LUMINAIRE
J - 687187 -1'-' 30,488 This invention relates, generally, to luminaires and, more particularly, to fluorescent luminaires adapted for recessed and surface mounting as both an individual unit or in a continuous row for direct lighting purposes.
The object of my invention, generally stated, is to provide a fluorescent luminaire which is of simple and economical construction, which may be readily and easily installed and serviced, which has a pleasing and ornamental appearance, and which has a relatively high ",4 u 'i! q :2 lO efficiency.
Another object of this invention is to provide a construction for a luminaire of the character described wherein the body member is in the form of a lightweight unit or assembly which may be readily attached to the ceiling or other supporting surface, and to which the door • and shielding media are hingedly mounted in a readily detachable manner.
A further object of this invention is to provide, in a luminaire of this type, for so mounting the side reflectors within the body member that they may be readily detached from the body member.
A still further object of this invention is to provide, in a luminaire of this type, for mounting the side reflectors in a detachable manner so as to provide ready access for maintenance purposes.
A further object of my invention is to provide b a stiff, shallow combined wiring channel and reflector member to conceal lamp ballasts, wiring and other parts of such luminaire.
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,I lO 68"/187 »2 30,488 Still another object of my invention is to pro vide a construction for a luminaire of the character described, wherein the body member is in the form of a lightweight unit or assembly which may be readily adapted to incorporate various mounting arrangements necessary for numerous different types of ceilings« A further object of my invention is to provide, in a1uminåire of this type, for mounting the shielding media in a removable state so that various designs and configurations may be selected and used to give the decorative and light distribution effect desired.
Another object of my invention is to provide a fluorescent luminaire of a type which has a door member actuated by a latch which is positive, inexpensive, light tight and inconspicuous.
A further object of my invention is to provide a fluorescent luminaire of a type which has a oor member rotatably and detaohably mounted which is positive, inexpensive and inconspiououso Still another object of my invention is to provide a stiff, shallow combined wiring channel and luminaire so that electric circuit wiring may be easily installed at the ends and sides of the luminaire.
Another object of my invention is to provide a luminaire which is adaptable to be manufactured in a variety of sizes incorporating interchangeable elements throughout.
These and other objects of my invention will become more apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof, "J"ì iiii?ii i i i.
i, i ii- « i when taken in conjunction with the attached drawings in which :
Figure 1 is a perspective, partially exploded view of a lighting fixture, which is adapted to use a door and latch constructed in accordance with the principles of y invention Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional vie of a luminaire similar to that shown in Fig° 1 but having a grid type flange on the housing thereof lO Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the grid type flange shown in Fig. 2 showing the support holding screw loosened ; Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the lighting fixture shown in Fig. 5, with the hinged door in the closed position taken along the lines IV-IV thereof; Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the lighting fixture shown in Fig. 1 ; Fig. 6 is a side view of the latch mechanism in place with a part of the lighting fixture shown in section; Fig. 7 is an end view of the latch mechanism shown in Fig. 6 with part of the lighting fixture in section taken along the line VII-VII of Fig. 6 Fig. 8 is a perspective cross-sectional view of the latch mechanism and a part of the lighting fixture shown in Fig. õ with part of the latter broken away Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a part of the door frame and part of the fixture with the door shown in the closed position; Fig. lO is a perspective view of the hinge mechanism assembled to a part of the door frame il•• , •, • ..... i • lO - 430,488 Pig. Il is an exploded perspective view of the door frime with the shielding media partially in place and with part of the frame broken away& Pig. 12 is an exploded perspective view of a part of the door frame side and end assembly Pig. 13 is a cross-sectional view of one side of the hinge and door frame and a part of the housing with the door at an angle of 40° from the vertica1 ;;iand ç Pig. 14 is a cross-sectional view similar to Pig. 13 except that the door frame is in the fully open position.
While the invention herein disclosed is a fluorescent lighting fixture mounted on or recessed in the ceiling, it should be understood that the invention in its various aspects may be utilized in ceilings other than those specifically disclosed. Consequently, the following disclosure is not intended to be limited to any one particular type of ceiling utilized with a lighting fixture constructed in accordance with my invention° Refei îng to Fig. l, it will be seen that a luminaire 'constructed in accordance with one embodiment of my invention comprises, generally, a body member or housing lO, reflectors 12, and a door assembly 14 containing the shielding media 16 or 18, both of which may be Interchangeably used° Fig. 1 shows the general make-up or arrangement of the luminaire and is not intended to show all of the structural details. The luminaire shown in this instance is of the surface mounting type adapted for installation as a single unit or in rows to form a continuous luminaire.
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;i:i« i, lO - 5-o 30 488 In other words, a number of these luminaires may be mounted in direct end to end relation to form a continuous row or may be mounted in patterns to form various designs or they may be mounted with other forms of light--producing units interposed between units individually mounted.
The housing member lO as shown in Fig. l is in the form of an elongated housing closed at the top and having relatively large rectangular bottom opening. In actual use, the housing member lO may vary from a square configuration to a long, narrow, elongated shape, depending upon the illumination desired. The housing member 10, made of any suitable sheet metal material, may comprise a top panel 20 having integral side panels 22 formed from the same material in one operation. op panel 20, may have reinforcing ribs 21, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5, running the length of the housing member lO to give increased rigidity to the structure. End panels 24 may be attached to the top panel 20 and the side panel 22 by any suitable means, as for example by means of screws. The side panels 20, may be formed at their lowermost edges to numerous different shapes, two of which are shown in Fig° 2 and Fig. 5. The type of ceiling and the manner of mounting the luminaire will determine the cross-sectional configuration of the lower side edges of the luminaire° Housing mem ....
ber lO, (Fig. l) is thereby provided with an elongated bottom opening 26 and with the usual mounting openings and knockouts 23 as shown.
The housing member lO is of lightweight construction and is adapted for installation without the reflector assemblies 12 and door assembly 14 attached° '7•, H! .i ï i• -630 488 The arrangement is such that these elements of the complete luminaire may be readily attached to the body member after it is installed on the ceiling or other supporting surface.
The necessary lampholders 30, are mounted in the housing assembly lO, by a lampholder support 34 at each .end. Each lampholder support 34 is formed from a lY suitable metal material which is attached to the top panel by any suitable detachable means, preferably by metal lO screws, not shown, associated with a flange 37 formed integrally therewith. The lampholder support 34 has an inner laterally extending panel 36 connecting the flange 37 with the plate 39, as shown in Fig. 4. Lampholder support 34, has the horizontally disposed plate 39 which extends from the connecting panel 36 toward the adjacent end panel 24 of the housing assembly lO. At the junction of the lampholder support 34 and the end panels 24, the lampholder support has a number of cutouts 40 (Fig. l) made in the horizontal section 39 of the lampholder support 34. The size of the cutouts 40 is determined by the cross-sectional area of the lamp prong receiving ends 31 of the lampholders 30 that will be used in the luminaire° Also the number of cutouts is determined by the number of lampholders 30 that will be used in the luminaire.
The lamp prong receiving ends 31 of lampholders 30 are extended through the cutouts and below the horizontal plates 39 of the lampholder supports 34, and are thereby exposed to the bottom opening 26 of the housing assembly lO. In designing the lampholder supports 34 in this manner, a lampholder support wireway 42 is defined by each : L • • • ii •:L[• • ....
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l0 "'730,488 end panel 24, the top panel 20 and the lampholder support 34. This wireway 42 extends across both end panels 24 of the housing assembly 10o Each wireway 42, also provides easy access to the connector terminal ends 44 of the lampholders 30 which are mounted on top of the plate 39 of the lampholder supports 34, for example, by screws.
In a'ssembllng the luminaire, necessary wiring may first be connected to the lampholders 30 at their connector ends 44 and then the lampholders 30 are secured in position on the lampholder support 34 with their prong receiving ends 31 extending downwardly as shown° Each lampholder support 34 is then positioned in place with its flange 37 against the top panel 20 and the outer side edge against the end panel 22, and secured in place by suitable detachable means such as bolts (not shown) passing through the flange 37 and top panel 20. It will be apparent that all of the necessary wiring and connections to the lampholders will be concealed by the lampholder supports 34, when they are secured in normal operating position. At each end of each lampholder support 34, a curved portion 46, extends downwardly and outwardly to engage the adjacent side panel 22 of the housing assembly 10. Attached to the curved portions 46, are .downwardly extending studs 28 (Fig° I)° A reflector 12 is detachably mounted to each of the curved end portions 46 of the lampholder support 34 at each side by studs 28 passing through holes 32 of the reflector and barrel nuts (not shown). Ballasts 48 are mounted to the top panel 20 and are located close to one or both of the side panels 22 of the housing assembly 10@ When the reflectors 12, made of any suitable J , i'i.¸.
i:i!i ,v lO 3o -. 8.-. 30,488 reflecting material, are mounted lu their operative positions, the reflectors 12 conceal the ballasts 48 from view. Fig. 5 shows the relative locations of the ballasts 48 and the reflector 12 at one side.
It will be apparent that by means of this arrangement, the lampholders 30, lampholder supports 341 wiring, ballasts 48 and reflectors 12 may be assembled and mounted in the housing assembly lO after it has been mounted upon the ceiling° The detachable mounting of the reflectors 12 and lampholder supports 34 permits ready access to the electrical elements at any time without removing or otherwise disturbing the housing assembly l0 or adjacent units.
An important aspect of our invention is the adaptability of our housing assembly to various common ceiling mounting arrangements. Figure 1 illustrates the type of housing that would be used for a ceiling surface mounted luminaire. In this type of luminaire, the housing assembly l0 is mounted by means of bolts or screws (not shown) passing through the knockouts 23 located in the top panel 20 and closely adjacent the side panels 22 so as to be concealed by reflectors 12° In this form of the invention, a cross-sectional view of which is shown .in ig. 5,1he side panels 22 are bent inwardly of the bottom opening 26, to form horizontal portions 15. Each of the panels is then bent upwards to form the inner wall 17 of the opening 26, which wall has a depth approximately equal to the depth of the door assembly 14o Horizontal panel 19 then extends inwardly of the opening 26 a distance slightly greater than the width of the door assembly 14, where it is then be b vertically upwards forming an inner .;:iii:• .i:
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ï v -930,488 side panel 21. Reflectors 12 are attached to the curved portions 46 of the lampholder supports 34, anõ extend the lenctb of housing I0. The re leetors, in operative position, extend from the top panel 20 to the inner side panel 21 when they are used in this type of luminaire.
In £ig. 2, a grid-type mounting arrangement is shown. ith this type of arrangement, the ceiling panels, not shown, are supported by grid support runners 50, which bave a cross-sectional shape of an inverter T-bar, as shown. A side runner 52, shown in igs. 2 and 3, having a zig-zag cross-section, is attached to the inner, bottom surface of each of the side panels 22 by holding screws 54. To mount the luminaire, the holding screws 54, are threadedly loosened from the side panel 22, to allow the side runner 52, to dangle inwardly as shown in Fig. 3.
The housing assembly I0 may then be inserted through the opening between adjacent grid support runners 50. Once the housing I0 bas been inserted through the opening, the side runner 52 may be positioned on the T-Bar 50 ana holding screws 54 may be tightened in the side panels 22. Slots, not shown, located in the horizontal portion II0 and the vertical portion 112 of the side runners 52 for each luminaire are placed to receive the latch 80 and the hinge 68, respectively, when the luminaire has a door assembly 14 to cover the bottom opening 26 of the housing I0. After the housing assembly I0 supported by the side runners 52 is located in the ceiling, then the lowermost portion of the luminaire is substantially flush with the ceiling.
A light metal frame door assembly 14 covers the bottom of the housing assembly I0. The door frame on i. ,k 6871 87 ].0 - fO30,488 oppoí iI;«: s:i(l(;s is :rerme{I b,z a mntnl channel 5L',, bent as shown :in !,':i s. ç] and ]2, hav.inM cross-section o:[ a suhst :in[;]:d].,7 reet;nn,<u]ar shape with ()ne corner open and w']th a C-shaDed ]YYtermedi.al;e runner channel. 60 formed to extending ]rlW rd],y o[' the inner side ci the channel. The f[ntermedia-i;e :rtmner charme] 60 will suppo:ç% one side edge o:[' the sbiulding media o:r l't[fbt control element 16, whieh ma,y be s]l.dabl.y "tnserI;ed lonõitud±nally in-fo the runner channel 60 o:[' the door Trame channel 58. Right an l a:r sha[)ed corner clips 62, as shown in i çs. Il and 12, are ].oc vted a% the ends of -the door frame metal channels 58. One arm of each corner clip 62 is channel shaped in section having :[].anges 57 and 62, with the other' arm of the clip comprising tang 63 extending outwardly from "the lower flange 57 and which is Frictionally inserted into the rolled end portion 65 of the end frame member 59 as shown in Figs. ll and 12. The end frame member 59 is mitred 45° at ifs ends abutt with the end of' %Ne door frame metal channel 58, which is also mitred to a 45° angle. The upper :[lange 55 of the corner clip has a projection 105 ai one end bent upwardly located ai the inner corner. When %he channel arm of the corner clip 62, is inserted in%o the door frame metal channel 58, with a relal ively close fit, upper flanoe 55 and lower flange 57 of %he corner clip 62 frictionally engage the upper inner surface 66 and the lower inner surface 64 of the door [rame metal, channel 58, respectively. Corner clip projection 105 is x'orced downwaI'dly when if engages the upper inner surface 66, and %hereby increasìnõ the friction between these parts fo securely fasten %he corner clip 62 • i • i] i¸ , i¸ l'!il v lO 68718T -II30 488 to the door frame metal channel 58. Channel projection 67, located at the outer end of the upper surface of door frame metal channel 58, and bent upwardly, may be bent downward after the corner clip 62 is fully inserted in the door frame metal channel 58 to engage the outer end of flange 55 to securely hold the corner clip 62 and the end frame member 59 in place. To remove the corner clip 62, the channel projection 67 should be bent upwardly° The corner clips 62, thus closely frictionally engage in the door frame metal channels 58 to securely hold the end members 59 and hence the shielding media 16 in place, and also to provide a door frame about all four sides of the shielding media of uniform bottom design.
Spaced hinges 68, as shown in Figs. lO and 13 have a flange lO0 which is fastened to the channel portion of the door frame metal channel 58 by screws 71o Each hinge 68, made of a suitable metal, extends outwardly of the door frame channel in a generally arched shape. At its outer tip 72, the hinge 68 is reversedly bent inwardly, forming a hook shaped portion 73 in cross-section. In the inner lower portion of the side walls 22 (Figs. 1 and lO of the housing assembly lO, slots 74 are provided spaced above the horizontal portion 15 of each side panel 17 to provide a vertical flange 75 which is engaged by the hooked shaped portion 73, o hinges 68 when the door assembly 14 is in an open position. As shown in Fig. 14» the hinge 68 may not be removed from its slot 74 when it is in its fully open position, as the channel portion 102 will strike the horizontal portion 15 of the housing lO as door frame metal channel 58 is moved upwardly before the hook -ll- • !i! 11• • i!ii i i/ lO 3o 687 87 -12 3rO, 488 portion 73 clears the top of flange 75. At an intermediate open position, for example at the 40° position, as shown in Fig. 13, the door frame metal channel 58, may be moved upwardly to clear the horizontal portion of the housing I0. The outer tip 72, strikes the upper edge of the slot 74, but the slot is wide enough to clear the outer tip 72 and the hook shaped portion 73 so that they may be withdrawn from the slot 74. If the door frame metal channel 58 is tilted at an angle substantially greater than 40°, as for example 50°, then if the door is lifted the outer tip 72, of hinge 68, strikes the upper edge of the slot, but the hook shaped portion 73 will not be raised a distance sufficient to clear the flange portion 75 of the slot 74 because of the curvature of hinge 68. The door frame metal channel 58, and thus the door 14, is rotatably supported in the housing assembly lO by the hinge 68 in both open and closed positions, but can only be removed from the housing lO when the door 14 is tilted at a predetermined intermediate angle, for example an angle of approximately 40°. The door hinges 68 may be inserted in the slots 74 at either sidç of the housing lO.
In Pig. l, it is to be noted, that two different types of shielding media may be used in the door frame 14 if it is so desired. As pictured, a solid light control element 16 and a louver type element 18 may both be inserted in the door assembly 14 separated by a spacer portion 76, slidably placed in the door frame metal channels 58. Various type of shielding media may be used, of which a dished plastic diffuser type 78 is shown in cross-section in 6871 87 v Z ï ï Figs. 4 and 5. The shielding media may be readily interchanged at will according to the lighting needs desired, by removing one end frame member 59 as shown in Fig. ll and the associated corner clips 62, and slidably removing the shielding media.
The door assembly 14 is held in the closed position by two or more batches 80 which engage the upper surface of panel 19 of the housing assembly lO, through a slot 92, as shown in Fig. 7. The latch 80, as shown lO in Figs. 6 and 8, is formed from a flat piece of metal, having two spaced offset indentations 84 and 86 on ï opposite sides of the latch 80. Indentation 84 forms a hook to engage the upper surface of panel 19 of the housing assembly lO, when the door is in the closed position. The latch 80, is rigidly mounted on a slide plate 88, for example, by welding, which actuates the latch meohanlsm. Slide plate 88 is located on the bottom surface of door frame metal channel 58. Latch 80, extends perpendicularly to the slide plate 88, through the bottom slot 91 of the door frame metal channel and the slot 92 of the housing assembly lO. In Fig. 6 an actuating spring 90, having a generally U-shape, is located at one end by a projection 94 of the door frame metal channel 58, about which erie end of the spring may be wrapped.
The other end of the generally U-shaped actuating spring 90 is reversedly bent to form a hook to receive one edge of the latch 80 at the indentation 86, thereby putting the actuating spring under stress. The spring 90 thus acts to bias the latch 80 upwardly to cause engagement of the slide plate 88 with the lower surface of the door frame, -1430,488 .i!i • iI i lO and at the same time biases the latch to one end of the slot 91. There is a slot 106 formed between the side plate 88 and the latch 80 at the same side as indentation 84 which slidably receives the part of door frame metal channel 58 at the adjacent end of slot 91, thus preventing the latch 80 from dropping out of slot 91. As the door 14 is closed, the latch plate 88 enters slot 92 until the cam surface 81 of the latch 80, strikes the adjacent end of the slot 92 of the housing wall 10. Since the latch is resiliently biased by the actuating spring 90 when the cam surface 81 of the latch 80 strikes the end of slot 92, the latch 80 is moved towards ne projection 94, while further stressing the spring 90. When the latch 80 is fully inserted into the slot 92, the latch 80 moves back to its latching position where the indentation 84 receives .s the adjacent end of slot 92 and locks to the upper surface 82 of the panel 19. Projection 94 also acts as a stop to restrict the movement of latch 80 when it moves towards the projection 94 by engaging rear edge 77 of latch The latch slide plate 88 in latching position i ç broad enough and long enough to cover the slot 91 in che door frame metal channel 58 so that no light will escape through the latching mechanism. Depending on the length of the door assembly desired, two or more latch assemblies may be used.
In view of the foregoing detailed description of preferred embodiments of our invention, it will be apparent that I have provided a luminaire construction which is espeolally adapted for recessed or flush mounting. I have also produced a luminaire which has a desirable !!it iii! 6 871 8 7 -1550,488 appearance both in its physical makeup and also when lighted and in use. In addition, the luminaire of this invention is extremely simple to install and maintain.
While I have described specific embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that the principles thereof may be utilized in other specific embodiments without departing from the spirit of my invention.
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i i i - 16 - 30,488 The embodiments of the invention in which an exclu- l. A lumìnaire for use with elongated electric discharge lamps comprising in combination, a housing of an elongated hollow construction having end walls and side walls and a top wall, said walls having knockout portions to provide wiring access openings, a lampholder support secured to the inner surface of said housing at each end thereof, said lampholder supports forming first wiring channels disposed between said supports and said housing ends respectively and extending across the ends of the luminaire, opposed fundholders mounted on said supports respectively, elongated reflectors mounted respectively at opposite sides within saìd housing and extending longitudinally between said supports, said reflectors each having its lateral edges engaging the adjacent top and side walls of said housing to define a ballast chamber and a second wiring channel therebetween, said ballast chambers and said first and said second channels forming a continuous wiring channel about the periphery of said luminsre and communicating with said knockout portions, and means for removably mounting a light transmitting element on said luminaire housing. 2. A luminaire for use with elongated electric discharge lamps comprising in combination, a housing of an elongated hollow construction having end walls and side walls and a top wall, opposed lampholder supports secured respectively to said housing adjacent the ends thereof, said lampholder supports each being spaced from the adjacent portion of at least one of said top and said end walls to form a transverse wireway at each end of thehousing having end openíngs adjacent to but spaced from each side wall, opposed lampholders secured • i 30,488 respectively to said lampholder supports, elongated reflectors removably secured adjacent the ends of said lampholder supports and extending between s ìd opposed lampholder supports, said reflectors each having their lateral edges engaging the adjacent top and side walls respectively to enclose a ballast chamber and a wireway communicating to form with said transverse wireways continuous ballast chambers and wireways extending about the top inner periphery of said luminaire, said continuous wirewa Sthereby communicating with wire entrances provided at any selected point about the perimeter of said housing, and means for removably mounting a light transmitting element on said luminaire housing. 3. A luminaire as claimed in claim l, wherein the said means for removably mounting a light transmitting element comprise a skirt of said housing defining a bottom opening of the housing and having a recessed laterally extending portiere, a door frame carrying the light transmitting element detachably and pivotally secured to said skirt sad engaging the skirt at said recessed laterally extending skirt portion, said door .frame being flush with the lower edges of the housing end walls and side walls in the closed position, and a latch having a keeper extending through an opening in the door frame and engaging an opening in said recessed laterally extending skirt portion to secure the door frame in the closed position, said latch having a slide secured to said keeper to actuate said latch, said latch having resilient means biasing the keeper in a direction to engage the latch and in an inward direction to maintain the slide juxtaposed with the bottom surface of the door frame, said slide completely covering the opening in the í i i 30,488 door frame at least in the closed position to thereby provìde a light-tight latching mechanism. 4. A luminaire as claimed in claim l, wherein the said means for removably mounting a light transmitting element comprise a detachable door frame carrying the element pivotally mounted adjacent the bottom opening formed by the housing, a latch having a keeper projecting upwardly through a slot adjacent a lateral edge of the door frame to secure the door frame in a closed position with the housing, said keeper engaging a complementarily formed portion of the adjacent one of said side walls, a slide plate attached to the keeper to actuate the latch, the slide plate being located on the outer surface of the door frame and completely covering the slot in the engaged position of the keeper, and spring means simultaneously urging the latch to its closed position and urging the slide plate flush against the door frame to provide a light-tight latch. 5. A luminaire as claimed in claim 4, wherein the said latch keeper has at least two spaced offset indentations on opposite sides thereof, one of the indoetations engaging a complementarily formed portion of said housing to latch the door frame to the housing, the latch keeper also having a knee portion pivotally engaging said door frame adjacent the other end of the slot in the frame, wherein there is provided a projection on the door frame adjacent one emd of the slot, and wherein the said spring means comprise a generally u-shaped actuating spring biased at one end against the projection and reversedly bent at the other end thereof to form a hook engagìng the latch keeper under the "!iii:
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i i 30,488 other of said indentations so as to put the spring under the requìred stress, said projection also actìng as a stop to restrict movement of the latch too far toward the other end of the slot. 6. A luminaire as claimed in claim l, wherein the said means for removably mounting a light transmitting element comprise a pair of generally opposed stepped side supporting members substantially co ext ending with the lower ends of the side walls of the housing, said side supporting members having a stepped configuration with horizontal outwardly extending flanges and beìng movable between first and second positions with respect to the side walls, in the first position the members being able to pass through an opening defined by opposed external supporting members and in the second position having the said outwardly extending flanges in engagement with the opposed external supporting members, the said light transmittíng means being removably secured to the said side supporting members.