Abstract:
A seat light comprising a lamp shade component having a vertical back edge and an arcuate hood and a rectangular shroud component mountable within the lamp shade and encasing a circuit board carrying a plurality of LED&#39;s wherein the positioning of the LED&#39;s and shape of the hood cooperate to direct light down toward an adjacent aisleway, while concealing the shroud and LED&#39;s from normal view. A cooperating plaque holder adapted to be illuminated by the seat light is also disclosed.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/104,528, filed Oct. 10, 2008, entitled, “SEAT LIGHT AND PLAQUE HOLDER,” the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Field 
         [0003]    The subject disclosure relates to lighting and lighting fixtures and more particularly to a self-contained LED light fixture particularly useful in a seat-mounted aisle lighting configuration. 
         [0004]    2. Related Art 
         [0005]    In the past, aisle lighting has been used in theatres and other venues for assisting patrons in ascending and descending aisles, stairways, and the like. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    The following is a summary of various aspects and advantages realizable according to various embodiments of the invention. It is provided as an introduction to assist those skilled in the art to more rapidly assimilate the detailed discussion which ensues and does not and is not intended in any way to limit the scope of the claims which are appended hereto in order to particularly point out the invention. 
         [0007]    A seat light according to an illustrative embodiment comprises a lamp shade component having a vertical back edge and an arcuate hood. A rectangular shroud component having an opening in a front surface thereof is mountable within the lamp shade and encases a circuit board carrying a plurality of LEDs and positioned within the shroud such that the LEDs lie in the opening in the shroud. The positioning of the LEDs and shape of the hood cooperate to direct light down toward an adjacent aisleway, while concealing the shroud and LEDs from normal view. 
         [0008]    In one embodiment, the lamp shade component has a first interior planar surface projecting outwardly away from a vertical back edge of the shade and meeting along a common edge with a second interior planar surface projecting back inwardly toward the vertical back edge. In this embodiment, the second planar surface may further include respective mounting blocks at opposite ends thereof for positioning the LED-carrying shroud laterally within the hood, while the arced hood includes a horizontal lip formed on an inner surface thereof for supporting an inside edge of the shroud. 
         [0009]    Various embodiments may further include a plaque holder adapted to integrally mount with the seat light such that a row indicator or other designation carried by the plaque may be illuminated by the seat light. 
     
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
         [0010]    The features of the present disclosure will become more apparent with reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals denote like elements and in which: 
           [0011]      FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of a seat light and cooperating plaque holder according to an illustrative embodiment; 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective illustrating the components of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a sectional view of a light shade and installed shroud component taken at  3 - 3  of  FIG. 2  according to an illustrative embodiment; 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is a rear view of the shroud and circuit board of  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is a front view of a light shade component of the illustrative embodiment; 
           [0016]      FIG. 6  is a front view of a shroud component of an illustrative embodiment; 
           [0017]      FIG. 7  is a side view of the shroud component of  FIG. 6 ; 
           [0018]      FIG. 8  is a sectional view of the shroud component taken at  8 - 8  of  FIG. 6 ; 
           [0019]      FIG. 9  is a back view of the shroud component of  FIG. 6 ; 
           [0020]      FIG. 10  is a rear perspective view of the shroud component of  FIG. 6 ; 
           [0021]      FIG. 11  is a perspective view of a plaque holder according to an illustrative embodiment; 
           [0022]      FIG. 12  is a front view of the plaque holder  FIG. 11 ; 
           [0023]      FIG. 13  is a side view of the plaque holder  FIG. 11 ; 
           [0024]      FIG. 14  is a sectional view of the plaque holder of  FIG. 11  taken at  14 - 14  of  FIG. 12 ; 
           [0025]      FIG. 15  is a sectional view of the plaque holder of  FIG. 11  taken at  15 - 15  of  FIG. 12 ; 
           [0026]      FIG. 16  is a top view of a LED circuit board according to an illustrative embodiment; 
           [0027]      FIG. 17  is a side view of the LED circuit board of  FIG. 16 ; and 
           [0028]      FIGS. 18 and 19  illustrate application of an illustrative embodiment to a seat. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0029]    An illustrative seat light  11  and optional cooperating plaque holder  13  are shown in  FIGS. 1-2 . The seat light  11  includes three components: an LED board  17 ; a board shroud  19 , which encases the board  17 ; and a light shade  21 , which receives and mounts the board shroud  19  and its encased LED board  17 . The light shade  21  is further designed to direct illumination from the LEDs  30 ,  31 ,  32 ,  33  onto the plaque and a seat, as well as an adjacent aisleway, while at the same time concealing the shroud  19 , and the LEDs  30 ,  31 ,  32 ,  33  from normal view. 
         [0030]    The front surface  35  of the LED board  17  shown, e.g., in  FIG. 2 , fits flush against parallel horizontal rims  23 ,  25  located on the interior surface  27  of the board shroud  19 . These rims  23 ,  25  are shown in  FIGS. 3 and 9 . The parallel rims  23 ,  25  position the circuit board  17  such that the LEDs  30 - 33  lie flush with the front surface  29  of the shroud  19 . The end most LEDs  30 ,  33  are positioned on the board  17  such that they abut the respective vertical edges  36 ,  37  of the rectangular opening  39  in the front surface of the shroud  19 . This abutment positions the board  17  and prevents lateral sliding of the board  17  with respect to the inner parallel rims  23 ,  25 . The number of LEDs may be varied, e.g., from two to four in illustrative embodiments. 
         [0031]    The light shade  21  includes vertical back edges  46 ,  47  and two interior generally planar surfaces  41 ,  43 , shown, for example, in  FIGS. 3 and 5 . The planar surfaces  41 ,  43  intersect along a common edge  45 . In an illustrative embodiment, the lower surface  41  makes an acute angle α with the vertical back edge  46  of the light shade of 20 degrees, while the upper surface  43  makes an angle β with the vertical back edge  46  of 16 degrees. 
         [0032]    As shown in  FIG. 5 , the upper planar surface  43  of the light shade  21  includes a central opening  47  for passing an electrical power cable to the LED board  17  and includes respective spacer blocks  51 ,  53  at its respective ends  55 ,  57 . The spacer blocks  51 ,  53  at the respective ends  55 ,  57  of the light shade  21  center the shroud  19  within the shade  21 . In other embodiments, the power cable opening  47  may be located at either end of the light shade  21 , as opposed to the center. 
         [0033]    A horizontal lip  59  formed (e.g. molded) along the interior  60  of the arced hood portion  61  of the shroud  19  appropriately positions the shroud  19  and encased circuit board  17 . Specifically, as shown in  FIG. 3 , the upper back edge  65  of the shroud  19  rests on the front surface  68  of the lip  59 , while the lower back edge  66  of the shroud  19  rests on the lower planar surface  41  of the light shade  21 . 
         [0034]    In the illustrative embodiment, the plane of the board  17  is positioned at the angle α of 20 degrees to the vertical such that the light from the LEDs  30 ,  31 ,  32 ,  33  is directed out and slightly downwardly. The hood portion  61  of the light shade  21  is preferably arced through an angle θ sufficient to shield the LED bank from the view of persons walking up or down an aisleway, while still directing sufficient light to properly illuminate it. In one embodiment, the angle θ may be, for example, 58 degrees. 
         [0035]    As illustrated in FIGS.  2  and  6 - 10 , the lower edge  67  of the shroud  19  has a tab  69  formed thereon, which has a mounting hole  71  positioned to concentrically align with another mounting hole  73  formed in the lower planar surface  41  of the shade  21 . Thus, a single fastening device can be used to attach the shroud  19  to the shade  21  and then to a surface behind the shade  21 , such as, for example, the side of a theatre seat  101  disposed along an aisleway, as illustrated in  FIGS. 18 and 19 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , the lower surface of the light shade  21  further has two additional mounting holes  75 ,  77  with surrounding depressions  79 ,  81  shaped to receive respective tabs  121 ,  123  of the plaque holder  111 , as well as suitable fastening devices, such as, for example, screws. 
         [0036]    The LED board  17  is illustrated in further details in  FIGS. 16 and 17 . The board  17  includes the four LED&#39;s  30 ,  31 ,  32 ,  33  and a socket  34  for electrical power connection. Illustrative dimensions of one embodiment of a board  17  are A=2.625 inches, B=0.500 inches, C=1.500 inches and D=0.375 inches. 
         [0037]    As shown in  FIGS. 12-15 , the plaque holder  13  includes a generally rectangular frame  113 , which contains a rectangular well  115  for receiving and holding a rectangular plaque, such as, for example, a planar row or aisle indicator  116  ( FIG. 2 ). The back surface  119  of the well or receptacle  115  lies at an angle θ of, for example, 10 degrees with respect to the vertical back edge  117  of the holder  13  to enhance the pick-up and reflection of light from the seat light  13  and hence enhance the visibility of the row indicator  116 . 
         [0038]    As noted above, the plaque holder  13  further includes first and second mounting tabs  121 ,  123  with circular openings along its top edge  125  and a countersunk cylindrical opening  127  centrally positioned in the rectangular plaque receptacle  115 . The plaque, e.g.  116 , may be provided with double sided-tape on its back surface to attach it to the plaque receptacle  115 . 
         [0039]    The plaque holder  13  and light shade  21  may be fabricated of diecast aluminum, for example, A380.0-F die casting alloy. Other suitable metals, plastics, or composites could of course be used in various alternate embodiments. The LED shroud  19  may be fabricated of a suitable plastic, for example, such as black Bayer Macrolor polycarbonate 90-2205. 
         [0040]    Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various adaptations and modifications of the just described embodiments can be configured without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, it is to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described herein.