AU2003205431B2

AU2003205431B2 - A luminaire arrangement

Info

Publication number: AU2003205431B2
Application number: AU2003205431A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Paul Andrew Cronk
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2002-02-27
Filing date: 2003-02-26
Publication date: 2008-11-06
Anticipated expiration: 2023-02-26
Also published as: ATE503965T1; CA2754628C; EP1488167B1; EP1488167A1; CA2718181C; DE60336547D1; CA2718181A1; DK1488167T3; NZ535580A; EP1488167A4; AUPS080102A0; WO2003072998A1; NZ568876A; AU2003205431A1; CA2516674C; ES2362215T3; CA2754628A1; NZ568877A; CA2516674A1

Abstract

A tensioning mechanism for the reflector of a doubly arched luminaire, the mechanism being either a flexible filament (104) with bulbous protrusions (144) that pass through an aperture (147) but are prevented from passing through extensions of the aperture or a swing arm (151) pivotably mounted on one side of the reflector and having hooks to attach the arm to one of a plurality of apertures (156) on the other side of the reflector.

Description

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O A LUMINAIRE REFLECTOR TENSIONING ARRANGEMENT TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to luminaires and, in particular, to luminaries having a reflector Cc of adjustable focal length including two curved portions. Such a reflector is described in t WO 96/37732 (which has the same inventor as the present application) and will hereafter be Stermed a doubly arched reflector.

The above described luminaire is normally sold in knockdown form and is assembled by the purchaser. Hitherto, this assembly process has been relatively time consuming because of the large number of bolts, nuts and like fasteners which must be assembled.

GENESIS OF THE INVENTION The genesis of the present invention is the desire to provide an arrangement whereby such a luminaire can be assembled and the reflector tensioned in a more convenient fashion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is disclosed a tensioning mechanism for the reflector of a doubly arched luminaire, said mechanism comprising a flexible, substantially inextensible filament having a bulbous protrusion formed at each end thereof, and at least one aperture formed in each opposite side of said reflector, each said aperture having a main opening leading into a smaller extension, each said main opening being dimensioned relative to said bulbous protrusions to permit same to pass therethrough and each said extension being dimensioned relative to said bulbous protrusions to prevent same passing therethrough.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, there is disclosed a tensioning mechanism for the reflector of a doubly arched luminaire, said mechanism comprising an aperture formed at one side of said reflector, a swing arm pivotally mounted to the opposite 2931S-AU side of said reflector, said swing arm having at least one aperture therein, and a malleable elongate member having a length sufficient to extend from side to side of the tensioned reflector and being able to have each end thereof formed into hook means able to engage said apertures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings in which: Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a prior art luminaire of the doubly arched reflector r Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Fig. 5 Fig. 6 type, is an end elevation of the luminaire of the preferred embodiment, is a schematic perspective view showing a first form of reflector tensioning arrangement, is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of Fig. 3, is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of Fig. 3, and is a schematic partial perspective view of a reflector tensioning arrangement of a second embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION As seen in Fig. 1, the reflector 1 of the prior art is formed from two sheets 2 preferably of resilient metal construction which are joined together about a spine 3 in the manner of the pages of a book. A tensioning device in the form of a chain 4 and hooks 5 is used to provide the desired adjustment of the focal length of the reflector 1.

The remaining components of the luminaire are essentially a lamp socket mounting 12 which supports the lamp socket 18 which in turn supports the lamp 20. If desired, a heat shield 17 having perforations 30 can be provided.

2931S-AU 00 O It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the means by which the lamp socket mounting 12 is held in position are cumbersome and require considerable adjustment to ensure that the longitudinal axis of the lamp 20 is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the reflector 1.

Furthermore, the chain 4 whilst being practical is a relatively expensive method of ensuring Sthat the required tension in the reflector is achieved. In addition, because of the tendency of a the chain 4 to collapse unless placed under tension, many purchasers find it awkward to interengage the hooks 5 and the links of chain 4.

Turning now to Figs 2-5, the luminaire 100 of the preferred embodiment is illustrated having a reflector 101 formed from two sheets 102 and 122 essentially as before with a lamp socket mounting 112 and a pair of tensioning filaments 104 (only one of which is illustrated in Fig.

The sheets 102, 122 are supplied in a compact knock down form stacked one above the other and are then joined together to form a spine 103.

Turning now to Figs. 3-5, it will be apparent that the reflector 101 can be brought into the required shape and hence desired focus, by means of adjusting the two filaments 104. As shown in the enlarged fragmentary views of Fig. 4 and 5, in this embodiment the filament 104 has a bulbous protrusion 144 at each end. In addition, as seen in Fig. 4, at the exterior side of the sheet 102 is located a single keyhole aperture 147 having a central opening and a narrow extension. Preferably, the narrow extension of the keyhole aperture 147 is directed in the direction in which the filament 104 is intended to lie. Similarly, as seen in Fig. 5, on the outer edge of the reflector sheet 122 is located a corresponding keyhole aperture 247 again having a central opening and narrow extension. The narrow extension of the aperture 247 again preferably points in the direction of the filament 104. In addition, adjacent to the keyhole aperture 247 are four additional keyhole apertures 347 each of which has its narrow extension oriented towards the keyhole aperture 247.

It will be apparent from Figs. 3-5 that the reflector 102 can be compressed so as to increase the degree of curvature of the double arch. One end of the filament 104 with its bulbous 2931S-AU protrusion 144 is passed through the central opening of the keyhole aperture 147. Thereafter, the filament 104 is tensioned slightly so as to draw the filament 104 into the narrow extension of aperture 147 and thereby engage the bulbous protrusion 144 with the narrow extension.

Similarly, on the other side of the lamp and at the other end of the filament 104, the corresponding bulbous protrusion 144 and filament 104 are passed through the central opening of the keyhole aperture 247 and one of the apertures 347 in turn. Again, when the filament 104 is tensioned by the natural resilience of the reflector 101, the bulbous protrusion 144 comes into engagement with the narrow extension of the selected keyhole aperture 347.

Clearly, selecting a different aperture 347 enables the tension within the filament 104 to be adjusted. A similar arrangement is provided for the other filament 104 at the other end of the reflector 101. In this way the degree of curvature of the doubly arched reflector 101 can be easily and uniformly set.

Turning now to Fig. 6, an alternative tensioning mechanism is illustrated which takes the form of a pivoted arm 151 which is connected by means of a rivet 152 to the sheet 122. The arm 151 is able to be pivoted in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 10 so as to lie in the position illustrated by dotted lines in Fig. 10 rather than in the extended position illustrated by solid lines in Fig. 10. The arm 151 is provided with a number of openings 156 whilst the other reflector sheet 102 is provided with a single opening 155. The filament 104 of Figs. which is preferably a stainless steel stranded wire, is replaced by a mild steel wire 53 which is malleable so as to form a hook at each end thereof. By appropriately bending the wire 153 and engaging the hooks with the opening 155 and one of the openings 156, an appropriate degree of tension can be achieved for the reflector 101.

The foregoing describes only two embodiments of the present invention and modifications, obvious to those skilled in the art, can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention.

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\O The term "comprising" (and its grammatical variations) as used herein is used in the inclusive sense of "having" or "including" and not in the exclusive sense of "consisting only of'.

2931S-AU

Claims

1. A tensioning mechanism for the reflector of a doubly arched luminaire, said mechanism comprising a flexible, substantially inextensible filament having a bulbous protrusion formed at each end thereof, and at least one aperture formed in each Sopposite side of said reflector, each said aperture having a main opening leading into a smaller extension, each said main opening being dimensioned relative to said bulbous Cc protrusions to permit same to pass therethrough and each said extension being dimensioned relative to said bulbous protrusions to prevent same passing therethrough.

2. The mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein one of said reflector sides has a plurality of said apertures mutually spaced apart from each other.

3. The mechanism as claimed in claims 1 or 2 wherein each said aperture is shaped like a keyhole.

4. The mechanism as claimed in claim 3 wherein a plurality of said apertures are located on one side of said reflector, and one of these apertures is orientated in a direction different to that of the other said apertures, or others of said apertures.

A tensioning mechanism for the reflector of a doubly arched luminaire, said mechanism comprising an aperture formed at one side of said reflector, a swing arm pivotally mounted to the opposite side of said reflector, said swing arm having at least one aperture therein, and a malleable elongate member having a length sufficient to extend from side to side of the tensioned reflector and being able to have each end thereof formed into hook means able to engage said apertures.

6. The tensioning mechanism as claimed in claim 5 wherein said at least one aperture comprises a multiplicity of mutually spaced apart apertures. 2931S-AU

7. A tensioning mechanism for the reflector of a doubly arched luminaire, said mechanism being substantially as herein described with reference to Figs 2-5 or 2 and 6 of the accompanying drawings.

8. A luminaire incorporating a tensioning mechanism as claimed in any one of claims 1-7.

9. A luminaire substantially as herein described with reference to Figs. 2-5 or 2 and 6 of the accompanying drawings. Dated this 10 th day of October 2008 PAUL ANDREW CRONK By FRASER OLD SOHN Patent Attorneys for the Applicant 2931S-AU