by a cylindrical hollow diffuser 36 of the lamp shade 12 by the supporting member 20. Both the lamp 24 and the battery power supply 26 are also removeably mounted to the supporting member 20, which includes an integrated supporting feature 28, here formed by an inverted lamp socket 30 and a battery connection plate 32. In use, the socket 30 is beneath the connection plate 32, so that the lamp 24 plugs into the socket 30 from underneath and the rechargeable battery power supply 26 plugs onto a connection socket (not shown) on the connection plate 32 from above. This provides the benefit that light from the lamp 24 is directed substantially downwards, where it is most useful, while ready access may be had from above when the battery 26 needs to be removed for recharging or replacement with a fresh battery.
In order to provide a useful amount of light between recharges, the rechargeable battery power supply 26 should ideally have a capacity of between about 9 Ah and 11 Ah. To achieve this, the battery power supply may incorporate different types of battery, one example of which would be a lithium ion battery made by Panasonic Corporation under part number CGR18650CF, which has a rated capacity of 2.25 Ah. A battery pack containing five of such batteries, plus associated electronics for handling recharging, would be about 25 mm thick and 195 mm square. The output voltage generated by such a lithium-ion battery pack is initially 12.6 volts, decreasing to 8.25 volts at end of discharge.
When the battery power supply 26 is to be recharged, this can be done up to 80% capacity within about 3.9 hours, and 100% capacity within about 6 hours.
An on/off switch (not shown) for the lamp 24 may be provided on an externally accessible part of the battery 26 or mounting plate 32, or alternatively the battery may be controlled by a radio remote control if a suitable radio receiver and control electronics are included in the battery power supply 26.
Not on by the illumination unit can be used affixed to the lamp stand support 2 on its own, it but also the lamp shade 12 is attached to the lamp stand support. The lamp shade 12 includes a supporting member 34 that is separate from the supporting member 20 of the illumination unit 4. Here, the lamp shade supporting member 34 includes a framework of three metal wires 35 that extend radially between the cylindrical light diffuser 36 and a metal lamp shade mounting collar 38 that is separate from the metal mounting collar 22 of the illumination unit supporting member 20.
The lamp shade mounting collar 38 has the same internal diameter as the illumination unit mounting collar 22, and is fitted over the threaded end 10 of the post 8 prior to the fitting of the illumination unit collar 22, after which the locking ring 16 is screwed down to connect both the lamp shade 12 and illumination unit 4 in place on the annular mount 14 of the post 8.
Although in the example disclosed above the lamp diffusing surround 36 of the lamp shade 12 extends fully around the circumference of the lamp 24, it may be desirable in some applications for the diffusing surround to extend only partially around the lamp, for example if the lamp shade 12 is to be used against a wall.
An advantage of the separate supporting members 20, 34 and collars 22, 38 is that there may be no need to modify an existing lamp shade. Also, different lamp shades may be used with the same illumination unit, making it easier to provide battery powered lamp stand units having different appearances. However, the design described above and shown in the drawings may be modified to use a common supporting framework by which the diffusing surround, battery and lamp are supported by the mount on the lamp stand support.
As described above, the invention makes use of the space above the lamp for housing a flat profile battery. The battery is secured in a horizontal plane, and does not affect or limit the amount of light delivered in a downwards direction. Optionally, a covering may be provided above the battery, which can be useful if the battery powered lamp is to be used outside. The covering may be provided by an integral diffuser that extends circumferentially around and over the illumination unit 4, or may be a separate or removable cover, which can be useful when gaining access to replace a discharged battery power supply. Such a covering may also be desirable in order to conceal visually the battery power supply.
The efficiency of the lamp in delivering light in a downwards direction is enhanced by the orientation of the lamp socket and lamp, which are inverted as compared with the normal orientation of most types of free standing lamp unit. In order to direct more useful illumination downwards, it is preferred if under-surfaces of the integrated supporting feature 28 are provided with a finish that reflects or scatters most incident light downwards.
The invention avoids the need to modify the lamp base 6 to house the battery power supply 26 by housing the battery within the hollow volume of the lamp shade 12. However, in order to ensure stability of the portable battery powered lamp stand 1 described above, it will be necessary to select a lamp having a base with a suitably wide footprint. The centre of gravity of the illumination unit 4 should also ideally be centered above the lamp base 6.
The invention also avoids a number of inconveniences associated with housing the battery in the base of a portable lamp unit. For example, here is no need to run power cabling inside a hollow up stand of the lamp support.
The use of a shared mounting support for both the lamp shade and the battery, and particularly the used of a common ring support (i.e. the same ring support), simplifies the construction of the lamp unit, and means that existing mains powered lamp units can readily be adapted to make use of the invention.
It should be noted that although the invention has been described with reference to a lamp stand support, the assembly comprising the lamp (with or without the diffusing surround), rechargeable battery power supply and supporting member may be adapted for use with other types of lamp support, particularly a pendant type lamp (not shown) having a pendant lamp support including a hanging pendant fitting. The collar could then mount to a downward-facing ring shaped supporting surface, being secured for example with a locking ring screwed to a threaded rod. In this case, the battery power supply would cast a shadow downwards, but this may be acceptable if the lamp assembly is to be used as an uplighter against a ceiling or other reflective or light-scattering surface above the lamp assembly. The invention can therefore be adapted for use with a wide range of existing pendant type supports having such an arrangement for holding a conventional pendant lamp shade.
The invention therefore provides a convenient, economical and adaptable portable battery powered lamp stand and also an assembly for fitting to a lamp support, with or without a surrounding lamp shade.

Claims

A portable battery powered lamp unit (100), comprising:
- a lamp support (2) for supporting a lamp (24), the lamp support (2) comprising a supporting mount (14, 16);

- a lamp (24);

- a lamp shade (12), the lamp shade (12) comprising a diffusing surround (36) that at least partially surrounds the lamp (24) for diffusing light from said lamp (24) and a first supporting member (34) being connected to the diffusing surround (36) in order to support the diffusing surround (36), said lamp (24) and lamp shade (12) being supported by the lamp support (2);

- a rechargeable battery power supply (26) including a battery for supplying electrical power to light the lamp (24), said battery being held within the lamp shade (12) and being supported by the lamp support (2); and

- a second supporting member (20) being connected to the lamp (24) and to the rechargeable battery power supply (26) in order to support the lamp (24) and the rechargeable battery power supply (26),
characterised in that the first and second supporting members (34, 20) are separate supporting members, each of said supporting members (34, 20) being separately connected to the supporting mount (14, 16) whereby the lamp shade (12), the lamp (24) and the rechargeable battery power supply (26) share the same supporting mount (14,16).
A portable battery powered lamp unit (100) as claimed in Claim 1, in which the lamp support is a lamp stand support (2) including a base (6) for resting on a supporting surface, said lamp (24) and lamp shade (12) being supported above the base and connected to the base at said shared mount (14,16).
A portable battery powered lamp unit (100) as claimed in Claim 1, in which the lamp support is a pendant lamp support including a hanging support and said lamp and lamp shade are supported below the hanging support and connected to the hanging support at said shared mount.
A portable battery powered lamp unit (100) as claimed in any preceding claim, in which said second supporting member (20) is within the diffusing surround of the lamp shade.
A portable battery powered lamp unit (100) as claimed in Claim 4, in which said second supporting member (20) includes an integrated supporting feature (28) to which both the battery and lamp (24) are removeably mounted.
A portable battery powered lamp unit (100) as claimed in Claim 5, when dependent from Claim 2, in which the battery is removeably mounted above said integrated supporting feature (28) and the lamp (24) is removeably mounted below said integrated supporting feature.
A portable battery powered lamp unit (100) as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the lamp (24) is removeably held within a lamp socket (30), said socket being inverted relative to the lamp support (2).
A portable battery powered lamp unit (100) as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the lamp (24) is positioned between the battery and the shared mount (14,16).
A portable battery powered lamp unit (100) as claimed in any preceding claim, in which said shared mount (14,16) includes an annular ledge (14) on a supporting shaft (8).
A portable battery powered lamp unit (100) as claimed in Claim 9, in which said shared mount (14,16) includes a locking ring (16) that is secured around the supporting shaft (8) in order to connect the second supporting member (34) to said shared mount.
An assembly (4) for fitting to a supporting mount (14, 16) of a lamp support (2), the assembly comprising:
- a lamp (24);

- a diffusing surround (36) that at least partially surrounds the lamp (24) in order to diffuse light from the lamp (24) and a first supporting member (34) for supporting the diffusing surround (36);

- a rechargeable battery power supply (26) including a battery for supplying electrical power to light the lamp (24); and

- a second supporting member (20) being connected to the lamp (24) and to the rechargeable battery power supply (26) in order to support the lamp (24) and the rechargeable battery power supply (26);
characterised in that the first and second supporting members (34, 20) are separate supporting members and each supporting member has a separate mounting collar (38, 22) for physical connection to a common ring support (14,16) of said supporting mount (14,16).