DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0024] To disperse light as well as air into a room, an air duct assembly 10, of FIGS. 1-3, includes a light source 12 shining through a light-transmitting fabric wall 14 of a fabric air duct 16. The term, “fabric,” refers to any pliable sheet of material that may or may not be air permeable or porous. Examples of a fabric include, but are not limited to, woven or knit cloth, flexible plastic sheeting that is not necessarily woven, plastic impregnated cloth, fiber reinforced plastic, and various combinations thereof. The term, “light-transmitting” refers to a material having the ability to pass light either through itself or through openings in the material, wherein the material may be transparent (colorless or tinted), translucent, or opaque with openings. Air duct 16 is shown with several hangers 18 suspending duct 16 from girder beams of a ceiling 20.

[0025] To provide duct 16 with the ability to convey air 22 along its length, longitudinal edges of fabric wall 14 connect to a top plate 24 to create a tubular shape, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The tubular shape can be created by a variety of structures; however, in this example two channels 26 attached along the length of plate 24 couple opposite edges of plate 24 to two elongated beads 30 running lengthwise along fabric wall 14. A lengthwise sliding fit between beads 30 and channels 26 allows fabric wall 14 to be periodically removed for cleaning and later reinstalled. An air handler 32, such as a blower 34 disposed within a housing 36 or some other source of forced air, discharges air 22 through an interior 38 of duct 16. A fabric end cap 40 restricts or entirely closes off a downstream end of duct 16 to help develop a positive air pressure that inflates duct 16 when blower 34 is running, as shown in FIG. 3. When blower 34 turns off, duct 16 deflates, as shown in FIG. 2.

[0026] To expel pressurize air 22 from within duct 16 and disperse it into an exterior area 42 surrounding duct 16, fabric wall 14 is air-permeable. Air-permeability of wall 14 can be provided by fabric porosity and/or by small openings distributed along the length of duct 16.

[0027] To transmit light 44 outward from within duct 16 and disperse the light into area 42, light source 12 is mounted to project an appreciable amount of its light 44 into duct 16. In this embodiment, light source 12 projects its light 44 through plate 24, which illuminates an interior surface 46 of duct 16. Plate 24 can be made of clear plastic or glass, or plate 24 could be translucent or even opaque with a central opening for the light. From the illuminated interior 38, light 44 travels outward from duct 16 after passing through the light-transmitting fabric wall 14. Light source 12 is schematically illustrated to encompass anything that can provide illumination. Examples of light source 12 include, but are not limited to, a fluorescent light, an incandescent light, halogen bulb, an ultraviolet light, and a lens or reflective surface that redirects light from another light source.

[0028] Light source 12 can be selectively turned on and off as needed. In some cases it may be desirable to have light source 12 turn on and off automatically with the operation of blower 34. For example, light source 12 turns off when blower 34 turns off, and turns on when blower 34 turns on, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, respectively. Conversely, light 12 turning on when blower 34 turns off may be useful when light source 12 is an ultraviolet light used for killing microorganisms that tend to grow in dark, stagnant environments. A combination of the two approaches could also be useful. For example, a conventional fluorescent light could be turned on and off as needed, and an additional ultraviolet light could be operated whenever blower 34 turns off.

[0029] In another embodiment, shown in FIG. 4, an air duct 48 having a generally cylindrical, light-transmitting fabric wall 50 is situated adjacent a light source 52. This tends to provide duct 48 with a “glowing” effect when most or at least 20 percent of the light emitted from light source 52 reaches duct 48. In other words, angle 54 is at least 20 percent of the sum of angles 54, 56 and 58. The glowing effect is achieved by light 60 first passing through fabric wall 50 to illuminate an interior 62 of duct 48 and then passing through fabric wall 50 again to shine outward, away from duct 48.

[0030] Air duct 48 can also be illuminated as shown in FIG. 5. Here, two light sources 64 and 66, in the form of a conventional spot light or a flood light, shine in a direction generally parallel to the duct's length or generally parallel to the direction that air 22 flows through duct 48. This illuminates the interior of duct 48 and thus illuminates its exterior, as well. Light 66 disposed outside of duct 48 illuminates the duct's interior by projecting its light 68 through an airflow opening 70 or closed window of an end cap 72. Light 66 is disposed within the interior of housing 36 and/or the interior of duct 48. Either light 64 or 66 can be used alone or with each other.

[0031] In some cases, it may be desirable to have one light 64 or 66 emit red light and the other blue. The red one could be turned on when duct 48 is conveying warm air, and the blue one could turn on when duct 48 is conveying cool air. The distinction between the red and blue colors may be more apparent if the fabric of duct 48 is white or nearly white.

[0032] Several openings 74 in duct 48 provide discharge airflow rates that are higher than what may be achieved by relying on fabric porosity alone. Openings 74 not only allow the use of nonporous fabric, but openings 74 also allow an opaque fabric wall to transmit light.

[0033] Other special lighting effects can be achieved with a duct assembly 76 of FIG. 6. In this embodiment, a string of lights 78, such as those often referred to as “rope lights,” “Christmas lights” or “holiday lights,” serves as the light source that illuminates the interior, and thus the exterior, of a light-transmitting fabric air duct 80. The string of lights 78 includes a series of small bulbs 82 that can blink on and off randomly to provide a “twinkling” effect or can blink in a sequential pattern to provide a “traveling light” effect where the lights appear to be moving. If blower 34 is a dual-speed blower, lights 82 can be blinked in such a way as to create a perceived speed of movement that increases with an increase in blower speed. Light bulbs 82 can be of an assortment of different colors or be all of the same color. Lights 82 do not necessarily have to blink, but instead can be left on or off continuously, as needed.

[0034] In another embodiment, an air duct assembly 10′ is similar to that of FIGS. 1-3; however, instead of light source 12 focusing most of its light toward duct 16, duct assembly 10′ includes a light source 12′ that is inverted to direct most of its light 44′ away from duct 16. This provides indirect lighting to areas underneath duct 16 as the light reflects off the ceiling and other surfaces. Yet, air duct assemblies 10 and 10′ are similar in that each includes hangers 18 that suspend both a light source and a fabric air duct from underneath a ceiling.

[0035] Although the invention is described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications are well within the scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the invention is to be determined by reference to the claims that follow.