US3514590A

US3514590A - Fluorescent luminaire

Info

Publication number: US3514590A
Application number: US721768A
Authority: US
Inventors: M David Shaeffer
Original assignee: Calculations Inc
Current assignee: Calculations Inc
Priority date: 1968-04-16
Filing date: 1968-04-16
Publication date: 1970-05-26
Anticipated expiration: 1987-05-26

Description

Ma'y 26, 1970 M. D. SHAEFFER FLUORESCENT LUMINAIRE 3 SheetsSheet .1.

Filed April 16, 1968 May 26, 1970 M. D. SHAEFFER 3,51 ,590

FLUORESCENT LUMINAIRE Filed April 16, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 HQV? TOQ MDAVIU AEFFEQ May 26, 1970 M. D. SHAEFFER FLUORESCENT LUMINAIRE 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 16, 1968 MW: m Tog M DAV! 0 SHAE r- F r; Q

United States Patent 3,514,590 FLUORESCENT LUMINAIRE M. David Shaetfer, Wheeling, W. Va., assignor to Calculations, Inc., Wheeling, W. Va., a corporation of West Virginia Filed Apr. 16, 1968, Ser. No. 721,768 Int. Cl. H05b 33/02 US. Cl. 24051.1l 18 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The disclosure relates to light fixtures which utilize printed circuit techniques and which are so designed that they may be readily assembled without the use of tools. The fixture includes a base provided with threaded studs adapted to receive wing nuts 'whereby a preformed circuit board may be attached to the base. The ballast transformer and lampholders for the fixture are provided with pin connectors so that they may be plugged into the preformed circuit board. Incoming power connections are made to the preformed circuit board by inserting stripped Wire ends through appropriate holes in the circuit board. The lampholders are adapted to receive the pins from conventional lamps, and are provided with preformed circuit panels to effect connections between the lamps and the main circuit board by way of the lampholder pins. The lampholders are located at the ends of the fixture and are provided with connector pins or sockets whereby a plurality of fixtures may be connected end to end through the lampholders, the circuit panels of the lampholders effecting connection between the main circuit board of the first fixture and the main circuit board of the second fixture, thus eliminating the need for additional wiring. A feature of the main circuit board is the provision of spare power circuits to permit connection of long strings of fixtures without overloading the preformed circuit boards, or their incoming power wires.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates, in general, to luminaires, and more particularly relates to fluorescent lamp fixtures utilizing preformed circuit boards and plug-in connections between the circuit board and the ballast and lampholders to provide a fixture which may be assembled or disassembled without the use of tools.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Numerous designs for fluorescent luminaires have been devised in the prior art, some of which disclose features such as the printed or etched circuit boards which are used in the present inventionHowever, on the whole, the prior art has been primarily directed to the use of metal fixtures having some type of channel or other wiring enclosure through which insulated wiring extends for connection to the various portions of the fixture, and the use of printed circuits has merely provided a substitute for part of the wiring, without producing any real changes in the fixtures. Such prior art fixtures present many obstacles to quick and etficient assembly, for each part must be separately wired into its circuit and the various pieces must then be connected by means of nuts and bolts or the like to a base unit. Where a number of such fixtures are to be connected end to end in strip lighting, the assembly is more complex and time consuming and is relatively permanent in nature. Thus, repair of such lamps is difficult, for often several fixtures must be disassembled in order to reach the desired fixture.

There have been some improvements in this type of construction, and the recent prior art teaches the use of printed or etched circuits into which the various lamp 3,514,590 Patented May 26, 1970 elements may be plugged, snapped or otherwise fastened. Although some of these luminaires have provided for end to end connection of a plurality of fixtures in a continuous row, their particular structure prohibits disassembly of a selected fixture in such a row without having at the same time to disassemble all the fixtures up to the selected one. Thus, once assembled and installed, the fixture is relatively inaccesible for repair purposes. Further, none of these prior devices permit assembly without the use of tools or, once installed, disassembly of all of the components without complete removal of the installation. Finally, the prior art luminaires fail to provide an assembly which consists entirely of preformed circuits, and thus each requires a certain amount of wiring to be done during assembly, thus failing to take full advantage of the preformed circuit technology.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art by providing a luminaire which can be completely assembled and disassembled 'without the use of any tools, regardless of the method of luminaire mounting. Although many of the prior art fixtures may be assembled and disassembled relatively easily when, for example, they are suspended from a ceiling, an entirely different problem arises when they are mounted against a surface or recessed into a surface. The present invention is equally accessible in any type of mounting. Thus, it is a further object of the invention to provide a luminaire of which any component such as the wiring circuits, lampholders, ballasts or fuses can be replaced after luminaire installation without the use of any tools or the necessity of removing the luminaire from its mounting.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a luminaire which incorporates circuitry and structure to permit successive similar luminaires to be connected in a continuous string, whereby all luminaires in the string may be powered from the same incoming power circuit, or may be powered from different circuits or power phases simply by the choice of lampholders and without requiring additional wiring. Each lampholder is thus designed as a modular unit containing a printed circuit panel permitting connection of the lamp which it holds to the ballast transformer while at the same time permitting interconnection of the circuitry of one luminaire with the next in a series of fixtures.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a luminaire which may incorporate a single lamp or a plurality of lamps, the luminaire utilizing circuitry which, when used with similar luminaires, can provide a unit of any number of lamps in a row, wherein the lamps may be powered from a selected one of a plurality of power supply circuits applied to the first luminaire in the row and carried through subsequent luminaires.

Thus, the present invention provides a lamp fixture which can be assembled and disassembled, installed, repaired, changed, or connected to any one of several incoming power lines, all without prior knowledge or skill in the installation of lamp fixtures, and further provides that this can be done in an electrically safe manner through various arrangements of plug and socket spacings which prevent errors. A nonconductive fixture base is provided to which a suitable number of threaded studs are mounted. A printed circuit board carrying the necessary wiring for the lamp fixture and having generally the same configuration as the base is mounted on the base by means of the threaded studs and held in place by suitable wing nuts. The mounting is such that the exposed circuitry is held between the base member and the circuit board to prevent accidental damage to the circuitry and to prevent short circuits. Suitable lampholders, designed to receive,

for example, conventional fluorescent tubes, make contact with the printed circuit by means of pins which extend up through the circuit board and into recesses in the nonconductive base member. The pins are held firmly in the recesses so as to support the weight of the lampholders and the lamps. The ballast transformer for the fixture is also connected into the circuit by means of pins extending through the circuit board. The ballast preferably is held in place by means of the threaded studs, rather than the friction fit of the pins, because of its weight. Incoming power lines are brought into the fixture, and are inserted up through suitable holes in the circuit board to contact the conductors formed on the upper surface thereof. Where a plurality of fixtures are to be connected in end to end relationship, power supply wires need be connected in this manner only to the first fixture in the strip. Subsequent fixtures are interconnected by way of pins and sockets on the lampholders, as will be described. Fuse means may be connected in the circuit by means of suitable pins extending through the circuit board and bridging a gap in the power supply conductors. Alternatively, a pull switch may be connected in this location to turn the lamps on and off.

A feature of the invention is the design of the lampholders which are designed to carry one of several different small connector circuit panels. These circuit panels carry conductors which permit interconnection of the main circuit board with the lamps by way of the mounting pins and which permit interconnection of adjacent fixtures in a string by means of connector pins extending between adjacent lampholders.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The novel features which are characteristic of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims, but the foregoing and additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will be understood more clearly and fully from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded isometric view of a fluorescent luminaire constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a detail of a conducting connector cup and its optional plug pin;

FIG. 3 is an exploded isometric view of a plug-in lampholder made in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a pair of lampholders connected back-to-back, illustrating the manner in which twoluminaires may be connected;

FIG. 5 illustrates the wire conductor arrangement of a main circuit board for use in the two-lamp, rapid start, bypin luminaire of FIG. 1; and

FIGS. 6, 7, 8 and 9 illustrate alternative forms of lampholder circuit panels for use in the lampholder of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Turning now to a consideration of the drawings, and particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, a luminaire constructed in accordance with the present invention is illustrated. The luminaire comprises a base element 8, a main circuit board 10 connectable thereto, plug-in

lampholders

12 and 14 supporting a lamp 16 and lampholders 18 and 20- supporting a lamp 22. A plug-in ballast 24 and fuse holder 26 are also provided.

End caps

28 and 30 may be provided for the luminaire and, after the unit has been assembled, it may be covered by a suitable lens or shielding 32 such as is commonly used on commercial luminaires.

Base plate 8 preferably is made of plastic or other suitable nonconductive material so that it may serve as a receptacle for the connectors used in providing contact between the conductors of the circuit board 10 and the various pins or plugs of the lampholders, ballast transformer, fuse and the like attached to the circuit board. It will be apparent that the base may be made of metal instead of a nonconductive material if the connectors and the circuit board conductors are suitably insulated from each other as by means of a nonconductive coating on the surface of base plate 8 or by mounting an insulating board (not shown) on the lower surface of the plate to serve as the receptacle. However, the preferred construction is the use of an insulating material for the base.

Base plate 8 is provided with two or more spaced holes 34 and 36 which provide for the attachment of mounting bolts or suspension means such as are commonly used with luminaires. An opening 38 permits entry into the luminaires of conduits and wires to provide power to the unit. A plurality of threaded

studs

40, 41, 42, 43, 44 and 45 are molded or screwed onto base plate 8 and are adapted to extend through corresponding holes 40"45 located in main circuit board element 10. Wing nuts 46- 51, respectively, are then threaded onto their corresponding studs to secure the main circuit board 10, and preferably the ballast transformer 24, to the base plate. The circuit board conductors are carried on the upper surface of the board, as illustrated in FIG. 5, and thus are protected from damage by the nonconductive base plate 8.

Base plate 8 includes four groups of recesses 52, 54, 56 and 58 corresponding to the location of lampholders 12, 14, 18 and 20, respectively, the recesses being adapted to receive the plugs or pins of their corresponding lampholders in order to both connect the lampholders to the appropriate conductors of circuit board 10 and to hold the lampholders in position. These recesses may be molded into the base plate, or otherwise formed, and are adapted to receive conductive cups 60 as illustrated diagrammatically in FIG. 1 for the group of recesses 58, and as shown in greater detail in FIG. 2.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, cup 60 is adapted for insertion into a recess 62. The cup is formed out of a single sheet of conducting spring metal in such a way as to form a hollow tubular 'body portion which will fit into recess 62. A barb 64' is struck out from the tubular body portion to lock against the sides of hole 62 to hold the cup firmly in place when :plugs are inserted or removed. Formed on the lower portion of the tubular body of cup 60 is flange 66 which is curved slightly to provide a spring type electrical contact between the cup and its corresponding circuit board conductor when the circuit board is clamped into place on the base plate. As illustrated in the embodiment of FIG. 1, the cups form receptacles for the pins or plugs of their corresponding units; however, these receptacles can be converted to plugs by the insertion of a pin 68. Pin 68 is provided with dimple or raised portion 70 corresponding to the struck out portion 64 in cup 60 whereby the pin will lock into the cup to secure it in place. It will be apparent that where pins 68 are used in place of the receptacles formed by cup 60, the corresponding units such as lampholders or ballast transformers must also be converted to provide receptacles for these pins in place of the particular construction illustrated in FIG. 1.

Returning to the consideration of FIG. 1, it will be seen that additional groups or

receptacles

72, 74, 112 and 113 are provided, the former group being adapted to receive corresponding. pins from ballast transformer 24 and the latter group being arranged to receive corresponding pins from fuse holder 26. It will be noted that each of the groups of

recesses

52, 54, 56, 58, 72 and 74 have their own particular arrangement which corresponds to the pin arrangement of their respectvie lampholder, ballast transformer and fuse holder units, whereby each unit will only fit in its correct group of receptacles, there by preventing errors in assembly of the luminaire unit. In the illustrated embodiment, each receptacle in the base plate includes a conducting cup such as that illus* trated in FIG. 2.

Also incorporated in base plate 8 are

openings

76 and 78 which are adapted to receive wiring clips such as those d indicated at 80* and 82. These clips include upturned flange portions which are adapted to be inserted into slots such as those indicated at 84 and 86 so that the clips will extend into the

openings

76 and 78. Clips 80 and 82 meet at the center of the opening in such a way that a power supply wire 100, may be attached to the luminaire by pressing a bare lead upwardly between the clips. The ends of the clips will then grasp the wire and prevent its being pulled out, the upward bend of the clips serving to secure the wire tighter between the clips if an attempt is made to pull the wire out. The clips are so located within their corresponding openings that they conduct electricity from the incoming power wires to the appropriate conductors on the main circuit board 10.

Although only one pair of wiring clips 80*, 82 are illustrated in FIG. 1, it will be apparent from what follows that two such pairs of clips are mounted in recess 78 and three pairs of clips are mounted in recess 76. Alternatively, only one clip might be used in each position, the wire being secured between the clip and one side of the

opening

76 or 78. In order to permit easy disas-sembly of the unit, each pair of wiring clips is provided with a spreader button such as that illustrated at 90 for clips 80 and 82. Upon assembly of the luminaire unit, button 90 will extend downwardly through hole 92 in the main circuit board. Then, by pressing this plastic button upwardly, clips 80 and 82 will be spread apart so that a wire grasped between the two clips can be removed without the use of tools. Additional spreader buttons 93, 94, 95 and 96 are illustrated as being mounted on main circuit board their corresponding spring clips are not shown in order to provide a clearer view of the construction of the subject luminaire.

Turning now to a detailed consideration of circuit board 10, it will be seen that the board is substantially the same size and shape as base plate 8. As has already been noted, the circuit board includes holes for receiving the threaded studs 45', whereby the circuit board may be affixed to the base plate. In addition, the circuit board carries holes corresponding to the various groups of receptacles in the base plate which are designed to receive the pins of the several lampholders, the ballast transformer and the fuse holder. These holes are identified by the same numbers as the corresponding receptacles in the base plate, the numbers on the circuit board being primed to distinguish them. Thus, the circuit board shows groups of

holes

54', 58', 72 and 74, the holes corresponding to groups 52 and 56 of the base plate being hidden by

lampholders

12 and 18. It will be noted that attachment holes 34 and 36 have corresponding holes 34 and 36' in the circuit board, while conduit entry hole 38 has a corresponding conduit entry hole 38' in the circuit board. When the circuit board is assembled to the base plate, the various holes in the circuit board will be aligned with their corresponding holes or receptacles in the base plate and the positions of

studs

40, 41, 44 and 45 will force correct alignment. The ballast 24 may then be plugged in, its pins, indicated generally at 98, being adapted to fit into holes and receptacles 72 and 72'. The ballast may be any commercially available ballast transformer modified so that its wiring is brought out to pins 98. By means of these pins, the transformer is connected into the luminaire circuit. In view of the weight of the transformer, pins 98 generally do not provide sufiicient holding power to retain the ballast in place; therefore,

studs

42 and 43 and corresponding wing nuts 48 and 49 are used to hold it.

Lampholders

12, 14, 18 and 20 may then be plugged into their corresponding groups of holes and receptacles, as has been described. The pins on the lampholders, which will be described in greater detail with respect to FIG. 3, connect the lamps into the circuit defined by the conductors carried by the circuit board 10. Power supply wires 100, 101 and 102 are brought into the luminaire through openings 38, 3-8. The stripped ends of these 6 leads may then be inserted into corresponding holes 103, 104 and in the circuit board to be held in place by corresponding spring clips such as those illustrated at 80, 82. Upon insertion of fuse holder 26 into holes 74' and receptacles 74, and insertion of a suitable fuse element 110, lamps 16 and 22 may be inserted in the lampholders and the unit is ready for operation. If desired, a

pull type switch may be substituted for fuse holder 26 to permit local control of the operation of the luminaire. FIG. 5 illustrates the upper surface of the main circuit board 10, and illustrates a suitable conductor arrangement for a two lamp, bi-pin, rapid start luminaire. The conductors on the upper surface of board 10 may be formed in any known manner; for example, through the use of common printed circuit techniques. Thus, circuit board 10 normally will be comprised of a nonconductive material onto which conductive strips, or conductors, are laminated. As shown, the shaded areas represent copper conductors, while the unshaded areas represent the insulating board. It should be noted that the illustrated conductors are not to scale, as the width of each conductor would depend upon the current they would be designed to conduct. The various apertures illustrated in FIG. 1 for the circuit board are also shown in FIG. 5 and are similarly identified. Dotted outlines and numbers indicate the position of the lampholders, ballast and fuse holder. It will be noted that the pins for each of these elements will extend in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing when the elements are in place. As is known in printed circuit techniques, the use of pins extending through a circuit board in this manner results in uncertain contact with the printed conductors, and thus the use of this type of circuit generally requires soldered connections. However, the present invention eliminates the need for this operation by the provision of conductive cups 60 for each pin, which cups include flanges 66 spring loaded between the circuit board 10 and the base plate 8 to insure contact between the pins and the cortesponding conductors. The spring clips 80, 82 perform the same function for the incoming supply wires.

Conductor 114 on the circuit board, forms one grounding buss for the unit and is connected to ground wire 100 by Way of aperture 103. Conductor likewise forms one grounding buss for the other lamp. Conductors 114 and 115 are connected together by pins from the metal case of the ballast 24, which project through holes 112 and 113. Thus, the metal ballast case is also grounded. These busses extend the length of the luminaire, and when a plurality of luminaires are connected in series, these conductors are used to provide a common ground connection for all. Conductor 116 is a neutral power buss and receives neutral power supply wire 101 by way of aperture 104. This buss alsoextends the length of the luminaire and is used to feed adjacent luminaires when a plurality are connected in series. This buss is also connected to one side of the input of ballast transformer 24. Conductors 117 and 118 carry the output power from the ballast transformer to the pins P of

lampholders

12 and 18, which lead to the lamp pins of their corresponding fluorescent tubes. Similarly, conductors 119, 120 and 121, 122 also lead from output terminals of the ballast transformer 24 to the pins of their

respective lampholders

20 and 14 which lead to their corresponding lamps.

Three positive power circuits are provided in the illustrated luminaire circuit, and are identified as conductors 123, 124 and 125. In the illustrated embodiment, positive power line 102 is connected to conductor 123 by way of aperture 105. This conductor is labeled L1 and is connected to the other side of the input of the ballast transformer through fuse 110, carried by fuse holder 26. Conductors 124 and 125 are, in effect, spares, or alternates, and are used to provide input power where a series of luminaires are used and it is desired to limit the number of lamps supplied by a single conductor. Where such spares are to be used, positive power wires are also connected to conductors 124 and 1'25 by way of corresponding

apertures

130 and 131. Normally, when two or more luminaires are connected in series, the conductor L1 of the first in the series will be connected to the conductor L1 in the second, and so on until the current carrying capacity of conductor L1 is reached. Then, the connection between luminaires will be shifted through the use of a different lampholder configuration, as will be described below, to discontinue conductor L1 and connect conductor L2 of the preceding luminaire to conductor L1 of the following luminaire so that the current previously carried by L2 will be used to energize subsequent lamps. The L3 conductors remain connected in series as before. When the limit of the L2 current is reached, a third lampholder connection is provided which will switch the L3 current to supply the L1 conductors of following luminaires. In this manner, a long row of lamps may be supplied by power lines connected at a single point, thus eliminating a considarable amount of wiring and reducing the cost of installation of these units.

The grounding busses 114 and 115 serve to dissipate any static charge in the lamps, and thereby function as metal reflectors where plastic luminaire base elements are used. Except for the alternate power conductors, the circuitry shown on circuit board is that used commercially at the present time in luminaires of this type.

Referring now to FIG. 3, there is illustrated an exploded view of a plug-in lampholder, such as the lampholder indicated at 14 in FIG. 1, which is made in accordance with the persent invention. La-mpholder 14 is of molded plastic and is constructed with a plurality of slots at the top thereof which are adapted to receive lampholder pin assemblies. These assemblies are made up of lampholder pin 132, spring clip 134 and conducting cup 136 and are assembled by inserting pin 132 through a hole 138 in spring clip 134 and into cup 136, the cup holding the pin in place with dimples and barbs as was described in FIG. 2. The assembly then slides into slot 130, with the cup and spring clip fitting into a recess below the slot. In similar manner, pin assemblies 140-141, 142-143, 144-145, and 146-147 are :fitted into corresponding slots and recesses of the lampholder, with the curved portion of the spring clips extending slightly outwardly from the rear face 148 of the lampholder. This rear face is inset slightly from the edge portion of the lampholder so as to form a flange surrounding the rear face 148. A rear circuit panel 150 is adapted to fit in the area defined by the flange portion and to fit tightly against the rear face. The rear face is provided with a plurality of plastic projections such as that indicated at 152 which are designed to secure the circuit panel to the face. These projections fit into corresponding holes such as 154 in panel 150, and assembly of the lampholder 14 may be effected by heat-spreading the projections 152 after they are inserted through their corresponding holes 154. This will hold the circuit panel tightly against the various spring clips and maintain the lampholder in its assembled configuration. It will be apparent that other arrangements may be used to hold the lampholder in its assembled configuration without atfecting the ability of the luminaire to be assembled without the use of tools, for the lampholders are preassembled and labeled as to type for use with the luminaire. The circuit panel 150 may be designed either to fit within the flange defined by the lampholder 14 or if a flange is not used, may fit flush against the rear face of the lampholder to act as a cover. In either event, the important consideration is that the various spring clips make contact with the corresponding conductors on the receptacle 156 in the rear face 148 receives cup 158 which, in turn, receives pin 160 through hole 162 in the rear circuit panel 150. In similar manner, conductive cups 164 and 166 -fit in corresponding recesses and are aligned with holes 168 and 170, respectively, in the rear circuit panel 150 to receive pins such as pin 160. It should be noted that the sockets defined by the conductive cups 158, 164 and 166 may be provided with pins whereby the lampholder 14 may be used as a plug unit, or the pins may be connected in an adjacent lampholder, and the lampholder 14 used as a socket unit.

Each lampholder includes a recessed portion such as that indicated at 172 which is adapted to receive contact spring members 174 and 176. These spring members are so shaped as to make contact with corresponding pins on, for example, fluorescent tube 16, as is known in the art. Each contact spring member is shaped to provide a contact portion which extends to the rear of face 148 of the lampholder and is thus adapted to make contact with a corresponding conductor on the rear circuit panel 150 when that panel is in place. The contact portion of contact spring 174 is indicated at 178 and is provided with a shoulder or flange adapted to fit into corresponding slot 180 in the rear face of the lampholder. This arrangement serves not only to hold the spring contact in position within the lampholder, but assures firm contact with circuit panel 150. Spring contact 176 is similarly mounted in the lampholder 14.

Circuit panel 150 carries on its inner surface a plurality of conductor strips which are designed to provide appropriate connection between two of

pins

132, 140, 142, 144 and 146 and the spring clips 174 and 176 to energize the lamp held by the lampholder, and between the remaining pins and corresponding conductive cups 158, 164 and 166. FIGS. 6, 7, 8 and 9 disclose various circuit panel arrangements which may be used with the various lampholders of FIG. 1 to provide suitable connections within the luminaire itself and with adjacent luminaires. For example, lampholder 14 requires two power connections (P) from the ballast to the pins of lamp 16 and three positive power connections (L1, L2 and L3) for connection to an adjacent luminaire. A suitable circuit panel for this use is illustrated in FIG. 7, wherein conductors 182 and 184 are so arranged that when the panel is in place, the upper ends of these two conductors will be in contact with spring clips 134 and 141, respectively, and at their lower ends will be in contact with spring contact 176 and 174, respectively. This will permit output power from ballast 24 to flow through conductors 121 and 122 (FIG. 5), pins 132 and 140, spring clips 134 and 141, conductors 182 and 184 and spring contacts 176 and 174 to lamp 16.

Conductors

186, 188 and 190 similarly connect spring clip 143 to conductive cup 166, connect spring clip 145 to conductive cup 158 and connect spring clip 147 to conductive cup 164, thus permitting lines L1, L2 and L3 to be connected to an adjacent lampholder.

FIG. 6 illustrates a circuit panel F suitable for use with lampholder 20, and is adapted to carry lamp power from the ballast transformer to lamp 22. This circuit panel is further adapted to carry the ground conductor 115 and the negative power line 116 to the next luminaire. A mirror image E of the panel of FIG. 6 would be used for lampholder 18 at the opposite end of the luminaire of FIG. 1, and lampholder 12 would be a mirror image B of lampholder 14.

FIG. 8 illustrates a circuit panel C such as would be used for lampholder 12 if it were desired to terminate conductor L1 from a preceding luminaire in a row, and substitute the power carried through conductor L2 of the preceding luminaire. Thus, in FIG. 8, no connection is made to L1 of the preceding luminaire, while the connection to L2 of the preceding luminaire is shifted so that this power conductor will supply the ballast of the luminaire in question. FIG. 9 would be used in lampholder 12 Where it is desired to shift the power carried by conductor L3 of a preceding luminaire to the ballast transformer supply.

As long as a lampholder A, such as that illustrated in FIG. 7, is used in a preceding lampholder of a row and is plugged into its mirror image B in the following lampholder, all luminaires in the string will be energized from buss conductor L1 of the first luminaire in the row. When the capacity of circuit L1 is exhausted, the A panel of one luminaire is plugged into a C panel such as is illustrated in FIG. 8, and this A to C lampholder combination will power successive luminaires from circuit L2 of the first luminaire. After this change, successive connections will be between A and B lampholders until circuit L2 of the first luminaire is exhausted. Then, the A lampholder of' FIIG- 7 will be plugged into a D lampholder such as that illustrated in FIG. 9, and this combination will energize the remaining luminaires from circuit L3 of the first luminaire, again with succesive A and B lampholders.

An illustration of the manner in which two lampholders of adjacent luminaires may be connected together to form a string is illustrated in FIG. 4, which is a sectional view of a lampholder such as that indicated at 14 connected to its corresponding lampholder in an adjacent luminaire, 12. Lampholder 14 is considered the preceding lampholder, and thus would carry circuit panel A, while lampholder 12' is the following lampholder, and would carry one of circuit panels B, C or D, depending on which conductor of the preceding unit is to supply power to the following unit. This sectional view is taken approximately down the middle of the lampholder illustrated in FIG. 3. Elements common to FIG. 3 are similarly numbered and their corresponding elements in lampholder 12' are primed. As indicated in FIG. 4, the luminaire carried by base 8 is located adjacent the following luminaire carried by base 8'. It is assumed that lampholder 12 carries panel B, and the arrangement of the various circuit panels and pins in the lampholders, therefore, is such as to effect communication between conductor 123 of circuit board and conductor 123' of circuit board 10. The path of this connection may be traced from conductor 123 through conductive cup 60 and pin 142 into the lampholder 14. From there, the connection is through conductive cup 136 and spring clip 143 to conductor 18-6 mounted on circuit panel 150. This conductor leads to conductive cup 166 which is connected to its corresponding conductive cup 166' on panel 150' by way of a connector pin 200. It will be apparent that this pin may be associated with either lampholder 14 or 12', the remaining lampholder forming a socket to receive it. From conductive cup 166', the connection follows conductive strip 186 on circuit panel 150', thence through spring clip 143', conductive cup 136, pin 142, conductive cup 60' and thus to conductor 123. In similar manner, the connection between the remaining pins of the adjacent luminaires may be traced.

In assembling the luminaire, it will be apparent that

end panels

28 and 30 Will only be required where the luminaire is at the end of a string, or is used by itself. Where the luminaire is to be connected to an adjacent fixture, the corresponding end panel must be omitted to permit connection between the two units.

Thus, there has been provided a luminaire which is simple in concept, easy to assemble without the use of tools, which may be used in numerous different configurations merely by the substitution of simple plug-in parts and which is safe and economical to use. For example, even where the luminaire is assembled in a string or installed in a recess, all of the component parts are accessible, without the use of tools, for repair or replacement. Thus, if more light is needed from an installation, it becomes a simple matter to disassemble it'and replace the circuit board and other components with parts suitable to a higher intensity fixture. Various changes, ad-

ditions or modifications of the described embodiment of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, all of which will utilize the principles set forth herein. Thus, the scope of the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments herein described, but includes such alternatives and modifications as may fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A luminaire comprising a base, a circuit board carrying a plurality of conductors, means for attaching said circuit board to said base, said circuit board including a plurality of apertures receiving connector pins corresponding to said circuit board conductors, ballast transformer means connectable by means of selected ones of said pins to certain of said circuit board conductors; at least one lampholder connectable by means of other ones of said pins to selected ones of said circuit board conductors, said pins being so arranged that said ballast transformer and said lampholder may be plugged into said circuit board, whereby said luminaire may be assembled without the use of tools.

2. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein said lampholder includes a circuit panel carrying a plurality of conductors, said last-named conductors connecting said other pins to a lamp carried by said lampholder, whereby said circuit board conductors and circuit panel conductors form the only wiring for said luminaire.

3. The luminaire of claim 2, wherein said lamp-holder includes connector means for connecting a second luminaire in series with said luminaire.

4. In a luminaire, a base plate; a circuit board; means for attaching said circiut board to said base plate; a plurality of conductors carried by said circuit board; a plurality of apertures in said circuit board receiving connector pins corresponding to said circuit board conductors; at least one lampholder receiving said pins carried by said plurality of apertures in said circuit board; and a plurality of conductors carried by a circuit panel in said lampholder connecting said pins to a lamp, whereby said circuit board conductors may be electrically connected to said lamp by means of said pins and said circuit panel conductors.

5. The lampholder of claim 4, wherein said lampholder includes a plurality of pin assemblies arranged to contact corresponding circuit panel conductors, contact spring means for receiving said lamp and for connecting corresponding circuit panel conductors to said lamp, and means for attaching said circuit panel to said lampholder.

6. The lampholder of claim 5, wherein said pin assemblies are inserted into said apertures to affix said lampholder to said circuit board and thereby electrically connect said circuit board conductors to corresponding circuit panel conductors.

7. The lampholder of claim 6, further including pin connector means extending through said circuit panel to permit connection of said lampholder to a corresponding lampholder of a second, adjacent, luminaire, whereby a plurality of luminaires may be connected in a series arrangement.

8. In a luminaire adapted for hand assembly or disassembly, a base plate; a main circuit board mounted on said base plate and carrying a plurality of conductors which incorporate the wiring for said luminaire; said circuit board including a plurality of groups of apertures, the apertures within each group being spaced and arranged to receive connector pins of specific predetermined luminaire components, said components including a plug-in 'ballast transformer and two plug-in lampholders; said lampholders receiving a lamp for energization from said circuit board connectors.

9. The luminaire of claim 8, wherein said base plate is non-conductive and includes a recess corresponding to each of said apertures in said circuit board, said plug-in ballast transformer and lampholders including connector pins extending through corresponding apertures in said circuit board into corresponding recesses in said base plate, said connector pins making electrical contact with corresponding ones of said conductors on said main circuit board and, additionally, holding said plug-in ballast transformer and lampholders in place in said luminaire.

10. The luminaire of claim 9, further including a conductive cup in each of said recesses receiving said connector pins, each cup including a spring flange portion extending between said base plate and said main circuit board to improve the electrical connection between each said connector pin and its corresponding circuit board conductor.

11. The luminaire of claim 8, wherein said base plate is non-conductive and includes a recess corresponding to each of said apertures in said circuit board, a conductive cup in each of said recesses, each said oup holding a connector pin which extends through said circuit board, each said conductive cup including a spring flange extending between said base plate and said circuit board to provide an electrical contact between a selected circuit board conductor and a corresponding connector pin, said plugin ballast transformer and lampholders being provided with recesses to receive corresponding ones of said connector pins and thereby electrically and mechanically to connect said transformer and lampholder to said circuit board.

12. The luminaire of claim 8, wherein each of said lampholders includes a plastic body portion receiving a plurality of pin assemblies, each said pin assembly including a connector pin and a contact spring, the pin assemblies of each lampholder being arranged in a unique manner, whereby the connector pins of a given lampholder will be received only by a predetermined group of said plurality of groups of apertures to insure correct assembly of said luminaire.

13. The luminaire of claim 12, wherein each lampholder further includes circuit panel means carrying a plurality of conductors, each contact spring of said pin assemblies making electrical contact with a predetermined one of said circuit panel conductors; lamp contact spring means for connecting at least one of said circuit panel conductors to said lamp, and means for connecting others of said circuit panel conductors to corresponding circuit panel conductors in a lampholder of a second, adjacent, luminaire, whereby a plurality of luminaires may be connected in a series arrangement.

14. The luminaire of claim 13, wherein the arrangement of said circuit panel conductors may be varied to permit a change in electrical circuitry from one luminaire to another luminaire in said series arrangement.

15. The luminaire of claim 8, further including first and second input power wires; said base plate further including a wiring aperture receiving first and second pairs of wiring clips for securing said first and second input power wires to said luminaire and for connecting said power wires to corresponding circuit board conductors; and spreader button means for releasing said power wires, whereby input power may be supplied to said luminaire without the use of tools.

16. The luminaire of claim 8, wherein said circuit board carries first conductor means for connecting one side of an input power source to one side of the input to said ballast transformer; securing conductor means for connecting the output of said ballast transformer to said lamp by way of conductors carried by a circuit panel in each of said lampholders; third conductor means for connecting the other side of said input power source to the other side of the input of said ballast transformer; fourth and fifth conductor means connected to said first and third conductor means respectively, to connect said input power source to a second luminaire in a row, said second luminaire being similar to the first-mentioned said luminaire connecting said input power source to a third luminaire in said row.

17. The luminaire of claim 16, wherein said circuit board further carries at least one spare conductor whereby a second input power source may be connected through said first luminaire for use in a subsequent luminaire in said row.

18. The luminaire of claim 8, wherein said two lampholders are connected at opposite edges of said luminaire, said lampholders receiving connector pins for electrically interconnecting a first luminaire in a row to a second luminaire in said row, adjacent lampholders of adjacent luminaires being connected back-to-back and providing an electrical path from the main circuit board of said first luminaire to the main circuit board of the second luminaire.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,847,560 8/1958 Peak et al. 240-8.16 3,015,718 1/1962 Petri 240-816 3,077,535 2/1963 Dupree 240-8.16 3,120,350 2/1964 Muenz 2408.16 3,377,488 4/1968 Lorenzo 307-157 NORTON ANSHER, Primary Examiner R. M. SHEER, Assistant Examiner Us. 01. X.R. 307-157; 240-9 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 1 590 Dated y 1970 Inventor(s) M. D. Shaeffer It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Claim 16, line 4, after "transformem" change "securing" to --second--.

Claim 16, line 11, insert a comma before "respectively".

SIGNED AND SEALED (SEAL) Amer.-

Emma-admi mm: 1:. mm, m. MOM Commissioner of Patents