DE19653341A1 - Fibre=optics lighting system, esp. for sauna or steam bath - Google Patents

Abstract

The device has at least one lighting body (17) in the room (2) to be illuminated and a light projector (4) outside the room. At least one flexible plastic, single strand light conducting cable (5) emanates from the projector. The light conducting cable has an end in the form of an unpolished cut surface and is introduced in the room via an aperture in the wall to form a lighting body. The projector has a box (8) contg. a lamp (7) with supply and control devices and with a coupling (9) for the light conducting cable.

Description

The invention relates to a lighting device for a warm and / or damp room, especially a sauna and / or steam bath cabin, with at least one in assigned space arranged filament.

So far, glow has been used to illuminate sauna cabins etc. lamps use. The disadvantage here is that the glow lamps are not only easily fragile, but also result in a very strong glare. It is therefore required to light these light bulbs with a wooden shade surround the glare and the danger of Collisions and thus a destruction and / or Reduce the risk of injury. The consequence of this, however, are poor and uneven room lighting as well a reduction in lifespan and limitation of Accessibility for maintenance and repair purposes. On another, a very special disadvantage of the known Orders can be seen in the fact that the above Incandescent lamps need a power connection. As a result of  expected temperature and / or humidity strikes make such, in the sauna cabin etc. inserted power lines complex security exams required. Nevertheless, leakage currents can occur that lead to accidents and malfunctions can. The known arrangements therefore prove to be not safe and comfortable enough.

Although they are already formed by optical fibers Light guide known. So far, however, these can be found in Sauna area no use.

Based on this, it is therefore the task of the present one Invention, the disadvantages of the known arrangements avoid and a simple and inexpensive way To provide lighting device of the type mentioned at the beginning, which is high security and high Lighting comfort results.

This object is achieved in that at least one outside the assigned room arranged light projector is provided, of which at least one made of flexible plastic, single-core fiber optic cable that goes out take in a wall of the assigned space in this is introduced and at least part of its internal area is designed as a luminous element, the ends of the Optical fiber cables designed as unpolished cut surfaces are.

These measures are the ones described at the beginning Disadvantages of the known arrangements completely avoided. Since the optical fiber cable according to the invention is completely currentless remains and is insensitive to water, result in  advantageous also in the sauna and steam bath area no leakage hazards. Elaborate Security checks can therefore be more advantageous Way to refrain. In addition, they prove fiber optic cable according to the invention as a comparative robust and shockproof due to the flexibility, so that too collision protection can be dispensed with and yet there is no risk of injury, which is safety further increased. Another advantage of the invention Measure is to be seen in the fact that as a result of comparatively large beam angle of a single core Optical fiber cables a comparatively good one Room lighting with negligible glare is achieved. Shielding is therefore also from these Advantageously not necessary. Since that Optical fiber cable according to the invention is single-core and from is made of flexible plastic, the ends in advantageously as simple, unpolished cut surfaces be trained so that yard goods in a simple manner can be processed. Nevertheless there is none Risk of cloudiness. Since the actual light source is outside the arranged to be illuminated, this is in advantageous way of temperature and humidity surcharge withdrawn, which is beneficial to the Lifetime impact and a high degree of freedom of movement Selection of the illuminants to be used results. That's the way it is easily possible, comparatively strong and / or energy-saving lamps to choose. In addition, that the live parts and the closing parts are arranged outside the room to be illuminated, too easy monitoring and maintenance guaranteed. With The measures according to the invention are therefore the above mentioned task on extremely simple and inexpensive Way completely solved.  

Advantageous refinements and practical training of the overriding measures are in the subclaims specified. So the light projector can usefully one at least one lamp with associated supply and Have control box containing the at least one with a connector for one Fiber optic cable provided output. The named Box can all as a pre-assembled unit contain electrical and / or electronic components, what the manufacture and installation on site facilitated. In addition, with the measures mentioned not only loss of light, but also the intrusion of Avoid false light.

In further training the above measures can an associated one between the lamp and the output Focusing device may be provided. This measure represents sure that the light emitted by the lamp if possible completely into the fiber optic cable. It is therefore also with comparatively weak lamps good room lighting ensures what is happening advantageous to the energy requirement and thus the Efficiency affects.

In further training the higher-level measures can a fiber optic cable provided for sauna lighting its entire length is made of heat-resistant material. This measure, which results in a simple structure, leaves with a single-core, made of plastic Manage fiber optic cables in a simple way, without to lose flexibility and easy cutting ability. However, several can be used, with at least one cable coupling provided connectable sections  be, of which at least everyone in the ones to be illuminated Section introduced from temperature-resistant space Material exists. These measures ensure that temperature-resistant material is only used where high temperatures are also to be expected. Outside the room to be illuminated can not temperature-resistant material can be used. This Execution is therefore particularly recommended where very high Temperatures must be controlled.

According to a first embodiment, the in the lighting section introduced section of the Fiber optic cable as an end radiating light guide be formed, the inner end of which is to be illuminated Room is facing. This can be advantageous Create one and more points of light.

Another preferred design in many cases can be that in the room to be illuminated inserted section of the fiber optic cable as the side radiating light guide is formed, at least is partly without protective cover. Hereby can be seen in front partially generate a longer lighting path.

In further training the higher-level measures can the light guide cable at least one light coloring facility to be assigned. This measure enables in advantageously the application of the light to be illuminated Room with colored light, which is often for the sake of Recovery increase and / or therapeutic reasons is desired. Because the light here outside of the illuminating room is generated, it is more advantageous Possible way, also the light coloring device to be provided outside the room to be illuminated and thus  the exposure to temperature and humidity revoke. It can therefore be comparatively inexpensive Find foils, which is beneficial to the achievable profitability affects.

Further advantageous configurations and expedient Further training of the overarching measures are in the remaining subclaims specified and from the standing example description removable.

Some embodiments of the Invention explained with reference to the drawing. Here demonstrate:

Fig. 1 is a schematic illustration of an illumination device of the invention for a sauna cabin with endstrahlengem light guide,

Fig. 2 is a schematic illustration of an illumination device of the invention for a sauna cabin with laterally radiating optical fiber,

Fig. 3 is an exploded view of the place in the arrangement of Fig. 1 and 2 using the connection coupling,

Fig. 4 is an exploded view of the place in the arrangement of Fig. 1 and 2 using cable coupling,

Fig. 5 is a schematic representation of a light colorization device arranged in the light projector and

Fig. 6 is a schematic representation of a light coloring device arranged in the room to be illuminated.

Figs. 1 and 2 each show a sauna booth 1, the sauna moderately equipped interior is bounded by walls 3 2. These can be solid wooden walls or layered building walls with an insulating insert. The interior 2 is illuminated with light generated outside of it and directed into the interior 2 . The lighting device provided for this purpose each contains a light projector 4 distant from the cabin, from which a light guide cable 5 extends, which is led through a wall 3 and accordingly the light generated in the light projector 4 feeds the interior 2 of the sauna room 1 . The light conducted by means of the optical fiber cable 5 emerges from an area of the optical fiber cable 5 that visibly faces the interior space or projects into the interior space 2 . Accordingly, this acts as a luminous element, as indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2 by light rays 6 .

The light guide cable 5 is designed as a single-core cable consisting of flexible plastic, such as an acrylic-plastic mixture. The thickness depends on the desired lamp size. With a diameter of 6 mm, good results can be achieved, particularly in the sauna area. The fiber optic cable 5 is cut off by the meter, the ends are not polished. It is sufficient if the ends are designed as simple cut surfaces made with a sharp cutting tool.

The light projector 4 is designed as a box 8 containing all electrical or electronic components in the form of a lamp 7 with associated fuse, control, switching device, transformer device, power supply etc. The partitions of the box 8 can be coated with reflective material to avoid light loss. The box 8 can be arranged in public personnel in the staff cabin, so that constant supervision and convenient maintenance are guaranteed. The box 8 , as can best be seen from FIG. 3, is provided with a wall recess associated with the optical fiber cable 5 going away from it. This is expediently provided coaxially with the optical axis a of the lamp 7 in the region of a wall of the box 8 illuminated by the lamp 7 . To connect the fiber optic cable 5 to the box 8 , a connection coupling 9 is provided. This comprises, as can best be seen from FIG. 3, a socket 10 inserted into the above-mentioned wall recess, provided with a fastening flange and hereby fixed on the box side, and a sleeve 11 received on the end of the associated optical fiber cable 5 facing it. The optical fiber cable 5 can be pressed or glued into this. The sleeve 11 is provided with an external thread and can be screwed into the bushing 11 provided with a corresponding internal thread. The screw-in depth is limited by a stop flange provided on the sleeve side.

For focusing the light emitted by the lamp 7 , a focusing device 12 indicated in FIG. 2 can be seen. This can be a lens optic arranged between the lamp 7 and the input of the optical fiber cable 5 . This results in a high luminous efficacy, so that you can get by with a comparatively weak and accordingly energy-saving lamp.

If the optical fiber cable 5 in the interior 2 is subject to a comparatively high temperature stress, which is not present outside, the optical fiber cable 5 can have two sections 5 a, b, of which the section 5 b introduced into the interior 2 withstands the high temperatures to be expected , heat-resistant material and the other, outgoing from the light projector 4 section 5 a made of normal material without special temperature resistance. This material is often less expensive than the heat-resistant material. In the aforementioned case, the use of different materials can therefore result in very good economy.

To connect the two sections 5 a, b, a cable coupling 13 is provided. This contains, as can best be seen from FIG. 4, two sleeves 14 which can be received on the mutually facing ends of the light guide sections 5 a, b which are also designed as simple, unpolished cut surfaces and which can be screwed into a connecting piece 15 from different sides. The sleeves 14 of the cable coupling correspond to the sleeve 11 of the connection coupling and, like this, are fastened on the assigned light guide section. The sleeves 14 are provided with an external thread and a rear stop flange. The connecting piece 15 is formed as a tube section provided with a corresponding internal thread.

The heat resistance of single-core fiber optic cables made of flexible plastic, such as an acrylic-plastic mixture, is sufficient from experience for normal sauna lighting, so that here the fiber optic cable 5 can be in one piece over its entire length, which results in a particularly simple construction. The clutch 13 can therefore generally be omitted.

In the area of the passage through the wall 3 , as shown in FIGS . 1 and 2, a push-through bushing 16 inserted into a corresponding wall recess can be provided, the inner diameter of which corresponds to the outer diameter of the inserted optical fiber cable minus a certain amount of pressure. The light guide cable 5 is automatically fixed by means of the press fit which can be achieved in this way. In simple cases, the push-through sleeve 16 can also be dispensed with. This applies in particular if the wall 3 is designed as a solid wooden wall. In these cases, an appropriately dimensioned bore is sufficient, through which the optical fiber cable can be passed with an appropriate press fit.

In the embodiment according to FIG. 1, an end-radiating light guide is used to form the light guide cable 5 . Here, the light emerges from the end face of the light guide cable 5 facing the interior 2 . The cable end accordingly functions as a luminous element 17 . With an arrangement of this type, a point of light can be generated. However, there is a comparatively large exit angle of the light rays 6 , so that good room illumination results. In the example shown, only one light guide cable 5 is provided in the room, so that there is only one light point of the type mentioned above, which is usually sufficient as a result of the large radiation angle. However, it would also be readily conceivable to let one or more light projectors 4 lead several optical fiber cables 5 and to feed them into the room at different points or to end them at different points in the room to form luminaries distributed over the room 2 . Since the light only emerges at the end in the case of end-radiating light guides, these light guides can be surrounded over their entire length with a protective jacket 18 .

In the embodiment according to FIG. 2, the section 5 b of the optical fiber cable 5 that is introduced into the space 2 is designed as a light guide that emits light. With such an optical fiber cable, certain doping to the plastic means that light can emerge in the radial direction over the entire length. Correspondingly, as can be seen from FIG. 2, such a light guide cable can be used to form a luminous element 17 a having an elongated extension. In the example shown, the entire area of section 5 b located in space 2 is without protective sheath. However, it would also be conceivable to provide a protective jacket on certain sections where no light emission is desired.

An elongated filament 17 a here present can be laid in the form of various patterns, for example meandering '. The elongated extension of the luminous element 17 a enables a comparatively good, uniform room illumination even in large rooms. The section 5 b of the optical fiber cable 5 inserted into the room 2 can, as indicated in FIG. 2 with solid lines, end in the room 2 . However, it would also be conceivable to provide a loop which has two connecting pieces, each through a wall recess, which can lead to one or to a light projector, as indicated by broken lines in FIG. 2.

To strengthen the relaxation effect and / or for therapeutic reasons, colored light is often desired. Accordingly, the present lighting device can be provided with a light coloring device. For this purpose, a cable section can be colored accordingly. To accomplish a color change, the corresponding section can simply be exchanged for a differently colored section. FIGS. 5 and 6 are based on embodiments in which a movable shutter with different colors assigned fields is used. This aperture is set so that the field assigned to the desired color is irradiated. Correspondingly colored glasses or foils recorded on a transparent support can be used to form the aperture fields. The aperture can be assigned to the input or output of the optical fiber cable 5 .

The Fig. 5 is an embodiment based on a disposed in the light projector 4, ie the input of the light conductor cable 5 associated aperture, here in the form of a rotatable aperture disk 19, are provided. The individual aperture fields are segmented. The aperture disk 19 is received in the example shown on the shaft of a servomotor 20 , so that the aperture can be adjusted by switching on the motor. Remote control is advantageously possible here. The motor 20 is expediently designed as a stepper motor or synchronous motor. Of course, it would also be conceivable to manually adjust the rotatable diaphragm disk 19 . Instead of a rotatable diaphragm arrangement, a longitudinally displaceable diaphragm arrangement can also be provided. An arrangement of this type is based on FIG. 6. This arrangement contains a frame 21 with longitudinal guides for a diaphragm slide 22 which has window compartments 23 assigned to different colors and is set such that the desired window compartment 23 is irradiated in each case. A motor can also be provided for setting the diaphragm slide 23 . In the example shown, the diaphragm slide 22 is manually adjustable, as indicated by a push rod 24 . An arrangement of this type can also be integrated into the light projector 4 . However, it would also be conceivable to mount an arrangement on which FIG. 6 is based at the end of the light guide cable 5 that is hardly inserted, facing the space 2 , as indicated in FIG. 1. The frame 21 is to be attached in such a way that the diaphragm slide 23 engages over the end of the optical fiber cable 5 on the room side.

If an arrangement of the light coloring device in the light projector 4 is not possible and an arrangement within the room 2 should not be desirable, an arrangement of the type mentioned above, which is integrated in a cable coupling, could also be provided.

Claims (20)

1. Lighting device for a warm and / or damp room, in particular a sauna and / or steam bath cabin, with at least one luminous element ( 17 , 17 a) arranged in the assigned room ( 2 ), at least one outside the assigned room ( 2 ) Arranged light projector ( 4 ) is provided, from which at least one single-core optical fiber cable ( 5 ) made of flexible plastic with ends formed as unpolished cut surfaces comes out, which is inserted into the wall via a recess in a wall ( 3 ) of the associated room ( 2 ) and whose internal area is at least partially designed as a luminous element ( 17 ). 2. Lighting device according to claim 1, characterized in that the light projector ( 4 ) has an at least one lamp ( 7 ) with associated supply and control devices containing box ( 8 ) which has at least one with a connector ( 9 ) for an optical fiber cable ( 5 ) provided output. 3. Lighting device according to claim 2, characterized in that between the lamp ( 7 ) and the output is assigned a focusing device ( 12 ) is provided. 4. Lighting device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the connecting coupling ( 9 ) has a box-side fixable socket ( 10 ) into which on the end of the associated light conductor cable ( 5 ) received sleeve ( 11 ) can be screwed. 5. Lighting device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the optical fiber cable ( 5 ) passes undivided over the entire length. 6. Lighting device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the light guide cable ( 5 ) consists over its entire length of heat-resistant material. 7. Lighting device according to one of the preceding claims 1-4, characterized in that the optical cable ( 5 ) has a plurality of at least one cable coupling ( 13 ) connectable sections ( 5 a, 5 b), at least each of which in the room to be illuminated ( 3 ) inserted section is made of heat-resistant material. 8. Lighting device according to claim 7, characterized in that the cable coupling ( 13 ) has two on the mutually facing ends of the Lichtleiterab sections ( 5 a, 5 b) receptacles ( 14 ) which from different sides in a United connecting piece ( 15 ) can be screwed in. 9. Lighting device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in the region of the insertion recess of the wall ( 3 ) of the room to be illuminated ( 2 ) a push-through sleeve ( 16 ) is attached, the inside diameter of which corresponds to the diameter of the light guide cable ( 5 ). 10. Lighting device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the introduced into the room to be illuminated (2) section (5 b) of the light conductor cable (5) is formed as endstrahlender light guide whose inner, at least the front side free end of the hardly to be illuminated ( 2 ) faces. 11. Lighting device according to claim 10, characterized in that the portion ( 5 b) of the optical fiber cable ( 5 ) formed as an end-radiating light guide ends in the region of the inner wall surface. 12. Lighting device according to one of the preceding claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the section ( 5 b) of the light guide cable ( 5 ) introduced into the space to be illuminated ( 2 ) is designed as a laterally radiating light guide which is at least partially without protective sheath. 13. Lighting device according to claim 12, characterized in that the portion formed as a laterally radiating light guide ( 5 b) of the light guide cable ( 5 ) is designed as a light-emitting loop at two ends. 14. Lighting device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the light guide cable ( 5 ) is assigned at least one light coloring device. 15. Lighting device according to claim 14, characterized in that the light coloring device is designed as a plurality of differently colored fields ( 23 ) containing aperture ( 19 , 22 ) which is arranged movably and with one field ( 23 ) in the region of the axis of a light beam is feasible. 16. Lighting device according to claim 15, characterized in that the diaphragm ( 19 ) is adjustable by means of a motor ( 20 ). 17. Lighting device according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that the diaphragm ( 19 ) is designed as a rotatable disc. 18. Lighting device according to one of the preceding claims 15 or 16, characterized in that the diaphragm ( 22 ) is designed as a slider received in a frame ( 21 ) slidably. 19. Lighting device according to one of the preceding claims 15 to 18, characterized in that the diaphragm is arranged in the light projector ( 4 ). 20. Lighting device according to one of the preceding claims 15 to 18, characterized in that the diaphragm ( 22 ) overlaps the room-side end of the light guide cable ( 5 ) introduced into the room to be illuminated ( 2 ).