Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a lighting device destined preferably for use in the landscape architecture.

[0002] It is known that spotlights are used to illuminate exteriors, and gardens, parks and landscape in particular, in order to overcome the limited visibility in said environments during evening and nighttime hours or to create decorative or spectacular play of light.

[0003] Said spotlights, in particular, are key tools for the work performed by the landscape architect who is concerned with analyzing, designing and managing the open spaces of the garden, park, landscape, which spaces can be enhanced by suitable lighting technical projects.

[0004] Known technique calls for using spotlights suitably placed in the environment to be illuminated, directing the flow of light so as to achieve such results in terms of lighting and play of shadows according to users' desires and requirements.

[0005] A first set of drawbacks, hereinafter illustrated, concern illumination of plants suitably placed in a garden or a park following a project conceived by a landscape architect.

[0006] First of all known technique illuminates plants and hedges uniformly, no matter how they are formed, with the disadvantage that, in the eyes of the viewer, they lose their own individual characteristics related to their appearance so that, for example, a fastigiate plant and a wide-expanding plant come to have a very similar appearance, losing the peculiarity of the different projects prepared by landscape architects.

[0007] Similar considerations can also be made on the distinctive quality of form and color of the so-called foliage of the plant, on its color changes during seasonal variations, on the presence or absence of blossoms or fruits, on plant growth or on its design pruning, on changes in color, luminosity and appearance of shadows, functions of phases of the circadian cycle. These specific characteristics and differences are attenuated when using lighting devices according to known technique.

[0008] Known technique also has the drawback of not being able to vary the type of illumination in function of the background of the landscape designed by

the architect. Said background, for example, may change a great deal depending on the orohydrographical and/or artistic conformation of the territory in which this landscape is created.

[0009] The object and function of the invention is to overcome the problems previously described and also others, envisaging a landscape architecture lighting device, comprising at least a covering and supporting structure with a polyhedral or prismatic or cubic shape which in its turn includes a frame placed at its edges and corners and including, on its own outer surface, at least one emission portion with a particular shape so that it has at least one opaque part and at least one non-opaque part, neither being continuous at the same time, said emission portion being designed to permit projection, outside said at least one covering and supporting structure, of light generated by at least one light source totally contained in the at least one covering and supporting structure.

[0010] Thanks to the indefinite variety of shapes that said emission portion may assume (for example a shape including a multitude of perforations, profiled with fantasy patterns or patterns of a naturalistic nature or like a screen composed of parallel strips), this invention makes it possible to have different modes of projecting lights and shadows on the plants, determined by the user in order to achieve esthetic results that take into account the so-called form of the plants, seasonal changes, the size of their foliage, the presence or absence of blossoms or fruits on the plants, their design pruning or whatever else, thus overcoming the related limits of known technique and offering a versatile tool, quick to use and fully effective, which permits the landscape architect in particular to achieve a full variety of solutions in order to give a strongly distinctive character to his own projects and to be able to best enhance the environments where said projects are enacted.

[0011] In particular the lighting device according to the invention is designed to project shadows with a shape determined by the ratio between the dimensions of said at least one opaque part and said at least one nonopaque part so that the light generated by sources of whatever type, bearing down on the at least one emission portion, projects the "positive"

of the non-opaque part (which, as stated, can be, for example, a multitude of perforations). Therefore, the intelligence of the invention consists of making the projected shadow a part of the landscape, synchronized with the characteristic of the tree and/or bush and/or plant and making this "projected" shadow a distinctive element of the landscape architecture and consequently achieving esthetic results that go beyond the simple type of pattern used to design the non-opaque part of the emission portion.

[0012] In addition the above-mentioned "projected" shadow is also fundamental in order to protect the plant, with the advantage that their chlorophyll photosynthesis process is not interfered with by using the device according to the invention, with effectiveness that is uniform and independent from the surface of said plant or, more in general, from its dimensions and/or mass.

[0013] It is important to emphasize that since the invention includes at least one covering and supporting structure with a polyhedral shape then the technical result is achieved, with full efficiency, even with dodecahedral or hexahedral shapes or that of any other platonic solid since this technical result is basically, but not exclusively based on projection of shadows on plants through one or more faces of said polyhedral, prismatic or cubic shape which form and define said at least one emission portion.

[0014] Specifically, in addition, the various shapes and patterns that define the opaque part and the non-opaque part of said at least one emission portion are derived from a naturalistic study of the effects of the shadows on the foliage of the trees.

[0015] Said light source can preferably emit light with different wave lengths and consequently with different colors which, projected into the surrounding environment and, in particular, onto plants and lawns belonging to the landscape project permit the user to achieve lighting technical results that take into account, by enhancing them for example, the different colors of the foliage of the plants or their blossoms and fruits but also in a way as to create special spectacular effects in order to a achieve a landscape decoration in function of the specific use of the illuminated environment such as, for example, a gala event, private party or other event.

[0016] In addition, thanks to the above-mentioned characteristics, the invention can advantageously permit the user to take into account the orohydro- geographic and/or artistic context that acts as a background to the landscape to be illuminated.

[0017] And, finally, this lighting device, because of the polyhedral, prismatic or cubic shape of the covering and supporting structure that permits it to be stacked and accumulated in the most varied layouts, may assume a multicellular structure.

[0018] Said multicellular structure makes the invention able to illuminate the landscape with beams of light in different directions: for example parallel or intersecting and/or in a way so that their origins are at different heights, offering the landscape architect a great number and variety of lighting technical solutions.

[0019] Other special features and characteristics of the invention can be better understood from the following description, given as a non-exclusive example, which refers to the attached drawings where:

- figure 1 is an axonometric schematic view of the lighting device according to the invention;

- figure 2 is an axonometric schematic view of the device illustrated in figure 1 from a different point of view;

- figure 3 is an axonometric schematic view of the lighting device where the frame and the optical motor are not hidden from sight;

- figure 4 is an axonometric schematic view of the lighting device illustrated in figure 3 from another point of view;

- figure 5 is an axonometric schematic view of a multitude of frames that are accumulated and stacked;

- figure 6 is a schematic front view of an emission portion where the non-opaque part is shaped in order to create a multitude of fantasy patterns and patterns of a naturalistic natural.

[0020] Referring to the attached figures number 1 indicates a landscape architecture lighting device that comprises, at least, a covering and supporting structure 2 with a polyhedral, prismatic or cubic shape which in its turn includes a frame 13 placed at its edges and corners and including,

on its own outer surface, at least one emission portion 3 with a particular shape so that it has at least one opaque part 6 and at least one nonopaque part 5, neither being continuous at the same time, said emission portion 3 being designed to permit projection, outside said at least one covering and supporting structure 2, of light generated by at least one light source 4 totally contained in the at least one covering and supporting structure 2.

[0021] In the embodiment form illustrated the surface of the covering and protecting structure 2 includes not only said at least one emission portion 3 (an example is represented in figure 6 and described below) which forms and defines one or more faces of said polyhedron, but also a multitude of flat panels 6, each designed to cover one of the remaining faces of the polyhedron. Said flat panels can be made, as an example without being exhaustive, out of metallic material or other material suitable for the purpose.

[0022] One or more holes 8 are machined on at least one of the flat panels 6 (see figures 2, 3, 4) for passage of cables for supply and/or control of said at least one light source 4 which are connected to the control means, actuated by the user, through which it is possible to individually control each light source contained in device 1.

[0023] As figures 3 and 4 illustrate at least one optical motor is totally contained inside the covering and protecting structure 2. This motor includes protective casing 11 and is connected, by supporting and fastening means 12, to one of said flat panels 6.

[0024] Light source 4 is totally contained inside said protective casing 11 and may be composed of a light bulb, a multitude of LEDs, a reflector or another device designed to emit light.

[0025] Protective casing 11 , in the embodiment form illustrated, consists of a cylindrical structure firmly fastened and sealed with a transparent element suited to permitting passage of the light produced by light source 4.

[0026] Since the market offers LEDs that are able to emit light with different colors lighting device 1 permits the user to achieve lighting technical results that take into account, by enhancing them for example, the different

colors of the foliage of the plants or their blossoms and fruits, but also in a way as to create special spectacular effects in order to achieve a landscape decoration in function of the specific use of the illuminated environment such as, for example, a gala event, private party or other event.

[0027] In the preferred embodiment form of this invention the emission portion 3 which, as stated, forms and defines one or more faces of said polyhedron, can be a screen formed of two series of parallel metal strips perpendicular one to the other and which constitute its non-opaque part (see figure 1) or it can be profiled so that this opaque part 6 is profiled so as to create a multitude of fantasy patterns or patterns of a naturalistic nature as those in the example in figure 6 or have other different shapes suitable for this purpose.

[0028] It must be emphasized that, thanks to the indefinite variety of shapes that can be assumed by this emission portion, the invention provides different modes for projecting lights and shadows on plants, determined by the user, in order to achieve esthetic results that take into account the so- called form of the plant, giving the landscape architect a versatile tool for enhancing the landscape he has designed.

[0029] In particular lighting device 1 is designed to project shadows with a shape determined by the ratio between the dimensions of said at least one opaque part 5 and said at least one non-opaque part 6 so that the light generated by light sources 4, of whatever type they are, bearing down on at least one emission portion 3, projects the "positive" of the non-opaque part 5 (which, as stated, can be, for example, a multitude of perforations). Therefore, the intelligence of the invention consists of making the projected shadow a part of the landscape, synchronized with the characteristic of the tree and/or bush and/or plant and making this "projected" shadow a distinctive element of the landscape architecture and consequently achieving esthetic results that go beyond the simple type of pattern used to design the non-opaque part 5 of the at least one emission portion 2.

[0030] The opaque part 6 of emission portion 3 can be, as a non-exhaustive example, made of metallic material or other material suitable for the purpose.

[0031] And, finally, this lighting device 1 , as illustrated in figure 5, because of the polyhedral, prismatic or cubic shape of the covering and supporting structure 2 that permits it to be stacked and accumulated in the most varied layouts, may assume a multicellular structure through connecting means comprised in each device 1 , in particular in the frame 13.

[0032] This multicellular structure makes the invention able to illuminate the landscape with beams of light in different directions, for example parallel or intersecting and/in a way so that their origins are at different heights, offering the landscape architect a great number and variety of lighting technical solutions.

[0033] A technician in the sector may foresee several modifications or variations that are to be understood as included within the realm of protection of the invention.