Patent Publication Number: US-9416947-B2

Title: Connecting device for light fixtures

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to the technical field of light fixtures, and particularly to a connecting device for light fixtures. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In square LED track light fixtures in the prior art, a lens fixing plate and a light fixture assembly are connected to each other, generally fixedly connected by screws or by elastic sheets sometimes. Connecting the lens fixing plate with the light fixture assembly by screws or elastic sheets causes inconvenience in mounting and dismounting. As a result, the lens fixing plate and the light fixture assembly must be mounted or dismounted by tools or by a large force. Connecting the lens fixing plate with the light fixture assembly by screws or elastic sheets cannot play a role of light compensation to the light fixtures, that is, a lens mounted on the lens fixing plate cannot be in close contact with an LED light source mounted on an LED light source mounting plate of the light fixture assembly, resulting in low luminous efficiency of the light fixtures. With the continuous development of society and the continuous progress of science and technology, LED light fixtures are constantly upgrading, and people put forward new and higher requirements to the LED light fixtures in the prior art. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a connecting device for light fixtures, which is simple in structure and convenient in mounting and dismounting, has good light compensation, and enables the light fixtures to achieve maximum luminous efficiency. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a connecting device for light fixtures, in order to overcome the defects of LED light fixtures in the prior art that connecting the lens fixing plate with the light fixture assembly by screws or elastic sheets causes inconvenience in mounting and dismounting, no compensation function and low luminous efficiency of the light fixtures, as well as to meet people&#39;s aspirations and the market requirements on the connecting device for light fixtures. Such a connecting device for light fixtures is simple in structure and convenient in mounting and dismounting, has good light compensation, and enables the light fixtures to achieve maximum luminous efficiency. In addition, such a connecting device for light fixtures further has the advantages of less production procedures and low production cost, thus promising the manufacturing enterprises with good economic benefits. 
     The present invention employs the following technical solution to solve the above technical problem. A connecting device for light fixtures is provided, including a lens fixing plate, a light fixture assembly, a button, a first spring, a connecting rod and a buckle, the buckle being fixedly connected to the light fixture assembly; a mounting base being disposed on the lens fixing plate, one end of the connecting rod being located in an inner cavity of the mounting base and the other end thereof being extended out from the mounting base, the end of the connecting rod extending out from the mounting base being provided with a boss and the connecting rod located in the inner cavity of the mounting base being sleeved with the first spring, the button being connected to the end of the connecting rod located in the inner cavity of the mounting base, one end of the first spring being resisted against the button and the other end thereof being resisted against an end wall of the inner cavity of the mounting base; the buckle including a housing, a second spring, an inner combined sliding stopper and a transmission assembly; the housing including a front panel, a left side plate, a rear panel, a right side plate and a lower soleplate connected integrally; the inner combined sliding stopper being consisted of a sliding mounting member and a combined elastic fastener connected integrally; the transmission assembly including a connecting rod provided with a contact handle at one end and a sliding handle at the other end, the contact handle being mounted on the sliding mounting member, a sliding chute being penetrated through the rear panel of the housing, the sliding handle being clamped into the sliding chute, one end of the second spring being resisted against the contact handle while the other end thereof being resisted against the inner surface of the lower soleplate of the housing; and, the inner combined sliding stopper can slide back and forth inside the cavity of the housing through the transmission assembly, the boss being clamped by the combined elastic fastener. 
     Further, a spring positioning column, onto which the second spring is sleeved, is disposed on the inner surface of the lower soleplate of the housing. 
     Further, a fixture block is disposed on the side of the sliding mounting member and a sliding neck is penetrated through the front panel of the housing, the fixture block being in sliding connection to the sliding neck. 
     Further, on the inner side of the rear panel of the housing, a guide bump playing a role of guiding and a limiting bump playing a role of limiting are disposed on the sliding chute, the guide bump and the limiting bump being arranged opposite to each other. 
     Further, the sliding chute is in a shape of a hook, including a first bent segment, a second bent segment and a third bent segment connected in turn, the shape of the lower edge of the guide bump being the same as that of the upper edge of the sliding chute, the shape of the upper edge of the limiting bump being the same as that of the lower edge of the sliding chute. 
     Further, a mounting vacancy is reserved on the sliding mounting member, the contact handle being mounted in the mounting vacancy on the sliding mounting member, the connecting rod being located between the sliding mounting member and the inner surface of the rear panel. 
     Further, the combined elastic fastener consists of two elastic fasteners. 
     Further, the sliding handle is cylindrical. 
     Further, the surface of the contact handle resisted against the second spring is a curved surface. 
     The present invention has the following beneficial effects. 1. The connecting device for light fixtures provided by the present invention is convenient in mounting and dismounting. When the lens fixing plate and the light fixture assembly connected to each other, the lens fixing plate is put into the light fixture assembly, and the connecting rod is pushed to be fixedly connected to the buckle once the button on the lens fixing plate is pressed down by a hand. While the connecting rod is clamped by the buckle, the lens fixing plate is pushed under the action of the first spring to enable the lens mounted on the lens fixing plate to be in good and gapless fit with the LED light source mounted on the LED light source mounting plate of the light fixture assembly, thereby enabling the light fixtures to achieve maximum luminous efficiency. When the lens fixing plate is to be dismounted from the light fixture assembly, the connecting rod is pushed by the button and then retracted from the buckle so long as the button on the lens fixing plate is pressed down by a hand, that is, the lens fixing plate is dismounted. From the above description, it is concluded that such a connecting device for light fixtures is quite convenient in mounting and dismounting. 2. The connecting device for light fixtures provided by the present invention can play a role of light compensation to the light fixtures, that is, the lens mounted on the lens fixing plate can be in close and gapless contact with the LED light source mounted on the LED light source mounting plate of the light fixture assembly, thereby enabling the light fixtures to achieve maximum luminous efficiency. 3. The connecting device for light fixtures provided by the present invention has the advantages of simple structure, less production procedures and low production cost, thus promising the manufacturing enterprises with good economic benefits. 4. The connecting device for light fixtures provided by the present invention has a wide scope of application, and can be applicable to connection between components in various light fixtures. Moreover, by such a connecting device, the components may be mounted and dismounted conveniently. 5. During the production and use, no waste water, waste gas or waste residue will be generated and it is thus environmentally friendly. 6. The connecting device for light fixtures provided by the present invention has the advantages of rational design, strong practicality and broad market prospects. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a stereoscopic structure diagram of part of components according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of part of the components and light fixtures according to the present invention during mounting, in which the direction shown as the arrow is a direction for mounting a lens fixing plate; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of part of the components and the lens fixing plate in the light fixtures according to the present invention during mounting; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram of part of the components and the lens fixing plate in the light fixtures according to the present invention during mounting, from another view; 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded view of a buckle according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a sectional view of the buckle according to the present invention, when no stress is applied to the second spring and the combined elastic fastener is located outside the housing; 
         FIG. 7  is a sectional view of the buckle according to the present invention, when the second spring is compressed due to a stress and the combined elastic fastener is located in the inner cavity of the housing; 
         FIG. 8  is a front view of the buckle according to the present invention, when the second spring is compressed due to a stress and the combined elastic fastener is located in the inner cavity of the housing; and 
         FIG. 9  is a stereoscopic structure diagram of the inner surface of a rear panel according to the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention will be further described as below in details with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. However, the scope of implementation of the present invention is not limited thereto. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1-4 , a connecting device for light fixtures according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided, including a lens fixing plate  1  and a light fixture assembly  2 . Multiple lenses  15  are mounted on the lens fixing plate  1 , and multiple LED light sources  16  are mounted on an LED light source mounting plate of the light fixture assembly  2 . When the lens fixing plate  1  is connected to the light fixture assembly  2 , the lenses  15  and the LED light sources  16  are arranged correspondingly one by one. The connecting device for light fixtures further includes a button  3 , a first spring  4 , a connecting rod  5  and a buckle. The buckle is fixedly connected to the light fixture assembly  2 . A mounting base  17  is disposed on the lens fixing plate  1 . One end of the connecting rod  5  is located in an inner cavity of the mounting base  17  while the other end thereof is extended out from the mounting base  17 . The end of the connecting rod  5  extending out from the mounting base  17  is provided with a boss  6  while the connecting rod  5  located in the inner cavity of the mounting base  17  is sleeved with the first spring  4 . The button  3  is connected to the end of the connecting rod  5  located in the inner cavity of the mounting base  17 . One end of the first spring  4  is resisted against the button  3  while the other end thereof is resisted against an end wall of the inner cavity of the mounting base  17 . As shown in  FIGS. 5-9 , the buckle includes a housing, a second spring  9 , an inner combined sliding stopper and a transmission assembly; the housing includes a front panel  7 , a left side plate, a rear panel  21 , a right side plate and a lower soleplate connected integrally; and the inner combined sliding stopper consists of a sliding mounting member  10  and a combined elastic fastener  11  connected integrally. The combined elastic fastener  11  is used for clamping the boss  6 , and the transmission assembly and the sliding mounting member  10  are mounted together. The sliding mounting member  10  of the inner combined sliding stopper is mounted in the housing in a manner of sliding. When the sliding mounting member  10  slides upwards in the housing, the combined elastic fastener  11  integrally connected to the sliding mounting member  10  is extended out from the housing (the boss  6  is retreated from the combined elastic fastener  11 ). When the sliding mounting member  10  slides downwards in the housing, the combined elastic fastener  11  gets into the housing (the boss  6  is clamped by the combined elastic fastener  11 ). The combined elastic fastener  11  consists of two elastic fasteners not only capable of unfolding, but also folding. The transmission assembly includes a connecting rod  13  provided with a contact handle  12  at one end and a sliding handle  14  at the other end, and the connecting rod  13  is located between the sliding mounting member  10  and the inner surface of the rear panel  21 . The contact handle  12  is mounted on the sliding mounting member  10 . A mounting vacancy is reserved on the sliding mounting member  10 , and the contact handle  12  is mounted in the mounting vacancy on the sliding mounting member  10 . A sliding chute  8  is penetrated through the rear panel  21  of the housing, and the sliding handle  14  is clamped into the sliding chute  8 . One end of the second spring  9  is resisted against the contact handle  12  while the other end thereof is resisted against the inner surface of the lower soleplate of the housing. The surface of the contact handle  12  resisted against the second spring  9  is a curved surface. The inner combined sliding stopper can slide back and forth inside the cavity of the housing through the transmission assembly, and the boss  6  is clamped by the combined elastic fastener  11 . The sliding handle  14  is cylindrical. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 6-7 , in the connecting device for light fixtures, a spring positioning column  18 , onto which the second spring  9  is sleeved, is disposed on the inner surface of the lower soleplate of the housing. The spring positioning column  18  is used for positioning the second spring  9 . As shown in  FIG. 8 , in the connecting device for light fixtures, a fixture block  19  is disposed on the side of the sliding mounting member  10 , a sliding neck  20  is penetrated through the front panel  7  of the housing, and the fixture block  19  is in sliding connection to the sliding neck  20 . The fixture block  19  and the sliding neck  20  are arranged to play a role of sliding connection, thereby preventing the second spring  9 , the inner combined sliding stopper and the transmission assembly from falling off from the housing. Further, the rear panel  21  provided with the sliding chute  8  and the front panel  7  provided with the sliding neck  20  are parallel to each other. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 5 and 9 , in the connecting device for light fixtures, a guide bump  22  playing a role of guiding the sliding handle  14  in the sliding process is disposed on the inner surface of the rear panel  21  of the housing, and the edge of the guide bump  22  is provided with a slope A 23  and a slope B 24 . The guide bump  22  is connected to the sliding chute  8 . The slope A 23 , the sliding chute  8  and the slope B  24  are connected in turn, and the slope B 24  is connected to the slope A 23 . On the inner side of the rear panel  21  of the housing, the guide bump  22  playing a role of guiding and a limiting bump  23  playing a role of limiting are disposed on the sliding chute  8 , and the guide bump  22  and the limiting bump  23  are arranged opposite to each other. Further, the sliding chute  8  is in a shape of a hook, including a first bent segment  81 , a second bent segment  82  and a third bent segment  83  connected in turn. The shape of the lower edge of the guide bump  22  is the same as that of the upper edge of the sliding chute  8 , and the shape of the upper edge of the limiting bump  23  is the same as that of the lower edge of the sliding chute  8 . The guide bump  22  plays a role of guiding the sliding of the sliding handle  14 , that is to say, due to the curved shape of the guide bump  22 , the connecting rod  13  swings around the contact handle  12  along the guide bump  22  under the elasticity of the second spring  9 . When the button  3  is pressed down or the first spring  4  and the second spring  9  recover the shape after being compressed, under the elasticity, the sliding handle  14  slides along the periphery of the guide bump  22 . When the sliding handle  14  in the sliding process is in contact with the limiting bump  23 , the limiting bump  23  enables the sliding handle  14  to slide into the sliding chute  8 . When the button  3  is pressed down for the first time (namely, when the lens fixing plate and the light fixture assembly  2  are connected together), the first spring  4  is compressed due to stress; the boss  6  at the front end of the connecting rod  5  is resisted against the combined elastic fastener  11  in the buckle to push the combined elastic fastener  11  into the cavity of the housing, and then the combined elastic fastener  11  pushes the sliding mounting member  10  connected integrally thereto to slide in the inner cavity of the housing. The fixture block  19  slides downwards along a sliding chute  20 , and the second spring  9  which is resisted against the contact handle  12  is compressed due to stress; the contact handle  12 , the connecting rod  13  and the sliding handle  14  are connected integrally. Therefore, when the sliding mounting member  10  slides back and forth inside the housing, the sliding handle  14  slides downwards along the guide bump  22 ; when the sliding handle  14  in the sliding process is in contact with the limiting bump  23 , the limiting bump  23  enables the sliding handle  14  to slide into the sliding chute  8 . Because the sliding chute  8  is in a shape of a hook, and the shape of the lower edge of the guide bump  22  is the same as that of the upper edge of the sliding chute  8 , and the shape of the upper edge of the limiting bump  23  is the same as that of the lower edge of the sliding chute  8 , the sliding handle  14  slides into the second bent segment  82  and then is clamped to the second bent segment  82  when the button  3  is pressed down for the first time, thereby locking the inner combined sliding stopper. Two fasteners unfolding outside are gradually folded inside during the combined elastic fastener  11  getting into the housing, resulted in clamping the boss  6 , namely, in clamping the connecting rod  5 . When the button  3  is pressed down for the second time (namely, when the lens fixing plate  1  is dismounted from the light fixture assembly  2 ), the boss  6  at the front end of the connecting rod  5  is resisted against the combined elastic fastener  11  in the buckle, and the combined elastic fastener  11  pushes the sliding mounting member  10  connected integrally thereto; under the elasticity of the first spring  4  and the second spring  9  recovering the shape after being compressed, the fixture block  19  slides upwards along the sliding chute  20 , the sliding handle  14  is retreated from the second bent segment  82  of the sliding chute  8 , and slipped out from the sliding chute  8  along the third bent segment  83  to return back to the initial position while the combined elastic fastener  11  is ejected out from the housing; the two fasteners of the combined elastic fastener  11  are unfolded under the elasticity of themselves, and the boss  6  is retreated from the combined elastic fastener  11 , namely, the connecting rod  5  is retreated from the buckle, achieving the purpose of dismounting the lens fixing plate  1 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , further, when the button  3  is pressed down for the first time, the boss  6  is clamped by the combined elastic fastener  11 . When the lens fixing plate  1  is to be connected to the light fixture assembly  2 , the lens fixing plate  1  is put into the light fixture assembly  2 , and the connecting rod  5  is pushed to be fixedly connected to the buckle once the button  3  on the lens fixing plate is pressed down by a hand to; during this process, the boss  6  is clamped by the combined elastic fastener  11  actually. When the lens fixing plate  1  is to be dismounted from the light fixture assembly  2 , the connecting rod  5  is pushed by the button  3  and then retreated from the buckle so long as the button  3  on the lens fixing plate  1  is pressed down by a hand (that is, the button  3  is pressed down for the second time), that is, the lens fixing plate is dismounted; during this process, the boss  6  is retreated from the combined elastic fastener  11  actually. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , the surface of the contact handle  12  resisted against the second spring  9  is a curved surface. The surface of the contact handle  12  resisted against the second spring  9  is curved, enabling the connecting rod  13  to drive the sliding handle  14  to swing around the contact handle  12  along the guide bump  22 , that is, when the button  3  is pressed down for the second time (i.e., when the lens fixing plate  1  is to be dismounted from the light fixture assembly  2 ), the sliding handle  14  is retreated from the second bent segment  82  of the sliding chute  8  and returns back to the initial position along the third bent segment  83  of the sliding chute  8 , in order to enable the sliding handle  14  to get into the sliding chute  8  again along the dip direction of the guide bump  22  after the button  3  is pressed down for the next time, thus achieving the purpose of connecting two components (the lens fixing plate  1  and the light fixture assembly  2  in this embodiment). The direction mentioned in this embodiment is subject to  FIG. 8 , regarding the upward side of the  FIG. 8  as the top, the downward side of the  FIG. 8  as the bottom, the left side of the  FIG. 8  as the left, and the right side of the  FIG. 8  as the right. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1-9 , during mounting, when the lens fixing plate  1  is to be connected to the light fixture assembly  2 , the lens fixing plate  1  is put into the light fixture assembly  2 , and the button  3  on the lens fixing plate is pressed down by a hand, so that the first spring  4  is compressed due to a stress; the boss  6  at the front end of the connecting rod  5  is resisted against the combined elastic fastener  11  in the buckle to push the combined elastic fastener  11  into the housing, and then the combined elastic fastener  11  pushes the sliding mounting member  10  connected integrally thereto to slide in the housing top down. The fixture block  19  slides downwards along a sliding chute  20 , and the second spring  9  which is resisted against the contact handle  12  is compressed due to stress; the contact handle  12 , the connecting rod  13  and the sliding handle  14  are connected integrally. Therefore, when the sliding mounting member  10  slides back and forth in the housing, the sliding handle  14  slides downwards along the guide bump  22 ; when the sliding handle  14  in the sliding process is in contact with the limiting bump  23 , the limiting bump  23  enables the sliding handle  14  to slide into the sliding chute  8 , thereby locking the inner combined sliding stopper. The two fasteners unfolding outside are gradually folded inside during the combined elastic fastener  11  getting into the housing, resulted in clamping the boss  6 , namely, in clamping the connecting rod  5 . The connecting rod  5  is clamped by the buckle while the lens fixing plate  1  is pushed under the action of the first spring  4  to enable the lenses  15  mounted on the lens fixing plate  1  to be in good and gapless coordination with the LED light sources  16  mounted on the LED light source mounting plate of the light fixture assembly  2 , thereby enabling the light fixtures to achieve maximum luminous efficiency. During dismounting, when the lens fixing plate  1  is dismounted from the light fixture assembly  2 , the connecting rod  5  can be retreated from the buckle so long as the button  3  on the lens fixing plate  1  is pressed down by a hand to push the connecting rod  5 ; namely, the lens fixing plate is dismounted. during this process, the boss  6  at the front end of the connecting rod  5  is resisted against the combined elastic fastener  11  in the buckle, and the combined elastic fastener  11  pushes the sliding mounting member  10  connected integrally thereto; under the elasticity of the first spring  4  and the second spring  9  recovering the shape after being compressed, the fixture block  19  slides upwards along the sliding chute  20 . Because the contact handle  12  is in a shape of curve, the connecting rod  13  swings around the contact handle  12  along the guide bump  22  under the elasticity of the second spring  9 . The sliding handle  14  is retreated from the second bent segment  82  of the sliding chute  8 , and returned back to the initial position along the third bent segment  83  of the sliding chute  8 , in order to enable the sliding handle  14  to get into the sliding chute  8  again along the dip direction of the guide bump  22  after the button  3  is pressed down for the next time, thus achieving the purpose of connecting two components (the lens fixing plate  1  and the light fixture assembly  2  in this embodiment). The combined elastic fastener  11  is ejected out from the housing; the two fasteners of the combined elastic fastener  11  are unfolded under their own elasticity; and the boss  6  is retreated from the combined elastic fastener  11 , that is, the connecting rod  5  is retreated from the buckle, achieving the purpose of dismounting the lens fixing plate  1 . The connecting device for light fixtures provided by the embodiment has the advantages of convenient mounting and dismounting processes, simple structure, less production procedures and low production cost, thus promising the manufacturing enterprises with good economic benefits. 
     The foregoing is just one preferred embodiment of the present invention. Any equivalent changes and modifications made according to the structure, characteristics and principle defined in the scope of the present invention shall fall into the protection scope of the present invention.