AU2005101079A4 - A mount for a luminaire - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Applicant(s): COLIN MARK STONE Invention Title: A MOUNT FOR A LUMINAIRE The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: - 2 A MOUNT FOR A LUMINAIRE FIELD OF THE INVENTION 5 The present invention relates generally to a mount for a luminaire, and has particular - but by no means exclusive - application to supporting the luminaire at a distance above an area to be illuminated. 10 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Luminaires (which are typically known as light fittings) are commonly fixed at a distance above an area to be illuminated. For instance, a luminaire used to light 15 up a street is commonly mounted atop a timber or steel pole, which can also support electrical cables used for distributing electricity to residents of the street. Luminaires are typically mounted the distance above the area for several reasons. First, it is an efficient way 20 for shedding light on the area, and second it prevents the luminaires from being tampered with by unauthorised persons (particularly where the luminaires are in a public place). Unfortunately, however, fixing a luminaire at a distance above the area to be illuminated can make it 25 difficult for authorised persons to gain access to the luminaire. An authorised person may need to access a luminaire to perform maintenance such as changing a light globe. 30 To access a luminaire that is fixed above the area, the authorised persons typically need to use a ladder or perhaps even a 'cherry picker'. Apart from the inconvenience of having to carry around the ladder or position the cherry picker, use of the ladder or cherry 35 picker, can introduce an element of danger to the otherwise straightforward task of maintaining the luminaire. A danger associated with using a ladder is the -3 risk that the person may loose their balance and fall off the ladder. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 5 According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a mount for a luminaire, the mount comprises: an elongate member for supporting the luminaire; 10 a support means for supporting the elongate member and which is arranged to allow the elongate member to be moved relative to the support means; and a locking means for locking the elongate member and the support means together so as to prevent the elongate 15 member from being readily moved relative to the support means. The mount according to the first aspect of the present invention has the advantage of being able to 20 support the luminaire at a distance above an area to be illuminated, which is enabled by virtue of the elongate member. However unlike existing mounts for luminaires, the the mount according to the first aspect of the present invention enables a person to easily gain access to the 25 luminaire without having to use a ladder or other such devices. This feature of the first aspect of the present invention is facilitated by virtue of the support means being such that the elongate member can be moved relative to the support means. This, for example, enables the 30 elongate member to be moved from an unaccessable hight to an accessable hight. Preferably the support means comprises: a lug located on an outer surface of the elongate 35 member; and a body having opposed open ends and an inner surface extending between the ends and which defines a void for - 4 receiving the elongate member, the body also has a slot that has a first end for engagement with the lug to effect supporting of the elongate member and a second open end for allowing the lug to be removed from the slot so as to 5 allow movement of the elongate member relative to the support means. An advantage of using the lug and slot arrangement to facilitate supporting of the elongate member is that 10 mechanically it is very simple arrangement and thus is reliable. It is also cheap and therefore keeps the cost of the mount to a minimum. Preferably, the mount comprises a bracket coupled to 15 the body for facilitating attachment of the body to an object. The main purpose of the bracket is that it enables the body to be easily secured to an object by, for 20 example, welding. Preferably, the mount comprises a U-bolt for coupling the bracket to the body. 25 Preferably, the locking means comprises an opening that extends from the inner surface of the body to an outer surface of the body, and an element that is mounted to the body and which has a part that can be passed through the opening an into the void so as to engage the 30 elongate member when located in the void. An advantage of using this particular arrangement for the locking means is that mechanically it is very simple and thus is reliable. It is also cheap and therefore keeps 35 the cost of the mount to a minimum. Preferably, the mount comprises a handle attached to - 5 a first end of the elongate member. An advantage of using the handle is that it enables a person to easily move the elongate member relative to the 5 support means. Preferably, the handle comprises: at least one first component attached to the elongate body and which extends outwardly from the elongate member; and a second component 10 that is attached to the first component, wherein the first component and the second component are arranged so as to substantially define a right angle therebetween. Preferably, the mount comprises a coupler attached to 15 a second end of the elongate member for coupling the luminaire to the elongate member. The coupler provides an advantage of enabling the luminaire to be easily attached to the elongate member. 20 Preferably, the mount comprises a U-bolt for attaching the coupler to the second end of the elongate member. 25 Preferably, the elongate member and the body are substantially cylindrical. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 30 Notwithstanding any other embodiments that may fall within the scope of the present invention, a particular embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying figures, in which: 35 figure 1 shows a perspective view of a mount for a luminaire in accordance with an embodiment of the present -6 invention; figure 2 shows another perspective view of the mount illustrated in figure 1; 5 figure 3 shows a further perspective view of the mount illustrated in figure 1; figure 4 shows yet another perspective view of the 10 mount illustrated in figure 1; and figure 5 shows an additional perspective view of the mount illustrated in figure 1. 15 AN EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION With reference to figure 1, which illustrates a mount 1 for a luminaire (which is not shown in the figures) in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, 20 the mount 1 comprises an elongate member 3 for supporting the luminaire. The elongate member 3 is substantially cylindrical, is made from mild steel, and is hot dip galvanised. Being made from mild steel provides the elongate member 3 with a level of robustness whilst being 25 hot dip galvanised provides the elongate member 3 with protection against corrosion that may otherwise occur as a result of being exposed to the environment. In addition to the elongate member 3, the mount 1 30 also comprises a support means for supporting the elongate member 3. The support means is in the form of a substantially cylindrical body 5 that has open ends 7 and 9 and an inner surface (not shown in the figures) that extends between the open ends 7 and 9 and which defines a 35 void 11 (see figures 3 and 4) for receiving the elongate member 3. The void 11 has a diameter that is bigger than the diameter of the elongate member 3 such that the - 7 elongate member 3 can be freely moved relative to the body 5 when located in the void 11. The direction of movement of the elongate member 3 is shown by the arrows marked A. The body 5 is made from mild steel and is hot dip 5 galvanised to protect it against corrosion that may otherwise occur as a result of being exposed to the environment. The body 5 comprises a 'U' shaped slot 13 that has a 10 'closed' end 15 and an 'open' end 17, the latter of which is best illustrated in figure 5. The slot 13 is designed to receive a lug (which is not shown in the figures) attached to an outside surface 19 of the elongate member 3. Because the elongate member 3 is such that it can be 15 slidably moved in the void 11 of the body 5, the elongate member 3 can be supported by the body 5 by moving the lug into the slot 13 via the open end 17 and moving the lug along the slot 13 until it is in abutment with the closed end 15 of the slot 13. 20 The mount 1 also includes a locking means for locking the elongate member 3 and the body 5 together so as to prevent the elongate member 3 from being readily moved relative to the body 5. The locking means comprises an 25 opening (not shown on the figures) in the body 5 that extends from the outside surface 19 of the body 5 to the inside surface of the body 5. The locking means also comprises a nut 21 that is attached to the outside surface 19 of the body 5 and which is aligned with the opening 30 therein. In this regard, the nut 21 is welded to the outside surface 19 of the body 5. The main component of the locking means is a right angled element 23 that screws into the nut 21. With sufficient screwing, the element 23 passes through the opening in the body 5 and into the void 35 11, in which the elongate member 3 resides. When the right angled element 23 enters the void it can engage with the elongate member 3 (when positioned in the void 11) to lock - 8 the elongate member 3 and the body 5 together so as to prevent the elongate member 3 from being moved relative to the body 5. The right angled element 23 and the nut 21 are made from mild steel and are both hot dip galvanised for 5 protection against corrosion that may otherwise occur as a result of being exposed to the environment. To facilitate attachment of the body 5 to an object (for example, a handrail), the mount 1 comprises a bracket 10 25 that is attached to the body 5 via U-bolts 27. The bracket 25 has a 'T' cross section. The bracket 25 is made from mild steel so that it can be easy attached to an object by, for example, welding. The bracket 25 is also hot dip galvanised to protect it from corrosion that may 15 otherwise occur as a result of being exposed to the environment. To assist a person to move the elongate member 3 relative to the body 5, the mount 1 comprises a handle 29 20 attached to an end part 31 of the elongate member 3. More specifically, the handle 29 is welded to the end part 31. The handle 29 comprises three spaced apart elements 33 that extend outwardly from the end part 31 of the elongate member 3. The handle 29 also comprises a component 35 that 25 is attached to the elements 33 so as to form a substantial right angle between the component 35 and each of the elements 33. As with the elongate member 3, the handle 29 is made from mild steel and is hot dip galvanised to protect it from corrosion. 30 Attached at the other end 37 of the elongate member 3 is a coupling 39 for coupling the luminaire to the elongate member 3. The coupling 39 is attached to the end 37 of the elongate member 3 by two U-bolts 41. The 35 coupling 39 comprises an elongate part 43 to which the U bolts 41 are attached. The elongate part 43 has two spaced apart slots 45 that can be used to bolt the luminaire to 9 the elongate part 43. The coupling 39 is made from mild steel and is hot dip galvanised to protect it against corrosion that may otherwise occur as a result of being exposed to the environment. 5 Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention described herein is susceptible to variations and modifications other than those specifically described. It should be understood that the invention includes all 10 such variations and modifications which fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims (11)

1. A mount for a luminaire, the mount comprising: an elongate member for supporting the luminaire; 5 a support means for supporting the elongate member and which is arranged to allow the elongate member to be moved relative to the support means; and a locking means for locking the elongate member and the support means together so as to prevent the elongate 10 member from being readily moved relative to the support means.

2. The mount as claimed in claim 1, wherein the support means comprises: 15 a lug located on an outer surface of the elongate member; and a body having opposed open ends and an inner surface extending between the ends and which defines a void for receiving the elongate member, the body also has a slot 20 that has a first end for engagement with the lug to effect supporting of the elongate member and a second open end for allowing the lug to be removed from the slot so as to allow movement of the elongate member relative to the support means. 25

3. The mount as claimed in claim 2, comprising a bracket coupled to the body for facilitating attachment of the body to an object. 30

4. The mount as claimed in claim 3 comprising a first U-bolt for coupling the bracket to the body.

5. The mount as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the locking means comprises an 35 opening that extends from the inner surface of the body to an outer surface of the body, and an element that is mounted to the body and which has a part that can be - 11 passed through the opening an into the void so as to engage the elongate member when located in the void.

6. The mount as claimed in any one of the 5 preceding claims comprising a handle attached to a first end of the elongate member.

7. The mount as claimed in claim 6, wherein the handle comprises: at least one first component attached to 10 the elongate body and which extends outwardly from the elongate member; and a second component that is attached to the first component, the first component and the second component being arranged so as to substantially define a right angle therebetween. 15

8. The mount as claimed in any one of the preceding claims comprising a coupler attached to a second end of the elongate member for coupling the luminaire to the elongate member. 20

9. The mount as claimed in claim 8 comprising a second U-bolt for attaching the coupler to the second end of the elongate member. 25

10. The mount as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the elongate member and the body are substantially cylindrical.

11. The mount as claimed in claim 1 and 30 substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying figures. Dated this 2 7 th day of September 2005 COLIN MARK STONE 35 By his Patent Attorneys GRIFFITH HACK