CN110578913A

CN110578913A - Mounting assembly, lighting system and method for fixing mounting strip

Info

Publication number: CN110578913A
Application number: CN201810595124.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 王新; 布莱恩·摩根·斯帕尼
Original assignee: GE Lighting Solutions LLC
Current assignee: Current Lighting Solutions LLC
Priority date: 2018-06-11
Filing date: 2018-06-11
Publication date: 2019-12-17
Anticipated expiration: 2038-06-11
Also published as: CN110578913B

Abstract

The application relates to a mounting assembly comprising a mounting strip and first and second grippers. The mounting strip is configured to mount the lighting module, the mounting strip having first and second folded portions at first and second longitudinal ends thereof, respectively. First and second holders are coupled to the first and second folding portions, respectively, at least one of the first and second holders including: a support frame including first and second legs and a support module between the first and second legs, the support module configured to support the first folded portion or the second folded portion folded around the support module; a slidable fastener configured to secure the first folded portion or the second folded portion around the support module to the support module and the first leg and the second leg, the slidable fastener being slidable along at least one of the first leg and the second leg. The application also discloses a lighting system using the mounting assembly and a mounting method.

Description

mounting assembly, lighting system and method for fixing mounting strip

Technical Field

The application relates to a mounting assembly, especially relates to a mounting assembly who is applied to illumination field.

Background

large frame signs, which may also be referred to as box signs, use fluorescent and incandescent lamps as lighting systems. The framed sign comprises a housing with a translucent panel defining a hollow space in which fluorescent and incandescent lamps may be mounted. Fluorescent lamps are more efficient than incandescent lamps. Fluorescent tubes emit light in a 360 degree pattern from a central axis, but the light emitted from the top and bottom of the tube is typically wasted and does not reflect well to the translucent panel.

Recently, the use of more efficient lighting, particularly Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), has become a trend. LEDs consume less power, are more reliable, and have a longer life than fluorescent lamps. Typically, bars and rails are used to support the LED-mounted lighting modules, but longitudinal bars and rails are difficult to transport and difficult to install into box signs quickly and reliably.

Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a mounting assembly that addresses at least one of the problems described above.

disclosure of Invention

In one embodiment of the present application, a mounting assembly for mounting a lighting module is disclosed, comprising a mounting strip and first and second holders. The mounting strip is configured to mount the lighting module, the mounting strip having first and second folded portions at first and second longitudinal ends thereof, respectively. First and second holders coupled to the first and second folding portions, respectively. At least one of the first and second holders comprises: a support frame including a first leg and a second leg and a support module between the first leg and the second leg, the support module configured to support a first folded portion or a second folded portion folded around the support module; and a slidable fastener configured to foldably fix the first folded portion or the second folded portion folded around the support module to the support module and the first leg and the second leg, the slidable fastener being slidable along at least one of the first leg and the second leg.

In some embodiments, an inner surface of the first folded portion or the second folded portion includes a slot configured to receive a protruding portion of the support module.

In some embodiments, at least one of the first and second legs includes a stop extending outwardly from the at least one of the first and second legs in a direction substantially perpendicular to a sliding direction of the slidable fastener.

In some embodiments, the bracket has at least two mounting holes configured to receive screws for securing the mounting assembly to the signage structure.

in some embodiments, the rack has an L-shaped module comprising a base configured to be secured to a top or bottom wall of the signage structure and at least one arm perpendicular to the base configured to be secured to a sidewall of the signage structure.

in some embodiments, the first and second legs are integrally formed with the L-shaped module, and the first and second legs are perpendicular to the base plate.

in some embodiments, a secondary fastener is also included, the secondary fastener passing through a first hole in the slidable fastener and a second hole in the first or second folded portion of the mounting strap and extending to a third hole in the support module.

In some embodiments, at least one of the bracket and the slidable fastener is made of a material selected from the group consisting of metal or plastic, and the mounting strap is made of a material comprising a thermoplastic.

in a further embodiment of the present application, a lighting system is disclosed, comprising two mounting assemblies as described above and at least two lighting modules, wherein: the two mounting assemblies are substantially parallel to each other; each of the at least two lighting modules comprises a plurality of light emitting diodes electrically coupled to each other and two ends respectively attached to the two mounting assemblies such that the at least two lighting modules are arranged substantially parallel to each other.

In yet another embodiment of the present application, a method for securing a mounting strap by a clamp is disclosed. The holder includes: a support bracket including first and second legs and a support module between the first and second legs, and a slidable fastener slidable along at least one of the first and second legs. The method comprises the following steps: placing the slidable fastener in a first position located near a first end of the first and second legs distal from the support module; folding the longitudinal ends of the mounting strap around the support modules of the rack to form folded portions of the mounting strap; the slidable fastener is moved along the first and second legs to a second position located near the second ends of the first and second legs near the support module to enclose the folded portion of the mounting strap, the support module, and portions of the first and second legs near the second ends within the slidable fastener.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form a part of the specification, illustrate the present disclosure and, together with the description, further serve to explain the principles of the disclosure and to enable a person skilled in the pertinent art to make and use the disclosure.

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of one embodiment of a mounting assembly;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the mounting assembly shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of one embodiment of a method of securing a mounting strap using the clamp shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the clamp in the mounting assembly shown in FIG. 1 with the slidable fastener in a position away from the support module;

FIG. 5 is a rear view of the holder shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the holder of FIG. 4 taken along line A-A;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the clamp in the mounting assembly shown in FIG. 1 with the slidable fastener in a condition adjacent the support module;

FIG. 8 is a front view of the holder shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the holder of FIG. 7 taken along line B-B;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a bracket in the mounting assembly shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 11 is a front view of one embodiment of an illumination assembly installed in a signage structure.

Detailed Description

Unless defined otherwise, technical or scientific terms used herein shall have the ordinary meaning as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs. The use of "first," "second," and similar terms in the description and in the claims does not indicate any order, quantity, or importance, but rather is used to distinguish one element from another. Also, the use of the terms "a" or "an" and the like do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one. The word "comprise" or "comprises", and the like, means that the element or item listed before "comprises" or "comprising" covers the element or item listed after "comprising" or "comprises" and its equivalents, and does not exclude other elements or items. The terms "connected" or "coupled" and the like are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections, but may include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect. The terms "component," "module," "system," "interface," and the like are generally intended to refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware, a combination of hardware and software, or software in execution. For example, a component can be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a mounting assembly 10. Fig. 2 is an exploded view of the mounting assembly 10. The mounting assembly 10 includes a mounting strip 300, a first holder 100 and a second holder 200. In some embodiments, the mounting strap 300 may be elongate in shape, including a first longitudinal end 310 and a second longitudinal end 320. The mounting band 300 may be folded about the first and second longitudinal ends 310 and 320 to form first and second folded portions 311 and 321, respectively. The first folding portion 311 is coupled to the first holder 100, and the second folding portion 321 is coupled to the second holder 200.

In some embodiments, the first holder 100 and the second holder 200 have the same structure. The first gripper 100 will be described in detail below as an example. As shown in fig. 2, the first holder 100 includes a bracket 110 and a slidable fastener 120. The stand 110 includes a first leg 111, a second leg 112, and a support module 113, and the support module 113 is configured to support a first folded portion 311 folded around the support module 113. The slidable fastener 120 is configured to fix the first folded portion 311 folded around the support module 113 to the support module 113 and the first and second legs 111 and 112. The slidable fastener 120 is slidable along the first leg 111 and the second leg 112. In some embodiments, the slidable fastener may slide along at least one of the first leg and the second leg.

In some embodiments, the first holder 100 further comprises an auxiliary fastener 118 for fastening the slidable fastener 120 to the support module 113. The secondary fastener 118 passes through a first hole 121 in the slidable fastener 120 and a second hole 312 in the first folded portion 311 of the mounting strap 300, and extends to a third hole 119 in the support module 113. In some embodiments, two or more secondary fasteners may be provided herein. The secondary fasteners 118 may include screws, nuts, pins, or combinations thereof.

In some embodiments, at least one of the bracket 110 and the slidable fastener 120 is made of a material selected from the group consisting of metal or plastic. The mounting strap 300 is made of a material that includes a thermoplastic. The thermoplastic may be nylon. In some embodiments, the mounting strap 300 is flexible or pliable for ease of transport and securing of the lighting modules.

Referring to fig. 3, a flow chart illustrates a method 301 of securing a mounting strap 300 by the first gripper 100 of fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the first clamp 100 of the mounting assembly 10 shown in fig. 1, with the slidable fastener 120 in a position away from the support module 113. Fig. 5 shows a rear view of the first holder 100 of fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the first holder 100 shown in fig. 4 taken along the line a-a. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the first clamp 100 of the mounting assembly 10 shown in fig. 1, with the slidable fastener 120 in a state adjacent to the support module 113. Fig. 8 is a front view of the first holder 100 shown in fig. 7. Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the first holder 100 shown in fig. 1 taken along the line B-B. A method 301 of using a clamp, exemplified by a first clamp 100 and a second clamp 200, to secure a mounting strap 300 is shown in more detail below in connection with fig. 4-9.

method 301 includes steps 302,304, and 306. In step 302, the slidable fastener 120 is placed in the first position 142, the first position 142 being located near the first ends 141 (shown in fig. 6) of the first and second legs 111,112 distal from the support module 113. In some embodiments, the slideable fastener 120 at the first position 142 is adjacent the base plate 114 of the stand 110, and the base plate 114 may prevent the slideable fastener 120 from sliding out of the first and second legs 111, 112.

In step 304, as shown in fig. 6, the first longitudinal end 310 of the mounting strap 300 is folded around the support modules 113 of the rack 110 to form a first folded portion 311 of the mounting strap 300.

in step 306, as shown in fig. 7-9, the slideable fastener 120 is moved along the first and second legs 111,112 to a second position 149, the second position 149 being located near the second ends 148 (shown in fig. 9) of the first and second legs 111,112 proximate the support module 113. The slidable fastener 120 in the second position 149 is adjacent the support module 113 of the bracket 110 and surrounds therein the first folded portion 311 of the mounting strap 300, the support module 113 and portions of the first and second legs 111,112 near the second end 148.

As shown in fig. 9, the inner surface 146 of the first folded portion 311 includes a slot 147, the slot 147 configured to receive the protruding portion 143 of the support module 113. The protruding portion 143 fixes the mounting strip 300 to the slidable fastener 120, and the thickness of the mounting strip 300 is larger than the gap between the slidable fastener 120 and the protruding portion 143.

In some embodiments, the support module 113 has a substantially dumbbell-shaped cross-section. The first end 144 of the support module 113 is adjacent to the second ends 148 of the first and second legs 111,112, and the second end 145 of the support module 113 is attached to the first folded portion 311 and is configured to support the first folded portion 311.

In some embodiments, at least one side of the substantially rectangular parallelepiped portion between the first end 144 and the second end 145 includes at least one protruding portion 143. The inner side surface 146 of the first folded portion 311 includes a number of slots 147 equal to or greater than the number of the protruding portions 143. In some embodiments, the slots 147 are equally spaced on the inner surface 146 of the first folded portion 311.

the mounting strap and the bracket may be transported separately and, after the bracket is fixed to the lighting device (e.g. sign box), the mounting strap is fastened via the bracket. This method makes the mounting between the mounting strap and the bracket easier, more convenient and cheaper.

In some embodiments, in addition to the combination of the projections 143 and slots 147, the first holder 100 further includes one or more secondary fasteners, the same as or similar to the secondary fasteners 118 described above, for fastening the mounting strap 300 between the slidable fastener 120 and the support module 113. A third aperture 119 may be defined in the support module 113. In some other embodiments, the third aperture 119 may define the first end 144, the second end 145, or the protruding portion 143 of the support module 113.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a bracket 110 of the mounting assembly 10 shown in FIG. 1. Referring to fig. 7 and 10, in some embodiments, at least one of the first leg 111 and the second leg 112 includes a stop 150, the stop 150 extending outwardly from the at least one of the first leg 111 and the second leg 112 along a direction substantially perpendicular to the sliding direction of the slidable fastener 120. The stop 150 can prevent the slidable fastener 120 from sliding out of the second ends 148 of the first and second legs 111, 112. In some embodiments, each of the first and second legs 111,112 includes one or more stops 150.

In some embodiments, the second gripper 200 may be different from the first gripper 100. The second holder 200 may be any structure configured to couple and secure the second longitudinal end 320 of the mounting strap 300.

Embodiments of the present disclosure also provide an illumination system 20 that may be used in a variety of applications, including frame signs, double sided box signs, and other similar applications used for illumination devices. As shown in fig. 11, in some embodiments, the lighting system 20 includes two mounting assemblies 10, at least two lighting modules 30, and a signage structure 600 as described above. The mounting strip 300 of the mounting assembly 10 is configured to mount the lighting module 30, and in some embodiments, the lighting module 30 may be an LED strip module. The first holder 100 and the second holder 200 of each mounting assembly 10 are attached to the top wall 610 and the bottom wall 620, respectively, of the signage structure 600, and the two mounting assemblies 10 are substantially parallel to each other. Each lighting module 30 includes a plurality of Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) 303 electrically coupled to each other. In some embodiments, lighting system 20 includes at least one flexible electrical conductor 400, flexible electrical conductor 400 being electrically and mechanically connected to lighting module 30 for powering the LEDs mounted thereon.

As shown in fig. 11, both ends of each lighting module 30 are respectively attached to the mounting strips 300 of the two mounting assemblies 10, and are arranged as two lighting modules 30 substantially parallel to each other. In some embodiments, both ends of the lighting modules 30 in the exemplary lighting system 20 shown herein are fixed to the mounting strips 300 of both mounting assemblies 10 by means of, for example, gluing or welding. In some designated embodiments, the mounting strip 300 may be integrally formed with the lighting module 30.

In some embodiments, more than two lighting modules 30 are mounted in parallel on the mounting strip 300 of two adjacent mounting assemblies 10, the longitudinal distance between each of the two adjacent lighting modules 30 may be the same.

In some embodiments, the lighting system 20 includes more than two mounting assemblies 10, such as 4, 6, or 8.

Referring to fig. 4 and 11, the bracket 110 has an L-shaped module formed of a base plate 114 and two arms 115 perpendicular to the base plate 114. Bracket 110 has at least two mounting holes configured to receive screws for securing mounting assembly 10 to signage structure 600. In some embodiments, substrate 114 having two mounting holes 116 is configured for securing substrate 114 to either top wall 610 or bottom wall 620 of signage structure 600. Two arms 115 having two mounting holes 117 are configured for securing the arms 115 to the side walls 630 of the signage structure 600.

In some embodiments, the first leg 111 and the second leg 112 are integrally formed with the L-shaped module, and the first leg 111 and the second leg 112 are perpendicular to the base plate 114.

The present disclosure also describes a method for installing an illumination module into a signage structure. As shown in fig. 2 and 11, the method includes the following steps. The first holder 100 and the second holder 200 are fastened to the top wall 610 or the bottom wall 620, respectively, of the signage structure 600, with the distance between adjacent first holders and adjacent second holders being approximately equal. The first folded portion 311 of the mounting strip 300 with the illumination module 30 is secured to the first holder 100 using the method 301 described above, wherein the illumination module 30 is substantially parallel to the top wall 610 or the bottom wall 620 of the signage structure 600. The second folded portion 321 of the mounting strip 300 with the lighting module 30 is fixed to the second holder 200 using the method 301 described above. In some embodiments, at least one flexible electrical conductor 400 is electrically and mechanically connected to the lighting module 30 to an external power source. This approach makes installation between the lighting module and the signage structure easier, more convenient, and less expensive.

The scope of protection of the patent is defined by the claims and may also include other examples that may occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they include structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.

various alternatives and embodiments are contemplated as falling within the scope of the appended claims, particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter regarded as the application.

Claims

1. A mounting assembly for mounting a lighting module, comprising:

A mounting strap configured to mount the lighting module, the mounting strap having first and second folded portions at first and second longitudinal ends thereof, respectively;

a first holder and a second holder coupled to the first folded portion and the second folded portion, respectively, at least one of the first holder and the second holder comprising:

A stand including first and second legs and a support module between the first and second legs, the support module configured to support the first or second folded portion folded around the support module; and

A slidable fastener configured to secure the first folded portion or the second folded portion folded around the support module to the support module and the first and second legs, the slidable fastener being slidable along at least one of the first and second legs.

2. The mounting assembly of claim 1, wherein an inner surface of the first folded portion or the second folded portion includes a slot configured to receive a protruding portion of the support module.

3. the mounting assembly of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second legs comprises a stop extending outwardly from the at least one of the first and second legs in a direction substantially perpendicular to a sliding direction of the slidable fastener.

4. The mounting assembly of claim 1, wherein the bracket has at least two mounting holes configured to receive screws for securing the mounting assembly to a signage structure.

5. The mounting assembly of claim 4, wherein the bracket has an L-shaped module including a base plate configured to be secured to a top or bottom wall of the signage structure and at least one arm perpendicular to the base plate configured to be secured to a side wall of the signage structure.

6. The mounting assembly of claim 5, wherein the first and second legs are integrally formed with the L-shaped module and the first and second legs are perpendicular to the base plate.

7. The mounting assembly of claim 1, further comprising an auxiliary fastener passing through a first hole in the slidable fastener and a second hole in the first or second folded portion of the mounting strap and extending to a third hole in the support module.

8. The mounting assembly of claim 1, wherein at least one of the bracket and the slidable fastener is made of a material selected from metal or plastic, and the mounting strap is made of a material comprising a thermoplastic.

9. A lighting system comprising two mounting assemblies and at least two lighting modules of claim 1, wherein:

The two mounting assemblies are substantially parallel to each other; and

Each of the at least two lighting modules includes a plurality of light emitting diodes electrically coupled to each other and two ends respectively attached to the two mounting assemblies such that the at least two lighting modules are arranged substantially parallel to each other.

10. A method for securing a mounting strap by a clamp, the clamp comprising: a stand including first and second legs and a support module between the first and second legs, and a slidable fastener slidable along at least one of the first and second legs, the method comprising:

Placing the slidable fastener in a first position proximate a first end of the first and second legs distal from the support module;

folding longitudinal ends of the mounting strap around the support modules of the bracket to form folded portions of the mounting strap; and

Moving the slidable fastener along the first and second legs to a second position proximate a second end of the first and second legs proximate the support module to enclose the folded portion of the mounting strap, the support module, and portions of the first and second legs proximate the second end within the slidable fastener.