Ruggedized, high efficiency, diffuse luminaire

Abstract

A ruggedized, high efficiency, diffuse luminaire with a shaped lens diffuser that is composed of a semi-soft, flexible material that helps withstand damaging impacts and protects the internal electrical components. The lens diffuser may enclose one or more internal mirrors or employ an innovative Fresnel-like lens that projects light omni-directionally and that wraps around the inside of the lens for more efficient distribution of illumination and the elimination of up and down loss through re-projecting vertical losses onto the horizontal plane. The lens diffuser may incorporate a UV filtration compound molded directly into the materials composing the lens rather than applied or painted onto the surface or surfaces of the lens. The lens diffuser may incorporate two additional innovations that better enable the reduction of glare through varying the thickness of the lens diffuser, based on its relative proximity to the bulb(s) or lamp(s), and/or applying a patterning of reflective, semi-reflective or non-reflective material to the inside of the lens diffuser relative to the proximity to the illumination source to reflect away a portion of the light and thereby attain an even distribution of light across the surface of the lens without having to ensure that the lens surface is located equidistant or nearly equidistant from the lamp or lamps within the lens.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A luminaire system comprising:
 a semi-soft and flexible, translucent (or transparent) diffuser lens, that absorbs impacts, collisions, and other damaging forces while retaining its shape;   a self-contained lamp that is placed entirely within the semi-soft and flexible diffuser lens; and   a power source electrically connected to the lamp,   wherein the configuration of the diffuser lens with respect to the lamp and power source protects at least the lamp or the power source or both the lamp and power source.   
     
     
         2 . A luminaire system in accordance with  claim 1  wherein the luminaire system utilizes internal deflectors and/or mirrors to maximize efficient distribution or focal direction of light. 
     
     
         3 . A luminaire system in accordance with  claim 1  wherein the lens is shaped cylindrically or semi-cylindrically, such as tapered, so as to evenly or nearly evenly spread illumination to maximize the efficient lit area based on the available illumination from the luminaire system. 
     
     
         4 . A luminaire system in accordance with  claim 1  wherein the diffuser lens has a shape designed to minimize vertical losses of illumination by projecting or redirecting or projecting and redirecting the illumination onto the horizontal plane so as to provide wider area illumination. 
     
     
         5 . A luminaire system in accordance with  claim 1  wherein said diffuser lens varies in thickness based on its proximity to the lens so as to more evenly spread the illumination across the surface area of the diffuser lens. 
     
     
         6 . A series of luminaires with diffuser lenses in accordance with  claim 1  wherein the series of luminaires are designed to work in conjunction and/or separately, with or without separate on/off switches, so as to allow users to control the directionality of the diffuse light, such as two or more mounted atop a post or metallic tree, or a tree comprised of some other material, whereby the diffuser lens not only reduces glare, but reduce shadows due to the fact that the luminaire involves a series of lamps within separate diffuser lenses. 
     
     
         7 . A shaped diffuser lens, whether rigid or semi-soft and flexible, with UV filtration compounds mixed into the material comprising the diffuser lens as an alternative to a UV filtration coating or paint on the inside or outside of said diffuser lens. 
     
     
         8 . A directed luminaire wherein patterning or reflective mirrored, semi-reflective, or non-reflective pattern markings are used on the inside of the lens or between the lens and illuminating lamps or bulbs so as to more evenly spread the illumination across the surface area of the diffusor lens to aid in more efficiently reducing glare, such as by increasing the density of the patterned mirroring based on the closer proximity of the illuminating lamps or bulb to the lens. 
     
     
         9 . An omni-directional Fresnel-like lens used in the luminaire system of  claim 1  that may or may not be housed within and working in conjunction with an outer diffuser lens so as to both redirect and spread available illumination omni-directionally and simultaneously reduce glare. 
     
     
         10 . An omni-directional lens in accordance with the luminaire system of  claim 1  that in combination with internal mirrors more evenly spreads illumination from the lamp or lamps within the lens across the widest possible area.