Patent Publication Number: US-11655967-B2

Title: LED high bay lamp with toolless LED driver connection

Description:
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     This invention generally relates to LED high bay lamps and more specifically toward an LED high bay lamp configured for toolless LED driver replacement. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The background information is believed, at the time of the filing of this patent application, to adequately provide background information for this patent application. However, the background information may not be completely applicable to the claims as originally filed in this patent application, as amended during prosecution of this patent application, and as ultimately allowed in any patent issuing from this patent application. Therefore, any statements made relating to the background information are not intended to limit the claims in any manner and should not be interpreted as limiting the claims in any manner. 
     LED lighting may be capable of high light output while consuming significantly less power than that consumed by traditional incandescent bulbs. A typical LED lighting system or lamp may include one or more LEDs and LED driver circuitry to power and the LEDs. LEDs require a regulated current supply and more complex LED driver electronics than traditional lighting. 
     LEDs typically have a longer useful life than the traditional incandescent bulbs. The life of the LEDs may be longer than the life of their LED driver. It may be desired to toollessly replace the LED driver in the lamp when the LEDs outlast their LED driver. 
     SUMMARY 
     In at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, an LED high bay lamp with a toolless replaceable LED driver is disclosed. The LED high bay lamp comprises a first housing portion having a lamp holder extending upward therefrom and a second housing portion. A hinge hingedly attaches a first side of the first housing portion to a first side of the second housing portion. The LED high bay lamp has at least one hand operable latch or catch configured and disposed for removably retaining a second side of the first housing portion to a second side of the second housing portion. The LED high bay lamp further comprises a replaceable LED driver removably held in the housing. A hand separable wire connector is disposed in all electrical lines leading to and from the toolless replaceable LED driver. An LED light source is disposed with the second housing portion. The LED high bay lamp is configured for the toolless replacement of the LED driver while the LED high bay lamp is held with the lamp holder. 
     In at least one other embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of toollessly replacing an LED driver in an LED high bay lamp, while the LED high bay lamp is held to a structure, or portion thereof, with a support member or lamp holder. The method comprises the steps of: unlatching or uncatching a second side of a first portion of a housing from a second side of a second portion of a housing; hingedly lowering the second portion of the housing from the first portion of the housing about one or more hinges, wherein the one or more hinges hold the first side of the first portion of the housing to the first side of the second portion of the housing; disconnecting at least one wire connector, by hand, and disconnecting all electrical lines leading to and from the LED driver being replaced; moving, by hand, the LED driver away from the second portion of the housing and removing the LED driver being replaced from the second portion of the housing; inserting, by hand, a replacement LED driver into the second portion of the housing and holding the replacement LED driver therein; connecting the at least one wire connector, by hand, and thereby connecting all electrical lines leading to and from the replacement LED driver; hingedly raising the second portion of the housing to the first portion of the housing about the one or more hinges; and latching or catching, by hand, the second side of the first portion of the housing to the second side of the second portion of the housing. 
     In at least one further embodiment, an LED high bay lamp with a toolless replaceable LED is disclosed. The LED high bay lamp has a replaceable LED driver removably held therewith and a hand separable wire connector in all electrical lines leading to and from the toolless replaceable LED driver. An LED light source is disposed on a lower surface of the LED high bay lamp. A support member or lamp holder is configured and disposed to hold the replaceable driver and the LED light source to a structure or portion thereof. The LED high bay lamp is configured for the toolless replacement of the LED driver while the LED high bay lamp is held with the support member or lamp holder. As used herein, the terms support member and lamp holder both mean a device or member configured and disposed to hold the replaceable driver and the LED light source to a structure or portion thereof, and thus may be used interchangeably. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The foregoing and other features of this disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and examples. Understanding that these drawings depict only several embodiments in accordance with the disclosure and are, therefore, not to be considered limiting of its scope. The disclosure will be described with additional specificity and detail through use of the following figures, which are idealized, are not to scale, and are intended to be merely illustrative of aspects of the present disclosure and non-limiting. In the drawings, like elements may be depicted by like reference numerals. The drawings are briefly described as follows: 
         FIG.  1    shows a perspective view of an illustrative example of the LED high bay lamp with toolless LED driver replacement of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  2    shows the LED high bay lamp with toolless LED driver replacement of  FIG.  1    having a second housing portion hingedly lowered from a first housing portion; 
         FIG.  3    shows the LED high bay lamp with toolless LED driver replacement of  FIG.  1    having the LED driver toollessly removed from the housing; and 
         FIG.  4    shows an illustrative example of wiring and connectors that may be held in the housing of the presently disclosed LED high bay lamp with toolless LED driver replacement. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. In the drawings, similar symbols typically identify similar components, unless context dictates otherwise. The illustrative embodiments described in the detailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting. Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented herein. It will be readily understood that the aspects of the present disclosure, as generally described herein, and illustrated in the figures, can be arranged, substituted, combined, separated, and designed in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which are explicitly contemplated herein. 
     In the LED lamp industry, the LED chips (light source) may have evolved to a higher efficiency and longer life than before. However, the LED driver which energizes the lamp is still evolving. Depending on the operating conditions, such as ambient temperature, the life of the LED driver can be short and fail early. When the LED driver fails, the whole lamp may need to be replaced, which may be costly. 
     Currently most, if not all, LED high bay lamps come with an LED driver which is built in the lamp. Repair or replacement of the LED lamp or driver may require that the lamp be taken down from the installation, repaired, and then the reinstallation of the lamp. This process may be exacerbated with high bay lamps as they are typically installed far from ground level and access to the high bay lamp may be problematic. 
     LEDs typically have a longer useful life than the traditional incandescent bulbs. The life of the LEDs may be longer than the life of their LED driver. It may be desired to toollessly replace the LED driver in the high bay lamp when the LEDs outlast the LED driver. For example, high bay lamps are typically installed far from ground level. In the event that the high bay lamp fails, it may be quite laborious to remove the high bay lamp for repair or replacement and may require more than one access to the installation. 
     Often, the LEDs outlast the LED driver in an LED high bay lamp. The present disclosure may provide for toolless removal and replacement of the LED driver in an LED high bay lamp with a single access to the installation. The toolless removal and replacement of the LED driver may provide reduced repair or labor costs associated with correcting malfunctions of the LED high bay lamp and may also avoid costs associated with obtaining a replacement lamp. 
     Presently disclosed is an LED high bay lamp, wherein the LED driver may be replaced without taking the lamp down from its installation and without tools. This may provide for a relatively quick and easy repair or replacement of the LED driver while standing on a ladder. Thus, only a single access to the high bay lamp, carrying only the replacement driver, ex. no tools, may be needed to replace the LED driver in the presently disclosed LED high bay lamp with toolless LED driver replacement 
       FIGS.  1  and  2    show perspective views of an illustrative example of the presently disclosed LED high bay lamp  100  with toolless LED driver replacement. LED high bay lamp  100 , with a toolless replaceable LED driver  116 , has a housing with a first housing portion  104  and a second housing portion  106 . A lamp holder  102  extends upward from first housing portion  104 . A hinge  112  hingedly attaches a first side of first housing portion  104  to a first side of second housing portion  106 . At least one hand operable latch or catch  108  is configured and disposed for removably retaining a second side of first housing portion  104  to a second side of second housing portion  106 . 
     A replaceable LED driver  116  is removably held in the housing, between first housing portion  104  and second housing portion  106 . A hand separable wire connector  114  is in all electrical lines leading to and from toolless replaceable LED driver  116 . An LED light source  120  is disposed with second housing portion  106 . LED high bay lamp  100  is configured for the toolless replacement of LED driver  116  while LED high bay lamp  100  is held with lamp holder  102 , as shown in  FIGS.  1 - 3   . 
     LED high bay lamp  100  may have a retainer  118  configured and disposed for removably retaining LED driver  116  in second portion  106  of the housing. In at least one embodiment, retainer  118  has at least one springing arm configured and disposed to hold removable LED driver  116  with a frictional force between the springing arm and removable LED driver  116 . Removable LED driver  116  and retainer  118 , for example a springing arm retainer, may have non-planar surfaces configured and disposed to increase the frictional force between the springing arm and removable LED driver  116 . For example, retainer  118  may have a ridge and LED driver  116  may have one or more troughs  119 . Additionally, or alternatively, retainer  118  may have a fastener  121  configured for holding LED driver  116 . For example, fastener  121  may be a wing nut or other hand operated fastener for toolless removal of LED driver  116  and installation of a replacement driver. In at least one embodiment, lower portion  106  is configured to hold LED driver  116  by gravity and/or its connected wires and may be void of a retainer  118 . 
       FIG.  2    shows LED high bay lamp  100  with toolless LED driver  116  replacement having second housing portion  106  hingedly lowered from first housing portion  104 . For example, latch(es) or catch(es)  108  may be released by hand and second housing portion  106  may be hingedly lowered from first housing portion  104 , about hinge(s)  112 . This may be performed while high bay LED lamp  100  is held to a structure, or portion thereof, with lamp holder  102 . 
       FIG.  3    shows LED high bay lamp  100  having LED driver  116  toollessly removed from the housing. Toolless replacement of LED driver  116  may also be illustrated in  FIG.  3    as upon the removal of LED driver  116 , a replacement driver is simply installed in lower portion  106 . For example, in the embodiment of LED high bay lamp  100  having a springing arm, LED driver  116  is simply moved, by hand, from lower portion  106  and a replacement driver is simply moved, by hand, into lower portion  106 . 
     A seal  103  may be disposed between first portion  104  of the housing and second portion  106  of the housing. Seal  103  may be configured and disposed to provide a water tight seal between first portion  104  and second portion  106 , upon latching or catching, with latches or catches  108 , the second side of first housing portion  104  to the second side of second housing portion  106 . A water tight seal between first portion  104  and second portion  106  may be desired to isolate removable driver  116 , wiring, and junctions from environmental elements or even water from a sprinkler system. Seal  103  may be highly desired in high bay lamp applications as they may be installed in locations with higher exposure to the elements. In at least one embodiment, LED high bay lamp  100  is IP65 water resistant. For example, LED high bay lamp  100  may be protected against water jets from any angle as may be desired in industrial installations and/or in emergencies 
       FIG.  4    shows an illustrative example of wiring and connectors that may be held in the housing of LED high bay lamp  200 . For example, LED high bay lamp  200  may have a housing that serves as a junction box. Illustratively, LED high bay lamp  200  may be configured and disposed to house electrical junctions or the wires and connectors. For example, LED high bay lamp  200  may have a junction area  224 . Junction area  224  may be an area, or volume, within the first portion  204  and the second portion  206  of the housing. For example, the volume in the housing above removable driver  216  may be configured to house the electrical junctions or line connectors. 
     The wiring may comprise power  232 , for example 100-277 V AC, and control line  234 , for example 0-10V dimming leading into LED high bay lamp  200 . Replaceable driver  216  may be an LED dimming driver. First portion  204  and second portion  206  may be hingedly joined about demarcation  212 . The volume of the housing may be configured to house replaceable driver  216 , AC line  234 , photocell line  233 , 0-10V line  237 , driver DC line  235 , LED line  236 , all hand operable connectors  214 , and junctions. All the lines leading to and from replaceable driver  216  may have a hand operable line connector  214 . For example, AC line  234 , 0-10V line  237 , and driver DC line  235  may each have a connector  214 . 
     Second portion  206  may hold an array of LEDs  220 . Cooling fins  210  may be configured and disposed to dissipate heat from LEDs  220 . One or more sensors  222  may also be held with LED high bay lamp  200 . For example, LED high bay lamp  200  may have a photocell. 
     The presently disclosed LED high bay lamp may be designed to interface with existing lighting infrastructure, such as traditional dimmer switches. A number of different types of dimming exist, for example, button/switch dimming, phase-cut dimming, and 0-10 volt dimming. 0-10 volt dimming is often used in commercial lighting installations. It may be desired to wirelessly or remotely control the dimming of the presently disclosed LED high bay lamp, which may provide a desired user control of dimming and/or may reduce installation costs. 
     LED high bay lamp  200  may have a light dimming LED driver  216  which may be configured to be remotely controlled. For example, a correlated color temperature of the light output of the LED high bay lamp may be controlled. A light controller may have at least one sensor in electrical communication therewith. For example, the light controller may have at least one of a photocell and a PIR, passive infrared, sensor. The at least one sensor  222  may be held with LED high bay lamp  200  to provide a wide sensing angle or a large sensing area. For example, the at least one sensor may protrude from a lower portion of LED high bay lamp  200 . LED high bay lamp  200  may have daylight harvesting functionality. Daylight harvesting functionality uses daylight to offset the amount of electric lighting needed to light a space to a desired level, in order to reduce energy consumption. LED high bay lamp  200  may be configured to dim or brighten its light source  220  in response to changing daylight availability, in response to the daylight sensed with sensor(s)  222 . 
     LED high bay lamp  200  may be configured for wireless light control and may be in cooperation with a variety of wireless receivers and/or sensor(s). For example, LED high bay lamp  200  may be configured to receive one or more of Bluetooth, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-Wave, 6LoWPAN, IR, and cellular signals. This may configure LED high bay lamp  200  to be remotely controlled, for example, dimming and other functions of LED high bay lamp  200  may be performed with a variety of remote electronic devices. Mobile electronic devices such as phones, tablets, and remotes may be configured to wirelessly send signals to a receiver in communication with LED high bay lamp  200  and control the dimming, the color temperature, on/off status, and other parameters of LED high bay lamp  200 . 
     LED high bay lamp  200  may be in communication with a variety of light sensors. For example, one or more of a photocell, PIR, microwave, ultrasonic, optical, and other light sensors as are known in the art may be in communication with LED high bay lamp  200   
     A method of toollessly replacing an LED driver in an LED high bay lamp while the LED high bay lamp is held to a structure, or portion thereof, with a lamp holder, is presently disclosed. The method may comprise unlatching or uncatching a second side of a first portion of a housing from a second side of a second portion of a housing and hingedly lowering the second portion of the housing from the first portion of the housing about one or more hinges. The one or more hinges hold the first side of the first portion of the housing to the first side of the second portion of the housing. At least one wire connector is disconnected, by hand, and all of the electrical lines leading to and from the LED driver being replaced are disconnected. The LED driver is moved away from the second portion of the housing and is thereby removed from the second portion of the housing by hand. A replacement LED driver is placed into the second portion of the housing and is held therein. The at least one wire connector is connected, by hand, and all electrical lines leading to and from the replacement LED driver are connected. The second portion of the housing is hingedly raised to the first portion of the housing about the one or more hinges. The second side of the first portion of the housing is latched, caught, or otherwise secured, by hand, to the second side of the second portion of the housing. 
     The step of moving, by hand, the LED driver away from the second portion of the housing may comprise overcoming a frictional force holding the removable LED driver in the second portion. The first housing portion may be sealed with the second housing portion, upon the latching or catching the second side of the first housing portion to the second side of the second housing portion. The step of connecting the at least one wire connector, by hand, may comprise connecting at least two wire connectors. For example, with quick connects. Each of the wire connectors and wire junctions may be housed between the first and second portions of the housing. 
     The presently disclosed LED high bay lamp may have a light dimming LED driver which may be configured to remotely control a correlated color temperature of the light output of the LED high bay lamp. LED high bay lamp  200  may have a wireless light controller and may have one or more sensors in communication therewith. For example, the light controller may have at least one of a photocell and a PIR, passive infrared, sensor. The at least one sensor may be held with LED high bay lamp  200  to provide a wide sensing angle or a large sensing area. For example, the at least one sensor  222  may protrude from a lower portion of LED high bay lamp  200 . For example, a wireless light controller may configure LED high bay lamp  200  to have daylight harvesting functionality. Daylight harvesting functionality uses daylight to offset the amount of electric lighting needed to light a space to a desired level, in order to reduce energy consumption. LED high bay lamp  200  may be configured to dim or brighten its light source  220  in response to changing daylight availability, in response to the daylight sensed with sensor(s)  222 . 
     LED high bay lamp  200  may be in communication with a variety of light sensors. For example, one or more of a photocell, PIR, microwave, ultrasonic, optical, and other light sensors as are known in the art may be in communication with LED high bay lamp  200   
     The presently disclosed high bay lamp is configured to be installed at a distance from the area to be illuminated. For example, the LED high bay lamp of the present disclosure may be configured to be installed at a height of about ten to twelve feet, or less, about twelve to fifteen feet, or more, in fractions of an inch, above a floor and provide a desired illumination of the area below. 
     It is to be understood that the presently disclosed LED high bay lamp  200  may have a variety of configurations and may be configured for mounting to a structure, or portion thereof. For example, LED high bay lamp  200  may be configured to be attached to, or hung from, a ceiling. 
     The present disclosure is not to be limited in terms of the particular embodiments described in this application, which are intended as illustrations of various aspects. Many modifications and variations can be made without departing from its spirit and scope, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Functionally equivalent methods and apparatuses within the scope of the disclosure, in addition to those enumerated herein, will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing descriptions. Such modifications and variations are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. 
     The present disclosure is to be limited only by the terms of the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. It is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to particular methods, reagents, compounds compositions or biological systems, which can, of course, vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting. 
     With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singular terms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. The various singular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sake of clarity. 
     It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to embodiments containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.” 
     In addition, where features or aspects of the disclosure are described in terms of Markush groups, those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosure is also thereby described in terms of any individual member or subgroup of members of the Markush group. 
     As will be understood by one skilled in the art, for any and all purposes, such as in terms of providing a written description, all ranges disclosed herein also encompass any and all possible subranges and combinations of subranges thereof. Any listed range can be easily recognized as sufficiently describing and enabling the same range being broken down into at least equal halves, thirds, quarters, fifths, tenths, etc. As a non-limiting example, each range discussed herein can be readily broken down into a lower third, middle third and upper third, etc. As will also be understood by one skilled in the art all language such as “up to,” “at least,” “greater than,” “less than,” and the like include the number recited and refer to ranges which can be subsequently broken down into subranges as discussed above. Finally, as will be understood by one skilled in the art, a range includes each individual member. Thus, for example, a group having 1-3 cells refers to groups having 1, 2, or 3 cells. Similarly, a group having 1-5 cells refers to groups having 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 cells, and so forth. 
     While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.