WO2000012928A1

WO2000012928A1 - Lighting device

Info

Publication number: WO2000012928A1
Application number: PCT/JP1999/004646
Authority: WO
Inventors: Keiko Tamaoki; Kiyotaka Minato; Satoshi Tamaoki
Original assignee: Lab. Sphere Corporation
Priority date: 1998-09-01
Filing date: 1999-08-27
Publication date: 2000-03-09

Abstract

A lighting device (10), comprising a light emitting part (11) formed of light emitting elements, a flexible shaft (12) which supports the light emitting part on the tip side and is freely flexible, a telescoping part (13) which supports the base end side of the flexible shaft, can store the flexible shaft, and consists of parts that nest for storage, a drive part (14) which drives the light emitting part, a power supply part (15) which supplies power to the drive part, and a case (16) which stores at least the drive part, wherein it further comprises a spring mechanism capable of telescoping the telescoping part and the flexible shaft and, as the flexible shaft is extended by the spring mechanism, the nestably telescoping part is extended.

Description

Details

Technical field

The present invention relates to a lighting device capable of freely irradiating a desired place with light. Background art

Conventionally, for example, in a hospital room or the like, a so-called indoor light such as a fluorescent lamp or an incandescent lamp mounted on a ceiling surface has been used as a lighting device. This results in relatively dark lighting beside patients sleeping in bed. Therefore, in order to observe the condition of a patient sleeping on the bed accurately and in detail even when the room light is on, it is necessary to use a flashlight such as a so-called penlight to Only the lights are lit.

However, in order to observe the patient's condition using such a flashlight, it is necessary to hold the flashlight so that light is radiated to the required place, and one hand is blocked by the flashlight As a result, there was a problem in operability.

Furthermore, when observing, operating, or working with a flashlight, it is difficult to illuminate a narrow and complex area such as various devices, because of the light that is radiated straight from the hand. In some cases, it was not possible to sufficiently illuminate the observed area or place.

In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide an illuminating device that can freely illuminate a desired place. Disclosure of the invention

In order to achieve the above object, one embodiment of a lighting device according to the present invention includes:

A light-emitting portion composed of a light-emitting element, a flexible shaft that supports the light-emitting portion on the distal end side and that can freely bend or expand and contract, and a base end side of the flexible shaft. A telescopic part capable of supporting and accommodating the flexible shaft and being nested with each other, a driving part for driving the light emitting part, a power supply part for supplying power to the driving part, at least the driving part, And a case for accommodating the expansion and contraction section.

In the lighting device according to the present invention, a rotation mechanism for rotating the light emitting unit can be provided between the light emitting unit and the flexible shaft.

As the light emitting section, a light emitting element can be advantageously used.

The telescopic part is preferably extended from the case, and can be accommodated in the case in a shortened state. Further, the elastic portion can be set and held at a desired angle with respect to the case.

Further, the case of the lighting device according to the present invention is provided with a mounting portion to a wall surface, a ceiling surface, or the like, and preferably has a power cable winding mechanism.

In another aspect according to the present invention,

The case can accommodate the power supply section including the expandable section, the drive section, and the battery, and can be made portable.

Further, in the lighting device according to the present invention, preferably, the case is configured as a case of various devices, and a light emitting unit illuminates a desired portion such as an operation panel surface of the various devices.

According to the above-described configuration, the light-emitting portion including the light-emitting element attached to the distal end side can be directed in a desired direction by extending the expandable portion and bending the flexible shaft. Therefore, the light emitted from the light emitting unit is illuminated in a desired direction, and can illuminate a desired location.

Also, by accommodating the flexible shaft in the telescopic part and shortening the telescopic part, the flexible shaft and the telescopic part can be compactly stored in the case, and the occupied space is reduced. The expansion and contraction section can be configured in one or more stages.

When the above-mentioned case is mounted on a wall surface, a ceiling surface, or the like, it is not necessary to hold the case, the flexible shaft, or the light-emitting portion of the lighting device by hand when lighting a desired portion by the light-emitting portion. Therefore, the user can freely perform the desired work with both hands. Can be.

When the case is formed to be portable in an arbitrary shape such as an elongated circular shape or a rectangular shape and accommodates a power supply portion including a stretching portion, a driving portion, and a battery, the entire lighting device is a so-called pen-type flashlight. It can be freely carried as an electric light, and it can be easily carried like a conventional pen-type flashlight by storing the elastic part and the flexible shaft in the case, extending the elastic part and pulling out the flexible shaft. By bending appropriately, it is possible to reliably illuminate a desired place even in a complicated place such as various devices.

If the above case is configured as a case for various devices, and the light-emitting part illuminates a desired location such as the operation panel surface of various devices, the expansion unit and the flexible shaft are stored in the case when not in use. At the same time, when used, the desired position, such as the operation panel surface of various devices, can be effectively illuminated by extending the expansion / contraction part and pulling out the flexible shaft to bend appropriately. Further, according to still another aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration described in the one embodiment, a spring mechanism that allows the elastic portion and the flexible shaft to expand and contract is provided, and the flexible shaft is extended by the spring mechanism. The telescopic part expands as it goes.

The spring mechanism preferably includes a lock mechanism so that the retractable portion and the flexible shaft are housed in the case when not in use and are kept in a shortened state. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be better understood from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings which show an embodiment of the invention. The embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings are not intended to specify or limit the invention, but merely to facilitate explanation and understanding of the invention.

In the figure,

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a stored state of a lighting device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing an extended state of the lighting device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view near a light emitting unit in the lighting device of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the lighting device of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view when the lighting device of FIG. 1 is used as an auxiliary light for a bed.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing a stored state of the lighting device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing an extended state of the lighting device of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view showing a third embodiment of the lighting device according to the present invention. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a modification of the light emitting unit of the lighting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing the spring mechanism of the lighting device according to the present invention, showing the retractable portion and the flexible shaft housed.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the elastic portion and the flexible shaft are extended by the spring mechanism shown in FIG. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the embodiments described below do not exhaustively illustrate the technology of the present invention, but exemplify aspects of implementing the present invention. Various modifications, changes, additions and deletions of the configuration are made. It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that is possible.

1 to 3 show a first embodiment of a lighting device according to the present invention.

1 and 2, a lighting device 10 is an installation-type lighting device, and includes a light emitting unit 11, a flexible shaft 12 supporting the light emitting unit 11 on the distal end side, and a flexible shaft 12. And a case 16 for supporting the extendable portion 13. The case 16 includes a drive portion 14 for driving the light emitting portion as shown in FIG. And a power supply unit 15 for supplying power to the drive unit.

As shown in FIG. 3, the light emitting section 11 is composed of a light emitting diode (LED) 11a and a mounting member 11b for holding the light emitting diode 11a. b is fixedly held on the distal end side of a flexible shaft 12 described later. I have.

The flexible shaft 12 has a well-known structure such as a bellows type, and is configured to be freely bent at an arbitrary position in an arbitrary direction and to maintain the state. It is formed from a material. The flexible shaft 12 may be formed of an insulating material such as an acrylic resin or a plastic resin, or may be formed by coating a conductive material with an insulating material. The same applies to the materials of the elastic part 13 and the case 16.

It should be noted that a known telescopic link mechanism (not shown) can be used in place of the bellows type flexible shaft 12. Even when the flexible shaft 12 is configured using such a link mechanism, the flexible shaft 12 can be freely bent in an arbitrary extended state and at an arbitrary position in an arbitrary direction.

The extendable portion 13 has a known configuration, for example, in a rod antenna, a tripod, or the like, and includes a plurality of portions slidably connected to each other in a nested manner. It is configured so that it can be extended or shortened as a whole, and is formed of a conductive material in the illustrated case.

Further, the extendable portion 13 supports the flexible shaft 12 so as to be slidable, and when the flexible shaft 12 is pulled out from the extendable portion 13, supports the proximal end 12 a thereof, When the flexible shaft 12 is pushed into the elastic portion 13, the entire flexible shaft 12 can be stored. Note that the elastic portion 13 may have a structure in which a part thereof is integrally formed with the case 16.

The drive section 14 is housed in a case 16 and is configured to supply a drive current to the LED 11 a of the light emitting section 11 by being supplied with power from the power supply section 15.

The drive current is supplied to the LED 11a via the expansion / contraction part 13 and the connection code 14a provided in the flexible shaft 12. In FIG. 3, only one connecting code 14a is provided, and the other side uses an elastic portion 13 and a flexible shaft 12. The connection cord 14a is formed so as not to be disconnected even if the expansion / contraction operation is repeated. The power supply unit 15 is housed in the case 16 .In the case shown, the power supply switch 15 a provided on the outer surface of the case 16 turns on and off and a power cable connected to the outlet of the commercial power supply. It is configured to obtain a required DC voltage based on AC 100 V supplied by 15b.

In the case shown, the case 16 is formed in a dome shape or a bowl shape, and accommodates the expansion / contraction unit 13, the driving unit 14, and the power supply unit 15. The case 16 is not limited to the shape shown in the figure, but may be of any shape such as a sphere, an ellipse, a rectangular parallelepiped, or any other rectangular shape. Further, in this embodiment, the case 16 is provided with a mounting portion 16a, and a fixing screw (not shown) is screwed into a mounting hole 16b of the mounting portion 16a, so that the case 16 is provided. 16 can be attached to a desired wall surface, for example, a wall of a hospital room. The lighting device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention is configured as described above. When the lighting device is not used, as shown in FIG. 1, the flexible shaft 12 is housed in the telescopic portion 13. At the same time, the elastic parts 13 are shortened and stored in the case 16. As a result, the portion projecting from the case 16 is relatively small, and is compactly installed so as not to be in the way.

Note that the retractable portion 13 may be locked by the lock mechanism during storage. This prevents damage or the like due to mischief of a child or the like. In addition, a release switch may be provided in the lock mechanism, and the extendable portion 13 may be automatically extended and retracted. This lock mechanism will be described later with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11.

When using the lighting device from this state, first, the telescopic portion 13 is manually (or electrically) pulled out and extended, and the flexible shaft 12 is pulled out from the extended portion 13. Then, by appropriately bending the flexible shaft 12, the light emitting unit 11 is directed in a desired direction as shown in FIG. As a result, a desired portion is clearly illuminated.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a lighting device 10 is mounted on a wall 17 of a hospital room such that the case 16 is located on the back side of the wall 17 or on the wall. In this case, if the flexible shaft 12 is appropriately bent in a state where the elastic part 13 of the lighting device 10 is extended and the flexible shaft 12 is pulled out, the patient lying on the bed 18 in the patient room Is illuminated by the light from the light emitting unit 11 Will be revealed. This allows accurate and detailed observation of the patient's condition without disturbing the sleep of other patients even at nighttime. In addition, as shown in FIG. 5 as a lighting device 10 ′, the lighting device 10 ′ is provided with a mounting portion 17 ′ in a part of the bed, or the case 16 is previously embedded in a bed or the like to be integrated. It is convenient if you do it. If the lighting device 10 is to be installed in the dashboard of a Bed II vehicle or various devices, etc., the case 16 is housed in a part of these beds, dashboard devices, etc., and then assembled and expanded. Both or one of the part 13 and the flexible shaft 12 may be extended.

FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of the lighting device according to the present invention.

In FIG. 6, a lighting device 20 is a portable so-called pen-type lighting device, and includes a light emitting unit 11, a flexible shaft 12 supporting the light emitting unit 11 at a distal end, and a flexible shaft 12. It includes a telescopic part 13 supporting the end, a driving part 14 for driving the light emitting part as shown in FIG. 4, a power supply part 21 for supplying power to the driving part 14, and a case 22. In.

The light emitting unit 11, the flexible shaft 12, the extendable unit 13, and the drive unit 14 have the same configuration as in the lighting device 20 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the description thereof will be omitted. If the entire lighting device 20 is made drip-proof and waterproof, it can be used without restriction in rainy weather or in water.

As shown by dotted lines in FIGS. 6 and 7, a battery, for example, a dry battery or a rechargeable battery, is used for the power supply unit 21.

The case 22 is formed, for example, in an elongated cylindrical shape, and accommodates the flexible shaft 12, the expansion / contraction part 13, and the drive part 14 in a compact manner for easy carrying.

According to the illuminating device 20 having such a configuration, when the light-emitting unit 11 is turned on even in the housed state (shortened state) as shown in FIG. 6, it is used like a conventional pen-type flashlight. be able to. In addition, as shown in FIG. 7, when the extendable portion 13 is extended and the flexible shaft 12 is pulled out and bent appropriately, the light emitting portion 11 is directed in a desired direction. Therefore, by appropriately carrying this lighting device, even if the interior of various devices is curved and complicated, for example, It is possible to reliably illuminate a desired place.

FIG. 8 shows a third embodiment of the lighting device according to the present invention.

In FIG. 8, the device 30 is a variety of devices, for example, a measuring device, and the operation panel 31 on the front side is provided with a plurality of indicators, switches, etc. (not shown), and the operation panel 31 has an illumination. The device 32 is integrally incorporated.

The lighting device 32 includes a light emitting unit 11, a flexible shaft 12 and a telescopic unit 13 in the same manner as the lighting device 10 shown in FIGS. It has a drive unit and a power supply unit (not shown) provided.

In the lighting device 32 configured as described above, the light-emitting unit 11 is operated by extending the expandable unit 13, pulling out the flexible shaft 12, and bending the flexible shaft 12 appropriately. To the desired location (illustrated by A). Therefore, for example, even when the device 30 is used in a dark environment, the lighting device 32 illuminates the area of the desired location A on the operation panel 31. The switch, the display, and the like can be visually recognized with certainty, and the operation and the reading of the display can be performed accurately.

In the above-described embodiment, the LED 11a is used as the light emitting element of the light emitting unit 11, but the present invention is not limited to this, and other types of light emitting elements, incandescent light bulbs, and the like may be used, and the number thereof is also small. The number is not limited to one and may be plural. It is clear that a light emitting element and an incandescent bulb may be used together.

Also, in the third embodiment described above and shown in FIG. 8, the case where the device 30 is, for example, a measuring device has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other devices, such as audio devices, video devices, The lighting device according to the present invention can be applied to all devices such as consumer devices, various experimental devices, and research devices.

Next, a modified example of the light emitting section 11 in the lighting devices 10, 20, 32 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 9. The light emitting unit 11 may be of a fixed type as shown in FIG. 3, but it is more convenient to provide a rotating mechanism of the light emitting unit so as to freely rotate up, down, left and right.

As shown in FIG. 9, the light emitting section 11 includes an LED 11a, a mounting member 11b for holding the LED 11la, and the mounting member 11b attached to the flexible shaft 12. A connecting member 11c for connection is provided. The inside of the connecting member 11c is hollowed out spherically to form a spherical bearing 11d, and the spherical bearing 11d is provided with a spherical shaft. 11 e is freely rotatably accommodated. The LED 1 la is fixed to the protruding end 11 f of the spherical shaft 11 e via the mounting member 11 b so that the LED 11 la can freely rotate up and down or left and right. Will be retained. The spherical bearing 1 Id has a through hole at the center as shown in the figure, and one connecting cord 14 a is connected to the LED 11 a through the through hole, and the other is a spherical shaft 11 e, Spherical bearing 11 d, connecting member 11 c and flexible shaft 12 are used.

With this configuration, although the structure of the light emitting unit 11 is slightly complicated, the light emitting unit 11 can be further rotated independently of the bending of the flexible shaft 12, so that the desired lighting The place can be more accurately and accurately illuminated. Further, FIGS. 10 and 11 show a spring mechanism for extending the elastic portion and the flexible shaft housed in the case.

As described above, the expansion and contraction section 13 and the flexible shaft 12 may be manually extended. However, if the case 16 is provided with a built-in spring mechanism so that it can be expanded and contracted, the operation is simplified. become.

As shown in these figures, a coil spring 40 is housed in a frame 41 defined in a case 16, and one end of the coil spring 40 is fixed in the frame 41. The other end is connected to the base end 12 a of the flexible shaft 12 while being supported by the shaft 42. Then, as shown in FIG. 10, when not in use, the telescopic part 13 and the flexible shaft 12 are accommodated in the case 16 with the coil spring 40 compressed, and these are opened by the lock mechanism. And hold it in a shortened state.

This lock mechanism is operated by a lock / unlock switch 44 provided on the surface of the case 16 in this example. That is, in the locked state, as shown in FIG. 10, the switching switch 44 is pressed to the negative side, and the lock rod 45 protrudes, whereby the proximal end 12 a of the flexible shaft 12 is moved to the lock rod 45. The lock state is maintained by being sandwiched between the lock receiving section 46 and the lock receiving section 46.

In use, push the switching switch 44 to the other side to retract the lock rod 45. As a result, the proximal end 12 a of the flexible shaft 12 held between the lock rod 45 and the lock receiving portion 46 is unlocked. As a result, as shown in FIG. 11, the flexible shaft 12 is extended by the spring action of the coil spring 40, and the flange 12b provided at the base end 12a of the flexible shaft 12 is brought into contact with the upper portion of the telescopic portion 13 at the upper portion. Touch. With this contact, the multi-stage telescopic portion 13 is sequentially extended, and the flange 13 a of the outermost telescopic portion 13 is in contact with the inside of the case 16 to be fixed and held in the most extended state. Will be. In this state, a desired portion is illuminated by appropriately bending the flexible shaft 12.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications, omissions, and additions can be made to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It is obvious. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but should be understood to include the scope defined by the elements recited in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

Claims

Scope of the request: a light-emitting section comprising a light-emitting element;

A flexible shaft that supports the light emitting portion on the tip side and can be freely bent,

An elastic portion that supports the base end side of the flexible shaft, and that can accommodate the flexible shaft and that can be nested with each other;

A driving unit that drives the light emitting unit;

A power supply unit for supplying power to the drive unit;

A lighting device, comprising: a case accommodating at least the driving unit. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein a rotating mechanism for rotating the light emitting unit is provided between the light emitting unit and the flexible shaft. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the extendable portion is extended from the case and can be accommodated in the case in a shortened state. 4. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the extendable portion can be set and held at a desired angle with respect to the case. 2. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein a mounting portion is provided on the case so that the case can be fixed to a wall surface, a ceiling surface, or the like. 2. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the case accommodates the power supply unit including the expansion / contraction unit, the drive unit, and the battery, and is portable. 2. The case according to claim 1, wherein the case is a case of various devices, and a desired portion such as an operation panel surface of the various devices is illuminated by a light emitting unit. Lighting equipment.

8. A light-emitting portion comprising a light-emitting element;

A driving unit that drives the light emitting unit;

A power supply unit for supplying power to the drive unit;

A case accommodating at least the driving unit;

A spring mechanism that allows the extendable portion and the flexible shaft to extend and contract,

A lighting device, characterized in that the above-mentioned indented telescopic portion is extended as the flexural shaft is extended by the spring mechanism.

9. The lighting device according to claim 8, wherein the spring mechanism includes a lock mechanism, and when not in use, the telescopic portion and the flexible shaft are housed in the case and held in a shortened state. apparatus.