FR2702268A3 - Segment for a linear lighting device and device provided with such a segment. - Google Patents

Abstract

The segment (20) designed for a linear lighting device having a plurality of fluorescent lamps (2) and compact fluorescent lamps having a single base contained in a mounting element (8) and mounted alternately against a body (1), comprises a U-shaped profile (21) in which electrical components are housed to supply the lamps. The components are present in an open housing which can be coupled in a watertight manner to the profile (21). The housing can be fixed to a support which is the part of the segment (20) to be mounted against a body (1) of the lighting device. The segment (20) allows quick and easy assembly of a device of any length and easy replacement of components.

Description

i

  "Segment for a linear lighting device and device provided with such a segment".

  The invention relates to a segment for a linear lighting device comprising tubular fluorescent lamps to be mounted in line against a body and each having end portions provided with their own base, alternating with compact fluorescent lamps each provided with a single base facing the body, said segment is provided with a substantially U-shaped profile having a base and legs, in which are arranged components for the electrical supply of fluorescent lamps, and which is further provided with means for fixing a element of

  mounting comprising sockets for fluorescent lamps.

  The invention also relates to a linear lighting device provided

of such a segment.

  Such a linear lighting device and a segment for said device

  are known from document EP 0 514 963-A 2.

  The known linear lighting device allows uniform illumination of the body Unlike other linear lighting devices comprising only tubular fluorescent lamps, this device does not cause interruptions in the lighting configuration due to the relatively black end portions. tubular lamps, as well as the caps and sockets in which they are kept and which emit no light Compact fluorescent lamps having a relatively high luminosity compensate for the lack of light in said black places in

other devices.

  When the device known from document EP 0 514 963-A 2 is arranged behind a light-transmitting screen, said screen can also be illuminated uniformly. For applications in the air and for applications in humid spaces, it is desirable that the power components can be protected from the environment in a waterproof manner. It is also desirable that

  however, the device can be installed easily.

  The invention aims to provide a segment for a linear lighting device of the type defined in the preamble which offers the possibility of protecting the power supply components from the environment in a watertight manner and which nevertheless is of simple construction allowing easy installation of the linear lighting device provided with said segment The invention also aims to provide a

  linear lighting device provided with such a segment.

  According to the invention, this object is achieved because an open housing comprising supply components is present in the substantially U-shaped profile.

  of the segment, said housing being able to be coupled to the profile in a watertight manner.

  The segment can have a length which is chosen from a plurality of lengths The segment can be designed, for example, to accommodate a single tubular lamp of 36 W, with a length of the order of 120 cm as well as a single lamp compact The segment then has a length of the order of 128 cm In another way, the segment can comprise a single tubular lamp of the order of 58 W measuring approximately 150 cm and a single compact lamp to then have a length of some 158 cm However, in another embodiment the segment has a multiple of one of these lengths, or it comprises, in addition to a tubular lamp of one of the above-mentioned lengths, one or more tubular lamps of the other length In a practical device, the type (s) of the segments used depends on

  the length of the body including the linear lighting device.

  Given the considerable length that a segment can present and given that each lamp must be supplied by connecting its base (s) to the supply, it is practical to house the supply components of a compact lamp and of a tubular lamp in the profile, in the proximity of these lamps This is why a segment comprising, for example, two or three tubular lamps can have two or three housings. The segment according to the invention makes it possible to lay the cables between the boxes -t, if necessary, also between the neighboring segments and to then introduce them into the profile in order to also mount them there in a watertight manner. '' a connection to fluorescent lamp sockets, a cable can leave, for example, watertight from the profile In another way, such a cable can come out of a watertight manner from a wall, such as an end wall of the housing

  and extend to the sockets through, or following the profile.

  In an advantageous embodiment, the profile present at the base of the open gutters located one opposite the other and opposite the legs. Jointly, said open gutters can constitute means for fixing a mounting element A For this purpose, the mounting element may have a flange having a first dimension less than the spacing separating the open channels and a second dimension greater than said spacing. The mounting element can then be arranged with its flange between the open channels and be coupled to gutters like a bayonet by imposing an angular rotation being, for example, equal to 90 A screen can also be mounted by equipping the supports for said screen with a similar flange to couple them in the same way to the profile while using the channels In the finished device, the lamps can be located behind said screen A cable or wires can come out of the element nt mounting to be connected to a cable leaving the segment However it is advantageous that the mounting element covers an opening in the profile and that, for example, a cable

  leaving the mounting element is connected, for example, to a cable leaving the segment.

  If the opening provided in the profile has not yet been sealed around the corresponding cable, the mounting element can be mounted, if necessary by storing a

  seal such as a tight ring or disc.

  In an advantageous embodiment, the housing is fixed to a support designed to be mounted against a body of the linear lighting device. In this embodiment, the support can be mounted against the body and cables emerging from a housing, by example, through one of its end walls, can be guided to

  neighboring segments in a watertight manner, for example, using grommets.

  The support can be a plate, such as a flat plate, but in another way it can be, for example, a substantially U-shaped channel having a base and

  legs Such a channel has the advantage of being more rigid than a plate.

  In a more particular embodiment, the support present on the legs of the flanges comprises hooks directed inwards and constituting a snap-on assembly with first edges provided on the housing. What is attractive is that a coupling is already made when a box is placed in its place in the support This is easy when a device mounted, for example against a ledge, requires maintenance and a box has to be replaced However, if necessary, the box can be fixed additionally, for example, with screws against the support For this purpose, screws can be passed, for example, through openings drilled on the outside of end walls of the housings so that it is not necessary to '' use sealing means between said screws and the housing to maintain its

water tightness.

  In one embodiment, the substantially U-shaped profile has flanges on the legs having hooks directed inwards constituting a snap-on assembly with second edges provided on the housing. The attractive aspect of this embodiment is that only the installation of a housing

  in the profile results in coupling This is easy when assembling the segment.

  This is also important when a device is mounted against a body or in case of maintenance of an already mounted device. The mechanic who replaces the profile surrounding a box fixed to a support has both hands free to tighten the profile against

  the case, for example, with screws to ensure water tightness.

  In one embodiment of the segment, the power supply components arranged in the housing are present on a component holder fixed against a split sleeve provided on the wall of the housing. The component holder facilitates the mounting of the components in the housing. be fixed on the component holder in freely chosen places, that is to say according to their shape and size,

  for example, using screws, tubular rivets, and the like The holder

  components can be fixed on the housing without the need to drill a wall of the housing for this purpose Screws or, for example, tubular rivets can easily be fixed in the slot Therefore, it is not necessary to drill a housing wall. An embodiment of the segment and of the device according to the invention is illustrated in the appended drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a perspective view, FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the segment of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 illustrates the open segment of the previous figure and Figure 4 illustrates a cross section of a mounting element of the

previous figures.

  In FIG. 1, the segment for a linear lighting device comprising tubular fluorescent lamps 2 mounted in line against a body 1 and each having terminal parts 3 provided with their own base 4, alternating with compact fluorescent lamps 5 each provided with a single base 6 facing the body 1 (see FIG. 4), is mounted against the body 1, in the figure in a cavity provided in said body The segment comprises three tubular fluorescent lamps and

  three compact fluorescent lamps.

  The segment 20 comprises a substantially U-shaped profile 21 having a base 22 and legs 23 in which are housed supply components 24 (see FIG. 3) S for the electrical supply of fluorescent lamps 2, 5, and which is further provided with means 28 for fixing a mounting element 8 comprising sockets 9, 10 (see the

  figure 4) for fluorescent lamps 2, 5.

  Just as the mounting element 8, illustrated in the figure, on the left, can accommodate a second end portion of a tubular fluorescent lamp also mounted in a preceding segment, the tubular fluorescent lamp mounted in the mounting device, illustrated in right in the figure, is housed with its second part

  terminal in a next segment of the device.

  In the substantially U-shaped profile 21 of the segment 20, an open housing 30 has been placed comprising supply components 24 (see FIG. 3), said

  casing which can be coupled in a watertight manner to profile 21.

  In FIG. 2, the extruded profile 21, for example, produced from aluminum has, in the illustrated embodiment, at the base 22 of open gutters 25 located one opposite the other, at opposite of the legs 23 The mounting element 8 has a flange 81 which can constitute a bayonet coupling with the channels 25 of the profile 21 Supports intended for a screen to be mounted, if necessary, in front of the lamps and which transmits or reflects the light of said lamps, can be

  similarly coupled to the segment.

  The housing 30 is fixed to a support 40, in the figure by means of the screws 43, intended to be mounted against a body (1 in Figure 1) of the lighting device

linear.

  The support 40 is substantially U-shaped comprising a base 41 and legs 42 The support illustrated is an extruded profile and cut so as to

present the desired length.

  The support 40 has on the legs 42 rims comprising hooks 44 directed inwards constituting a snap-on assembly with first edges 32 provided on the housing 30 This has the effect that the support and the housing can be coupled quickly The coupling can be a definitive or provisional coupling In the latter case we use additionally, for example,

the screws 43.

  In the embodiment illustrated, the substantially U-shaped profile 21 also has flanges on the legs 23 having hooks 26 directed inwards constituting a snap-on assembly with second edges 33 provided on the housing 30 This coupling is a auxiliary coupling which may remain during transport from the factory to the place of assembly of the linear lighting device The housing 30 and the profile 21 can then easily be decoupled for the mounting of the device After having laid the wiring 35 s' extending to previous and subsequent segments, the coupling between the housing and the profile can easily be re-established In this case the mechanic has both hands free to make the coupling waterproof, for example, with the screws 27, in the figure thanks to the

  presence of a gasket 34.

  In embodiments in which the wires extending towards the mounting element exit in a watertight manner, for example, through an end wall 38 or through the profile 21, the housing 30 is then closed from waterproof. The power components 24 in the housing 30, such as components designed for ignition, operation, stabilization and possibly for dimming, such as a ballast, an initiator, a capacitor and the like are present on a component holder 50 fixed against a split sleeve 36 provided on a wall 37 of the housing 30 In the illustrated embodiment the component holder is designed in a U shape to obtain a suitable stability in the

  housing and uniform temperature distribution.

  In the figure, the housing is an extruded U-shaped channel, its ends being closed in a watertight manner by end walls 38 by interposing seals 39 The cables 35 come out in a watertight manner by

grommets 34.

  In the figure, on the right, an additional end wall 38 is provided for the mechanical reinforcement of the segment due to the absence of a housing to

components there.

  The mounting element 8 penetrates through an opening 28 pierced in the profile 21 to close the latter in a watertight manner with a flange 81. For this purpose, it is possible to use, for example, a seal coming out of the opening of the wires provided with connectors 241 to be connected to the wires provided with connectors 82 of the mounting element 8 Two wires are intended for the base of a first tubular lamp,

  two wires for a compact lamp and two wires for a second tubular lamp.

  FIG. 3 illustrates the segment in the state as it can be mounted against a body (1 in FIG. 1). In another way, the support 40 could be mounted on the body 1 and then the housing 30 which can be coupled in a way. waterproof to profile 21, could also be mounted to said body While the wiring provided with connectors 241 comes out of the opening 28 profile 21 can be snapped onto the housing 30 and be connected to it in a waterproof manner After making the electrical connections the mounting element can be mounted and then the tubular lamps can be mounted. In FIG. 4, in the mounting element 8, a compact fluorescent lamp comprising a single base is located with its base 6 in a socket 10 which

  is located near the body (1 in FIG. 1) of a linear lighting device.

  The mounting element also comprises two sockets 9 designed for tubular fluorescent lamps 2 The tubular fluorescent lamps are surrounded by a transparent tube 82 The mounting element 8 is tightened in a watertight manner on these tubes by nuts 83 and seals 84 However, in another embodiment the nuts can take a watertight manner around the lamps themselves The mounting element has a flange 81 comprising a seal

  seal 84 allowing a watertight connection to the profile (21 in FIG. 1).

Claims (8)

CLAIMS:   1 segment for a linear lighting device comprising tubular fluorescent lamps (2) to be mounted in line against a body (1) and each having end portions (3) provided with their own base (4), alternating with lamps compact fluorescent lamps (5) each provided with a single base (6) facing the body (1), said segment (20) is provided with a substantially U-shaped profile (21) having a base (22) and legs ( 23), in which are housed supply components (24) for the electrical supply of fluorescent lamps (2, 5), and which is further provided with means (28) for fixing a mounting element (8) comprising sockets (9,) designed for fluorescent lamps (2, 5), characterized in that an open housing (30) comprising supply components (24) is located in the substantially U-shaped profile (21) of the segment (20), said   housing which can be coupled in a watertight manner to the profile (21).   2 segment according to claim 1, characterized in that the profile (21) has at the base (22) open channels (25) located one opposite the other and at opposite legs (23).   3 segment according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the housing (30) is fixed to a support (40) designed for mounting against a body (1) of the device linear lighting.   4 segment according to claim 3, characterized in that the support (40) is   substantially U-shaped with a base (41) and legs (42).   Segment according to claim 4, characterized in that the support (40) has on the legs (42) flanges having hooks (44) directed inwards constituting a snap-on assembly with first edges (32) provided on the housing (30).   6 segment according to claim 1, characterized in that the substantially U-shaped profile (21) has at the legs (23) ledges having hooks (26) directed inwardly constituting a snap-on assembly with   second edges (33) provided on the housing (30).   7 segment according to claim 1, characterized in that the supply components (24) disposed in the housing (30) are present on a component holder   (50) fixed against a split sleeve (36) provided on a wall (37) of the housing (30).   8 Linear lighting device provided with segments according to any one   of the preceding claims, characterized in that the mounting element (8) comprises   a flange (81) having a bayonet coupling with the gutters (25) one   located opposite the other of the profile (21).   9 linear lighting device according to claim 8, characterized in that the mounting element (8) penetrates through an opening (28) pierced in the profile (21)   to close the latter in a watertight manner with a flange (81).