Abstract:
A spa lighting apparatus including a wall fitting which seats in an opening in a spa wall and threadably receives a light transmissive lens which includes respective plastic layers providing impact and chemical resistance. The lens is further designed to disperse light from a plurality of LED sources to give an appearance similar to that of a single incandescent source.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The subject invention relates generally to portable spas and more particularly to improved lighting apparatus for use with such spas. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Conventionally, portable spas have been illuminated by high voltage incandescent lamps. Such lamps have been installed in a sidewall area of the spa which is relatively unsupported and weak. Typically this sidewall area lies adjacent the spa equipment compartment, and a large opening is created in the sidewall to receive the incandescent light. A light fixture including a polycarbonate lens and mounting ring is then mounted on “prongs” extending from the spa surface and clamped into place using considerable amounts of adhesive to create a seal between the mounting ring and the spa surface. 
     This prior art spa lighting approach has a number of drawbacks, for example, in that the location of the light fixture is restricted and in that loading stresses around the large opening in the spa sidewall are transferred to the polycarbonate lens, which is then subject to frequent cracking. Moreover, the incandescent lamps conventionally used have a relatively limited life. Lens or lamp failures typically require costly dealer servicing of the spa unit. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to the invention, a spa lighting apparatus is provided which employs a plurality of light emitting diodes (LED&#39;s) as the light source. The LED&#39;s are positioned within a fitting which reinforces the opening in the spa and prevents spa wall forces from cracking an associated lens component. As another aspect of the invention, a special lens component is provided which provides chemical resistance and also disperses the light from multiple LED light sources such that the light appears to come from one light source, as opposed to a number of sources. The subject lighting apparatus may be mounted in areas of the spa remote from the equipment compartment and provides much longer service life, as well as lower power consumption. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The just summarized invention will now be described in detail in conjunction with the drawings of which: 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded cross sectional view of a spa lighting apparatus according to a first embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a fragmentary cross section of a portion of the embodiment of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 3 is a side view of a preferred embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 4 is a back view of the embodiment of FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 5 is a front view of the embodiment of FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 6 is a blown-up fragment of the embodiment of FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 7 is a sectional view of an adapter ring component taken at  7 — 7  of FIG. 8; 
     FIG. 8 is a rear view of an adapter ring component; 
     FIG. 9 is a front view of the adapter ring component; 
     FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 7 
     FIG. 11 is a cross sectional view of a wall fitting according to the preferred embodiment; and 
     FIG. 12 an enlarged view of a portion of a lens component of the preferred embodiment. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     An embodiment of spa lighting apparatus according to the invention is illustrated in FIG.  1 . The embodiment includes an LED (light emitting diode) array  13 , a wall fitting  15 , a gasket  19 , a lens  21 , and a bezel  23 . The wall fitting  15  is generally circular in cross section and has an angular rear flange  27  which abuts a circular opening in a wall portion  17  of a spa shell. The LED array  13  includes a circular circuit board  29 , which mounts a number of LED&#39;s  31 . The LED array  13  mounts into a rear opening  30  in the wall fitting  15  and is fastened to the wall fitting  15  by screws  25 . The screws  25  permit the board  13  to be readily removed rearwardly from the side of the wall  17  of the spa outside of the water for servicing. 
     A front cylindrical segment  33  of the wall fitting  15  extends into the interior of the spa shell and has a threaded outer surface  35  and a threaded inner surface  37 . The lens  21  has a rear cylindrical segment  41  with an outer threaded surface  43 . The outer threaded surface  43  of the segment  41  is designed to mate with the inner threaded surface  37  of the wall fitting  15  such that the lens  21  may be screwed into the wall fitting  15 . 
     A bezel  23  has an inner threaded cylindrical segment  47  which mates with the outer threaded surface  35  of the wall fitting  15  such that the bezel  23  may be screwed onto the wall fitting  15  after the lens  21  has been screwed into the wall fitting  15 . The bezel prefer ably provides a horizontal force assisting to retain the assembly in place. 
     The lens  21  is preferably shaped with a domed or bubble contour to provide dispersion of the light from the LED light sources  31  so as to promote the appearance of a single light or lamp. The curvature of the lens  21  determines the angle of the light dispersion. The more severe the curvature, the larger the angle of light dispersion. This allows for a smaller light lens diameter while producing an equal to or greater light dispersion The lens  21  is further provided with a gasket seat area  49  where the gasket  19  is positioned prior to screwing-in the lens  21  and the bezel  23 . The gasket  19  serves to provide a water-tight seal, preventing water from leaking into the rear opening  30  of the wall fittings  15 . As may be appreciated the construction according to FIG. 1 permits relatively easy replacement of the lens  21 . 
     The lens  21  is preferably provided with a textured interior surfacing  51  and an over-molded layer  53 . The lens  21  may be clear polycarbonate such as G.E. LEXAN® to provide impact strength, while the over-molded layer  53  may be an acrylic material which provides a “frosted” appearance. 
     The overmolded layer  53  may wrap around the rim  54  of the lens  21  as shown on FIG.  12 . The interior surface may be textured in various configurations, such as Mold Tech 11050, to provide a refractive surface to help bend/scramble the light rays emanating from the multiple light sources  31  contained on the LED array  13 . The acrylic material provides chemical resistance while the “frosted” properties of the overmolding material provide additional light refraction to the LED array  13 . Approximately 84% or better light transmission may be achieved. 
     A preferred embodiment light/lens assembly is illustrated in FIGS. 3-12. This assembly is generally similar to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-2 with some improvements. In particular, the embodiment of FIGS. 3-12 includes an adapter ring  61  shown in detail in FIGS. 8 to  10 . The adapter ring  61  permits installing the light/lens assembly of the preferred embodiment into larger holes which previously accommodated prior art light fixtures. Thus, the adapter ring  61  is used in retrofitting older spas with improved apparatus provided according to the invention. In such applications, the ring  61  is glued to the spa wall surface. 
     The adapter ring  61  has a central circular opening  63  sized to fit over the hub  133  of the wall fitting  115 . The back surface  163  of the bezel component  123  abuts an outer ring surface  165  of the adapter ring  61 , as shown in FIG. 6, and presses the surface  165  into the spa wall  17  when the assembly is installed. 
     As particularly seen in FIG. 11, the wall fitting  115  has a depression  168  formed at a back edge thereof, which provides a glue well, which is employed in gluing the wall fitting  115  to the spa wall when the wall fitting  115  is initially installed. Thus, both gluing and bezel pressure are used to hold the assembly in place with respect to the spa wall  17 . 
     The LED array  13  may employ  12  LED&#39;s each powered at 12 volts D.C. to provide, for example, an 85 watt light output. One may overdrive the LED&#39;s with a pulse width modulated voltage source  32  (FIG. 1) to “squeeze out” greater brightness, while avoiding flicker. Various color LED&#39;s such as red or blue or a combination of colors may be used. Thin film color filters may also be employed. The overmolding can also be colored. 
     According to the preferred embodiment, LED&#39;s are employed in such a manner as to give the appearance of a single incandescent source, while taking advantage of the long life (100,000 hours) and low power of the LED devices. A reduced size lens may also be employed and is mounted in a structure which relieves the forces to which the lens is subjected thereby contributing to longer lens life. Incandescent lamps such as an 80 watt bulb also may be used in alternate embodiments. The particular lens component disclosed provides adequate optical characteristics for either incandescent or LED sources. 
     While the embodiment above illustrates a rear-mounted LED panel, other embodiments-can be configured with front mounted LED arrays to provide even greater ease of installation and repair. 
     From the above description, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various adaptations and modifications of the just-described preferred embodiments can be configured without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, it is to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described herein.