DE29905779U1 - Grid closure - Google Patents

Description

LIPPERT, STACHOW, SCHMIDT & PARTNER BO/mk

Patent Attorneys - European Patent Attorneys - European Trademark Attorneys

PO Box 30 02 08, D-51412 Bergisch Gladbach 29 March 1999

Telephone +49(0)22 04.92 33-0
Fax +49(0)22 04.6 26 06

TRILUX-LENZE GmbH +Co. KG 59759 Arnsberg

Grid closure

The invention relates to a grid closure, in particular for fastening a grid to a lamp body with a bearing part that can be fastened to the grid, a guide part that can be fastened to the lamp body, and a retaining spring, which has a U-shaped profile, preferably manufactured in one plane, with two longitudinal legs that run essentially parallel to one another and a transverse leg that connects the longitudinal legs, wherein the retaining spring can be slidably received in the guide part in order to detachably connect the grid to the lamp body. In addition, the invention relates to a guide part, in particular for use in a grid closure, a bearing part, in particular for use in a grid closure, which can be fastened to a grid and has means for receiving a retaining spring and a retaining spring, in particular for use in a grid closure.

Such a grid closure as well as a guide part, bearing part and a retaining spring are known to the applicant as in-house state of the art. The bearing part for receiving the retaining spring is attached to the side strips of the grid via a clamp fit. The bearing part serves as a counter bearing for receiving the bent, free ends of the longitudinal legs of a retaining spring. The retaining spring in turn has a substantially S-shaped bend along the longitudinal extension direction of the longitudinal legs, with which the retaining spring can be snapped into a guide part attached to the lamp body.

The guide part has a clamping section with which it can be clamped onto the lamp body. When installed, the retaining spring, which is S-shaped when viewed from the front of the lamp, engages behind the guide part so that the grid part is fixed in the lamp body. The closing force acting between the retaining spring and the guide part acts parallel to the slats of the grid or perpendicular to the plane spanned by the longitudinal legs of the retaining spring. Such grid fasteners must of course be provided on both sides on the side strips of the grid; four grid fasteners are usually used to attach a grid to a lamp body. To insert the retaining springs, the cross legs of which protrude upwards in the installed position, are inserted into the guide parts provided on the lamp body. The grid is then pushed upwards relative to the lamp body until the S-shaped bend on the retaining spring engages behind the guide part of the lamp body and engages on its upper side in the installed position. In this way, the grid 0 is fixed within the lamp body and can only be removed from the lamp by deliberately loosening the bent areas of the retaining spring.

This design already ensures tool-free, one-man assembly of the grids within the light. However, it is associated with the problem that the angle of the bearing part(s) is adjusted if there are shape tolerances in the side bar, so that the S-shaped bend in the retaining spring is also shifted due to the firm fixation to the side bar by means of the counter bearing. If the shape tolerances are too large, this can lead to the retaining spring unintentionally coming loose from the bearing part. In any case, tight manufacturing tolerances must be observed for the manufacture of these grid locks, which are known from the state of the art, since the locking function fails if the shape tolerances are too large.

It is therefore the object of the present invention to further develop a generic grid closure in such a way that

whose holding function ensures the necessary holding function at all times, regardless of the dimensions and shape tolerances of the luminaire body and the grid.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by a grid closure, which is characterized in that at least the transverse leg has an axial section, that the bearing part has means for rotatably receiving the axial section of the retaining spring, that the guide part has at least one recess, which is essentially parallel to the longitudinal axis, preferably attached to the side bar of a grid, for receiving and guiding the longitudinal legs of the retaining spring, and that the retaining spring in the installed state always rests against the guide part under pre-tension within the recess.

In contrast to the prior art, the design according to the invention means that the axial section of the retaining spring is rotatably mounted within the bearing part. The retaining spring always engages the bearing part under pre-tension. The design according to the invention means that the guide part has optimal holding tolerances, since the function of the bearing part/retaining spring only depends on these two parts. The locking function of the grid lock is therefore completely independent of housing tolerances, in particular of the angle of inclination of the side bar of the grid. In contrast to the prior art, the closing force between the guide part and the retaining spring acts parallel to the longitudinal direction of the guide part or the grid.

The guide part according to the invention for use in a grid closure is characterized in that it has at least one recess for receiving and guiding the longitudinal legs of the retaining spring. The guide part is preferably designed at an angle and has a fastening section for fastening the guide part to the lamp body. A plate-like guide section that runs vertically in the installed position is provided as a single piece on the fastening section.

This guide section has a substantially T-shaped recess into which the longitudinal legs of the retaining spring can be inserted and which serve to guide the retaining spring.
5

Preferably, at least the surface of the guide part has an electrically conductive surface and can be clamped to the lamp body in an electrically conductive manner in order to establish the necessary protective contact.

The bearing part according to the invention for use in the grid closure is characterized in that the means for receiving a retaining spring are suitable for rotatably receiving the retaining spring. Preferably, the means receive the cross leg, which has one or more axial sections.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, the bearing section has two tabs that run essentially parallel to one another, connected by a longitudinal leg, and are provided with holes. These holes function as bearings for the axle. The holes are particularly easily produced as bores.

It has also proven to be advantageous to provide gaps that run congruently from the holes to the outer edges of the tabs, the gap size of which is selected so that an axle can be easily pressed into the openings and is held in place in them when used as intended. In this way, the old springs can be easily inserted into the bearing part, i.e. without tools, but are held in place in the openings by the snap-lock-like design of the gaps. As with the guide part, it is equally expedient for at least the surface of the bearing part to be electrically conductive. In addition, a clamping area can be provided for easy assembly, with which the bearing part can be clamped to the grid in an electrically conductive manner in order to ensure protective contact between the components.

It is particularly advantageous if the bearing part is attached to the side bar of the grid, which is preferably U-shaped in the front view, since the grid here has a particularly high flexural rigidity.
5

The retaining spring according to the invention is characterized in that the cross leg has a section designed as an axis. This section is rotatably received by the bearings of the bearing part, which in the simplest embodiment are designed as an opening.

It has proven particularly advantageous to manufacture the entire retaining spring from a round profile.

It is particularly cost-effective if the retaining spring is simply bent from a round wire. Preferably, the longitudinal legs and the transverse leg are in the same plane.

Since in the inventive design of the grid lock the longitudinal legs are guided in the guide part, it is expedient that the free ends are bent over in order to prevent the grid from accidentally falling out of the lamp body. The bent over free ends ensure that the retaining spring in the guide part always remains caught in the fully lowered position of the grid. It has proven to be particularly advantageous that the free ends are bent over in a hook shape, running outwards from the rotation axis of the retaining spring.

To implement the protective contact, at least the surface of the retaining spring should of course have an electrically conductive material in order to ensure the connection between the bearing part, the grid and the lamp body.

For particularly secure installation, it has also proven to be useful that the longitudinal legs have a lower section and an upper section in the installed position, whereby the distance between the longitudinal legs in the lower section

is smaller than that between those of the upper section, so that bevels that function as locking bevels are formed on the retaining spring in the connecting area between the upper and lower sections. When the grid is installed in the lamp body, these locking bevels engage behind the upper support of the guide area of the guide part in the installed position. The slope of the locking bevels also means that the free ends of the longitudinal legs of the retaining spring are pressed together when locked in place.
10

From a manufacturing point of view, it is particularly advantageous if the locking bevels and the bent ends, the longitudinal legs and the transverse leg run in one plane.

The locking mechanism according to the invention, the guide part, the bearing part and the retaining spring according to the invention are shown in the drawing using a preferred embodiment and are described in detail below. They show:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a prior art grid closure for connecting a grid to a lamp body,

Fig. 2 is a detailed view of the retaining spring attached to the side bar of the grid according to the prior art,

Fig. 3 is a front view of a bearing part known from the prior art with a retaining spring attached thereto,

Fig. 4 a front view of the guide part according to the invention ,

Fig. 5 a plan view along the arrow V of the guide part

according to Figure 4,
35

Fig. 6 is a front view along the arrow VI of the guide part according to Figure 4,

7
Fig. 7 is a front view of the bearing part according to the invention,

Fig. 8 is a front view of the bearing part according to the invention

along the arrow VIII according to Fig. 7,
5

Fig. 9 is a plan view of a retaining spring according to the invention,

Fig.10 the process of inserting the retaining spring into a guide part in the front view,
10

Fig.11 the retaining spring inserted into the guide part according to Fig. 10,

Fig.12 a front view in section of a grid suspended in a luminaire body in the lowered position,

Fig.13 the process of lifting the grid into the luminaire body into the installation position,

Fig.14 is an enlarged view of the area A according to Fig. 13, Fig.15 is a plan view along the arrow XV according to Fig. 14,

Fig.16 a front view in section of the luminaire according to Fig. 12 in the installation position of the grid,

Fig.17 a side view in section along the arrow XVII according to Figure 12,

Fig.18 a side view in section along the arrow XVIII according to Figure 13,

Fig.19 a side view in section along the arrow XIX

according to Figure 16 and
35

Fig.20 a side view in section of the grid completely inserted into the luminaire body.

· n

· 4

According to Figures 1-3, which show a prior art grid closure, this consists of a bearing part 3 that can be connected to the side bar 1 of a grid 2. The bearing part 3 is clamped onto the U-shaped area of the side bar 1 in the front view. The bearing part 3 connects the side bar 1 of the grid 2 with a retaining spring 4.

The retaining spring 4 has, in the longitudinal direction of the longitudinal legs 5, an essentially S-shaped locking area 6 in the area of the free ends of the essentially U-shaped retaining spring. In the installed position, this locking area 6 engages behind the top of a guide part 8 placed on the lamp body 7, so that in the normal case the locking area 6 engages behind the guide part 8 in order to fix the grid 2 in relation to the lamp body 7. The longitudinal legs 5 of the retaining spring 4 are connected to one another via a transverse leg 9. The free ends 10 are bent outwards in a Z-shape from the axis of rotation in order to fix the retaining spring 4 in the bearing part in a torsionally rigid manner. Tabs 11 are formed on the bearing part 3, which engage around the free ends 10 of the retaining spring 4.

In the installed position, a clamping force B acts along the arrow in Fig. 2 from the guide part 8 to the retaining spring 4. The clamping force B acting between the retaining spring 4 and the guide part 8 depends to a large extent on the inclination of the side bar 1 of the grid 2. If the side bar 1 is inclined too far inwards - towards the middle of the lamp - it may be that the holding force B sufficient for the clamping fit is no longer sufficient. The functionality of the grid lock is therefore dependent on the manufacturing tolerances of the grid lock, in particular the angle of inclination of the side bar 1 of the grid 2.

The present invention was developed to avoid these disadvantages. The invention consists of a guide part 12, a bearing part 13 and a retaining spring 14. Guide part 12, bearing part 13 and the retaining spring 14 have

electrically conductive surfaces to ensure the necessary protective contact between the components.

Figure 4 shows the guide part 12 according to the invention in the front view. The guide part 12 is designed as a sheet metal part which has a guide area 15 which is vertical in the installed position and a clamping area 16 which is essentially at a right angle to it. The clamping area 16 can be used to clamp the guide part to a lamp body in an electrically conductive manner.

The guide part 12 has a recess 17 in the guide area 15, which is designed as an elongated hole and has essentially a T-shaped configuration. The longitudinal legs 22 of the retaining spring 14, which will be described later, are guided and held in the end areas of the recess 17.

Figures 7 and 8 show the bearing part 13, which is also designed as a sheet metal part. The bearing part 13 also has a clamping area 18 with which it can be clamped to the side bar of a grid in an electrically conductive manner. Both the guide part 12 and the bearing part 13 have claws that ensure this electrical clamping fit. These claws 19 of the bearing part 13 are visible in Figure 7. At the outer ends of the clamping area 18, bearing sections designed as tabs 20 are provided, which are molded onto the clamping area 18 at right angles to it. These tabs 20 have openings designed as holes 21, which together accommodate the axial section of the retaining spring 14. From the holes 21 to the outer edges of the tabs 20, gaps run congruently with one another, the gap size of which is selected such that the axial section of the retaining spring 14 can be easily pressed into the opening and is captive in it when used as intended.

Figure 9 shows a retaining spring 14 according to the invention. The retaining spring 14 is made of an electrically conductive wire bent in one plane. The wire is bent in a U-shape and has

two longitudinal legs 22 running parallel to one another and a transverse leg 23 connecting the longitudinal legs 22. The transverse leg 23 acts as an axis which is rotatably received in the holes 21 of the tabs 20 of the bearing part 13. The free ends of the retaining spring 14 are bent outwards away from the axis of rotation 24.

The longitudinal legs 22 have a lower section 25 in the installed position and an upper section 26 in the installed position. The distance between the longitudinal legs 22 in the lower section 25 is smaller than the distance between those in the upper section 26, so that bevels that function as locking bevels 27 are formed on the retaining spring 14 in the connecting area between the upper 26 and lower section 25. These locking bevels 27 engage behind the top of the guide area 15 of the guide part 12 in the installed position.

In Figures 10 and 11, the guide part 12, bearing part 13 and retaining spring 14 are shown assembled in the front view. The guide part 12 is attached to a lamp body (not shown in detail) and the bearing part 13 is connected to a grid (not shown in detail).

At the beginning of the grid assembly, the grid 29 is hung on one side of the grid 29 using the fastener(s) (see also Fig. 12). To do this, grasp the retaining spring 14 of the corresponding fastener(s) between two fingers, press the parallel, upward-pointing longitudinal legs 22 of the retaining spring 14 together and insert them through the recess 17 of the corresponding guide part 12 in the lamp body. The retaining spring 14 can now be released. The retaining spring 14 slides downwards in the recess 17 of the guide part 12 until the outwardly angled free ends 28 of the retaining spring 14 lie on the guide area 15 of the guide part 12. The retaining spring 14 is slightly tensioned in this position .

The grid 29 is now attached by means of the fastener(s).

side in the lamp body 30. With the first contact of the retaining springs 14 with the guide parts 12 in the lamp, the protective contact between the grid 29 and the lamp body 30 is established.
5

To further insert the grid 29 into the lamp body 30, the grid 29 is brought approximately into the horizontal position and the other closure(s) are hooked into the guide parts 12 in the same way. The grid 29 in the hooked state in the lamp body 30 is shown in Figure 12.

The grid 29 can now be pushed vertically upwards into its operating position. The process of pushing it up is shown in Figure 13. The retaining spring 14, which is pushed from bottom to top through the guide areas or the recesses 17 of the guide parts 12, is further tensioned until the point on the retaining spring 14 at which the locking bevels 27 inclined at approximately 60° begin passes the guide of the guide parts 12 and the reaction forces of the retaining springs 14 pull the grid 29 upwards into the lamp body into the operating position via the part inclined at approximately 60°.

It is harmless if the grid is moved sideways in the direction of the locks during the upward movement, because the guide parts 12 in the lamp body 30 are designed in such a way that an upper stop edge 31 and a lower stop edge 32 allow the retaining springs 14 to emerge laterally from the lamp body in any case, as can be seen in Figure 13. This is particularly advantageous if the side strips 33 of the grid 29 are low, because even then the retaining spring 14 is not visible above the side strips.

The position of the bearing point of the retaining spring 14 in the bearing part 13 is selected in relation to the position of the guide part 12 so that the retaining spring 14 is guided closely to the lamp body 30 during movement as well as in the operating position.

This can be seen in particular from Figure 16. In this way, the retaining springs 14 protruding from the sides of the lamp body are prevented from coming into contact with any parts of the ceiling fastening.
5

The retaining spring 14 is designed in such a way that the lower section 25 of the two longitudinal legs 22 is parallel and the distance between them is so large that the protective contact between the guide part 12 and the retaining spring 14 is maintained in this area of the retaining spring when the grid 29 is pressed upwards into the lamp body beyond the operating position.

Due to the way the retaining spring 14 works in the longitudinal direction of the side strips 33, no transverse forces caused by the closure act on them, so that deformation of the lower edge of the side strip 33 is avoided. In addition, no forces caused by the closure act transversely on the lamp body 30, so that the visible gap between the lamp body and the lower edge of the side strip 33, which is known from the prior art, does not widen in the area of the closures. This means that the visible gap remains the same width over the entire length of the lamp.

To better illustrate the insertion of the grid 29 into the lamp body 30, this process is shown again in the side view in Figures 17 20. As can be seen from the figures, the bent free ends 28 of the retaining spring 14 prevent the retaining spring 14 from falling out of the guide part 12, so that one-handed assembly without tools is possible. The pre-tension of the retaining spring 14 is sufficient to ensure the protective contact between the retaining spring 14 and the guide part 12 at all times.

In Figure 20, the grid 29 is shown in its fully inserted position (installation position).

LIPPERT, STACHOW, SCHMIDT & PARTNER

Patent Attorneys European Patent Attorneys- European Trademark Attorneys PO. Box 30 02 08, D-51412 Bergisch Gladbach Telephone +49(0)22 04.92 33-0 Fax +49(0)22 04.6 26 06

Bo/mk 29 March 1999

TRILUX-LENZE GmbH +Co. KG 59759 Arnsberg

Grid closure List of reference symbols

I Sidebar 2 Grid

3 Bearing part

4 retaining spring

5 Longitudinal legs

6 Rest area

0 7 Lamp body

8 Guide part

9 Cross legs

10 free end

II Tabs

12 Guide part

13 Bearing part

14 Retaining spring

15 Management area

16 Clamping range

0 17 Recess

18 Clamping range

19 Claw

20 tab

21 holes

22 Longitudinal legs

23 Cross legs

24 Rotation axis

25 lower section

26 upper section

27 Locking bevel

28 free end

29 grids

30 luminaire bodies

31 upper stop edge

32 lower stop edge

33 Sidebar

14

Claims (17)

15 LIPPERT, STACHOW, SCHMIDT & PARTNER Bo/mk Patent Attorneys European Patent Attorneys European Trademark Attorneys P.O.Box 30 0208, D-51412 Bergisch Gladbach 29 March 1999 Telephone +49(0)22 04.92 33-0
Fax +49(0)22 04.6 26 06 TRILUX-LENZE GmbH +Co. KG 59759 Arnsberg Grid closure Expectations 1. Grid lock, in particular for fastening a grid to a lamp body, with a bearing part that can be fastened to the grid, a guide part that can be fastened to the lamp body, and a retaining spring that has a substantially U-shaped profile with two longitudinal legs and a transverse leg connecting the longitudinal legs, the retaining spring being slidably received in the guide part in order to detachably connect the grid to the lamp body, characterized in that the transverse leg (23) has an axial section, that the bearing part (13) has means for rotatably receiving the axial section of the retaining spring (14), that the guide part (12) has at least one recess for receiving and guiding the longitudinal legs (22) of the retaining spring (14), and that the retaining spring (14) in the inserted state always rests against the guide part (12) under pretension within the recess (17). 2. Guide part, in particular for use in a grid closure according to claim 1, characterized in characterized in that the guide part (12) has at least one recess (17) for receiving and guiding the longitudinal legs (22) of the retaining spring (14). 4 · 3. Guide part according to claim 2, characterized by a guide area (15) which is horizontal in the installed position and a clamping area (16) with which the guide part (12) can be clamped to the lamp body (30) in an electrically conductive manner. 4. Guide part according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that at least its surface is electrically conductive. 5. Bearing part, in particular for use in a grid closure according to claim 1, which can be fastened to a grid and has means for receiving a retaining spring,
characterized in that the means rotatably receive the retaining spring (14). 6. Bearing part according to claim 5, characterized in
that the bearing section (20) has two tabs which run essentially parallel to one another and are connected to one another by a longitudinal leg and are provided with holes (21). 7. Bearing part according to claim 6, characterized
by means of gaps which extend congruently from the holes (21) to the outer edges of the tabs, the gap size of which is selected such that an axle can be easily pressed into the openings and is captive therein when used as intended. 8. Bearing part according to claim 5 to 7, characterized in
that at least its surface is electrically conductive. 9. Bearing part according to one of claims 5 to 8, characterized by a clamping area (18) with which the bearing part (13) can be clamped to the grid (29) in an electrically conductive manner. 10. Bearing part according to one of claims 5 to 9, which can be fastened to a side bar (33) of a grid (29). 11. Retaining spring, in particular for use in a grid closure according to claim 1, which has a substantially U-shaped profile with two longitudinal legs running substantially parallel to one another and a transverse leg connecting the longitudinal legs, characterized in that the transverse leg (23) has a section designed as an axis. 12. Retaining spring according to claim 11, characterized in that it is made entirely from a round profile. 13. Retaining spring according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that it is bent from a round wire. 14. Retaining spring according to one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the longitudinal legs have free ends, characterized in that the free ends (28) are bent over. 15. Retaining spring according to one of claims 11 to 14, characterized
characterized in that at least the surface of the retaining spring (14) comprises an electrically conductive material. 16. Retaining spring according to one of claims 11 to 15, characterized
characterized in that the longitudinal legs (22) have a lower section (25) and an upper section (26) in the installed position, and that the distance between the longitudinal legs (22) in the lower section (25) is smaller than that between those of the upper section (26), so that on the retaining spring (14) in the connecting area between the upper (26) and the lower section (25) there are locking bevels (27) acting as locking bevels 18
Slopes are formed. 17. Retaining spring according to claim 16, characterized in that the locking bevels (27) and the bent ends (28), the longitudinal legs (22) and the transverse leg (23) run in one plane.