GB2499721A

GB2499721A - Transformer

Info

Publication number: GB2499721A
Application number: GB1302715.6A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Daniel Hiscoke
Original assignee: Scolmore International Ltd
Current assignee: Scolmore International Ltd
Priority date: 2012-02-23
Filing date: 2013-02-15
Publication date: 2013-08-28
Anticipated expiration: 2033-02-15
Also published as: CN203273777U; WO2013124609A1; GB2499722B; GB201302715D0; GB201203260D0; GB2499722A; GB201302721D0; GB2499721B

Abstract

A transformer 20 for use with a light fitting 22 comprises a main body 21 and support members 23, 30 secured to the main body. The support members are moveable relative to the main body 21 between a first configuration appropriate for packaging (as shown) and a second configuration (Figs. 5 & 6) for ease of installation of the light fitting.

Description

1

LIGHTING ACCESSORY

This invention relates to a lighting accessory in the form of a transformer which is suitable for use with light fittings and in particular, though not exclusively, light fittings of the type provided with a heat/fire resistant casing that is to be mounted within a fire resistant barrier.

Light fittings of the type for installing in a partition member, such as a ceiling board, commonly comprise a cylindrical type housing which is inserted through as circular aperture in the partition. The light fitting is held in position by a clamping action effected by means of a pair of spring loaded clips that bear against a rear surface of the partition and a facia bezel or flange that is thereby urged into firm contact with the front, outward facing surface of the partition.

Particularly for light fittings of the type in which illumination is provided by means of one or more light emitting diodes (hereinafter referred to as LEDs), the light fitting has associated therewith a transformer, commonly referred to as a "driver", to provide an electrical supply appropriate in current and voltage to the requirements of the LEDs.

For convenience of packaging and supply the light fitting and transformer typically are pre-assembled, with the transformer being pre-wired to the light fitting.

Commonly the transformer is secured on top of the inner end of the light fitting and is in the form of a box of elongate shape. It is mounted over the end of the light fitting such that the elongate box extends sideways from the top of the light fitting in a direction substantially at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the light fitting such that the light fitting is suitable for installation in, for example, a ceiling void having a limited cavity space. However the resulting shape of the assembly of the light fitting and transformer does not facilitate

2

compact packaging for transportation and point of sale display. Whilst that difficulty may be addressed at least in part by provision of transformer components contained within a housing of a different shape, that then leads to certain difficulties concerning design of the transformer and the electrical connection between the transformer and light fitting as well as connection to an external electrical supply.

An object of the present invention is to provide a transformer suitable for use with a light fitting, such as a light fitting comprising one or more LEDs and which combines ease of manufacture and compact packaging together with facility for installation in locations which impose space restrictions.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided a transformer suitable for use with a light fitting, said transformer comprising a main body and at least one support member secured to the main body wherein the support member is moveable relative to the main body between a first configuration which may be appropriate for packaging and a second configuration which may be more appropriate for ease of installation of the light fitting.

Although not essential, said main body may contain all or substantially all of the electronic components for varying the voltage and/or current of an electrical supply to the transformer to provide an electrical supply appropriate in current and voltage to the requirements of the light fitting.

The support member may be a transformer support which facilitates mounting of the transformer main body onto a light fitting such as a fire rated or other LED light fitting.

The transformer support may be substantially non-releasably securable or be pre-secured to each of the transformer main body and light fitting. It may comprise a flexible or other form of articulated section, e.g. a pivotal section, whereby the transformer main body may be moved relative to the light fitting between two configurations, for example one configuration appropriate for

3

compact packaging and a second configuration appropriate for ease of installation without removal of the transformer support from either the transformer main body or the light fitting.

The transformer support may comprise selectively releasable locking means whereby the transformer may be locked in a first configuration relative to the light fitting but which may be unlocked to allow the transformer to be moved relative to the light fitting to a preferred second configuration.

The transformer support may be in the form of a flexible connecting strap the ends of which may be substantially non-releasably secured or securable to the transformer main body and the light fitting, with an intermediate section of the strap being flexible to allow movement between first and second configurations.

The locking means may be of a kind comprising two formations which are inter-lockable. The transformer support may be in the form of a connecting strap of flexible plastics or other, preferably non-electrically conductive material.

Electrical connection between the transformer and the light fitting may be by means of a flexible cable which extends therebetween, for example alongside the transformer support. Alternatively the transformer support may be formed integrally with the means for electric connection, for example by providing electrical conductors embedded within a flexible strap.

The transformer support may be in the form of a flexible connecting strap which can be moved between a first position in which the strap is substantially linear and holds the transformer laterally of the light fitting, e.g. to one side of the light fitting, and a second position in which the strap is bent back on itself to hold the transformer over an end of the light fitting. Preferably the connecting strap facilitates movement through up to at least 180°. Thus to allow installation in a cavity of restricted depth the transformer can, in effect, be flipped over so that it lies laterally of the light unit, to one side thereof,

4

thereby resulting in the overall height of the light fitting and transformer being substantially equal to the height of the light fitting itself, whilst nevertheless, with the transformer on top of the light fitting compact packaging can be achieved. That is, the transformer can be flipped over (rotated) to a lateral position with respect to a light fitting, thus reducing the overall height of the assembly and allowing installation in shallow void.

In addition or as an alternative to a support member which is a transformer support, the support member may be in the form of a connector support to which a connector at the end of an external power supply may be connected.

The connector support may be a flexible member which extends between the transformer and a connector to which the connector of an external power supply may be connected. That flexible connection may be a cable or the like which extends between the transformer and said connector or it may be separate component, for example in the form of a flexible strap.

Alternatively the connector support may be of a relatively rigid form comprising a transformer connector to which the connector of an external supply may be secured and said connector support may be supported by the transformer body for movement between first and second configurations. A substantially rigid connector support may, for example, be pivotally mounted relative to the main body of the transformer.

The connector support may be substantially freely pivotally mounted relative to the main body of the transformer such that it may naturally tend to adopt a position at which it reduces strain of the light fitting and or a cable. Alternatively there may be a serrated or similar form of restraint formation whereby the connector support may be pivoted relative to the main body but remain in a selected relative position unless acted on by a sufficiently great force, for example the force applied by an installer during installation and which force is greater than that which a power supply cable would be expected to arise due to the weight of a power supply cable.

5

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided a light fitting assembly comprising the combination of a light fitting and a transformer secured relative to the light fitting and movable between first and second configurations. Said light fitting may be an LED or other type of light fitting. The light fitting may be of a fire rated type and may comprise intumescent material.

The transformer may comprise a connector support and the main body may be mounted directly to the light fitting without the need to provide a said transformer support. Conversely the transformer main body may be formed integrally with a connector to which the connector of an external power supply may be connected and said main body may be supported on the light fitting by a flexible or other such transformer support.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which:-

Figure 1 is a perspective view of part a transformer in accordance with the present invention in a first configuration relative to a light fitting;

Figure 2 shows the transformer of Figure 1 in a second configuration;

Figure 3 in a perspective view of the transformer of Figure 1 prior to attachment to a light fitting;

Figure 4 is a side view of a transformer unit in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention and in a first configuration;

Figure 5 shows the transformer of Figure 4 with the connector support thereof in a second configuration, and

Figure 6 shows the transformer of figure 4 with each of a connector support and transformer support in a second configuration.

6

In a first embodiment of the present invention a transformer 10 is secured to a light fitting 11 by means of a transformer support in the form of a flexible strap 12. The strap has a first end region which is non-releasably secured to the transformer and a second end region which is non-releasably securable to the light fitting. Typically that second end region will be pre-secured to the light fitting for subsequent use by an installer. A cable, not shown, extends from the transformer 10 to the light fitting 11.

One end of the flexible strap 11 is formed with a pair of location apertures at diametrically opposite positions and the other end is formed with a pair of toothed tabs at similar diametrically opposite positions such that when in the configuration of Figure 1 the toothed tabs are engaged in the apertures to hold the transformer 10 in position relative to the light fitting 11. However by manual pressure on the two tabs to disengage their teeth from the apertures they may be withdrawn from the apertures to allow the transformer to be flipped over to the configuration shown in Figure 2 and in which the transformer lies laterally to one side of the light fitting.

Although not shown in Figures 1 and 2, from Figure 3 it will be seen that the transformer also comprises a connector support 17 in the form of a strap which interconnects between the transformer and a connector 18 to which the connector of an external power supply may be connected. The connector strap 17 in this embodiment has formed integrally therewith the conductors for effecting an electrical connection between the connector 18 and the transformer 10.

In a second embodiment of the present invention (see Figures 4 to 6) a transformer 20 has an elongate main body 21 which is secured to a light fitting 22 by means of a flexible strap 23 which corresponds substantially with that described in respect of the first embodiment of the invention. In particular the flexible strap 23 comprises a pair of toothed locking tabs 24 which, in the configuration of Figures 4 and 5, each lock within respective apertures 25 at

7

diametrically opposite edges of that end of the flexible strap secured to the main body 21 of the transformer.

A first cable 26 extends between the transformer main body 21 and the light fitting 21, and a second cable 33 extends between the transformer main body and the supported connector 32. The light fitting comprises spring-loaded retention clips 27 and an outer end bezel 28 each of a kind well know per se.

The main body 21 additionally has pivotally secured thereto a connector support 30 comprising a pair of ears 31 (only one shown in Figure 4) which are pivotally mounted to opposite sides of the transformer main body 21. The other end of the connector support has formed integrally therewith a connector 32 to which the connector of an external power supply may be connected.

In the configuration of Figure 4 the assembly of the transformer and light fitting is not suitable for installation but is of a compact form which lends itself well to efficient packaging and for point of sale display. For installation the connector support 30 may be pivoted relative to the transformer body 21 to lie substantially in line with the elongate transformer body 21, in the configuration shown in Figure 5.

If it is required to provide the light fitting in a relatively shallow ceiling void or the like, the transformer body 31 and connector support 30 may, in effect, be flipped over to the configuration shown in Figure 6. In this configuration the transformer main body lies inverted in position relative to that shown in Figure 4 and the overall height, and thus depth of void space required for the installation, is substantially less than that of the Figure 5 configuration, namely substantially equivalent to the height of the light unit as shown in Figure 6 plus any specified clearance to comply with ventilation requirements.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that the transformer body 21 and connector support 30 may readily be converted from a first configuration for packaging as shown in Figure 4 to second configuration as shown in Figure 5

8

or an alternative second configuration as shown in Figure 6, with each of the second configurations being of an in-line type with the connector support substantially in line with the length of the elongate transformer body 21 and thus substantially at right angles relative to the orientation of the transformer main body and connector support when in the packaging configuration of Figure 4.

Thus in accordance with the present invention ease of installation and facility for installation in restricted spaces is achieved without adversely effecting packaging efficiency.

9

Claims

Claims.

1. A transformer suitable for use with a light fitting comprises a main body and at least one support member secured to the main body wherein the support member is moveable relative to the main body between a first configuration which may be appropriate for packaging and a second configuration which may be appropriate for ease of installation of the light fitting.

2. A transformer according to claim 1 wherein said main body comprises all or substantially all of the electronic components for providing an electrical supply to a light fitting.

3. A transformer according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the support member is a transformer support which facilitates mounting of the transformer main body on to a light fitting.

4. A transformer according to claim 3 wherein the transformer support is securable or is pre-secured, preferably substantially non-releasably, to the transformer main body.

5. A transformer according to claim 3 or claim 4 wherein the transformer support comprises a member which is of a flexible or other articulated form whereby the transformer main body may be moved relative to a light fitting between two configurations without removal of the transformer support from either the transformer main body or the light fitting.

6. A transformer according to any one of claims 3 to 5 and comprising selectively releasable locking means whereby the transformer may be locked in a first configuration relative to a light fitting but which may be unlocked to allow the transformer to be moved relative to a light fitting to a second configuration.

10

7. A transformer according to any one of claims 3 to 6 wherein the transformer support comprises a flexible connecting strap.

8. A transformer according to claim 7 wherein said flexible connecting strap comprises ends which may be secured or be securable, preferably substantially non-releasably, to the transformer main body and a light fitting, and with an intermediate section of the strap being flexible to allow movement between first and second configurations.

9. A transformer according to any one of claims 3 to 7 wherein means for electrical connection between the transformer main body and a light fitting is integral with the transformer support.

10. A transformer according to any one of the preceding claims and comprising a support member which is a connector support comprising a connector to which a connector at the end of an external power supply may be connected.

11. A transformer according to claim 10 wherein the connector support comprises a flexible member which extends between the transformer and a connector to which the connector of an external power supply may be connected.

12. A transformer according to claim 10 or claim 11 wherein means for electrical connection between the connector and transformer main body is integral with the connector support.

13. A transformer according to claim 10 wherein the connector support is substantially rigid and comprises a transformer connector to which the connector of an external power supply may be secured.

14. A transformer according to claim 13 wherein the connector support is supported by the transformer main body for movement between first and second configurations.

11

15. A transformer according to claim 14 wherein the connector support is pivotally mounted relative to the main body of the transformer.

16. A light fitting assembly comprising the combination of a light fitting and a transformer according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the transformer main body is secured relative to the light fitting and is movable relative thereto between first and second configurations.

17. A light fitting assembly according to claim 16 wherein the transformer support is non-releasably secured to each of the transformer main body and the light fitting.

18. A light fitting assembly according to claim 16 or claim 17 wherein the transformer support is a flexible strap which facilitates relative movement through at least 180° whereby the transformer main body may be flipped over from a first configuration in which the main body is positioned over an end of the light fitting to a second configuration in which the main body lies substantially wholly to one side of the light fitting.

19. A light fitting assembly according to any one of claims 16 to 18 wherein the light fitting comprises an LED array.

20. A light fitting assembly according to any one of claims 16 to 19 wherein the light fitting is a fire rated type light fitting comprising intumescent material.

21. A transformer according to claim 1 and substantially as hereinbefore described.

22. A light fitting assembly according to claim 16 as hereinbefore described.

Scol7CL1