JP5161126B2 - Lighting device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an illumination device using a surface-emitting light source represented by, for example, an organic EL (electroluminescence) element.

  The organic EL element is driven by a low direct current voltage, has high luminous efficiency, can be reduced in weight and thickness, and has characteristics of relatively little heat generation. Therefore, it is used for a flat panel display (FPD) in some portable devices and the like, and there is also provided a configuration in which the element is used as a surface emitting light source, for example, as a backlight of a liquid crystal display element.

  The organic EL element can obtain R (red), G (green), B (blue) and other luminescent colors by selecting the material used for the EL luminescent layer. In addition, by combining two or more kinds of emission colors, it becomes possible to obtain white or an emission color close to this. Therefore, by configuring the organic EL element as a surface-emitting light source (light-emitting panel), for example, it can be used as a light source for decoration or a highly efficient light source for illuminating a room or the like.

  Patent Documents 1 and 2 below show what utilizes the characteristics of the organic EL element described above and uses this as a surface-emitting illumination device.

  In the illumination device disclosed in this prior art document, in the case where an organic EL element is used as a surface light source, it is a problem to be solved mainly to prevent the occurrence of luminance unevenness. The idea is limited to using the organic EL element as a monotonous surface emitting source.

  On the other hand, there has been proposed a stand-type luminaire that uses an organic EL element as a surface light source and allows a user to change the light irradiation range, which is disclosed in Patent Document 3 shown below. ing.

JP 2003-7450 A JP 2004-234868 A JP 2001-325805 A

  By the way, according to the illumination device disclosed in Patent Document 3 described above, for example, two light source support plates are connected to each other through a hinge so as to be rotatable, and each surface of the light source support plate is made of, for example, an organic EL element. A surface light emitter is attached. With this configuration, by opening the light source support plate to a predetermined angle via the hinge, a stand type that can stand on the desk surface or the like is made. By adjusting the mutual angle of the light source support plate, Patent Document 3 describes that the irradiation range can be changed.

  However, also in the lighting apparatus described in Patent Document 3, the two light source support plates to which the surface light emitters made of organic EL elements are attached can be bent with respect to each other via a hinge. Similar to the illumination devices shown in Patent Documents 1 and 2, there is no progress in that the organic EL element is used as a monotonous surface emitting source.

  The illuminating device according to the present invention has a basic idea that a surface light emitter represented by the organic EL element described above is used as a light source, and a large number of light-emitting members that are housed in the shape of a strip are accommodated. It is.

  That is, each end of the light emitting member is connected to form a multiple three-dimensional structure, and each light emitting member can be bent at each connecting portion, so that various forms can be selected according to preference. It is an object of the present invention to provide a lighting device that can gracefully bring out a decorative effect.

  The lighting device according to the present invention made to solve the above-described problems uses a plurality of light-emitting members that are formed in a strip shape and that accommodates a surface light emitter, and each end of the light-emitting members can be bent. A first light-emitting unit that is radially connected around the first connecting member, and a second light-emitting unit that is radially connected around the second connecting member that can bend each end of the light-emitting members. At least one light emitting unit, and the other end portions of the plurality of light emitting members constituting the first light emitting unit and the other end portions of the plurality of light emitting members constituting the second light emitting unit have a one-to-one relationship. It is characterized in that a three-dimensional structure is formed by the light emitting members that are connected by a bendable third connecting member and formed in a strip shape.

  In this case, in a more preferable form, each of the light emitting members includes one of the light emitting members constituting the second light emitting unit with each third connecting member as a center, and each end of the light emitting member is radially connected. A plurality of third light emitting units, and a fourth light emitting unit in which each end of the plurality of light emitting members is radially connected with a bendable fourth connecting member as a center. The other end portions of the plurality of light emitting members constituting and the other end portions of the plurality of light emitting members constituting the fourth light emitting unit are respectively connected by a fifth connecting member that can be bent in a one-to-one relationship. Is done.

  In the illuminating device having the above-described configuration, each light emitting member constituting each light emitting unit is preferably configured to have the same longitudinal dimension, and is housed in a light emitting member formed in a strip shape. The surface light emitter is preferably composed of an organic EL element.

  According to the illumination device having the above-described configuration, a plurality of light emitting members whose basic configurations are formed in a strip shape are connected to each other in a three-dimensional shape by the first to third connecting members, and the light emitting members are bent to each other at each connecting member. Since it is configured to be possible, various forms can be selected according to preference, such as making the form of the lighting device vertically or horizontally long.

  Further, in addition to the basic structure described above, the strip-shaped light emitting members are sequentially connected to a three-dimensional structure that spreads further using the fourth connecting member and the fifth connecting member, thereby drawing out a more luxurious decoration effect. Provided is a lighting device capable of And as a hanging type lighting device having the above-mentioned first connecting member that connects each light emitting member radially, it can also be used as a floor-standing type lighting device, and a lighting device that exhibits more various effects Can be provided.

It is the disassembled perspective view which showed the structure of the light emitting member used in the illuminating device concerning this invention. It is the front view of the state which similarly removed the front view of a light emitting member, and the cover member which comprises the outline. It is a schematic diagram explaining the basic composition of the organic EL element accommodated in a light emitting member. It is a sectional view explaining the basic composition of an organic EL element similarly. It is a perspective view which shows the basic composition of the illuminating device concerning this invention which connected the light emitting member to the solid shape. It is a perspective view which shows another example of the illuminating device concerning this invention which connected the light emitting member to the basic structure shown in FIG. 5 is a photograph showing an example in which the lighting device shown in FIG. 4 is sequentially deformed through a connecting member. It is a photograph which shows the whole structure of the illuminating device shown in FIG. 6 is a photograph showing an example in which the lighting device shown in FIG. 5 is deformed via a connecting member. 6 is a photograph showing another example in which the lighting device shown in FIG. 5 is deformed via a connecting member.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a lighting device according to the present invention will be described based on embodiments shown in the drawings. First, FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a light emitting member used in the lighting device according to the present invention. This light emitting member is formed in a flat strip shape as a whole, with an organic EL element as a surface light emitter disposed between front and back cover members formed of a light transmissive material (for example, acrylic resin).

  That is, on the cover member 1 constituting the front surface shown in FIG. 1 and the cover member 2 constituting the back surface, the connecting projections 3 and 4 for connecting the two are formed so as to face both ends. ing. Further, between the front and back cover members 1 and 2, the organic EL element 5 as a surface light emitter that is similarly formed in a strip shape along the longitudinal direction is disposed. The organic EL element 5 has a first electrode, which will be described later, connected to the terminal plate 6 on one side and a second electrode connected to the terminal plate 7 on the other side.

  Through holes formed in the connecting members 8 and 9 are inserted using the protrusions 4 of the cover member 2 constituting the back side, and the connecting members 8 and 9 are attached to the cover member 2. At this time, the wiring portions 8a and 9a formed respectively on the connecting members 8 and 9 come into contact with the terminal plates 6 and 7 attached to the end portions of the organic EL element.

  In this state, by connecting the front and back cover members 1 and 2 using the connecting projections 3 and 4, the wiring portions 8 a and 9 a formed on the connecting members 8 and 9, respectively, become the organic EL element. The light-emitting member E is assembled by crimping the terminal plates 6 and 7 attached to the connector plate 7 to be in a conductive state, with the connecting member 8 attached to one side and the connecting member 9 attached to the other side.

  FIG. 2A shows the light emitting member E assembled as described above in a front view, and FIG. 2B shows the state in which the front and back cover members 1 and 2 are removed. In FIG. 2, the same parts as those shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and therefore detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The connecting member 8 attached to one end of the light emitting member E is formed of a flexible insulating material, for example, polyurethane resin, so that the other light emitting member E can be connected at an angle of about 120 degrees. It is configured. That is, the connecting member 8 is configured such that one end portions of the three light emitting members are connected radially, and thus the light emitting member E is centered on the connecting member 8 without changing the relationship of the angles. Is made bendable. In addition, the light emitting members E that are radially connected at an angle of approximately 120 degrees are configured to be supplied with power by the wiring portion 8a formed on the connecting member 8, respectively.

  Similarly, the connecting member 9 attached to the other end of the light emitting member E is also made of a flexible insulating material such as a polyurethane resin formed in multiple layers. The connecting member 9 in this embodiment is connected so as to be bent in a one-to-one relationship with the end of the other light emitting member E, and via the wiring portion 8 a formed in the connecting member 8. The other light-emitting members E connected in a one-to-one relationship can be fed.

  3A and 3B show a basic configuration example of the organic EL element 5 as the surface light emitter described above. In FIG. 3A, each layer which comprises an organic EL element is shown in the state which isolate | separated to the layer direction, and it has shown in sectional drawing in FIG. 3B.

  That is, in this type of organic EL element, first, a transparent electrode 5b made of, for example, ITO serving as a first electrode is formed on one side of an element forming substrate 5a made of a transparent material. Further, a light emitting functional layer 5c made of an organic material is formed so as to be superimposed on the transparent electrode 5b.

  The light emitting functional layer 5c is a single layer of an organic light emitting layer, or a two-layer structure including an organic hole transport layer and an organic light emitting layer, or a three layer structure including an organic hole transport layer, an organic light emitting layer, and an organic electron transport layer. In some cases, a multilayer structure in which an electron or hole injection layer is inserted between these appropriate layers may be used. In FIG. 3, these are shown as 5c in a single layer state.

  On the light emitting functional layer 5c, a metal back electrode 5d mainly made of a material such as aluminum is formed as a second electrode. Further, a sealing member 5e is mounted on the back electrode 5d, and the sealing member 5e allows the organic EL element 5 including the transparent electrode 5b, the light emitting functional layer 5c, and the back electrode 5d to be connected to the substrate 5a. It is set as the structure sealed between.

  A DC power supply E1 is applied between the transparent electrode 5b and the back electrode 5d. Thereby, the light generated in the light emitting functional layer 5c is transmitted through the transparent electrode 5b and the transparent substrate 5a, and can be used as illumination light. In addition, when the light emission of the organic EL element is used for illumination, generally the light emission color is preferably white (daylight color). However, the organic EL element emits various light by selecting the material of the light emitting functional layer 5c. Can bring color.

  Next, FIG. 4 shows an example of the most basic configuration of the lighting apparatus according to the present invention using the plurality of light emitting members E shown in FIGS. In the following description, for the convenience of identifying and explaining each light emitting member and each connecting member that connects them three-dimensionally, these are indicated by different symbols, but each light emitting member E has the same length and the same length. The structure is used, and the head of the code is indicated by E. The connecting members 8 and 9 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are also used, and the head of the reference numeral is indicated by J.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, one end of each of the three light emitting members E <b> 1 to E <b> 3 is radially connected around a bendable first connecting portion J <b> 1 (corresponding to the connecting member 8). This constitutes the first light emitting unit UN1. Further, one end of each of the three light emitting members E4 to E6 is connected radially with a bendable second connecting portion J2 (corresponding to the connecting member 8) as a center, and this constitutes the second light emitting unit UN2. doing.

  A pair of the other end portions of the three light emitting members E1 to E3 constituting the first light emitting unit UN1 and a pair of the other end portions of the three light emitting members E4 to E6 constituting the second light emitting unit UN2. The three-dimensional structure is constituted by the light emitting members formed in a strip shape, which are respectively connected by a third connecting portion J3 (corresponding to the connecting member 9) that can be bent in one relationship.

  According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the plurality of light emitting members E1 to E6 are connected in a three-dimensional shape by the first to third connecting portions J1 to J3, and the light emitting members can be bent with respect to each other at each connecting member. Since it is comprised, various forms can be selected according to liking, such as making the form of an illuminating device vertically or horizontally long.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, in addition to the basic configuration shown in FIG. 4, light emitting members having the same configuration as the basic configuration shown in FIG. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, instead of the connecting member 9 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the connecting members attached to both ends of each light emitting member E are other light emitting members with an angle of approximately 120 degrees. Are respectively used as connecting members indicated by reference numeral 8.

  The portion formed at the top in FIG. 5 is the same as the basic configuration shown in FIG. 4, and the portion is indicated using the same reference numeral as that shown in FIG. 4. In addition to this, in the configuration shown in FIG. 5, each of the light emitting members E <b> 5 to E <b> 7 includes one light emitting member (E <b> 5) that constitutes the second light emitting unit UN <b> 2 with the third connecting portion J <b> 3 as the center. A third light emitting unit UN3 having one end portion connected radially is formed.

  In FIG. 5, only the third light emitting unit UN3 including the light emitting members E5 to E7 is illustrated for the sake of complexity, but the light emitting members E4 and E6 constituting the second light emitting unit UN2 are included. Similarly, two other third light emitting units UN3 are similarly formed.

  In addition, a fourth light emitting unit UN4 is further formed in which one end of each of the three light emitting members E8 to E10 is radially connected around a bendable fourth connecting portion J4, and the third light emitting unit UN3 is formed. Each of the other light emitting members E5 to E7 constituting the fifth light emitting member UN4 and the other light emitting members E8 to E10 constituting the fourth light emitting unit UN4 can be bent in a one-to-one relationship. They are connected by the connecting part J5. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the 2nd connection part J2 and the 5th connection part J5 become the same location.

  In FIG. 5, only the fourth light emitting unit UN4 including the light emitting members E8 to E10 is shown for the sake of illustration, but the third light emitting unit UN3 and the fourth light emitting unit UN4 are respectively the same. Formed in pairs.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the fifth light emitting unit UN5 is formed around the fifth connecting portion J5 in the same manner, and the sixth light emitting unit UN6 that forms a pair is formed opposite thereto. Further, a seventh light emitting unit UN7 is formed around the seventh connecting portion J7 which is the connecting portion between them, and an eighth light emitting unit UN8 which is paired with the seventh light emitting unit UN8 is formed.

  Thus, according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the strip-shaped light-emitting members are three-dimensionally connected so as to gradually spread from the basic structure shown in FIG. It is possible to provide a lighting device that can bring out an effect. Since each light emitting member can be bent at an arbitrary angle at each connecting portion, the form can be arbitrarily changed, and a lighting device that exhibits more various effects can be provided. .

  6 to 9 are photographs showing examples in which the form of the lighting device shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is arbitrarily changed. First, FIG. 6 shows the basic configuration of the lighting device according to the present invention shown in FIG. 4 from the state in which the first connecting member and the second connecting member that connect the light emitting members radially respectively are closest (overlapped state). Each modification is shown step by step until the two are in the most distant state.

  FIG. 7 is a photograph showing the overall structure of the lighting device shown in FIG. 5 and shows an example of use as a floor-standing type. Further, FIG. 8 shows another example in which the entire lighting device shown in FIG. 5 is transformed into a rounded state via each connecting member, and is also used as a floor-standing type. . Further, FIG. 9 shows an example in which the lighting device shown in FIG. 5 is also transformed into a chandelier and is used by being suspended from the ceiling.

  In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 to 9, the three light emitting members are radially connected around the connecting member, but this is a number of four or more. It is also possible to assemble the light emitting member into a three-dimensional structure in the same manner by radially connecting the light emitting members.

  Moreover, in embodiment described above, although the example using an organic EL element is shown as a surface light emitter accommodated in a panel case, in addition to this, light emitting elements, such as an inorganic EL element, are utilized. It is also possible.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Front side cover member 2 Back side cover member 3, 4 Projection part for connection 5 Surface light emitter (organic EL element)
6,7 Terminal board 8,9 Connection member 8a, 9a Wiring part E, E1-E10 Light emitting member J1-J9 Connection part (connection member)
UN1-UN8 light emitting unit

Claims (4)

  A plurality of light emitting members formed in a strip shape and containing a surface light emitter are used, and first ends of the light emitting members are radially connected around a first connecting member that can be bent. A plurality of light emitting units, and at least one second light emitting unit in which one end of each of the plurality of light emitting members is radially connected around a bendable second connecting member. Each other end portion of the light emitting member and each other end portion of the plurality of light emitting members constituting the second light emitting unit are connected by a third connecting member that can be bent in a one-to-one relationship, and formed in a strip shape. A lighting device characterized in that a three-dimensional structure is formed by the light emitting members.   A plurality of third light-emitting units each including one of the light-emitting members constituting the second light-emitting unit around the third connecting members, each end of the light-emitting members being radially connected; Each light emitting member further includes a fourth light emitting unit that is radially connected around a fourth connecting member that can be bent, and each of the plurality of light emitting members that constitute the third light emitting unit. The end portion and each other end portion of the plurality of light emitting members constituting the fourth light emitting unit are respectively connected by a fifth connecting member that can be bent in a one-to-one relationship. Lighting device.   3. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting members constituting the light emitting units are configured to have the same longitudinal dimension.   The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the surface light emitter is composed of an organic EL element.