Switchgear cabinet lighting unit having an adjustable lighting means board

The invention relates to a switch cabinet light for illuminating the interior of a switch cabinet, comprising a light-emitting circuit board that has at least a first and a second orientation relative to a translucent light cover of the switch cabinet light in order to vary the beam direction of the switch cabinet light, wherein a light-emitting side of the light-emitting circuit board faces toward a first wall section of the translucent light cover in a first orientation of the light-emitting circuit board and toward a second wall section of the translucent light cover in a second orientation of the light-emitting circuit board.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a 371 U.S. National Stage of International Application No. PCT/DE2017/100274, filed on Apr. 6, 2017, which claims priority to German Application No. 10 2016 107 147.1, filed on Apr. 18, 2016. The entire disclosures of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The invention starts from a switch cabinet light for illuminating the interior of a switch cabinet, with the switch cabinet light having a light-emitting circuit board that can assume at least a first and a second orientation relative to a translucent light cover of the switch cabinet light in order to vary the beam direction of the switch cabinet light. Such a switch cabinet light is known, for example, from KR 101111531 B1.

BACKGROUND

DE 20 2012 009 313 U1 describes a switch cabinet light with an elongated, cylindrical light source that is guided between end-side mounting bases, each with a receptacle for the light source. The light source is mounted in the mounting bases so as to swivel about its longitudinal axis, for which purpose a cylindrical receptacle is provided in each of the mounting bases whose diameter is matched to the width of the light source.

Switch cabinet lights with adjustable light sources have the advantage that they can be adapted to the given conditions for optimal illumination of the cabinet interior depending on the application and required mounting position on the interior of a cabinet. The switch cabinet lights should also be designed, insofar as possible, so as not to radiate outward from the inside of the switch cabinet in order to minimize the glare angle of the switch cabinet light. Switch cabinet lights with adjustable reflector are also known from the prior art in addition to switch cabinet lights in which the light source is adjustable.

The switch cabinet lights that are known from the prior art have the drawback that the adjustability is achieved only using relatively complex technical adjustment mechanisms. Accordingly, the switch cabinet lights that are known from the prior art are elaborate and therefore cost-intensive to manufacture.

SUMMARY

It is therefore the aspect of the invention to provide a switch cabinet light of the type described at the outset in which the adjustability of the beam direction of the light source is achieved with the aid of simple technical means.

Accordingly, a provision is made that the switch cabinet light has a light-emitting circuit board with a light-emitting side that faces toward a first wall section of the translucent light cover in a first orientation of the light-emitting circuit board and toward a second wall section of the translucent light cover in a second orientation of the light-emitting circuit board.

The light-emitting circuit board can be configured such that it can be manually adjusted back and forth between the first and second orientations, for example. For example, the light-emitting circuit board can be embodied in the manner of a plug-in printed circuit board with electrically conductive plug contacts that can be received in a plug-in receptacle, such as a groove, of the switch cabinet light in two optional positions that are rotated in relation to one another at an angle, particularly in two positions that are rotated by 180° in relation to one another. The light cover can be a U-shaped light cover with two parallel spaced-apart transparent side walls in relation to which the light-emitting circuit board, in each of its two positions that are rotated by 180° in relation to one another, extends in parallel and thus turns its light source, such as LEDs or OLEDs, toward a first of the two side walls and toward a second of the two side walls, respectively, in the two positions that are rotated by 180° in relation to one another. Accordingly, the switch cabinet light has two mutually offset beam directions in the two orientations of the light-emitting circuit board that are rotated by 180° in relation to one another. The procedure for plugging the light-emitting circuit board in can be carried out completely without tools.

In order to enable the light-emitting circuit board to be easily moved, the light cover can be connected to a lamp base body of the switch cabinet light so as to be detachable without tools, in which case, when the light cover is connected to the lamp base body, the light-emitting circuit board is held by the light cover in a plug-in receptacle of the lamp base body in which the light-emitting circuit board is aligned.

The translucent light cover can further comprise a supporting structure on the inside on an end face or upper side that faces toward the light-emitting circuit board and has a groove-shaped receptacle for a longitudinal edge of the light-emitting circuit board in which the light-emitting circuit board is received and supported when the light cover is placed onto the lamp base body.

The plug-in receptacle of the lamp base body and the groove-shaped receptacle of the light cover can be aligned so as to face each other, and each can have an insertion chamfer in order to facilitate the precise alignment of the light cover through placement of the light cover on the lamp base body.

Moreover, the light-emitting circuit board can be a substantially rectangular printed circuit board with a plurality of light sources such as LEDs or OLEDs that are arranged on one side, in which a first of the two longitudinal edges of the printed circuit board can be received in the plug-in receptacle of the lamp base body and, when the lamp base body is connected to the light cover, a second of its two longitudinal edges can be received in the groove-shaped receptacle of the light cover.

If the light-emitting circuit board is embodied in the manner of a printed circuit board, then a provision can be made that the light sources are arranged on one of the opposite sides of the printed circuit board and no light sources are arranged on the other opposite side of the printed circuit board. Alternatively, the opposite sides can have different light sources that differ in their color characteristics or radiation intensity, for example, in which case the different light sources can be actuated separately on the opposite sides of the printed circuit board in order to achieve a desired light beam direction and light quality depending on the orientation of the light-emitting circuit board and the actuated light sources.

If the light-emitting circuit board is a printed circuit board with light sources on one of its two opposite sides, then a provision can be made that the light sources face toward the first wall section of the translucent light cover in the first orientation of the printed circuit board and toward the second wall section of the translucent light cover in the second orientation of the printed circuit board. For example, the light cover can have a U-shape in cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, with two parallel sides that are connected by a side that is arranged perpendicular thereto, so that the light source faces toward a respective side of the U-shaped light cover in each of the two orientations.

With any other design of the light cover as well in which the light cover has two parallel, spaced-apart translucent wall sections, the printed circuit board can be aligned parallel to the wall sections in its two orientations, in which case the light sources face toward a first of the two translucent wall sections in the first orientation of the printed circuit board and toward a second of the two translucent wall sections in the second orientation of the printed circuit board.

The switch cabinet light can further comprise control electronics for the light-emitting circuit board that are contacted via a detachable multipolar, particularly bipolar contact to the light-emitting circuit board in the two orientations of the light-emitting circuit board. This manner of contacting is particularly expedient if the light-emitting circuit board is embodied in the manner of a breadboard that is received in a lamp base body-side plug-in receptacle.

The detachable bipolar contact can have a pair of spring contact pins on the control electronics side and three spring contact tabs on the light-emitting circuit board side, in which case the spring contact pins contact a first pair of spring contact tabs in the first orientation of the light-emitting circuit board and the spring contact pins contact a second pair of spring contact tabs in the second orientation of the light-emitting circuit board. In this case, the two pairs of spring contact tabs have a common spring contact tab and a different spring contact tab. If the light-emitting circuit board is embodied as a substantially rectangular printed circuit board that can be received in the lamp base body-side plug via its opposite longitudinal edges in two positions that are mutually rotated by 180°, then if the abovementioned spring contact with two spring contact pins and two pairs of spring contact tabs is used, the common spring contact tab should be centrally located in the connecting direction between the longitudinal edges of the printed circuit board, while the two remaining spring contact tabs should be arranged symmetrically above and below the center spring contact tab at a distance therefrom under the mutual spacing of the spring contact pins.

Particularly if the board has spring contact tabs on each of its two opposite end faces for contacting the control electronics, the board can also be fixed on the light base body in two positions that are rotated by 180° about an axis of rotation that extends perpendicularly through the two longitudinal edges of the light-emitting circuit board.

In order to ensure sufficient cooling of the light-emitting circuit board, a provision can be made that the plug-in receptacle is formed in the lamp base body as a groove that extends along the longitudinal direction of the lamp base body, in which case the lamp base body has a heat sink that is integrally formed against the groove, whereby the heat sink is thermally coupled with the groove. A light source on the light-emitting circuit board can be thermally coupled via a thermal conductor with a longitudinal edge of the light-emitting circuit board via which the light-emitting circuit board is inserted into the plug-in receptacle and/or groove of the lamp base body.

However, it is also conceivable for the light-emitting circuit board and the light cover to form a unit, for example through (possibly detachable) interconnection. In this case, in order to adjust the light beam direction of the light, the unit comprising the light-emitting circuit board and the light cover can be detached from the lamp base body in a single work step and placed back onto the lamp base body7so as to be rotated by 180°. The unit is rotated about an axis of rotation that extends perpendicular to the two longitudinal edges of the board through the longitudinal edges.

According to another aspect, a switch cabinet light has a light housing in which control electronics for a light-emitting circuit board of the light are held and to one side of which a lamp base body that holds the light-emitting circuit board is optionally detachably fastened via one of its two longitudinal ends, with the light-emitting circuit board, the lamp base body, and a light cover covering the light-emitting circuit board that is mounted on the lamp base body forming a unit or being integrally formed, so that the entire unit of light-emitting circuit board, lamp base body, and light cover are fixed in two positions that are rotated by 180° about an axis of rotation on the light housing, with the axis of rotation extending perpendicular to the two longitudinal edges of the board through the longitudinal edges, and with the control electronics contacting the board in both positions that are rotated by 180° relative to one another.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1shows an embodiment of the switch cabinet light1according to the invention that is cut perpendicular to the longitudinal direction through the light cover3, the light-emitting circuit board2, and the lamp base body7. At its end, the switch cabinet light1has a lamp housing21in which the control electronics15of the light-emitting circuit board2can be accommodated (cf.FIG. 2).

Besides the lamp housing21with the control electronics accommodated therein, the switch cabinet light1thus consists substantially of the lamp base body7, the light-emitting circuit board2that is plugged onto the lamp base body7, and the translucent light cover3that encloses the light-emitting circuit board2. It can be seen that the lamp base body7, the light-emitting circuit board2, and the light cover3cooperate precisely in such a way that, in the position of the light cover3that is shown inFIG. 1, in which it is fastened to the lamp base body7by means of two tongue-and-groove connections20, the light-emitting circuit board2extends right between a plug-in receptacle8of the lamp body7and an opposing support structure10on the inner surface of the end face9of the light cover3. The end face9just connects the opposing wall sections4that extend parallel to each other, so that the light cover3is substantially U-shaped in the cross section shown.

In order to form the tongue-and-groove connection20, the lamp base body7has on its opposite longitudinal sides a groove in which corresponding projections engage on the mutually facing inner sides of the wall sections4,6. The supporting structure10that is embodied on the end face9forms a groove-shaped receptacle11for a longitudinal edge12of the light-emitting circuit board2. The printed circuit board2is inserted into the plug-in receptacle8of the lamp base body7via an opposite longitudinal edge12. When the light cover3has been removed and the light-emitting circuit board2has already been pre-positioned, in order to facilitate the placement of the light cover3onto the lamp base body7and thus the alignment of the light-emitting circuit board2with respect to the plug-in receptacle8and the groove-shaped receptacle11, the groove-shaped receptacle11and/or the plug-in receptacle8each have an insertion chamfer13.

It can also be seen that at least one of the two parallel wall sections4,6has a structure on its inner side facing toward the light source14on the light-emitting side5of the light-emitting circuit board2. This is designed in the manner of a Fresnel lens, which imparts an improved light emission characteristic to the switch cabinet light1. The wall sections4,6can have identical or differing Fresnel structures, so that the radiation characteristic of the light can be varied through the selection of the wall section4,6that faces toward the light sources14.

FIG. 2shows that the printed circuit board2can have a plurality of light sources14that are distributed in the longitudinal direction L of the switch cabinet light1and light-emitting circuit board2. These can be LEDs or OLEDs. In principle, however, all other light-generating means are suitable that can be arranged and controlled on a printed circuit board or board2in the manner shown. The light-emitting circuit board2has on its end facing toward the lamp housing21three spring contact tabs18, the upper and middle one of which in the illustration are respectively contacted by a spring contact pin17of the control electronics15. The spring contact pins17and the spring contact tabs18thus form a contact between the light-emitting circuit board2and the control electronics15.

When viewed together, the embodiments shown inFIGS. 1 and 2illustrate that, in two positions that are rotated by 180° relative to one another, the light-emitting circuit board2can be inserted via its opposite longitudinal edges12into the plug-in receptacle8of the lamp base body7while contacting the control electronics15. As can be seen, if the light-emitting circuit board2shown inFIG. 2is rotated by 180° so that the two longitudinal edges12of the light-emitting circuit board2exchange positions, the two spring contact pins17instead of the two upper spring contact tabs18in the illustration contact the two lower spring contact tabs18in the illustration, which would understandably assume the position of the two upper spring contact tabs18in the illustration after the light-emitting circuit board2is rotated by 180° and are thus exactly pre-positioned to contact the spring contact pins17. For this purpose, the spring contact tabs18should be arranged equidistant in the vertical connecting direction between the longitudinal edges12, whereas, beyond that, the middle contact tab18should be arranged centrally between the two longitudinal edges or on an axis of rotation x of the light-emitting circuit board2.

Particularly if the board2has spring contact tabs18on each of its two opposite end faces for contacting the control electronics15, the board2can also be fixed on the light base body in two positions that are rotated by 180° about another axis of rotation (y) that extends perpendicularly through the two longitudinal edges12of the light-emitting circuit board2.

The cooperation of the light-emitting circuit board2, the light cover3, and the lamp base body7is shown once again in detail inFIG. 3. As has already been described with reference toFIG. 1, both the plug-in receptacle8and the groove-shaped receptacle11of the support structure10have an insertion chamfer13in order to facilitate the insertion of the light-emitting circuit board2into the plug-in receptacle8and the groove-shaped receptacle11during placement of the light cover3onto the lamp base body7. Likewise, the tongue-and-groove connection20on the opposite longitudinal sides of the lamp base body7and on the mutually facing inner sides of the parallel wall sections4,6of the light cover3have an insertion chamfer13, which serves both to facilitate the placement of the cover3onto the lamp base body7and to provide a bias with which the light-emitting circuit board2is held in the plug-in receptacle8and the groove-shaped receptacle11when the light cover3is placed onto the lamp base body7.

At the same time, the lamp base body7forms a heat sink for the light sources14, such as LEDs or OLEDs, that are arranged on the light-emitting circuit board2. For this purpose, the light sources14are thermally coupled by means of thermal conductors, such as metal strips, with the plug-in receptacle8, so that residual heat arising at the light sources14can be discharged via the thermal conductors and the plug-in receptacle8to the lamp base body7. The lamp base body7has a heat capacity that is as high as possible. The lamp base body7is preferably made of a thermally conductive material such as metal or a suitable engineering plastic.

Finally, it can be seen that the light-emitting circuit board2has light sources14on only one of its two opposite sides, so that the light-emitting circuit board2has one light-emitting side5and one opposite side from which no light is emitted. By virtue of the fact that the light-emitting circuit board2is inserted with its respective opposite longitudinal edge12into the plug-in receptacle8so as to be offset by 180°, the orientation of the light-emitting side5of the light-emitting circuit board2changes as well, so that it faces once toward the first wall section4and once toward the second wall section6.

In order to further improve the light emission behavior of the switch cabinet light1, a provision can be made that a reflector22is arranged on that wall section of the two wall sections4,6that is facing away from the light-emitting side5of the light-emitting circuit board2. Owing to the symmetrical tongue-and-groove connections20on the opposite longitudinal sides of the lamp base body7, the light cover3can be fixed in a position on the lamp base body7that is rotated by 180° when the light-emitting circuit board2is rotated by 180°. The reflector22then also changes position on the inside of the first wall section4in accordance with the light sources14, so that it again faces toward the side of the light-emitting circuit board2that is facing away from the light-emitting side5of the light-emitting circuit board2.

However, it is also conceivable for the light-emitting circuit board2and the light cover3to form a unit, for example through (possibly detachable) interconnection. In this case, in order to adjust the light beam direction of the light, the unit comprising the light-emitting circuit board2and the light cover3can then be detached from the lamp base body7in a single work step and placed back onto the lamp base body7so as to be rotated by 180°. The unit of light-emitting circuit board2and light cover3is rotated about another axis of rotation (y) that extends perpendicular to the two longitudinal edges12of the board2through the longitudinal edges12(cf.FIG. 2).

Due to the biasing force exerted by the interaction of plug-in receptacle8and supporting structure10on the light-emitting circuit board2with which the light-emitting circuit board2is pressed into the receptacle8, the thermal contact between the light-emitting circuit board2and the plug-in receptacle8and, accordingly, with the lamp base body7is improved, thereby promoting or facilitating the discharging of the residual heat generated by the light sources14.

The features of the invention that are disclosed in the foregoing description, in the drawings, and in the claims may be essential to the implementation of the invention both individually and in any combination with one another.