IT202100014735A1 - HOMOGENEOUS LIGHTING SYSTEM FOR LARGE SPACE ENVIRONMENTS - Google Patents

Description

TITLE: HOMOGENEOUS LIGHTING SYSTEM FOR LARGE SPACE ENVIRONMENTS

DESCRIPTION

Technical Sector of the Invention

The present invention finds its application, in general, in the field of lighting technology. In particular, the solution concerns the lighting of very large environments, in which the way in which different needs can be balanced is of decisive importance, such as the optimization of costs related to consumption, the comfort of the lighting effect and the need for anti-glare.

Pi? precisely, the invention focuses its objectives to define a system that is particularly efficient for the lighting of streets and tunnels, i.e. very large environments in which lighting is one of the most important systems.

Known technique

Evidently the need for street and tunnel lighting, as well as as in other very large environments, ? a need generally satisfied by state-of-the-art solutions, however, there are many aspects where the lighting offered today can be improved.

Thanks to the significant progress in LED (Light Emitting Diode) technology, the big issue of consumption seems to have found a fairly satisfactory solution, in fact, on equal terms? of brightness? produced, LEDs dissipate much less energy as heat. Furthermore, technology has made available at competitive costs LEDs capable of generating a light rich enough in frequency components, so to create pleasant lighting and suitable for any type of environment.

The present invention, therefore, assumes LED technology as the reference technology for the generation of brightness, it being understood that, should other light irradiation technologies be developed with characteristics similar to those offered by LED technology, the The invention itself could also be implemented with such other technologies.

Among the large environments, which pose particular problems from the point of view of the supply of adequate lighting, the streets and tunnels are particularly challenging: you will? then ideally reference to such environments to define the present invention in greater detail.

In addition to the use of efficient lighting technologies (such as LED technology), a further contribution to optimizing consumption, in the context of street lighting, is ? given by the progressive diffusion of concepts related to ITS (Intelligent Transport System) scenarios. According to the ITS vision, in fact, the roads are destined to become a highly computerized environment, equipped with a multitude of sensors that detect the traffic status in real time, as well as numerous other parameters.

The ?smart road? environment, therefore, can? be controlled by computers that pilot the various service systems in the individual stretches of road. ? clear that in a street cos? controlled and monitored ? It is possible to adjust the lighting exactly how and where it is needed, avoiding any kind of waste.

The what? called ?smart roads?, i.e. roads as they are imagined in the aforementioned ITS vision, largely use known technologies. In particular, an intelligent lighting system, implemented with LED headlights, and adjustable as mentioned above, ? certainly feasible already? today with known technologies; the technical problem underlying the widespread implementation of ?smart roads?, in fact, is not? of a conceptual nature, but rather of a practical and economic nature, since its implementation presupposes an IT and sensor infrastructure, which requires physiological times, which are not short, before being sufficiently widespread.

Therefore, each technology used in the implementation of systems at the service of ?smart roads? must be considered all the more? adequate as much as possible it favors, and facilitates, in general, the development of an IT environment such as a ?smart road? should be.

Said of how can? If the issue of energy efficiency has to be tackled (that is, using efficient technologies such as LEDs and intelligent switch-on management), street lighting, to date, presents at least three other major categories of problems; and this regardless of whether or not the road in question can be considered a ?smart road? or an approximation thereof. In fact, if the theme of consumption is gradually easing with the transition to LED lighting, perhaps carried out in combination with intelligent lighting control systems (however sporadic), they are still very topical? problems

? of light pollution,

? of maintainability? of lighting systems, e

? of the quality? of lighting, understood as the comfort perceived by the human eye.

These are three problems that, as will be? clarified below are closely related. The theme of comfort? the most important why? ? closely related to security. Above all, vehicle drivers must see well in order to drive well and, in particular, the lighting must never be annoying and dazzling.

This first requirement? essential and determines a first characteristic of street lighting according to the prior art, which is found practically in its entirety of actually operational street lighting systems: i.e. the fact that the light sources are placed very high up. The lighthouses in the lighting systems according to the prior art are therefore usually placed high up, supported by lampposts, and oriented so as to illuminate the road.

This arrangement has advantages and disadvantages.

The advantages are essentially linked to the comfort of the result. In fact, being at the top, the headlights are located at the edge of the driver's field of vision, until they completely exit his field of vision as much as possible. the vehicle approaches the individual headlights. This reduces the risk of dazzling drivers of vehicles traveling on the artificially lit road. By placing the headlights up, in fact, you avoid pointing them towards the vehicles, except when they are under the headlight, and therefore in a condition in which the driver cannot? be annoyed, he being evidently also shielded by the hood of his vehicle.

Finally, given that the lighthouses are placed at a distance of several meters from each other (ranging from the order of tens of meters to a few tens of metres, depending on the case), the fact of placing them at a certain height allows you to create a fairly homogeneous lighting on the ground; in particular, more the headlights are spaced apart, and pi? must be raised to obtain uniform lighting on the ground.

The disadvantages of positioning at the top are instead linked to the other two types of problems: light pollution, and the difficulty of of maintenance.

The reasons for these disadvantages are quite obvious, as ? clear that more the headlights are placed at the top, and pi? are also visible from afar and from outside the road (thus producing light pollution), and more? ? difficult to reach them for maintenance operations.

In the case of tunnels, lighting is normally achieved by providing a row of lights placed aligned on the top? of the vault of the gallery itself, at a distance between them of several meters, this positioning being the most? at the top and what least pu? annoy the drivers of the vehicles. But evidently, despite being placed in the most? tall, their height ? limited by? height of the gallery, so that? one of the problems encountered in road tunnels? also the discontinuity? of lighting, which becomes highly uneven, and alternates points of high illumination with others with dark areas.

Furthermore, maintenance in the tunnel is also particularly costly since the operations to be carried out on the lighthouses placed in the center of the vault typically require blocking all the lanes, with the need to block all the lanes. to provide alternative routes.

Finally, the high positioning of the headlights also has an impact on consumption, as the lamps are generally far enough from the road surface that they are not covered. There? which must be well lit.

Ultimately, the prior art does not yet propose a satisfactory solution for the homogeneous, comfortable and anti-glare lighting of very large environments such as roads or tunnels. In fact, to guarantee the essential requirement of anti-glare, the prior art proposes systems which are not easy to maintain, which produce significant light pollution and which, in the end, also have further energy efficiency margins, since the ?illumination of the road surface with lamps placed in positions relatively distant from the surface itself.

Summary of the Invention

The main object of the present invention, therefore, is that of indicating a homogeneous lighting system for very large environments such as roads and tunnels, which guarantees good illumination of the pavement, or of the road surface, which does not produce potentially dazzling lighting for the people who normally occupy these environments, and which is easy to maintain.

In particular, the indicated system must be able to be installed on the roadside and at not too high heights, so as to be able to illuminate the road surface well with lamps not too far from the surface itself and without generating excessive light pollution in the surrounding environment.

Furthermore, said system must have characteristics such that it is possible to adopt all the precautions aimed at containing energy consumption, including the precautions linked to the implementation of the cos? called ?smart road? according to the pi? Updated concepts defined in Intelligent Transport System (ITS) scenarios.

The objects of the present invention can be achieved by realizing a lighting system for a large room delimited by at least one long perimeter edge, which in the typical case is the edge of a road, and which includes the following elements:

? a plurality? of linear lighting fixtures arranged to be installed horizontally one after the other so as to create a substantially continuous luminous line, and being said lighting fixtures, in a typical implementation form, lighting modules made with one or more? LED strips, e

? an electrical line accessible along all of said very long perimeter edge, capable of supplying power to generic electrical devices;

and said lighting system ? designed to be installed along said very long perimeter edge, and ? characterized by the fact that:

? said linear lighting fixtures are arranged to be mounted so that the prevailing central lighting direction has a component oriented downwards, and

? said linear lighting fixtures comprise an anti-glare cover mainly made up of a transparent material in which randomly oriented micro-lenses are amalgamated, i.e. fragments of material with specific properties. optics suitable for deflecting the direction of an incident light beam.

The main advantage of the present invention consists in the fact that a lighting system realized according to the teachings of the present invention satisfies all the main requirements for which ? been conceived.

It has been observed, from the outset, that since it is a solution consisting of a system, numerous implementation variants are possible which serve to adapt it to the different installation contexts, or which differ in cost or simplicity? constructive. However, it is reiterated that any lighting system which has the essential characteristics indicated in the main claim, or in the dependent claims, must be understood as a possible implementing variant of the same invention.

Brief Description of the Drawings

This invention also has further advantages, which will be more evident from the following description, from some examples of practical embodiments which illustrate further details, from the attached claims which form an integral part of the present description, and from the attached figures in which:

? Figure 1 schematically shows the street lighting systems according to the prior art.

? Figure 2 schematically shows a street lighting system according to the invention.

? Figures 3a and 3b schematically show some details of a street lighting system according to the invention.

Detailed Description

In Figure 1 with the number 310 ? indicated a generic road on which a generic vehicle indicated with the number 410 is circulating. Said road 310 ? illuminated according to the known technique with classic street lamps: in Figure 1 ? shown one of these lamps indicated with the number 390.

Figure 1 therefore highlights the main characteristics of the street lamps with which the streets are normally illuminated 310. The first characteristic? given by the fact that? lighting ? generated by lights suspended above the road; and with the number 399 ? indicated one of these beacons. Said lighthouse 399 ? held suspended at a height indicated in Figure 1 with the number 211, and has an illumination cone of a certain size, indicated with the number 201.

The decision to position the headlights at a fairly considerable height 211 ? given by the fact that in this position the lighthouses 399, especially those pi? close to the vehicle 410, are found at the margins of the field of vision of the driver of the vehicle 410, effectively avoiding the risk of glare, since ? normal that while driving the driver looks forward, and if anything slightly downwards, the cio? you look towards the surface of road 310.

Furthermore, the high positioning means that the lighting on the ground can be quite homogeneous even in the presence of headlights with a not excessively wide lighting cone.

In this regard, it should be noted that the choice of a not very large width 201 of the lighting cone ? dictated by several reasons. In fact, in this way the lighting is directed mainly towards the ground, avoiding dispersion of the light towards areas that are not interested in illuminating and above all reducing the light directed towards the drivers of the vehicles which could come from the street lamps more? far away, which are within the field of vision of vehicle drivers.

What's more, LED technology physically a technology that generates a fairly directive light emission. Lamps made with elementary LEDs are certainly available with emissions having fairly large lighting cones, but these emissions can be obtained at higher costs and by making the LED work in conditions that are not of maximum efficiency, thus having to give up part of the benefits (essentially in terms of management costs) of LED technology.

The lighthouses 399, placed at a height 211 are visible even from afar and contribute to the phenomenon of light pollution which should certainly be reduced; however, the biggest problem caused by such suspended placement of the 399 ? due to the complexity maintenance manoeuvres, since, in order to intervene on a lighthouse 399, a worker, such as the one shown in Figure 1 and indicated with the number 421, must necessarily make use of long ladders, or particular means which allow him to reach the height 211 : and therefore, each maintenance intervention always requires an interruption or a significant limitation of the practicability? of route 310.

In the case of lighting systems for tunnels, what is the situation? very similar, with the difference that the 399 lighthouses do not need to be suspended from a street lamp, but can simply be fixed to the vault of the tunnel (ie at the highest point). Typically, the vaults of the galleries are a bit? more low of the street lamps 390, however the contraindications related to the invasiveness? of the maintenance operations remain, and if anything arises a problem related to the quality? of enlightenment. In fact, lighthouses more? low, generate a less homogeneous lighting and are certainly more? annoying for the driver.

In Figure 2 ? still shown a generic road, always indicated with the number 310, on which a generic vehicle is circulating, also always indicated with the number 410. Said road 310 ? For? illuminated with a different lighting system, according to the present invention, and ? shown inside a dotted line, indicated by the number 100.

Some of the essential characteristics of the lighting system 100 according to the invention concern its assembly predispositions: in fact, ? a system designed to be mounted on the roadside and at a height, indicated in Figure 2 with the number 212, significantly higher? lower than the height 211 at which the headlights of the lighting systems according to the prior art must be mounted.

The position on the roadside, and the relatively low height 212, allow the workers in charge of maintenance to access the lighting fixtures with great ease. The worker indicated in Figure 2 with the number 422? even in the conditions to intervene on the light fixtures without the need? of stairs and working on the side of the road without theoretically imposing blocks or restrictions on vehicular traffic. In any case, even versions of different implementations, mounted at a? height 212 a little? higher, not reachable while standing on the ground, or accessible only from inside the road, are in any case easy to maintain using relatively low stairs or elevations, and occupying very limited space for carrying out the maintenance maneuvers that are necessary, as well as to restrict the useful space of the road only to a limited extent during maintenance, without necessarily introducing very burdensome obstacles to traffic flow.

Very interesting heights 212 for good street lighting are those around 3 meters from the ground, indicatively between 2 and 4 metres.

Another characteristic that concerns the assembly preparations concerns the orientation of the lighting cone, seen in a cross-section plane with respect to the direction of the road, i.e. the section plane used for both Figure 1 and Figure 2. The width of the lighting cone of the lighting system 100 (in the plane considered) ? indicated in Figure 2 with the number 202, and the central axis of this cone, with the system assembled, is? oriented slightly downwards: cosicch? the angle between this central axis of the lighting cone, and the vertical semi-plane oriented downwards which originates from the assembly zone of the system 100, is an acute angle: angle that in Figure 2 ? indicated with the number 203.

Having said the main characteristics concerning the mounting position of the lighting system 100 according to the invention, some structural characteristics of the elements of this system will now be indicated. It essentially comprises two main components: a set of longitudinal lighting fixtures, indicated in Figure 2 with the number 110, and a conduit for wiring (and for support), indicated in Figure 2 with the number 120.

Also called duct 120 ? of longitudinal form, and ? designed to carry electricity so that it is accessible along the entire roadside where the actual lighting fixtures 110 must also be installed. In one of the preferred embodiments, in which the roadside does not have a support structure that can be used to support the lighting system 100 (for example a lateral anti-noise barrier), said duct 120 can also act as a support structure, and pu? therefore be made so that it is rigid and that it can be installed horizontally more? or less at the installation height of the lighting fixtures 110, so as to contribute to their support.

Its main function, as mentioned ? that of making the electricity supply easily accessible along the entire roadside, at any point; can? also have a support function, as already? mentioned, but, above all, it offers a formidable opportunity to create an infrastructure that is truly at the service of the implementation of a ?smart road?. In fact, inside said pipes 120, which can also be quite capacious, convenient to distribute power lines in various schemes, for example, alternating schemes or even in direct current at 24, 48 or 96 Volts, as well as? data bus both in optical fiber (given the long transmission distances that can be used) and with copper cables. Furthermore, the pipeline itself can act as a support for a very wide variety? of sensors and ?smart objects? in general (that is, intelligent devices serving the applications of the ?smart road?).

The lighting fixtures 110 are, as mentioned, longitudinal in shape, and are designed to be installed one after the other so as to create a continuous lighting line, very suitable for producing perfectly homogeneous lighting along the route of the road, even if? lighting ? made with LED sources which, if taken individually, can be quite directive. Indeed, the directivity? of the elementary LED source? conveniently exploited in the context of the present invention, to direct the lighting towards the road surface and in the area at vehicle height, without dispersing it by illuminating the area above the vehicles, where it is not needed and would only produce light pollution.

The representation offered in Figure 2 shows very clearly how the vertical amplitude 202 of the lighting, thanks to the appropriate orientation of the lighting fixture 110, perfectly illuminates the road surface and the space in which the vehicle 410 moves, without significantly dispersing the light above the vehicle itself. And such optimal lighting ? obtained with fairly directive lighting sources; the illumination amplitude 202 exemplified in Figure 2 ? of about 60?, i.e. an?amplitude that pu? be guaranteed with low-cost and extremely energy-efficient LED sources.

Even if it should be already? clear, it is observed that the? homogeneity? horizontal lighting (that is, the homogeneity needed to create comfortable lighting for vehicle drivers) ? guaranteed by the fact that the lighting bodies 110 are longitudinal and emit light in a substantially continuous way along their entire length: in a preferred embodiment, these lighting bodies 110 are made with a strip of closely spaced LEDs, so to produce a substantially continuous line of lighting, unlike what happens in the LED headlights to be mounted in the top? of lampposts. In fact, in the lamp posts which characterize most of the lighting systems according to the prior art, the lighting fixture, when in LED technology, is usually made with a matrix of LEDs grouped together in a highly concentrated two-dimensional surface. The lighting provided from a higher height low, and more close to the area to be illuminated, finally, it has a further advantageous aspect linked to energy efficiency, in fact, ? it is clear that more the light source? distant (as in the case of the lights suspended on the street lamps), and more? the brightness? of the source must be elevated, and therefore generated by lighting fixtures energetically more? wasteful.

At this point it is also necessary to further investigate the essential requirement of anti-glare: in fact, with reference to the technical choices linked to the installation of the known art, it was said that the installation height represented the fundamental expedient adopted to avoid the risk of glare of vehicle drivers.

Obviously, the lighting system 100, according to the teachings of the invention, radiates illumination from points located at a height which is not sufficiently at the edge of the field of vision of vehicle drivers, and therefore the problem of glare must be faced with a series of expedients different from those adopted by the prior art. These various expedients all contribute together to solving the problem and add up to obtain excellent anti-glare performance.

A first precaution concerns the choice to implement a very distributed lighting and not concentrated in lighting points, as occurs with the lamps on the street lamps. The distribution of the light sources allows to operate with low luminosity? in the individual sections of each lighting fixture; therefore, unlike street lamps which must illuminate a large area starting from each light point, the system 100 according to the invention goes beyond the concept of light point, and each linear section of each lighting body 110 illuminates a small area of space which is in front of it: needing cos? of a low luminosity?, that therefore ? much less annoying and less dazzling. Furthermore, the directivity intrinsic characteristics of LED sources ensure that the components of light irradiation directed towards the eyes of the drivers are greatly reduced.

A further extremely effective and decisive trick for safe applicability? of the 100 lighting system in the context of street lighting, ? given by the presence of a special cover that protects the luminous elements and which diffuses the light, making it non-dazzling.

Figure 3a shows a detail of an embodiment of the lighting system 100 according to the invention. The numbers in Figure 3a indicate the same elements also shown in Figure 2; therefore with the number 110 ? indicated, a longitudinal illuminated body seen in section, with the number 120 ? indicated the duct on which the power is distributed (and possibly also lines for telecommunication transmissions), while the lighting system as a whole? always indicated with the number 100 and ? enclosed within a dotted line.

Figure 3a then also highlights two fundamental components of the lighting fixture 110: the actual light source, indicated with the number 111, and the anti-glare cover, indicated with the number 112.

In a preferred embodiment, said light source 111 consists of a strip of LEDs applied to a support structure which maintains its correct orientation. It is observed that even very directive and simple elementary LEDs can be used, usable at their point of maximum efficiency. With what? meaning that each elementary LED can? be optimally powered, and emits light in the spectrum in which it has the greatest luminous efficiency. In fact, the width of the lighting cone, until it reaches the optimal width 202, can be obtained through the dispersion effect produced by the anti-glare cover 112.

Said LED strip, i.e. the light source 111, ? therefore protected by the anti-glare cover 112 that ? made with the extrusion technique and ? composed of a composite transparent plastic material that contains a large number of microlenses. In the extrusion process, these microlenses are randomly arranged within the thickness of the cover 112 itself, creating a large number of discontinuities. in the propagation coefficient of the light emitted by the elementary LEDs.

The light rays emitted by each LED of the strip 111, which originally have a prevailing direction (as mentioned, in fact, the light emitted by the LEDs is generally quite directive), undergo multiple deviations. Therefore, the light which is diffused in the environment after passing through the covering 112 is much less directive. In conclusion, a first effect obtained by means of the cover 301 consists in a widening of the emission angle of the light generated by the LEDs of the strip 111.

A second effect which is obtained by means of these covers made with the extrusion technique and composed of a transparent plastic material, consists in a significant reduction of the glare produced by the lighting fixture according to the invention, and is? this is the essential effect which makes the implementation of the present invention possible.

Indeed, due to its greater intrinsic directivity, LED light often produces a glare effect when the eye looks at the light source in the direction of greater emission. There are various metrics by which the glare effect can be measured, and in almost all legislation, glare limits are envisaged, specific for each environment, which must be observed in order to have the possibility? to install a light fixture, which, therefore, must undergo approval tests before being put on the market for each specific application.

In Figure 3b ? shown a 112 coverage in which ? a construction detail has been enlarged: this enlargement shows how the cover 112 can be made by implementing a further expedient that is also effective in order to be able to exert an excellent containment of the glare effect. In fact, the enlargement of the cover 112 shows a serrated shape on the internal surface which (since it is a sectional view) corresponds to the presence of a sequence of longitudinal ribs easily obtainable by means of the extrusion process with which the cover 112 is formed. accomplished.

These ribs, which obviously can be found on any of the surfaces of the roof (and nothing prevents them from being present on both surfaces), make it possible to reduce the glare indexes of the light emitted in a further and very significant way, for the same ? of intensity? useful light.

In the end, as a result of all these expedients which operate to limit the potential dazzling effect of a light placed within the drivers? field of vision, the desired result is obtained of producing completely satisfactory lighting in terms of anti-glare requirements .

For the sake of completeness, it should be noted that accurate and repeated experimental tests have confirmed that both the diffusion angle and the glare indexes are significantly improved and controllable by using a cover with the characteristics described.

In particular, with reference to the glare indexes, ? it has been demonstrated that light fixtures according to the invention can be installed, with a large margin, even in environments where coefficients corresponding to extremely low glare are required, such as roads and tunnels.

Concluding Remarks

Ultimately, the lighting system 100 according to the teachings of the invention can be installed in a large number of large rooms where it is important to illuminate above all the lower part of the room itself and where it is essential to offer a glare-free light.

Roads and tunnels constitute an application environment in which the teachings of the present invention particularly manifest all their advantages.

While the prior art has aimed to solve the problem of clothing by proposing lighting from above, therefore offering a light originating from points which are not normally in the field of vision of the people occupying the environment in question, the present invention proposes a system installable at height pi? low, with highly distributed lateral lighting, and the glare problem is managed with a combination of expedients which, in the end, leads to even better results than the performance obtained with lighting from above.

In addition to meeting the anti-glare requirement, the present invention improves all other aspects concerning lighting systems.

In particular, it allows significant savings in energy consumption, in fact it lends itself to being implemented with very efficient LED technologies (among other things, using elementary LEDs which can in turn work at their point of maximum efficiency), and illuminates only what? that must be illuminated by points that are the pi? as close as possible: effectively avoiding any waste of lighting.

Can you? moreover to state that the particular installation configuration of the lighting system 100 also represents an arrival point as regards maintainability, which is made extremely simplified, to the point that it is it is difficult to imagine further simplifications.

Without forgetting that 100 lighting systems, just why? they illuminate only where needed, they can also be considered a point of arrival with respect to the problem of containing light pollution.

The lighting system 100 according to the invention, as mentioned, is then of particular interest as it favors the transition towards the cos? called ?smart roads?, i.e. roads according to the evolutionary vision dictated by the ?ITS? scenarios? (Intelligent Transport System), in which the streets are seen as extremely computerized environments and characterized by the action of numerous systems aimed at providing all the services that can make transport, both public and private, comfortable and safe.

The lighting? evidently one of the fundamental services for the use of the roads, with a significant impact also with respect to safety aspects. The present invention ? fully consistent with the ITS scenarios, as it assumes, for its installation, a structure that can be shared for the installation of many other systems, which typically involve the use of various types of sensors that must be installed along the entire road route , and can therefore share 100 wiring and support structures with the lighting system.

The structure of the lighting system 100, also constituted by the lighting bodies themselves 110 and by the ducts 120 for the distribution of power and data, which are part of the present invention, is therefore certainly usable to install many other devices. Ultimately, as a whole, pu? act as a support structure also for many other electrical devices that need to be installed along the edge of a road, such as, for example, the various sensors typically required in systems that qualify the cos? called ?smart roads?.

Such a structure? It is also extremely versatile, being able to be sized with considerable margins of freedom, in order to make it suitable for accommodating wiring and devices in great abundance and variety.

? precisely in this evolutionary context that the present invention can? lend itself to numerous improvements and additions: in fact in the context of a ?smart road? in which there are systems able to detect almost? every event that concerns the circulation, the lighting can? be adjusted accordingly.

For example, being able to detect the presence of fumes, vapors or mists, you can provide a? consequent lighting in order to guarantee the best visibility? possible in each circumstance.

Or, in the case of tunnel lighting ? Is it possible to illuminate the interior, during the day, according to the external light, so? to mitigate the sudden change in brightness? sudden which normally afflicts vehicle drivers when they enter and exit tunnels on particularly bright days.

Or again, the lights can be dimmed to a minimum in sections of the road where no vehicles are circulating. Conversely, lighting can be strengthened where the presence of an accident or damaged vehicle is recognized.

Obviously the performance of ?intelligent? examples of which have just been given, can also be implemented in association with concentrated beam systems according to the prior art; however, the lighting system 100 according to the invention facilitates significantly, for the reasons already? previously exposed, the? implementation (and? installation) of the network of sensors that ? necessary. In general, therefore, the present invention lends itself to numerous variations while maintaining the claimed prerogatives and, in fact, allows to conceive a new type of road characterized in that it is equipped with a lighting system 100 according to the teachings of the present invention, and which has some very advantageous characteristics from various points of view.

Some variations may concern the modalities? of installation, for example by providing lighting systems with more? of a line of parallel lighting fixtures placed at two or more different heights, so to make even more diffuse light source.

Or supports, support structures and pipelines can be conceived with different designs, but also with different structural characteristics.

Even the LED technology, although? at the moment it seems like an almost obligatory choice, doesn't it? absolutely essential, and should other technologies become available with which to generate a light source, these could be used in other embodiments of the present invention, being only the linear conformation of the source, its suitability? to be installed horizontally and suitably oriented towards the area to be illuminated, and the fact that it is a source that can be covered with the special anti-glare cover 112 previously described.

Possible further variants may be linked to the evolution of other plants and other systems that will affect the ?smart roads? of the future, in order to proceed towards an ever greater integration of systems with different functions.

With reference to scenarios of this type, which today may appear excessively complex, it is a question of exploiting elements of each system for the benefit of other systems as well, so that each element of each system pu? be subject to variations that allow it to be used for a plurality? functions, which at the moment are not yet definable, or for which the need is not yet felt.

Therefore, above all in the context of these evolutionary scenarios, the invention seems to lend itself to incorporating and supporting further development and improvement efforts, capable of improving the performance of the described system. Many further developments can therefore be made by a man skilled in the art without thereby departing from the scope of the invention as it results from the present description and from the claims attached hereto, which form an integral part of the present description; or, if said developments are not included in the present description, they may be the subject of further patent applications associated with the present invention, or dependent on it.

Claims (7)

TITLE: HOMOGENEOUS LIGHTING SYSTEM FOR LARGE ENVIRONMENTS CLAIMS 1. A lighting system (100) for a large room delimited by at least one long perimeter edge, and comprising the following elements: the. a plurality? linear lighting fixtures (110) designed to be installed horizontally one after the other so as to create a substantially continuous line of light, and ii. an electrical line accessible along all of said very long perimeter edge, capable of supplying power to generic electrical devices; and said lighting system (100) ? designed to be installed along said very long perimeter edge, and ? characterized in that: a. said linear lighting fixtures (110) are arranged to be mounted so that the prevailing central lighting direction has a component oriented downwards, and b. said linear lighting fixtures (110) comprise an anti-glare cover (112) mainly consisting of a transparent material in which randomly oriented microlenses are amalgamated, i.e. fragments of material with properties optics suitable for deflecting the direction of an incident light beam. 2. Lighting system (100) according to claim 1, wherein said lighting bodies (110) are lighting modules comprising one or more? LED strips applied on a support structure. 3. Lighting system (100) according to claim 1, arranged to illuminate a road (310), said long perimeter edge being the edge of a road (310), and said lighting system (100) also comprising a conduit (120) arranged to house said power supply line and also other wiring. 4. Lighting system (100) according to claim 3, wherein said lighting bodies (110) and/or said conduit (120), are also part of a support structure designed to support other electrical devices. 5. Lighting system (100) according to claim 1, wherein said anti-glare covers (112) are made by extrusion and have longitudinal ribs in at least one of their surfaces. 6. A road (310) equipped with a lighting system (100) according to claim 1, installed on at least one roadside, in which a line formed by said lighting bodies (110) ? positioned horizontally at a height from the ground between 2 and 4 metres. 7. A road (310) equipped with a lighting system (100) according to claim 1, wherein, on at least one roadside, at least two lines formed by said lighting bodies (110) are positioned at different heights.