Patent Publication Number: US-9423112-B2

Title: Light fixture

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application is a national stage entry according to 35 U.S.C. §371 of PCT application No.: PCT/EP2013/060631 filed on May 23, 2013, which claims priority from Italian application No.: TO2012A000453 filed on May 25, 2012, and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     Various embodiments relate to light fixtures. Various embodiments may relate to light fixtures using LED sources as light radiation sources. 
     BACKGROUND 
     By using mounting supports such as printed circuit boards (PCBs) of a flexible type, having a strip structure for example, for the mounting of light radiation sources such as LEDs, it is possible to make flexible light fixtures in which the support can be flexed in a “vertical” direction, in other words in an orthogonal plane relative to the plane of extension of the support. 
     However, it is practically impossible to flex or bend this type of support in the plane of extension of the support. 
     Furthermore, flexible board supports are often limited to operation with low-power components. In this connection, the inventors have observed that even the use of light radiation sources such as side emitting LEDs is in fact constrained by the intrinsically low luminous flux of these components, causing the range of applications to be limited. 
     The inventors have also observed that, in order to extend the possibility of application to trajectories including acute angles, for example in order to create lighting configurations of special shapes, if common types of lighting modules such as LED modules are used, it is necessary to use special connectors or wire bonding, resulting in a rather low level of adaptability. 
     SUMMARY 
     Consequently there is a demand for light fixtures, of the solid state type for example (such as LED light fixtures), which have a shape that can be adapted easily by the end user to make them suitable for application, for example, in corner areas, without resulting in any reduction in the optical performance or the lighting coverage, while enabling modular structures to be provided if necessary. 
     Various embodiments have the purpose of providing a response to the aforesaid demand. 
     Various embodiments enable one or more of the following advantages to be obtained:
         the possibility of providing light fixtures of different shapes using a single module,   the availability of a bendable or flexible module with high-power light radiation sources, such as LED sources,   the possibility of modifying the length of the light fixture, for example by adding (or removing) one or more modules,   the possibility of connecting the modules forming the light fixture over a wide range of angles of relative orientation, and   the possibility of connecting different modules in a simple and rapid manner.       

    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead generally being placed upon illustrating the principles of the disclosed embodiments. In the following description, various embodiments described with reference to the following drawings, in which: 
         FIGS. 1 to 3  show some embodiments in various possible positions of use, and 
         FIGS. 4 to 6  show components of some embodiments in greater detail. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following description illustrates various specific details intended to provide a deeper understanding of various embodiments. The embodiments may be produced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. In other cases, known structures, materials or operations are not shown or described in detail, in order to avoid obscuring various aspects of the embodiments. 
     The reference to “an embodiment” in this description is intended to indicate that a particular configuration, structure or characteristic described in relation to the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Therefore, phrases such as “in an embodiment”, which may be present in various parts of this description, do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, specific formations, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable way in one or more embodiments. 
     The references used herein are provided purely for convenience and therefore do not define the scope of protection or the extent of the embodiments. 
     In the drawings, the reference  10  indicates the whole of a light fixture which can use light radiation sources in the form of solid state light radiation sources  12 , such as LED sources. 
     The light fixture  10  has a modular structure and includes a plurality of members of elongate shape  14 . 
     In various embodiments, the elongate members  14  may be flat and/or straight. 
     In various embodiments, the elongate members  14  may be made in the form of printed circuit boards. 
     In the embodiments shown in  FIGS. 1 to 3 , the source  10  includes three members  14 . However, because of the modular structure which is described further below, the source  10  may include any number n of members  14 , where n is for example equal to 2, 3, 4, . . . . 
     In various embodiments, each member  14  can carry one or more light radiation sources  12 . 
     In various embodiments, the members  14  can be connected by hinge joint members  16 , each of which mechanically connects one end of one of the members  14  to an end of another adjacent member  14 . 
     In various embodiments, the hinge connection formed between the hinge members  16  (which can be provided, in various embodiments, according to the principles described more fully below) allows the two members  14  connected by the member or each member  16  to be oriented between:
         an open position, wherein the two members  14  connected by a hinge member  16  extend in a common direction, virtually in sequence with each other, as shown schematically in  FIG. 2 , and   a closed position, wherein the two members  14  connected by the hinge member or by each hinge member  16  extend side by side, as shown schematically in  FIG. 3 .
 
In various embodiments, the aforesaid hinge connection also allows the two members  14  connected by the hinge member or by each hinge member  16  to be oriented in all the intermediate angular positions between the aforementioned open and closed positions, such that the source  10  is given a generally polygonal or serpentine, zigzag shape, as shown schematically in  FIG. 1 .
       

     In various embodiments, with the members  14  adjacent in the aforesaid open condition, the members  14  may (all) be aligned with each other and the light fixture  10  may take the form of a straight fixture of elongate shape, shown in  FIG. 2  with the light radiation sources  12  aligned with each other. In various embodiments, the light radiation sources  12  may be mounted on the members  14  in such a way that, in the open condition of  FIG. 2 , the light radiation sources  12  have a constant spacing distance or interval (or pitch) between them. 
     In various embodiments, with the adjacent members  14  in the aforesaid closed condition, the members  14  may (all) lie against each other and the light fixture  10  may take the form of a panel as shown in  FIG. 3 , with the light radiation sources  12  ordered in a matrix arrangement in rows and columns. 
     In various embodiments, the mechanical connection of the members  14  and the members  16  may be formed by means of a pin-and-hole coupling. This may be done, for example, as shown in  FIG. 5 , in other words by providing two pins  18  on the hinge member  16 . 
     In various embodiments, the two pins  18  in question may be made in one piece with the body of the member  16 . 
     In various embodiments, the two pins  18  may be split longitudinally so as to be resiliently contractible in the radial direction. The pins  18  can thus be inserted in a general snap-fitting arrangement in corresponding holes  20  provided in end positions in the elongate members  14 . 
     In various embodiments, the pins  18  may have distal ends  18   a  molded in an L shape such that they can penetrate into a corresponding hole  20  and then snap into an expanded configuration on emerging from the opposite end of the hole  20 . 
     In various embodiments, it is thus possible to provide a fastening that prevents the undesired disengagement of the members  14  from the hinge member  16  intended to connect them, while retaining the capacity for relative orientation. In a complementary way, the members  14  and  16  can be separated by radially contracting the pins  18  (by means of an operation which may be manual, without the use of special tools), for example in order to remove a member  14  from the modular structure of the light fixture  10 . 
     In various embodiments, the pin-and-hole connection arrangement described herein could be made in a complementary manner, in other words by providing the pins  18  on the elongate members  14  and the apertures  20  in the hinge joint member  16 . 
     Regardless of the solution chosen, the connection arrangement described makes it possible to connect (and separate) a variable number of elongate members  14  by a simple operation of pressing the upper face of the connection element  16 , without the need to use tools such as screwdrivers or the like. 
     In various embodiments, the hinge member or each hinge member  16  not only couples two adjacent members  14  together mechanically, but can also provide an electrical connection between two adjacent members  14 , so as to allow the propagation of electrical signals (of the power and/or control type) along the light fixture, for example by means of conductive lines extending along the elongate members  14  (these lines being embedded in the members, for example). 
     In various embodiments, the electrical connection between adjacent members  14  may require the presence of curved electrically conductive tracks  22  which emerge along trajectories which are circular (semicircular, for example) at end positions on the members  14 . 
     In various embodiments, the trajectories in question may be substantially centered on the common axis of the hole  20  (and the pin  18 ) which form the hinge coupling described above. 
     In the exemplary embodiments illustrated herein, two semicircular tracks  22  are provided at the ends of each member  14 . Clearly, this is a possible exemplary embodiment belonging to the type of embodiment in which the light radiation sources  12  mounted on each member  14  are interconnected in a homologous way, for example between two conductors acting, respectively, as a power conductor (+V d.c.) and as a ground conductor. 
     In various embodiments, the number of conductive tracks  22  may be different, thus providing, for example, in addition to a power line (+V d.c.) and a ground line, a “signal” line for transmitting “intelligent” control signals, such as a signal for regulating the luminous intensity (known as “dimming”), to the light radiation sources  12 . 
     In order to interconnect the conductive tracks or paths  22  mounted on two adjacent members  14 , the hinge joint member  16  may carry electrical contacts  24 . 
     In various embodiments, the electrical contacts  24  may be provided at each end of the member  16  in a number equal to the number of tracks  22  present at the end of each member  14  (this number being two in the examples illustrated herein). 
     In various embodiments, these electrical contacts may be provided in the form of sprung contacts  24  having a generally slider-like configuration so as to allow electrical contact to be maintained regardless of the relative orientation of the hinge member  16  and each of the elongate members  14  connected by it. 
     In the exemplary embodiments illustrated herein, the trajectories of the contact tracks  22  extend over an arc substantially equal to 180°, and the slider contacts  24  can provide electrical contact over this angle of possible orientation by sliding on the tracks  22 . 
     As in the case of the mechanical connection provided by means of the pins  18  and the apertures  20 , in various embodiments the electrical connection could be provided in a complementary manner to those illustrated here by way of example, in other words by providing curved tracks such as the tracks  22  on the hinge joint member  16  and slider contacts  24  on the elongate member  14 . 
     In various embodiments, the solution described herein makes it possible to provide the fixture  10  with properties of modularity and adaptability to the requirements of the end user, both as regards the number of members  14  (and consequently the number of light sources  12 ), and as regards their relative angular positioning. The principle of connection described above can therefore ensure the “longevity” of the product from the user&#39;s point of view. 
     While the disclosed embodiments have been particularly shown and described with reference to specific embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosed embodiments as defined by the appended claims. The scope of the disclosed embodiments is thus indicated by the appended claims and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced.