Patent Publication Number: US-9404643-B2

Title: One piece LED module with rotatable face

Description:
RELATED CASES 
     The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) based on U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/934,966 filed on Feb. 3, 2014, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     The present disclosure is related to a recessed light fixture with a rotatable trim. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Recessed light fixtures are designed to be minimally visible from below a ceiling, e.g., a ceiling-board, in which they are mounted. LED light sources used for recessed lighting typically generate significant quantities of heat, requiring the use of a heat sink as part of the light fixture, to avoid overheating. The LED light source and an associated reflector, referred to as the optic, are typically mounted in the heat sink, such as a canister, or “can,” type housing, so as to project light from the bottom of the heat sink. In some designs, the heat sink may be supported in a mounting frame that is suspended by bar hangers fastened between joists above the ceiling. The mounting frame is positioned so that the bottom of the heat sink passes through a ceiling opening (e.g., a cut out in the ceiling board) and is approximately flush with the bottom, exterior surface (e.g., a room-side surface) of the ceiling. A trim, which includes a trim frame (e.g., a trim ring), can be used to surround the opening in the ceiling, and mask the ceiling opening cut-out. 
     In some recessed light fixtures, the heat sink and the trim are distinct pieces which are separately assembled and installed onto the ceiling. For example, the heat sink is first installed onto the ceiling. The heat sink can include a lip that extends over edges around the ceiling opening against the bottom of the ceiling. The lip of the heat sink acts as a stop that does not allow the heat sink to continue to be pushed up into the ceiling cavity through the ceiling opening. The trim is thereafter installed onto the ceiling to cover the lip of the heat sink. Accordingly, the installation of these types of a recessed light fixture is complex and time consuming, and can adversely impact cosmetic aspects of the recessed light fixture when installed onto the ceiling. For example, the lip of the heat sink causes the trim to be displaced farther away from the bottom, exterior surface of the ceiling, and may require the use of a trim with sufficient thickness to mask the lip and other components of the heat sink. Further, the trim is not independently rotatable in the canister-type heat sink. 
     SUMMARY 
     To address these and other shortcomings, an improved recessed light fixture is provided, which incorporates a simple, yet effective snap-on spring assembly to connect the heat sink and the trim together while allowing rotational adjustment of the trim relative to the heat sink. The heat sink and trim can be mounted in the ceiling as a single unit or module, which simplifies installation. Furthermore, by allowing the trim and heat sink to be assembled into a single unit or module, the improved light fixture eliminates the need for a lip on the heat sink because the trim can act as a stop against the ceiling when mounting the heat sink and the trim onto the ceiling. As a consequence, the trim can be designed to further enhance cosmetic aspects of the recessed light fixture. For example, the trim can be designed with a thinner profile. The trim can also sit closer to the ceiling in comparison to known light fixtures, such as those previously discussed above, which employ a separate heat sink assembly and trim assembly. 
     An exemplary recessed light fixture can include a trim, heat sink, fasteners and springs. The trim has a trim frame with a trim opening for a light source, such as an LED light module or engine. The heat sink includes an open end which opens into a cavity to house a portion of the lighting source, and an interior surface with an interior groove that extends circumferentially around the interior surface. Each spring has a first end and an opposing second end. The first end of the springs is connected to the trim frame with a fastener such as a bolt or screw. The second end of the springs is inserted through the open end of the heat sink until the second end of the springs snaps into and engages the interior groove to connect the heat sink and the trim frame. The second end is movable along the interior groove to allow rotational adjustment of the trim frame relative to the heat sink. The fasteners can be detached to release the first end of the springs from the trim, which allows disengagement of the trim from the heat sink. 
     The heat sink along with the trim can be mounted in a ceiling opening of a room using a mounting frame, with the trim frame being flush against or proximate to an exterior surface of the ceiling. The trim frame, which can be rectangular (e.g., square), can thereafter be rotatably adjusted for cosmetic purposes to align the trim frame relative to other aspects in the room, such as the side walls. Furthermore, the adjustability of the trim frame is particularly useful for “wall wash” lighting applications, to align a plurality of wall wash trims or gimbal trims to project light onto a wall surface in a desired fashion. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The description of the various exemplary embodiments is explained in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a cross-sectional view of a recessed light fixture with a rotatable gimbal trim carrying a light source which is adjusted to vertical, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates another perspective view of the recessed light fixture of  FIG. 1 , with the light source adjusted at an acute angular position. 
         FIG. 3  is an example flow diagram of a process by which the recessed light fixture of  FIG. 1  is assembled, and then mounted and adjusted on a wall. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS 
     The present disclosure is directed to a recessed light fixture with a rotatable trim. The recessed light fixture includes a heat sink (e.g., within or as part of a canister housing) and a trim with a trim frame, which are connected together into a single unit or module using a snap-on spring assembly to allow rotational adjustment of the trim relative to the heat sink. The heat sink and the trim are together mountable onto a wall through a wall opening via a mounting frame. The trim is rotatable to a desired orientation to align the trim with other objects in a room (e.g., room side walls, and other light fixture trims) for cosmetic purposes, or to facilitate wall washing when using a wall wash trim or gimbal trim. An example of the recessed light fixture is described in greater detail below with reference to the figures. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a cross-sectional view of a recessed light fixture  100 , which includes a trim  110 , fastener(s)  140 , spring(s)  150 , and a heat sink  170 . In general, the trim  110  is connected to one end of each of the springs  150  using a respective fastener  140 , such as a bolt or screw. The other end of the springs  150  is inserted through an open end of the heat sink  170  and is snapped into an interior groove in the heat sink  170  to connect the trim  110  to the heat sink  170 . The springs  150  can move along the groove  180  to allow rotational adjustment of the trim  110  relative to the heat sink  170 . 
     Specifically, in this example, the trim  110  includes a trim frame  112  with a first side  114 , a second side  116  opposite the first side  114 , and a trim opening  118  located in a center of the trim frame. The trim  110  is a gimbal trim, which includes a gimbal  130  with a light source  132 . The gimbal  130  with the light source  132  is arranged in the trim opening  118  to pivot around an axis  136 , which allows rotational adjustment to different angular positions. For example, the light source  130  is adjusted to vertical in  FIG. 1 , and is adjusted at an acute angular position in  FIG. 2  which illustrates a perspective view of the recessed light fixture  100 . 
     As further shown in  FIG. 1 , the trim frame  112  also includes a continuous raised rim  120  extending around a periphery of the trim opening  118  on the first side  114 . The raised rim  120  includes an inner side surface  122 , an outer side surface  124  opposite the inner side surface  122 , and a top surface  126 . The outer side surface  124  of the raised rim  120  can include a plurality of fastener openings  127 , each of which are configured to receive one of the fasteners  140 , such as a bolt or screw. In this example, a pair of fastener openings  127  is provided on the raised rim  120 , with the fastener openings  127  located on opposite sides of the raised rim  120 . The raised rim  120  also includes a plurality of spring channels  128  on the top surface  126 . Each spring channel  128  is arranged proximate to a respective fastener opening  127 , and extends inwards from the outer side surface  124  toward the inner side surface  122 . The spring channel  128  is configured to provide a pathway for a portion of the spring  150  to extend into the heat sink  170 , when connected to the trim frame  110 . In this example, the trim frame  112  has a rectangular shape (e.g., a square), but can be configured with other shapes. 
     The heat sink  170  is a canister-style housing, which houses at least a portion of some of the lighting components of the light fixture  100 , such as, for example, the gimbal  130  with the light source  132 , inner heat sink  134 , and so forth. The heat sink  170  includes an open end  172 , which opens into a substantially cylindrical cavity  174  that is defined by an interior surface  176 . The heat sink  170  further includes a groove  180 , which extends circumferentially around the interior surface  176  at a position proximate to the open end  172 . In this example, the groove  180  runs continuously around the interior surface  176 ; however, the groove  180  can instead comprise of a plurality of discontinuous grooves for each spring  150 . 
     Each of the springs  150  includes a first end  152 , and a second end  154  which is opposite the first end  152 . The first end  152  is connectable onto the outer side surface  124  of the raised rim  120 , using a respective fastener  140  which extends through the first end  152  and is secured into one of the fastener openings  127 . In this example, two springs  150  are connected at opposite locations on the raised rim  120 . Between the first and second ends  152  and  154 , there is also a portion  156  which is configured to extend into and through a respective spring channel  128  so that the second end  154  is insertable into the cavity  174  of the heat sink  170 . As shown, the second end  154  of each of the springs  150  extends away from the top surface of the raised rim  120  when the first end  152  of the springs  150  are connected to the raised rim  120 . 
     To connect the trim  110  to the heat sink  170 , the second end  154  of the springs  150  are inserted into the cavity  174  of the heat sink until they snap into and engage the interior groove  180  of the heat sink. The second end  154  of the springs is movable along the interior groove to allow rotational adjustment of the trim frame relative to the heat sink. The second end  154  can have a male element, which is configured with a shape and dimension to engage the groove  180 , which is a female element. In this example, the second end  154  of the spring  150  has an angular portion that is bent at an acute angle to engage the groove  180 . The interior groove  180  has cross-sectional area, which tapers as the interior groove  180  extends outwards from the interior surface  174  toward and an exterior surface  178  of the heat sink  170 . When engaged in the interior groove  180  of the heat sink  170 , the angular portion of the second end  154  extends into the interior groove  180  of the heat sink  170  to prevent disengagement of the heat sink  170  from the second end  154  of the spring  150 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the bottom of the open end  172  of the heat sink  170  sits on or adjacent to the top surface  126  of the raised rim  120  to allow access to the fasteners  140 . In this way, the trim  110  and the heat sink  170  can be disconnected by unfastening the fasteners  140  from the fastener openings  127  to release the springs  150 . 
       FIG. 3  illustrates an example process  300  by which the recessed light fixture  100  is assembled into a single unit or module, and then mounted and adjusted on a wall. For the purposes of explanation, the process  300  will be described in relations to the components of the recessed light fixture  100  in  FIGS. 1-2 . 
     At reference  310 , the first end  152  of each spring  150  is connected to the raised rim  120  of the trim frame  112  using a respective fastener  140 . At reference  320 , the heat sink  170  is connected to the trim frame  112  by inserting the second end  154  of each spring  150  through the open end  172  of the heat sink  170  until the second end  154  snaps into and engages the interior groove  180  of the heat sink  170 . The second end  154  of the springs  150  initially deflect to allow insertion of the second end  154  through the open end  172  of the heat sink  170 . 
     At reference  330 , the heat sink  170  and the trim  110  is mounted onto a wall (e.g., a ceiling board) by inserting the heat sink  170  through a wall opening in the wall until the heat sink  170  is secured to a mounting frame and the trim frame  112  is flush with or proximate to a room side surface of the wall. Thereafter, at reference  340 , the trim  110  can be rotatably adjusted relative to the heat sink  170  (e.g., the stationary components of the mounted heat sink  170 ) to a desired orientation, such as for cosmetic purposes. For example, the trim  110  can be rotated to align the trim frame with other objects in a room (e.g., trims of other light fixtures, walls or other objects) or to orient a direction of a light from the light source  132  against a wall for wall washing purposes which may entail the use of multiple recessed light fixtures  100 . 
     The recessed light fixture, as described herein, is simply provided as an example of a light fixture with an independently adjustable trim. The spring and the interior groove of the heat sink can be designed with any suitable shape and dimension, to provide for snap-on connection of the trim and the heat sink. The interior groove can be a continuous groove, or can comprise of a plurality of discontinuous grooves on the interior surface of the heat sink for each spring. 
     Instead of an interior groove, the heat sink can have an exterior groove on the exterior surface. Similar to the interior groove, the exterior groove can be arranged proximate to the open end of the heat sink and extend circumferentially around the exterior surface of the heat sink. The second end of the spring can be configured to snap into and engage the exterior groove to connect the heat sink and the trim. The spring can move along the exterior groove to allow rotational adjustment of the trim relative to the heat sink. 
     Furthermore, instead of a groove on the heat sink, the trim can have an interior or exterior groove which extends circumferentially around the interior or exterior surface, respectively, of the trim (e.g., the raised rim of the trim frame). Each spring has a first end fastened to the heat sink via a fastener, and a second end configured to snap into and engage the groove to connect the heat sink and the trim. The spring can move along the groove to allow rotational adjustment of the trim relative to the heat sink. 
     Words of degree, such as “about”, “substantially”, and the like are used herein in the sense of “at, or nearly at, when given the manufacturing, design, and material tolerances inherent in the stated circumstances” and are used to prevent the unscrupulous infringer from unfairly taking advantage of the invention disclosure where exact or absolute figures and operational or structural relationships are stated as an aid to understanding the invention. 
     While particular embodiments and applications of the present disclosure have been illustrated and described, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the precise construction and compositions disclosed herein and that various modifications, changes, and variations can be apparent from the foregoing descriptions without departing from the invention.