Abstract:
A lighting fixture is disclosed that has two lights sandwiching a pivotable reflector. An upwardly directed lamp is mounted on the reflector to pivot therewith. The down lamp may also be mounted on the reflector to pivot therewith, albeit it need not be. A lower shade can enclose the down lamp. To replace the lower lamp one can pivot the reflector to provide access to the burnt-out lamp.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     Not applicable.  
       STATEMENT OF FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
       [0002]     Not applicable.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     This invention relates to mountable lighting fixtures (e.g., on a ceiling, a vertical wall or a horizontal surface), and in particular to such lighting fixtures that are designed to permit easier maintenance access.  
         [0004]     A wide variety of wall mounted lighting units are known. Some of these, such as chandeliers, are hung from the ceiling. Others, such as wall mounted sconces, extend outward and then upward from a vertical room wall.  
         [0005]     Numerous considerations go into optimizing such lighting fixtures. Such fixtures must, of course, project light in a desired manner, and at a desired intensity. However, they should also preferably present a highly ornamental appearance without excessive glare.  
         [0006]     Further, such fixtures must be of solid construction, be relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and where low enough to the ground be tamper resistant. Also, such devices should preferably have low energy usage for the degree of light projected.  
         [0007]     Apart from this array of standard considerations, one also needs to consider that most such devices use incandescent or fluorescent lamps to project light. While the durable life of such lamps can be quite long in some cases, most such lamps will periodically need to be replaced when they burn out. When a particular building has numerous such lamps, the time spent in replacing burnt out lamps can be significant.  
         [0008]     U.S. Pat. No. 6,318,880 is a lighting fixture having a horizontally disposed two-sided reflector. A pair of fluorescent lights are mounted above and below the reflector so that light is projected both up and down in a controllable manner. Because the unit is a table or floor lamp the lamps can readily be reached for replacement by someone standing next to the lamp.  
         [0009]     While this design has some advantages as a floor or table lamp design, it suffers from leaving the fluorescent lamps exposed to vandalism. Further, someone directly underneath the lamp might be exposed to an undesirable glare.  
         [0010]     Another type of known lighting fixture is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,096,029. That unit is for a street light and is provided with a lower transparent bowl above which is mounted a lamp. When the lamp burns out, or there is other need for access to the interior of the fixture, the lamp and bowl can be swung down as a unit to provide access to the lamp and fixture interior. However, this design is set up to project light downward (and not upward), and is somewhat exposed to the risk of vandalism.  
         [0011]     Thus, a need still exists for a light fixture that can project light in opposite directions without undesired glare in the downward direction, of undue risk of vandalism, yet provides easy access for maintenance.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0012]     The invention provides a lighting fixture having a fixture support, a shade supported by the fixture support, a first lamp receiver positioned adjacent the shade so that light can be projected beyond the shade if a lamp is placed in the first lamp receiver and that lamp is supplied with power, a pivotable wall positioned over the first lamp receiver, and a second lamp receiver positioned on the pivotable wall to pivot therewith. Pivoting the pivotable wall from a first position to a second position provides greater access to the first lamp receiver.  
         [0013]     In preferred forms the first lamp receiver is also positioned on the pivotable wall to pivot therewith, there is a first lamp positioned in the first lamp receiver, a second lamp positioned in the second lamp receiver, and an electrical power supply for supplying power to the first and second lamp to facilitate illumination of the first and second lamp. The second lamp can be positioned to illuminate an area vertically above the lighting fixture, and the first lamp can be positioned to illuminate an area below the lighting fixture.  
         [0014]     In other preferred forms the shade is in the form of an upwardly open bowl, the pivotable wall is part of an upwardly open reflector cup, the second lamp receiver is positioned in the cup, and the first lamp receiver is positioned outside the cup. In this form, the first lamp receiver can receive a lamp that essentially surrounds the cup.  
         [0015]     In still other preferred forms the lighting fixture is in the form of a vertical wall mountable sconce. Or, the lighting fixture can be directly mounted or suspended from a ceiling surface. The lighting fixture could also be mounted to other surfaces, such as a soffit, shelf or other horizontal surface. In any case the pivotable wall of the light fixture can pivot on an essentially horizontal axis to move the wall from an essentially horizontal position to an at least partially vertically extending position.  
         [0016]     Preferred forms of lamps for use with such fixtures are filament lamps, fluorescent lamps, high intensity discharge lamps and light emitting diodes.  
         [0017]     In another aspect the invention provides a method for replacing a burnt-out lamp of such a lighting fixture. One pivots the pivot wall from the first position to the second position to provide greater access to the first lamp receiver, removes the burnt-out lamp and replaces it, and then returns the pivot wall to its original position.  
         [0018]     It should be appreciated that it will not be readily apparent to those immediately below the light fixture how the interior of the device can be accessed. Thus, it is considerably more tamper-resistant than a lamp providing lamp access from below. Further, the lower shade avoids glare directed downwardly.  
         [0019]     However, the authorized maintenance personnel can stand on a ladder or other raised platform, swing up the reflector plate on a horizontal access, and have the ability to change burnt out lower and upper lamps without requiring any special tools or any disassembly (apart from removing the lamps) of the device.  
         [0020]     Further, this permits a single reflector plate or tray to perform double duty, without requiring extra structures to provide access to the interior of the fixture upon disassembly.  
         [0021]     This type of single reflector and dual lamp system is suitable to be incorporated into a wide variety of light fixtures, and it (and the parts needed to affix it to such standard fixtures) can be inexpensively produced and assembled.  
         [0022]     The lights can be of the same color, or (e.g., for Christmas) be of different colors.  
         [0023]     These and still other advantages of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description which follow, and the accompanying drawings. These embodiments are merely preferred embodiments. Hence, the claims should be looked to in order to assess the full scope of the invention. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0024]      FIG. 1  is a bottom perspective view of a lighting fixture of the present invention, in the form of a wall mounted sconce;  
         [0025]      FIG. 2  is a top perspective view thereof  
         [0026]      FIG. 3  is an exploded assembly view thereof showing a hinged reflector tray carrying two lamps disassembled from a refractor bowl and wall mount;  
         [0027]      FIG. 3A  is an enlarged partial perspective view of one hinge connection;  
         [0028]      FIG. 4  is a view similar to  FIG. 2  but with top and cover plates shown in phantom;  
         [0029]      FIG. 5  is a top view of the lighting fixture;  
         [0030]      FIG. 6  is a side perspective view showing the refractor bowl in phantom;  
         [0031]      FIG. 7  is a sectional view taken along line  7 - 7  of  FIG. 5 ;  
         [0032]      FIG. 8  is an enlarged partial sectional view taken along arc  8 - 8  of  FIG. 7  showing a latch mechanism for the top cover;  
         [0033]      FIG. 9  is an enlarged partial sectional view taken along arc  9 - 9  of  FIG. 7  showing the hinge connection;  
         [0034]      FIG. 10  is an even more enlarged partial sectional view of the latch mechanism;  
         [0035]      FIG. 11  is another partial sectional view showing the hinge connection with the reflector tray disassembled;  
         [0036]      FIG. 12  is a bottom perspective view of a pendant or chandelier configuration having multiple lighting fixtures of the present invention; and  
         [0037]      FIG. 13  is a top perspective view thereof. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0038]     The invention provides a lighting fixture generally referred to with numeral  20 .  FIGS. 1 and 2  illustrate the lighting fixture  20  in a wall sconce configuration in which it is mounted to a vertical wall  22 .  FIGS. 12 and 13  illustrate an alternate, pendent or chandelier configuration of the lighting fixture  20 A in which it is suspended from above, for example being mounted to a ceiling  22 A or other horizontal wall surface, via a suspension rod  21 .  FIGS. 12 and 13  also show that multiple lighting fixtures (two shown) can be clustered together for increased illumination and/or to create a different aesthetic effect. While these figures show two lighting fixtures joined together and suspended by a single suspension rod, any number of lighting fixtures and suspension rods (or chains) can be joined together in any suitable configuration. Also, while not shown, a clustered wall sconce is within the scope of the invention.  
         [0039]     Referring now to  FIGS. 1-6 , the lighting fixture  20  includes as primary components a fixture support  24 , a refractor bowl  26  and a reflector tray  28 . The reflector tray  28  holds an up lamp  30  and a down lamp  32  for illuminating a space above and below the lighting fixture  20 , respectively. The refractor bowl  26  can be any shape, but must be made at least in part of a light transmissive material, either transparent or translucent, for example glass or acrylic. While a bowl configuration is preferred because it encloses the bottom side of the lighting fixture, the bowl could be replaced by an open bottomed shade made of a reflective or opaque material with little or no refractive properties. Note also that the terms “up” and “down” are used herein for simplicity to describe a preferred embodiment of the lighting fixture in which two lamps are intended to illuminate space above and below the supporting structures of the lighting fixture. It is within the scope of the invention for the lighting fixture to provide illumination directed in one or more sideways directions, for example, horizontally or at some oblique angle.  
         [0040]     Also, the up lamp  30  of the preferred embodiment is a high intensity discharge metal halide lamp in a bulb configuration and the down lamp  32  is a T5 circleline fluorescent lamp. However, any suitable light source can be used for either lamp, including for example incandescent, compact fluorescent, halogen, xenon and light emitting diode light sources. Any suitable bulb, tube or ring configuration can also be used with the lighting fixture of the present invention.  
         [0041]     The fixture support  24  has a mounting bracket  34  that fastens to the wall  22  to mount a horizontal support arm  36  and cover plate  37 . The support arm  36  is hollow and has an internal conduit  38  leading from an opening  40  in the bracket  34  to a terminus  42  located at the center of the refractor bowl  26 . The terminus  42  defines a right angle channel  44  receiving the conduit  38  and a cylindrical piece  46  threaded into the vertical leg of the channel  44  and disposed in openings in a decorative washer  50  and the center of the refractor bowl  26 . This arrangement allows wiring to be routed discretely through the opening  40  in the bracket  34 , through the conduit  38 , bend up through the channel  44  and through piece  46  to the interior of the lighting fixture  20 . Before connecting to the lamps  30  and  32 , the electrical wires run into a splice box  51  through a strain relief member (not shown) meeting UL standards for movable wires. Wires for the down lamp  32  connect to a ballast  52 . Wires for the up lamp  30  run through the splice box  51  from a remote ballast (not shown) located behind the wall.  
         [0042]     Cylindrical piece  46  also mounts a yoke member  54  with two bent arms  56  extending from opposite sides of a hub member  58 . The ends of the arms  56  fit into openings in an annular flange  60  of a decorative trim ring  62  which extends around the upper periphery of the refractor bowl  26 . The annular flange  60  defines a circular opening  64  allowing the reflector tray  28  to fit recessed down into the interior of the refractor bowl  26 , thereby being enclosed and not readily touched or tampered with by unauthorized personnel.  
         [0043]     As shown in  FIGS. 6 and 9 , the reflector tray  28  has a cup  66  with multiple partially spherical side walls  68  made of a material having, or treated to have, a light reflective surface at the inner faces (and to some degree the outer faces) of the walls. A polished anodized aluminum is one suitable material. The walls  68  (and reflective surface) of the cup  66  isolate the light from the lamps  30  and  32 . The up lamp  30 , shown as an HID metal halide lamp in  FIGS. 4 and 7 , and its electric socket/lamp receiver  69  (see  FIG. 4 ) are housed within the interior of the cup  66 . The walls  68  of the cup  66  have an upper flange  70  that is fastened to a top plate  72 . The top plate  72  has an opening  74  in the center and a generally octagonal outer periphery sized larger than the opening  64  in the annular flange  60  so that it overlaps the annular flange  60  and supports the cup  66 . The top plate  72  has a vent section  73  for cooling the ballast  52 . A cover plate  76  mounts onto of the top plate  72  by two clips  78  to cover the opening  74  in the top plate  72 . The cover plate  76  can be removed to access the up lamp  30  by loosening the fasteners securing the clips  78 . The cover plate  76  can be made of glass or other light transmissive material, either transparent or translucent, so that light from the up lamp  30  can pass through it. A vertical hanger  79  is mounted to the tray flange  70  holding a socket/lamp receiver  80  for the down lamp  32  which is electrically connected to the ballast  52 . The hanger  79  and socket  80  retain the down lamp  32  around the periphery of the cup  66 , and the socket has electrical contacts allowing for quick plug-in connection for installation and replacement. Retaining clips  82  support the down lamp  32  at other locations.  
         [0044]     As shown in  FIGS. 6, 7 ,  8  and  10 , the reflector tray  28  is ordinarily latched to the fixture by a spring biased latch  90  mounted to the top plate  72 . The latch  90  has a thumb screw  92  that fits through an opening in the top plate  72  and defines a key section  94  that is received in a keyway  96  of a catch member  98  held onto the thumb screw  92  by a washer  100  and fastener  102 . A spring  104  is disposed about the shaft of the thumb screw  92  within a sleeve  106  and acts against the top plate  72  and a head  108  of the thumb screw  92 . When the latch  90  is in the position shown in  FIG. 10  it engages the underside of the annular flange  60  so to latch the reflector tray  28 . By turning the thumb screw  92  a quarter turn or more the catch member  98  will rotate away from and clear the annular flange  60  so that the reflector tray can be pivoted upwardly, as described below.  
         [0045]     As shown in  FIGS. 3, 3A ,  9  and  11 , the top plate  72  of the reflector tray  28  has two spaced apart bent prongs  110  that fit into spaced slots  112  of the annular flange  60 . This arrangement provides a hinged connection of the reflector tray  28  to the annular flange  60  specifically, and the rest of the lighting fixture  20  generally. The reflector tray  28  can pivot from its resting position upwardly in the slots  112 .  
         [0046]     The hinged connection makes installation and maintenance of the lamps  30  and  32  quick and efficient, particularly for the enclosed down lamp  32 . Turning the thumb screw  92  releases the latch and allows the reflector tray  28  to be swung upwardly, for example, to a near vertical position. This raises the down lamp  32  out of the refractor bowl  26  and allows it to be unplugged from its socket (and clips) from the side. Once the down lamp  32  is replaced, the reflector tray  28  can be swung down and re-secured by the latch  90 . The up lamp  30  can be accessed with the reflector tray  28  in either position by loosening the clips  78  and removing the cover plate  74 .  
         [0047]     Many modifications, such as the use of various lamp types, clustering arrangements or mounting configurations, may be made to the preferred embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the claims. For example, rather than the pivoting structure being a recessed or cup-shaped tray, it could be generally flat, and preferably coated or otherwise prepared with one or more reflective surfaces for reflecting light from the up lamp and/or the down lamp. Thus, the claims should be looked to in order to judge the full scope of the invention.  
       INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY  
       [0048]     The invention provides a lighting fixture capable of providing improved maintenance access to the lamps used with the fixture.