JP2024048537A - Lighting batten - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a lighting batten that is improved in degree of freedom in installation position of a lighting fixture.SOLUTION: A lighting batten 10 includes a batten body part 15, a rail 36, a first connection part 37a, and a second connection part 37b. The batten body part 15 supports a lighting fixture. The rail 36 is disposed in the batten body part 15. The first connection part 37a is fitted to the rail 36 so as to be movable and supplies power to the lighting fixture. The second connection part 37b is fitted to the rail 36 so as to be movable and supplies a signal to the lighting fixture.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

An embodiment of the present invention relates to a lighting baton.

Conventionally, there are lighting batons used in studios, stages, etc., that support lighting fixtures by hanging them so that they can be raised and lowered as a unit. The lighting batons are provided with connection parts such as outlets for supplying power to the suspended lighting fixtures, or communication connectors for connecting to the lighting fixtures. This creates an issue in that the installation range of the lighting fixtures is limited by the position of the connection parts, resulting in low freedom in the installation position.

JP 2015-93026 A

The problem that this invention aims to solve is to provide a lighting baton that improves the freedom of installation position of the lighting fixture.

The lighting baton of the embodiment includes a baton body, a rail, a first connection part, and a second connection part. The baton body supports a lighting fixture. The rail is disposed on the baton body. The first connection part is movably attached to the rail and supplies power to the lighting fixture. The second connection part is movably attached to the rail and supplies a signal to the lighting fixture.

The lighting baton of this embodiment is expected to improve the freedom of installation position of lighting fixtures.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a portion of a lighting baton according to one embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a part of the internal structure of the baton body of the lighting baton. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the connection portion and rail of the lighting baton. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the lighting baton. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the lighting baton from the opposite side to the lighting side. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the lighting baton from the lighting side.

An embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings.

A lighting baton 10 is shown in Figures 5 and 6. The lighting baton 10 is installed on the ceiling side of a studio, stage, etc., and supports at least one lighting fixture 11 by hanging it. The lighting baton 10 is suspended by multiple wires 12 from a lifting device installed in the ceiling structure of the studio, stage, etc., and is raised and lowered in response to the winding and unwinding of the multiple wires 12 by the operation of the lifting device operated by a remote control device, etc. In this embodiment, a lighting baton 10 that supports three lighting fixtures 11 by hanging it will be described as an example.

The lighting baton 10 includes a baton body 15. The baton body 15 is formed long. Near both ends of the baton body 15 in the longitudinal direction, a hanging portion 16 is formed, on which the wire 12 is hooked. The baton body 15 is suspended horizontally with the hanging portions 16 at the top. The baton body 15 is also formed with a cable receiving cage 17. In this embodiment, the cable receiving cage 17 is located between the hanging portions 16, 16 in the longitudinal direction of the baton body 15.

The baton main body 15 generally comprises a long hanging section 20 that hangs the lighting fixture 11, and a long holding section 21 that holds the hanging section 20. The hanging section 20 is supported by a support member 22 at a position below and spaced from the holding section 21, and is generally parallel to the holding section 21. The hanging section 20 is, for example, a straight pipe-shaped bar. The support member 22 is, for example, formed in the shape of a plate having a thickness in the short direction of the baton main body 15.

As shown in Figs. 4 to 6, the holding portion 21 is formed in a hollow box shape, and wiring and the like can be housed inside. In this embodiment, the holding portion 21 has a rectangular cross section having an upper surface portion 24, a lower surface portion 25, and side portions 26, 27 connected between the upper surface portion 24 and the lower surface portion 25. Both ends of the holding portion 21 in the longitudinal direction are each closed by a cap portion 28.

The upper surface portion 24 and the lower surface portion 25 are each formed in a long, flat shape and are positioned opposite each other vertically. As shown in FIG. 1, the upper surface portion 24 and the lower surface portion 25 are connected by a connecting member 30, and the upper surface portion 24 and the lower surface portion 25 form an integrated frame structure. The connecting member 30 is located extending in the vertical direction from the lower part of the upper surface portion 24 to the upper part of the lower surface portion 25. The connecting member 30 is located inside the holding portion 21. In this embodiment, the connecting member 30 is set at multiple locations in the longitudinal direction of the upper surface portion 24 and the lower surface portion 25. In the illustrated example, the connecting member 30 is arranged at one end side and the other end side with respect to the central part in the longitudinal direction of the upper surface portion 24 and the lower surface portion 25, which is the longitudinal direction of the baton main portion 15 or the longitudinal direction of the holding portion 21. The connecting member 30 is formed in a plate shape having a thickness in the short direction of the baton main body portion 15 or the holding portion 21, for example. The suspended part 16 and the cable receiving cage 17 are formed on the upper part of the upper surface part 24. The suspended part 20 supported by the support member 22 is located below the lower surface part 25. The support member 22 may be attached to the lower part of the lower surface part 25, or may be attached to the lower part of the upper surface part 24 and led downward from the lower surface part 25 through an opening 31 (FIG. 2) formed in the lower surface part 25.

The side portions 26, 27 shown in Figs. 4 to 6 are on the side illuminated by the lighting fixture 11, and the other side is on the opposite side. The side portions 26, 27 face each other in the short direction of the holding portion 21. The side portions 26, 27 are detachable from the upper surface portion 24 and the lower surface portion 25. Similarly, the cap portion 28 is detachable from the upper surface portion 24 and the lower surface portion 25. In the following, detachable means that it can be attached and detached non-destructively using a tool or the like. For example, the side portions 26, 27 and the cap portion 28 are detachably fixed at the upper portion to the upper surface portion 24 and at the lower portion to the lower surface portion 25 by fixing members such as screws, thereby partitioning a closed space portion inside the holding portion 21. For this reason, for example, as shown in Fig. 2, the upper surface portion 24 and the lower surface portion 25 have holes 33, 34 on both sides to which fixing members are fixed.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, a rail 36 is disposed in the space inside the holding part 21 of the baton body 15, and a connection part 37 that is electrically connected to the lighting fixture 11 (Figure 5) is removably attached to the rail 36.

The rail 36 is a long, rail-shaped member. The rail 36 holds the connection part 37 so that it can slide along the longitudinal direction, and the connection part 37 can be positioned at any position in the longitudinal direction and electrically connected for use.

The rail 36 may be a wiring duct also called a lighting rail or the like, or may be a DIN rail or the like. In this embodiment, a plurality of types of rails 36 are set according to the type of connection portion 37. In the illustrated example, the rail 36 is set with a first rail 36a and a second rail 36b, the first rail 36a is for the first connection portion 37a of the connection portion 37, and the second rail 36b is for the second connection portion 37b of the connection portion 37. In other words, in this embodiment, a plurality of connection portions 37 are set per lighting fixture 11 (FIG. 5), and a rail 36 is set for each of the connection portions 37.

In this embodiment, the first rail 36a shown in Figures 1 to 3 is a wiring duct for power supply that supplies power to the lighting fixture 11 (Figure 5) via the first connection part 37a. The first rail 36a has a rail main body 40, a pair of insulators 41 arranged on both sides in the width direction, which is the short direction that intersects with the longitudinal direction within the rail main body 40, a pair of conductors 42 attached to these insulators 41, and a ground electrode 43 arranged within the rail main body 40.

The rail body 40 is made of a metal such as aluminum, and is provided in a generally rectangular, hollow, and long shape. An opening 45 is provided along the longitudinal direction on one side of the rail body 40, and both sides of the opening 45 serve as support edges 46. A polarity protrusion 47 indicating the polarity of the ground side protrudes outward from one side of the rail body 40. The polarity protrusion 47 determines the orientation of the first connection part 37a attached to the first rail 36a.

The insulators 41 are elongated and made of, for example, synthetic resin. Each insulator 41 supports a conductor 42 and is arranged along the longitudinal direction on both sides of the opening 45 within the rail body 40.

The conductor 42 is, for example, a long metal plate. The conductors 42 are arranged facing each other on both sides of the opening 45 within the rail main body 40, sandwiched between the insulators 41. A predetermined external power, such as AC power or DC power, from an external power source is passed through the conductor 42.

The ground electrode 43 is elongated and made of, for example, a metal plate. The ground electrode 43 is arranged along the longitudinal direction of the rail body 40 at a position opposite the opening 45 of the rail body 40.

The first rail 36a is arranged along the longitudinal direction of the baton body 15 or the holding part 21. In this embodiment, the first rail 36a is arranged with the rail body 40 supported by the connecting member 30 and/or the support member 22, and the opening 45 faces the side part 27 as shown in FIG. 4. That is, the first rail 36a is arranged with the width direction facing up and down, and the connecting member 30 and/or the support member 22 are used as rail support members that support the rail 36. Therefore, a part of the member that forms the frame structure of the baton body 15 or the holding part 21 also serves as a rail support member. The first rail 36a is located below the upper surface part 24 and is separated upward from the lower surface part 25. The first rail 36a is located toward the upper side within the holding part 21. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the first rail 36a is arranged in a plurality of, for example, a pair, in the longitudinal direction of the baton body 15 or the holding part 21. That is, in this embodiment, two first connection parts 37a are attached to one first rail 36a, and one first connection part 37a is attached to the other first rail 36a. In this embodiment, the polarity protrusions 47 are arranged upside down with respect to the opening 45 on one first rail 36a and the other first rail 36a.

The first connection part 37a attached to the first rail 36a is, for example, a power outlet. As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the first connection part 37a has a connection part main body part 50 and a pair of connection terminals 51 and a ground terminal 52 arranged on the connection part main body part 50.

The connection body 50 is made of, for example, resin, and is divided into a plurality of pieces, for example, a pair of pieces of the body, which are combined with the connection terminal 51 and the earth terminal 52 and fixed together by a fixing means such as a screw. One end of the connection body 50, that is, the side to which the plug is connected, is covered by a cover 55. As shown in FIG. 2, the cover 55 is formed with a connection opening 56. In this embodiment, the connection opening 56 is provided with a pair of connection terminal openings 56a for electrically connecting with the pair of connection terminals 51 (FIG. 3), and an earth terminal opening 56b for electrically connecting with the earth terminal 52 (FIG. 3). The connection terminal openings 56a and the earth terminal openings 56b are each formed in an arc shape, and are configured so that the terminals are held in an electrically connected state with the connection terminals 51 and the earth terminal 52 (FIG. 3) by rotating the plug with the terminals inserted therein in the circumferential direction.

As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the connection body 50 is formed with an attachment portion 60 that is attached to the first rail 36a. The attachment portion 60 protrudes from the connection body 50 on the side opposite the cover 55, and is inserted into the first rail 36a through the opening 45. The attachment portion 60 includes a pair of supported portions 61 supported by a pair of support edges 46, and an opposing portion 62 that faces the ground electrode 43 of the rail body 40.

The supported portion 61 is formed to protrude like a claw and is sandwiched between the support edge portion 46 and the insulator 41, so that the first connection portion 37a is guided so as to be slidable in the longitudinal direction of the first rail 36a.

The opposing portion 62 is inserted into the first rail 36a from the opening 45, past the insulator 41, to a position opposing the ground electrode 43. The earth terminal 52 protruding from the tip of the opposing portion 62 contacts and is electrically connected to the ground electrode 43, and the connection terminals 51 protruding from both sides of the opposing portion 62 contact and are electrically connected to the conductor 42. The electrical connections between the earth terminal 52 and the ground electrode 43, and between the connection terminals 51 and the conductor 42 are maintained at each point where the first connection portion 37a slides along the first rail 36a.

On the other hand, the second rail 36b shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4 is formed separately from the first rail 36a. In this embodiment, the second rail 36b is a DIN rail for communication that supplies signals to the lighting fixture 11 (Fig. 5) via the second connection portion 37b. In the illustrated example, the second rail 36b is in a form in which external power is not applied, but it may be in a form in which external power is applied like the first rail 36a. The second rail 36b is made of a metal such as aluminum, and is provided in a long shape with a roughly U-shaped cross section. The second rail 36b has support edges 66 that protrude outward at the tips of both side wall portions 65 that rise from both sides of the long bottom portion 64.

The second rail 36b is arranged along the longitudinal direction of the baton body 15 or the holding part 21. In this embodiment, the second rail 36b is supported by the lower surface 25 of the holding part 21 and is fixed on the lower surface 25 by a fixing member such as a screw. That is, the second rail 36b is arranged with its width direction aligned with the short side direction of the baton body 15 or the holding part 21, and the lower surface 25 is used as a rail support member that supports the rail 36. Therefore, the first rail 36a and the second rail 36b are arranged on the baton body 15 with their width directions perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to each other, so as to effectively utilize the space above and below the baton body 15 or the holding part 21. As shown in FIG. 2, a hole 68 into which a fixing member is inserted is formed in the bottom 64 of the second rail 36b. The second rail 36b is located below the first rail 36a and is separated from the first rail 36a. As shown in FIG. 1, the second rails 36b are disposed between the support member 22 and the connecting member 30, and between the support members 22 and 22. In this embodiment, a plurality of second rails 36b, for example, three, are disposed in the longitudinal direction of the baton body 15 or the holding portion 21. That is, in this embodiment, one second connection portion 37b is attached to one second rail 36b. Therefore, the second rails 36b are set for each lighting device 11 (FIG. 5).

The second connection part 37b attached to the second rail 36b is, for example, a communication connector. In this embodiment, the second connection part 37b is a communication connector (female receptacle) for signals of a predetermined communication standard for controlling the lighting fixture 11 (FIG. 5), such as DMX512-A. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the second connection part 37b has a connection part main body part 70 and a base part 71 that is held by the second rail 36b.

The connection body 70 is formed, for example, in a cylindrical shape. An insertion groove 73 into which the cable plug is inserted and a number of connection openings 74 are formed at one end of the connection body 70, i.e., the side to which the cable is connected. The insertion groove 73 is an annular groove. The connection openings 74 are located inside the insertion groove 73. A terminal is disposed inside the connection opening 74 and is electrically connected to the terminal (pin) of the plug of the inserted cable. The connection body 70 is also provided with a latch lock mechanism that holds the cable plug in a connected state. The retention of the plug by the latch lock mechanism can be released by operating a button 75.

In addition, in this embodiment, one end side of the connection part main body 70 is panel mounted. That is, one end side of the connection part main body 70 is formed integrally with a flat panel 77. The panel 77 is formed, for example, in a rectangular shape, and protrudes from the connection part main body 70 in a flange shape. The panel 77 is formed with a hole 78 into which a fixing body such as a screw is inserted. The connection part main body 70 is attached to a holder 79 via the fixing body inserted into the hole 78.

The holder 79 fixes the connection body 70 to the base 71. The holder 79 is made of, for example, metal, and in this embodiment is a metal plate bent into an L-shape. In other words, the holder 79 integrally has a first surface 81 to which one end of the connection body 70 is attached via the panel 77, and a second surface 82 that extends in a direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the first surface 81 and is attached to the base 71. The first surface 81 rises vertically and faces the side surface 27 of the holder 21. The second surface 82 extends horizontally from the lower end of the first surface 81 toward the inside of the baton body 15 or the holder 21.

A board 84 is mounted on the holder 79. The board 84 is a circuit board that processes signals for communication. For example, the board 84 is disposed perpendicular or approximately perpendicular to the first surface 81 and the second surface 82. The connection body 70 is mounted on the board 84, and terminals in the connection body 70 are electrically connected to the circuit. The board 84 is capable of transmitting and receiving signals, by wire or wirelessly, to a remote control device that controls the operation and dimming of the lighting fixture 11 (FIG. 5). In this embodiment, the connection body 70, the holder 79, and the board 84 form an integrated unit.

The base portion 71 holds the connection portion main body 70 so that it can move along the second rail 36b. The base portion 71 is formed in a plate shape, and the second surface portion 82 of the holder 79 is placed on the upper surface, which is one of the main surfaces, and is attached integrally.

A pair of grooves 86 into which a pair of support edges 66 of the second rail 36b are inserted are formed on the underside, which is the other main surface of the base 71. Between these grooves 86, 86 is an insertion section 87 located between the side walls 65, 65 of the second rail 36b and facing the bottom 64. A claw 89 is protruded from one side of each groove 86 to be hooked onto the back side of the support edges 66.

The connection portion 37 is exposed to the outside of the baton body 15 or the holding portion 21 through an exposure opening 91 opened in the side portion 27 of the holding portion 21, as shown in FIG. 5. That is, the side portion 27 is formed with an exposure opening 91 according to the position of the connection portion 37. In this embodiment, the exposure opening 91 includes a first exposure opening 91a that exposes the first connection portion 37a, and a second exposure opening 91b that exposes the second connection portion 37b.

In addition, in this embodiment, the lighting fixture 11 is provided with a lead-out portion 94 for leading out a power cable having a plug connected to the first connection portion 37a, and a connection portion 95 to which a communication cable having a plug connected to the second connection portion 37b can be connected, arranged side by side. The lighting fixture 11 may further be provided with a connection portion 96 arranged side by side for daisy-chaining multiple lighting fixtures 11 together. It is preferable that the lead-out portion 94, the connection portion 95, and the connection portion 96 are suspended from the baton main body portion 15 so as to be on the same side as the side portion 27.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained.

With the side portion 27 of the holding portion 21 removed from the baton body 15, the user slides and moves the connection portion 37 along the rail 36 according to the desired position for installing the lighting fixture 11. The first connection portion 37a moves along the first rail 36a while maintaining the electrical connection between the connection terminal 51 and the conductor 42 and the electrical connection between the earth terminal 52 and the ground electrode 43, with the supported portion 61 supported by the support edge portion 46 of the first rail 36a. The second connection portion 37b moves along the second rail 36b with the claw portion 89 supported by the support edge portion 66 of the second rail 36b.

Once the positions of these connection parts 37 have been determined, the side part 27 with the exposure opening 91 formed therein is attached according to the position of the connection parts 37.

The lighting fixture 11 that is hung from the hanging part 20 of the baton main body 15 connects the power cable led out from the lead-out part 94 to the first connection part 37a, and also connects the connection part 95 to the second connection part 37b using a communication cable if necessary.

The lighting baton 10 is suspended from a ceiling structure by hooking the wire 12 to the suspended part 16. The lighting fixture 11 suspended from the lighting baton 10 receives external power from an external power source via the first rail 36a, the first connection part 37a, and the power cable, and its dimming and/or operation are controlled in response to a signal from a remote control device or the like received via the second connection part 37b and the communication cable.

According to the embodiment described above, a rail 36 is arranged on the baton body 15 that supports the lighting fixture 11, and the first connection part 37a for power supply, which is electrically connected to the lighting fixture 11 via a cable, is electrically connected to the rail 36 and movably attached, and the second connection part 37b for signal supply to the lighting fixture 11 is movably attached to the rail 36, so that the positions of the first connection part 37a and the second connection part 37b can be arbitrarily set along the rail 36. Therefore, the position of the lighting fixture 11 connected to the first connection part 37a and the second connection part 37b is less likely to be restricted by the positions of the first connection part 37a and the second connection part 37b, so that the freedom of the installation position of the lighting fixture 11 on the lighting baton 10 can be improved without excessively increasing the length of the cable.

By arranging the rail 36 along the longitudinal direction of the long baton body 15, the position of the first connection part 37a and the second connection part 37b can be changed along the rail 36 by effectively utilizing the length of the baton body 15, thereby further improving the freedom of installation position of the lighting device 11 on the lighting baton 10.

By setting the rail 36 as a first rail 36a for the first connection portion 37a and a second rail 36 for the second connection portion 37b, the space inside the baton body 15 can be effectively utilized according to the size of the first connection portion 37a and the second connection portion 37b. For example, in this embodiment, since the second connection portion 37b takes up more space than the first connection portion 37a, by attaching the first connection portion 37a to the first rail 36a and the second connection portion 37b to the second rail 36b, the positions of the first connection portion 37a and the second connection portion 37b can be individually set along the rail 36 inside the baton body 15 without interfering with each other.

In the above embodiment, the rails 36 may be arranged vertically on the baton body 15 or the holding part 21 in a plurality of positions in the width direction. In other words, the second rail 36b may be configured to be supported by the connecting member 30 and/or the support member 22 at a position below the first rail 36a. In this case, this can be easily accommodated by changing the shape of the holding body 79, etc., so that the insertion groove 73 and the connection opening 74 of the second connection part 37b are oriented to face the side surface 27 of the holding part 21.

The first connection portion 37a and the second connection portion 37b may also be attached so as to be movable along a common rail 36. In this case, it is preferable that the first connection portion 37a and the second connection portion 37b are detachable from the rail 36 and are insulated from each other. In this way, by attaching multiple connection portions 37 to a common rail 36, it is possible to reduce the amount of wiring within the baton body portion 15, and the lighting baton 10 can be made smaller.

Furthermore, in each embodiment, the number of connection parts 37 per lighting fixture 11 is not limited to two, but may be one or three or more.

In addition, any member constituting the frame structure of the baton body 15 or the holding part 21, such as the top surface 24 of the holding part 21, may be used as a rail support member.

Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents described in the claims.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Lighting baton 11 Lighting equipment 15 Baton body 36 Rail 36a First rail 36b Second rail 37a First connection part 37b Second connection part

Claims (4)

A baton body that supports the lighting fixture;
A rail disposed on the baton body;
a first connection portion movably mounted to the rail and adapted to supply power to the lighting fixture;
a second connector movably mounted to the rail and adapted to provide a signal to the lighting fixture;
A lighting baton comprising: The baton body is formed in an elongated shape,
The lighting baton according to claim 1 , wherein the rail is disposed along a longitudinal direction of the baton body. The lighting baton according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the rail has a first rail to which the first connection portion is attached and a second rail to which the second connection portion is attached. The lighting baton according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the first connection portion and the second connection portion are attached to a common rail.

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