Abstract:
A winding apparatus ( 23 ) having a guiding means ( 25 ) by means of which a drawing material ( 32 ) can be led onto a cylindrical drum surface ( 37 ) of a reel ( 24 ) rotatable about its axis ( 26 ) relative to the guiding means ( 25 ) and said drawing material can be taken up onto said drum surface ( 37 ), is used for instance for adjusting the height of a suspended luminaire. In order to optically advantageously configure the connection of this winding apparatus ( 23 ) to the drawing material ( 32 ), the axis ( 26 ) of the reel ( 24 ) is oriented in the direction in which the drawing material ( 32 ) runs on entering the winding apparatus ( 23 ).

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a winding apparatus with a guiding means, by means of which a drawing means can be guidedly taken up on a cylindrical drum surface of a reel rotating about an axis relative to the guiding means. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Such a winding apparatus is generally known for taking up a carrier cable of a mains-power operated suspended luminaire, wherein the carrier cable is guided within the spirally wound mains cable for supplying the suspended luminaire with electrical power. 
     Such winding apparatuses are generally, for appearance reasons, concealed in the ceiling fixture of the suspended luminaire, under a suspended ceiling, for example. In the conventional suspended luminaire equipped with ceiling fastener hooks for mounting, the winding apparatus is usually integrated in a covering concealing said hooks and the power feed, whereby said covering is necessarily naturally larger than in comparable lighting fixtures not having level adjusting means. 
     The known winding apparatus comprises essentially a horizontally disposed reel for taking up the carrier cable into a plastic housing that is closed, save for an entry aperture disposed in the bottom part thereof for admitting the carrier cable. The carrier rope is wound or unwound in said housing by rotating the reel about its axis, whereby a torsion spring disposed on the housing and the reel substantially maintains the balance of the weight force of the luminaire member. In this fashion the luminaire member can be adjusted to a desired height without great expenditure of force within the predefined range of the length of the carrier rope. 
     The known winding apparatuses are hardly appropriate for implementation in the field of low-voltage lighting technology because of their considerable intrinsic dimensions. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AND ADVANTAGES 
     The object of the present invention is to provide a winding apparatus which, by virtue of its dimensions, is suitable as a height adjustment of a low-voltage suspended luminaire and can be connected with same in an optically advantageous fashion. 
     On the basis of the winding apparatus described at the beginning, said object is achieved in that the axis of the reel is oriented in the direction in which the drawing material runs upon entry into the winding apparatus. In this fashion, the winding apparatus can be configured particularly narrowly and especially optically appropriately in the case of a suspended luminaire. 
     In a preferred embodiment of the invention the reel is formed as to be displaceable in the direction of its axis relative to the guiding direction. The windings of the drawing material can be taken up axially offset on the reel. 
     A necessary coupling of the rotation and translatory movement of the reel relative to the guiding direction can be realized without additional mechanical components by interlocking threads in a contact surface of the two components. If the chosen pitch of the thread is (at least slightly) greater than the diameter of the drawing material then the successive coils of the drawing material are taken up in a particularly simple fashion alongside each other on the reel. 
     The number of components of the winding apparatus according to the invention can be kept to a minimum if the thread on the drum surface of the reel and on an inner cylinder surface are applied to a guiding means encircling the reel. If in this instance (as described above) the lead—or pitch—of the thread is greater than the diameter of the drawing material, then the latter is specifically taken up in the thread troughs. If two separate drawing materials are taken up on the same reel at the same time—for example in the case of a low-voltage halogen luminaire suspended on two lines—said thread is particularly advantageously executed having a double thread. 
     In an alternative embodiment the guiding means comprises a spike with a thread on the external side, said spike engaging with an inner thread of the reel. The drawing material is then preferably taken up on a non-profiled drum surface. In order to keep manufacturing costs low, the spike can be manufactured out of a thermoplastic synthetic material using an injection molding process and integrated with the formed thread in one single work step. High-quality material that is more costly to work—metal (aluminum for example) or colored glass—can be used for those components of the guiding means that comprise visible surfaces. 
     Preferably, the winding apparatus—especially when used for adjusting the height of a suspended luminaire—can be equipped with a driver device which eliminates manual intervention in the winding apparatus for winding or unwinding the drawing material. As in the case of the winding apparatuses known from the prior art, a torsion spring can be used as the driver device, which maintains the balance of a drawing force in the drawing material. The winding and unwinding of the drawing material is then set into motion by a slight change in the tractive force—by slight lifting of the body of the lamp body of the suspended luminaire, for example. 
     A further embodiment comprises—alternatively or in addition to the torsion spring—a motor which is, for example, controlled by a logical circuit integrated in the winding apparatus and an optical sensor enables contact-less winding and unwinding of the drawing material—for example for adjusting the height of a suspended luminaire. 
     In a preferred embodiment of the winding apparatus according to the invention, the drawing material is first led through the reel and only then through the guiding means on the drum surface of the reel. In particular in the case of use as a height adjustment for a suspended luminaire there is the advantage that only the upper end of the winding apparatus—in this case, the reel—rotates relative to the drawing material. This rotational movement is thus not transferred to the lamp body below the winding apparatus—in this case, the guiding means. 
     The winding apparatus according to the invention can be used particularly for adjusting the height of a suspended luminaire. Because of the fact that the longitudinal axis of the reel lies in the direction of the drawing material the winding apparatus is particularly optically advantageous when integrated into the typical filigree construction of a low-voltage luminaire. 
     The impression of the simplicity of the construction is especially supported, when the drawing material carrying the luminaire is an electrical cable providing the electrical supply to the luminaire, especially when both lines are integrated in it—in this instance the use of a coaxial cable is preferred. If a coaxial cable is used that is not insulated to the outside, then the luminaire can be particularly easily combined with a contact dimmer as has been disclosed in DE 196 28 891. 
     A variety of possible designs for such a suspended luminaire using the winding apparatus according to the invention result especially if it is incorporated with the luminaire member in one structural unit. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention is more completely described below with reference to three exemplary embodiments, which are schematically represented in three drawings, wherein: 
     FIG. 1 represents a side view of a winding apparatus; 
     FIG. 2 represents a longitudinal section; 
     FIG. 3 represents a perspective view of the winding apparatus represented in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 represents a perspective exploded view of a second winding apparatus; 
     FIG. 5 represents a longitudinal section; 
     FIG. 6 represents a perspective view of the winding apparatus according to FIG. 2; and 
     FIG. 7 represents a perspective view of a third winding apparatus. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     FIGS. 1 to  3 ,  4  to  6  and  7  represent three different embodiments—identified with the references  1 ,  23  and  46 —of the winding apparatus according to the invention for adjusting the height of a suspended luminaire incorporating low-voltage halogen technology. The winding apparatus  1 ,  23 ,  46  comprises substantially a reel  2 ,  24 ,  47  and a guiding means  3 ,  25 ,  48  that are rotatable relative to each other and are displaceable in the direction of the reel axis  4 ,  26 ,  49 , whereby these movements are made by a coupling means defined by a single-path thread  5 ,  27  (not shown in the winding apparatus  46 ) with a lead/pitch of approximately 4 mm. 
     The winding apparatus  1 ,  23  includes a driving device defined by a torsion spring  6 ,  28 , (not shown on the winding apparatus  46 ) for supporting the movement, the torsion spring being connected at one end with the guiding means  3 ,  25 ,  48  and on the opposite end with the reel  2 ,  24 ,  47 . The winding apparatus  1 ,  23  is assembled into one structural unit with a luminaire member  7 ,  29 . At the winding apparatus  1 ,  23  the luminaire member  7 ,  29  abuts on the reel  2 ,  24 , at the winding apparatus  46  at the guiding means  48  in a fashion not shown. 
     The reel  2 ,  24 ,  47  is made of aluminum rod stock and the guiding means  3 ,  25 ,  48  out of a tube of the same material. For technical manufacturing reasons a two-piece core  8 ,  30  made of plastic in an injection molding process and surrounds a swung conduit  9 ,  31 . 
     The luminaire member  7 ,  29  (not shown in the winding apparatus  46 ) is supplied with electrical power by way of a 3 mm thick, two-stranded coaxial cable  10 ,  32 ,  51  with a braided outer strand (not shown) and without external insulation. The end (not shown) of the cable  10 ,  32 ,  51  is (likewise not shown)connected at the bottom side of the reel  2 ,  24  or with the top side of the reel  47 . On the inside of the winding apparatus  46  a guiding connection between the reel  47  and the guiding means  48  by means of a slip ring connection (not shown). The reel  2 ,  24  and the guiding means  48  each comprise a stand  11 ,  23  (not shown on the winding apparatus  46 ) and with it a halogen lamp member  12 ,  34 ,  52 . 
     At the winding apparatus  1 ,  23 , the cable  10 ,  32  when being wound enters centrally from above in the axial direction  4 ,  26  of the reel  2 ,  24  into the guiding means  3 ,  25  and there undergoes a first diversion radially  13 ,  35  of the reel  2 ,  24  and so is led up to the outer circumference  14 ,  36  of the reel  2 ,  24 . There the cable  10 ,  32  is again diverted axially  4 ,  26  to the reel  2 ,  24  and led over the drum surface  15 ,  37  of the guiding means  3 ,  25  vertically downwards. 
     At the winding apparatus  46  the cable  51 , when winding, enters centrally from above axially  49  to the reel  47  into the reel  47 , is led through same into the guiding means  48 , undergoes there a first diversion radially  53  to the reel  47  and so led up to the outer circumference  45  of the reel  47 . There the cable  51  is again diverted axially  49  to the reel  7  and led over the drum surface  55  to the guiding means  48  vertically upwards. 
     Still in the guiding means  3 ,  25 ,  48 , the cable  10 ,  32 ,  51  is diverted tangentially  16 ,  38 ,  56  to the reel. The reel  2 ,  24 ,  47  and the guiding means  3 ,  25 ,  48  are moved away from each other by the thread  5 ,  27  (not shown on the winding apparatus  46 ) concomitantly with the rotational movement axially  4 ,  26 ,  49  of the reel  2 ,  24   47 , the cable  10 ,  32 ,  51  exiting from the guiding means  2 ,  25 ,  48  is laid on the clearing zone of the drum surface  15 ,  37 ,  55  of the reel  2 ,  24 ,  47  in windings  17 ,  39 ,  57  disposed alongside each other. 
     In newly established position after winding, the torsional forces transmitted by the cable  10 ,  32 ,  51 , the torque acting from the torsion spring  6 ,  28  (not shown in the winding apparatus  46 ) between guiding means  3 ,  25 ,  48  and reel  2 ,  24 ,  47  and the frictional forces of the thread  5 ,  27  (not shown on the winding apparatus  46 ) and the cable  10 ,  32 ,  51  in the guiding means  3 ,  25 ,  48  are—as they were initially—in balance. In order to change the position, the operator of the winding apparatus  1 ,  23 ,  46  grips the guiding means  3 ,  25  and leads it upwards or downwards, whereby the reel  2 ,  24  rotating about its axis  4 ,  26  takes up or releases a segment of cable  10 ,  32 . 
     When shifting the winding apparatus  1 ,  23  the luminaire member  7 ,  29  rotates with the reel  2 ,  24 . When shifting the winding apparatus  46  the guiding means (not shown) fastened to the guiding means  48  does not execute a rotation. 
     The reel  2 ,  24  comprises in its axial direction  4 ,  26  underneath the laid windings  17 ,  39  of the cable  10 ,  32  an abutting ring  18 ,  40  which on the one hand limits the movement of the reel  2 ,  24  in its axial direction  4 ,  26  into the guiding means  3 ,  25  and on the other hand optically continues the drum surface  19 ,  41  of the guiding means  3 ,  25 . 
     The winding apparatus  1  comprises a thread  5  as an internal thread  20  in the zone of the guiding means  3  facing the reel  2  and as an external thread  21  in the zone of the guiding means  3  facing the reel  2 . The troughs  22  of the external thread  21  comprise a half-round profile having a radius slightly greater than 1.5 mm so that the windings  17  of the cable  10  laid upon the reel  2  can be taken up into the troughs  22  without jamming and can be take up from them again. 
     The cable  10  led downwardly in the guiding means  3  axially  4  to the reel  2  lie compactly flush with the external drum surface  19  of the guiding means  3 . Since the cable  10  must be led radially  13  to the reel  2  outside of the internal thread  20  of the guiding means  3 , the result in this construction is necessarily that in the overall impression of the winding apparatus  1  the laid coils  17  of the cable  10  radially change direction relative to the external drum surface  19  of the guiding means  3 . 
     In contrast, the winding apparatuses  23  and  46  act more compactly: the laid out windings  39 ,  57  of the cable  32 ,  51  lie compactly flush with the external drum surface  41 ,  58  of the guiding means  25 ,  48 . The cable  32 ,  51  led in the guiding means  25 ,  48  axially  26 ,  49  to the reel  24 ,  47  also obviously lies externally compactly flush with the external drum surface  41 ,  58  of the guiding means  25 ,  48 ; however, it is guided directly onto the drum surface  37 ,  55  of the reel  24 ,  47 . 
     In the winding apparatus  23  the thread  27  is configured as an internal thread  42  on the reel  24  and as an external thread  43  on an inner, tubular spike  44  connected with the guiding means  25 . This spike  44  is manufactured out of thermoplastic material in an injection process integrally with the external thread  43  and connected non-rotationally (not shown in further detail) with the guiding means  25 . The reel  24  is disposed between the external thread  43  of said spike  44  and the inner drum surface  45  of the guiding means  25 . In the same fashion—but not shown—the rotational and translational movements of the reel  47  and the guiding means  48  are also coupled in the winding apparatus  46 .