Patent Publication Number: US-2010110698-A1

Title: Universal Housing for Recessed Lighting

Description:
This application claims priority to the filing date of provisional patent application 61/055,963 filed May 23, 2008 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates generally to the field of interior and architectural lighting and more specifically concerns a recessed light housing for mounting between ceiling joists in a ceiling plenum. 
     2. State of the Prior Art 
     Recessed lighting is installed in hollow ceiling spaces such that the lighting fixture is hidden above an interior ceiling with only an opening and surrounding trim visible from below the ceiling. Recessed lighting is widely used for residential and commercial applications. 
     Recessed light fixtures fall into three broad categories: down lights, which direct the light output straight down from the ceiling; wall wash lights, which throw oblique illumination from the ceiling onto a nearby wall surface; and adjustable lights in which a directional light source can be selectively aimed towards an area or object not directly underlying the fixture, such as an artwork on display or a furniture grouping. 
     The recessed light typically includes a housing of sheet metal supported above an opening in the interior ceiling. The recessed housing is connected to a source of electrical power with electrical conduit or the like pursuant to applicable building codes and regulations. The recessed housing encloses the light source or lamp, often a high intensity lamp, and prevents contact of the hot light source with flammable material in the ceiling space. The bottom of the recessed enclosure has an aperture which is aligned with an opening cut in the interior ceiling. The opening is normally finished with an ornamental trim which may also serve to support various accessories such as lenses, light diffusers, condensers, baffles, filters and the like, either in or under the aperture of the recessed housing. 
     A common method of supporting recessed light housings is by hanging from existing ceiling joists such as wooden beams. A pair of parallel hanger bars is nailed to the joists and the recessed housing is hung between the two hanger bars by means of hanger brackets fastened to the recessed housing. One type of hanger bracket in common use is known as a butterfly bracket. These have a center portion that is fixed to the recessed housing and two wings spreading from the center portion and perforated to pass the hanger bars in a sliding fit through the two wings. Two such hanger brackets are normally attached on opposite sides of the housing with a hanger bar sliding through both wings of each bracket, such that the housing hangs between the two hanger bars. The hanger brackets are normally repositionable along a vertical line on the recessed housing so that the housing can be raised or lowered relative to the hanger bars, for adjusting the height of the recessed housing relative to the ceiling. 
     Recessed light housings are available in a variety of shapes, some of them cylindrical cans, others shaped as square or rectangular boxes. Some of the housings typically have an exterior junction box fixed to one side of the housing which houses the connection between the electrical conduit supplying power to the fixture and the fixture&#39;s internal wires leading to the lamp socket in the housing. Depending on the light source used in a particular fixture, a transformer or ballast box is also attached to the exterior of the recessed housing. 
     Ceiling spaces are increasingly crowded with ventilation ducts, fire sprinkler systems, conduits of various kinds for data cables, audio wiring, surveillance systems and layers of insulation, among still other artifacts. It often happens that a fixture cannot be installed in an optimal location because of such impediments in the ceiling space. For example, the exterior junction box and possibly a transformer or ballast on the housing may interfere with other objects and force displacement of the fixture to a less desirable location. Even the shape of the fixture housing may keep it from fitting between other structures in an available space, yet the fixture housing cannot be turned, for example, because the hanger brackets and hanger bars force a given orientation of the housing relative to the ceiling joists. 
     This is particularly the case with conventional square recessed housings of the type having four side walls of approximately equal length. At least one of the walls carries a junction box, and the opposite wall may carry a ballast or transformer, leaving only the other two walls available for attaching the housing hanger brackets. Consequently, such a housing can be hung in only one position between two ceiling joists, that is, with the two available sides facing towards and parallel to the joists. The conventional housing cannot be reoriented so as to conform to and fit within differently shaped spaces between existing obstacles in the ceiling space. Instead, it is necessary to move the recessed housing to a location where the fixed orientation of the housing can be accommodated by the existing topography of the ceiling space. 
     Another difficulty found in prior art recessed lights is the need to anticipate and specify the type of recessed lights required at each location of a multi-fixture installation. This is because recessed fixtures are usually sold for a particular purpose: downlights, wallwash lights or adjustable lights, and an installer must purchase and install the particular kind of fixture at each location. Yet it is difficult to anticipate which of these three types of illumination will give best effect until the fixtures are in place and the lighting effects can be observed. If, after installation it is decided that a different type of recessed fixture would be preferable, say an adjustable fixture instead of a wallwash, it may be necessary to replace the light fixture or some substantial part of it. In a new building with possibly hundreds of recessed light fixtures such replacements can add substantially to overall costs. 
     What is needed is recessed light fixtures with a more flexible installed footprint in the ceiling space and convenient reconfiguration of the installed fixture between downlight, wallwash and adjustable light functions. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention addresses these and other shortcomings of the prior art by providing a light housing for recessed installation in a ceiling plenum, the housing having a top, an apertured bottom and a number of side walls between the housing top and the housing bottom, and at least three pairs of bracket attachment sites for fastening hanger brackets to the housing. The mounting brackets may be butterfly brackets of a type currently used for hanging recessed light fixtures from hanger bars. 
     Each of the three pairs of attachment sites is located on a corresponding pair of mutually opposed side walls. Any one of the three pairs of attachment sites accepts installation of two hanger brackets for hanging the housing from two hanger bars, such that the housing can be hung in any one of three different orientations in a ceiling plenum. 
     The three pairs of bracket mounting sites are respectively located on first, second and third pairs of mutually opposed side walls, with the first and second mutually opposed wall pairs being mutually perpendicular and the third mutually opposed wall pair being diagonal to the first and second wall pairs. 
     In one form of the invention the housing has four mutually opposed side wall pairs in a generally octagonal side wall configuration. More particularly, four side walls are longer and four side walls are shorter, the shorter walls alternating with the longer walls so that the housing in horizontal cross section is a square with truncated corners. That is, the housing may have four major walls arranged in a cross sectional square configuration and four minor walls truncating the square configuration. Bracket mounting sites are preferably provided on all four of the minor walls and on two of the major walls. 
     Each bracket mounting site may include a bracket mounting opening such as a vertical slot in a side wall. A retainer plate interior to the housing is fastened through the bracket mounting opening to a mounting bracket exterior to the housing, capturing the side wall between the plate and the bracket in an interference fit and thereby securing the mounting bracket to the housing. For example, the retainer plate and the mounting bracket may be fastened to each other with threaded fasteners extending through the mounting opening and tightened with nuts on the threaded fasteners. A vertically elongated mounting opening such as a vertical slot allows the retainer plate and mounting bracket to be located at a selected height along the slot so that the vertical position of the housing can be adjusted up or down when hung from the hanger bars. 
     In a preferred form of the invention the housing has a top, an apertured bottom and eight side walls between the top and the bottom including four major walls arranged in two opposing pairs, and four minor walls each interposed between two of the major walls. The side walls are joined at an internal angle of approximately 135 degrees and define an eight sided polyhedron between the top and bottom of the housing. Bracket mounting sites are provided on each of the minor walls and on one pair of the major walls, each bracket mounting site adapted for receiving a hanger bracket for use in hanging the housing from hanger bars between ceiling joists in the ceiling plenum. That is, six bracket mounting sites are provided on six side walls and a pair of butterfly brackets may be fastened to any two bracket mounting sites on an opposing pair of side walls, for a total of three possible locations of the two hanger brackets on the housing. 
     In another aspect of the invention a recessed light housing has a housing top, an apertured bottom, a plurality of side walls between the top and the bottom, hanger brackets for supporting the housing between joists in a ceiling plenum with the apertured bottom facing downwardly from the ceiling plenum, a yoke rotatable in the housing about a vertical axis of the housing, an adjustment bracket pivoted to the yoke for movement between a vertical downlight position and an inclined adjusted position, and a lamp socket tiltable on the adjustment bracket between a downlight position and a wallwash position, such that a directional light source installed in the lamp socket may be interchangeably oriented for downlight, wallwash or adjustable illumination after installation of the housing in a ceiling. 
     The pivotable adjustment bracket swings the lamp socket in one direction through a first arc about a first axis between the downlight position and an adjusted position. The lamp socket is tiltable on the adjustment bracket along a second arc in an opposite direction to the adjustment arc about a second axis between the downlight position and the wallwash position, such that the wallwash tilted position is angularly subtracted from the adjusted position. The first and second axes are mutually parallel. In the presently preferred arrangement the first arc faces downwardly towards the apertured housing bottom and the second arc faces upwardly towards the housing top. 
     Preferably, the yoke is rotatable through substantially 360 degrees about a vertical axis, the adjustment bracket can swing through a first tilt angle of about 40 degrees from the downlight position to a maximum adjusted position, and the lamp socket is tiltable through a second tilt angle of about 12 degrees relative to the swing bracket between its downlight position on the adjustment bracket and its wallwash position. The downlight position of the swing bracket is vertical in the housing and the downlight position of the lamp socket is vertical relative to the swing bracket. 
     The yoke may have an inverted U shape with a yoke center fastened for rotation to the housing top and a pair of yoke arms depending from the yoke center. The swing bracket has a pair of swing arms each pivoted about the first tilt axis to one of the yoke arms and a lamp socket carrier pivoted about the second tilt axis between the swing arms, the light socket being mounted on the socket carrier. 
     The tilt angle of the lamp socket to its wallwash position is small relative to the tilt angle of the swing bracket to a maximum adjusted position. Tilt stops are provided on the yoke for limiting tilting of the lamp socket about each tilt axis to facilitate precise positioning of the lamp socket in its wallwash position independently of tilting of the swing bracket. 
     An important aspect of the invention is the multiple axis adjustment of the directional light source in the housing. Placing the lamp in its wallwash bias position about one axis simultaneously with an inclined position of the adjustment bracket about another axis has the effect of bringing the lamp closer to the housing aperture than is the case if the adjustment bracket alone is tilted to a similar angle with no tilt about any other axis. The combined multi axis tilting results in a better cutoff of the projected light beam by the housing aperture with improved illumination performance. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a top side perspective view of the recessed light housing according to this invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a detail view showing how the butterfly hanger bracket is fastened to one side of the housing by means of an internal retainer plate and external nuts; 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional of the installed butterfly hanger bracket showing how the housing sidewall is captured in an interference fit between the bracket and the internal retainer plate; 
         FIG. 4  is a bottom view of the light housing hung between two hanger bars which in turn extend between two joist beams in a ceiling space, the housing being installed with one pair of its minor side walls facing the joists and the hanger bars and the junction box on the right side; 
         FIG. 5  is a bottom view as in  FIG. 4 , with the hanger brackets mounted on the other pair of minor side walls so that the housing is turned 90 degrees counterclockwise relative to the orientation in  FIG. 4  with junction box on the left side; 
         FIG. 6  is a bottom view showing the housing installed with its major sidewalls facing the hanger bars and the joists; 
         FIG. 7  is a bottom side view of the housing of  FIG. 1  showing the hanger butterfly brackets installed on two mutually opposite minor side walls, and also illustrating how the brackets can be installed near the bottom of the housing; 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the adjustable yoke shown above the housing bottom with the adjustment bracket and the socket carrier plate in their respective downlight positions; 
         FIG. 9  is a view as in  FIG. 8  but showing the adjustment bracket in its fully adjusted, maximally inclined position and the socket carrier plate in its downlight position; 
         FIG. 10  is a view as in  FIG. 9  but now showing the lamp socket carrier plate also tilted to its wallwash position relative to the adjustment bracket. 
         FIG. 11  is a vertical sectional view of the housing of  FIG. 1  showing the adjustable yoke bracket suspended from the housing top and carrying a directional light source and further showing how the directional light source in the adjusted position of  FIG. 7  can be further tilted relative to the adjustment bracket between a downlight position and a wallwash position independently of its adjusted position relative to the yoke; 
         FIG. 12  is a view as in  FIG. 11  showing a single axis tilt of the light source to an angle similar to that of the combined two axis tilt of  FIG. 11  to illustrate the resulting higher lamp position away from the housing aperture. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     With reference to the accompanying drawings wherein like elements are designated by like numerals,  FIG. 1  shows a recessed light housing generally designated by the numeral  10  which has a housing top  12 , a housing bottom  14  and eight sidewalls which include four major sidewalls  16  and four minor sidewalls  18 . The bottom  14  of housing  10  has an aperture  28  better seen in  FIGS. 4 and 5 . In the example of the drawings the aperture  28  is square but may take other shapes, such as circular or elliptical, for example. A junction box  20  is mounted on one major sidewall  16 , and has knock-out openings  22  for admitting external electrical conduit to the junction box and connecting the fixture housing  10  to a source of electrical power. Electrical wires from the conduit reach into the junction box  20  where they are electrically connected to internal wiring of housing  10  which supplies electrical to a lamp socket for powering a lamp in the housing, all in a manner which is well known in the lighting trade and does not require detailed description here. A junction box cover  24  is removable to provide access into junction box  20  for making the electrical connection between the conduit wires and the housing&#39;s internal wiring. On some housings  10  a second exterior box (not shown) is mounted on the side wall  16  opposite the junction box  20  for housing a power transformer or a ballast, depending on the lamp used in the housing. 
     Light housing  10  is installed in a ceiling space or plenum by means of two hanger brackets  30  of a type known in the trade as butterfly brackets. Each butterfly bracket  30  has a flat bracket center  32  between two bracket wings  34  which spread away from opposite ends of the bracket center. Butterfly hanger brackets  30  are commonly used for hanging recessed light fixtures and do not require detailed explanation here. Briefly, the bracket  30  has an opening  36  on each wing  34  shaped to pass a hanger bar through the two openings  36 , as seen in  FIGS. 4 and 5 . Two hanger bars  40 , each passing through a corresponding hanger bracket  30  mounted on opposite sides of housing  10  are used to hang the housing  10  between a pair of ceiling joists or beams B. The ends of each hanger bar  40  are nailed or otherwise fastened to the beams B and the fixture housing  10  is suspended between the hanger bars. The butterfly bracket  30  also has a specially shaped opening  35   a  which can pass either certain c-channel bars or ½″ electrical conduit, both of which are used in the trade as alternatives to hanger bars  40  for suspending recessed light housings. 
       FIGS. 2 and 3  illustrate how a butterfly hanger bracket  30  is fastened to a sidewall  16 ,  18  of housing  10 . An internal retainer plate  40  has two threaded fasteners  42  which pass through a bracket-mounting aperture in the form of vertical slot  44 . The retainer plate  40  is applied against the interior surface of a sidewall  16 ,  18  with fasteners  42  passing through slot  44  to the exterior of the housing  10 . The protruding ends of fasteners  42  pass through aligned holes  46  in the center  32  of the butterfly bracket  30  and a pair of nuts  48  are threaded onto the protruding fastener ends and tightened against the bracket center  32 , thereby capturing the sidewall  16 ,  18  in an interference fit between the retainer plate  40  and the bracket  30 , as best seen in the cross-section of  FIG. 3 . The retainer plate  40  and bracket  30  can be slid up and down along slot  44  before the nuts  48  are tightened on fasteners  42 , for positioning the hanger bracket at a desired height on the side  16 ,  18  between the housing top  12  and housing bottom  14 . This height adjustment of the two hanger brackets  30  on each side of the housing allows the housing  10  to be raised and lowered relative to the hanger bars  40  so as to bring the bottom or faceplate  14  of the housing down against the ceiling which normally underlies the recessed housing  10 . 
     As best seen in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the eight sidewalls  16 ,  18  form a generally eight sided polyhedron when seen in three dimensions and form a generally octagonal perimeter when seen in transverse horizontal cross section of housing  10 . The preferred horizontal cross-sectional shape of the housing  10  is that of a square with truncated corners, with two pairs of mutually opposing major sidewalls  16  alternating with two pairs of mutually opposed minor sidewalls  18 . The eight side walls include four longer major sidewalls  16  alternating with four shorter minor sidewalls  18 . In the example of the drawings mutually adjacent side walls  16 ,  18  are joined to each other at a 135 degree internal angle. 
     One pair of major sidewalls  16  cannot receive hanger brackets  30  because of the presence of junction box  20  on one sidewall  16 , which leaves the other pair of major sidewalls  16  available for mounting a pair of hanger brackets  30 , providing one mounting configuration for two hanger brackets  30 . All four of the minor sidewalls  18  are available for mounting of hanger brackets  30  and provide two additional mounting configurations for a pair of brackets  30 . In total, three alternate hanger bracket mounting configurations are available on housing  10 . Each vertical slot  44  serves as a hanger mounting opening and provides a mounting site or location for a hanger bracket  30 . In total six hanger bracket mounting sites are provided on six sidewalls of housing  10 . It should be understood that the hanger mounting openings are not limited to slots and differently shaped openings could be used. 
     In  FIG. 4 , brackets  30  are mounted on a first pair of minor sidewalls  18  resulting in a right side position of junction  20  in the Figure. In  FIG. 5 , the brackets  30  are mounted on the second pair of minor sidewalls  18 , and housing  10  is turned 90 degrees from its orientation in  FIG. 4  so that junction box  20  now lies on the left side of the housing near the left hanger bar  40 . Such repositioning of the housing  10  is helpful for fitting the housing into cramped ceiling spaces, for example, if some existing obstacle prevents installation of the housing with the junction box oriented as in  FIG. 4 , the orientation of  FIG. 5  may allow installation of the light fixture at a desirable location on the ceiling which otherwise would not be possible. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates a third orientation of the installed housing  10  where the hanger brackets  30  are mounted on the two available major sidewalls  16 . In this orientation the junction box  20  lies about midway between the hanger bars  40  and near one joist beam B and housing  10  is turned midway between the orientations of  FIGS. 4 and 5 . In the three alternative orientations of  FIGS. 4 ,  6  and  5  housing  10  is turned in 45 degree increments to present distinct footprints of the installed housing. 
     It will be noted that the width occupied by the housing  10  between the hanger bars  40  is smaller in the orientation of  FIG. 6  and larger in the orientation of  FIGS. 4 and 5 . In  FIGS. 4 and 5  the distance between the hanger bars  40  is greater because the diagonal dimension of the housing between the opposite minor sidewalls  18  is greater than the housing width between the pair of opposite major sidewalls  16 . On the other hand, the housing  10  presents a different footprint in  FIGS. 4 and 5  than in  FIG. 6  and is able to fit between existing obstacles in a way which it could not if installed in the orientation of  FIG. 6 . 
     From the foregoing it is seen that three different orientations of the housing  10  are possible and available by mounting the pair of hanger brackets  30  on one of the three available mutually opposing pairs of sidewalls  16 ,  18 , including one opposing pair of major sidewalls  16  and two opposing pairs of minor sidewalls  18 . 
       FIG. 7  shows in perspective view the two hanger brackets  30  mounted on a pair of mutually opposing minor sidewalls  18 , with brackets  30  positioned low on the housing  10  near the faceplate or bottom  14 , in contrast to the higher mounting of brackets  30  near the housing top  12  in  FIG. 1 . 
     The invention is useful with housing shapes other than square housings having major side walls of equal horizontal length. Rectangular but not square housings where one pair of side walls is longer than a second transverse pair of side walls, and one of these side wall pairs is unavailable for mounting purposes because of external structures such as junction, transformer or ballast boxes on one or more side walls can be provided with alternate mounting attachment sites, for example on minor side walls provided on truncated corners between the major side walls according to this invention, to offer three or more alternate installed orientations of the housing in a given ceiling space. Generally, this invention provides alternate mounting positions where the housing is turned less than 90 degrees and preferably about 45 degrees between successive mounting positions, so as to offer a choice of distinct footprints for each of the alternate positions of the installed fixture. 
     The butterfly brackets  30  can be attached to the housing by means other than internal retainer plates  40 . For example, the threaded studs  42  can be mounted on the brackets rather than on the plates, and inserted through slots  44  into corresponding holes on modified retainer plates, and nuts threaded on the stud ends inside housing  10 . Another alternative is to fix threaded studs on the housing side walls and provide slots on the brackets  30 . Yet another possibility is to eliminate brackets altogether and pass the hanger bars through openings provided in the housing  10  with no vertical adjustment of the housing height in the ceiling. 
     Brackets other than butterfly brackets may be used, or brackets replaced by other methods of supporting the recessed housing between ceiling joists or beams, so long as alternate sites are provided on the housing for attaching the supports to the housing and thereby provide multiple orientations of the installed housing relative to existing ceiling structure such that the footprint of a particular housing can be fitted to available space in a given ceiling. Turning now to  FIGS. 8 ,  9  and  11 , the recessed light fixture housing  10  contains an adjustable yoke assembly generally designated by numeral  50  which serves to support and adjustably aim a directional light source projecting a light beam through aperture  26  of the housing. The adjustable yoke assembly  50  includes a yoke  52  shaped as an inverted U with two yoke arms  56  depending from a yoke center  54  and terminating in lower ends  58  of the yoke arms. The yoke center is pivoted at  15 , as by a rivet or screw and nut, to the housing top  12  for full circle, 360 degree rotation about a vertical axis in housing  10 . A set screw  19  is provided to fix the yoke  50  against rotation in the housing  10 . 
     A beam adjustment bracket  60  is supported between the yoke arms  56  and includes two swing arms  62  each with a lower end pivoted at  64  to a lower end  58  of a corresponding yoke arm  56 . The upper ends of the swing arms  62  are interconnected by a lamp socket carrier plate  66  which is pivoted at  68  to the upper ends of each swing arm  62 . An electrical lamp socket  70  is supported on the carrier plate  66  and is connected by electrical wiring (not shown) to the junction box  20 , where the wires are connected to a source of electrical power as previously explained in connection with  FIG. 1 . Lamp socket  70  may hold any one of a variety of commercially available directional lamps  72  such as MR16, MR16MH, PAR 20 MH, among many others. Lamp  72  may be selected for its beam width, intensity, color spectrum and power requirement, depending on the desired lighting effect to be achieved with a particular light fixture installation. Typically the lamp  72  is a high intensity halogen or metal halide lamp provided with an internal parabolic light reflector which produces a directional beam of light. Commercially available lamps are available with narrow beams for spot lighting effect and wider beams for general illumination. 
     From the foregoing description and  FIGS. 8 ,  9  and  11  it is seen that the lamp socket  70  and a light source  72  installed in socket  70  is angularly adjustable relative to yoke  52  about two mutually parallel and vertically spaced apart pivot axes. The lower adjustment axis passes through pivot points  64  of the swings arms  62 , and the upper pivot axis passes through pivot points  68  of the lamp carrier plate  66 . The lamp socket  70  and light source  72  are angularly adjustable or tiltable about each of these tilt axes independently of the other tilt axis. 
     The inclination or tilt adjustment of the swing arms  62  is limited by a stop screw  74  fixed on one yoke arm  56  and passing through an arcuate slot  76  cut in the adjacent swing arm  62 . A set knob  78  on stop screw  74  can be tightened against the swing arm  62  to fix the swing arm at a particular tilt or inclination relative to the yoke  52 . An angle scale  82  is provided to facilitate aiming of the light source  72  at a particular adjusted angle relative to the vertical or downlight position. Tilting of the adjustment bracket  60  is limited to a preset adjustment arc by the opposite ends of the arcuate slot  76 , which serve as tilt stops for the bracket  60 . 
     A tilt stop  84  fixed to swing arm  62  limits titling of lamp carrier plate  66  about pivot points  68  and consequently limits tilting of the lamp socket  70  between a vertical or downlight position and a wallwash biased position relative to swing arms  62 . The tilt arc of movement between the vertical downlight and titled wallwash positions of the lamp socket is limited by the stop  84  to twelve degrees. A twelve degree tilt has been found through experience to produce a good wallwash illumination effect in which the directional light source  72  grazes a wall surface located to one side of a ceiling mounted recessed light fixture  10 . However, the optimum wallwash angle may vary depending on the particular light source  72  and whether any lens or other accessory is installed below the housing aperture  26  to modify the projected light beam of the fixture, and this invention is not limited to a particular wallwash angle. 
     The adjustment arc of the swing arm  62  is larger and is preferably set to a maximum arc of 40 degrees. The adjustment bracket  60  is continuously adjustable between the zero-degree vertical downlight position of  FIG. 8  and the fully inclined forty-degree adjusted position of  FIG. 9 . Tilting of the adjustment bracket  60  swings the light beam produced by lamp  72  across an arc of about forty degrees. Coupled with 360 degree rotation of the yoke  52  relative to the housing top  12  a directional lamp  72  can be aimed or adjusted over a wide area under the recessed light fixture, and its light beam can be projected in any direction around the fixture and up to substantial elevation to illuminate a particular space or area. A directional light source which can be aimed in this fashion is known as an adjustable light in the recessed lighting trade. 
       FIG. 8  shows the adjustment bracket  60  and lamp socket carrier plate  66  both placed in their respective downlight positions, i.e. a zero-degree angle for the swing arms  62  and horizontal position for the carrier plate  66 , directional lamp  72  points vertically and straight down through aperture  26 , a position known in the recessed lighting trade as a downlight. This configuration is used for downlight installations of housing  10 . 
       FIG. 9  shows the adjustment bracket  60  adjusted to a fully inclined position, tilted at a 40 degree angle relative to the yoke  50 , but the lamp socket carrier plate  66  still in its zero degree, vertical downlight position relative to the swing arms  62 . As was previously explained, the adjustment bracket can be tilted to any angle between the downlight position of  FIG. 8  and the maximally inclined position of  FIG. 9 . This configuration is used for adjustable light installations of housing  10 . 
     The light beam axes corresponding to the positions of lamp  72  of  FIG. 8  and  FIG. 9  describe a forty degree arc between the downlight position of  FIG. 8  and the fully inclined position of  FIG. 9  as a result of adjustment of the bracket  60  about pivot  64 , that is, the lower adjustment axis of the yoke assembly  50 . 
       FIG. 10  shows the lamp socket carrier plate  66  tilted to its 12 degree wallwash position relative to swing arms  62 , in addition to and independently of the inclination of the adjustment bracket  60 . This results in a net light beam angle of 28 degrees to the vertical because the wallwash bias angle of 12 degrees is subtracted from the 40 degree inclination of the adjustment bracket  60 . 
     This condition of the lamp  72  is shown in the cross-sectional view of  FIG. 11 , where the adjustment bracket is tilted to its maximum forty-degree position and the lamp carrier plate is titled twelve degrees to its wallwash position. That is, the lamp socket  70  and lamp  72  are tilted about both the lower and upper tilt axes of the adjustment bracket  50 . The two tilt arcs corresponding to these two tilt axes face away from each other. The swing arc corresponding to the lower axes faces downwardly while the swing arc corresponding to the upper axes faces upwardly in the housing  10 . As a result, the inclination away from the vertical of the light beam axes is reduced by the combined two axes tilt. Tilting the adjustment bracket on its maximum forty-degree inclination places the beam axis at a forty-degree angle to the vertical. Then, tilting the lamp to its wallwashed biased position of twelve degrees relative to the adjustment bracket subtracts the twelve degree bias from the forty degree initial adjustment, resulting in a beam axis angle of twenty-eight degrees to the vertical, as in  FIG. 11 . 
     Each of the two axes of angular adjustment described above may be replaced by two or more adjustment axes which in combination achieve an adjustment of the light source equivalent to that of the two axes. 
     The configuration where swing arms  62  which are set to their vertical downlight position, as in  FIG. 8  and the lamp socket carrier plate is set to its tilted wallwash position as in  FIG. 9  results in a beam angle of 12 degrees to the vertical for grazing and washing light over a vertical wall surface adjacent to the recessed ceiling fixture  10 . Such a configuration is used for wallwash installations of housing  10 . 
     Placing the lamp  72  in its wallwash bias position simultaneously with an inclined position of the adjustment bracket as in  FIG. 11  has the effect of bringing the lamp  72  closer to the housing bottom or faceplate  14  and to the aperture  26  than would be the case if the adjustment bracket  60  alone were tilted to a twenty-eight degree inclination while the lamp carrier plate  66  remained in its zero-degree downlight vertical position. The latter condition is shown in  FIG. 12  where the angle of the inclined beam axis f is also near twenty-eight degrees to the vertical downlight position e, but the tilted lamp  72  is positioned somewhat higher up in the housing and further away from the housing aperture  26  than in  FIG. 11 . The combined tilting of the adjustment bracket and socket carrier plate  66  of  FIG. 11  places the lamp  72  closer to the aperture  26  and results in a better cutoff of the projected light beam. It has been found in practice that in this combined tilt configuration the light beam when projected as a wallwash onto an adjacent vertical wall surface the light reaches higher up on the wall surface because of the closer positioning of the lamp to the aperture  26  in  FIG. 11 . This is believed to happen because the edges of aperture  26  cut-off less of the beam when lamp  72  is closer to the aperture, thus allowing more of the light beam to reach the wall surface, particularly a higher part of the wall which would not be illuminated in the lamp configuration of  FIG. 12 . 
     The two aspects of the invention described above, namely, the housing  10  repositionable to three alternate mounting positions between a pair of ceiling joists, and the dual axis adjustable yoke assembly  50  are complementary aspects of the invention. Adjustability of the light beam through rotation and tilting of the yoke assembly  50  cooperate to allow reorientation of the housing  10  in a ceiling space, so that regardless of the installed orientation of the housing, the beam of light source  72  can be configured for the desired lighting effect, whether downlight, wallwash or adjustable light. 
     A particular embodiment of the invention has been shown and illustrated for purposes of clarity and example only, and it must be understood that various changes, substitutions and modifications to the described embodiment will be apparent to those skilled in the art without thereby departing from the invention as defined by the following claims.