Abstract:
A protective enclosure for a lighting fixture, for example, stage- or studio-type lighting instruments to protect the lighting fixture from damage when used in multipurpose gymnasium/auditorium facilities.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    The present disclosure relates generally to a protective enclosure for a lighting fixture or other equipment. In particular, the protective enclosure of the present disclosure is directed towards an apparatus that may be mounted in connection with stage- or studio-type lighting instruments in multipurpose facilities to protect the lighting instruments from damage. 
         [0002]    It is common for organizations such as churches and schools to have multipurpose facilities that are used for entertainment and athletic purposes. One example of this would be a school gymnasium having a stage, which the school uses for athletic events and theatrical productions. Such a multipurpose facility is commonly referred to as a gymnatorium. Stage lights, video projectors, or other delicate equipment may be permanently mounted in a location that is susceptible to being struck by objects such as basketballs, volleyballs and the like when the facility is used for athletic purposes. Because stage and studio lighting instruments are expensive, ranging in price from several hundred to several thousand dollars apiece, it is desirable to protect the lighting instruments and equipment from impacts by the balls and other objects when the multipurpose facilities are being used for athletic purposes. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0003]    One aspect of the present disclosure is to protect stage/studio type lighting instruments and other delicate equipment when used in multipurpose spaces where theatrical/musical/TV/film/video productions share space with athletic events. 
         [0004]    Another aspect of the present disclosure is allowing access to a lighting instrument or other equipment within the protective enclosure for focusing and color changing for individual productions. The protective enclosure of the present disclosure may be equipped with a motorized device to allow movement of a lighting instrument, including panning from side to side and tilting up and down, and for focusing. The protective enclosure of the present disclosure may also accommodate a color changing device to allow a lighting instrument to project a beam of light in more than one color. 
         [0005]    Yet another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a protective enclosure that allows for unrestricted movement of a lighting instrument. Enclosures that have been built in the past were often square, rectangular or triangular in shape, which restricts the movement of the lighting instruments unless they are made very large. 
         [0006]    Yet another aspect of the present disclosure provides access to the interior of the protective enclosure for a person on a lift or on a ladder at a considerable height above the floor. 
         [0007]    The protective enclosure of the present disclosure includes a frame that may be fabricated of steel or aluminum shapes, and a protector applied to the face, top, sides and back of the frame. The protector is designed to withstand the impacts of the type of balls or other objects used in the space. The protector shall also be designed with the intent of blocking the least amount of light projected from the lighting instrument. The protector as described herein, may be constructed from a wire mesh, plexiglass, or other suitable material. The frame of the enclosure may include an equipment mount that may comprise a pipe/tube/channel inside the enclosure to support the lighting instruments and any power distribution equipment needed for the lighting instruments. The face (the side where the light shall be projected) of the enclosure is curved to a similar radius of the arc of the tilt of the lighting instruments to allow full tilt without interference to the movement of the instrument. The back side of the enclosure may have a closable opening that includes doors suspended on tracks to allow the doors to traverse side to side for ease of access while on personnel lifts. The enclosure may be welded or bolted or welded and bolted together. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]    The present disclosure will be described hereafter with reference to the attached drawings which are given as a non-limiting example only, in which: 
           [0009]      FIG. 1  is a side elevation view of an embodiment of the protective enclosure of the present disclosure; 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a front elevation view of the protective enclosure of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a front perspective view showing the frame of the protective enclosure of  FIG. 1 ; and 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is a rear elevation view of the protective enclosure of  FIG. 1  showing doors and door tracks. 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  is a side elevation view of another embodiment of the protective enclosure including access doors provided on the face of the enclosure. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0014]    While the present disclosure will be described fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings in which particular embodiments are shown, it is understood at the outset that persons skilled in the art may modify the disclosure herein described while still achieving the desired result of this disclosure. Accordingly, the description which follows is to be understood as a broad informative disclosure directed to persons skilled in the appropriate arts and not as limitations of the present disclosure. 
         [0015]    The protective enclosure  10  of the present disclosure, as shown in  FIGS. 1 through 4 , includes a frame  20  having a top structure  22  and a rear structure  24 . A pair of side members  26 ,  28  are each coupled to a forward portion of the top structure  22  and a lower portion of the rear structure  24 . In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 3 , side members  26  and  28  are each connected to a front corner  30 ,  32  of top structure  22  and a lower corner  34 ,  36  of rear structure  24  respectively, with side member  26  defining a first side  38  in cooperation with top structure  22  and rear structure  24 , and side member  28  defining a second side  40  in cooperation with top structure  22  and rear structure  24  that is opposite to the first side. Side members  26  and  28  are curved, defining an arcuate face  42  between them, as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0016]    Lighting instruments  2  may include motorized components that allow the lighting instrument to pivot about one or more axes so that a light beam may be directed to multiple locations. Alternatively, a lighting instrument  2  may be manually adjusted and set. In either instance, the lighting instrument  2  must have sufficient clearance to move unobstructed within the enclosure of the present disclosure. 
         [0017]    In one embodiment of the present disclosure the frame  20  may be constructed from 1 inch square steel tubing with  14  gauge wall. Frame members may be welded together, bolted together, or welded and bolted together, as is known in the art. It should be understood, that is acceptable for the frame to be constructed from steel or aluminum round tubing, C-channel, angle iron, UNISTRUT® framing channel, or other material known in the art suitable for this purpose. 
         [0018]    An equipment mount  44  is provided along the top of the protective enclosure  10  attached to top structure  22 , as shown in  FIG. 3 . Equipment mount  44  provides support for a lighting instrument  2  as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . Equipment mount  44  may also support any auxiliary electrical or mechanical accessories  4  such as electrical junction boxes, gear motors, color changers, and the like. The equipment mount  44  may be constructed from a length of 1  1 / 2  inch diameter schedule  40  steel pipe, attached to the top structure  22  by welding, bolting, or other fastening means known in the art. A length of UNISTRUT® framing channel or other steel or aluminum member may also be acceptable. 
         [0019]    A protector member  46  is attached to the frame providing an enclosure for the lighting instrument  2 . In one embodiment, the protector member  46  is constructed from wire mesh, which is attached to the top structure  22 , the face  42 , and each side  38 ,  40 . Doors  50 ,  52  are also provided with wire mesh and are configured to close an opening  53  in rear structure  24  while allowing access to the interior of the protective enclosure  10 . Thus, in this embodiment, the protective enclosure  10  provides a complete enclosure. In an alternative embodiment, the protector  46  may be omitted from top structure when the protective enclosure  10  is mounted flush with a ceiling or other surface. 
         [0020]    An acceptable mesh for protector member  46  includes a 2 inch square mesh of 0.118 inch steel wire cloth. Other acceptable meshes include hex netting, commonly referred to as “chicken wire,” or hardware cloth. Protector member  46  must have sufficient rigidity to protect the lighting instrument  2 , or other contents of the protective enclosure  10  from impact by objects such as athletic balls, yet have sufficiently open space to allow a beam of light to pass through without perceptible interference. Alternative embodiments may include protectors formed from plexiglass polycarbonate, or other rigid, durable materials that allow for passage of a light beam. 
         [0021]    Referring now to  FIG. 4 , access doors  50 ,  52  are provided on the rear of the protective enclosure  10  of the present disclosure. Each door  50 ,  52  includes a door frame  58  and protector member  46  attached to the door frame  58 . Each door frame  58  may be constructed from the same structural materials as the frame  20 , e.g., 1 inch square steel tubing, or other suitable material. Door tracks  54 ,  56  are mounted over the opening  53  defined by the rear structure  24  of the frame  20 . The door tracks  54 ,  56  may be constructed from UNISTRUT® framing channel. Rollers (not shown), attached to each door  50 ,  52 , are coupled to and cooperate with the door tracks  54 ,  56  suspending the doors from the door tracks and allowing the doors  50 ,  52  to translationally move within the frame opening  53 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , two doors  50 ,  52  are offset from each other allowing each door to slide in front of or behind the other. 
         [0022]    This sliding door arrangement allows access to the lighting instrument  2  within the protective enclosure  10  without the door swinging out of or down from the confines of the frame  20 . This is beneficial because lighting instruments of this type can be mounted near a ceiling or at a considerable height above the floor, and a person that must access the lighting instrument  2  is often on a lift or a ladder, where clearing a pivoting door (either vertically or horizontally) may be difficult and dangerous. 
         [0023]    Although the embodiment shown in  FIG. 4  has two overlapping sliding doors  50 ,  52 , a single door is equally acceptable. A single door may be configured to cover only a portion of the rear or the entire rear with a door track extending beyond a side member. 
         [0024]    The protective enclosure  10  of the present disclosure may be mounted to structural elements of the multipurpose facility in which it is used. For example, gymnatoriums typically have exposed roof trusses, bar joists, I-beams, or other structural components above the space. The protective enclosure may be clamped directly to such building structural components by a beam clamp or other means known in the art. Alternatively, the protective enclosure  10  may be suspended from building structural components by threaded rod, cable, or other suitable means. Finally, in spaces having a finished ceiling, the protective enclosure  10  may be mounted directly to the ceiling of the multipurpose facility. 
         [0025]    Another embodiment of the protective enclosure  100  includes access doors  150 ,  152  provided on the face  142  of the enclosure, as shown in  FIG. 5 . This embodiment of protective enclosure  100  may be used when the lighting instrument or other equipment is mounted on a wall, requiring access from the face  142  of the enclosure. Alternatively, protective enclosure  100  may be ceiling mounted as described previously. 
         [0026]    Referring to  FIG. 5 , protective enclosure includes a frame  120  having a top structure  122  and a rear structure  124 . A pair of side members  126 ,  128  are each coupled to a forward portion of the top structure  122  and a lower portion of rear structure  124 . Side member  126  defining a first side  138  in cooperation with top structure  122  and rear structure  124 , while side member  128  defines a second side (not shown) in cooperation with top structure  122  and rear structure  124  opposite to the first side  138 . Side members  126  and  128  are curved, defining an arcuate face  142  between them. As described above, a protector member  146  is attached to the frame  120  of the enclosure  100 . 
         [0027]    Access doors  150 ,  152  are provided on the face  142  of enclosure  100 . Each door includes a door frame  158  and a protector member  146  attached to the door frame  158 . Each door frame  158  may be constructed from the same structural materials as the frame  120 . In this embodiment, door frames  158  are curved to correspond to the arcuate configuration of face  142 . 
         [0028]    Enclosure  100  further includes upper outboard  154   a  and inboard  156   a  door tracks and lower outboard  154   b  and inboard  156   b  door tracks. Rollers (not shown), attached to each door  150 ,  152 , are coupled to and cooperate with the upper  154   a ,  156   a  and lower  154   b ,  156   b  door tracks, suspending the doors from the door tracks and allowing the doors  150 ,  152  to translationally move across the face  142  of enclosure  100 . Doors  150 ,  152  are offset from each other allowing each door to slide in front of or behind the other. Also, as similarly described above, a single door may be configured to cover face  142  or a portion thereof. 
         [0029]    It is envisioned that the protective enclosures  10 ,  100  of the present disclosure may be modular in nature, allowing any number of frames  20 ,  120  to be connected together to provide a protective enclosure of variable size, depending on a particular application. It is also envisioned that the protective enclosures  10 ,  100  of the present disclosure may be configured as a self-contained lighting instrument itself, including a protective enclosure  10 ,  100  having pre-hung apparatus such as a lighting instrument  2 , motorized arm  6 , color changer  8 , power supply or other auxiliary apparatus  4 , allowing for modular installation. 
         [0030]    The protective enclosure  10  can be sized to allow use of fixed lighting instruments or lighting instruments that can be focused remotely through use of motors and gearboxes. Any of the lighting instruments may have mechanisms to allow remote color changing. A machine such as the RIGHT ARM™, built by Apollo Design Technology, Inc. may be used to allow lighting instruments that are normally used in a fixed position to be remotely focused. A standard color changer, such as the FORERUNNER™, built by Wybron may be used with lighting instruments to allow remote color changes.