Patent Publication Number: US-2003228190-A1

Title: Connecting structure between lamp rack and switch box

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] (1) Field of the Invention  
       [0002] The present invention relates to the connecting structure between lamp rack and switch box, and more particularly to a connecting structure that can be easily and precisely positioned by the use of slot and the tenon of square joint.  
       [0003] (2) Description of the Prior Art  
       [0004] Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the schematic view of a ceiling lamp currently on the market, wherein the surrounding wall of the switch box  11  includes several holes  111 , and the hole  111  allows the thread section  121  at the front end of the lamp rack  12  to be inserted in and locked up by a nut  13  and a washer  14  from the internal side of the switch box  111 . Please refer to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, a schematic view of another embodiment of ceiling lamp currently on the market, wherein the bottom of the switch box  16  includes several holes  161 , and the hole  161  allows the thread section  171  at the front end of the lamp rack  17  to be inserted in and locked up by a nut  18  and a washer  19  from the internal side of the switch box  16 . Although the prior structure is able to achieve ceiling lamp assembly, it may yield several shortcomings:  
       [0005] 1. Since the lamp rack  12 ,  17  is locked up by a thread section  121 ,  171 , a nut  13 ,  18 , and a washer  14 ,  19 , the lamp rack  12 ,  17  should distribute weight evenly on the switch box  11 ,  16 , so the ceiling lamp installation is free from the risk of being crooked. In addition, the angle of every lamp rack  12 ,  17  should be the same, however the ordinary consumers cannot easily control the angle of each lamp rack  12 ,  17  during the locking of the nut  13 ,  18  and it requires professional personnel to accomplish the assembly.  
       [0006] 2. As stated above, it requires professional personnel to accomplish the assembly, so the lamp rack  12 ,  17  cannot be removed after being assembled. It wastes packing and shipping costs because of using a large volume of packing materials. In addition, if one of the lamp racks  12 ,  17  is damaged, it needs to replace the entire ceiling lamp, which increases the costs for the manufacturer.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007] Because of the stated shortcomings of difficult assembly between the prior switch box and lamp rack, after years of experience in the industry and a sequence of continuous researches, developments, and improvements, I propose the present invention as a possible solution.  
       [0008] The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a connecting structure between lamp rack and switch box that can be easily and precisely positioned, and more particularly a ceiling lamp that can be assembled by the consumer.  
       [0009] The second objective of the present invention is to provide a connecting structure between lamp rack and switch box that is able to replace individual lamp rack.  
       [0010] The further objective of the present invention is to provide a connecting structure between lamp rack and switch box that can be disassembled for packing in order to reduce packing materials and decrease shipping costs. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0011] The present invention will now be specified with reference to its preferred embodiment illustrated in the drawings, in which  
     [0012]FIG. 1 is a schematic 3-dimensional explosion view of a first prior structure.  
     [0013]FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-section view of a first prior structure.  
     [0014]FIG. 3 is a schematic 3-dimensional explosion view of a second prior structure.  
     [0015]FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-section view of a second prior structure.  
     [0016]FIG. 5 is a schematic 3-dimensional explosion view of a first preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention.  
     [0017]FIG. 6 is a schematic 3-dimensional assembled view of a first preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention.  
     [0018]FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-section view of a preferred first embodiment in accordance with the present invention.  
     [0019]FIG. 8 is a schematic 3-dimensional explosion view of a second preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention.  
     [0020]FIG. 9 is a schematic 3-dimensional assembled view of a second preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention.  
     [0021]FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-section view of a preferred second embodiment in accordance with the present invention.  
     [0022]FIG. 11 is a schematic 3-dimensional explosion view of a third preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention.  
     [0023]FIG. 12 is a schematic 3-dimensional assembled view of a third preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention.  
     [0024]FIG. 13 is a schematic cross-section view of a preferred third embodiment in accordance with the present invention.  
     [0025]FIG. 14 is a schematic 3-dimensional explosion view of a fourth preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention.  
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
     [0026] The invention disclosed herein is directed to the connecting structure between lamp rack and switch box. In the following description, numerous details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be appreciated by one skilled in the art that variations of these specific details are possible while still achieving the results of the present invention. In other instance, well-known components are not described in detail in order not to unnecessarily obscure the present invention.  
     [0027] First, please refer to FIG. 5 to FIG. 7. The surrounding wall of the switch box  4  includes several cutoffs  21 , wherein the cutoff  21  further includes a slot  211  and the slot  211  allows the square joint  221  at the front end of the lamp rack  22  to set in. The extended wings  222  on both sides of the square joint  221  are inserted downwards into the slots  211  and then the top cover is also placed downwards so the bottom rim of the top cover  23  is precisely pressed down onto the upper rim of the square joint  221  and locked up by the use of a top nut  24 , a bottom nut  25 , and a stud  26  to allow easy assembly by oneself.  
     [0028] Please refer to FIG. 8 to FIG. 10, another preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein the surrounding wall of switch box  4  includes several non-round holes  31  and the hole  31  allows a connector  32  of similar shape as the hole  31  to be inserted in. The front end of the connector  32  includes a thread section  321  to be locked up by a nut  33 , and the hollow inside  322  of the connector  32  further includes a tenon rim  321 , while the front end of the lamp rack  34  includes a connector extruding rim  341  and the front of the connector extruding rim  341  further includes a tenon section  342  that can be inserted into the hollow inside  322  of the connector  32 . After inserting the tenon section  342  with similar shape as the hollow inside  322 , the tenon rim  321  of the connector  32  can be set into the cut slot  343 , so the consumers can easily assemble by themselves without the risk of having different lamp rack angles during assembly and the manufacturers can disassemble for packing to reduce shipping cost.  
     [0029] Please refer to FIG. 11 to FIG. 13, a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein the bottom of switch box  4  includes several slots  41  and the square joint  421  of the lamp rack  42  can be inserted into the slot  41 . It further includes a reinforce plate  43  between the switch box  4  and lamp rack  42 , and around the rim of the reinforce plate  43  includes the same number of cutoffs  431  as lamp racks, wherein the width of the cutoff  431  is precisely larger than the diameter of the bending tube of the lamp rack  42  and smaller than the width of square joint  421 . By the use of a bolt  45  and a nut  46  to lock up the top cover  44  with the reinforce plate  43 , so the square joint  421  of the lamp rack  42  can be set into the slot  41  of the switch box  4 . The consumers during the assembly process or in the need of replacement can remove or install the reinforce plate  43  and lamp racks  42  by simply loosing or locking up the nut  46 , so it not only can be easily positioned, but also can be disassembled for packing to reduce ceiling lamp volume and shipping cost, and it allows consumers to assemble by themselves or replace individual lamp rack  42 .  
     [0030] Please refer to FIG. 14, wherein the switch box  5  can be in various shapes.  
     [0031] While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.