US2951611A

US2951611A - Electric lighting fixtures

Info

Publication number: US2951611A
Application number: US580059A
Authority: US
Inventors: Edwin D Tillson; William E Janness; Donald W Davis
Original assignee: Lighting Products Inc
Current assignee: Lighting Products Inc
Priority date: 1956-04-23
Filing date: 1956-04-23
Publication date: 1960-09-06
Anticipated expiration: 1977-09-06

Description

P 1960 E. D. TILLSON EIAL 2,951,611

ELECTRIC LIGHTING FIXTURES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 23, 1956 v INVENTORS: EDWIN D. T/LLSON W/LL/AM F JAN/V555 DONALD 14 DAV/5 BY ATT'Y P 1960 E. D. TILLSON ETAL 2,951,611

ELECTRIC LIGHTING FIXTURES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 23, 1956 WILL/AM F. JANNESS DONALD W DAV/5 EDWIN D. T/LLSD/V ATT'Y United States Patent ELECTRIC LIGHTING FIXTURES Edwin D. Tiilson, Evanston, and William E. Janness and Donald W. Davis, Highland Park, 111., assignors t0 Lighting Products, linc., Highland Park, ill, a corporation of Illinois Filed Apr. 23, 1956, Ser. No. 580,059

11 Claims. (Cl. 220-34) This invention relates in general to an electric lighting fixture and is more particularly described as an improved hinge and support for a closure of a wall or a ceiling fixture of the recess or surface type for straight tubular lamps.

In other fixtures of this type, elaborate suspension and mounting means are provided which require removal of the cover or closure, involve fastening connections for securing the cover in place and removing it from the fixture casing; and complicated arrangements require the use of tools in applying and removing the cover.

The present invention overcomes all of these objections by providing a simple hinging structure and a cover which may be easily inserted within the casing and removed therefrom while still maintaining its hinging attachment.

An important object of the invention is to provide a hinged cover construction for a lighting fixture in which the hinge has a pivoted and sliding movement.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved stop and limiting movement construction for a cover which is both slidably and pivotally mounted in a casing.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a hinging structure in which the cover may be slidably and pivotally mounted in the casing and also bodily removed with the hinging means if desired.

A further object of the invention is to provide resilient means for yieldingly pressing a pivoted and sliding cover into closed position.

Further objects are to provide a thin light casing adapted to be mounted directly against the ceiling or inserted in a plaster supporting frame; to provide a cover or closure recessed at the inner side to receive a portion of a transformer containing box therein; to provide a decorative ornament at the outside of a closure to conceal a transformer casing in the lighting casing to recess the upper plate of the casing so that the edges will fit tightly against a wall or ceiling to which it is applied; and in general to produce the structure herein shown and described.

Other objects of the invention will appear in the specification and will be apparent from the accompanying drawings in which,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the thin casing lighting fixture in accordance with this invention in closed position.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the casing shown in Fig. 1 with the closure in open position.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the casing showing one of the hinge connections in closing position.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view of the hinge shown in Fig. 3 with the hinge and closure in open position.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view of a trough type of fixture to which the mounting hinge is applied; and

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a portion of the strucice ture of Fig. 6 with parts broken away and showing the hinge and stop construction.

In electric lighting fixtures having long tubular lamps, it is desirable to provide a cover or closure which is easily moved into closed position and readily moved from this position to a full open position which makes the lamps accessible for their full length, but. at the same time suspends the closure so that it is available when a lamp is cleaned or replaced.

In the present construction, this is accomplished without special tools and both hands of an operator are free for effecting the necessary lamp removal, cleaning or repair.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, a relatively thin, light casing 10 is preferably formed of thin sheet metal and has a back plate 12 dished inwardly from its marginal edges 14 so that the casing may be applied tightly to a wall or ceiling taking up any uneven projections of the surface to which it is applied in the back plate. At the front or open side of the casing are opposite inwardly turned rims 16 to receive a cover or closure 18 therein which comprises marginal frames 20 and a light distributing cellular frame or louver 22. The closure frame is of a width slightly greater than the distance between the two inwardly turned marginal rims, and it is less in width than the full width of the casing so that it is free to slide transversely in the casing and upon the rims when it is inserted into the casing between the rims.

At one side within the casing 10 is a suspending hinge structure for the closure which comprises :a hinging link 24 preferably in the form of a rectangular wire loop and having a bend 26 intermediate the ends.

One end is connected to one side of the marginal frame 20 for the closure by means of one or more hinge straps 28, the ends of which extend through the frame and are bent over to secure it in place. At the other end, each hinging link is secured to the inside of the back plate 12 of the casing by a spring metal clip 30 secured to the casing by a rivet 32 or other suitable means and the clip having an offset portion 34 in which this end of the link '24 is slidable and rotatably movable. At the end of the offset is an angular contact end. 36 which has its extremity turned outwardly away from the plate 12 so that this end of the hinge 24 may be pressed into engagement with the clip by engaging the outer angular extremity 36 thereof or the hinge may be disengaged by pulling outwardly upon it and engaging the inner side of the angular contact end.

Preferably formed integrally and as a continuation of the spring slip 30 is a flat leaf spring 38 which extends from the back plate 12 adjacent the edge of the casing with an extremity 40 which engages the edge of the marginal frame 20 of the closure and tends to press the closure to the opposite side of the casing. At the opposite side of the casing is a projection (or projections) 42 with the outer ends spaced from the edge of the adjacent rim 16 so that the closure 18 may be freely supported at the inside of the rims in contact with the projection 42 which limits the movement in that direction and against which the closure is pressed by the spring or springs 38. The spring thus moves the closure 18 to a center position when it is inserted in the casing and prevents looseness or rattling of the closure frame in the fixture casing when building vibration occurs.

To disengage the closure from the casing, it is necessary only to slide the closure laterally against the spring 38 and then the opposite edge clears the rim 16 to swing the closure downwardly upon the hinges 24 as shown in Fig. 4. In this pdsition, the entire inside of the casing is freely accessible for inserting or replacing lamps or servicing the lamp transformer in a transformer casing 46. In this fixture, the transformer casing is centrally located and tubular lamps are mounted in the casing at each side of the transformer casing. A triangular reflector 48 is also to be placed between the lamps 46 from each end of the transformer casing to the end of the lamp casing 10. p

In order to more compactly house the transformer casing without increasing the thickness of the lighting casing 10, that portion of the closure 18 which is opposite the transformer casing 46 may be formed with a recess or opening 50 into which the transformer casing projects when the closure is within the casing. In order to conceal or hide the transformer, an ornamental plate or cover 52 may be attached to the outside of the casing which extends over the transformer casing so that it is not visible or apparent when the closure is in place, and the cover 52 is provided with a suitable outer design which acts as an ornament to the fixture.

This type of hinge suspension is also used with a lamp casing of approximately double width in which the closures are hinged at each side of the lamp casing and are held by a ledge or projection from the transformer casing at the center thereof.

This hinge construction is also adaptable to a trough type of lighting fixture as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the trough fixtures comprising a casing 54 which extends inwardly through an opening in a ceiling wall 56, the casing is secured to the ceiling opening by a marginal frame 58 secured in the ceiling opening and having bolts 60 extending downwardly from the frame and through openings in the trough casing to which nuts 62 are applied from the inside of the casing to hold the trough casing in place against the marginal frame 58. The trough casing has opposite inwardly extending rims 64 with upwardly turned edges 66 upon which a marginal frame 68 of the fixture closure are slidably supported. This frame has a shade or reflector 70 of glass, plastic or other suitable material which is suitably engaged at its edges by the frame 68, and projects outwardly and below the frame and also below the wall or ceiling 56.

To suspend the closure frame 68 in the trough casing, hinging links 72 are secured at one end to the upper side of the inner portion of the marginal frame by hinge straps 74 which engage around one hinging end of the link 72 and the other hinging end of the link is confined against an upwardly extending portion of the trough casing by a spring metal clip '76, attached at its lower end to the casing by means of a rivet 78 or other suitable fastening means and near the upper end of the clip, it is formed with an offset 80 in which the upper hinging portion of the link 72 is freely movable lengthwise of the clip and will also swing freely-therein. Near the upper end of the clip, it is formed with a rounded projection 82 which resiliently engages the side of the trough casing and holds the hinging link therein, but this extremity may be sprung to disengage the adjacent end of the link 72 therefrom or to more easily engage the hinging link when the fixture parts are assembled.

In this trough type of hinging structure, the closure is laterally movable on the upwardly turned edges 66, and the edge of the frame 68 opposite the hinges is formed with a downward projection (or projections) 84 which engage the inside of the upwardly turned edge 66 and limit the movement of the closure in the disengaging position.

In order to disengage the closure from the casing, it is necessary to raise the frame 68 so that the projection 84 is free from engagement with the upper edge 66 and then to move the frame laterally in the direction of the hinge until the adjacent edge of the frame is free to move outwardly from its rim 64 whereupon the entire closure may be swung downwardly about the hinge or hinges 72, the upper hinging portion of the links 72 at this time swinging downwardly to the bottoms of the offset portions and the hinges having a bent intermediate portion if necessary to extend around a correspondingly bent intermediate portion of the trough 54.

With these instructions, a closure is readily mounted within a casing for pivotal and sliding movement to seat the closure firmly within the fixture casing and by a simple raising and lateral movement, to free it from engagement with one of the rims so that the closure may be swung from the casing about the hinge at the opposite edge thereof. In returning the closures, the movements are reversed, the closure frame being swung upwardly about the hinge until it is within the rims and then it is moved manually in a direction opposite the hinge until it engages the opposite rim where it is seated against displacement by a projection as 84 in one form, and is held resiliently against a fixed stop in the other form as shown and described.

While preferred constructions have been described in some detail, they should be regarded by way of illustration and example rather than as restrictions or limitations thereof, as many changes in the construction, combination and arrangement of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. An electric lighting fixture comprising a lamp enclosing casing having an opening at one side and rims extending inwardly at opposite sidesof the opening, a closure for the opening which is slightly wider than the space between the edges of the opposite inwardly turned rims so that it will overlap the rims to close the opening, and a hinge link connected at one end in the casing at one side of the opening and pivoted at its other end to the closure at the adjacent inner side thereof, means attached to the casing to loosely engage the one end of the link for sliding and turning movement to swing the closure and slide it laterally in the casing to dislodge the closure from the rim at the side of the casing opposite the hinge and to swing the closure out of the casing through the opening from the hinged side of the closure.

2. An electric lighting fixture in accordance with claim 1, in which the casing has an inner projection at the side opposite the hinge link for engaging the closure and limiting its inward movement and seating it in supported position on the rim.

3. An electric lighting fixture in accordance with claim 1, in which the hinge link has means providing a pivoting and sliding connection with the casing comprising a clip having an offset portion engaging one end of the link for controlling the movement of the closure within and swinging from the frame.

4. An electric lighting fixture in accordance with claim 3, in which the pivoting and sliding connection of-the hinge link comprises a spring clip attached to the casing at one end having an adjacent offset portion in which one end of the hinge is pivoted and slidable and an opposite spring end to engage the casing, holding said one end of the hinge in place and adapted to be sprung outwardly for releasably supporting the'hinge link from. the casing for bodily removing the link and the closure.

5. An electric lighting fixture in accordance with claim 1, including a spring connected to the casing and engageable with the side of the closure adjacent its connection with the hinge link tending to slide the closure oppositely therefrom in the casing.

6. An electric lighting fixture in accordance with claim 2, including a spring attached to the casing and engaging the closure at the side adjacent the hinge link connection therewith, and tending to press the opposite side of the closure slidably against the said projection at the opposite side of the casing.

7. An electric lighting fixture in accordance with claim 3, in which the pivoting and sliding connection comprises a clip attached at one end to the casing and having an offset portion providing an intermediate-space upon which the said one end of the hinge link is freely slidable as well as rotatable, and means for disengaging the link from the clip at its other end.

8. An electric lighting fixture in accordance with claim 4, in which the clip is attached at one end to the casing and resiliently engages the casing at the other end with an intermediate ofiset portion in which one end of the hinge link is slidable and rotatable, the said other end of the hinge being movable yieldingly away from the casing to disengage the hinge link from the clip in bodily removing the closure from the casing.

9. An electric lighting fixture in accordance with claim 5, comprising a spring clip attached to the casing intermediate its ends, one end being otfset to provide a pivoting and sliding connection for one end of the hinge link, and the other end of the spring clip forming a leaf spring the extremity of which resiliently engages the hinged side of the closure, tending to press and slide it oppositely in the casing.

10. An electric lighting fixture in accordance with claim 1, in which each hinge link is in the form of an open rectangular wire link having a fixed pivotal connection at one side with one edge of the closure and means forming a pivoted and swinging connection at the opposite side with the casing, and the intermediate connecting portions of the link being bent transversely of the link to swing freely within the casing.

11. An electric lighting fixture in accordance with claim 1, in which the edges of the rims are turned angularly upward within the casing and the closure at the side opposite the hinge is formed with a projection which engages the portion of the rim turned angularly within the casing to limit its free movement in a direction toward the opposite side of the casing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,027,241 Coleman May 21, 1912 2,120,449 Vanderveld June 14, 1938 2,300,504 Hedges Nov. 3, 1942 2,427,084 Alderman Sept. 9, 1947 2,532,528 Zuley Dec. 5, 1950 2,556,690 Guth June 12, 1951 2,572,486 Isaac Oct. 23, 1951 2,615,123 Guth Oct. 21, 1952 2,647,985 Billet Aug. 4, 1953 2,661,119 Spiess et a1 Dec. 1, 1953 2,701,840 Carlson Feb. 8, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 704,068 Great Britain Feb. 17, 1954