Lighting rail for lighting objects to be exposed to view

A lighting rail for at least one lighting device, the lighting device being provided with a contact part for electrical contact with a conducting strip of the lighting rail, and with clamping and tension means to press the contact part against the conducting strip, wherein the lighting rail comprises a substantially U-shaped support element, a live conducting rail fitting into the support element and insulating means for insulating the conducting strip from the live conducting rail fitting therein, wherein the support element and the live conducting rail comprise cooperating attaching means to releasably attach the live conducting rail in the support element by snapping.

FIELD OF INVENTION
 The invention relates to a ligting rail for lighting prints, paintings and
 other objects to be exposed to view.
 The invention furthermore relates to a lighting rail which is provided with
 means for suspending the objects to be exposed to view.
 The invention furthermore relates to a ceiling or wall profile for placing
 ceiling or wall plates of a ceiling or wall system, which can moreover
 function as a lighting rail.
 BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
 Lighting paintings and the like with the help of a lighting assembly
 comprising a lighting rail and a series of separate lighting devices
 attached to the lighting rail is known. It is also known to combine such a
 lighting rail with a suspension means for the paintings. The paintings can
 then be movably attached to the lighting rail with the help of suspension
 elements, which can have the shape of a hook or a clamping block, and to
 which, for example, a suspension wire or suspension rod for the painting
 can be attached.
 In the lighting assembly the lighting devices are clamped on or in the rail
 in such a manner that the contact part of the lighting device is held
 urged against the conducting strip which is arranged in the lighting rail.
 The lighting device usually has an elongated arm of considerable length so
 as to enable the lamp to illuminate the painting from a direction which is
 advantageous for exposition purposes. A consequence hereof is that the
 lighting device exerts a considerable vertical moment on its area of
 attachment to the lighting rail. It therefore often happens that the
 contact part of the lighting device slips upwards or sidewards (in a
 vertical plane) along the contact area of the conducting strip. As a
 result of that, the electrical contact may be severed and/or the
 orientation of the elongated arm changed, due to which the lighting device
 will stop functioning and/or the view on a series of initially parallely
 arranged lighting devices will be disturbed.
 SUMMARY OF INVENTION
 It is an object of the invention to provide a lighting rail which is
 capable of holding the lighting devices in a secure manner.
 The object is achieved by a lighting rail for at least one lighting device,
 the lighting device being provided with a contact part for electrical
 contact with a conducting strip of the lighting rail, and with clamping
 and tension means to press the contact part against the conducting strip,
 wherein the conducting strip is substantially U-shaped in cross section,
 the legs of the U forming means for transversely confining the contact
 part of the lighting device.
 The design of the conducting strip sees to it that the lighting device
 cannot tilt downwards after arranging, owing to the fact that the contact
 part is transversely (in cross section of the rail) confined.
 It is furthermore known to assemble lighting rails by combining the various
 components such as for instance a support rail, a live conducting rail,
 etcetera, with the aid of screws or adhesive means such as a double-sided
 adhesive tape. It has appeared, however, that the known way of assembly is
 often burdensome for the installer, who usually has to install the
 lighting rail at a location above his head.
 A further object of the invention is to provide a lighting rail which is
 easily assembled and disassembled.
 Yet a further object of the invention is to provide a lighting rail of
 which the interior can be hidden from view when the lighting rail is not
 in use without additional means being necessary.
 It is still a further object of the invention to provide a lighting rail
 that can be used in ceiling or wall systems.
 These further objects are achieved with the measures per se as described in
 the attached claims which are here incorporated by reference.
 The conducting rail the lighting device is movable independently of the
 objects to be suspended. On account of the conducting rail being live, no
 loose power cables are necessary. With the help of the clamping means and
 the tension means the lighting device can be arranged at every desired
 place in the conducting rail, and the tension means will push the clamping
 means against the holding means of the conducting rail, and the contact
 part of the lighting device against the conducting strip, so that a good
 electric contact is established.
 By executing the conducting rail as separate U-shaped part, the lighting
 rail without conducting rail can easily be attached to the wall by, for
 example, screws. Then the separate conducting rail can be easily placed in
 the receiving space and thus conceal the fixing points. The longitudinal
 opening of the conducting rail can be directed upwards, so that the
 lighting device will project above the conducting rail. The longitudinal
 opening of the conducting rail can also be directed sidewards, so that the
 lighting device does not have to project above the conducting rail. As a
 consequence, the lighting rail can be arranged near or against a ceiling
 or the like.
 The conducting rail, which is open sidewards, is easily attached in the
 receiving space of the lighting rail by inserting and snapping it in. In
 addition, the kind of material and the dimensions of the device have been
 chosen, such that at least one of the walls or legs with cam or recess is
 sufficiently flexible.
 Lips on the outer end of the legs of a U-shaped conducting rail provide for
 a good supporting surface for a clamping plate, and the cams in the
 conducting rail and on the insulating strip, respectively, together with a
 narrow fit, provide a good mechanical confinement of the insulating strip
 and the conducting strip, respectively, so that no extra attaching means
 are needed.
 The lighting rail described in the claims is easy to assemble by snapping
 the various elements together. In a preferred embodiment, the elements are
 fitted into each other in a consecutive manner, so that only few means
 have to be provided for keeping the element together.
 In further preferred embodiment described in the claims, the retaining
 means on the support element and the corresponding retaining means on the
 live conducting rail are postioned relative to each other such that vice
 versa mounting of the U-shaped conducting rail is possible, so as to close
 off the receiving space in the support element.
 The ceiling or wall rail for placing ceiling or wall plates described in
 the claims can easily be included in ceiling or wall systems, and is
 capable of performing at least two functions, viz. a plate system function
 and a lighting device supporting function. In a preferred embodiment, the
 supporting strips for the plates are located such that the profile is
 substantially hidden between the plates.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
 FIG. 1 shows a lighting rail indicated by 1, which is screwed to a wall 2
 with the help of screws through holes 20 in the upper part of the device.
 The lighting rail 1 comprises a suspension and conducting rail 3 which
 forms a whole, a conducting strip 6, a current insulating profile 7, a
 suspension element 28 and a contact portion 26 of a lighting device 25.
 The suspension and conducting rail is substantially E-shaped, with an
 upper leg 12, a middle leg 13 and a lower leg 14. The lower leg 14
 comprises a raised edge 15 for the suspension element 28. The middle leg
 comprises a front panel 16.
 The live conducting rail is formed by the upper part of the E. In this
 upper part the holes 20 are arranged so as to attach the device with
 screws to the wall 2. The upper part which is U-shaped in cross section,
 is open sidewards. The separate part 4 of the conducting rail is arranged
 in this U.
 FIG. 1A shows this separate part 4. It is substantially U-shaped in cross
 section, with walls 22, cheeks 23 facing each other and inward directed
 lips 24. The conducting strip 6 and the current insulating profile 7 are
 contained in this portion 4. After being attached to the wall the portion
 4 is inserted into the upper part and fixed with, for example,
 double-sided adhesive tape, which operation has proven to be fairly
 difficult, because it has to be done above the head of the installer.
 Moreover, the adhesive connection is not as reliable as it should be.
 Unintentional release of the rail is possible which constitutes a risk of
 damage and injury.
 FIG. 1 shows the attached part 4 with the contact part 26 of the lighting
 device 25. The contact part 26 comprises a spherical portion 9, which is
 connected to a thickening on the support pipe 30 to the lamp part 27 with
 the help of an insulating portion 10, in which a threaded portion 11 is
 rotatable and slidable on the longitudinal support pipe 30, which treaded
 portion 11 is screwed into a clamping plate 8.
 In the embodiment of FIG. 1 it is possible to move a suspension element
 such as a suspension element 28 over the raised edge 15, such as in FIG.
 1. Independent thereof, a lighting device can be moved with the help of
 the contact part 26 in the live conducting rail by screwing the screw
 thread portion 11 slightly out of the clamping plate 8, sliding the
 contact part 26 in the conducting rail, and then screwing the screw thread
 portion tight again, as a result of which the clamping plate will rest on
 the lips 24 of the conducting rail, and the spherical portion 9 will be
 pushed against the conducting strip 6.
 Arranging a lighting device in the conducting rail is possible because the
 clamping plate 8 in narrower than the opening in the conducting rail. The
 clamping plate can thus be inserted through the opening of the conducting
 rail, and after a rotation through 90.degree. can rest against the lips 24
 of the conducting rail.
 FIG. 2 shows a preferred embodiment of a lighting rail according to the
 invention, indicated by 101, which is screwed with screws to the wall 102.
 Just at the lighting rail according to FIG. 1, the lighting rail 101 which
 is substantially inverted L-shaped comprises a vertical leg 103 a lower
 leg 109 with a raised edge 110 for the suspension element 28, a horizontal
 tongue 106 with a beaded edge 107, and in addition a horizontal ledge 105
 and an upper leg 140 with a downward directed edge 121 with an inward
 directed lip 122 for receiving a separate live conducting rail 104. The
 vertical leg 103 of rail 101 is on its inner side provided with a
 wedge-shaped recess 150, while the conducting rail 104 is provided with a
 mating wedge projection 120 on its outer base surface. These means
 constitute a first retaining means for the rail 104, second retaining
 means being formed by the hook 121-122 and abutting portion of the upper
 leg of the rail 104, which fits in the hook. When assembling, the rail 104
 can be hooked under hook 121-122 and then rotated--as seen in the
 drawing--clockwise (A), so as to snap the lower edge of wedge 120 into the
 recess 150.
 The live conducting rail 104 is shown separately in FIG. 4 and is
 substantially U-shaped in cross section, having cheeks 115 facing each
 other along its opening, each of which has an inwardly directed lip 116.
 The legs 118 of the live conducting rail both have on their inner side a
 longitudinal cam 117 for receiving and securing an insulating strip 111,
 which is also substantially U-shaped and has inwardly directed cams 112
 along its edges, so as to secure a conducting strip 113, which is also
 substantially U-shaped in cross section and has rounded edges 114. This
 can be seen clearly in FIG. 5.
 The conducting rail is constructed to receive a lighting device, the
 connecting end 129 of which is shown in FIG. 2. The connecting end 129 of
 the lighting device has a grip 131 which can be attached, for example, by
 soldering to clamping plate 132. The grip and the clamping plate can also
 be made out of one piece. The grip can be slid over the support pipe 30. A
 contact part 133 is secured to the support pipe 30 with the help of an
 insulating portion 134 and can supply current to the lamp part by way of a
 thread 136. In the grip 131 a compression spring 135 is partly
 accommodated, which rests against the insulating portion 134.
 In FIG. 2 it can also be seen that the lighting rail can include a front
 panel 108 which is attached on the lowest cheek to the conducting rail
 104.
 FIG. 3 shows the lighting rail 103 which forms a whole, without the
 conducting rail 104.
 FIG. 5 shows another preferred embodiment of the lighting rail 101 which
 has an L-shaped support portion in which the conducting rail 104 is placed
 with its open side upwards. In this embodiment the front panel 145 is bent
 downward to the back, and this front panel has an inwardly directed tongue
 146 with beaded edge 147.
 FIG. 6 shows a preferred embodiment which is similar to the embodiment of
 FIG. 12, but which has a front panel 144 and a tongue 106 with beaded edge
 107, which are taken from the embodiment of FIG. 2. In FIG. 6 the short
 upper leg 140 with a downwardly projecting lip 141 can be clearly seen,
 behind which the live conducting rail 104 has to hook. For a better
 atachment a wedge-shaped slot 143 is arranged in the middle leg 142, in
 which wedge-shaped cam 120 on the base 119 of the live conducting rail 104
 (vide FIG. 4) has to snap. Here, the hook 140-141 is at the upper end of
 the vertical leg 103 and the wedge-shaped recess 143 is in the horizontal
 leg 142. The rail 104 can easily be clicked onto the support by first
 having the upper end of the left leg under the hook 140-141 and then
 rotating clockwise in B to snap the wedge 120 into the recess 143.
 The substantially rectangular clamping plate 132 is provided in the middle
 with a hole 150 for said attachment to the grip 131 and is provided with
 slots 151 along its short edges for cooperation with the lips 116 on the
 cheeks 115 of the live conducting rail 104. The clamping plate 132 has
 opposite rounded corners 152 with a radius from the middle of the hole
 150, which is, at most, equal to half the length of the clamping plate.
 FIG. 7 shows a preferred embodiment of a lighting rail 201 for lighting
 devices, of which the contact part 26 is shown in FIG. 2. As the lighting
 rails of FIG. 2 ff., this lighting rail does not necessarily comprise a
 lighting means for suspending prints and other objects to be exposed to
 view.
 The lighting rail 201 comprises an in cross section substantially U-shaped
 support element 203 that can be screwed to the wall 202 with the help of
 screws through holes in the bottom of the U. Inside the U-shaped support
 element 203 a separate part 204 is arranged, substantially as part 4 is
 placed in rail 3 in FIG. 1, and inside separate part 204 an insulating
 strip 205 and a live conducting rail 206 are secured, just as in FIG. 2.
 However, the separate part 204 is not attached to support element 203 with
 double-sided adhesive tape, but by means of outwardly directed
 protuberances 212, comparable to the inwardly directed lips 211 that
 correspond to the cams or ribs 117 of FIG. 4. See FIG. 7a for separate
 part 204.
 The protuberances 212 cooperate with corresponding recesses in support
 element 203. Preferably, the protuberances 212 and recesses are
 dome-shaped in cross section.
 In this way, a very simple to use "click" system is provided, in which the
 separate part 204 can be provided with the insulated strip 205 and live
 conducting rail 206 first, and then can simply be slid and clicked into
 support element 203.
 The separate part 204 can also be simply taken out of the support element
 203, which is advantageous when at a given moment there is no need for a
 lighting device. The lighting rail can then be closed off by inserting the
 separate part 204 back to front in support element 204. This is made
 possible by designing the support element 203 and the rail 204 such that
 the distance L.sub.1 between the ribs 212 and the outer end edges of the
 legs of the rail 204 is equal to or smaller than the distance L.sub.2
 between the inside surface of the base of the support element and the
 recess 213 for the ribs 212. This gives the lighting rail not used now a
 closed and unobtrusive appearance. To be able to use the separate part 204
 in this way, the protuberances 212 and corresponding recesses have to be
 situated substantially halfway the legs of the U-shaped support element
 203 and separate part 204.
 Of course, the separate part 204, as shown in FIG. 7A, can also be used
 with lighting rail as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, but provided with recesses
 for cooperation with separate part 204. FIG. 8 shows a preferred
 embodiment of a lighting rail 230 that is to be used with separate part
 204, provided with recesses 231. A suspension element can be placed in the
 lower half of lighting rail 230, and a cable can be placed on the inwardly
 protruding tongue 232.
 Alternatively, the U-shaped conducting rail may be provided with a
 wedge-shaped cam on the outer surface of each of its legs. The support
 element has corresponding mating wedge-shaped recesses.
 FIG. 9 shows a ceiling rail for placing ceiling plates 171 of a system
 ceiling, the ceiling strip 170 having two edges 172 projecting to both
 sides, on which the ceiling plates 171 find support. The ceiling strip 170
 has in its upper portion a synthetic insulating strip 173 provided with
 holes 174 to suspend the ceiling strip by hooking. The longitudinal body
 of the ceiling strip 170 has a lower portion in the shape of a reversed U,
 provided with recesses 176 which are designed to cooperate with the
 protuberances of separate conducting rail 204 (FIG. 7A). In this way, the
 ceiling rail can be used as lighting rail as well, by inserting the
 separate rail 204 with its opening downwards in the ceiling rail, the rail
 being provided with an isolating strip 205 and conducting strip 206.
 Alternatively, the ceiling rail can also be closed off by inserting
 separate rail 204 upside down in the ceiling rail. As a further
 alternative, the ceiling rail with the separate rail 204 can also be used
 to suspend an object, by placing a suspension element on the inwardly
 directed lips 210 of separate part 204.
 In the same way, it is possible to screw lighting rail 201 to a ceiling and
 to suspend an object by placing a suspension element on the inwardly
 directed lips 210 of separate part 204 of lighting rail 201.
 FIG. 5 also shows that in the suspension rail portion of the lighting rail
 with a front panel which extends downward to the rear, a paper clamp can
 be arranged which has the shape of a roll 180 which is annular in cross
 section behind which paper and the like can be slid and clamped. The roll
 can also be polygonal.
 With the device described in the FIGS. 2 and 6 the lighting device can
 easily be placed in the conducting rail. By grasping the connecting end
 129 by the grip 131, the clamping plate 132 can be rotated such that the
 clamping plate 132 can be inserted between the cheeks 115 of the live
 conducting rail 104. The contact part 133 abuts against the conducting
 strip 113, and when the grip 131 is pushed further the compression spring
 135 is pushed in. The clamping plate 132 can be pushed in so far that it
 is located beyond the lips 116 on the cheeks 115 of the live conducting
 rail 104, and then the grip 131 with the clamping plate 132 can be rotated
 a quarter of a turn. When releasing the grip 131 the compression spring
 135 pushes the grip to the outside, and the clamping plate 132 is pushed
 against the lips 116 of the live conducting rail. On account of the
 clamping plate 132 having slots 151 which correspond to the lips 116, the
 lips 116 will fall into the slots 151, as a result of which the clamping
 plate 132 is locked against undesired rotation of the grip 131, so that as
 a consequence the lighting device will not come off the lighting rail by
 accident.
 The distance between the legs of the U of the conducting strip correspond
 to the diameter of the contact part 133 of the lighting device. Due to
 this the contact part 133 will not be able to slide transversely to the
 conducting strip so that the contact part 129 will not tilt downwards and
 the lighting device will not come into accidental contact with the object
 exposed to view, as a result of the tilting.
 With the lighting rail 201 of FIG. 1, the lighting rail of FIG. 8 and the
 ceiling rail 170 of FIG. 9, each provided with separate part 204 of FIG.
 7a, the lighting device of which contact part 129 is shown in FIG. 2, can
 be used in the same way.
 The conducting rail is now suited for supplying a low voltage current, for
 example 12 Volt, to the lighting device, for example, a halogen lamp. The
 current is then supplied by the conducting strip and passes through the
 contact part and a wire in the lighting device to the lamp. The current is
 discharged through the outside of the lighting device and passes through
 the clamping plate by way of the clean scraped lips to the outside of the
 separate conducting rail for closing the circuit.