Mounting system for recessed light fixture

A clip for retaining a light canister in a ceiling includes a bendable leg member which is positionable between a first position and a second position. In the first position, the canister is insertable into a hole in a ceiling and in the second position, the bendable leg member is moved away from the canister so as to retain the canister within the ceiling. A brace member extends between the bendable leg member and the canister to retain the bendable leg member in its second position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention refers generally to a method of mounting recessed lighting 
fixtures, more particularly the present invention relates to spring clips 
which are used for holding recessed lighting fixtures in an opening in a 
ceiling. 
Recessed lighting fixtures are often used in situations where a room is 
being remodeled. This remodeling oftentimes involves the inclusion of a 
false or drop ceiling in which the recessed lighting fixtures are mounted. 
In other cases, recessed lighting fixtures are mounted in holes made in 
existing ceilings. Specifically, the bottom of the lighting fixture is 
mounted flush with the visible surface of the ceiling and the body of the 
lighting fixture projects into the space above the ceiling. The retention 
of recessed lighting fixtures within and above a ceiling presents a 
particular problem for installers as it is often difficult to gain access 
to the topside or unseen portion of the ceiling. Therefore, the need 
exists to provide a method for quickly and easily mounting recessed 
lighting fixtures in ceilings without the necessity to gain access to the 
unseen portion of the ceiling. Such fixtures must also be easily removable 
for inspection, cleaning or repair. 
Attempts have been made to use various mechanical means to engage the 
ceiling for mounting recessed lighting fixtures. Such mechanical means may 
include flanges which sandwich the ceiling itself to provide structural 
support for the lighting fixture. Such fixtures are inherently limited in 
their operation if the space between the sandwiching flanges is fixed. 
Specifically, the sandwiching of the ceiling requires additional 
installation manipulations. A workman installing such a light fixture must 
first push the light fixture into the hole in the ceiling then sandwich 
the ceiling between two flanges. In some fixtures, the installer must also 
compress a spring clip with his free hand or with a special tool. The 
spring clip provides additional force to press against the topside of the 
ceiling. Such manipulations are difficult, at best, even for the most 
coordinated and skilled workmen. Typical of such a device is the one 
described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,620,401. 
Other recessed lighting fixtures have adjustable means for mounting the 
fixture to the ceiling. Such fixtures are cumbersome in their operation 
and time consuming to install. Typical of such a device is the one 
described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,048,491. 
Accordingly, the problem exists of providing a recessed lighting fixture 
that may be used with a wide variety of ceiling widths that may be easily 
installed and removed in a minimum of time. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
A mounting system for a recessed lighting fixture usable with a wide 
variety of ceiling widths consists of a plurality of clips which are 
spaced around the periphery of the canister portion of the recessed 
lighting fixture. The clips used for retaining the recessed lighting 
fixture in a ceiling consist of a bendable leg member movable between two 
positions. This ability of the leg member to move is facilitated by a hole 
in the wall of the can-shaped canister portion of the lighting fixture. 
The first position of the bendable leg member allows for the insertion or 
removal of the canister portion of the recessed lighting fixture into a 
hole in the ceiling. The second position of the bendable leg member 
retains the canister in the ceiling. The bendable leg member is moved 
between its first and second positions by pivoting one end of the clip 
against a portion of the canister. During the pivoting of the clip from 
the first position to the second position, the bendable leg member engages 
the corner formed between the top side of the ceiling and the side of the 
hole cut in the ceiling for mounting the fixture. This engagement of the 
bendable leg member with the corner between the hole and the topside of 
the ceiling causes an inward bend in the bendable leg member. It is the 
mechanical engagement of this inward bend in the clip and the ceiling 
which causes the recessed lighting fixture to be retained in the ceiling. 
The bendable leg member is retained in its second position by a brace 
member which extends from the outboard end of the bendable leg member back 
to an opening in the canister. The resilient nature of the brace member 
and mechanical engagement of the inboard end of the brace member with the 
canister portion of the lighting fixture retains the bendable leg member 
in its second position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
Recessed lighting fixtures 100 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are inserted into 
new or existing ceilings by placing canister portion 98 of light fixture 
100 in a hole 90 in ceiling 88. Once mounted in ceiling 88, the body of 
the canister 98 occupies the space 86 above ceiling 88. A trim ring 65 is 
fitted into the bottom of canister 98 and is designed to mask edge 84 of 
hole 90 and provide a decorative appearance for lighting fixture 100 once 
mounted in ceiling 88. 
To retain the lighting fixture 100 in ceiling 88, clips 10 are placed 
around the periphery of canister 100. Such arrangement of clips 10 is 
shown in FIG. 1. It is important that clips 10 be both easy to use and 
sufficiently strong to retain canister 98 in ceiling 88 as it is clips 10 
alone which hold fixture assembly 100 in position. As installers of 
canisters 100 are forced to work over their head, mounting clips 10 must 
be easy to use and rapidly positionable irrespective of the thickness of 
the ceiling 88. The reduction in manipulative steps provided by the 
present invention saves time and reduces installer fatigue. 
The construction of clip 10 used in the mounting system of the present 
invention is shown in FIG. 6. Bendable leg member 12 forms the operative 
portion of clip 10. On one end of bendable leg member 12 is bent portion 
14 which serves as a pivot to allow bendable leg member 12 to be moved 
between its first 60 and second 50 positions (FIGS. 3 and 4). At the other 
end of bendable leg member 12 a brace member 16 is formed of sufficient 
length to extend between bendable leg member 12 and the side of canister 
portion 98 of fixture 100. A step or offset 18 is formed in brace member 
16 to engage the side of canister 98 when bendable leg member 12 is moved 
away from the side of canister 98 as shown in FIG. 1. That portion of 
bendable leg member 12 which is bendable is thickened in the preferred 
embodiment. While such thickening is shown in the preferred embodiment it 
will be understood that clips 10 are operable without such thickening. As 
shown in FIG. 2, the attachment of clips 10 to canister 98 is facilitated 
by the use of holes 96 and 94. Brace member 16 passes through hole 96 
while hole 94 is designed to accommodate the pivotal mounting of bent 
portion 14. 
As shown in FIG. 3, mounting clips 10 of the present invention are designed 
so that bendable leg member 12 of clip 10 lies flush along the outside of 
canister 98 when canister 98 is either inserted into or removed from 
ceiling 88. This position 60, termed the first position, is characterized 
by bendable leg member 12 lying alongside of canister 98 and brace member 
16 extending inwardly through opening 96 in the wall of canister 98. Once 
canister 98 has been fully inserted through hole 90 in ceiling 88 so that 
flange 70 at the bottom of canister 98 contacts underside 82 of ceiling 88 
to mask the edge of hole 90, bendable leg member 12 is moved outwardly 
away from canister 98 to second position 50. This causes brace member 16 
to be drawn out of canister 98 through hole 96. During this movement, 
bendable leg member 12 engages corner 80 formed between top side 78 of 
ceiling 88 and the edge 84 of hole 90. This engagement causes bendable leg 
member 12 to bend inwardly as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. It is this inward 
bend which holds fixture 100 in position with respect to ceiling 88. Bend 
20 formed at corner 80 of side 84 of hole 90 and top 78 of ceiling 88 can 
be made in ceilings having a wide variety of thicknesses. 
Sizing bendable leg member 12 to engage ceilings of thicknesses from 1/4" 
to 11/2" allows utilization of the mounting system of the present 
invention with almost all commonly found interior construction. If the 
ceiling is thin, T.sub.1, as shown in FIG. 4, lower portion 22 of the 
bendable leg member 12 engages ceiling 88. If the ceiling is thick, 
T.sub.2, as shown in FIG. 5, midst 24 of bendable leg member 12 engages 
ceiling 88. It will be noted that as shown in FIG. 4, the mounting of 
canister 98 in ceiling 88, effected by the movement of clip members 10 
from first position 60 to second position 50, will cause clip member 10 to 
bend along its bendable leg portion 12. As bendable leg member 12 is 
bendable at any point along its length, there are an infinite number of 
ceiling widths which may be accommodated by the recessed lighting fixture 
mounting system of the present invention. Such adaptability allows use of 
the mounting system of the present invention anywhere in the country and 
in offices or homes built from a wide variety of materials. Other prior 
art fixtures do not provide this adaptability in mounting systems for 
recessed lighting fixtures. 
Retaining clip member 10 in second position 50 is the engagement of step or 
offset 18 of brace member 16 with the side of canister 98. Facilitating 
this engagement is the resiliency of brace member 16 with respect to 
bendable leg member 12. This resiliency causes brace member 16 to spring 
outwardly toward the top of canister 98 when clip member 10 is moved from 
its first position 60 to its second position 50. This outward springing of 
brace member 16 prevents clip 10 from moving back to first position 60. It 
will be understood that a variety of mechanical engagement means may be 
used in place of offset 18 without departing from the scope of the present 
invention. 
Additionally, brace member 16 includes a stop member 26 at its inboard end 
in the preferred embodiment. Stop member 26 is an enlarged portion formed 
at the end of brace member 16. Sop member 26 prevents clip member 10 from 
moving out of engagement with canister 98. Specifically, when clip member 
10 is moved from first position 60 to second position 50, stop member 26 
will engage inside of canister 98 thereby preventing clip member 10 from 
falling away from the outside of canister 98. 
When it is desired to remove fixture 100 from ceiling 88 the installation 
process is reversed. Specifically, stop member 26 is moved back into the 
midst of the canister 98 through hole 96. Stop member 26 is followed by 
brace member 16. Bendable leg member 12 is thereby moved out of engagement 
with ceiling 88 thus allowing fixture 100 to be removed from ceiling 88. 
Clip members 10 may be preferably constructed of a resilient material such 
as spring or sheet steel, however, any other spring or sheet material such 
as a spring plastic or resilient aluminum may be used. Clip members 10 may 
be formed by a simple bending or molding operation. 
From the foregoing description of the preferred embodiment, it can be seen 
that the present invention provides an improved system for mounting a 
recessed light fixture 100 quickly and easily in an opening 90 in a 
ceiling 88, irrespective of the thickness of the ceiling 88. 
While there has been illustrated and described what is at present 
considered to be the preferred embodiment of the present clip mounting 
device 10, it will be understood by those skilled in the art to which this 
system pertains that various changes and modifications may be made to the 
preferred embodiment, and equivalents may be substituted for certain 
elements thereof without departing from the true scope and nature of the 
present invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to the 
disclosed clip device 10 to adapt to a particular situation or certain 
material the teachings of the present invention without departing from the 
central scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that this invention not 
be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode 
contemplated but that the invention include all embodiments falling within 
the scope of the appended claims.