JP2001059391A - Footlight unit and gate door with footlight - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate attachment of a footlight unit by attaching the footlight unit for lighting the circumference of feet to an opening bottom end of a hollow stile of a gate door. SOLUTION: A footlight unit 1 is provided with an insertion portion 11 having a shape inserting in an opening bottom end 22 of a hollow stile 21 in a gate door 2 and a horizontal plate portion 12 formed in the bottom circumferential edge of the insertion portion 11. A lighting member 15 for incorporating a light source, etc. in the insertion portion 11 and lighting outward from the bottom end of the unit body 10 is provided right under the light source. A wiring 19 with a connector from the unit body 10 and a wiring 31 with a connector from a light source lighting sensor 3 are connected to each other so as to enable the automatic lights-on and -out control of the light source using the sensor 3. When the footlight unit 1 is attached to the opening bottom end 22 of the hollow stile 21, large-scale notching works such as forming of fitting opening part are eliminated and post-fitting works are also facilitated. The change in the lighting plan for the exterior around the gate can be facilitated at low cost.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a foot light unit and a gate with a foot light. More specifically, the invention of this application relates to a new foot light unit that is easy to install and can provide effective illumination around the foot of the gate, and a gate with a foot light equipped with the foot light unit. It is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, around a gate of a detached house or the like, a gate light for illuminating the periphery is often provided on a gate wall or a gate post. For example, in the conventional example shown in FIG. 6A, a gate light (A) is mounted on a gate wall (A) to illuminate the area around the gate.

[0003]

However, the conventional gate lamp (a) is usually mounted at a high position such as on a gate wall (a) or at the head of a gate post.
As shown in the example above, the illumination light is emitted from the high position of the gate wall (a) and the gate post toward the front (road side) and the rear (building side), and the feet are located around the feet, especially the feet close to the gate (c) In some cases, the surrounding area was not sufficiently illuminated. In this case, visibility around the feet is poor, and when there is a step such as a stepped step (e), a stepping stone (e), or a stair in front or behind the gate (c), sufficient safety cannot be secured. .

To effectively illuminate the area around the foot of the gate (c), it has been considered to attach a foot light to a lower part of a gate wall or a pillar, or to a lower part of the gate itself (for example, in practice). JP-A-3-128196 and JP-A-9-25
6762). In this case, an opening is formed in the lower side surface or the lower front of the gate wall or the gate post, or in the lower frame of the gate (c), and the footlight is attached to this opening so as to illuminate the area around the foot.

However, such a conventional footlight has the following points to be improved. That is,
The mounting of the conventional footlight requires mounting processing such as formation of the above-described opening and securing of a wiring route, and the workability at the site is not very good. In particular, when mounting on the gate (C), the frame of the gate (C) is a combination of a frame material, which is a hollow mold material generally formed by extrusion, and thus notches such as formation of an opening. Processing was difficult and was not a very preferable embodiment.

[0006] In addition, for the step light, only after the gate light (a) is actually turned on after the completion of the exterior around the gate, it is noticed that the illumination around the step of the gate (c) is insufficient. However, since the necessity is often recognized, it is often installed later rather than being built in from the initial plan of the exterior around the gate, and such retrofitting requires extra work and time. There was a demand that it be improved economically.

[0007] The invention of this application has been made in view of the circumstances described above, and can solve the problem of the conventional foot light, and can provide effective illumination around the foot of the gate,
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new foot light unit and a gate with a foot light, which are easy to mount.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention of this application is directed to a footlight unit attached to a gate for illuminating the area around a foot, wherein the opening lower end of a hollow vertical frame of the gate is provided. A foot light unit, characterized in that the foot light unit has a fitting portion fitted into the lower end of the opening of the hollow vertical frame, and the lower end of the opening. The fitting portion is fitted and attached to the device, a primary battery as a light source and a power source is built in the fitting portion, and a solar battery and a secondary battery are used as a power source. It is built into the unit, irradiates the light source light outward by the edge light method, has a light emitting unit that irradiates the light source light forward and backward of the gate, and has a light source lighting sensor. Integrated It has as its preferred aspect that you are.

The invention of this application also provides a gate with a foot light, wherein the foot light unit is attached to the lower end of the opening of the hollow vertical frame.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As described above, the footlight unit of the invention of this application is mounted on a gate to illuminate the area around the foot, and is mounted on the lower end of the hollow vertical frame of the gate. It is characterized by being. The footlight unit having such a feature has been noticed by the inventors of the present invention on the fact that the frame of the gate is a frame material which is a hollow mold material generally formed by extrusion. An end cap is usually attached to the lower end of the hollow vertical frame of the frame frame, and attention is paid to the fact that when this end cap is removed, the lower end that opens and the interior becomes hollow naturally appears The invention is based on the idea that the lower end of the opening is used as an opening for mounting a foot light. That is, the inventors of the present invention combine a frame material, which is a hollow mold material formed by extrusion, with a frame frame of a gate, which has conventionally been a factor of low workability of a foot light. The fact that there was an inversion that could not be considered at all in the past was based on the fact that the frame of the gate, in particular, the vertical frame was hollow and the lower end was open, was used.

As long as it can be attached to the lower end of the opening of the hollow vertical frame, it is not necessary to make a large-scale notch such as forming an opening for attachment as in the prior art, and it is easy to retrofit. And remarkable improvement in workability can be realized. In addition, since it is attached to the lower end of the opening that is hard to be seen, the appearance and design of the gate itself and the area around the gate are not impaired as compared with the related art.

In order to attach to the lower end of the opening of the hollow vertical frame, for example, it is necessary to have a fitting portion to be fitted to the lower end of the opening, in other words, a fitting portion having a shape and structure capable of being fitted to the lower end of the opening. This can be one mode of the foot light unit, and the easy attachment of the foot light unit can be realized only by fitting the fitting portion into the lower end of the opening. Needless to say, not only fitting into the lower end of the opening but also more secure mounting may be possible by screwing and fixing to the hollow vertical frame. In this case, since a screw hole for screwing the fixing screw is required, it is conceivable to perform screw hole processing on the vertical frame, but if the end cap attached to the lower end of the opening is screwed and fixed, Since the screw holes and the tapping holes are already provided, it is preferable that the existing screw holes and the tapping holes can be used as they are for fixing screws for fixing the foot light unit.

Further, since the footlight unit illuminates the area around the foot, naturally a light source and a power source for the footlight unit are required. Therefore, in the present invention, it is preferable to incorporate the light source into the fitting portion fitted to the lower end of the opening as described above. Also, as the power source for this light source,
A 100 V AC, 12 V DC wired power supply can be used. In this case, however, it is necessary to secure a power supply wiring path and to perform wiring connection. Therefore, using a primary battery such as a dry battery, the primary battery is used. It is preferable to be built in the fitting portion. Further, a solar battery and a secondary battery (storage battery) that stores power generated by the solar battery can also be used. In this case, it is preferable that the secondary battery be incorporated in the insertion portion. In this way, if the light source and the primary / secondary battery power supply are incorporated in the fitting portion that is fitted into the lower end of the opening and cannot be seen from the outside, the portion that is exposed and protrudes to the outside from the lower end of the opening is minimized. In addition, the appearance can be improved. Note that an LED, a light bulb, or the like can be used as the light source.

By the way, the light from the light source built in the fitting portion must be radiated from the lower end of the opening to the outside. At this time, in the foot light unit of the present invention, the light source light may be directly radiated to the outside, but a mode in which the light is radiated to the outside by the edge light method is preferable. The edge light method is such that light from a light source enters a translucent edge light body from an end thereof, and is taken out while reflecting and refracting the inside, so that the edge light body itself emits light. This is a light irradiation method. According to this edge light method, uniform and soft light irradiation can be realized over a wider range than with direct light, and foot lighting can be made more effective. The shape of the edge light body is
As long as the light emitting function can be realized, there is no particular limitation such as a panel-shaped one. In addition, it is preferable to have a light emitting portion capable of irradiating the light source light to both the front side (road side) and the rear side (building side) of the gate, whereby two foot lights for front illumination and rear illumination are provided. No more units needed.

For the lighting control of the light source as described above, a light source lighting sensor such as a brightness sensor or a human body sensor can be used to enable automatic lighting. This light source lighting sensor may be attached separately from the foot light unit to a place where the detection function can be realized, but if it is attached separately, it is dedicated to the light source lighting sensor only. Processing may be required. Therefore, in the foot light unit of the present invention, the light source lighting sensor is integrated with the foot light unit so that the dedicated processing for the light source lighting sensor for the hollow vertical frame is not required. Is preferred.

By using the footlight unit having the above-described footlight unit at the lower end of the opening of the hollow vertical frame, an effective illumination around the foot around the gate at night or the like can be provided. By doing so, the visibility of steps and the like is improved, and safety at the time of entering and exiting the gate can be ensured. In addition, the hollow vertical frame here is not only a hollow shape over its entire length in the longitudinal direction, but also a hollow shape only in a lower portion necessary for mounting the foot light unit. Good. In other words, the lower end where the foot light unit is attached is open and there is a hollow part,
What is necessary is that it is not necessary to perform opening processing on the frame as in the conventional case.

The invention of this application has the features as described above. Examples will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, and the embodiments of the invention of this application will be described in more detail.

[0018]

1 (a) and 1 (b) are enlarged perspective views of an essential part illustrating a foot light unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
It is the front view which illustrated the gate with a foot light which attached this foot light unit to the gate. The footlight unit (1) illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B has a fitting portion (11) having a shape capable of fitting into a lower end portion (22) of an opening of a hollow vertical frame (21) in a gate (2). ), And a horizontal plate portion (12) on the lower periphery of the fitting portion (11).
The fitting part (11) and the horizontal plate part (12) constitute a unit body (10). Further, as illustrated in FIG. 2, for example, the fitting portion (11) has a light source (13) and a dry cell (14) built therein, and the light source (1).
An illumination member (15) for irradiating the light from 3) outward from the lower end of the unit body (10) is provided directly below the light source (13).

The illuminating member (15) functions as a translucent edge light body made of acrylic or the like. The illuminating member (15) is located immediately below the light source (13) and is light from the light source (13). The light guide portion (15)
1) and a light emitting section (152) that protrudes outward from the lower end of the unit body (10) and emits light source light from the light guide section (151) outward. The light guide section (151) and the light emitting section (152) are obtained by dividing the illumination member (15) for each function for simplification of description, and are not separate components. . In such a lighting member (15), the light from the light source enters the inside from the upper end surface of the light guide (151) and is guided to the lower light emitting unit (152) so that the entire light emitting unit (152) emits light. And is taken out outside.

The state of illumination of the light source light from the light emitting section (152) can be variously changed and adjusted depending on the shape of the light emitting section (152). For example, in the shape illustrated in FIG. 3A, the light from the light source not only escapes directly from the lower surface B, but also
Due to the internal reflection or the like, the light can pass through the front and rear surfaces A to the front and rear of the light emitting unit (152). Further, in the dome-shaped cross section illustrated in FIG. 3B, the light source light is diffused over a wide range by the curved surface portion C. Further, in the shape illustrated in FIG. 3C, a reflecting portion D having a triangular cross section is provided on the lower surface B, and the reflecting portion D efficiently reflects light from the light source to the front and rear surfaces A, and the light emitting portion (152). ) Can increase the amount of irradiation in front and behind. Of course, reflection part D
A part of the light source light that has not been reflected at the portion passes downward from portions other than the reflection portion D on the lower surface B. Further, the outer surface (the portion shown by the dotted line in the figure) of the reflecting portion D may be colored for reflection (white or the like) by full painting or grain painting to further increase the reflection efficiency.

The above-mentioned lighting member (15) has a fixing screw (1).
6) is detachably fixed on the side wall of the fitting portion (11), and the illumination member (15) is removed to remove the light source (1).
3) Maintenance can be performed. Further, a dry battery lid (17) is provided on the upper surface of the fitting portion (11), and maintenance of the dry battery (14) can be performed from the dry battery lid (17).

As shown in FIG. 4, the footlight unit (1) as described above fits into the lower end (22) of the opening of the hollow vertical frame (21) of the gate (2). )
Is fixed, and is fixed by screwing with a fixing screw (4) passing through a screw opening (18) provided in the horizontal plate (12). In the example of FIG. 4, a tapping hole (23) is provided in the hollow portion of the lower end portion (22) of the hollow vertical frame (21). For example, when the tapping hole (23) is used for screwing the lower end (22) of the opening of the end cap (24) (see FIG. 1B), the tapping hole (23) is directly The fixing screw (4) is screwed in for fixing the light unit (1), and the foot light unit (1) can be attached instead of the end cap (24). Since the tapping hole (23) and the fixing screw (4) are shared,
The number of parts and cost can be reduced. Of course, at the time of manufacturing the hollow vertical frame (21) of the gate (2),
Regardless of whether or not it is used for fixing the end cap (24), a tapping hole (23) may be formed for fixing the foot light unit (1).

With the foot light unit (1) attached as described above, illumination around the foot from below the hollow vertical frame (21) of the gate (2) can be realized. Since the power source is the dry battery (14), there is no need to perform a work such as securing a power supply wiring path. In the footlight unit (1) of the present embodiment, the wiring with connector (19) from the unit main body (10) and the wiring with connector (31) from the light source lighting sensor (3) are connected. Automatic light-on / light-off control of the light source (13) using the light-on sensor (3) is possible. This light source lighting sensor (3)
For example, in the example shown in FIG. 4, the hollow vertical frame (21) of the gate (2) is mounted in the cavity from the lower end (22) of the opening, and the hollow vertical frame (21) has a sensor window. (2
5) is provided. However, in this case,
Since it becomes necessary to apply a special process only for mounting the light source lighting sensor (3) to the hollow vertical frame (21), in the foot light unit (1) of the present invention, for example, as shown in FIG. The light source lighting sensor (3) is integrated with the foot light unit (1) so that a special process for mounting the hollow vertical frame (21) and, if possible, all members of the gate (2) is unnecessary. Preferably. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the light source lighting sensor (3) is provided integrally with the footlight unit (1) so as to be exposed to the outside on the lower surface of the horizontal plate (12). Everything is done internally. As a result, as described above, the footlight unit (1) is simply attached to the lower end portion (22) of the hollow vertical frame (21), and the light source lighting sensor (3) is also subjected to dedicated mounting processing and construction. It can be attached to the gate (2) without any problem.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described example, and it goes without saying that various embodiments are possible in detail.

[0025]

As described in detail above, the footlight unit of the present invention and the gate with the footlight provided with the footlight unit can provide effective illumination around the foot of the gate, and can be retrofitted. Since it is easy, it is possible to easily and inexpensively change the lighting plan of the exterior around the gate.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b) are enlarged perspective views of a main part illustrating a foot light unit according to an embodiment of the present invention, and a gate with a foot light in which the foot light unit is attached to the gate. FIG.

FIG. 2 is an illumination perspective view illustrating the foot light unit of FIG. 1 (b).

FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C each show a lighting unit (15);
It is the side view which illustrated the shape variation of the light-emitting part (152) of.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of mounting a foot light unit.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing an example of a foot light unit integrally having a light source lighting sensor.

FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b) are a perspective view showing an example of a conventional gate circumference exterior provided with a gate light, and a side view conceptually showing an example of gate illumination by the gate light.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Foot light unit 10 Unit main body 11 Fitting part 12 Horizontal plate part 13 Light source 14 Dry battery 15 Lighting member 151 Light guide part 152 Light emitting part 16 Fixing screw 17 Dry battery lid 18 Screw opening 19 Wiring with connector 2 Gate 21 Hollow Vertical frame 22 Opening lower end 23 Tapping hole 24 End cap 25 Sensor window 3 Light source lighting sensor 31 Wiring with connector 4 Fixing screw

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A footlight unit attached to a gate and illuminating the area around a foot, wherein the footlight unit is attached to a lower end of an opening of a hollow vertical frame of the gate. 2. The footlight unit according to claim 1, further comprising a fitting portion fitted into a lower end of the opening of the hollow vertical frame, wherein the fitting portion is fitted by being fitted into the lower end of the opening. 3. The light source is built in the fitting portion.
Foot light unit. 4. The foot light unit according to claim 2, wherein a primary battery as a power supply is built in the fitting portion. 5. The foot light unit according to claim 2, wherein a solar battery and a secondary battery are used as power sources, and the secondary battery is built in the fitting portion. 6. The foot light unit according to claim 1, wherein the light source light is emitted outward by an edge light method. 7. The foot light unit according to claim 1, further comprising a light emitting section for irradiating the light source light forward and backward of the gate. 8. The foot light unit according to claim 1, further comprising a light source lighting sensor. 9. A footlight-equipped gate, wherein the footlight unit according to claim 1 is attached to a lower end of an opening of a hollow vertical frame.