FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a pole-mountable luminaire, such as a luminaire for mounting on a parasol or the like. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Pole-mountable luminaires are desirable as they can create lighting in outdoor areas during night-time. For example, bars and restaurants may have outdoor areas in which tables with parasols are placed, where extending the hours during which such outdoor areas can be used is desirable from a business perspective. Applications in which indoor poles may benefit from such pole-mountable luminaires also exist.

Pole-mountable luminaires are well-known per se, but typically require relatively complex mounting procedures, which makes it difficult to remove the luminaire from the pole and/or close a parasol having such a luminaire mounted on the pole. Moreover, a drawback of such existing luminaires is that the mounting mechanism is typically designed for a pole of a particular diameter or size, which limits the applicability of such luminaires.

In the case of parasol lighting, solutions also exist in which the lighting arrangement is fitted to the spokes of the parasol. An example of such a solution for instance is disclosed in EP 2 820 967 Al . However, such a lighting arrangement is cumbersome to fit and cannot be fitted to poles without canopy.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention seeks to provide a pole-mountable luminaire that can be easily fitted to poles of different diameters.

According to an aspect, there is provided a pole-mountable luminaire comprising a stretchable body for wrapping around the pole, the stretchable body including a fastening arrangement comprising a first fastening member and a second fastening member for mating with the first fastening member at opposite ends of the stretchable body; a plurality of spreading elements attached to the stretchable body and radially extending therefrom at least when the stretchable body is wrapped around the pole; and a plurality of

LED strips mounted in between or on the spreading elements.

Such a luminaire can be easily fitted around different size poles due to the stretchable nature of the stretchable body, with the spreading elements giving the luminaire its 3-D character. Such spreading elements for example may act as light guides for guiding light generated by the LED strips on the stretchable body or may act as support members for mounting the LED strips in a radial pattern when the luminaire is fitted onto the pole.

Examples of a suitable fastening arrangement include a zipper, Velcro, buttons and button holes, hooks and eyes, and so on.

The pole-mountable luminaire may further comprise a central controller, wherein each LED strip is controlled by the central controller.

Each LED strip may be individually controllable by the central controller such that the luminaire may generate different light effects, e.g. dynamic light effects by switching on different subsets of LED strips at different points in time.

Each LED strip may have a plurality of LEDs individually controllable by the central controller. This facilitates the generation of more fine-grained or complex light effects with the controller, e.g. by switching on selected LEDs in the respective LED strips only.

At least some of the LED strips may comprise a plurality of LEDs including a first set of LEDs adapted to generate a luminous output having a first spectral composition and a second set of LEDs adapted to generate a luminous output having a second spectral composition different to the first spectral composition, e.g. a first set of LEDs adapted to generate coloured light and a second set of LEDs adapted to generate white light, a first set of

LEDs adapted to generate light of a first colour and the second set of LEDs adapted to generate light of a second colour, and so on. In this manner, the LED strips may be controlled to generate decorative lighting as well as functional lighting, for example in the case of one of the sets of LEDs being adapted to generate coloured light and the other of the sets of LEDs being adapted to generate white light.

In an embodiment, the spreading elements comprise fabric sections extending along the stretchable body, the LED strips mounted on the stretchable body in between neighboring fabric sections such that the LED strips extend along the pole when the stretchable body is wrapped around the pole. Such fabric sections can act as light guides such that the luminaire may generate a radial light pattern centered on a plane perpendicular to the major axis of the pole. In order to reduce glare in such a luminaire, each fabric section may comprise a plurality of slits radially extending from the stretchable body, each slit being aligned with a slit of a neighboring fabric section, the pole-mountable luminaire further comprising a plurality of annular fabric divider elements, each divider element fitted in a set of aligned slits. The annual fabric device elements prevent people sitting below the luminaire from being able to directly look at the LED strips.

In an alternative embodiment, each spreading element comprises a first reinforcement rib extending along the stretchable body and a second reinforcement rib radially extending from the first reinforcement rib under an acute angle, wherein the LED strips are mounted on the second reinforcement rib. This provides a luminaire in which a radial illumination pattern can be directed away or towards people sitting below the luminaire, depending on how the stretchable body is mounted on the pole.

In a preferred embodiment, each second reinforcement rib comprises a slit along its body, the pole-mountable luminaire further comprising a stretchable shade for mounting in the respective slits of the second reinforcement ribs. Such a shade can be used to redirect the light generated by the LED strips mounted on the second reinforcement ribs and/or to shield people sitting below the luminaire from directly observing the LED strips, which may improve the optical performance and/or characteristics of the luminaire.

The stretchable shade may comprise a shade fastening arrangement that comprises a first shade fastening member and a second shade fastening member for mating with the first shade fastening member at opposite ends of the shade. In this manner, the stretchable shade can be easily fitted through the respective slits of the second reinforcement ribs as well as easily removed therefrom, e.g. for cleaning the stretchable shade when desired or storing away the luminaire without risking damage to the stretchable shade.

The stretchable body may comprise a plurality of flaps extending from the stretchable body such that each flap extends over a second reinforcement rib, each flap carrying one of said LED strips. This facilitates the mounting of the LED strips on the second reinforcement ribs.

In an embodiment, each spreading member comprises a joining point where the second reinforcement rib is joined to the first reinforcement rib; and each of the first reinforcement rib and the second reinforcement rib comprise an end portion distal to the joining point; the stretchable body further comprising a plurality of further flaps extending from the stretchable body such that each further flap extends across the respective end portions of the first reinforcement rib and the second reinforcement rib, each further flap carrying one of said LED strips. In this manner, a luminaire is provided that can generate light in multiple directions, i.e. above and below a plane perpendicular to the main axis of the pole.

The LED strips on the flaps may be adapted to produce coloured light and the LED strips on the further flaps may be adapted to produce white light in order to generate decorative lighting with the LED strips on the flaps and functional lighting with the LED strips on the further flaps.

In an embodiment, the second reinforcement rib is hinged to the first reinforcement rib in each spreading element, each spreading element further comprising a spring coupled between the first reinforcement rib and the second reinforcement rib for forcing the second reinforcement rib in the radially extending position under the acute angle. This has the advantage that the second reinforcement rib can be compressed against the first reinforcement rib by compressing the spring between the two ribs, such that the luminaire can be compressed into a compact shape, which for instance is particularly advantageous when closing a parasol having to luminaire mounted on its pole as a parasol can be closed into a particularly compact configuration without having to remove the luminaire.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention are described in more detail and by way of non- limiting examples with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 schematically depicts a part of a pole-mountable luminaire according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 schematically depicts an example of a LED strip arrangement for a pole-mountable luminaire according to an embodiment;

FIG. 3 schematically depicts another part of a pole-mountable luminaire according to an embodiment;

FIG. 4 schematically depicts another part of a pole-mountable luminaire according to an embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a picture of an assembled pole-mountable luminaire according to an embodiment mounted on a pole;

FIG. 6 schematically depicts a pole-mountable luminaire according to another embodiment;

FIG. 7 schematically depicts a pole-mountable luminaire according to yet another embodiment; and FIG. 8 is a picture of an embodiment of the pole-mountable luminaire of FIG.

7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

It should be understood that the Figures are merely schematic and are not drawn to scale. It should also be understood that the same reference numerals are used throughout the Figures to indicate the same or similar parts.

A pole-mountable luminaire according to an embodiment will now be described in more detail with the aid of FIG. 1-5. The pole-mountable luminaire may be formed by a stretchable body 10 as shown in FIG. 1, onto which a LED strip arrangement as shown in FIG. 2 may be attached. A shade 30 as shown in FIG. 3 may be affixed to spreading elements 40 as shown in FIG. 4, which spreading elements 40 may be attached to the stretchable body 10 to form a pole-mountable luminaire 100 as shown in FIG. 5.

Now returning to FIG. 1, the stretchable body 10 is made of a stretchable material, e.g. a stretchable fabric such as Spandex or elastane, or any other suitable elastomer, e.g. a stretchable plastic. Alternatively, the stretchable material may be a woven or knitted textile material where the woven or knitted nature of the threads or fibers allows for high levels of elastic extension of the material. The stretchable body 10 comprises a fastening arrangement including a first fastening member 11 and a second fastening member 11 ' adapted to mate with the first fastening member 11. The first fastening member 11 and the second fastening member 11 ' may be arranged on or along opposite sides of the stretchable body 10 as shown in FIG. 1. Any suitable fastening arrangement may be used for this purpose, such as a zipper, Velcro, buttons and button holes, poppers, eyes and hooks, opposing polarity magnets, binding cords, and so on. A zipper is particularly preferred because it is robust and easily engaged. When fitting the stretchable body 10 around a pole, the opposite ends at which the first fastening member 11 and the second fastening member 11 ' are located will meet such that the first fastening member 11 can mate with the second fastening member 11 ' to secure the stretchable body 10 around the pole. Because the body is stretchable, the stretchable body 10 can be fitted around round poles of different diameters, poles having graded diameters, e.g. tapered poles, polygonal poles, irregular pole structures including natural 'poles' such as tree trunks or the like, and so on. As will be readily understood by the skilled person, the dimensions of the stretchable body 10 may be chosen such that the stretchable body 10 fits around poles having diameters or cross-sections (in case of non-circular poles) within a chosen range. Such poles typically are vertical poles although the stretchable body 10 may also be fitted around poles in other orientations.

The stretchable body 10 comprises a plurality of flaps 13 that extend from a side portion of the stretchable body 10, which side portion extends between the opposite ends of the stretchable body 10 at which the first fastening member 11 and the second fastening member 11 ' are located. The flaps 13 are preferably made of the same material as the stretchable body 10 such that the overall structure can be made from a single piece of material although it is of course feasible that the flaps 13 are made of a different material to the stretchable body 10 and may be attached to the stretchable body 10 in any suitable manner, e.g. by sewing. The flaps 13 are typically dimensioned to fit onto part of the spreading elements 40 as will be explained in more detail below.

Each of the flaps 13 may carry an LED strip 20 comprising a plurality of LEDs 21. Although not shown, the respective LED strips 20 may be interconnected, e.g. by a bus structure, to facilitate control of the respective LED strips 20 by a central controller (not shown). Each LED strip 20 may comprise a plurality of identical LEDs 21 or may comprise different LEDs 21, e.g. different colour LEDs, colour LEDs and white light LEDs, and so on, which different LEDs 21 may be individually addressable or may be addressable at group level, where different groups of identical LEDs may be individually controlled.

An example of such a LED strip arrangement is schematically shown in FIG. 2, which comprises a plurality of LED strips 20 interconnected by a bus arrangement 25. Each LED strip 20 comprises a first group of LEDs 21, e.g. coloured LEDs and a second group of LEDs 23, e.g. white light LEDs or LEDs of a different colour than the coloured LEDs 21, which may be interconnected in any suitable fashion, e.g. daisy chained and connected to the bus architecture 25, which may be connected to a central controller (not shown) allowing a user to control the luminous output of the LED strips 20. For example, the user may select individual LED strips 20, individual groups of LEDs 21 or 23 and/or individual LEDs 21 or 23 to be switched on, which selection preferably takes place by the user selecting a particular illumination program stored in the central controller. Such programs may invoke static illumination patterns, may invoke dynamic illumination patterns or combinations thereof, for example having one group of LED strips such as the LED strips 20 on the flaps 13 generate a dynamic illumination pattern, e.g. decorative lighting, and another group of LED strips such as the further LED strips 20' on the further flaps 15 generate a static illumination pattern, e.g. functional lighting. It should be understood that these are merely non- limiting examples and that many other combinations of LEDs in one or more of the LED strips and many other illumination patterns can be routinely applied. This is well-known per se and will therefore not be explained in further detail for the sake of brevity only.

Upon returning to FIG. 1, the stretchable body 10 may optionally comprise a plurality of further flaps 15 that extend from a further side portion of the stretchable body 10, which further side portion extends between the opposite ends of the stretchable body 10 at which the first fastening member 11 and the second fastening member 11 ' are located, and is located opposite the side portion from which flaps 13 extend. The further flaps 15 are preferably made of the same material as the stretchable body 10 such that the overall structure can be made from a single piece of material although it is of course feasible that the further flaps 15 are made of a different material to the stretchable body 10 and may be attached to the stretchable body 10 in any suitable manner, e.g. by sewing. The further flaps 15 are typically dimensioned to fit onto a further part of the spreading elements 40 as will be explained in more detail below.

Each of the further flaps 15 may carry a further LED strip 20' comprising a plurality of LEDs 21. Although not shown, the respective further LED strips 20' may be interconnected, e.g. by a bus structure, to facilitate control of the respective further LED strips 20' by a central controller (not shown). Preferably, the LED strips 20 and the further LED strips 20' are controlled by the same central controller and share a bus structure. Each further LED strip 20' may comprise a plurality of identical LEDs 21 ' or may comprise different LEDs 21 ', e.g. different colour LEDs, colour LEDs and white light LEDs, and so on, which different LEDs 21 ' may be individually addressable or may be addressable at group level, where different groups of identical LEDs may be individually controlled, as explained in more detail with the aid of FIG. 2. In an embodiment, the LED strips 20 comprise LEDs 21 that are arranged to generate a luminous output of a different spectral composition than the LEDs 21 ' of the further LED strips 20'.

The LED strips 20, 20' may be attached to their respective flaps 13, 15 in any suitable manner, e.g. by using an adhesive or an adhesive tape, by sewing, by stapling, and so on. Adhesive attachment is particularly preferred as this reduces the risk of accidental damage to the LED strips 20, 20'.

FIG. 3 schematically depicts a shade 30 that may be affixed to spreading elements 40 schematically shown in FIG. 4. The shade 30 may be made of a stretchable material, e.g. any suitable stretchable fabric or polymer, and may comprise a further fixing arrangement comprising a first further fixing member 33 and a second further fixing member 33' for mating with the further first fixing member 33. The first further fixing member 33 is typically arranged at one end of the shade 30 and the second further fixing member 33' is typically arranged at another end of the shade 30 such that when the shade 30 is affixed to spreading elements 40 (as will be explained in more detail below), the first fixing member 33 and the second fixing member 33' are brought together and can mate to keep the shade 30 in place around the pole to which the stretchable body 10 of the luminaire is fitted. In an assembled form, the shade 30 may have a dome-like shape, with the narrow end of the domelike shape defining an aperture 35 through which the pole can extend. In order to achieve such a shape, the shade 30 may be formed of a plurality of trapezoid sections 31, which may be appropriately dimensioned as will be readily understood by the person skilled in the art.

FIG. 4 schematically depicts a spreading element 40, a plurality of which may be attached to the stretchable body 10 at regular intervals in between the opposing ends of the stretchable body 10. The spreading element 40 comprises a first reinforcement rib 41, which is typically attached to the stretchable body 10, e.g. by gluing or by providing a pocket on the stretchable body 10 into which the first reinforcement rib 41 can be secured. The spreading element 40 further comprises a second reinforcement rib 43 that radially extends from a joining point 42 with the first reinforcement rib 41 under an acute angle a, which acute angle may have any value between 0-90° and preferably has a value in the range from 20-70°, more preferably has a value in the range from 30-60°. The second reinforcement rib 43 comprises a slanted upper surface 44 and a slit 45 extending along its body, with the slit 45 dimensioned to receive the shade 30. The shade 30 may be threaded through the respective slits 45 of the spreading elements 40 when the stretchable body 10 is wrapped around a pole.

The respective slanted upper surfaces 44 of the second reinforcement ribs 43 have the purpose of receiving the flaps 13 of the stretchable body 10 such that the LED strips 20 on the flaps 13 are supported on the slanted upper surfaces 44. If required, the flaps 13 may be secured on the slanted upper surfaces 44 in any suitable manner, e.g. using any suitable fasting arrangement. Although the slanted upper surface 44 is shown as a flat surface, it should be understood that this is by way of non-limiting examples only and that the slanted upper surface 44 may be a recessed surface as well, which for instance may be advantageous if the LED strips 20 are facing the slanted upper surfaces 44, i.e. the LED strips 20 are located in between the flaps 13 and the slanted upper surfaces 44. In such an arrangement, the shade 30 preferably is opaque to prevent a person sitting below the luminaire from being able to directly look at the LEDs 21 of the LED strips 20, which may cause glare. Alternatively, the LED strips 20 may be arranged on the flaps 13 such that the flaps 13 are located in between the slanted upper services 44 and the LED strips 20, i.e. the LED strips are upward facing.

Each first reinforcement rib 41 has an end portion 41 ' distal to the joining point 42 and each second reinforcement rib 43 has an end portion 43' distal to the joining point 42. In an embodiment, each second reinforcement rib may have an extension portion 45 running substantially parallel with the first reinforcement rib 41, with the end portion 43' being located at the distal end of this extension portion 45. Although not specifically shown, a further reinforcement rib may extend between end portions 41 ', 43'.

Where the stretchable body 10 also comprises the further flaps 15, these further flaps may be mounted across the end portions 41 ', 43', preferably such that the further LED strips 20' are arranged to direct the luminous output of the LEDs 21 ' towards the shade 30 for downward reflection of the luminous output in order to prevent direct illumination of an area below the luminaire, e.g. to avoid glare as previously explained. The spreading elements 40 may be made of any suitable material, which preferably is a rigid material to provide the luminaire with good structural support. For example, the spreading elements 40 may be made of wood or plywood, which has the advantage that the spreading elements 40 may be easily produced, e.g. using laser cutting. At this point, it is noted that the various parts of the luminaire may be formed by laser cutting, as this is a cheap and quick manufacturing technique, which facilitates mass production of the various components of the luminaire.

FIG. 5 is a picture of the pole-mountable luminaire 100 in assembled form around a pole 110. In this embodiment, the second reinforcement ribs 43 have a recessed slanted upper surface 44 with the flaps 11 extending over this recess such that the LED strips 20 are located in this recess with the LEDs 21 facing the shade 30 as previously explained, which has the advantage that light effects may be created on the shade 30, which may improve the aesthetic appearance of the luminaire 100 during use. It should however be understood that an alternative arrangement in which the LED strips 20 are upward facing may also be contemplated as previously explained.

FIG. 6 depicts an alternative embodiment of a pole-mountable luminaire 100. As before, the luminaire 100 has a stretchable body 10 including a fastening arrangement including a first fastening member 11 and a second fastening member 11 ' for mating with the first fastening member 11 at opposite ends as previously explained. In this embodiment, the spreading elements 40 each comprise a first reinforcement rib 41 attached to the stretchable body 10 as previously explained with the second reinforcement rib 43 being attached to the first reinforcement rib 41 through a hinge mechanism 49. In addition, a spring member 50 attaches the first reinforcement rib 41 to the second reinforcement rib 43 and forces the second reinforcement ribs 43 under the previously explained acute angle with the first reinforcement rib 41. In this embodiment, the LED strips 20 may be directly mounted on the second reinforcement ribs 43 although it is also feasible that the LED strips 20 are attached to flaps 13 of the stretchable body 10, with the flaps 13 mounted on the second reinforcement ribs 43 (not shown in FIG. 6). The spring member 50 may be compressed such that the acute angle between the second reinforcement rib 43 and the first reinforcement rib 41 is reduced, i.e. the second reinforcement rib 43 is pushed towards the first reinforcement rib 41, which for instance is beneficial if the luminaire 100 is mounted on the pole of a parasol or a sun screen, as it facilitates the parasol or sun screen to be folded and stowed away with the luminaire 100 still in place, as the luminaire 100 can be forced into a more compact geometry by compressing the spring members 50 when folding the parasol or sun screen. In this embodiment, the canopy of the parasol may act as the reflector of the light generated by the respective LED strips 20 on the second reinforcement ribs 43, as this light is typically directed to this canopy. In an embodiment, the respective LED strips 20 may comprise LEDs 21 for generating different colours such that aesthetic light effects may be created on such a canopy. The respective LED strips 20 may additionally or alternatively comprise white light LEDs 21 for generating functional lighting, as previously explained in more detail with the aid of FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 schematically depicts a lantern-style pole-mountable luminaire 100 according to another embodiment. In this embodiment, the spreading elements 60 are flexible, e.g. fabric elements that radially extend from the stretchable body 10, which may be a stretchable body 10 as described with the aid of FIG. 1, but without flaps 13 and further flaps 15. The flexible spreading elements 60 typically radially extend from the stretchable body 10 in parallel with the opposite end portions to which the fastening arrangement including first fastening member 11 and second fastening member 11 ' is attached, and may be attached to the stretchable body 10 in any suitable manner, e.g. sewing. In an embodiment, the flexible spreading elements 60 are made of the same material as the stretchable body 10 although it should be understood that the flexible spreading elements 60 instead may be made of a different flexible material.

The LED strips 20 are attached, e.g., adhered, to the stretchable body 10 preferably at regular intervals and such that each LED strip 20 is located in between two neighboring flexible spreading elements 60. In this manner, the flexible spreading elements 60 at as light guides for the light produced by the LEDs 21 of the LED strips 20.

In a preferred embodiment, each flexible spreading elements 60 comprises a plurality of slits 61 that radially extend from the stretchable body across the flexible spreading elements 60 and are aligned with each other to form a plurality of rings around the stretchable body 10 when mounted on a pole through which annular fabric divider elements 70 can be threaded such that the lantern-style pole-mountable luminaire 100 is divided into a plurality of compartments with the annular fabric divider elements 70 acting as glare- preventing elements by shielding people below the luminaire 100 from direct exposure to light generated by the LEDs 21 on the stretchable body 10. As will be understood, the annular fabric divider elements 70 preferably are of an opaque and/or reflective nature in order to redirect downward directed light produced by the LEDs 21 in order to prevent such glare. The annular fabric divider elements 70 may comprise a fastening arrangement to fasten opposite ends of the annular fabric divide elements to each other. Any suitable fasting arrangement such as the previously mentioned fastening arrangements may be used for this purpose.

In an embodiment, each LED strip 20 comprises a first group of LEDs for producing coloured light and a second group of LEDs for producing white light. The first group of LEDs may be arranged in an upper section of the lantern-style pole-mountable luminaire 100 and the second group of LEDs may be arranged in a lower section of the lantern-style pole-mountable luminaire 100 such that an upper section of the lantern-style pole-mountable luminaire 100 is arranged to produce aesthetic light effects and the lower section of the lantern-style pole-mountable luminaire 100 is arranged to produce functional lighting. The LED strips 20 may be connected to a central controller, which may be adapted to create any suitable light effect with the LED strips 20 as previously explained in more detail with the aid of FIG. 2. FIG. 8 is a picture of such a lantern-style pole-mountable luminaire 100 in an assembled state. Such a lantern-style pole-mountable luminaire 100 may also remain fitted on a pole when closing e.g. a parasol, as the flexible nature of the fabric spreading elements 60 and the fabric divider elements 70 allows for the luminaire to be compacted.

At this point, it is noted that in the above embodiments of the luminaire 100 the power connections, e.g. wires, to the respective LED strips 20 are not always shown. Where such power connections have been omitted, this has been done for the sake of clarity only this should not be construed as such power connections not being present. The power connections to the respective LED strips 20 (and respective further LED strips 20' if present) may be achieved in any suitable manner.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiments illustrate rather than limit the invention, and that those skilled in the art will be able to design many alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claim. The word "comprising" does not exclude the presence of elements or steps other than those listed in a claim. The word "a" or "an" preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements. The invention can be implemented by means of hardware comprising several distinct elements. In the device claim enumerating several means, several of these means can be embodied by one and the same item of hardware. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.