GB2262335A - Light assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

A light assembly 1 comprises a reflector trough 2 mounted on a bracket 3 for pivotal movement about a hinge axis PA under the control of an adjustment screw 33 for obtaining optimum illumination of a sign or display. <IMAGE>

Description

LIGHT ASSEMBLY This invention relates to light assemblies for illuminating signs, displays and the like.

The known light assemblies for illuminating signs, displays or the like comprise an elongate casing housing one or more fluorescent tubes mounted on a support surface by brackets having an array of fixing holes and/or slots whereby the angular position of the casing can be adjusted.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a light assembly in which the casing is pivotally mounted such that adjustment of the angular position of the casing is facilitated.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a bracket for mounting the casing.

According to one aspect of the invention we provide a light assembly for illuminating sign, display or the like comprising a bracket, an elongate casing for a light fitting mounted on the bracket for pivotal movement about a hinge axis substantially parallel to its length, and means for adjusting the angular position of the casing.

According to another aspect of the invention we provide a bracket for a light assembly for illuminating a sign, display and the like, the bracket comprising a hinge plate for mounting an elongate casing for pivotal movement about a hinge axis substantially parallel to its length and a swivel plate adjustable relative to the hinge plate for plotting the casing about the hinge axis for adjusting the angular position of the casing.

Advantageously, the hinge plate and swivel plate have respective hinge formations for engagement by respective complementary hinge formations of the casing or a member to which the casing is attached. For example, the bracket may include a support plate for the casing.

Both arrangements provide for pivotal movement of the casing about the hinge axis of the hinge plate through adjustment of the swivel plate relative to the hinge plate. As a result, the angular position of the casing can be selected for optimum illumination of a sign, display or the like with the casing installed in position.

Advantageously, the complementary hinge formations comprise inner and outer elements of part-circular cross-section. For example a partcircular bead or pin received in a part-circular recess.

Preferably, the swivel plate is connected to the hinge plate by an adjustment screw or the like for moving the swivel plate relative to the hinge plate.

Advantageously, the casing is pivotal between two end positions which may conveniently be provided by inter engagement of at least one of the complementary hinge formations.

Preferably, the bracket includes a base plate for mounting on the support surface and the base plate and hinge plate are preferably secured to opposed ends of an extension arm. By this arrangement, the spacing of the casing from the support surface can be varied as desired by selecting the appropriate length of extension arm.

Advantageously, the casing is of substantially uniform cross-section throughout its length. In this way, the casing may be formed by extrusion and cut to any desired length for a given application.

More than one bracket may be provided spaced apart along the length of the casing with the or each bracket mounted by means of at least one common formation continuous along the length of the casing. For example, the casing may have upper and lower parallel hinge formations for engagement with complementary hinge formations of the hinge plate and swivel plate or a locating formation for engagement with a complementary locating formation of the support plate.

Other features, benefits and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: FIGURE 1 is an end view of a light assembly according to the invention; FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the assembly shown in Figure 1; FIGURE 3 is an end view of an end cap; FIGURE 4 is a side view of the end cap shown in Figure 3; FIGURE 5 is a front view of the hinge plate of the bracket shown in Figures 1 and 2; FIGURE 6 is a plan view of the hinge plate shown in Figure 5; FIGURE 7 is a front view of the swivel plate of the bracket shown in Figures 1 and 2; FIGURE 8 is a crosssection of the extension arm of the bracket shown in Figures 1 and 2; FIGURE 9 is an end view of an alternative casing for the light assembly shown in Figures 1 to 8; and FIGURE 10 is an end view of a support plate for mounting the casing shown in Figure 9 on the bracket of the light assembly shown in Figures 1 to 8.

Referring first to Figures 1 to 8 of the drawings, a light assembly 1 comprises an elongate reflector trough 2 mounted for pivotal movement about an axis PA substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the trough 2 by a plurality of brackets 3 spaced apart along the length of the trough 2.

The trough 2 which houses a fluorescent tube (not shown) and an electric gear tray (not shown) is pivotal about the axis PA for adjusting the angle of the trough 2 for optimum illumination of a sign, display or the like (not shown).

The trough 2 is of uniform cross-section throughout its length having an inverted channelsection portion 4 open to the underside formed by a rear wall 5 and a curved front wall 6 extending forwardly and downwardly from the upper end of the rear wall 5.

The rear wall 5 and front wall 6 are formed with respective longitudinal formations 7,8 for slidably locating and mounting the electric gear tray and fluorescent tube.

The lower ends of the rear wall 5 and front wall 6 are formed with opposed inwardly directed longitudinal grooves 9,10 for slidably locating and mounting a diffuser 11 to close the trough 2 on the underside.

The diffuser 11 is axially located by a pair of end caps 12 releasably mounted on the trough 3 to close the ends of the channel-section portion 5. As best shown in Figures 3 and 4, each end cap 12 has a base wall 13 of similar profile to the channel-section portion 4 and is formed on one side with a peripheral wall 14 and three hollow cylindrical pegs 15.

The end caps 12 are releasably secured to the trough 2 by inserting self-tapping screws (not shown) through the pegs 15 to engage aligned longitudinal recesses 16 of part-circular section formed at the internal corners of the channelsection portion 4.

In this way, the or each cap 12 can be detached for removing the diffuser 11 and/or for obtaining access to the interior of the trough 2 for repair/replacement of the tube or gear tray.

The rear wall 5 is formed with rearwardly extending upper and lower longitudinal flanges 17,18.

The upper flange 17 is wider than the lower flange 18 and terminates at the free edge in a longitudinal recess 19 of part-circular section having a longitudinal slot 20 open towards the underside.

The lower flange 18 terminates at the free edge in a longitudinal bead 21 of part circular section.

The recess 19 and bead 21 provide hinge formations for adjustably mounting the trough 2 as described later herein.

The trough 2 is conveniently formed by extrusion and is cut to the required length for a given application. In this embodiment, the trough 2 is made of aluminium to which a surface finish having a desired colour, for example white, is applied by powder coating.

Each bracket 3 comprises a base plate 22 and a hinge plate 23 connected by an extension arm 24.

The base plate 22 is formed with holes 22a for securing the bracket 3 to a support surface (not shown) such as a wall, panel, board or the like by means of screws (not shown) or similar releasable fasteners.

The extension arm 24 is of channel-section with opposed inwardly directed longitudinal lips 24a inset from the outer ends of the sidewalls.

The base plate 22 and hinge plate 23 are releasably secured to opposed ends of the extension arm 24 by respective bolts 25.

Each bolt 25 has a head 25a seated within the channel-section and a threaded shank 25b arranged to project between the lips 24a.

An apertured attachment flange 26,27 of each plate 22,23 is mounted on the shank 25b between the opposed sidewalls 24b of the arm and is retained by a nut 28 mounted on the free end of the shank 25b.

The hinge plate 23 is formed with a cranked arm 29 at the upper end terminating in a hinge pin 30 of part-circular cross-section complementary to the recess 19.

The trough 2 is mounted on the brackets 3 by sliding the hinge pin 30 of each hinge plate 23 lengthwise of the recess 19 to provide the required spacing between the brackets 3.

The trough 2 is pivotal about the axis PA between two end positions determined by engagement of the cranked arm 29 with the opposed side edges of the slot 20.

In this embodiment, the permitted range of angular adjustment is 320 but this is not essential and different ranges of angular adjustment may be provided.

To alter the angular position of the trough 2 between the end positions and to hold the trough 2 at a selected angular position, at least one bracket 3 connected to the trough 2 by adjustment means 31 comprising a swivel plate 32 and a screw adjuster 33.

The swivel plate 32 has a recess 34 of part circular section complementary to the bead 21 of the lower flange 18 of the trough 2. The bead 21 is a sliding fit in the recess 34 for mounting the swivel plate 32 on the trough 2.

The Screw adjuster 33 extends between the swivel plate 32 and the hinge plate 23 and is secured by iock nuts 35 on either side of a vertical slot 36 formed in the hinge plate 23.

The trough 2 is pivotted about the axis PA by releasing the lock nuts 35 and extending or retracting the screw adjuster 33 to move the swivel plate 32 away from or towards the hinge plate 23 after which the lock nuts 35 are tightened to clamp and secure the trough 2 in the adjusted position.

Linear displacement of the swivel plate 31 relative to the hinge plate 23 by altering the length of the screw adjuster 33 is accommodated by the hinge connection between the bead 21 and recess 34 which allows the trough 2 to pivot relative to the swivel plate 31.

Referring now to Figures 9 and 10 of the drawings, a modification to the light assembly 1 is shown in which like reference numerals are used to indicate parts corresponding to the embodiment above-described.

In this modication, the part-circular recess 19 and bead 21 for mounting the trough 2 on the hinge plate 23 and swivel plate 31 are provided along the outer edges of the opposed sidewalls 37a,37b of a channel-section support plate 37.

The base wall 37c of the support plate 37 and the rear wall 5 of the trough 2 are formed with complementary interengageable locating formations 38,39 by means of which the support plate 37 is mounted on the trough 2. The support plate 37 is slidable along the length of the trough 2 and is secured at the desired position by tightening fastening means inserted through the aligned openings 38a,b to clamp the support plate 37 to the trough 2.

The support plate 37 may be a part of the bracket 3 as described or it may extend along the length of the trough 2 and provide a mounting for one or more brackets 3 spaced apart along the length of the trough 2.

As will be understood, the invented light assembly facilitates adjustment of the angular position of the trough for optimum illumination of a sign or display. Additionally, the extension arm connecting the base plate and hinge plate of the bracket allows the spacing of the trough from the support surface to be adapted for best results in a simple expedient manner.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment above-described, for example the number and spacing of the brackets may be varied according to such factors as the length and weight of the casing and associated light fitting(s).

For certain applications, a single bracket may be sufficient.

Where more than one bracket is provided, each may have adjuster means for varying the angular position of the trough or it may be sufficient to provide adjuster means on at least one bracket.

The base plate, hinge plate, swivel plate and, where provided, support plate are conveniently cut to length from extrusions of the appropriate cross-section as is the extension arm.

These parts may be made of metal, alloy, plastics or combinations thereof to which suitable surface finishes may be applied as desired.

similarly, the trough is cut to length from an extrusion of the appropriate cross-section and may be of the same or different materials as the bracket with similar or different surface finishes as desired.

Claims (17)

Claims:

1. A light assembly for illuminating a sign, display or the like comprising a bracket, an elongate casing for a light fitting mounted on the bracket for pivotal movement about a hinge axis substantially parallel to its length, and means for adjusting the angular position of the casing.

2. An assembly according to Claim 1 wherein the bracket comprises a hinge plate for mounting the casing for pivotal movement about the hinge axis and the adjuster means comprises a swivel plate adjustable relative to the hinge plate for pivotting the casing about the hinge axis.

3. An assembly according to Claim 2 wherein the hinge plate and swivel plate have respective hinge formations for engagement by respective complementary hinge formations of the casing or a member to which the casing is attached.

4. An assembly according to Claim 3 wherein the complementary hinge formations comprise inner and outer elements of part-circular cross-section.

5. An assembly according to any one of Claims 2 to 4 wherein the swivel plate is connected to the hinge plate by an adjustment screw or the like for moving the swivel plate relative to the hinge plate.

6. An assembly according to any one of Claims 2 to 5 wherein the casing is pivotal between two end positions which may conveniently be provided by interengagement of at least one of the complementary hinge formations.

7. An assembly according to any one of Claims 2 to 6 wherein the bracket includes a base plate for mounting on a support surface and the base plate and hinge plate are secured to opposed ends of an extension arm.

8. An assembly according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein the casing is of substantially uniform cross-section throughout its length.

9. An assembly according to Claim 8 wherein the casing has at least one formation continuous along its length by means of which it is mounted on the bracket.

10. An assembly according to any one of the preceding Claims having a plurality of brackets spaced apart along the length of the casing.

11. An assembly according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein the casing comprises a reflector trough of inverted generally channelsection for housing a light source.

12. A bracket for a light assembly for illuminating a sign, display and the like, the bracket comprising a hinge plate for mounting an elongate casing for pivotal movement about a hinge axis substantially parallel to its length and a swivel plate adjustable relative to the hinge plate for pivotting the casing about the hinge axis for adjusting the angular position of the casing.

13. A bracket according to Claim 12 further comprising a support plate for mounting the casing, the support plate having respective hinge formations engageable with the hinge plate and swivel plate whereby the support plate is pivotal about the hinge axis in response to adjustment of the swivel plate.

14. A bracket according to Claim 12 or Claim 13 further comprising a base plate for mounting on a support surface.

15. A bracket according to Claim 14 wherein the hinge plate and base plate are secured to opposed ends of an extension arm.

16. A light assembly for illuminating a sign, display and the like substantially as hereinbefore described.

17. A bracket for a light assembly for illuminating a sign, display and the like subtantially as hereinbefore described.