U.S. patent number 3,609,346 [Application Number 04/820,100] was granted by the patent office on 1971-09-28 for recessed lighting fixture with tilting spotlight.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Markstone Manufacturing Company. Invention is credited to Jack Kaufman, Alvin R. Lund.
United States Patent |
3,609,346 |
Lund , et al. |
September 28, 1971 |
RECESSED LIGHTING FIXTURE WITH TILTING SPOTLIGHT
Abstract
A recessed lighting fixture of the type in which a lamp support
frame is mounted in a housing on a horizontal pivot axis for
directing light from a lamp in the frame through an opening in the
bottom of the housing at different angles, with adjusting means for
rocking the frame about its pivot axis in the form of an adjusting
member which is mounted in the bottom part of the housing for
linear movement, actuating means operatively connected to the
adjusting member for imparting linear movement to the latter by
manual manipulation from below the housing, and link means
connecting the adjusting member to the lamp supporting frame so
that movement of the adjusting member rocks the frame about its
pivot axis.
Inventors: |
Lund; Alvin R.
(Carpentersville, IL), Kaufman; Jack (Chicago, IL) |
Assignee: |
Markstone Manufacturing Company
(N/A)
|
Family
ID: |
25229874 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/820,100 |
Filed: |
April 29, 1969 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
362/364 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F21V
21/26 (20130101); F21S 8/02 (20130101); F21V
21/30 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
F21V
21/30 (20060101); F21V 21/14 (20060101); F21V
21/26 (20060101); F21s 001/06 () |
Field of
Search: |
;240/78R,78H,78HA,41.6,61 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Matthews; Samuel S.
Assistant Examiner: Moses; Richard L.
Claims
We claim:
1. In a recessed lighting fixture of the type which includes a
housing adapted to be mounted in a ceiling, said housing having an
opening in its lower end, and a lamp-supporting frame mounted in
the housing on a horizontal pivot axis for directing light from a
lamp in said frame through said opening at different angles,
adjusting means for rocking said frame about its pivot axis
comprising, in combination: an adjusting member; means supporting
said adjusting member in the lower end portion of the housing for
horizontal linear movement; actuating means operatively connected
to the adjusting member for imparting said horizontal linear
movement to said member, said actuating means being accessible for
manual manipulation from below the housing; and a link pivotally
connected at one of its ends to the adjusting member and at the
other of its ends to the lamp-supporting frame at a point which is
substantially above the adjusting member and spaced from said pivot
axis, so that said linear movement of the adjusting member,
transmitted through said link, rocks said frame about its pivot
axis.
2. The combination of claim 2, in which the adjusting member is a
plate, the supporting means is a U-shaped bracket having an upright
arm in facing relationship to a portion of the lamp-supporting
frame and parallel top and bottom flanges which extend transversely
with respect to said portion of the lamp-supporting frame above and
below the adjusting member to provide a guideway for said member,
there being a hole in said bottom flange, and in which the
actuating means extends through said hole and has its lower end
portion below the bottom of the housing.
3. The combination of claim 2 in which the adjusting member is a
rack and the actuating means includes a pinion of a rack and pinion
means.
4. The combination of claim 1, in which the adjusting member is a
rack and the actuating means includes a pinion of a rack and pinion
means.
5. The combination of claim 4 in which the pinion is on an upright
shaft the lower end portion of which is below the bottom of the
housing, and in which a knob is secured to said lower end
portion.
6. The combination of claim 1, in which the adjusting member is a
plate which has a series of holes along the line of movement of the
member, the supporting means is a U-shaped bracket having an
upright arm in facing relationship to a portion of the
lamp-supporting frame and parallel top and bottom flanges which
extend transversely with respect to said portion of the
lamp-supporting frame above and below the adjusting member to
provide a guideway for said member, and in which the actuating
means includes an upright shaft journaled in said top and bottom
flanges and a pinion on the shaft which has teeth engaging the
series of holes in the adjusting member.
7. The combination of claim 6 in which the lower end portion of the
shaft extends below the bottom of the housing, and in which a knob
is pinned to said lower end portion.
8. The combination of claim 7 which includes a transversely
extending bottom plate rotatably mounted in the lower end of the
housing, the housing opening being in said bottom plate, in which
the lamp-supporting frame and the supporting means are both mounted
on said bottom plate, and in which the upright shaft has its lower
end portion journaled in the bottom plate as well as in the bottom
flange.
9. The combination of claim 6 which includes a transversely
extending bottom plate rotatably mounted in the lower end of the
housing, the housing opening being in said bottom plate, in which
the lamp-supporting frame and the supporting means are both mounted
on said bottom plate, and in which the upright shaft has its lower
end portion journaled in the bottom plate as well as in the bottom
flange.
10. The combination of claim 6 in which the link has one end
pivoted near an end of the adjusting member and movement of said
link in one direction is stopped by contact with the top flange of
the adjusting means when the lamp-supporting frame is positioned so
that the axis of illumination of a lamp in the frame is
perpendicular to the plane of the bottom of the housing.
11. The combination of claim 1 in which the adjusting member is
supported for horizontal linear movement normal to a vertical plane
through the pivot axis of the lamp supporting frame, and in which
the pivotal connections at the two ends of the link are on axes
parallel to said pivot axis.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Recessed lighting fixtures of the present type have been available
on the market for a number of years, and the only mechanism
heretofore used for rocking the lamp supporting frame about its
pivot axis has been a very expensive threaded screw and worm drive.
Since all the other component parts of such a lighting fixture are
stamped out of sheet metal, the screw and worm adjusting means
represents a disproportionate part of the total cost of the
assembly.
The present invention provides a very inexpensive adjusting means
for rocking a lamp supporting frame, because no machined parts are
required, and the only component which cannot be produced from
sheet metal in conventional forming operation is a plastic knob for
manual manipulation of the adjusting means.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, a sheet metal adjusting
member is supported in the recessed lighting housing for linear
movement normal to the pivot axis of a lamp supporting frame in the
housing. Actuating means which is accessible for manual
manipulation from below the housing is operatively connected to the
adjusting member for imparting linear movement to the latter, and a
link connects the adjusting member to the lamp supporting frame so
that linear movement of the adjusting member rocks the frame about
its pivot axis.
Preferably the adjusting member is the rack of a rack and pinion
means, and the actuating means includes the pinion of such means,
with the pinion shaft projecting below the bottom of the housing
and having a knob pinned to it for manually rotating the shaft and
attached pinion.
Conveniently the adjusting member and the pinion are both carried
in a simple U-shaped bracket which has an upright arm in facing
relationship to a portion of the lamp supporting frame, and
parallel top and bottom flanges which are positioned above and
below the adjusting member to provide a guideway for the member,
with the shaft of the actuating pinion projecting through and
journaled in the top and bottom flanges of the bracket.
As is customary in units of the present type, a transversely
extending bottom plate is rotatably mounted in the lower end of the
housing, and the lamp-supporting frame and bracket which carries
the rack and pinion means are both mounted on the rotatable bottom
plate.
The adjusting member is a sheet metal plate which has a series of
holes along its line of movement, the supporting means may be
stamped out of sheet metal, the pinion shaft is a short,
rectangular piece of flat stock, and the pinion may also be stamped
out of sheet metal. Common friction washers grip the projecting
upper and lower end of the pinion shaft flanking the supporting
bracket, and a pair of short spacer tubes above and below the
pinion hold the pinion at the proper level to engage the line of
holes in the rack means.
The only component in the entire adjusting means which may not be
stamped out of sheet metal is a plastic-adjusting knob which is
secured to the lower end of the pinion shaft by means of a set
screw.
The principal object of the present invention, therefore, is to
provide improved adjusting means for rocking a lamp supporting
frame about a pivot axis in a recessed lighting fixture
housing.
Another object of the invention is to provide adjusting means for
such a lighting fixture which is far less expensive than any
adjusting means heretofore known to the art.
Still another object of the invention is to provide such adjusting
means in which all the component parts may be stamped from sheet
metal.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide adjusting means
for such a recessed lighting fixture in which all the component
parts may be made without close tolerances, and fit together
relatively loosely with assembly into an operating combination
being by means of rivets and friction washers.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a transverse central sectional view of a recessed
lighting fixture embodying the invention;
FIG. 2 is a horizontal section taken substantially as illustrated
along the line 2--2 of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a fragmentary section taken substantially as illustrated
along the line 3--3 of FIG. 1 with its pivoted lamp-supporting
frame in a first limit position;
FIG. 4 is a view like FIG. 3 with the lamp-supporting frame in a
second limit position;
FIG. 5 is a fragmentary section on an enlarged scale taken
substantially as illustrated along the line 5--5 of FIG. 3; and
FIG. 6 is a fragmentary section taken substantially as illustrated
along the line 6--6 of FIG. 5.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to the drawings in greater detail, and referring first to
FIGS. 1 and 2, a plaster frame, indicated generally at 10, is
mounted in a hole in a ceiling C, and a housing 11 of a recessed
lighting fixture is mounted in the plaster frame as taught in U.S.
Pat. No. 2,835,791. A lamp-supporting assembly, indicated generally
at 12, is suspended in the housing by means of spring hooks 13 in a
manner which is well known in the art.
The lamp-supporting assembly 12 includes an annular trim 14 which
has an upstanding flange 15 within which is rotatably mounted a
transversely extending bottom plate 16 which has an upstanding
peripheral rim 16a and a generally oval opening 17. Flanking the
long sides of the opening 17, and spot welded to the bottom plate
16, are an angle bracket 18 and a U-shaped supporting bracket,
indicated generally at 19. A lamp-supporting frame, indicated
generally at 20, includes an annular collar 21, and arms 22 which
are rigidly secured to opposite sides of the collar by means of
rivets 23 are pivotally mounted on rivets 24 on the angle bracket
18 and the U-shaped bracket 19, with the rivets 24 providing a
horizontal pivot axis for the lamp frame. Three upstanding spring
clips 25 on the collar 21 provide a snap mounting in which a lamp,
in the form of a conventional spotlight S, is mounted so that light
from the lamp is projected through the opening 17 in the bottom
plate 16. With the exception of the U-shaped bracket 19, the
structure as described up to this point is that found in prior art
recessed lighting fixtures of the present type, and forms no part
of the present invention.
Referring now to FIGS. 3 to 6, the U-shaped bracket 19 is best seen
in FIG. 6 to have an upright arm 26 which receives the rivet 24 for
the lamp-supporting frame 20, and the U-shaped bracket 19 also has
parallel top and bottom flanges 27 and 28, respectively. The bottom
flange 28 is spot welded to the bottom member 16 as heretofore
stated. The top flange 27 has a narrow guide portion 27a at one
end, and a wide supporting portion 27b at the other end.
The top flange 27 and the bottom flange 28 of the U-shaped
supporting bracket 19 are positioned above and below an adjusting
member, indicated generally at 29, for which they provide a support
and guideway in which the adjusting member 29 is mounted for
horizontal linear sliding movement normal to the pivot axis of the
lamp-supporting frame 20. The adjusting member 29 includes a body
30 and turned top and bottom flanges 31 and 32 which are guided
between the top flange 27 and bottom flange 28 of the U-shaped
bracket 19. A series of holes 33 is formed in the body 30 of the
adjusting member 29 along the line of movement of the member.
Also mounted in the U-shaped bracket 19 is an actuating means,
indicated generally at 34, for imparting linear movement to the
adjusting member 29. The actuating means include a flat upright
pinion shaft 35 which extends through holes in the flanges 27 and
28, and the lower end portion 35a of the shaft 35 also extends
through a hole in the bottom plate 16. The shaft 35 is journaled in
the flanges 27 and 28 and in the bottom plate 16 by virtue of being
supported therein by friction washers 36 which grip the shaft and
are rotatable with respect to the flange 27 and the bottom plate
16. A pinion 37 loosely surrounds the shaft 35 and has teeth 37a
which engage the series of holes 33 in the adjusting member 29, and
the pinion 37 is held in the plane of the series of holes 33 by
means of a top spacer tube 38 and a bottom spacer tube 39 which
loosely surround the shaft 35 and respectively fill the spaces
between the pinion 37 and the flanges 27 and 28. To permit easy
manual manipulation of the actuating means 34 from below the lamp
housing and the ceiling, a knob 40 is secured by means of a set
screw to the projecting lower end portion 35a of the shaft 35. From
the foregoing description, it is apparent that the adjusting member
29, by virtue of the series of holes 33 engaged by the pinion teeth
37a constitutes a rack member of a rack and pinion means.
The adjusting member 29 is operatively connected to the adjacent
arm 22 of the lamp supporting frame 20 by link means consisting of
a link 41 which has one end pivotally connected to the actuating
member 29 at 42 by means of a rivet, and which has its opposite end
connected to the arm 22 of the lamp frame 20 by a second pivot 43
which is also a rivet and which is located above the adjusting
member in spaced relationship to the pivot axis of the lamp frame.
Thus, as the actuating means 34 is rotated to move the adjusting
member 29 between the position of FIG. 3 and the position of FIG. 4
the link means including the link 41 rocks the lamp-supporting
frame 20 between the limit positions illustrated in those views. As
seen in FIG. 3, the arms 22 of the lamp frame are perpendicular to
the plane of the bottom of the housing, and the axis of
illumination of the lamp S is also perpendicular to that plane. In
that limit position of the lamp frame the link 41 is stopped by
contact with the adjacent end of the supporting portion 27b of the
top flange 27. Thus, the perpendicular position of the lamp is
fixed by such contact of the link 41 with the flange portion
27b.
The foregoing detailed description is given for clearness of
understanding only and no unnecessary limitations should be
understood therefrom as modifications will be obvious to those
skilled in the art.
* * * * *