JPH04307008A - Showcase with plane illuminator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a sharply oriented illuminalor without glaring feeling, by arranging plane illuminator units in which a tubular lighting source is provided. with reflecting plates respectively in shelf-bodies themselves at the end face of one side of multi-light-conducting members, along the other inclined face. CONSTITUTION:This showcase 1A is provided with plane illuminator units 7A arranged at the front of rear face of shelf-bodies 6A, which are tubular lighting sources L. For instance, four pierced plates P having different lengthes with each other made of a material with an excellent piercing characteristic such as methylmetacrylate polymer and a relatively small-diametral and high- brightness fine-tubular fluorescent light 7a are laminated in accordance with the diameter of fluorescent light 7a. And this unit is composed of multi-light conductors 7b in which the endface of one side of respective pierced plates P is arranged at a plane and further the other sideface is inclined in an irregular stair-form and a reflection plate 7e arranged so as to surround the fluorescent light 7a along the inclined sideface (b) of the multi-light conductors 7b. A cover 6a is provided at the sideface of the front edge of shelf-body 6A to be freely opened.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a display shelf with surface-emitting illumination, which is equipped with a surface-emitting illumination unit that can very effectively illuminate exhibits displayed on the shelf and is free from glare.

0002

[Prior Art] Conventional display shelf lighting, for example,
As disclosed in Publication No. 20746, lamps with a straight tube fluorescent lamp equipped with a reflector on the underside of the shelf, and lamps with a white light bulb and a spotlight are generally used. ing. Furthermore, a light diffuser is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-246702 as a surface emitting illumination. FIGS. 5 and 6 show an example of a display shelf to which straight tube fluorescent lamps are attached.

In FIGS. 5 and 6, 1 is a display shelf; 2 is a display shelf;
3 is a frame for supporting shelf boards 4, 5, and 6;
7 is a lighting unit composed of a straight tube fluorescent lamp 7a (hereinafter referred to as a fluorescent lamp), a concave arc-shaped reflector 7b, and a heat insulator 7c, and this lighting unit is attached to the lower front edge of the shelf 6. Part of it is installed recessed.

In the above configuration, the exhibit is illuminated diagonally downward from the lower front edge of the shelf board 6 by direct light from the fluorescent lamp 7a and reflected light from the reflective plate 7b.

[0005]

However, since the conventional example is constructed as described above, the amount of projected light is not uniform depending on the position on the shelf board because the light is dispersed, and the directivity is poor. The amount of light is attenuated, making it impossible to illuminate the exhibits evenly, making it impossible to provide sharp light distribution for close-ups, and illuminating the exhibits aesthetically. There was a problem in that the direct light from the light 7a entered the customer's eyes and caused them to feel glare.

[0006] Furthermore, the light diffuser disclosed in the above publication has two
This relates to a simple light-diffusion type general lighting unit characterized by uniformly diffusing light by combining two or more light guides. The structure and effect of distributing light evenly and with directivity in a specific direction cannot be expected.

[0007] This invention was made to solve the problems of the conventional example as described above, and the lighting unit is concealed and buried in the shelf board body of the display shelf so that it cannot be seen from the outside. Not only does this eliminate the need for a special space to install the lighting unit, but the surface-emitting lighting unit also allows the light from the tubular light source to be uniformly emitted from the surface, and all of this light is reflected and directed in the desired direction. To provide a display shelf with surface-emitting illumination that uniformly illuminates a desired surface when held and does not cause any glare.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems] Therefore, in the display shelf with surface-emitting lighting according to the present invention, a plurality of light-transmitting plates having different lengths are stacked, and one end surface of each light-transmitting plate is aligned flush with the other. A surface-emitting lighting unit obtained by attaching a tubular light source to the flush end face of the multiple light guide whose other side surface is irregularly inclined, and a reflecting plate along the other inclined side surface, is used for display purposes. embedded in the shelf body, and the light emitting surface of the buried surface emitting lighting unit is set on one of the upper and lower surfaces of the shelf body,
The above object is achieved by illuminating with the irradiated light and by covering the light projection surface of the surface emitting lighting unit with a diffuser plate.

[0009]

[Function] The display shelf with surface-emitting lighting according to the present invention configured as described above has a surface-emitting lighting unit consisting of a tubular light source, multiple light guides, and a reflecting plate embedded in the main body of the display shelf. The light emitting surface of this lighting unit is set on either the upper or lower surface of the shelf body, and the illumination is performed using the irradiated light, so that the desired uniform light distribution with directional and sharp light distribution is achieved. By projecting light evenly in all directions, exhibits can be illuminated effectively, as well as close-up lighting and lighting with enhanced aesthetic effects.

Furthermore, since the thin surface-emitting lighting unit is completely concealed and buried within the shelf body, a special space for installing the lighting unit is not required, and the exhibition space can be effectively utilized. In addition, by covering the light projection surface of the lighting unit with a diffusion plate, it is also possible to provide uniform illumination from the entire surface of the shelf body.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. (Structure) Fig. 1 is a perspective structural explanatory diagram of a display shelf with surface emitting lighting showing an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 2 is a main part structure of a shelf board body in which a surface emitting lighting unit of the display shelf of the above embodiment is embedded. FIG. In the drawings, the same or equivalent parts as in the conventional example are indicated by the same reference numerals.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, 1A is a display shelf with surface illumination (hereinafter referred to as a display shelf), and 6A is a display shelf 1A.
7a is an example of a tubular light source L, which is a high-intensity thin tube fluorescent lamp (hereinafter referred to as a fluorescent lamp) with a much smaller diameter than a conventional fluorescent lamp, and 7d is a light-transmitting lamp such as a methyl methacrylate polymer. Four transparent plates P made of a material with excellent properties and having different lengths are laminated to match the diameter of the fluorescent lamp 7a, and one end surface of each transparent plate P is aligned flush, and the other side is made uneven. multiple light guides tilted in a step-like manner (hereinafter referred to as light guides);
a is a flush end face of the multiplexed light guide 7d, b is the other side surface (hereinafter referred to as a tilted side face) that is inclined in a stepwise manner, and 7e is a flush end face that is attached along the sloped side face b. This is a reflecting plate that surrounds the fluorescent lamp 7a attached to the lamp 7a. A surface emitting illumination unit (hereinafter referred to as illumination unit) 7A is composed of the fluorescent lamp 7a, the light guide 7d, and the reflection plate 7e.

Since the fluorescent lamp 7a of this lighting unit 7A has a small diameter of 1/2 of the diameter of a conventional fluorescent lamp, it has a diameter of 20 mm to 3 mm.
It is formed as thin as 0mm. This thin lighting unit 7A is completely embedded in the front edge of the shelf main body 6A, and is disposed with the light projection surface Ls facing the lower surface of the shelf main body 6A.

Reference numeral 6a denotes an openable/detachable cover provided on the front edge side of the shelf body 6A, and is used when replacing the fluorescent lamp 7a or repairing the lighting unit 7A. S1
, S2, S3, and S4 are reflective surfaces of a reflective plate 7e that equally reflects the light projected from the transparent plate P of each layer in a predetermined direction.

(Operation) The operation will be explained based on the above configuration. In FIG. 2, first, when the fluorescent lamp 7a is turned on, all the light from the fluorescent lamp 7a is transferred to the light guide 7 by the reflection plate 7e.
The light is concentrated on the end surface a which is flush with d. This light is guided through each light-transmitting plate P toward the inclined side surface b without any diffusion loss using the same principle as that of an optical fiber, and
from the side edge of each transparent plate P to the reflective surface S of the reflective plate 7e.
1 to S4, and is reflected in a predetermined direction with a uniform width and directionality to create an even surface emitting state, and the upper surface of the lower shelf is evenly illuminated from the light projection surface facing the lower surface of the shelf main body 6A. to illuminate. The width of the light emitting surface and the light projection angle can be arbitrarily set depending on the inclination of the inclined side surface b of the light guide 7d.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 3 is an explanatory perspective view of a display shelf with surface-emitting lighting according to another embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a sectional side view showing the main part of a shelf body in which the surface-emitting lighting unit of the above embodiment is embedded.

In FIG. 3, 6B is a shelf body, and 7B is formed by attaching a common reflecting plate 7f to two opposed fluorescent lamps 7a, which are tubular light sources L, and two light guides 7d. This is a surface emitting lighting unit, and a diffuser plate 6b that also serves as a shelf is covered on the upward light projection surface Ls of this lighting unit 7B. The operation will be explained based on the above configuration.

When the fluorescent lamps 7a disposed at the front and rear edges of the shelf body 6B are turned on, the light that is evenly guided is reflected by the reflector plate 7f as in the previous embodiment. It is reflected directionally in a wide direction upwards. This reflected uniform light is further evenly diffused by the diffusion plate 6b, and the exhibited items are evenly illuminated upward from the top surface of the shelf body 6B as if the entire top surface of the shelf body 6B were emitting light. Light from below.

As described above, the present invention provides not only uniform illumination of exhibits, but also a variety of illumination, such as close-up illumination with sharp directionality, and even aesthetically structured illumination that provides desired shadows. Not only is this possible, but since the lighting unit is completely buried within the shelf board body, it is possible to provide lighting with no glare at all.

Furthermore, the lighting unit according to the present invention includes:
Since it can be formed into a very thin shape, it does not protrude from the shelf body, allowing for extremely effective use of exhibition space.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and may have a full-surface illumination configuration using a diffuser plate on the lower surface of the shelf body.Furthermore, in a display shelf with side walls, the lighting unit may be placed on both sides. Alternatively, it may be buried on one side to provide effective illumination from the left and right sides.

Furthermore, the shape of the irregularly inclined side surfaces of the multiple light guides of the surface emitting lighting unit is not limited to the step shape, but the shape of the irregularly stacked side surfaces of the light projecting plates can be made to be inclined, so that the shape of the multiple light guides is inclined. The curved side surface may be formed as a continuous sloped surface.

[0023]

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, a surface emitting lighting unit is embedded in the shelf board body of a display shelf,
Since the light emitting surface of this surface-emitting lighting unit is set on either the top or bottom of the shelf body, it is possible to provide directional, even, and sharp light distribution without any glare. First, by using a diffuser plate, it is possible to emit light from the entire surface of the shelf board, and to illuminate the entire exhibition space evenly and with high lighting efficiency.

Furthermore, since the surface emitting lighting unit can be formed into a very thin shape, it can be completely concealed and buried within the shelf body, so that the shelf body is integrated with the surface emitting lighting unit.
Since no space is required for arranging the lighting unit on the shelf board surface, the display volume of the display shelf can be utilized to the maximum, and the appearance of the display shelf can also be made excellent.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective structural explanatory diagram of a display shelf with surface-emitting illumination showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the shelf body in which the surface emitting lighting unit of the display shelf of the above embodiment is embedded.

FIG. 3 is a perspective structural explanatory diagram of a display shelf with surface-emitting illumination showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a shelf body in which a surface emitting lighting unit of the other embodiment is embedded.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a conventional display shelf with a lighting device.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the structure of the lighting device mounting portion of the shelf board of the above-mentioned conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

1A, 1B Display shelf with surface lighting 6A, 6B Shelf board body 6b Diffusion plate 7A, 7B Surface emitting lighting unit 7d Light guide 7e, 7f Reflector plate a. Flush end surface of light guide b Slanted side surface of light guide L Tubular light source Ls　Light projection surface P Translucent plate In addition, in the figures, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A multi-layered light guide in which a plurality of light-transmitting plates of different lengths are laminated so that one end surface of each light-transmitting plate is aligned flush with the other side surface and the other side surface is tilted unevenly. A surface emitting lighting unit obtained by attaching a tubular light source and a reflecting plate along the other inclined side surface is buried in a display shelf main body, and the buried surface emitting lighting unit is A display shelf with surface emitting illumination, characterized in that a light projection surface is set on one of the upper and lower surfaces of the shelf board body, and illumination is performed by the irradiated light. 2. The display shelf with surface-emitting illumination according to claim 1, characterized in that a diffusion plate is provided over the light projection surface of the surface-emitting illumination unit.