This invention is directed to the field of recessed lighting systems, more particularly to a recessed illuminated light assembly for walls, where the assembly includes an overlay of plural spaced apart tiles with the light projecting through the tile spaces.
The present invention relates to a unique recessed lighting system for use in combination with an array of wall tiles, where the system relies upon a plurality of spaced apart tiles overlying the light source of the system with the light showing through the spaced apart tiles.
Recessed lighting systems for ceilings are well known and can take a variety shapes and styles. One well known system is a suspended ceiling that includes a plurality of metal frame, T-shaped supports arranged to define a plurality of rectangular openings, typically 2xe2x80x2xc3x974xe2x80x2 or 2xe2x80x2xc3x972xe2x80x2 openings, where the openings are filled with acoustical type panels. At selected opening locations, the panels are replaced by a lighting fixture in the space above the ceiling and a clear or translucent plexiglas panel to allow lighting to be transmitted to the area below the ceiling.
The prior art, as reflected in the following U.S. Patents, teach a number of lighting concepts that may be adapted for residential or commercial use, namely:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,753,217, to Willfurth, teaches a recessed light primarily for use in a staircase to be positioned within a recess in the baseboard or wall at one side of the staircase to illuminate a tread of the staircase. There may be one such light for each tread or they may be spaced in any desired manner to illuminate selected treads. The recessed light is formed as an open housing from a section of a sheet metal reentrant face with upper and lower Lips to engage the upper and lower edges of a recess into which the housing snugly fits. The lips may be secured to said recess edges by nailing or by a suitable adhesive and may also be formed with integral projecting teeth or prongs to be driven into the recess edge portions for securing the housing in place. Provided centrally of the concave face of the housing is an opening for an electric light bulb. Each end of the housing is provided with an end wall so as to completely close of the recess. The housing may also take the form of a square-shaped frame at the outer edge of the concave face, the sides of the frame forming lips engageable with the outer side edge portions of the recess into which the housing is fitted.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,377,059, to Kuhr, discloses a suspended ceiling system comprising a plurality of inverted-T runners. Kerfed edge ceiling tile are used and supported by runners and concealing the bottom of the runners. At least one ceiling tile has a central portion removable therefrom by being separable along a substantially vertical fine cut made by high pressure fluid jet cutting.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,093, to Himeno et al. is directed to an illuminating display device for use with a mosaic panel, in which necessary display devices, measuring instruments, and the like are mounted to a cross-wise shaped metallic grid, to form a panel surface. Included therewith are light-emitting diodes arranged at a high density to afford a high-luminance display surface. The illuminating display device prevents the display surface and the interior of the display device from increasing in temperature due to heat generated by a large number of light-emitting diodes. The whole illuminating display device is composed of a base frame mountable to and removable from the grid, and a circuit board and a reflector to be mounted on the base frame. The base frame is composed of a leg, which is in face-to-face contact with a partitioning wall of the grid and which is engaged with the grid by its engaging claw, and a base seat on which a circuit board and others are mounted, wherein the base seat and the leg are made of metal and integrally provided. By this arrangement, heat generated by illumination of the light-emitting diodes is conducted via the base frame to the metallic grid, thus effectively radiated as a whole.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,082,878, to Doubek et al. relates to an adjustable recessed light fixture that comprises a lamp positionable in orientations wherein the light beam is inclined obliquely relative to a vertical axis, and wherein the inclined light beam can be rotated about the vertical axis. A movable stop is provided which enables the lamp to be rotated in a complete 360 degree range of rotation. A housing which covers the light fixture includes a removable top wall which provides an effective thermal insulation for the housing. A trim ring is installable such that tension springs of the trim ring are effectively held within a rotatable spin disc of the light fixture. The lamp can be rotated about a horizontal axis in a manner wherein only a minimal portion of a light beam is cut off by a reflector. A bar hangar for hanging a light fixture; frame to aceiling joist includes relatively sidable rails, wherein ends of the rails can be broken off to shorten the bar hanger without having to disconnect the rails from one another.
While the foregoing prior art offer several lighting systems to modify the lighting scheme of a room, none present a lighting system as unique as that offered by this invention. The owner, by the use of the system hereof for the wall of a room, closet, or hallway, has the ability to set the ambiance of the area, especially by the use of a dimmer switch as the control mechanism. The manner by which the owner of the system hereof can readily control the ambience in the area to be lighted will become more apparent in the description which follows, particularly when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
This invention relates to a recessed lighting system, more particularly to the combination of a generally planar, vertically oriented wall, such as in a room, closet or hallway, suitable for fixedly mounting a plurality of rectangular shaped tiles, and a recessed lighting system. The system comprises a light housing for recessing within the wall, where the housing consists of a base and plural side walls. The side walls are defined by a free edge aligned planarly with the vertically oriented wall. Included therewithin is a frame support recessed from the free edge for mounting a plurality of comparable tiles. A plurality of comparable tiles are mounted to a removably mounted frame support, where the comparable tiles are spaced apart from an adjacent comparable tile, by a space equal to the normal spacing in which grouting is placed. Finally, a light source, such as a low wattage LED bulb, fixed within the light housing, where the source, when activated, preferably by a dimmer switch, will show through the spaces between the comparable tiles. Preferably, the light housing comprises a generally rectangular base having a side dimension equal to about the length of a pair of comparable tiles laid in close proximity to one another. The housing may mount a single, centrally disposed light, or the housing base may be defined by a generally rectangular peripheral recess in which the light source is positioned.
Accordingly, a feature of this invention is to provide an indirect orn accent lighting source for a room, closet or hallway, by the use of a wall recessed lighting system in combination with a tiled wall, where the controlled light emanates between pairs of spaced apart tiles.
Another feature of the invention is the provision of a wall recessed lighting system that allows the owner to set the desired ambiance in a room, closet or hallway utilizing the lighting system hereof.
A further preferred feature of the lighting system of the invention lies in the use of a low wattage LED bulb as the lighting source to minimize the generation of heat behind the wall.
These and other features of the lighting system hereof will become more apparent, particularly by those skilled in the art, from the following specification and drawings.