Inflatable lighting body

Abstract

The invention relates to an inflatable lighting body comprising an inflatable gas-tight inner sleeve, an outer sleeve which is translucent at least in some regions and which surrounds the inner sleeve, means for attaching at least one lighting means to the lighting body in such a manner that the lighting means emits light into the interior of the lighting body and dispenses light outwards as diffused light via translucent regions of the outer sleeve, and optionally securing means for mounting the lighting body, wherein a lighting tube or a lighting panel can be attached to the inflatable lighting body as the lighting means, and the means for attaching the lighting means are designed such that lighting means or luminaires of different shapes and sizes can be selectively attached to the lighting body. According to the invention, the means for attaching the lighting means to the lighting body comprise one or more strips which surround the lighting means or the luminaire in the secured state thereof. The lighting body according to the invention has a flexible application and can be used in a versatile manner, and the user is not limited to using the lighting means provided by the manufacturer of the lighting body when selecting the lighting means.

Claims

1. An inflatable lighting body, comprising: an inflatable gas-tight inner sleeve; an outer sleeve which is translucent at least in some regions and surrounds the inner sleeve; a longitudinal slot penetrating a top of the outer sleeve between a pair of opposing longitudinal flaps extending from the outer sleeve, the outer sleeve being thereby open at its top over a substantial part of its length, each of the flaps being detached from the outer sleeve along a longitudinal front edge of the flap that is proximal to the longitudinal slot and along two opposing side edges of the flap, the flaps being openable by bending of the flaps about their longitudinal rear junctures with the outer sleeve, said opening of the flaps thereby enlarging a width of the longitudinal slot; and at least one strap adapted for attachment to the lighting body of a lighting source having a shape and size that do not permit the lighting source to be fully inserted between the outer and inner sleeves, each of the straps being configured to overlap the lighting source with attachment of opposing ends of the strap to the opposing flaps, the lighting source being positioned by the at least one strap proximate one of the transparent or translucent portions of the inner sleeve, thereby enabling the lighting source to irradiate light into an interior of the inner sleeve, said light being emitted into a surrounding environment as a diffuse light via the translucent regions of the outer sleeve.

2. The inflatable lighting body of claim 1, wherein the at least one strap is adaptable to attach any one of an approximately cylindrical lighting source, a planar plate-form lighting source, and a lighting source that is planar on its lower face, to the lighting body.

3. The inflatable lighting body of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the lighting source can be at least one of: inserted into the outer sleeve from above in the region of the longitudinal slot; positioned on the outer sleeve above the longitudinal slot; and externally positioned on the inner sleeve in the region of the longitudinal slot.

4. The inflatable lighting body of claim 3, characterised in that, a cylindrical lighting tube can be inserted into the longitudinal slot from above.

5. The inflatable lighting body of claim 3, wherein a cylindrical LED lighting tube can be inserted from above into the longitudinal slot of the outer sleeve, and can be positioned onto the inner sleeve.

6. The inflatable lighting body of claim 3, wherein a plate-form lighting means or a lighting unit that is planar on its lower face, can be positioned onto the inner sleeve in the region of the longitudinal slot of the outer sleeve.

7. The inflatable lighting body of claim 1, wherein the at least one strap is a tensioning device that is configured to variably adjust a tensioning length overlapping the lighting source.

8. The inflatable lighting body of claim 7, wherein at least one of the straps is a buckle strap, an elastic strap, or a hook-and-loop tape.

9. The inflatable lighting body of claim 1, wherein the outer sleeve comprises first and second interconnected regions, each made from a textile material, wherein the first interconnected region forms an upper section of the sleeve, and is dark on its outer surface and reflective on its inner surface, while the second interconnected region forms a lower section of the sleeve and is translucent.

10. The inflatable lighting body of claim 1, wherein the lighting source is a lighting tube or a lighting panel.

11. The inflatable lighting body of claim 1, further comprising an attachment mechanism that is configured to mount the lighting body.

12. The inflatable lighting body of claim 11, wherein the attachment mechanism that is configured to mount the lighting body is attached to the lighting source, which is attached to the lighting body.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) In what follows, the present invention is explained in more detail by means of examples of embodiment, with reference to the accompanying figures. Here:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a view in perspective of an example of an inventive lighting body in accordance with one embodiment variant of the present invention;

(3) FIG. 2 shows a schematically simplified side view of an example of an inventive lighting body in accordance with the present invention;

(4) FIG. 3 shows a plan view onto an inventive lighting body as shown in FIG. 2;

(5) FIG. 4 shows a cross-section through an inventive lighting body, with a lighting tube attached to the latter as the lighting means;

(6) FIG. 5 shows a cross-section through an inventive lighting body, with a planar LED panel attached to the latter as a lighting unit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(7) In what follows, reference is first made to FIG. 1, and a possible embodiment variant of the present invention is explained in more detail on the basis of the latter. The perspective representation in FIG. 1 shows the inventive lighting body 10 in the inflated state, in which it assumes, for example, an elongated cylindrical basic shape. In the assembled state of use, the lighting body 10 comprises an upper region with an opaque region 11 of the outer sleeve, and a lower region 12 in which the outer sleeve is translucent, so that in the latter region a diffuse light can be irradiated downwards into a region of the room to be illuminated. Within the outer sleeve is located an inflatable inner sleeve made from a substantially gas-tight material, so that the lighting body 10 can be inflated, A valve 15 is arranged, for example, on the end face of the cylindrical lighting body 10 for purposes of filling the latter with air. The outer sleeve consisting of the two above-mentioned regions 11 and 12 surrounds the inflatable inner sleeve almost completely when in use, except for an upper region, in which there is a longitudinal slot 13 that can extend over the entire length of the outer sleeve, so that the outer sleeve is open at the top in the region of this longitudinal slot 13, and in this region an adjustment in diameter is possible, whereby differently dimensioned lighting means or lighting units can be accommodated in the upper region of the outer sleeve, as will be explained in more detail below.

(8) In order to attach a lighting means to the lighting body 10, straps 14 are provided as a tensioning device in the region of the longitudinal slot 13 on each of the two sides of the outer sleeve; these are, for example, Velcro tapes, or the like. The said straps 14, which stretch across the longitudinal slot from the two sides, can be attached to the outer sleeve 11, or to each other, for example, in a tensioned state corresponding to a predetermined width of the longitudinal slot 13, and in this manner the lighting means can be attached to the lighting body 10. The straps 14 are then stretched across the lighting means in the attachment position, and are fixed to the outer sleeve, or to each other. In the first variant mentioned, for example, the outer sleeve can have strips of Velcro tape (for example, Velcro fleece) to which the straps 14 (for example, Velcro tapes) are attached. The strips of Velcro tape can, for example, extend along the outer sleeve in a longitudinal direction, and the straps 14 then extend in a direction transverse to this longitudinal direction, whereby as a general rule a plurality of straps 14 (Velcro tapes) are provided, in each case spaced apart from one another.

(9) The light emitted by the lighting means is irradiated into the interior of the lighting body 10, so that it can be diffusely emitted into the environment via the lower translucent region 12 of the outer sleeve. The upper, opaque region 11 of the outer sleeve can be designed to be reflective on its inner surface, so that the light is directed towards the translucent region 12 by reflection in the interior of the lighting body, thereby increasing the luminous efficiency of the light irradiated in the translucent region 12. For this reflective design, one can, for example, coat the inner surface of the outer sleeve in the opaque region 11 with a reflective material.

(10) FIG. 2 shows a side view of a lighting body 10, and the plan view onto the lighting body 10 is shown in FIG. 3. Here, one can see the upper longitudinal slot 13, which extends, for example, over a fraction of the circumference of the cylindrical outer sleeve of the lighting body 10, and which also extends over most of the length of the lighting body in the upper region, approximately centrally, whereby the upper longitudinal slot 13 can end in each case at some distance from the end face of the cylindrical lighting body 10, It can also be seen in FIG. 3 that straps 14 extend from the outer sleeve on each side of the longitudinal slot 13, stretch across the longitudinal slot, and can be connected in a suitable manner either to the outer sleeve on each side, or to each other. The slot width of the longitudinal slot can be variably altered by these tensible straps 14, so that lighting means of different sizes can be arranged in the region of the longitudinal slot 13, and attached to the lighting body 10 by means of the straps 14.

(11) In what follows, reference is made to FIGS. 4 and 5 and on the basis of these, the attachment of lighting means and lighting units of different shapes and sizes to the lighting body 10 is explained in more detail. FIG. 4 shows a variant in which a cylindrical LED lighting tube 16 is attached to the lighting body 10 in the region of the longitudinal slot 13. In FIG. 4, the lighting body 10 is shown in cross-section and it can be seen that an inner sleeve 17 is accommodated in the outer sleeve 11, 12, which consists of an inflatable plastic, and in the view shown in FIG. 4 is inflated. In this state, the inner sleeve 17 lies against the inside of the outer sleeve. It can also be seen in FIG. 4 that the upper region 11 of the outer sleeve is opaque, while the lower region 12 of the outer sleeve is translucent, allowing light to be irradiated into the environment. In the example, the upper region 11 of the outer sleeve extends over approximately the upper half of the circumference, and the lower region 12 of the outer sleeve extends over approximately the lower half of the circumference, although these proportions can be varied over a wide range, depending on requirements.

(12) The LED lighting tube attached to the lighting body 10 in the representation shown in FIG. 4 can be a commercially available lighting means, which is held at the top between the inflated inner sleeve 17 and the straps 14 attached to the outer sleeve 11. It can be seen that there are two such straps 14a, 14b, one extending from the left-hand side, and the other extending from the right-hand side, of the outer sleeve, where the latter has the upper longitudinal slot 13. If, for example, there are two corresponding Velcro tapes 14a, 14b, these can then be positioned overlapping each other above the LED lighting tube 16, so that the corresponding surfaces of the Velcro tapes 14a, 14b adhere to each other; a taut positioning of the Velcro tapes 14a, 14b results, and the LED lighting tube 16, which in the example is cylindrical, and thus round in diameter, is effectively clamped between the Velcro tapes 14a, 14b and the inner sleeve 17. Alternatively, only one Velcro tape can be provided at each attachment point, which tape is connected at each of its two end regions to a Velcro strip that extends along both sides of the longitudinal slot 13 on the outer sleeve, so that here the slot width can also be variably adjusted depending on the attachment positioning of the Velcro tape extending in the transverse direction.

(13) The inflated inner sleeve 17 is flexible to a certain extent, as indicated in the figure, so that it is somewhat depressed in the upper region, where it serves as an abutment for the LED lighting tube 16. By virtue of this property of the inner sleeve 17 and the use of a tensioning device with, for example, Velcro tapes 14a, 14b as in FIG. 4, which can overlap to different extents, lighting tubes or other lighting means with different shapes and diameters can in this manner be attached to the lighting body 10 in the region of the longitudinal slot 13.

(14) FIG. 5 shows a further cross-section through an inventive lighting body 10, in accordance with a further variant in which, instead of an LED tube, an LED panel 18, which is planar on its lower face, is attached to the lighting body 10. The LED panel 18 is not only shaped differently in cross-section from the cylindrical LED lighting tube 16, but it is also wider than the latter, Because the inflated inner sleeve 17 is deformable, it conforms to the shape of the planar lower face of the LED panel 18. Unlike the variant described above with reference to FIG. 4, this can be a complete lighting unit with all typical functions, that is to say, not just a lighting means. The light emitted from the lower face of the LED panel is irradiated downwards through the outer sleeve, which is translucent in the upper region 12, and into its interior. The inner sleeve 17 should, of course, also be made from a transparent material. In the variant shown in FIG. 5, the light is then also diffusely irradiated into the environment through the lower translucent region 12 of the outer sleeve. By virtue of using the inventive lighting body 10, the achievement of this variant is that the light originally emerging downwards from the LED panel is converted into a softer, diffuse light, which is irradiated by the lighting body 10 in accordance with the shape of the translucent region 12 of the outer sleeve, for example over a semi-circular perimeter. This softer, diffuse light is particularly required for lighting applications in the photographic and film sectors.

LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS

(15) 10 Lighting body 11 Opaque region of the outer sleeve 12 Translucent region of the outer sleeve 13 Upper longitudinal slot 14 Straps as a tensioning device 14a Velcro tape 15 Valve for purposes of inflation 16 LED lighting tube 17 Inner sleeve 18 LED lighting panel