CA2718181C

CA2718181C - A luminaire arrangement

Info

Publication number: CA2718181C
Application number: CA2718181A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Paul Andrew Cronk
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2002-02-27
Filing date: 2003-02-26
Publication date: 2012-01-03
Anticipated expiration: 2023-02-26
Also published as: CA2516674A1; CA2754628A1; EP1488167A4; DK1488167T3; ES2362215T3; AU2003205431B2; AU2003205431A1; AUPS080102A0; CA2718181A1; WO2003072998A1; NZ568877A; EP1488167A1; CA2516674C; ATE503965T1; NZ535580A; EP1488167B1; DE60336547D1; NZ568876A; CA2754628C

Abstract

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

Description

A LUMINAIRE ARRANGEMENT
TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to luminaires and, in particular, to luminaries having a reflector of adjustable focal length including two curved portions. Such a reflector is described in

2 (which has the same inventor as the present application) and will hereafter be termed 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.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement whereby such a luminaire can be assembled 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 locating mechanism for a pair of reflector sheets from which the reflector of a doubly arched luminaire is assembled, said mechanism comprising at least one mushroom-shaped stud on one of said sheets and a corresponding keyhole shaped aperture on the other of said sheets, said stud comprising a stalk and a cap and said aperture comprising a main opening and a smaller extension wherein each said stud and aperture are dimensioned so that said cap can pass through said main opening but not said extension and said stalk can be retained in said extension with a friction fit.

In accordance with a third 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 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 type, FIG. 2 is an end elevation of the luminaire of the preferred embodiment, FIG. 3 is a partial schematic exploded perspective view illustrating how two sheets can be brought together to form the reflector, FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of a portion of Fig.

3, FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view showing the two sheets assembled to form the reflector, FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the lamp socket mounting for the luminaire, FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing a first form of reflector tensioning arrangement, FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of Fig. 7, FIG. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of Fig. 7, and FIG. 10 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.

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 that the required tension in the reflector is achieved. In addition, because of the tendency of 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.
2). 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.

As seen in Figs. 3 and 4, the sheet 122 is provided with a pair of generally mushroom shaped lugs 107 which each have a central cylindrical stalk 108 and a substantially flat cap 109.
Conversely, the reflector sheet 102 is provided with a pair of keyhole apertures 127 each of which has a central opening 128 and a narrow extension 129 extending therefrom. The extensions 129 are substantially parallel. In addition, the portions of the sheets 102, 122 which are joined together to form the spine 103 each include four holes 111.

In order to move from the unassembled position illustrated in Fig. 3 to the assembled position illustrated in Fig. 5, the caps 109 of the lugs 107 are passed through the central openings 128 of the corresponding keyhole apertures 127. This generally locates the two sheets 102,122 in the correct orientation and configuration. Then the sheets 102,122 are moved relative to each other in the direction of the spine 103 so as to engage the stalks 108 with the corresponding extensions 129. This results in a friction fit between the lugs 107 and the keyhole apertures 127. The friction fit may be between the stalk 108 and the extension 129, or between the underside of the caps 109 and the surface of the sheets 102,122, or both.

The end result is the configuration illustrated in Fig. 5 where the holes 111 in the two sheets 102,122 are aligned. This enables arcuate hanging supports 114 to be secured to the reflector 101 by means of fasteners 115 as illustrated in Fig. 5.

Turning now to Fig. 6, the lamp socket mounting 112 will now be described. The interconnection between the lamp socket mounting 112 and the reflector 101 is effected by means of a base 121 which has a V-shaped bight 122 which is shaped to mate with the spine 103. The bight 122 and spine 103 are interconnected by any convenient mechanism such as self-tapping screws (not illustrated) passing through the openings 123 in the bight 122.
Preferably such screws pass into one of the pair of holes 111 so that the lamp socket mounting 112 is positioned at one end of the reflector 101. Alternatively, the mounting 112 can be located intermediate the ends of the reflector 101.

4 In addition, the base 121 has a pair of arms 124 each of which has a longitudinally extending slot 125.

Lamp socket 18 is conventional and is mounted to an L-shaped cover 132 which closes a rectangular housing 133 having a pair of protruding side walls 134. Each of the side walls 134 has a curved slot 135 therethrough. Located within the housing 133 are electrical connectors and possible ancillary electrical equipment (all not illustrated). In addition, the L-shaped cover 32 has a pair of slots 136 each of which is shaped to receive a corresponding arm 124 of the base 121.

In operation, the base 121 is first secured to the spine 103 of the reflector 101. Then the arms 124 are each passed through the corresponding slot 136 and a screw fastener 137 passed through each of the slots 125 and 135. By sliding the housing 133 up and down the arms 124, the preferred distance between the longitudinal axis of the lamp to be engaged with socket 18 and the spine 103 can be set. In addition, by movement of both side walls 134 simultaneously in the same direction relative to the arms 124, the longitudinal axis of the lamp socket 18 can be inclined towards or away from the spine 103 as desired. Furthermore, should the lamp socket axis not be parallel to that of the spine 103, one of the side walls 134 can be pushed forwardly slightly whilst the other of the side walls 134 can be pushed rearwardly slightly, thereby moving the axis of the lamp socket 18 to right or left. Once these fine adjustments are made, the screw fasteners 137 are made fast.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the above described adjustment and alignment of the lamp socket axis is able to be easily and conveniently carried out by the end user once the lamp has been installed so as to ensure that the reflector 101 operates to the maximum of its designed potential. This is not easy to accomplish using the threaded fastener arrangement illustrated in Fig. 1.

5 Turning now to Figs. 7-9, 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. 8 and 9, in the embodiment of Figs. 7-9 the filament 104 has a bulbous protrusion 144 at each end. In addition, as seen in Fig. 8, 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.
9, 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. 7-9 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 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.

6 r Turning now to Fig. 10, 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. 7-9, 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 some 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.

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.

7

Claims

1. A locating mechanism for a pair of reflector sheets from which the reflector of a doubly arched luminaire is assembled, said locating mechanism comprising at least one mushroomshaped stud on one of said reflector sheets and a corresponding keyhole-shaped aperture on the other one of said sheets, said stud comprising a stalk and a cap and said aperture comprising a main opening and a smaller extension wherein each said stud and aperture are dimensioned so that said cap passes through said main opening, said extension being prevented from passing through said main opening, and said stalk is retained in said extension with a friction fit.

2. The locating mechanism as claimed in Claim 1, wherein one of said reflector sheets has a plurality of spaced apart mushroomshaped studs and the other one of said reflector sheets has a like plurality of like spaced keyhole apertures, the smaller extensions of said apertures being substantially parallel and like aligned.

3. The locating mechanism as claimed in any one of Claims 1 and 2, wherein said friction fit is between said extension and said stalk.

4. The locating mechanism as claimed in any one of Claims 1 and 2, wherein said friction fit is between a surface of said reflector adjacent said extension and said cap.

5. The locating mechanism as claimed in any one of Claims 1 and 2, wherein said friction is between said extension and said stalk and between the surface of said reflector adjacent said extension and said cap.