Patent Publication Number: US-2022228725-A1

Title: Lighting unit body

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a lighting unit body for a lighting unit, wherein the lighting unit body can provide indirect lighting without changing interior fixtures. 
     BACKGROUND 
     A lighting unit body that can provide indirect lighting without changing interior fixtures is proposed in Patent Document 1. 
     Patent Document 1 describes the lighting unit body in [Solution] in [Abstract] at the time of filing the application, as follows. 
     “As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , a reflective shaped-member  1  comprises a lighting unit  2 , and a shaped-member  3  to which the lighting unit  2  is mounted. The shaped-member  3  comprises a reflective surface  30  for reflecting radiation of the lighting unit, and emits light from the reflective surface  30 . The shaped-member  3  is made of an aluminum shaped-member. With the reflective surface  30 , soft shiny light can be generated, and soft lighting performance can be achieved using the shaped-member as an optical means.” 
     In addition, Patent Document 1 indicates in claim  1  at the time of issuance, as follows: 
     “A shaped-member comprises a reflective LED comprising: a lighting unit comprising an LED plate as a light emitting means; and a shaped-member to which the lighting unit is mounted, wherein the shaped-member comprises a reflective surface for reflecting light radiated from the lighting unit, and shapes light to be emitted from the reflective surface, wherein the reflective surface comprises an inclined surface located on one end side of the shaped-member and inclined with respect to an irradiation surface of the lighting unit, a flat surface formed substantially in parallel to the irradiation surface, and a surface extending from the flat surface to the other end side of the shaped-member and being not in parallel to the flat surface.” 
     PRIOR ART DOCUMENT 
     Patent Document 
     
         
         PATENT DOCUMENT 1: Japanese Patent number JP-B-6,425,436 
       
    
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Problems to be Solved by the Invention 
     However, according to Patent Document 1, when a direction from left to right in  FIG. 2A  is defined as a left-to-right direction, there has been a problem in that the left-to-right direction width of the reflective shaped-member  1  tends to be wide. 
     In other words, light is reflected by the reflective surface  30  that is composed of an inclined surface  300 , a flat surface  301 , and a bent surface  302 , and then emitted from “an emission outlet” formed on the right side of an irradiation surface  24 . Therefore, the left-to-right direction width of the reflective shaped-member  1  is “the left-to-right direction width of the irradiation surface  24  plus the left-to-right direction width of the emission outlet plus a”, which tends to become wide. 
     The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances described above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a lighting unit body that can provide indirect lighting without changing interior fixtures, wherein the left-to-right direction width of the lighting unit body can be reduced. 
     Means for Solving the Problems 
     To achieve the object described above, a lighting unit body according to the present invention comprises: a light source; and a shaped-member, in which a housing portion in which the light source is disposed, a reflective surface for reflecting light that comes from the light source, and an emission outlet for emitting the light that comes from the reflective surface are respectively formed in a longitudinal direction. The lighting unit body is characterized in that, when a position at which the emission outlet is located is defined as forward and a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction is defined as a front-to-rear direction and when a direction orthogonal both to the longitudinal direction and the front-to-rear direction is defined as a left-to-right direction, then the emission outlet is formed in a front portion of the reflective surface, and the housing portion is formed in a rear portion of the reflective surface and directed obliquely rearward at a predefined inclined angle on one of either left or right side, and the predefined inclined angle is an angle that inhibits visual observation of the light source from the front of the emission outlet, and wherein the left-to-right direction position at which the light source is disposed is included in the left-to-right direction position at which the emission outlet is located. 
     Effect of the Invention 
     According to the present invention, in the lighting unit body, the housing portion, in which the light source is disposed, is formed in a rear portion of the reflective surface, and directed obliquely rearward at a predefined inclined angle on one of either left or right side. The predefined inclined angle is an angle that inhibits visual observation of the light source from the front of the emission outlet, and thus indirect lighting can be provided without changing interior fixtures. In addition, in the lighting unit body, the left-to-right direction position at which the light source is disposed is included in the left-to-right direction position at which the emission outlet is located, and thus “the left-to-right direction width of the light source plus the left-to-right direction width of the emission outlet” does not exceed “the left-to-right width of the emission outlet.” Therefore, the left-to-right direction width of the lighting unit body can be reduced accordingly. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an oblique view of a lighting unit  100 . 
         FIG. 2  is a view schematically illustrating a cross section orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of a lighting unit body  1  of a first embodiment. 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross section orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of a lighting unit body  2  of a second embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross section orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of a lighting unit body  3  of a third embodiment. 
         FIG. 5  is a light path diagram of the lighting unit body  1  illustrated in  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 6  is a light path diagram of the lighting unit body  2  illustrated in  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 7  is a light path diagram of the lighting unit body  3  illustrated in  FIG. 4 . 
     
    
    
     EMBODIMENTS FOR IMPLEMENTING THE INVENTION 
     Embodiments, to which the present invention is applied, are described below in detail with reference to drawings. In the drawings, members designated by the same reference numerals are of the same or a similar configuration, and thus duplicate explanation thereof is omitted. In addition, in the drawings, members that are not necessary for explanation are omitted as appropriate. 
     First Embodiment 
     The lighting unit body  1  according to the first embodiment, to which the present invention is applied, is described with reference to  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 2 , and  FIG. 5 . 
       FIG. 1  is an oblique view of the lighting unit  100 .  FIG. 2  is a view schematically illustrating a cross section orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the lighting unit body  1  of the first embodiment.  FIG. 5  is a light path diagram of the lighting unit body  1  illustrated in  FIG. 2 . 
     In the description below, as illustrated by allows in  FIG. 1 , a direction along the lighting unit  100  is defined as a longitudinal direction, and one of directions that are orthogonal to the longitudinal direction is defined as a front-to-rear direction (Note that a portion in which an emission outlet  13  is located is defined as front, and opposite side thereof is defined as rear.), and a direction orthogonal both to the longitudinal direction and to the front-to-rear direction is defined as a left-to-right direction. In addition, front, rear, left, and right illustrated by arrows in  FIG. 2  respectively correspond to front, rear, left, and right of the lighting unit body  1 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the lighting unit  100  comprises the lighting unit body  1  being long in the longitudinal direction, a securing plate  5  disposed at a rear end of the lighting unit body  1 , and decorative covers  6 ,  7  or the like respectively disposed at both ends in the longitudinal direction. 
     The lighting unit body  1  comprises shaped-members  10 ,  20  and a light source  30 , as illustrated in  FIG. 2 . 
     The shaped-member  10 ,  20  are formed to be long in the longitudinal direction, for example by a drawing processing of an aluminum member. The shaped-members  10 ,  20  are joined each other with bolts or the like (not shown) to form a rectangular shape whose front-to-rear direction length H is greater than the left-to-right direction width W. In the example illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the left-to-right direction width W is set to be 1 inch (25.4 mm) or less. 
     The shaped-member  10  has a first reflective surface  11 . The shaped-member  20  has a second reflective surface  21  and a housing portion  22 . The emission outlet  13  is formed in a front portion of the first reflective surface  11  and the second reflective surface  21 . In addition, the housing portion  22  is formed in a rear portion of the second reflective surface  21 . 
     The housing portion  22  is formed in the rear portion of the second reflective surface  21 , and directed obliquely rearward at a predefined inclined angle θ on one of either left or right side (In the example illustrated in  FIG. 2 , right obliquely rearward). In addition, the housing portion  22  is formed into a concave shape, and has a bottom surface  22   a  on which the light source  30  described below is to be disposed, a rear side surface  22   b  located rearward thereof, and a front side surface  22   c  located forward thereof. The predefined inclined angle θ of the housing portion  22  is equal to a predefined inclined angle θ of the bottom surface  22   a , and both are θ. In the example illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the predefined inclined angle θ with respect to the front-to-rear direction is set as θ=35°, for example. 
     The first reflective surface  11  is formed into a concave shape. The first reflective surface  11  is formed such that it initially extends substantially orthogonally from the vicinity of a tip b of the rear side surface  22   b  to the bottom surface  22   a , and reaches an end point p (a point located at the rearmost position), and is then gradually directed forward to extend to one end of the emission outlet  13  (right end, in the example illustrated in  FIG. 2 ). 
     The second reflective surface  21  is formed into a convex shape. The second reflective surface  21  is formed such that it initially extends from the vicinity of a tip c of the front side surface  22   c  to the other end of the emission outlet  13  (left end, in the example illustrated in  FIG. 2 ). 
     The first reflective surface  11  and the second reflective surface  21  described above face each other. The spacing between the two surfaces in the left-to-right direction is wider at a front portion than at a rear portion. 
     At the emission outlet  13 , a protrusion  12  extends outward from the first reflective surface  11  toward the second reflective surface  21 . The left-to-right direction width L of the emission outlet  13  is thus reduced by the height of the protrusion  12 . 
     The light source  30  comprises a substrate  31  being long in the longitudinal direction, and evenly spaced LEDs (light emitting diodes)  32  disposed on the substrate  31 . The light source  30  is disposed at a position nearer to the bottom surface  22   a  than a straight line M 1  connecting a tip a of the protrusion  12  and the tip c of the front side surface  22   c.    
     The first reflective surface  11  described above is formed in one component (shaped-member  10 ), which is one of a plurality of components that make up a shaped-member, and the second reflective surface  21  is formed in another one component (shaped-member  20 ). As a result, no joint is be formed between the first reflective surface  11  and the second reflective surface  21 , and thus reflection light becomes smoother accordingly. 
     The lighting unit body  1  described above may be mounted onto a ceiling C, for example, through the securing plate  5 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , a total of three ellipse holes  5   a  are provided in the securing plate  5 : one in the vicinity of the decorative cover  6 , one in the vicinity of the decorative cover  7 , and one at an intermediate portion between them. The securing plate  5  can be mounted onto the ceiling C, using screws (not shown) inserted through the holes from under the securing plate. 
     Protruding portions  14 ,  24  respectively protruding inward from a respective upper portion of the shaped-members  10 ,  20  are then fitted to the securing plate  5 , thereby the lighting unit body  1  is positioned in place. 
     The lighting unit body  1  is then mounted to the securing plate  5 , by means of an anti-drop tool (not shown) provided in a housing room R. 
     As described above, the lighting unit body  1  can be mounted onto the ceiling C. 
     The lighting unit body  1  may be mounted onto a wall surface Wa, instead of onto the ceiling C, with its longitudinal direction being directed vertically, or with its longitudinal direction being directed horizontally. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates light paths when the lighting unit body  1  illustrated in  FIG. 2  is mounted onto a ceiling C with a height of 3000 mm from a floor surface F, and spaced 900 mm apart from a wall surface Wa. 
     According to the lighting unit body  1 , the floor surface F and a lower portion of the wall surface Wa can be illuminated with indirect light, as illustrated in  FIG. 5 . 
     Effects and advantages of the lighting unit body  1  of the first embodiment are summarized below. 
     In the lighting unit body  1 , the emission outlet  13  is formed in the front portion of the first reflective surface  11  and the second reflective surface. In addition, the housing portion  22  is formed in the rear portion of the first reflective surface  11  and the second reflective surface  21 , directed obliquely rearward at a predefined inclined angle θ on one of either left or right side. The predefined inclined angle θ is set to be an angle such that it inhibits visual observation of the light source  30  from the front of the emission outlet  13 , and the left-to-right direction position at which the light source  30  is disposed is included in the left-to-right direction position at which the emission outlet  13  is located. 
     With this configuration, the lighting unit body  1  can provide indirect lighting without changing interior fixtures. In addition, in the lighting unit body  1 , the left-to-right direction position at which the light source  30  is disposed is included in the left-to-right direction position at which the emission outlet  13  is located, and thus “the left-to-right direction width of the light source  30  plus the left-to-right direction width of the emission outlet  13 ” does not exceed “the left-to-right direction width L of the emission outlet  13 ”, and thus the left-to-right direction width W of the lighting unit body  1  can be reduced accordingly. 
     In the lighting unit body  1 , direct light that comes from the light source  30  is not emitted from the emission outlet  13 . Only indirect light that comes from the light source  30  and that is then reflected by the reflective surfaces (the first reflective surface  11 , the second reflective surface  21 ) is emitted from the emission outlet  13 . As a result, a user will not be dazzled by direct light from the light source  30 . 
     In the lighting unit body  1 , the housing portion  22  is formed into a concave shape, having the bottom surface  22   a  with a predefined inclined angle  8 , the rear side surface  22   b , and the front side surface  22   c . The reflective surface has a concave first reflective surface  11  and a convex second reflective surface  21 . The first reflective surface  11  and the second reflective surface  21  face each other, and the distance between these surfaces in the left-to-right direction is greater in a front portion than in a rear portion. Therefore, for example, when the lighting unit body  1  is mounted onto the ceiling C, the floor surface F and the wall surface Wa can be illuminated. 
     When the predefined inclined angle θ with reference to the front-to-rear direction is set to be 5°≤θ≤45°, the lighting unit body  1  can illuminate both of the floor surface F and the wall surface Wa, although the illuminated region varies depending on the magnitude of the predefined inclined angle θ. 
     In the lighting unit body  1 , the protrusion  12  is formed at the emission outlet  13 , and thus the left-to-right direction width L of the emission outlet  13  is reduced by the height of the protrusion  12 . As a result, the light source  30  becomes less visible from the front of the emission outlet  13  accordingly. 
     In the lighting unit body  1 , the light source  30  is disposed nearer to the bottom surface  22   a  than the line M 1  connecting the tip a of the protrusion  12  and the tip c of the front side surface  22   c . Therefore, the light source  30  is not visible from the front of the emission outlet  13 . 
     In the lighting unit body  1 , the first reflective surface  11  is formed in one component (shaped-member  10 ) which is one of a plurality of components that make up a shaped-member, and the second reflective surface  21  is formed in another one component (shaped-member  20 ). As a result, no joint exists between the first reflective surface  11  and the second reflective surface  21 , and thus reflection light becomes smoother. 
     Second Embodiment 
     The lighting unit body  2  according to the second embodiment, to which the present invention is applied, is described with reference to  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 6 . 
       FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross section orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the lighting unit body  2  of the second embodiment.  FIG. 6  is a light path diagram of the lighting unit body  2  illustrated in  FIG. 3 . 
     Note that how the lighting unit body  2  is mounted onto a ceiling C or wall surface Wa is similar to those described for the lighting unit body  1  of the first embodiment. In addition, in the discussion below, differences between the lighting unit body  2  illustrated in  FIG. 3  and the lighting unit body  1  illustrated in  FIG. 2  are mainly described. 
     The lighting unit body  2  comprises shaped-members  40  and  50  and a light source  30 , as illustrated in  FIG. 3 . 
     The shaped-member  40  has a concave first reflective surface  41 , and a protrusion  42  is formed at an emission outlet  43 . 
     The shaped-member  50  has a second reflective surface  51  and a housing portion  52 . A predefined inclined angle θ of the housing portion  52  is equal to a predefined inclined angle θ of a bottom surface  52   a , and set to be θ=15°. In other words, in the first embodiment, the predefined inclined angle θ was set to be θ=35°, whereas θ=15° in the second embodiment. Based on this difference, the first reflective surface  41  and the second reflective surface  51  have shapes different from those in the first embodiment. 
     The light source  30  is the same as that of the lighting unit body  1 , but it has a different predefined inclined angle θ. 
     Also in the second embodiment, the light source  30  is disposed nearer to the bottom surface  52   a  than a straight line M 2  connecting a tip a of the protrusion  42  and a tip c of the front side surface  52   c . Therefore, the light source  30  is not visible from the front of the emission outlet  43 . 
       FIG. 6  illustrates light paths when the lighting unit body  2  illustrated in  FIG. 3  is mounted onto a ceiling C with a height of 3000 mm from a floor surface F, and spaced 900 mm apart from a wall surface Wa. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 6 , according to the lighting unit body  2 , the illuminated area of the floor surface F is reduced compared with the case of the lighting unit body  1  illustrated in  FIG. 5 , but the illuminated area of the wall surface Wa is increased and the wall surface Wa ranging from the floor surface F to a portion upper than the middle of the wall surface Wa can be illuminated. 
     Note that the lighting unit body  2  of the second embodiment can provide all the effects and advantages of the lighting unit body  1  of the first embodiment. 
     Third Embodiment 
     The lighting unit body  3  according to the third embodiment, to which the present invention is applied, is described with reference to  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 7 . 
       FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross section orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the lighting unit body  3  of the third embodiment.  FIG. 7  is a light path diagram of the lighting unit body  3  illustrated in  FIG. 4 . 
     Note that how the lighting unit body  3  is mounted onto a ceiling C or wall surface Wa is similar to those described for the lighting unit body  1  of the first embodiment. In addition, in the discussion below, differences between the lighting unit body  3  illustrated in  FIG. 4  and the lighting unit body  1  illustrated in  FIG. 2  are mainly described. 
     The lighting unit body  3  comprises shaped-members  60  and  70  and a light source  30 , as illustrated in  FIG. 4 . 
     The shaped-member  60  has a concave first reflective surface  61 , and a protrusion  62  is formed at an emission outlet  63 . 
     The shaped-member  70  has a second reflective surface  71  and a housing portion  72 . A predefined inclined angle  8  of the housing portion  72  is equal to a predefined inclined angle θ of a bottom surface  72   a , and set to be θ=5°. In other words, the predefined inclined angle θ was set to be θ=35° in the first embodiment, whereas θ=5° in the third embodiment. Based on this difference, the first reflective surface  61  and the second reflective surface  71  have shapes different from those in the first embodiment. 
     The light source  30  is the same as that of the lighting unit body  1 , but it has a different predefined inclined angle θ. 
     Also in the third embodiment, the light source  30  is disposed nearer to a bottom surface  72   a  than a straight line M 3  connecting a tip a of the protrusion  62  and a tip c of a front side surface  72   c . Therefore, the light source  30  is not visible from the front of the emission outlet  63 . 
       FIG. 7  illustrates light paths when the lighting unit body  3  illustrated in  FIG. 4  is mounted onto a ceiling C with a height of 3000 mm from a floor surface F, and spaced 900 mm apart from a wall surface Wa. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 7 , according to the lighting unit body  3 , a much less portion of the floor surface F is illuminated compared with lighting unit body  1  illustrated in  FIG. 5 , and almost the entire wall surface Wa is illuminated. 
     Note that the lighting unit body  3  of the third embodiment can provide all the effects and advantages of the lighting unit body  1  of the first embodiment. 
     DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 
     
         
           1  Lighting unit body (First embodiment) 
           2  Lighting unit body (Second embodiment) 
           3  Lighting unit body (Third embodiment) 
           10 ,  20 ,  40 ,  50 ,  60 ,  70  Shaped-member 
           11 ,  41 ,  61  First reflective surface 
           12 ,  42 ,  62  Protrusion 
           13 ,  43 ,  63  Emission outlet 
           21 ,  51 ,  71  Second reflective surface 
           22 ,  52 ,  72  Housing portion 
           22   a ,  52   a ,  72   a  Bottom surface 
           22   b  Rear side surface 
           22   c ,  52   c ,  72   c  Front side surface 
           30  Light source 
           100  Lighting unit 
         a Tip of the protrusion 
         b Tip of the rear side surface 
         c Tip of the front side surface 
         L Left-to-right direction width of the emission outlet 
         θ Predefined inclined angle