Illumination – Housing – With cooling means
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-10
2001-04-24
O'Shea, Sandra (Department: 2875)
Illumination
Housing
With cooling means
C362S219000, C362S217060, C362S282000, C362S284000, C362S306000, C362S319000, C362S347000, C362S293000, C362S345000, C362S368000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06220731
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to luminaires and, more specifically, to an improved cyclorama light.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Large curved curtains or screens as backgrounds for stage settings have been used for many years. Such curtains or screens are frequently referred to as cycloramas (“CYCs”). Frequently such cycloramas also include a series of large pictures, as of a landscape, placed on a wall of a circular room so as to appear in natural perspective to a spectator standing on the set in the center. However, in the field of lighting, to which this invention relates, a cyclorama or a “CYC” is a vertical surface used to form the background for a theatrical setting, usually made of heavy cloth drawn tight to achieve a smooth flat surface. With appropriate light projected on it, it usually represents the sky or suggests limitless space. Traditionally, cycloramas were horizontally curved but may now also be flat or vertically curved as well. Examples of cycloramas are discussed generally in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,989,362; 4,123,152; 4,512,117; and 4,893,447.
The present invention specifically relates to a cyclorama light or CYC light, which is a luminaire mounted at the top and/or the bottom of a cyclorama in order to light it in smooth, substantially uniform manner. While CYC lights have been known and have also been used for many years, they have had a number of disadvantages. In the past, CYC lights were difficult and inconvenient to work with in providing desired light distributions on a cyclorama. Aside from being bulky and heavy, known CYC lights have not always provided the desired light distributions or the necessary ranges to cover different cyclorama configurations. This was particularly true when the same CYC lights were used to provide lighting for both flat and curved screens. The adjustments required were difficult and inconvenient to make. Also, because such lights tended to emit significant amounts of light over relatively large areas, the lamps used for these lights tended to get very hot, thus also heating the luminaire itself Failure to adequately cool the bulbs has caused the lights themselves to become extremely hot as well as cause the deterioration of gel color filters used therein and even caused damage to the reflectors. Overheating of the lamp housings also presented danger of injury to the lighting staff as well as others in proximity to these lights.
Other disadvantages of prior CYC light included the inability of such lights to accommodate more than one size lamp or bulb. However, because there are a number of different lamp sizes, a standard lamp could not always be substituted and only the lamp for which the light was specifically designed could be used to replace a burned out lamp. Prior CYC lights have also had some difficulty in adjusting for non-level surfaces when these lamps are mounted on a floor or a stage. Lighting personnel have been required to use numerous objects that they placed under the light to adjust the angles of the light and the positions of shadow lines and/or to compensate for a non-level floor.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a CYC light that does not have the disadvantages inherent in such prior art lights.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a CYC light that includes an optically efficient reflector that provides desired substantially uniform light distribution over substantial set areas of cycloramas.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide CYC lights that can be readily and conveniently arranged in straight or curved banks to cover significant ranges and shapes of cyclorama sets.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a CYC light that can readily be adapted to illuminate flat as well as curved screens.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a CYC light as in the previous objects which provides efficient cooling of both the bulb or lamp, reflector as well as the color filter materials, irrespective of whether the orientation of the light is for ground or sky CYC use.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a CYC light that can easily and quickly be converted between ground CYC and sky CYC applications.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a CYC light which can accommodate a wide range of color filters, including flat glass and flexible gel filters.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a CYC light of the type under discussion which provides ease of focusing or adjustment in the shifting of the light concentration or distribution.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a CYC light that provides protection from damage to the bulb or lamp while optimizing the degree to which light is efficiently transmitted with minimal losses.
It is still an additional object of the present invention to provide a CYC light as in the above objects which can readily be modified to accept different sized bulbs or lamps.
It is a further additional object of the present invention to provide a CYC light that can readily be used both on level as well as non-level surfaces without compromising the desired directions of light projection.
In order to achieve the above objects, as well as others which will become evident hereinafter, a CYC light in accordance with the present invention comprises a housing having generally opaque rear, bottom and side walls and an open front wall defining a window extending from a region proximate to the upper end of said rear wall and a region proximate to the front end of said bottom wall and generally extending between said side walls. Said housing defining a housing axis generally parallel to said rear and bottom walls and normal to said side walls. An elongate reflector essentially extends between said side walls and mounted for rotary movements about said housing axis. An elongate lamp having a lamp axis is mounted on said reflector to maintain said lamp axis substantially coextensively with said housing axis. Said reflector is configured to direct light generated by said elongate lamp with a predetermined intensity distribution through said window formed in said open front wall in a direction which is a function of the rotational position of said reflector about said housing axis. Filter means is provided for covering said window with a color filter material. Adjustment means selectively adjusts the rotational position of said reflector about said housing axis. In this manner the direction of projection of the light emitted from said housing can be modified substantially independently of the specific orientation of said housing.
REFERENCES:
patent: 963912 (1910-07-01), Lyhne
patent: 1923970 (1933-08-01), Dowling
patent: 3358133 (1967-12-01), Thoman
patent: 3610915 (1971-10-01), Moore
patent: 3686495 (1972-08-01), Medley
patent: 4323953 (1982-04-01), Hutchison
patent: 4439816 (1984-03-01), Litchfield
patent: 4447859 (1984-05-01), Racyznski
patent: 4985815 (1991-01-01), Endo
patent: 5373431 (1994-12-01), Hayman et al.
Alavi Ali
Altman Stage Lighting Co., Inc.
Lackenbach Siegel Marzullo Aronson & Greenspan
O'Shea Sandra
LandOfFree
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