A luminaire lamp socket mounting arrangement

Abstract

 The present invention discloses improvements relating to luminaires having doubly arched reflectors. One such improvement is a mounting arrangement (112) to hold the lamp (20) so that the lamp axis can be easily adjusted to be parallel to the longitudinal axis of the reflector (101).

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to luminaires and, in particular, to luminaries having a reflector of adjustable focal length including two curved portions. Such a reflector is described in WO 96/37732 (which has the same inventor as the present application) and will hereafter be termed a doubly arched reflector.

[0002] The above described luminaire is normally sold in knockdown form and is assembled by the purchaser. Hitherto, this assembly process has been relatively time consuming because of the large number of bolts, nuts and like fasteners which must be assembled. In particular, the means by which the lamp socket mounting is held in position are cumbersome and require considerable adjustment to ensure that the longitudinal axis of the lamp is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the reflector.

GENESIS OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The genesis of the present invention is a desire to provide an arrangement whereby such a luminaire can be assembled in a more convenient fashion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is disclosed a lamp socket mounting for a doubly arched reflector luminaire, said luminaire having a reflector including two leaves extending from a substantially centrally located V-shaped spine, characterized in that said mounting comprises a bight-shaped base able to be mounted on said spine with the bight of said base facing said spine, a pair of arms extending from said base in a direction away from said bight, a housing extending between said arms and being movable longitudinally along said arms, and fastening means to locate said housing relative to said arms.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a prior art luminaire of the doubly arched reflector type,

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the luminaire of the preferred embodiment, and

Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the lamp socket mounting for the luminaire.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0006] As seen in Fig. 1, the reflector 1 of the prior art is formed from two sheets 2 preferably of resilient metal construction which are joined together about a spine 3 in the manner of the pages of a book. A tensioning device in the form of a chain 4 and hooks 5 is used to provide the desired adjustment of the focal length of the reflector 1.

[0007] The remaining components of the luminaire are essentially a lamp socket mounting 12 which supports the lamp socket 18 which in turn supports the lamp 20. If desired, a heat shield 17 having perforations 30 can be provided.

[0008] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the means by which the lamp socket mounting 12 is held in position are cumbersome and require considerable adjustment to ensure that the longitudinal axis of the lamp 20 is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the reflector 1. Furthermore, the chain 4 whilst being practical is a relatively expensive method of ensuring that the required tension in the reflector is achieved. In addition, because of the tendency of the chain 4 to collapse unless placed under tension, many purchasers find it awkward to interengage the hooks 5 and the links of chain 4.

[0009] Turning now to Figs. 2 and 3, the luminaire 100 of the preferred embodiment is illustrated having a reflector 101 formed from two sheets 102 and 122 essentially as before with a lamp socket mounting 112 and a pair of tensioning filaments 104 (only one of which is illustrated in Fig. 2). The sheets 102, 122 are supplied in a compact knock down form stacked one above the other and are then joined together to form a spine 103.

[0010] The lamp socket mounting 112 will now be described with reference to Fig. 3. The interconnection between the lamp socket mounting 112 and the reflector 101 is effected by means of a base 121 which has a V-shaped bight 122 which is shaped to mate with the spine 103. The bight 122 and spine 103 are interconnected by any convenient mechanism such as self-tapping screws (not illustrated) passing through the openings 123 in the bight 122. Preferably such screws pass into one pair of the two pairs of holes or opposite ends of the reflector as seen in Fig. 1. In this way the lamp socket mounting 112 is positioned at one end of the reflector 1 or 101. Alternatively, the mounting 112 can be located intermediate the ends of the reflector 1 or 101.

[0011] In addition, the base 121 has a pair of arms 124 each of which has a longitudinally extending slot 125.

[0012] Lamp socket 18 is conventional and is mounted to an L-shaped cover 132 which closes a rectangular housing 133 having a pair of protruding side walls 134. Each of the side walls 134 has a curved slot 135 therethrough. Located within the housing 133 are electrical connectors and possible ancillary electrical equipment (all not illustrated). In addition, the L-shaped cover 32 has a pair of slots 136 each of which is shaped to receive a corresponding arm 124 of the base 121.

[0013] In operation, the base 121 is first secured to the spine 103 of the reflector 101. Then the arms 124 are each passed through the corresponding slot 136 and a screw fastener 137 passed through each of the slots 125 and 135. By sliding the housing 133 up and down the arms 124, the preferred distance between the longitudinal axis of the lamp to be engaged with socket 18, and the spine 103 can be set. In addition, by movement of both side walls 134 simultaneously in the same direction relative to the arms 124, the longitudinal axis of the lamp socket 18 can be inclined towards or away from the spine 103 as desired. Furthermore, should the lamp socket axis not be parallel to that of the spine 103, one of the side walls 134 can be pushed forwardly slightly whilst the other of the side walls 134 can be pushed rearwardly slightly, thereby moving the axis of the lamp socket 18 to right or left. Once these fine adjustments are made, the screw fasteners 137 are made fast.

[0014] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the above described adjustment and alignment of the lamp socket axis is able to be easily and conveniently carried out by the end user once the lamp has been installed so as to ensure that the reflector 101 operates to the maximum of its designed potential. This is not easy to accomplish using the threaded fastener arrangement illustrated in Fig. 1.

[0015] The foregoing describes only one embodiment of the present invention and modifications, obvious to those skilled in the art, can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0016] The term "comprising" (and its grammatical variations) as used herein is used in the inclusive sense of "having" or "including" and not in the exclusive sense of "consisting only of'.

Claims

1. A lamp socket mounting for a doubly arched reflector luminaire, said luminaire (100) having a reflector (101) having two leaves (102) extending from a substantially centrally located V-shaped spine (103), characterized in that said mounting (112) comprises a bight-shaped base (121) able to be mounted on said spine with the bight (122) of said base facing said spine, a pair of arms (124) extending from said base in a direction away from said bight, a housing (133) extending between said arms and being movable longitudinally along said arms, and fastening means (137) to locate said housing relative to said arms.

2. The mounting as claimed in claim 1 wherein said housing includes a pair of slots (136) spaced apart by the distance between said arms, each of said arms passing through the corresponding slot.

3. The mounting as claimed in claim 2 wherein each said arm includes a longitudinally extending recess (125) and said fastening means comprises a pair of fasteners (137) each having a shank passing through said recess and engageable with said housing.

4. The mounting as claimed in claim 3 wherein each said fastener shank engages a corresponding aperture (135) formed in said housing.

5. The mounting as claimed in claim 4 wherein each said corresponding aperture (135) has a substantial extent in a direction substantially perpendicular to the corresponding said arm (124).

6. The mounting as claimed in claim 5 wherein each said corresponding aperture (135) is substantially actuate.

7. A luminaire having a lamp socket as claimed in any one of claims 1-6.

Drawing