Light Fixture Support

Abstract

Hanger device for supporting industrial luminaire from ceiling conduit. Cover of ballast housing at top of luminaire has central aperture for receiving conduit and a mounting bushing threaded internally for engaging threaded conduit and threaded externally for engaging locking nut slidably positioned on conduit above the luminaire cover. The central aperture of the cover is formed with spaced inwardly directed lugs against which complementary radial arms of the mounting bushing are clamped upon tightening of the locking nut. The luminaire is hung on the conduit by pushing it upwardly over the mounting bushing attached to the conduit, turning it until the radial lugs of the cover aperture are aligned with the radial arms of the bushing, and tightening the locking nut on the mounting bushing.

Description

The present invention relates to lighting fixtures, and particularly to a hanger device for supporting a lighting fixture.

Indoor lighting fixtures such as industrial luminaires have been mounted in the past in various ways on ceiling supports, particularly on pipe conduits for conductor leads. In general, the prior methods have been relatively difficult due to the need for holding and properly positioning the fixture on the conduit support for securely mounting it thereon and making the necessary electrical connections.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved hanger support for lighting fixtures and the like.

It is another object of the invention to provide a mounting device for hanging an industrial luminaire or the like on a ceiling conduit or other support in a convenient, safe and ready manner and without requiring the installer to handle the full weight of the luminaire in firmly securing the same to its support.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mounting device of the above type which has a minimum of parts, is simple and economical to manufacture, and is readily assembled and installed to operative position.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description and the appended claims.

With the above objects in view, the present invention relates to a mounting device for attaching a fixture to a supporting member comprising, in combination, a housing portion of the fixture having an aperture formed therein with circumferentially spaced, inwardly directed lug members, a tubular mounting member arranged in the aperture having radially projecting arm members arranged below the lug members, the respective lug members and arm members being adapted to be positioned in alignment with one another upon turning of the housing portion relative to the mounting member, the mounting member having means mounting the same on the supporting member, and locking means adapted to be loosely arranged on the supporting member above the mounting member and having securing means for adjustably engaging the mounting member, the locking means having a diameter larger than that of the aperture and being adjustable for tightening the same on the mounting member with the lug members and adjacent region of the housing portion clamped therebetween.

The invention will be better understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in elevation of an industrial luminaire embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the hanger device of the invention shown in assembled condition;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the parts of the luminaire hanger device shown in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a portion of the luminaire housing cover showing the interior of the aperture therein.

Referring now to the drawing, and particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a lighting fixture 1 such as an industrial luminaire for indoor lighting purposes, which may incorporate a mounting device for hanging the fixture from a conduit 2 projecting downwardly from ceiling 3. Luminaire 1 comprises, in the illustrated embodiment, a ballast housing 4 formed of a cover 4a and a container 4b defining therebetween an en closure for housing electrical ballast components for operating the lamp, such as a mercury vapor lamp, mounted within reflector 6. Such a ballast housing is disclosed in greater detail in copending application of Osteen et al., Ser. No. 850,459, filed Aug. 15, 1969, and assigned to same assignee as the present invention. It will be understood, however, that the mounting device of the invention is applicable to other types of lighting fixtures, and, in fact, to devices other than lighting fixtures.

As seen in FIG. 3, the mounting device for hanging luminaire 1 from conduit 2 comprises a tubular mounting bushing 7 formed with screw threads on its outer and inner surfaces, and a locking nut 8 with internal screw threads for threadably engaging the outer surface of mounting bushing 7. As seen in the assembly shown in FIG. 2, the inner surface of mounting bushing 7 threadably engages the threaded end portion of conduit 2. Set screw 13 in the wall of bushing 7 permits locking of the latter to the conduit. Locking nut 8 passes freely around circuit 2 at its upper flange portion 8a, which has an aperture larger in diameter than that of conduit 2. In the assembly, mounting bushing 7 is received in a cylindrical opening 9 formed in the top of housing cover 4 and having a diameter smaller than the outer diameter of flange 8a of lock nut 8. Bushing 7 is formed with three radially projecting arms 7a, 7b, 7c spaced circumferentially around the bushing, each radial arm having a transverse bearing surface 7d from which stop portions or ridges 7e, 7f project upwardly at opposite ends, thereby defining a seating surface. The bottom of bushing 7 is formed with a hexagonal portion 7g as shown to enable it to be turned by a suitable wrench.

Projecting inwardly from the wall 4c of housing opening 9 near the top of cover 4a are three circumferentially spaced lugs 10 (see FIG. 4) each having at their bottom a bearing surface 10a adapted to abut the corresponding bushing bearing surfaces 7d between the stop portions 7e, 7f thereon.

The arrangement is such that bushing 7 can be inserted into cover opening 9 through the top with the spaces between bushing arms 7a, 7b, 7c aligned with cover lugs 10 so that the bushing clears the lugs when being inserted, and bushing 7 may then be rotated in cover opening 9 until its respective bearing surfaces 7d are below and aligned with the corresponding bottom lug surfaces 10a. Turning of lock nut 8 in engagement with bushing 7 draws the latter toward lugs 10 until the aligned bearing surfaces abut each other in tight engagement. Preferably, the periphery of flange 8a of lock nut 8 is knurled or serrated to facilitate manual tightening. It may further be formed with parallel flat portions at opposite sides (see FIG. 3) to enable turning by a wrench.

It will be noted that ridge 7e on each arm of bushing 7 is shorter than the opposite ridge 7f. This arrangement is such that ridge 7e clears the bottom of lugs 10 but ridge 7f does not, hence in the assembly procedure cover 4a may be rotated relative to bushing 7 so that lugs 10 pass over the respective ridges 7e, and relative rotation is continued until stopped by engagement of lugs 10 against the taller ridges 7f, at which point the parts are in proper position for being clamped together.

A plurality of stop members 11, 11a projecting inwardly around the inner surface of wall 4c below lugs 10 serve to limit the depth of which bushing 7 may be inserted into cover opening 9, so that even in the lowest position of bushing 7 in which it is held by stop or holding members 11, 11a, ridge 7f cannot clear the bottoms of lugs 10 upon turning of cover 4a relative to bushing 7. One of these stop members shown as 11a is of enlarged diameter and is tapped to receive a screw 15 for holding thermal baffle plates 16 as more fully disclosed in the aforementioned pending application.

As will be evident from the foregoing, the arrangement and dimensions of the described structures are such that the distance between the plane of the tops of holding members 11, 11a and the plane of the bottoms of lugs 10 is less than the distance between the plane of the bottom of mounting bushing 7 and the plane of the tops of ridges 7f, and is greater than the distance between the plane of the bottom of mounting bushing 7 and the plane of the tops of ridges 7e.

In a usual procedure for installing light fixture 1 on ceiling conduit 2, lock nut 8 is first slid onto conduit 2, and bushing 7 is threaded in firm engagement with conduit 2 and locked thereon by set screw 13. The arrows provided on the bottom of hexagonal portion 7g assist in orienting the installed luminaire, since the installer may secure bushing 7 on conduit 2 with any one of the arrows pointing in the direction which the front of the luminaire is to face. With bushing 7 thus oriented and secured, lock nut 8 is then loosely assembled in threaded engagement with bushing 7 with a suitable gasket 12 therebetween, as shown. Ballast housing 4 of the luminaire, which is separable from the remainder of the luminaire structure, is then raised, and cover opening 9 is inserted over bushing 7, and the housing is then turned relative to the latter until lugs 10 are aligned with bushing bearing surfaces 7d as previously described. Since bushing 7 is already firmly secured to conduit 2, the ballast housing may be allowed to hang on bushing arms 7a, 7b, 7c prior to the tightening step. Locking nut 8 is then tightened on bushing 7 to clamp the parts together in tight assembly. With ballast housing 4 thus installed, wire leads within the latter may be connected to leads extending from conduit 2 through the access provided by removable panel 5 in cover 4a (see FIG. 1). The limiting of relative rotation of cover 4a and mounting bushing 7 due to the stop portion 7f of the latter serves not only to properly position lugs 10 and bearing surfaces 7d as above described, but also to avoid twisting of the connected leads. The remainder of the luminaire structure may then be attached to the bottom of the thus secured ballast housing.

There is thus provided a hanger device which enables lighting fixtures and other devices to be quickly and safely mounted on ceiling supports without the need for handling the entire weight of the fixture or holding the fixture while it is tightened on the support.

While the present invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments thereof, it will be understood that numerous modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without actually departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, I wish to have it understood that I intend herein to cover all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

Claims

I claim:

1. Mounting device for attaching a fixture to a supporting member comprising, in combination, a housing portion of said fixture formed with an aperture having circumferentially spaced lug members directed inwardly therein, a tubular mounting member arranged in said aperture and having spaced radially projecting arm members arranged below said lug members, the respective lug members and arm members being adapted to be positioned in alignment with one another upon turning of said housing portion relative to said mounting member, said mounting member having means for attaching the same to the supporting member, and annular locking means having a lower portion adjustably engaging said mounting member and an upper flange portion engageable with said housing portion adjacent the aperture therein, said locking means being adjustable for tightening the same on said mounting means with said lug members and said adjacent housing portion clamped therebetween.

2. A device as defined in claim 1, said stop means on said mounting member engageable with said lug members for limiting turning of said housing portion relative to said mounting member and for aligning said lug members and said arm members.

3. A device as defined in claim 2, said housing portion having holding means projecting inwardly in said aperture below said lug members for limiting the insertion of said mounting member in said aperture to a predetermined position for preventing clearance between said lug members and said stop means during turning of said housing portion relative to said mounting member.

4. A device as defined in claim 3, said attaching means of said mounting member comprising an internally threaded portion of said mounting member for engagement with the supporting member, said mounting member being externally threaded for engagement with said locking means.

5. A device as defined in claim 4, and means for fixedly securing said mounting member to the supporting member.

6. A device as defined in claim 2, each said arm member being formed with a bearing surface extending transverse the axis of said mounting member, said stop means comprising a first ridge extending upwardly from each said bearing surface, and a second ridge shorter than said first ridge and spaced therefrom extending upwardly from said bearing surface said bearing surface and said first and second ridges thereof defining a seat for receiving the respective lug member.

7. A device as defined in claim 6, said housing portion having holding means projecting inwardly in said aperture below said lug members for limiting the insertion of said mounting member in said aperture, the distance between the top plane of said holding means and the bottom plane of said lug members being less than the distance between the bottom plane of said mounting member and the top plane of said first ridge, and being greater than the distance between the bottom plane of said mounting member and the top plane of said second ridge.

8. A device as defined in claim 3, said mounting member being formed at its bottom with a polygonal portion, whereby it may be operated by a wrench.