GB2470719A

GB2470719A - Luminous panel for furniture with recessed channel

Info

Publication number: GB2470719A
Application number: GB0909276A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Katherine Hoeger
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2009-06-01
Filing date: 2009-06-01
Publication date: 2010-12-08
Also published as: GB0909276D0

Abstract

Lighting units comprising sheets of transparent or translucent material 50, and having a light source 53, such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) or electroluminescent strip, located within a recess 51, within the envelope of the sheet and in particular on the face of said sheet. Such lighting units can also have curved edges 59, especially with reflexed curves. Furniture units such as shelves, bookcases, sideboards and tables are also disclosed, which comprise such lighting units comprising light guides..

Description

LIGHTING UNIT

Field of the Invention

The invention relates to improved lighting units, and to furniture incorporating lighting.

Background

The provision of lighting in domestic and commercial premises is an important part of the design of the overall environment both aesthetically and to ensure adequate distribution of light in a safe and energy-efficient fashion.

Traditionally, lighting has been provided by use of incandescent bulbs. With the tendency towards use of more energy-efficient solutions, fluorescent light sources, and more recently "compact fluorescent" light bulbs have been employed. Although these offer benefits in terms of energy efficiency, their large size does not allow lighting designers to produce lighting units that are acceptable to discerning users, and so their widespread adoption is limited.

More recently, use has been made of low-energy, and generally low-temperature light sources such as light-emitting diodes (LED5) and electroluminescent light sources.

Whilst LEDs are increasingly used in interior lighting systems, they tend to provide a point light source with quite a high intensity, making their use in interior living spaces and environments requiring soft "ambient" lighting undesirable.

Furthermore, it is often required to provide lighting in combination with furniture, such as tables, shelves and sideboards. This is usually achieved by the provision of table-top lights, or adjacent wall-mounted lights. The provision of table-top lights leads to a number of hazards. For example, lights can be knocked over and broken, there is usually a trailing cable that can constitute an unsightly trip hazard, the lights take up a portion of horizontal surfaces that could otherwise be used for display purposes, and -especially in commercial environments -the lights are at risk of being stolen.

It is amongst the objects of the present invention to attempt a solution to these and other problems.

Summary of the Invention

Accordingly, the invention provides a lighting unit comprising: a sheet of transparent or translucent material; a recessed channel within said sheet; a light source located within said channel. The provision of a lighting source located within the envelope of such sheet material results in the light being transmitted through the sheet, and reducing the harshness of point light sources. It is particularly preferred that said channel is in the form of a slot, open to both faces of said sheet. In this way, access is provided from both sides, and manufacture is simplified. With translucent materials, light is emitted from most of the surface of the sheet. However, in especially preferred embodiments of the invention the sheet is of a transparent material. If transparent material is used, light is emitted primarily at the edges of the sheet (as well as from the recessed channel). In this way, the light emission takes place remotely from the light source itself, allowing it to be directed in any desired direction according to the shape of the sheet. Particularly preferred materials include polymers such as poly (methyl methacrylate) -PMMA -sold under the registered trade mark Perspex�, or polycarbonate, sold under the registered trade mark Lexan�.

Preferably, said light source is selected from the group comprising: light-emitting diodes and electroluminescent material. LEDs are particularly preferred, as they are available in self-adhesive tape format, and are also available as an array of red, green and blue LEDs such that control of the power to each colour allows an overall light emission of almost any desired colour to be produced.

It is also particularly preferred that said recessed channel is located on the face of said sheet. Locating the recess on the face of the sheet, rather than on the edge, allows the lighting source to be secured such that the lights point along the plane of the sheet.

Access to the channel for fitting the light source is also improved by this configuration.

More preferably, said channel is located adjacent an edge of said sheet. This allows a greater surface of uninterrupted sheet to be used in any design.

In any aspect of the invention it is also preferred that an edge of said sheet is in the form of a curve. In this way, as light emitted from an edge is primarily orientated in a direction perpendicular to the edge, distribution of light from the lighting unit is improved. More preferably, said curve is reflexed, turning back on itself. This allows differential light escape from different parts of the edge, and to provide the facility that adjacent such sheets can interlock with each other.

In particularly preferred embodiments, said sheet is triangular. The use triangular-shaped sheets allows the light source to be installed adjacent one edge, with most light emission occurring on an opposite, and non-parallel edge. In this way, overall light distribution from the lighting unit is improved.

In preferred embodiments, the lighting unit comprises a plurality of said sheets. In especially preferred embodiments, two of said sheets each have a complementary shaped edge and said edges are in abutment. By arranging the sheets in this way, light is also emitted from the line of abutment between the two sheets, thereby providing not only light emission at the edges of the sheets, but also from a line that appears to be on the face of the sheets.

Where two or more sheets are used, it is also preferable that the shaped edges of said sheets interlock, thereby resisting relative separation in the plane of the sheets. This simplifies the connection of two adjacent sheets, as a securing mechanism only needs to resist relative movement of the sheets in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the sheets, thereby allowing a more discreet fixing to be employed.

Also included within the scope of the invention is a lighting unit substantially as described herein, with reference to and as illustrated by any appropriate combination of the accompanying drawings.

In a further aspect of the invention there is provided an item of furniture comprising a lighting unit according to any preceding claim. Furniture items such as shelves, tables, bookcases, sideboards etc may be constructed as lighting units described herein (i.e. the lighting units are in the form of furniture), thereby eliminating the need to provide separate lighting mounted on, or adjacent to such furniture.

Also included within the scope of the invention is an item of furniture substantially as described herein, with reference to and as illustrated by any appropriate combination of the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention will be illustrated by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figures 1 and 2 illustrate, in perspective view, lighting unit of the present invention; Figures 3 and 4 illustrate, in partial cross-sectional view, edge regions of sheets forming part of lighting units; Figures 5 and 6 illustrate, in elevational view, lighting units, or parts thereof, of the present invention; Figures 6 and 7 illustrate, in perspective view, shelf units of the present invention; and Figure 8 illustrates a table of the present invention.

Description of Preferred Embodiments

Figure 1 shows, in perspective view, a corner light 10 comprising four arms connected at a common edge; two external arms 12 and 14 substantially at right angles to one another, and internal arms 16 and 18 positioned within the right angle, spaced at substantially 30° and 60° with respect to external arm 12. The arms are laser cut from plastics sheet material, specifically Perspex�. The four triangular arms 12, 14, 16 and 18 may be cut from a single sheet of Perspex� material measuring 850mm long by 300mm wide by 10mm thick.

Slots 22, 24, 26, and 28 measuring 4mm wide by 600mm long are laser cut into the Perspex� along the faces of the arms 12, 14, 16, 18 respectively, and a 4mm hole (not illustrated, for clarity) extends through the internal edge of each slot through the material of each arm 12, 14, 16, 18 to the common point. The faces of the slots are rounded at both sides to reduce the likelihood of splintering the material.

LED tape comprising a number of individual LEDs mounted on a self-adhesive tape is inserted into the slots 22, 24, 26 and 88 such that the LEDs are oriented facing downwards, as illustrated. The cable providing electrical power to the LEDs is fed through the said hole.

The corner light 10 is fitted into the corner of a room between the ceiling and two substantially perpendicular walls and is secured in place by way of two conventional screws. The light could not have been made with high energy bulbs or halogen, due to the high temperatures emitted by these systems. Its high-end design quality can only be achieved with the versatile and energy-efficient light source LED tape. The room will be illuminated with comforting indirect ambience lighting from one or more corners, which provides more even lighting distribution than a centrally fitted conventional ceiling light can achieve.

Figure 2 shows, again in perspective view, a further corner light 100 having a similar construction to that shown in Figure 1, but having arms 120 140, 160, 180 in which an edge 42, 44, 46 and 48 of each arm is in the form of a curve. Again, slots 220, 240, 260 and 280 are cut into the sheets forming the arms, and a light source such as LEDs is mounted within each slot.

Figure 3 illustrates, in partial cross-sectional view, an edge region of a sheet of transparent material 50 forming part of a lighting unit of the present invention. The cross section is taken along the line A-A of Figure 5. A recess 51 is cut into the face 52 of the sheet 50.

LED lights 53 affixed to a self-adhesive tape 54 are mounted on the upper surface (as illustrated) of the recess 51, such that they point towards the main body of the sheet 50. A conduit 55 is provided to accommodate the power cable from the LED lights.

Figure 4 illustrates, again in partial cross-section view an alternative embodiment of an edge region of a sheet of transparent material 50 forming part of a lighting unit of the present invention. The cross section corresponds to a region such as that taken along the line A-A of Figure 5. In this embodiment, the recess 51 comprises a slot that is open to both faces 52, 52' of the sheet 50. Again, LED lights 53 affixed to a self-adhesive tape 54 are mounted on the upper surface of the recess 51. A conduit 55 is also provided to house the power cable from the LED lights. Although illustrated in an off-centre position, for clarity, the conduit 55 is most usefully located centrally in the recess 51.

For sheets of 10mm thickness, LED tape having a width of 8mm is used when the light recess comprises a slot open to both faces; for a recess open to a single face, LED tape having a width of 4mm is preferred. Alternatively, a thicker sheet may be employed, such as 12-14mm, in order to accommodate 8mm LED tape.

Figure 5 illustrates, in elevational view, a lighting unit of the present invention comprising a triangular sheet 50 of transparent material. A recess 51, in the form of a through-slot is laser cut through the thickness of the material. A conduit 55 is then drilled from the end edge 56 of the sheet 50 to accommodate the power cable of a light source (not illustrated) located within the recess 51. Such a unit may be combined with other like units, of similar or dissimilar shape, to form a lighting unit having a plurality of sheets, such as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 6 illustrates, again in elevational view, a further embodiment of a lighting unit of the present invention. In this case, a transparent sheet 50 of overall generally triangular form, is provided with a curved edge 57 opposite the edge 58 adjacent the recess 51. LED lights 53 are located within the recess 51, with their power cable passing through a conduit 55 communicating with the third edge of the sheet. The curved edge 57 has reflexed portions 59 where the curve turns back on itself The shape of the edge causes light to be dissipated at a variety of angles, as indicated by the arrows.

Figure 7 illustrates, in perspective view, an item of furniture in the form of a sideboard, or shelf unit 30 comprising two triangular side portions 32 and 34 formed of transparent material and a rectangular top portion 36, which may also be transparent. The side portions 32 and 34 each have a slot 37, 38 laser-cut into them. As illustrated, the edges 60, 61 of the triangular side portions 32, 34 are indented to be mounted against a wall, and they join the top edges 62, 62 at a right angle, so that the top portion 36 sits horizontally when the unit is wall-mounted. Fixing points (not illustrated) are mounted on the rear edges 60, 61 of the side panels, or on the rear edge of the top portion 36. LED lights, or another low-temperature light source such as electroluminescent strip is mounted within the recesses 37, 38. The lights are oriented to face away from the rear edges 60, 61 of the side pieces so that light is emitted from the front edge of the side panels. Being triangular, this arrangement will shine light in a generally downwards direction, to illuminate e.g. a floor region below the sideboard.

Figure 8 illustrates, in perspective view, a further embodiment of an item of furniture, in the form of a sideboard 30 or shelf unit according to the invention. Again there are two side pieces 32, 34 made of transparent material. In this embodiment, however, the front edges 71, 72 have a curved profile with reflexed portions 59. A recess 37, 38 in the form of a laser-cut slot is cut through each side piece 32, 34 adjacent the rear (in use) edge 60, 61 of each side piece. A top portion 36 adjoins each side portion, to form a shelf.

Figure 9 illustrates, in perspective view, a further embodiment of an item of furniture according to the present invention, in this case in the form of a table, generally indicated by 80. The table is formed of four pairs of transparent panels 81, which together form a square-section box structure. Each member of the pairs of panels 81 has a complimentary shaped edge 82 which are in abutment, to form an essentially unbroken surface to the table. The shaped edge is curved, and comprises reflexed portions 59, causing each member of the pair to interlock with the other to resist relative separation of the pair of panels along the plane of their faces. Adjacent the edge opposite the curved edge 82, there is a recess 51 which contains a light source, such as an LED tape. Conduits are provided (not illustrated) to guide the power cable for the lights to an edge of the table. For such a table design, it is preferred that the recesses 51 do not go all the way through the table top, but comprise a single-sided recess, open only to the underside of the table top. In this way, the lights within the recess are protected, for example against spillage. When illuminated, light is emitted not only from the outside edges of the table, but also from the line of abutment of the curved edges 82 of the pairs of panels.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A lighting unit comprising: a sheet of transparent or translucent material; a recessed channel within said sheet; a light source located within said channel.
2. A lighting unit according to Claim 1 wherein said light source is selected from the group comprising: light-emitting diodes; electroluminescent material.
3. A lighting unit according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein said recessed channel is located on the face of said sheet.
4. A lighting unit according to any preceding claim wherein said channel is located adjacent an edge of said sheet.
5. A lighting unit according to any preceding claim wherein an edge of said sheet is in the form of a curve.
6. A lighting unit according to Claim 5 wherein said curve is reflexed.
7. A lighting unit according to any of Claims ito 4 wherein said sheet is triangular.
8. A lighting unit according to any preceding claim comprising a plurality of said sheets.
9. A lighting unit according to claim 8 wherein two of said sheets each have a complementary shaped edge and said edges are in abutment.
10. A lighting unit according to claim 9 wherein the shaped edges of said sheets interlock, thereby resisting relative separation in the plane of the sheets.
11. A lighting unit according to any preceding claim wherein said recessed channel comprises a slot, open to both faces of said sheet.
12. A lighting unit substantially as described herein, with reference to and as illustrated by any appropriate combination of the accompanying drawings.
13. An item of furniture comprising a lighting unit according to any preceding claim.
14. An item of furniture substantially as described herein, with reference to and as illustrated by any appropriate combination of the accompanying drawings.