Illumination – Elongated source light unit or support – With means to position plural light sources colinearly
Reexamination Certificate
2001-11-21
2003-12-09
Cariaso, Alan (Department: 2875)
Illumination
Elongated source light unit or support
With means to position plural light sources colinearly
C362S231000, C362S240000, C362S259000, C362S249070, C439S505000, C315S219000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06659622
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to an illumination system, and particularly relates to a color/general illumination system suitable for illuminating a relatively wide range of area as in cove-lighting.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In hotels and restaurants, a so-called indirect lighting that illuminates the space by the light reflected from the wall, ceiling or floor is widely adopted. One way of such indirect lighting is known as “cove-lighting” in which, typically, a horizontally extending trough called a “cove” is provided to a portion of a wall surface near the ceiling and an illumination device is concealedly placed in the cove to emit light to the ceiling. An illumination system for such cove-lighting usually comprises a plurality of illumination devices disposed along the cove to achieve as uniform illumination as possible along the entire length of the cove.
In such conventional illumination systems using a plurality of illumination devices, however, each of the illumination devices was independently connected to the power supply, and thus there was a problem that the cable routing work tended to be complicated and require a long time. Also, in such a case that the space for installing the illumination system was limited (e.g., when the cove width was tightly narrow), a further problem could arise that there was not a sufficient room for cable routing.
Besides, recently, light emitting diodes (LEDs) have been used in wider fields as a light source of an illumination device. Since the LEDs dissipate less heat, they are suitable for a light source of cove-lighting devices which tend to be placed in a relatively narrow space. In a case that LEDs of three primary colors (red, green and blue) are used as light sources, additive mixture of the red, green and blue lights emitted from the LEDs with controlled proportion of the RGB lights can allow the ceiling, wall and the like to be illuminated in desired colors, which would significantly enhance the illumination effect. However, in order to conduct such color illumination, it is necessary to provide the illumination device with a control unit (such as a CPU) for controlling the LEDs of one color independently from the LEDs of the other colors, resulting in a higher manufacturing cost of the illumination device. This problem can be conspicuous particularly in such an illumination system that utilizes a plurality of illumination devices to illuminate light in relatively wide areas as in the cove-lighting.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of such problems of the prior art, a primary object of the present invention is to provide an illumination system that can significantly reduce the effort and time required for cable routing.
A second object of the present invention is to provide an illumination system that can illuminate relatively wide areas with a minimized cost increase.
A third object of the present invention is to provide an illumination system that is suitable for use in a relatively limited installation space.
A fourth object of the present invention is to provide an illumination system that can allow easy cable routing and provide a greater freedom of arrangement.
A fifth object of the present invention is to provide a color illumination system that can conduct color illumination in relatively wide areas without causing a significant cost increase.
A sixth object of the present invention is to provide an illumination device that requires a small installation space and is easy to handle.
According to the present invention, such objects can be accomplished by providing an illumination system, comprising: a first illumination unit comprising a pair of power supply contacts for connection to a commercial AC power source, a light source connected between the pair of power supply contacts, a control circuit connected in series to the light source to control electric current flowing through the light source, and a first connection cord connected to the light source; and a second illumination unit comprising a light source and a first connection cord connected to the light source, wherein the first connection cord of the first illumination unit and the first connection cord of the second illumination unit are connected to each other so that the light source of the first illumination unit and the light source of the second illumination unit are connected in parallel to each other. In such a configuration, it is possible to supply electric power to the second illumination unit (sub unit) via the first illumination unit (main unit) as well as to control the light source of the second illumination unit by the control circuit of the first illumination unit. Therefore, the second illumination unit does not need its own power cable for direct connection to an outside power source such as the commercial AC power source, and therefore, not only a space required for the cable routing is reduced but also an effort and time for the cable routing can be considerably reduced. Also, since the second illumination unit does not have to comprise a control circuit, the manufacturing cost thereof can be minimized.
Preferably, the second illumination unit further comprises a second connection cord connected to the light source commonly with the first connection cord. By using the second connection cord, the second illumination unit can be further connected to another illumination unit. Also, if each of the illumination units comprises a longitudinal support member for supporting the light source, and each connection cord is provided in a vicinity of an associated longitudinal end of the support member of each illumination unit, connection of longitudinally adjoining illumination units can be made easily. This would make the illumination system particularly suitable for use in linear lighting such as cove-lighting, for example. In general, in accordance with this aspect of the present invention, an arbitrary number of illumination units (sub units) that, like the second illumination unit, do not comprise a control circuit can be joined together to achieve an illumination system of a desired length with minimized increase in the total system cost.
Further preferably, the first illumination unit further comprises a second connection cord connected to the light source commonly (or in parallel) with the first connection cord, the system further comprises a third illumination unit comprising a light source and a first connection cord connected to the light source, and the second connection cord of the first illumination unit is connected to the first connection cord of the third illumination unit so that the light source of the first illumination unit and the light source of the third illumination unit are connected in parallel to each other. In this way, the second and third illumination units can be connected to the first illumination unit in a bifurcated relationship (referred to herein as “bifurcation connection” or “bifurcation joint”), which can result in significant increase in the design freedom of system layout.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an illumination system, comprising: first and second illumination units, each having a light source and first and second connection cords commonly connected to the light source: and a control unit separate from the first and second illumination units, the control unit having a pair of power supply contacts and a control circuit, wherein the first illumination unit is connected to the control unit via its first connection cord so that the light source of the first illumination unit is connected between the pair of power supply contacts of the control unit via the control circuit of the control unit; wherein the second connection cord of the first illumination unit is connected to the first connection cord of the second illumination unit so that the light source of the first illumination unit and the light source of the second illumination unit are connected in parallel to each other; and wherein each of the first and second illumination unit has
Iso Naohisa
Katogi Masayuki
Alavi Ali
Cariaso Alan
Marshall & Melhorn LLC
Moriyama Sangyo Kabushiki Kaisha
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