US3801815A

US3801815A - Downlight with multiplier cone

Info

Publication number: US3801815A
Application number: US00332350A
Authority: US
Inventors: P Docimo
Original assignee: MARVIN ELECTRIC Manufacturing Co
Current assignee: MARVIN ELECTRIC MANUFACTURING COMPANY Inc; MARVIN ELECTRIC Manufacturing Co
Priority date: 1973-02-14
Filing date: 1973-02-14
Publication date: 1974-04-02
Anticipated expiration: 1991-04-02

Abstract

A downlight with a multiplier cone is disclosed which has a unitary structure a parabolic reflector section and a multiplier cone section, thereby permitting a conventional incandescent light bulb to be used in place of a reflector lamp or spotlight. The downlight has been so designed as to accommodate a reflector type lamp or conventional incandescent light bulb. The downlight cooperates with a plaster frame on which are mounted spring clips which permit adjustment of the fixture to conform to ceiling contour. Further, the downlight may be installed or replaced after completion of the ceiling.

Description

United States Patent [1 1 Docimo DOWNLIGHT WITH MULTIPLIER CONE [75] Inventor: Peter J. Docimo, N'orthridge, Calif.

[73] Assignee: Marvin Electric Manufacturing Company, Los Angeles, Calif.

[22] Filed: Feb. 14, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 332,350

[52] U.S. Cl. 240/73 BC, 240/78 H, 240/143 [51] Int. Cl. F215 1/02, F21s 3/02, F215 5/00 [58] Field of Search 240/41.37, 73 BC, 78 R, 240/78 HA, 78 H, 143

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,037,110 5/1962 Williams 240/78 H 3,187,174 6/1965 Gerstel ct al. 240/78 H 3,286,090 11/1966 Brown 240/78 H 3,700,885 10/1972 Bobrick 240/78 H [451 Apr. 2, 1974 3,721,817 3/1973 Contratto 240/73 BC Primary ExaminerSamuel S. Matthews Assistant ExaminerRichard A. Wintercom Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Lyon & Lyon [57] ABSTRACT A downlight with a multiplier cone is disclosed which has a unitary structure a parabolic reflector section and a multiplier cone section, thereby permitting a conventional incandescent light bulb to be used in 1 place of a reflector lamp or spotlight. The downlight has been so designed as to accommodate a reflector type lamp or conventional incandescent light bulb. The downlight cooperates with a plaster frame on which are mounted spring clips which permit adjustment of the fixture to conform to ceiling contour. Further, the downlight may be installed or replaced after completion of the ceiling.

5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures TMENIEDAFR 21914 3801815 sum 2 0F 2 Y DOWNLIGHT WITH MULTIPLIER CONE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Downlights with multiplier cones have become a standard item for illuminating areas where it is desired that the source of illumination be effectively hidden from persons entering the area. Such lights utilize a reflector lamp or spotlight in combination with a multiplier cone, the combination being installed in the ceiling of the area to be illuminated. The effect of the multiplier cone is to reduce glare to a minimum and to direct the light produced by the lamp almost completely downward. The reflector lamp is recessed in the multiplier cone so that is is notvisible unless the viewer is within the cone of light produced by the fixture, a cone that generally extends below the lamp so that it does not produce objectional glare from the cone reflector or lamp at a viewing angle of approximately 45 or more.

While such fixtures have found satisfactory use, they have the disadvantage of requiring a reflectorlamp instead of a conventional incandescent bulb. Such reflector lamps are more expensive than conventional bulbs and moreover require that an inventory of two different type bulbs be maintained. Efforts have been made to provide a fixture having the advantages of the'conventional downlight with multiplier cones but using a conventional incandescent bulb instead of a reflector type lamp, but these efforts have not been completely successful. Attempts have been made to simply substitute an incandescent bulb for a reflector lamp in the conventional fixture 'but is has been found that the efficiency of the fixture is considerably reduced because a significant amount of the light radiated from the bulb is not properly reflected for maximum efficiency. It is very often reflected back on to the bulb rather than directed downwardly out of the fixture.

The most successful proposal from the standpoint of efficiency has been the provision of a housing which is inserted into the ceiling and which has as a fixed part thereof a parabolic reflector having a socket for receiving an incandescent bulb. The housing is adapted to receive a multiplier cone in its lower section so that both of the requisite elements of the reflector system are present in one housing. However, this type of fixture has several disadvantages. The housing is relatively bulky and difficult to handle and adds another item of expense to the overall fixture. Furthermore, it is necessary that the housing be installed early in the construction procedure, that is, before such steps as plastering or painting are completed. This order of procedure raises substantial dangers that the fixture will be damaged during plastering or painting. Finally, it is necessary that the multiplier cone be adjustable within the housing to permit its lower edge which defines its exit plane to be positioned parallel with the ceiling to provide the desired appearance. This adjustability is typically permitted by the use of leaf springs mounted on the housing. However, as the parabolic reflector is fixedly mounted in the housing, adjustment of the multiplier cone will result in it being canted with respect to the parabolic reflector with the result that proper light distribution is adversely affected.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, these disadvansection of the fixture to automatically establish the de- I sired relationship of the downlight to the ceiling. The downlight is also provided with a simple mechanism to permit it to be attached to a previously positioned and installed lamp socket. Thus, the downlight can be installed after all the other construction procedures have been completed by the simple expedient of connecting the already installed socket to the upper end of the downlight and then inserting the downlight into the plaster frame until the overlap ring engages the ceiling. The downlight will be held in this position by the spring clips on the plaster frame.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide an improved downlight with multiplier cone.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side view, partly in section of a fixture according to the present invention installed in a plaster ring positioned in a ceiling;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 2-2 of FIG. 1 and showing the spring clip assembly used in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view, partly broken away, of the socket assembly used in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a second socket housing configuration.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the socket mounting plate of the housing of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the housing of FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Turning to the several figures, there is shown the unitary downlight with multiplier cone fixture l0 according to the present invention. The downlight 10 comprises a multiplier cone 11 having an upwardly projecting flange 12 at its lower end, a parabolic reflector 13, and a transition section 14 joining the multiplier cone with the parabolic reflector. The sections l1, l3 and 14 can be joined together in any desired fashion but preferably are joined by a rolling type operation so that no rivets or screws are required. The parabolic reflector 13 is provided with a flange 15 to permit it to be attached to a socket housing 16 which is preferably provided with heat radiating fins 17. The reflector l3 and the housing 16 can be attached in any suitable manner; as shown, by a plurality of bolts, one of which is shown as 18.

The socket housing 16 .is adapted to be easily connected to a socket mounting plate 19, for example, by means of a plurality of screws 20 which screw into ears 21 forming a part of the socket housing 16 and which have heads which extend over the plate 19 to hold it in place. Affixed to the plate 19 is a lamp socket 22 adapted to receive an ordinary incandescent bulb 23. The socket 22 is connected to a conventional junction box 24 be means of a flexible conduit 25 of conventional design. The junction box 24 can be mounted in the ceiling in any conventional fashion, for example, it can be attached to the plaster frame in a known manner.

Because the downlight is constructed to permit installation and replacement after completion of the ceiling, it is necessary that the junction box 24 can be connected with the downlight 10 at the time the downlight is installed. The present embodiment provides for a convenient coupling of the junction box 24 to the downlight 10 at the socket mounting plate 19. In FIGS. 1 and 3 the socket mounting plate 19 is held in position on the socket housing 16 by the plurality of screws 20. In FIGS. 4, & 6, a single fastener 20a is employed to fix the socket mounting plate 19a to the socket housing 16a. By employing a single fastener 20a, the installation of the downlight is simplified. This is of significant benefit because assembly of the socket mounting plate 19a and the housing 16a must be accomplished near the ceiling unless a long flexible conduit 25 is employed.

The single screw socket mounting assembly includes a cylindrical conduit clamp 33a which is formed as part of a circular mounting plate 19a. The cylindrical conduit clamp 33a intersects the circular socket mounting plate 19a such that the center lined the cylindrical conduit clamp 33a passes below and substantially parallel to the socket mounting plate 19a. Further, the center line of the cylindrical conduit clamp 33a passes below the center of the circular socket mounting plate 19a. To accommodate the cylindrical conduit clamp 330, a notch 34a is cut through the housing 16a of the socket mounting assembly. This notch 34a has a semicircular section 35a having a diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the cylindrical conduit clamp 33a. The notch 34a is equal in depth to the distance from the surface plane of the socket mounting plate 19a which mates with the housing 16a to the lower most element of the cylindrical conduit clamp 33a.

Depending from the cylindrical conduit clamp 33a is a ridge 36a. This ridge 36a is positioned to interfere slightly with the housing 16a just below the notch 35a. When the socket mounting plate 19a is positioned on the housing 16a, this ridge 36a has an outer surface 37a which is caused to interfere with the housing 16a. The surface 37a has a radius of curvature which is slightly smaller than the inside radius of the housing 16a as can be seen in FIG. 6. This interference insures that the ridge 36a will properly bind with the housing 16a below the notch 35a.

Two fingers 38a are integrally formed with the socket mounting plate 19a and the conduit clamp 33a at either side of the conduit clamp 33a. These fingers 380 also interfere slightly with the housing 16a when the socket mounting plate 19a is properly positioned on the housing 16a. The inner surface 39a of the fingers 38a has a radius of curvature substantially equal to the inner radius of the housing 16a as can best be seen in'FlG. 6. These fingers 38a extend below the socket mounting plate 19a a distance approximately equal to the distance from the socket mounting plate 19a to the center line of the circular conduit clamp 33a.

To assemble the socket mounting plate 19a with the housing 16a, the socket mounting plate 19a is brought into contact with the housing 16a so that the cylindrical conduit clamp 33a rests on the bottom of the notch 35a. The socket mounting plate 19a must be tipped slightly with respect to the housing 16a in order that the depending ridge 36a and the two fingers 38a will not bind on the housing 16a. Because the socket mounting plate 19a is tipped, the conduit clamp 33a will come 7 into contact with the housing 16a before the socket mounting plate 190. Once the cylindrical conduit clamp 33a is positioned in the notch 35a, the socket mounting plate 19a may be tipped back in order that the lower surface of the socket mounting plate 19a will mate with the upper edge of the housing 16a. The ridge 36a and the fingers 38a are then forced to interfere with the side of the housing 16a as shown in FIG. 6. A single fastener 20a is then threaded through the plate 19a and into the housing 16a. An ear 21a is sized to secure the fastener 20a in place. The fastener 20a insures that the socket mounting plate 19a will remain juxtaposed with the upper edge of the housing 16a; and consequently, the fingers 38a and the ridge 36a will be locked on the housing 16a.

The plaster frame 26 is of generally conventional design and is attached to ceiling support members 27 in the known fashion.- Unlike conventional plaster frames, however, the plaster frame 26 is provided with a plurality of upstanding brackets 28 on which are mounted spring clips 29 which engage the outer periphery of the multiplier cone 11 (as best shown in FIG. 2) to securely hold the entire downlight 10 in place. The actual positioning of the downlight 10 within the plaster frame 26 is determined by an overlap ring 30 which has a flanged edge 31 which fits within the upturned flange 12 of multiplier cone 11. The overlap ring 30 lies flat against the ceiling 32 to establish the position of the downlight 10.

The construction of the downlight 10 permits it to be installed after all of the other construction procedures have been completed. The plaster ring 26 is, of course, installed in place after the ceiling supports 27 are installed but before the ceiling 32 is completed. Similarly, the junction box 24 is installed and the socket plate 19 with its socket 22 is connected to the junction box 24 by the flexible conduit 25. After the ceiling 32 is completed, the overlap ring 30 is positioned over the flange 12, the socket plate 19 pulled down through the plaster ring by means of the flexible conduit 25 and the plate 19 attached to the socket housing 17 by means of screws 20. The entire fixture assembly is then inserted through the plaster ring until the overlap ring engages the ceiling 32. The exit plane of the multiplier cone 11 is now parallel with the ceiling 32 and will be held in this position by the action of the spring clips 29. When energized, the light from the lamp bulb 23 will be reflected by the parabolic reflector 13 in a manner equivalent to the more expensive reflector lamp. The combination of the bulb 23 and the reflector 13 will present to the multiplier cone 1 l the proper light pattern to enable the cone to produce the desired illumination in an effective and efficient manner.

While embodiments and applications of this invention have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many more modifications are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein described. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except as is necessary by the prior art and by the spirit of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A lighting fixture comprising a parabolic reflector and a multiplier cone connected together in a unitary assembly; a socket housing connected to the parabolic reflector for receiving a socket, the socket adapted to receive an incandescent light bulb; a plaster frame for installation in a ceiling, the plaster frame including a plurality of brackets each mounting a spring clip for cooperating with the outer surface of the multiplier cone to hold the latter in any one of a plurality of possible positions; and an overlap ring engageable with the lower edge of the multiplier cone and adapted to engage the ceiling to position the lower edge of the multiplier cone parallel to the ceiling.

2. The fixture of claim 1 wherein the parabolic reflector, the multiplier cone exclusive of the lower edge of the multiplier cone and the socket housing fit through the frame for assembly into an established ceiling.

3. The fixture of claim 1 wherein the socket is mounted on a socket plate, and wherein means are provided for detachably connecting the socket plate to the socket housing. a

4. The fixture of claim 3 wherein the socket plate includes clamping means for fixing the socket plate to the socket housing comprising a first member depending from the socket plate positioned to interfere with the inside of the socket housing when the socket plate is in place; second members depending from the socket plate and disposed on either side of the first depending member to interfere with the outside of the socket housing when the socket plate is in place; a fastener diametrically opposite the first depending member to fasten the socket plate and the socket housing.

5. The fixture of claim 1 wherein the lower edge of the multiplier cone is bent to extend outwardly and upwardly to receive a cooperating portion of the overlap ring.

Claims

3. The fixture of claim 1 wherein the socket is mounted on a socket plate, and wherein means are provided for detachably connecting the socket plate to the socket housing.