US3712978A - Portable soft-light assembly - Google Patents

Portable soft-light assembly Download PDF

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Publication number
US3712978A
US3712978A US00076716A US3712978DA US3712978A US 3712978 A US3712978 A US 3712978A US 00076716 A US00076716 A US 00076716A US 3712978D A US3712978D A US 3712978DA US 3712978 A US3712978 A US 3712978A
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United States
Prior art keywords
light
supporting
assembly
supporting members
envelope
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Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
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US00076716A
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English (en)
Inventor
R Lowell
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LOWEL-LIGHT MANUFACTURNG Inc
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Individual
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Publication of US3712978A publication Critical patent/US3712978A/en
Assigned to LOWEL-LIGHT MANUFACTURNG, INC. reassignment LOWEL-LIGHT MANUFACTURNG, INC. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST. Assignors: LOWELL ROSS
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F21—LIGHTING
    • F21V—FUNCTIONAL FEATURES OR DETAILS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMS THEREOF; STRUCTURAL COMBINATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES WITH OTHER ARTICLES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F21V7/00—Reflectors for light sources
    • F21V7/10—Construction
    • F21V7/18—Construction with provision for folding or collapsing
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03B—APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS OR FOR PROJECTING OR VIEWING THEM; APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS EMPLOYING ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR
    • G03B15/00—Special procedures for taking photographs; Apparatus therefor
    • G03B15/02—Illuminating scene
    • G03B15/06—Special arrangements of screening, diffusing, or reflecting devices, e.g. in studio
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F21—LIGHTING
    • F21W—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES F21K, F21L, F21S and F21V, RELATING TO USES OR APPLICATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMS
    • F21W2131/00—Use or application of lighting devices or systems not provided for in codes F21W2102/00-F21W2121/00
    • F21W2131/40—Lighting for industrial, commercial, recreational or military use
    • F21W2131/406—Lighting for industrial, commercial, recreational or military use for theatres, stages or film studios

Definitions

  • a portable soft-light assembly includes a collapsible frame which has a light source housing as an integral part thereof, and a removable reflector envelope which is mountable on the frame.
  • the collapsible frame includes a pair of foldable supporting members having a folded position and an unfolded position which supporting members provide a desired supporting contour in the unfolded position.
  • the supporting members are pivotally connected to the light source housingin spaced apart relation.
  • the reflector envelope is removably mountable on the supporting members in the unfolded position thereof, and substantially conforms to the supporting contour when so mounted.
  • the light source directs the light toward the interior of the reflector en-- velope which diffuses the light.
  • Light pattern controlling means such as barn doors can be removably mounted on the frame to control the pattern of the diffused light.
  • the present invention relates to a collapsible portable soft-light assembly for use in photography.
  • Prior art soft-light assemblies are not normally capable of interchanging the reflectors used therewith in order to vary the type of soft-lighting environment provided from the soft-light assembly and therefore only one such environment can be provided. These disadvantages of the prior art are overcome by the present invention.
  • a portable soft-light assembly which includes a collapsible frame which has a light source housing as an integral part thereof, and a removable reflector envelope which is mountable on the frame.
  • the collapsible frame includes a foldable supporting member having a first position and a second position, which supporting member has a desired supporting contour in the second position.
  • the supporting member is integrally connected to the light source housing.
  • the reflector envelope is removably mountable on the supporting member in the second position thereof and substantially conforms to the desired supporting contour when so mounted.
  • FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiiment of the present invention with the frame in the open position with the reflector removed;
  • FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 with the frame in the collapsed position;
  • FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 with the frame in the open position with the reflector in place;
  • FIG. 4 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 3 of an alternative embodiment thereof.
  • the portable assembly of the present invention generally referred to by the reference numeral 10, includes a light source mounting member or elongated support member 12, having a front portion 14 and a pair of opposite side portions 16 and 18.
  • the lamp housing 12 is a hollow substantially rectangular configuration, although other configurations may be utilized if desired.
  • the front portion 14 of the lamp housing 12 preferably includes a pair of high intensity lamps 20 and 22, such as tungsten-halogen lamps manufactured by the Sylvania Electric Company, which are removably mountable, as by socket interconnection, on reflective backings 24 and 26, such as of aluminum, respectively.
  • the reflective backings 24 and 26 increase the efficiency of the lamps 20 and 22, respectively, and may be omitted if such reflective efficiency is not desired. Furthermore, although a pair of lamps 20 and 22 is shown and preferred, any desired quantity of lamps, including a single such lamp may be utilized if desired. As shown and preferred in FIG. 1, the lamps 20 and 22, which are preferably of equal intensity, are evenly spaced from the side portions 16 and 18, respectively.
  • a pair of supporting members are pivotally mounted on each side portions 16 and 18, respectively, of the lamp housing 12.
  • Each supporting members 28 and 30, respectively preferably includes a pair of supporting bars 32 and 34, and 36 and 38, respectively, which are pivotally mounted on the respective side portions 16 and 18 of the lamp housing 12, and to each other, through a common pivotal mounting 40 and 42, respectively, so as to preferably be pivotal through an angle of substantially 180 from a closed or folded position, to an open or unfolded position and vice-versa.
  • each supporting member 28 and 30, respectively includes a substantially curvilinear portion 44 and 46, respectively.
  • the curvilinear portion 44 and 46 each includes a pair of pivotally connected substantially curvilinear sections 48 and 50, and 2 and 54, respectively.
  • curvilinear sections 48 and 50 are pivotally connected together at point 56 and curvilinear sections 52 and 54 are pivotally connected together at point 58.
  • curvilinear section 48 is preferably pivotally connected at its opposite end to the outer end 60 of supporting bar 32
  • curvilinear section 50 is pivotally connected at its opposite end to the outer end 62 of supporting bar 34, thereby forming three pivotal connections for the curvilinear portion 44 in addition to the single pivotal connection 40 for the supporting bars 32 and 34 of the supporting member 28. This facilitates the portability and collapsibility of the supporting member 28 and, hence, assembly in a manner to be described in greater detail hereinafter.
  • curvilinear sections 52 and 54 which are pivotally connected together at point 58 have their respective opposite ends pivotally connected to the outer ends 64 and 66, respectively, of supporting bars 36 and 38, respectively, to provide three pivotal connections 58, 64, and 66 for the curvilinear portions 46 in addition to the single pivotal connection 42 for the supporting bars 36 and 38 of the supporting member 30.
  • This facilitates the portability and collapsibility of the supporting members 30 and, hence, assembly 10 in a manner to be described in greater detail hereinafter.
  • the supporting members 28 and 30 substantially form bow or D-shaped supporting contours for a purpose to be described in greater detail hereinafter.
  • the pivotal mounting 42 for the supporting member 30 includes a hollow sleeve 68 through which a power cord 70 for supplying the power to the lamps 20 and 22 is drawn.
  • supporting bars 32, 34, 36 and 38 each have a fastening strip 72, 74, 76 and 78, respectively, secured thereto such as a Velcro strip, for removable securement of a reflector envelope 80 (FIGS. 3 and 4) thereto in a manner to be described in greater detail hereinafter.
  • a substantially -U-shaped mounting bracket 82 is preferably pivotally connected to the sides 16 and 18 of the lamp housing 12 points 40 and 42.
  • the -U-shaped bracket 82 is preferably provided with a sleeve portion 84 at the center thereof for securement of the soft-lighting assernbly 10 to a base (not shown) such as a tripod or overhead pipe or beam (not shown).
  • the reflector envelope 80 preferably conforms to the supporting contour of the supporting members 28 and 30 as determined by the substantially curvilinear portions 44 and 46.
  • reflector envelope 80 has an outer portion 86 having a center portion 88 and a pair of side portions 90 and 92 which substantially conform to the contour of the supporting members 28 and 30.
  • the interior of the side portions 90 and 92 preferably contains fastening strips (FIG. 3) which are mateable with the corresponding fastening strips 72, 74, 76 and 78 so as to removably mount the reflector envelope 80 on the supporting members 28 and 30.
  • the interior of the reflector envelope 80 is lined or formed of a reflective material, such as aluminized Mylar if bright light is desired, satin rayon if bright white light is desired, or blue tinted aluminized Mylar or satin rayon if it is desired to use the soft-light assembly 10 of the present invention indoors with outdoor film.
  • the reflective materials may be any desired material depending on the desired light intensity and pattern and is not limited to those previously enumerated by way of example.
  • the use of a blue tinted reflective material balances the light for daylight film as natural daylight is normally bluer than the light provided by the lamps 20 and 22.
  • Other useful reflective materials are, for example, fiber glass, vinyl, nylon, etc. metallized and unmetallized.
  • the reflector envelope 80 is only mountable on the supporting members 28 and 30 in the unfolded or open position thereof by fitting the envelope 80 over the D-shaped supporting members 28 and 30 and fastening the sides 90 and 92 thereof to the respective supporting bars 32 and 34, and 36 and 38.
  • the reflector envelope 80 is formed of a material which is easily foldable when removed from the supporting members 28 and 30 and which will substantially retain its properties when unfolded for use, so as to facilitate the portability of the soft-light assembly of the present invention.
  • the reflector envelope 80 is mounted on the supporting members 28 and 30 so as to be substantially concave to the lamps 20 and 22 so that the reflective interior of the reflector envelope 80 will intersect the light path directed from the lamps 20 and 22 and increase the size of the area which the intersected light impinges upon, and thereby softens the light.
  • the assembly 10 is in the collapsed or folded position shown in FIG. 2, in which position it is readily portable.
  • this assembly 10 for providing soft-light, which is scattered, non-directional, diffused light which provides soft shadows and highlights as opposed to the hard shadows provided from a hard or direct light
  • the supporting bars 32 and 34, and 36 and 38 are pivoted substantially to the open or unfolded position, as shown in FIG. 1.
  • the suppoorting bars 32 and 34, and 36 and 38 are locked in the open position preferably by means of conventional slide clamps 94, 96, 98 and 100, respectively.
  • the desired reflector envelope 80 dependent upon the desired light intensity and pattern, is then rmfolded, placed over the supporting members 28 and 30, which in the example shown, forms D-shaped supporting contours, and secured thereto by means of the Velcro strips 72, 74, 76 and 78.
  • the lamps 20 and 22, as was previously mentioned, are so mounted in relation to the reflector envelope 80 so as to direct the light therefrom towards the reflective interior of the reflector envelope 80 from which it is bounced back, diffused or scattered to the subject so as to provide soft-light thereto.
  • the power cord 70 is connected to the source of power (not shown) in order to supply power to the lamps 20 and 22. If desired, a switch (not shown) can be included in the lamp housing 12 for regulating the supply of power to the lamps 20 and 22.
  • ALTERNATIVE EMBODIMENT As shown in FIG. 4, if desired, accessories may be removably mounted on the collapsible frame of the portable assembly in order to control the pattern of the light provided therefrom and/or shield the lens of the camera (not shown) with which the photograph is taken.
  • Conventional barn doors 102 and 104 which are pivotally mounted light masks are pivotally mounted between each of the supporting bar outer ends 60 and 64, and 62 and 66, respectively, so as to each be pivotal substantially through 180 from a fully open position through various intermediate positions, to a fully closed position in which substantially all the light emanating from the assembly 10 is blocked.
  • the inner surface of the barn doors 102 and 104 is blackened so as to minimize light scatter in the direction of the location of the respective barn doors 102 and 104.
  • light blinders 106 and 108 may be mounted on the opened or unfolded supporting bar pairs 32-34 and 36-38, respectively, in order to either minimize side-scatter of the diffused light provided from the assembly 10 or to intensify the diffused light being provided therefrom. If it is desired to minimize side-scatter, then the inner surface of the blinders 106 and 108 is preferably blackened; whereas, if it is desired to intensify the diffused light, a reflective material is provided for the inner surface of the blinders 106 and 108.
  • the barn doors 102 and 104 and the blinders 106 and 108 may be pivotally mounted on the assembly 10 by any conventional means such as screw clamps.
  • the barn doors 102 and 104 may remain on the assembly 10, if desired, when the assembly 10 is collapsed to the preferred folded portable position shown in FIG. 2.
  • an assembly having an interchangable reflector mountable on a collapsible frame which contains an integrally mounted light source is provided in a simple, efficient readily portable structure. Furthermore, a variety of light intensities and patterns may be provided from such a single portable soft-light assembly.
  • a portable soft-light assembly comprising a collapsible frame member including a light source mounting member, a pair of foldable spaced apart supporting members each having a first position and a second position, means for connecting said supporting members to said light source mounting member at opposite ends thereof, and light source means mountable on said mounting member; and
  • said envelope being removably mountable in a mounted position on said supporting members in said second position thereof and forming a substantially closed housing surrounding said light source in said mounted position with said reflecting surface portion comprising the interior of said housing, said housing being open at only one portion thereof for directly diffusing substantially all of the light provided from said light source.
  • said assembly further includes light pattern controlling means removably mountable on one of said supporting members in said second position for controlling the pattern of said diffused light.
  • said reflecting surface portion is comprised of a material selected from a group consisting of aluminized Mylar, satin rayon, blue tinted aluminized. Mylar, and blue tinted satin rayon.
  • one of said supporting members includes a pair of supporting bars pivotally connected together at one end thereof, said one end being pivotally connected to said light source mounting member for movement between said first and said second position, each of said bars having another en 7.
  • said one supporting member includes a substantially curvilinear portion, said curvilinear portion comprising a pair of pivotally connected substantially curvilinear sections pivotally connected together at one end thereof for movement between said first and second position, said reflector envelope being removably mountable on said curvilinear portion in said second position, said sections each having another end, said other end of each section of said pair being pivotally connected to a different one of said other ends of said supporting bars.
  • one of said supporting members includes a substantially curvilinear portion, said curvilinear portion comprising a pair of pivotally connected substantially curvilinear sections pivotally connected together at one end thereof for movement between said first and said second position, said reflector envelope being removably mountable on said curvilinear portion in said second position.
  • a portable soft-light assembly comprising 12. An assembly in accordance with claim 11 wherein a collapsible unitary frame member including a light said reflector envelope is flexible.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Optical Elements Other Than Lenses (AREA)
  • Non-Portable Lighting Devices Or Systems Thereof (AREA)
US00076716A 1970-09-30 1970-09-30 Portable soft-light assembly Expired - Lifetime US3712978A (en)

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Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US7671670A 1970-09-30 1970-09-30

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US3712978A true US3712978A (en) 1973-01-23

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US (1) US3712978A (de)
DE (1) DE2142262A1 (de)
FR (1) FR2107287A5 (de)

Cited By (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3852582A (en) * 1973-06-20 1974-12-03 R Lowell Lighting arrangement for photographic work
US3939340A (en) * 1973-08-27 1976-02-17 Renato Gozzano Diffused light reflecting screen for taking photos and the like
US4078170A (en) * 1975-11-06 1978-03-07 Conrad Beebe Sloop Photographic reflector accessory
US4229785A (en) * 1979-01-18 1980-10-21 General Electric Company Floodlight reflector mounting
US4849864A (en) * 1987-09-29 1989-07-18 Louis Forrest Adjustable lighting assembly
US5067049A (en) * 1990-02-12 1991-11-19 Milaire Daniel P F Photographic studio light reflecting apparatus
US5113207A (en) * 1990-12-04 1992-05-12 Huebner International, Inc. Apparatus and method for photographing reflective objects
US5381320A (en) * 1993-01-22 1995-01-10 International Lighting Manufacturing Company Light fixture
US6234638B1 (en) * 1998-04-28 2001-05-22 Isaac Beverly Photographic light diffusing reflector
WO2011146657A1 (en) * 2010-05-20 2011-11-24 Kino Flo, Inc. Portable fluorescent lighting system with long-life hinge mechanism

Cited By (12)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3852582A (en) * 1973-06-20 1974-12-03 R Lowell Lighting arrangement for photographic work
US3939340A (en) * 1973-08-27 1976-02-17 Renato Gozzano Diffused light reflecting screen for taking photos and the like
US4078170A (en) * 1975-11-06 1978-03-07 Conrad Beebe Sloop Photographic reflector accessory
US4229785A (en) * 1979-01-18 1980-10-21 General Electric Company Floodlight reflector mounting
US4849864A (en) * 1987-09-29 1989-07-18 Louis Forrest Adjustable lighting assembly
US5067049A (en) * 1990-02-12 1991-11-19 Milaire Daniel P F Photographic studio light reflecting apparatus
US5113207A (en) * 1990-12-04 1992-05-12 Huebner International, Inc. Apparatus and method for photographing reflective objects
US5381320A (en) * 1993-01-22 1995-01-10 International Lighting Manufacturing Company Light fixture
US6234638B1 (en) * 1998-04-28 2001-05-22 Isaac Beverly Photographic light diffusing reflector
WO2011146657A1 (en) * 2010-05-20 2011-11-24 Kino Flo, Inc. Portable fluorescent lighting system with long-life hinge mechanism
US8192045B2 (en) 2010-05-20 2012-06-05 Kino Flo, Inc. Portable fluorescent lighting system with long-life hinge mechanism
CN103038571A (zh) * 2010-05-20 2013-04-10 吉诺福公司 具有长寿命合页机构的便携式荧光照明系统

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Publication number Publication date
DE2142262A1 (de) 1972-04-06
FR2107287A5 (de) 1972-05-05

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STCF Information on status: patent grant

Free format text: PATENTED FILE - (OLD CASE ADDED FOR FILE TRACKING PURPOSES)

AS Assignment

Owner name: LOWEL-LIGHT MANUFACTURNG, INC., 475 TENTH AVENUE,

Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST.;ASSIGNOR:LOWELL ROSS;REEL/FRAME:004183/0243

Effective date: 19830813