Illumination – With furniture – Cabinet
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-21
2002-11-12
O'Shea, Sandra (Department: 2875)
Illumination
With furniture
Cabinet
C362S125000, C362S127000, C312S223500, C312S223600
Reexamination Certificate
active
06478444
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a furniture system, especially a display cabinet system, having a modular lighting installation which is so designed that a plurality of mutually delimited furniture compartments can be produced, it being possible to install a lighting member in each furniture compartment, and rod elements of a predetermined length being provided to carry the electrical current, which rod members are affixed inside the furniture unit. The invention also relates to a modular lighting installation for a furniture system and a furniture unit with a plurality of furniture compartments.
STATE OF THE ART
Display cabinets have to perform various functions. As the first function, they are required to present articles in a sales outlet, an exhibition, etc., the viewer having no access (or at least no direct access) to the article. The object displayed is intended to produce its optimum effect. In principle, in such cases, the design of the display cabinet should include a reference to the value and significance of the object displayed. For example, it will be inappropriate for a beautiful and valuable article to be placed on show in an esthetically second-rate display cabinet. On the other hand, however, the esthetic qualities of the display cabinet should not overshadow those of the object.
Preferably, the display cabinet enables the object to be viewed from all sides. It should therefore comprise a great deal of glass and few other structural elements. Finally, optimum illumination of the object should also be achieved. This means, in practice, that lighting members are to be installed in the display cabinet itself. For the manufacturer of a display cabinet, this poses the problem of designing the electrical installations in such a way that the visibility of the object is not impaired.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,057,978 has disclosed a low-voltage halogen system for glass display cabinets. The display cabinet consists of a plurality of glass panes directly connected to one another or inserted into a frame. A tubular lamp member, into which a plurality of low-voltage halogen bulbs can be inserted, is supported within the display cabinet by two supports. The supports, which simultaneously serve as a feed for the current, are passed through the base of the display cabinet. They can be designed either as stable rods or as flexible cables. As is apparent from
FIG. 1
of that document, the supports are arranged close to the edges of the display cabinet. The current feeds are therefore independent leads within the display cabinet and not part of the furniture frame. The dimensions of the lamp member may be standardized or adapted to the display cabinet.
Display cabinets with integrated lighting systems are also commercially available. These are particularly esthetically satisfactory if the current supply for the illumination of the individual display cabinet compartments is integrated into a continuous vertical support. The support at the same time forms part of the framework structure of the display cabinet. It may be designed either as a stable section (for free-standing display cabinets) or as a wire (for suspended display cabinets). It is either electrified as a whole (which, of course, is possible only with low-voltage lighting systems) or contains an insulated busbar.
The disadvantage of most of the known commercially available display cabinets lies in the fact that they are not of modular design. The user therefore does not have the option of successively extending the display cabinet furnishing. Instead, he has to decide on a whole new furniture unit. The previously known modular display cabinet systems, however, are unsatisfactory from the esthetic and design standpoints.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention is to provide a furniture system having a modular lighting installation, which is esthetically pleasing and can be adapted at any time (in other words, even at a later time) to the size of the furniture unit.
This object is achieved as defined by the features of claim
1
. According to the invention, the rod elements serving to conduct the electrical current have the length determined in accordance with the internal dimensions of a furniture compartment and are, for example, mounted by mountings in such a way that each of them is located completely within a furniture compartment. Furthermore, electrical connection elements are provided which connect together rod elements of neighboring furniture compartments. The lighting member is connected to two rod elements of different polarities at a point that can be freely selected.
The concept according to the invention is thus based on the fact that the distribution of electrical current within a furniture compartment is undertaken by (standardized) rod elements which simultaneously serve as a support for the lighting members, and that rod elements of neighboring furniture compartments are electrically connected to form a continuous system with the aid of preferably standardized connection elements. In contrast to the prior art represented by U.S. Pat. No. 5,057,978, the rod elements are not passed through the base or any wall. This is an essential aspect of the modular nature of the lighting installation according to the invention.
According to an advantageous embodiment, the connection elements are of flexible design. They may, for example, be insulated cables with plug parts at their ends. The plug parts can be connected to corresponding plug connections of the rod elements. The flexibility of the connection elements permits simple retrofitting of the lighting. It is also possible to produce, using the same connection elements, not only straight connections but also 90° connections (if, for example, two rod elements at an angle of 90° to one another are to be connected in a corner within the same furniture compartment). Instead of insulated cables, it is of course also possible to use flexible wires, small link-type tubes or articulated current conducting elements.
Preferably, connection elements designed in branch form are also provided. the branching can in very general terms be 1:n (n=2, 3, 4, etc). In particular, 1:2 and 1:3 branches will be of particular interest. It should be mentioned here that flexibility is of particularly practical benefit in the case of branches. With rigid connection elements, for example, it will be necessary to keep stocks of differently shaped branches for each branching ratio (for example, on the one hand a branch with one 180° arm and one 90° arm and a branch with two 90° arms). The connection elements can even consist of a plurality of parts that can be assembled by the user himself.
The mountings are, for example, so arranged and designed that the rod elements are essentially fixed at the two ends. In this case, the fixing is to be effective not only transversely to the longitudinal axis of the rod element but also toward the said axis. The majority of each rod element thus remains free for the connection of the lighting members at any desired point. Furthermore, the design is selected so that the connection elements can be connected at any time, as required, to the ends of the rod elements.
The mountings may in principle be a fixed component of the furniture unit. Preferably, however, they are interchangeable or can be retrofitted. At corner elements of the furniture unit it is possible, for example, to design mechanical connections which interact for fixing purposes with the mounting elements. Possible examples include plug, clip and screw connections.
The length of the rod elements is selected so that it essentially corresponds to the length of one edge of a furniture compartment less twice a connection region for the connection element. The connection region is selected to be as small as possible (e.g., 1-5 cm). Ideally, it is exactly large enough for a flexible connection element to provide, as preferred, a straight or a 90° connection. If all furniture compartments of the furniture system have the same dimensions, the lighting installation ca
Fluehmann Fritz
Kuenzi Stephan
Schaerer Alexander
Sawhney Hargobind S
USM Holding AG
LandOfFree
Furniture system having a modular lighting installation does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Furniture system having a modular lighting installation, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Furniture system having a modular lighting installation will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2939795