EP2282380A1

EP2282380A1 - Lamp supporting device

Info

Publication number: EP2282380A1
Application number: EP10170873A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Gianfranco Cinel
Original assignee: Belfiore Srl
Current assignee: Belfiore Srl
Priority date: 2009-08-07
Filing date: 2010-07-27
Publication date: 2011-02-09
Also published as: ITVI20090213A1; IT1395309B1

Abstract

Lamp supporting device (1) comprising a supporting structure (2) which receives an electric feeding group (3) of the lamp supporter (4) connected to it. The lamp supporter (4) has a shaped profile (5) having two couples of housings (6, 7) suitable for receiving the conjugated profile of two couples of coupling means. Each couple of coupling means (8a, 8b, 9a, 9b) belongs to the connection of a lamp, such that the first couple (6a, 6b) of the housings (6a, 6b, 7a, 7b) is suitable for receiving the conjugated profile of the coupling means belonging to the connection of a first lamp and the second couple (7a, 7b) of the housings (6a, 6b, 7a, 7b) is suitable for receiving the conjugated profile of the coupling means belonging to the connection of a second lamp. The first and second lamp having different powers. (Fig. 1).

Description

The present invention relates to an improved lamp supporting device, particularly but not exclusively recommended for fluorescent lamps.
As known, conventional lamps consist of a glass bulb and a connection at the end of which electrodes are arranged, which are supplied with power by a transformer group.
There are numerous types of lamp currently on the market and each lamp has its connection shaped differently to lamps having a different power from it, so that each lamp having a certain power corresponds to a clearly defined profile of the connection of the lamp.
Each shaped connection of each lamp is associated with a lamp support having a shaped profile that receives the conjugated profile of the connection of a lamp having a certain power.
Consequently, lamps of different power couple with different conjugated profiles of lamp supports.
Known lamp supporting devices nevertheless have some drawbacks.
They are due to the fact that each lamp support on the inside has a shaped profile that can just receive the shaped connection of a lamp having a certain power.
Consequently, it is necessary to make lamp supports having different shaped profiles for lamps having different powers and this involves substantial manufacturing and workforce costs.
The purpose of the present invention is to solve the aforementioned drawback.
In particular, the purpose of the present invention is to make a lamp supporting device provided with a shaped profile capable of housing the shaped connection of lamps having different powers to each other.
The aforementioned purpose is achieved by the present invention relating to a lamp supporting device the main characteristics of which are in accordance with the teachings of the main claim.
Further characteristics of the lamp supporting device according to the invention are the object of the dependent claims.
Advantageously, the lamp supporting device according to the present invention comprises a basic plate provided with slits suitable for housing fixing means to fix such a device to a lighting device.
The aforementioned purpose and the aforementioned advantage will be highlighted more clearly by the description of a preferred embodiment, which is given for indicating but not limiting purposes, with reference to the attached tables of drawings in which:

fig. 1 shows an axonometric view of the device according to the present invention;
fig. 2 shows a section view of the device of fig. 1;
figs. 3 and 4 show two different front views of the connections of two lamps having different powers;
fig. 5 shows a section view of a detail of the device of fig. 1;
fig. 6 shows a plan view of a further detail of the device of fig. 1.

As can be seen in figs. 1 and 2, the lamp supporting device of the invention is wholly indicated with 1 and comprises a supporting structure 2 that receives an electric feeding group 3 of a lamp support 4 connected to it.
In accordance with the present invention, the lamp supporting device 1 has a shaped profile 5 having two pairs of housings 6 and 7 suitable for receiving the conjugated profile of two pairs of coupling means, which are shown in figs. 3 and 4 and are respectively indicated with 8a, 8b, 9a and 9b.
With reference to fig. 1, it is possible to see the device 1 as a whole and it can be seen that the supporting structure 2 has an L-shaped prismatic configuration having different sides.
The feeding group 3 is housed in the longer side of the supporting structure 2, whereas the lamp support 4 is housed in the shorter side of the supporting structure 2 of the device 1.
The electric feeding group is of the known type; in particular, the feeding group 3 of fig. 2 relates to a fluorescent lamp and comprises an inductance (not shown) commonly called reactor, which allows the lamp to operate.
Again with reference to fig. 2, it can be seen that in the shaped profile 5 of the lamp-supporting socket 4 there are check elastic means 16 of the coupling means 8a, 8b, 9a and 9b of two lamps, positioned inside the housings 6a, 6b, 7a and 7b.
With reference to figs. 3, 4 and 5, it can be seen that each pair of coupling means quoted above belongs to the connection of one of the two lamps, so that the first pair 6 of housings 6a and 6b receives the conjugated profile of the coupling means 8a and 8b belonging to the connection 10 of a first lamp and the second pair 7 of the housings 7a and 7b receives the conjugated profile of the coupling means 9a and 9b belonging to the connection 11 of a second lamp.
The aforementioned first lamp and the aforementioned second lamp, with their respective connections 10 and 11, have different powers to one another.
With reference to fig. 5, the housings 6a, 6b, 7a and 7b that constitute the first and the second pair of housings 6, 7 of the shaped profile 5 are arranged according to the profile of a quadrilateral; more specifically, the first and the second pair of housings 6, 7 are respectively arranged according to a first diagonal 14 and a second diagonal 15 of such a quadrilateral.
In this way, when the coupling means 8a and 8b of the first lamp are inserted into the shaped profile 5 of the lamp supporter 4, they are positioned in the housings 6a and 6b, i.e. along the first diagonal 14 of the quadrilateral-shaped profile. In the same way, when the coupling means 9a and 9b of the second lamp are inserted, they are positioned in the housings 7a and 7b of the shaped profile 5 along the second diagonal 15 of the quadrilateral-shaped profile.
The lamp supporting device 1 comprises a basic plate 17, visible in fig. 6, which has two joined ends and two slits 18 each having an elongated shape joined at the ends.
The basic plate 17 receives fixing means (not shown in the figures), for example screws, so as to be able to fix the lamp supporting device 1 to a lighting device.
Operatively, the lamps that are housed in the device according to the invention are preferably 18W and 26W lamps, but lamps having different powers can also be used.
The possibility of using lamps of different power in the device according to the finding depends upon the fact that in the supporting structure 2 an electronic circuit is housed that, in per sè known ways, is able to recognise the power of said lamps and consequently is able to adjust their power feed, so that they operate in an optima manner. In this way it is possible, with a single lamp support, to use lamps that have different types of mechanical connections and that, per sè, would be suitable for operating only with a specific lamp support.
From the attached figures it can be seen how the holes foreseen in the electric socket of the lamp support (see fig. 5) are identical to those present in the sockets present in conventional lamp supports (figs. 3 and 4), suitable for lamps of different electrical power. The same can be said for the jacks present on electric lamps of different power, the configuration and arrangement of which is always the same, whatever the power of the relative lamp.
From what has been described it can be understood that the lamp supporting device according to the present invention achieves the predetermined purpose of making a lamp supporting device provided with a shaped profile capable of housing the shaped connection of lamps having different powers to one another.
The lamp supporting device according to the present invention can undergo modifications that, should they be covered by the scope of the following claims, must be considered to be protected by the present patent.

Claims

A LAMP SUPPORTING DEVICE (1) comprising a supporting structure (2) which receives an electric feeding group (3) of a lamp supporter (4) connected to said device (1), characterised in that said lamp supporter (4) presents a shaped profile (5) having two couples of housings (6, 7) suitable for receiving the conjugated profile of two couples of coupling means (8a, 8b, 9a, 9b), each couple of coupling means (8a, 8b, 9a, 9b) belonging to the connection (10, 11) of a lamp, such that the first couple (6a, 6b) of said housings (6a, 6b, 7a, 7b) is suitable for receiving the conjugated profile of the coupling means (8a, 8b) belonging to the connection (10) of a first lamp and the second couple (7a, 7b) of said housings (6a, 6b, 7a, 7b) is suitable for receiving the conjugated profile of the coupling means (9a, 9b) belonging to the connection (11) of a second lamp, said first lamp and said second lamp having different powers.
A LAMP SUPPORTING DEVICE (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that said housings (6, 7) that make said first couple (8a, 8b) and said second couple (9a, 9b) of housings of said shaped profile (5) are located according a quadrilateral profile.
A LAMP SUPPORTING DEVICE (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that said first couple and said second couple of housings (6a, 6b, 7a, 7b) of said shaped profile (5) are located respectively along a first (14) and a second diagonal (15) of said quadrilateral.
A LAMP SUPPORTING DEVICE (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that said feeding group (3) and said lamp supporter (4) are connected in such a way that they form a supporting structure (2) that presents a substantially L-shaped prismatic configuration having different sides.
A LAMP SUPPORTING DEVICE (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that said feeding group (3) and said lamp supporter (4) make respectively the longer and the shorter side of said prismatic configuration.
A LAMP SUPPORTING DEVICE (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that said supporting structure (2) of said device (1) comprises a basic plate (17).
A LAMP SUPPORTING DEVICE (1) according to claim 6, characterised in that said basic plate (17) is provided with through holes, each one being suitable for receiving fixing means in order to fix said device (1) to a lighting device.
A LAMP SUPPORTING DEVICE (1) according to claim 7, characterised in that said through holes of said basic plate (17) are a couple of slits (18), each one presenting an elongated profile radiused at its ends.
A LAMP SUPPORTING DEVICE (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that it foresees check elastic means (16) of said coupling means (8a, 8b, 9a, 9b) of said lamps, located internally to said housings (6a, 6b, 7a, 7b).