GB2284881A

GB2284881A - Light Fittings

Info

Publication number: GB2284881A
Application number: GB9325489A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Peter Barnett Hunt
Original assignee: DAVID HUNT LIGHTING Ltd
Current assignee: DAVID HUNT LIGHTING Ltd
Priority date: 1993-12-14
Filing date: 1993-12-14
Publication date: 1995-06-21
Also published as: GB9325489D0

Abstract

A light fitting comprises a body portion (10) and at least one arm (24), one end of the arm being engaged with the body portion and a lamp holder being at the other end, the end of the arm (28, 30) in engagement with the body portion (10) and the engaging portion (32) of the body portion (10) being mutually shaped to maintain the arm in a predetermined orientation. <IMAGE>

Description

LIGHT FITTINGS This invention relations to light fittings and particularly to light fittings having a body portion to which are attached one or more satellite lamp holders.

Light fittings such as wall lights, ceiling lights or chandelier lights can comprise a plurality of lamp holders, each having a lamp and a reflector or diffuser and spaced about a body portion. The body portion may be attached to a wall or ceiling or suspended from a ceiling. The body portion houses a junction box and electrical leads nun to each lamp in a hollow arm or bracket.

The assembly of such light fittings is time-consuming involving threading of wiring through each arm, making of the electrical connections at each lampholder and attachment of each arm to the body portion and to the lampholder. The attachment of the arms to the body portion can be time-consuming and difficult. Usually, threaded ends of the arms are fitted into sockets in the body portion and then tightened into position with nuts. The angular disposition of each arm relative to the body portion must be accurately aligned to achieve the desired positioning and spacing of the lampholders.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved light fitting in which the assembly and disposition of the components of the assembly can be more readily achieved.

According to the invention in one aspect there is provided a light fitting comprising a body portion and at least one arm, one end of the arm being engaged with the body portion, a lamp holder being present at or adjacent the other end, electrical conductors extending through the arm from the lamp holder to a junction box present in the body portion, wherein the end of the arm in engagement with the body portion and the engaging portion of the body portion are mutually shaped so that the arm is mounted in a predetermined orientation with respect to the body portion.

Preferably the one end portion of the arm is received in a socket therefor in or on the body portion. Most preferably one of the end portion and the wall of the socket includes a recess and the other includes a complementary shoulder to engage with the recess and so lock the arm in the predetermined orientation. Preferably the arm is locked against rotational movement by engagement of the recess and the shoulder. The end of the arm to be engaged with the body portion, e.g. in a passageway therein, may be shaped by cutting away a portion of the hollow tubular arm at an angle to its longitudinal axis to form a recess and by providing a complementary shoulder in the wall of the passageway. Thus the end may then have, for example, the appearance of a semi-circle transverse to the longitudinal axis and a part ellipse at an angle to that axis.By shaping, e.g. moulding the wall of the passageway in the body portion to have a corresponding shape, the connector can only be fitted into the passageway in one predetermined relative disposition.

For added security, the parts may be held together by means of a quick setting adhesive.

The body portion may be a moulding or casting. The body portion is preferably a moulded product. It can be of a plaster-type material moulded in a conventional manner using removable formers to form the desired shaped passageways through its wall. It may also be moulded of plastics material, e.g. using two interactive components, one being an unhardened resin and the other a catalyst or hardener therefor. The resin may be selected from a wide variety of resins, e.g. epoxy, melamine formaldehyde; and the like. Preferably, an inexpensive cold-setting resin system is employed. The unhardened component may comprise a polyester with suitable filler additives, the other component being a catalyst therefor.When employing two such interactive components, the body portion can conveniently be moulded using a flexible silicone rubber mould, which, depending on the shape of the body, may be a two-part mould. The mould will incorporate suitably shaped formers to form the desired shaped passageways through the wall of the body. The body portion may also be formed of a metal, alloy or of a composite material.

The arms will usually be a metal tube and they may be, for example, of circular cross-section. The arms may be longitudinally curved to follow a shaped path, e.g.

of lazy 'S' configuration to give an aesthetically pleasing appearance to the light fitting.

In another aspect the invention provides a body portion for a light fitting, the body portion having a wall, at least one passageway extending through the wall, the passageway being adapted to receive an arm to join a lampholder to the body portion and the wall of the passageway including a shoulder or a recess for engagement with complementary engaging means on the arm.

The body portion may conveniently be provided with holes by which it may be attached to a wall or ceiling by bolts or screws and these holes may also be moulded in-situ during the moulding of the body portion.

In order that the invention may be well understood, it will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which: Figure 1 is a rear elevation of the body portion of a light fitting according to the invention; Figure 2 is a transverse section taken on line ll-ll on Figure 1, and; Figure 3 is a vertical section taken on line Ill-Ill on Figure 1.

The body portion 10 has a bulbous front 12 (Figure 2) and a flat rear rim 14 to abut a wall or other substantially flat surface. Throughholes 16 are present in the upper and lower end portions 18 and 20 by which the body portion may be attached to, e.g. a wall, by screws or bolts, not shown.

The central region of the body portion is provided with two identical shaped sockets or passageways 22 each to receive the end portion of an arm 24. As can be seen in Figure 2 an integrally-moulded short annular extension 26 extends beyond the inner of the body portion in axial alignment with the passageway 22. The extension 26 has curved surfaces or a smooth edge for easy passage and protection of the electric cable.

The arm 24 is a metal tube of lazy S-form and has one shaped end 28 for reception in a passageway 26 of the body holder. A recess or cut out 30 is present in the top side of the end 28.

Each passageway has a downwardly sloping (towards the rear) shoulder 32 of semi-elliptical shape corresponding to the cut out 30 of the arm 24.

To assemble the arm and the body portion end 28 of the arm 24 is inserted into passageway 26 from the front of the body portion. Because of the keying engagement of the recess 30 and the shpulder 32 the arm 24 is located in the desired predetermined position without the need for mechanical fixings from the inside of the body portion. For added security the arm is fixed in place by a quick setting adhesive, not shown, and applied to the inserted shoulder 32 of the arm 24 or on the recess 30 or both. A junction box (not shown) is present in the cavity of the body portion.

The required wiring is passed through each arm into the inside of the body portion.

Because of the extension 32 there are no sharp comers to cut into the wire. Each arm can then be attached to a lampholder not shown and the free ends of its wiring attached to the appropriate connections in the junction box in the lampholder.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment shown. The abutting surfaces of the passageways and the ends of the arms may be differently shaped. The body holder may be a ceiling rose or a central platform of a chandelier. The arm may be of plastics material. The surface of the moulded body may be decorated by staining, painting, polishing, plating or the like.

Claims

1. A light fitting comprising a body portion and at least one arm, one end of the arm being engaged with the body portion, a lamp holder being present at or adjacent the other end, electrical conductors extending through the arm from the lamp holder to a junction box present in the body portion, wherein the end of the arm in engagement with the body portion and the engaging portion of the body portion are mutually shaped so that the arm is mounted in a predetermined orientation with respect to the body portion.

2. A fitting according to Claim 1, wherein the one end portion of the arm is received in a socket therefor in or on the body portion.

3. A fitting according to Claim 2, wherein one of the end portions and the wall of the socket includes a recess and the other includes a complementary shoulder to engage with the recess and so lock the arm in the predetermined orientation.

4. A fitting according to Claim 3, wherein the arm is locked against rotational movement by the engagement of the recess and shoulder.

5. A fitting according to any preceding Claim, the body portion is a moulding or casting.

6. A fitting according to Claim 5, wherein the body portion is moulded of a resin composition.

7. A fitting according to Claim 6, wherein the body portion includes an integrally moulded extension in alignment with the arm.

8. A fitting according to any preceding Claim, wherein quick set adhesive is present, between the engaging parts of the body portion and the engaging end of the arm.

9. A fitting according to any preceding Claim, wherein the fitting has a flat wall so that the fitting can be used as a wall light fitting.

10. A fitting according to any of Claims 1 to 8, including a plurality of arms each set at a predetermined angle and spaced about the body portion.

11. A body portion for a light fitting, the body portion having a wall, at least one passageway extending through the wall, the passageway being adapted to receive an arm to join a lampholder to the body portion and the wall of the passageway including a shoulder or a recess for engagement with complementary means on the arm.