EP0816753A2

EP0816753A2 - A lighting armature

Info

Publication number: EP0816753A2
Application number: EP97201545A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Christiaan Karel Hiemstra
Original assignee: Lumiance BV
Current assignee: Lumiance BV
Priority date: 1996-06-12
Filing date: 1997-05-27
Publication date: 1998-01-07
Also published as: EP0816753A3; NL1003319C2

Abstract

The invention relates to a lighting armature (1) provided with a housing (2), which comprises an edge (3) projecting outside said housing at one end thereof, and with resilient tongues (7), which are attached to the housing (2) near one end and which extend from their points (5) of attachment to the housing in the direction of said projecting edge (3), wherein the resilient tongues (7) are configured such that the distance between said resilient tongues (7) and the nearby wall portion of the housing (2) gradually increases in the direction of said projecting edge (3).

Description

The invention relates to a lighting armature provided with a housing, which comprises an edge projecting outside said housing at one end thereof, and with resilient tongues, which are attached to the housing near one end and which extend from their points of attachment to the housing in the direction of said projecting edge.

Such a lighting armature or so-called built-in spotlight may for example be fixed to a ceiling plate, whereby the ceiling plate in question is provided with a hole for passing the housing therethrough, all this in such a manner that in the mounted condition of the lighting armature the projecting edge abuts against the side of the ceiling plate or the like that is exposed to view, with the lighting armature being held in the desired position with respect to said ceiling plate as a result of the fact that the ceiling plate is retained between the edge projecting outside the housing and the resilient tongues attached to said housing.

With the constructions that have been usual so far the hole must have a particular diameter, which diameter is selected in dependence of the size of the housing, and which must be held within close tolerances in order to ensure that the resilient tongues engage the edge of the hole in an effective manner, thus providing an effective locking of the lighting armature.

In practice it has become apparent that in many cases, especially when the forming of the hole does not take place in a very expert manner, the required dimensional accuracy of the hole is not provided, which may result in the lighting mechanism falling from the ceiling when ceiling plates having incorrectly dimensioned holes are used. The forming of holes having the correct dimensions must be carried out with great precision, which will generally require a comparatively great deal of time.

The object of the invention is to provide a lighting armature of the kind referred to above, wherein less severe demands are made with regard to the dimensional accuracy of a hole formed in a ceiling plate or the like, which hole is provided in order to pass the housing therethrough when mounting the lighting armature, whilst it is nevertheless possible to ensure an effective fixation of the lighting armature to the ceiling plate or the like.

According to the invention this objective may be accomplished in that said resilient tongues are configured such that the distance between said resilient tongues and the nearby wall portion of the housing gradually increases in the direction of said projecting edge.

When using the construction according to the invention the parts of the resilient tongues remote from the points of attachment, which function to retain the armature in its mounted condition, can be depressed in a direction towards the outer wall of the housing over a comparatively large distance and also move back again in a direction away from the housing under the influence of their own resilience. As a result of this an effective engagement of the edges of holes provided in ceiling plates or the like by the resilient tongues is ensured, also when the diameters of said holes vary rather strongly and/or when said holes are shaped irregularly, for example when they are not exactly circular.

The forming of holes in the ceiling plates does not need to be carried out with great precision, therefore, so that also less skilful persons will be able to mount armatures of this type in a simple and quick manner, without any risk of ceiling plates or the like being rejected due to the fact that they comprise holes whose dimensions render them unsuitable for mounting lighting armatures therein.

The invention will be explained in more detail hereafter with reference to an embodiment of the lighting armature according to the invention illustrated in the accompanying Figures.

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic, perspective view of a lighting armature according to the invention.

Figure 2 is a smaller-scale plan view of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a view of a fixing element made of a resilient material.

The Figures shows a lighting armature 1 comprising a housing 2, of which at least the lower part exhibits an increasing diameter in the direction of an edge 3 which is fixed to the lower end of housing 2 and which projects outside said housing 2. Lighting armatures of this kind, in which a lamp (not shown) will be fitted and which are also referred to as "built-in spotlights", are generally known per se, so that it will not be necessary to describe such a lighting armature 1 in detail herein.

U-shaped mounting brackets 4 are provided in regularly spaced-apart relationship on the outer circumference of housing 2, some distance above edge 3. Inserted in said mounting brackets 4 are the upper ends 5 of fixing elements 6, which are made of a resilient material. The upper ends 5 of fixing elements 6, which are passed through brackets 4, are narrower than the adjoining elongated parts or tongues 7, which extend under said brackets 4 in the direction of edge 3, so that shoulders 7∩ are formed near the transition between

parts

5 and 7, which shoulders abut against the bottom side of bracket 4. A lip 5∩ is cut out of end 5, which lip engages the inner wall of bracket 4 in the position illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, so that fixing element 6 is locked in position with respect to bracket 4 by means of the aforesaid shoulders 7∩ and lip 5∩.

As is apparent in particular from the right-hand part of Figure 1, the distance between tongue 7 of said fixing element and the outer side of housing 2 gradually increases in a direction away from bracket 4, that is, in a direction towards edge 3.

Resilient tongue 7 comprises a lower part 8 of fixing element 6, which, when mounted on housing 2 and being in unloaded condition, extends substantially parallel to the central axis of housing 2, at least substantially tangentially with respect to a circle extending concentrically round the central axis, which circle touches part 8 near its centre. Part 8 is thereby positioned near the outer circumference of edge 3, seen in the direction of the central axis of housing 2.

Adjoining one side of part 8 is an arm 9, whose lower boundary edge 10 slopes upwards from edge 3. As is apparent in particular from Figure 2, finger 10 is curved outwards with respect to part 8. An upwardly extending finger 11 adjoins the free end of arm 9.

The above-described armature may be inserted into a hole in the direction indicated by arrow A (Figure 1), which hole is for example provided in a ceiling plate or the like (not shown), all this in such a manner that in the end position housing 2 will be positioned behind the ceiling plate for the greater part, whilst edge 3 will abut against the side of the ceiling plate that will remain exposed to view. At one point during said insertion the resilient fingers 9 of fixing elements 6 will come into contact with the boundary edge of the hole in question, whereby the parts of fixing elements 6 that project under brackets 4 will be pushed in the direction of housing 2.

It will be apparent that the above-described configuration of resilient fixing elements 6 makes it possible in particular for the lower parts 8 of tongues 7, and also for the

adjoining parts

9 and 11, to move out in the direction of housing 2 over a relatively large distance, to which movement the person carrying out said mounting operation may contribute by exerting a pushing force on tongues 11 when inserting the unit into the hole provided in the ceiling. After having passed the ceiling plate the respective parts of the resilient fixing elements 6 can move back again under the influence of their own resilience, in a direction away from housing 2, so as to engage the boundary edge of the respective hole in the ceiling plate, on the side of the respective ceiling plate that faces away from edge 3.

It will be apparent that as a result of the fact that the resilient tongues 7 can be depressed over a comparatively large distance in the direction of the housing and are capable of moving back again under the influence of their own resilience, it is possible to insert the lighting armature into holes exhibiting comparatively strongly varying dimensions, whilst the resilient tongues 7 still engage the boundary edge of such a hole with their lower parts 8 or with the edges 10 of arms 9 in an effective manner in their sprung-back position.

The sloping configuration of the edges 10 of arms 9 possibly engaging the side of a ceiling plate remote from edge 3 makes it possible to accommodate large differences in the thickness of the ceiling plate or the like, which may for example range from 1 - 25 mm.

It will be apparent that the invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and illustrated in the Figures. Instead of using three resilient fixing elements 6, as in the illustrated embodiment, it will for example also be possible to use only two diametrically opposite resilient fixing elements 6 or more than three fixing elements 6, depending on the size of the armature.

Claims

A lighting armature provided with a housing, which comprises an edge projecting outside said housing at one end thereof, and with resilient tongues, which are attached to the housing near one end and which extend from their points of attachment to the housing in the direction of said projecting edge, characterized in that said resilient tongues are configured such that the distance between said resilient tongues and the nearby wall portion of the housing gradually increases in the direction of said projecting edge.
Alighting armature according to claim 1, characterized in that a resilient tongue comprises an elongated part extending from said point of attachment in the direction of said edge, whereby a further part, which extends at least substantially parallel to a plane through the central axis of said armature in unloaded condition, adjoins the end of said elongated part that is positioned near said edge.
A lighting armature according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that an arm extending transversely to said tongue adjoins the end of the elongated resilient tongue extending in the direction of said edge from the point of attachment that is positioned near said edge, with the boundary edge of said arm facing the edge of said armature sloping upwards towards its free end in a direction away from the edge of said armature.
A lighting armature according to claim 3, characterized in that said arm is curved outwards from its point of attachment to the free end of said resilient tongue, seen in the direction of the central axis of the housing.
A lighting armature according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that a finger extending in a direction away from the edge of said armature adjoins the end of said arm that faces away from said resilient tongue.
A lighting armature according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, seen in the direction of the central axis of said housing, the end of said resilient tongue located near the edge of said armature is positioned near the outer circumference of the edge in the unloaded condition.
A lighting armature according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the upper end of a resilient tongue that is accommodated in a bracket fixed to the housing is narrower than the part of the resilient tongue that projects under said bracket.
Alighting armature according to claim 7, characterized in that the part of the resilient tongue that is positioned within the bracket comprises a cut-out lip extending outwards from said part, which lip engages said bracket.