GB2301176A

GB2301176A - Luminaire

Info

Publication number: GB2301176A
Application number: GB9510245A
Authority: GB
Inventors: George Frederick Ward
Original assignee: ADD REFLECTORS Ltd; JORDAN REFLECTORS Ltd
Current assignee: ADD REFLECTORS Ltd; JORDAN REFLECTORS Ltd
Priority date: 1995-05-20
Filing date: 1995-05-20
Publication date: 1996-11-27
Anticipated expiration: 2015-05-20
Also published as: GB9510245D0; GB2301176B

Abstract

A luminaire for fitting into an aperture in a ceiling has a principal self-supporting reflector assembly including a reflector member 10 which defines a pair of elongate curved reflector surfaces 11 and 12. The assembly further comprises a pair of side cheeks 15 and 16 fitted one to each end respectively of the reflector member 10. Holders 32 and 33 are arranged to support elongate lamps 30 and 31, one within each space bound by each reflector surface 11 and 12 and the side cheeks 15 and 16. A louvre assembly 18 is fitted into that space, below the held lamps.

Description

LUMINAIRE This invention relates to a luminaire for fitting into an aperture in a ceiling.

Particularly in commercial environments, a commonly-employed form of luminaire comprises a fabricated steel box closed on its four sides and top but with its lower face open, and finished in white to serve as a reflector. At least one, but very often more than one, discharge lamp is mounted within the box, and a louvre assembly (serving as a light controller) is fitted into the box, below the or each lamp. Appropriate control gear for the or each discharge lamp is attached to an upper inner surface of the box, so as to lie in a region where it is not likely to be noticed, when the louvre assembly is in place.

The above described luminaire construction has been used for very many years. The louvre assembly usually is fabricated from relatively light gauge polished aluminium or aluminium alloy sections interlocked together, and is removably mounted within the reflector assembly to permit lamp changing. The construction described above has the advantage that the louvre assembly may be left out of the box until the box has been installed in a ceiling, and so may be protected from damage until the main installation, including the wiring, has been completed.

The steel box luminaire construction also has the advantage that it is relatively easy to fix the box into a suitable aperture in a ceiling. However, the box, being made of steel, is relatively heavy, and so the ceiling has to be of sufficient strength to support the weight of the luminaire. In the case of modern suspended ceilings, it may be necessary to decrease the spacing between suspensions so as to give sufficient strength for the mounting of several steel box luminaires. In addition, if there is limited clearance between the suspended ceiling and the ceiling proper, there may be insufficient room to permit the mounting of a steel box luminaire flush with the suspended ceiling.

It is a principal aim of the present invention to provide a new luminaire construction for use in circumstances where a conventional steel box luminaire would be employed, but which may have significantly lower weight than a conventional steel box luminaire which employs the same type and number of discharge tubes. A further aim is to provide a luminaire which has an improved light output as compared to a conventional steel box luminaire.

According to the present invention, there is provided a luminaire for fitting into an aperture in a ceiling, comprising a principal self-supporting reflector assembly including a reflector member defining at least one elongate curved reflector surface, and a pair of side cheeks fitted one to each end respectively of the reflector member, the luminaire further comprising means to hold an elongate lamp within the space bound by the reflector surface and the side cheeks, and louvre means fitted into said space below a held lamp.

It will be appreciated that in the case of a luminaire of the present invention, a complete luminaire assembly does not use and does not require a separate steel box. This greatly reduces the weight of the luminaire and also reduces the manufacturing cost, both in terms of the material and labour costs.

Moreover, for a given light level in an area lit by the luminaires, the presence of the reflectors may reduce the number of elongate lamps which must be energised.

The reflector assembly should be designed to be fully self-supporting and to have sufficient strength to permit the mounting of at least one elongate lamp therewithin, and preferably also the mounting of control gear for that lamp externally of the reflector assembly, but still within a notional cuboid within which the reflector assembly may fit. This can be achieved by having appropriately shaped sections making up the reflector member and side cheeks and then interlocking those sections together, even though each section may be manufactured from light weight thin gauge aluminium or aluminium alloy.

Most preferably, the reflector member defines a plurality of elongate curved reflector surfaces all extending in a generally parallel manner and each having associated therewith a respective elongate lamp, or respective elongate lamps. In the latter case, two lamps may be arranged side by side, in order to give a required total light output from the luminaire. Other possibilities include using modern high-output discharge lamps having folded discharge tubes - that is, so-called single-ended fluorescent tubes.

For the case where the reflector member defines a plurality of curved reflector surfaces, the louvre means may include one or more elongate separators which divide said space into as many regions as there are curved reflector surfaces. Each separator may be located at the elongate junction between two adjacent reflector surfaces of the reflector member, each separator having two curved reflector surfaces which are substantially aligned with and continue the curvature of said two adjacent reflector surfaces of the reflector member.

In a preferred construction, the reflector member defines two reflector surfaces, and the louvre means has a single separator member disposed along the junction of the two reflector surfaces. That junction may be defined by a planar surface extending between the two curved reflector surfaces. For this arrangement, the control gear for the lamps may be positioned on the side of the reflector member remote from the lamps, between the pair of adjacent reflector surfaces.

The light distribution pattern from the luminaire may be controlled to some extent by appropriate selection of the shape of the reflector member. For many applications, the or each curved reflector surface conveniently is of a generally parabolic form.

The louvre means is preferably fitted to the reflector assembly in such a way that it may readily be released therefrom, in order to permit easy changing of the lamps of the luminaire. For example, the louvre means may be held to the reflector assembly by means of releasable spring clips. Alternatively, the louvre means may be hinged to the reflector assembly, releasable means being provided to maintain the louvre means in a raised position, within the reflector assembly.

By way of example only, two specific embodiments of luminaire constructed and arranged in accordance with the present invention will now be described in detail, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the first embodiment of luminaire, with the louvre assembly shown separated from the reflector assembly; Figures 2 and 3 are respectively transverse and longitudinal sections through the luminaire of Figure 1, when assembled; and Figures 4 and 5 are respectively transverse and longitudinal sections through a second embodiment of luminaire of this invention.

Referring initially to Figures 1 to 3, there is shown a luminaire having a reflector assembly including a reflector member 10 defining two curved reflector surfaces 11 and 12 joined by a substantially planar reflector surface 13. The reflector member 10 is formed in one piece from an aluminium sheet, polished to a highly reflective finish on its inside surface 14.

The reflector assembly further includes two side cheeks 15 and 16, coupled to the ends of the reflector member 10. Conveniently, this is achieved by providing tabs on the end edges of the reflector member 10, which tabs pass through corresponding slots in the side cheeks 15 and 16 and are then turned over or twisted, to lock the reflector member to the two side cheeks.

Having regard to the curved profile of the reflector member 10, this gives rise to a relative strong and rigid assembly.

The rigidity of the assembly is enhanced further, by providing outwardly directed lips 17 along the free lower edges of the reflector member 10 and the side cheeks 15 and 16. These lips may also serve properly to locate the luminaire against a ceiling, when fitted into an aperture therein.

Also shown in Figures 1 to 3 is a louvre assembly 18, fabricated from folded polished aluminium strips and having three longitudinally-extending components 19, 20 and 21, and three transversely-extending components 22, 23 and 24. The two outer longitudinally-extending components 19 and 21 are essentially of the same cross-sectional shape as the three transversely-extending components 22, 23 and 24.

At the intersections between these components, cut-out portions are provided in the components so that they may interlock together as shown in Figure 1.

The central longitudinally-extending component 20 is deeper than the outer components 19 and 21, and at its upper edges 25 has a width substantially equal to the width of the planar reflector surface 13. The surfaces of the component 20 are curved and the height of this component is such that those surfaces substantially follow the curvature of the two curved reflector surfaces 11 and 12, when the louvre assembly is fitted to the reflector assembly.

The outer two longitudinally extending components 19 and 21 have at one of their ends a respective hook 26, which hooks are received in corresponding openings 27 formed in side cheek 16 of the reflector assembly.

Side cheek 15 of the reflector assembly is provided with openings 28 in which are mounted spring clips 29 receivable in the open ends of components 19 and 21.

The louvre assembly may thus readily be released from side cheek 15 of the reflector assembly and be hinged down, to permit lamp changing, and then be refitted to the reflector assembly.

The luminaire carries two high output folded tube discharge lamps 30 and 31, one within each reflector surface 11 and 12. The lamps are thus disposed above the louvre components 19, 21, 22, 23 and 24. The electrical connector assemblies 32 and 33 for the lamps 30 and 31 are mounted directly to the respective curved reflector surface adjacent side cheek 16. A support for each lamp is also mounted directly to the respective curved reflector surface, adjacent the side cheek 15. If conventional double-ended discharge lamps are employed, then a second connector assembly would be mounted directly to the curved reflector surfaces adjacent cheek 15, as shown in broken lines in Figure 3.

Mounted in the space between the planar reflector surface 13 and the central longitudinally-extending component 20, adjacent cheek 15, is an electronic control unit 34 for the lamps 30 and 31. Particularly in the case of modern high output folded tube lamps, electronic control gear is usually employed and is very much lighter and smaller than conventional ballast-coil control gear; such electronic control gear may readily be accommodated in this space.

Figures 4 and 5 show a second embodiment of luminaire of this invention, which is very similar to that described above with reference to Figures 1 to 3, but differs in that the shape of the curved reflector surfaces 35 and 36 has been modified as compared to the reflector surfaces 11 and 12 of the first embodiment.

This change in shape does not significantly affect the light output from the luminaire since the changed curvature is in a region reflecting relatively small amounts of light downwardly. The arrangement allows the overall height of the luminaire to be reduced and moreover the extra curvatures of the curved reflector surfaces 35 and 36 adds further to the stiffness of the overall assembly.

The arrangement of Figures 4 and 5 does not use hooks 26, but rather has spring clips 29' on the four outer louvre components 19, 21, 22 and 24, which clips are engagable in corresponding openings in the reflector assembly. When lamps are to be changed, the entire louvre assembly is removed from the reflector assembly, rather than being hinged downwardly as in the embodiment of Figures 1 to 3.

In all other respects, the arrangement of Figures 4 and 5 corresponds to that of Figures 1 to 3 and like parts are given like reference characters. These parts will not be described again here.

Either of the above-described luminaires is employed by cutting an appropriately sized rectangular opening in a ceiling, such as in a ceiling tile of a suspended ceiling, and then fitting the luminaire directly into that opening, without employing any external housing for the reflector assembly. The lips 17 of the luminaire should fit tight against the ceiling to give a finished appearance though a finishing trim could be employed if required. The luminaire may be held in place by external spring clips (not shown) attached to the luminaire and engaging the upper surface of the ceiling tile. Alternatively, a trim (not shown) may be fitted over and around lips 17, which trim is secured to the ceiling tile in a suitable manner, to hold the luminaire in place.

Claims

1. A luminaire for fitting into an aperture in a ceiling, comprising a principal self-supporting reflector assembly including a reflector member defining at least one elongate curved reflector surface, and a pair of side cheeks fitted one to each end respectively of the reflector member, the luminaire further comprising means to hold an elongate lamp within the space bound by the reflector surface and the side cheeks, and louvre means fitted into said space below a held lamp.

2. A luminaire as claimed in claim 1, wherein the reflector member defines a plurality of elongate curved reflector surfaces all extending in a generally parallel manner and each having associated therewith a respective elongate lamp.

3. A luminaire as claimed in claim 2, wherein the louvre means includes one or more elongate separators which divide said space into as many regions as there are reflector surfaces.

4. A luminaire as claimed in claim 3, wherein each separator of the louvre is located at the elongate junction between two adjacent reflector surfaces of the reflector member, each said separator having two curved reflector surfaces which are substantially aligned with and continue the curvature of said two adjacent reflector surfaces of the reflector member.

5. A luminaire as claimed in claim 3 or claim 4, wherein the reflector member defines two reflector surfaces, and there is a single separator member of the louvre means which separator member is disposed along the junction of the two reflector surfaces.

6. A luminaire as claimed in any of claims 2 to 5, wherein there is provided control gear for the lamps which control gear is positioned on the side of the reflector member remote from the lamps, between a pair of adjacent reflector surfaces.

7. A luminaire as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein each curved reflector surface is generally of parabolic form.

8. A luminaire as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the louvre means is releasably fitted to the reflector assembly.

9. A luminaire as claimed in claim 1 and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Figures 1 to 3 or in Figures 4 and 5 of the accompanying drawings.

9. A luminaire as claimed in any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the louvre means is hinged to the reflector assembly.

10. A luminaire as claimed in claim 8 or claim 9, wherein the louvre means is held to the reflector assembly by means of releasable spring clips.

11. A luminaire as claimed in claim 1 and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Figures 1 to 3 or in Figures 4 and 5 of the accompanying drawings.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows 1. A luminaire for fitting into an aperture in a ceiling, comprising a principal self-supporting reflector assembly including a reflector member defining at least two elongate curved reflector surfaces, and a pair of side cheeks fitted one to each end respectively of the reflector member, the luminaire further comprising means to hold an elongate lamp within the space bound by the reflector surface and the side cheeks, and louvre means fitted into said space below a held lamp, which louvre means includes one or more elongate separators arranged to divide said space into as many regions as there are reflector surfaces, each separator being located at the elongate junction between two adjacent reflector surfaces of the reflector member and having two curved reflector surfaces which are substantially aligned with and continue the curvature of said two adjacent reflector surfaces of the reflector member.

3. A luminaire as claimed in claim 1, wherein the reflector member defines two reflector surfaces, and there is a single separator member of the louvre means which separator member is disposed along the junction of the two reflector surfaces.

4. A luminaire as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein there is provided control gear for the lamps which control gear is positioned on the side of the reflector member remote from the lamps, between a pair of adjacent reflector surfaces.

5. A luminaire as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein each curved reflector surface is generally of parabolic form.

6. A luminaire as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the louvre means is releasably fitted to the reflector assembly.

7. A luminaire as claimed in any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the louvre means is hinged to the reflector assembly - 8. A luminaire as claimed in claim 6 or claim 7, wherein the louvre means is held to the reflector assembly by means of releasable spring clips.