Flexible lighting system and mounting arrangement

Abstract

A flexible lighting system and method of making same. The flexible lighting system includes a flexible translucent rod and an attachment flange. Preferably, the outer casing and the attachment flange are integrally formed to facilitate installation. The flexible translucent rod includes an outer casing and a lighting core. The lighting core is disposed within an axial aperture defined by the outer casing and contains a series of lighting elements. In the preferred embodiment, a texture, such as axial grooves, is applied to a surface of the flexible translucent rod. This texture is applied to the outer surface of the lighting core or the inner surface of the outer casing to diffuse the light emitted by the discrete lighting elements, thereby providing an appearance similar to a solid bar of light. A mounting arrangement is provided for engaging the flexible translucent rod, or a coupler portion thereof, and is arranged to facilitate coupling of the flexible lighting system to a mounting surface. The mounting surface may be penetrable, such as ground soil, unhardened building material, or the like. The mounting arrangement includes, in such a penetrable surface application, an elongated web that penetrates the mounting surface. Security of the mounting is enhanced by a transverse flange disposed along the elongated web. In an arrangement where the flexible translucent rod has an attachment portion, a correspondingly configured mounting channel is provided, the mounting channel having a base portion that is provided with a mounting facility, such as an adhesive layer or apertures for fasteners.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.