Patent Publication Number: US-2023143621-A1

Title: Lighting apparatus

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION 
     The present application is a continued application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/588,574. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     The present invention is related to a lighting apparatus, and more particularly related to a lighting apparatus with a movable structure. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The time when the darkness is being lighten up by the light, human have noticed the need of lighting up this planet. Light has become one of the necessities we live with through the day and the night. During the darkness after sunset, there is no natural light, and human have been finding ways to light up the darkness with artificial light. From a torch, candles to the light we have nowadays, the use of light have been changed through decades and the development of lighting continues on. 
     Early human found the control of fire which is a turning point of the human history. Fire provides light to bright up the darkness that have allowed human activities to continue into the darker and colder hour of the hour after sunset. Fire gives human beings the first form of light and heat to cook food, make tools, have heat to live through cold winter and lighting to see in the dark. 
     Lighting is now not to be limited just for providing the light we need, but it is also for setting up the mood and atmosphere being created for an area. Proper lighting for an area needs a good combination of daylight conditions and artificial lights. There are many ways to improve lighting in a better cost and energy saving. LED lighting, a solid-state lamp that uses light-emitting diodes as the source of light, is a solution when it comes to energy-efficient lighting. LED lighting provides lower cost, energy saving and longer life span. 
     The major use of the light emitting diodes is for illumination. The light emitting diodes is recently used in light bulb, light strip or light tube for a longer lifetime and a lower energy consumption of the light. The light emitting diodes shows a new type of illumination which brings more convenience to our lives. Nowadays, light emitting diode light may be often seen in the market with various forms and affordable prices. 
     After the invention of LEDs, the neon indicator and incandescent lamps are gradually replaced. However, the cost of initial commercial LEDs was extremely high, making them rare to be applied for practical use. Also, LEDs only illuminated red light at early stage. The brightness of the light only could be used as indicator for it was too dark to illuminate an area. Unlike modern LEDs which are bound in transparent plastic cases, LEDs in early stage were packed in metal cases. 
     In 1878, Thomas Edison tried to make a usable light bulb after experimenting different materials. In November 1879, Edison filed a patent for an electric lamp with a carbon filament and keep testing to find the perfect filament for his light bulb. The highest melting point of any chemical element, tungsten, was known by Edison to be an excellent material for light bulb filaments, but the machinery needed to produce super-fine tungsten wire was not available in the late 19th century. Tungsten is still the primary material used in incandescent bulb filaments today. 
     Early candles were made in China in about 200 BC from whale fat and rice paper wick. They were made from other materials through time, like tallow, spermaceti, colza oil and beeswax until the discovery of paraffin wax which made production of candles cheap and affordable to everyone. Wick was also improved over time that made from paper, cotton, hemp and flax with different times and ways of burning. Although not a major light source now, candles are still here as decorative items and a light source in emergency situations. They are used for celebrations such as birthdays, religious rituals, for making atmosphere and as a decor. 
     Illumination has been improved throughout the times. Even now, the lighting device we used today are still being improved. From the illumination of the sun to the time when human can control fire for providing illumination which changed human history, we have been improving the lighting source for a better efficiency and sense. From the invention of candle, gas lamp, electric carbon arc lamp, kerosene lamp, light bulb, fluorescent lamp to LED lamp, the improvement of illumination shows the necessity of light in human lives. 
     There are various types of lighting apparatuses. When cost and light efficiency of LED have shown great effect compared with traditional lighting devices, people look for even better light output. It is important to recognize factors that can bring more satisfaction and light quality and flexibility. 
     Downlight devices are widely used in various places. Usually downlight devices are installed in cavities of a ceiling. Such cavity may be a reserved cavity of a ceiling or a junction box pre-installed to a ceiling. 
     It is beneficial to adjust a light direction of the downlight device. This is helpful when the downlight is used for emitting a light beam. This is also helpful even the downlight device does not emit a light beam. In such case, the light direction adjustment may help to emphasize a desired area and therefore to emit light more effectively. 
     SUMMARY 
     In some embodiments, a lighting apparatus includes a dome housing, a first rotation shaft, a light body, a second rotation shaft and a rotation bracket. 
     The dome housing includes a rim part and a container part. 
     The container part defines a semi-sphere space. 
     The rim part conceals an installation cavity for installing the lighting apparatus. 
     The light body includes a light source. 
     The light body is attached to the container part with the first rotation shaft. The light body is rotatable with respect to the container part along the first rotation shaft for a first rotation direction. 
     The rotation shaft is disposed to the container part with a tilt offset from a top center of the container part. 
     The rotation bracket has a fixing bracket and a central part. 
     The dome housing is attached to the top center of the central part with the second rotation shaft for the dome housing to be rotatable with respect to the rotation bracket for a second rotation direction. 
     The fixing bracket is detachably attached to the installation cavity. 
     In some embodiments, the first rotation direction is along a first axis and the second rotation direction is along a second axis. 
     The first axis and the second axis has a tilt angle. 
     In some embodiments, the tilt angle is between 10 degrees to 45 degrees. 
     In some embodiments, the container part of the dome housing has a bowl shape. 
     In some embodiments, the first rotation shaft has a first limiting unit for limiting a first maximum rotation angle of the first rotation direction. 
     In some embodiments, the second rotation shaft has a second limiting unit for limiting a second maximum rotation angle of the second rotation direction. 
     In some embodiments, the lighting apparatus may also include a driver box attached to the central part of the rotation bracket. 
     The driver box and the dome housing are placed on opposite sides of the central part. 
     In some embodiments, a driver circuit in the driver box is electrically connected to the light source in the light body via a first conductive path of the second rotation shaft, a second conductive path of the container part and a third conductive path of the first rotation shaft. 
     In some embodiments, the central part is an elongated bar with a central hole for the second rotation shaft to rotate within the central hole. 
     In some embodiments, the fixing bracket has two fixing units disposed on two opposite sides of the elongated bar. 
     In some embodiments, the central bar has two sliding tracks for moving the two fixing units to adjust a spanning diameter between the two fixing units to fit in different sizes of the installation cavity. 
     In some embodiments, the light source includes a LED module. 
     The light body includes an optical module for changing a light path of a light of the light source. 
     In some embodiments, the optical module includes a reflective cup for guiding the light to a light opening of the light body. 
     In some embodiments, an inner side of the dome housing has a reflective layer for reflecting the light of the light source. 
     In some embodiments, the light body has a handle for a user to hold to rotate the light body along the first rotation shaft. 
     In some embodiments, the user holds the handle to rotate the dome housing along the second rotation shaft. 
     In some embodiments, the handle has a switch for changing a light parameter of the light source. 
     In some embodiments, the switch has a rotation switch part for setting a maximum light intensity of the light source. 
     In some embodiments, the switch further has a mode switch for adjusting a color temperature of a mixed light output of the light source. 
     In some embodiments, the first rotation shaft has a first wiring hole. 
     The second rotation shaft has a second wiring hole. 
     The first wiring hole and the second wiring hole are used for passing a metal wire for electrically connecting a driver circuit to the light source. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    illustrates a downlight embodiment of a lighting apparatus. 
         FIG.  2    illustrates a side view of the example in  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  3    illustrates a cross-sectional view of the example in  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  4    illustrates a zoom-up view of a first rotation shaft. 
         FIG.  5    illustrates a zoom-up view of a second rotation shaft. 
         FIG.  6    illustrates a top view of the example in  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  7    illustrates an example of an elongated bar. 
         FIG.  8    illustrates another view of the example in  FIG.  7   . 
         FIG.  9    illustrates an example of a fixing bracket connecting to the central part. 
         FIG.  10    illustrates a zoom-up view of an area of the rotation bracket. 
         FIG.  11    illustrates another view of the example in  FIG.  9   . 
         FIG.  12    illustrates an example of a dome housing and a light body. 
         FIG.  13    illustrates a zoom-up view of the example in  FIG.  12   . 
         FIG.  14    illustrates a top view of the example in  FIG.  12   . 
         FIG.  15    illustrates a side view of the example in  FIG.  12   . 
         FIG.  16    illustrates a zoom-up view of the example in  FIG.  12   . 
         FIG.  17    illustrates a first limiting unit example. 
         FIG.  18    illustrates a lighting apparatus embodiment. 
         FIG.  19    illustrates the rotation directions and the tilt angle of the first rotation shaft and the second rotation shaft. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In  FIG.  18   , a lighting apparatus includes a dome housing  607 , a first rotation shaft  613 , a light body  631 , a second rotation shaft  612  and a rotation bracket  605 . 
     The dome housing  607  includes a rim part  617  and a container part  618 . 
     The container part  618  defines a semi-sphere space  6181 . 
     The rim part  617  conceals an installation cavity  602  for installing the lighting apparatus. 
     The light body  631  includes a light source  611 . 
     The light body  631  is attached to the container part  618  with the first rotation shaft  613 . The light body  631  is rotatable with respect to the container part  618  along the first rotation shaft  613  for a first rotation direction. 
       FIG.  19    shows a first rotation direction  625  is performed by rotating the light body with respect to the dome housing  607  along the first rotation shaft  613 . The rotation direction  625  is rotated along a first axis  622 . 
     In  FIG.  18   , the first rotation shaft  614  is disposed to the container part  618  with a tilt offset  627  from a top center  628  of the container part  618 . 
     The rotation bracket  605  has a fixing bracket  606  and a central part  604 . 
     The dome housing  607  is attached to the top center  628  of the central part  605  with the second rotation shaft  612  for the dome housing  607  to be rotatable with respect to the rotation bracket  604  for a second rotation direction. 
       FIG.  19    shows the second rotation shaft  612  and the second rotation direction  624 . The second rotation direction  624  is rotated along a second axis  621 . 
     In  FIG.  18   , the fixing bracket  606  is detachably attached to the installation cavity  602 . 
     In  FIG.  19   , the first rotation direction  625  is along a first axis  622  and the second rotation direction  624  is along a second axis  621 . 
     The first axis  622  and the second axis  621  has a tilt angle  623 . 
     In some embodiments, the tilt angle is between 10 degrees to 45 degrees. 
     In  FIG.  18   , the container part  618  of the dome housing  607  has a bowl shape. 
     In some embodiments, the first rotation shaft  613  has a first limiting unit for limiting a first maximum rotation angle of the first rotation direction. 
     Some examples of the first limiting unit are provided in following embodiments. The first limiting unit may include a protruding block of one component that may be stopped by a corresponding structure on another component when said one component is rotated with respect to said another component. 
     In some embodiments, the second rotation shaft  612  has a second limiting unit for limiting a second maximum rotation angle of the second rotation direction. 
     In some embodiments, the lighting apparatus may also include a driver box  601  attached to the central part  628  of the rotation bracket  605 . 
     The driver box  601  and the dome housing  605  are placed on opposite sides of the central part  604 . 
     In some embodiments, a driver circuit  603  in the driver box  601  is electrically connected to the light source  611  in the light body  631  via a first conductive path  616  of the second rotation shaft  612 , a second conductive path  615  of the container part  607  and a third conductive path  614  of the first rotation shaft  613 . 
     In some embodiments, the central part  604  is an elongated bar  6041  with a central hole  6042  for the second rotation shaft  612  to rotate within the central hole  6042 . Examples of the central part  604  is further explained in following embodiments. 
     In some embodiments, the fixing bracket has two fixing units  6061 ,  6062  disposed on two opposite sides of the elongated bar  6041 . 
     In some embodiments, the elongated bar  604  has two sliding tracks  6043 ,  6044  for moving the two fixing units  6061 ,  6062  to adjust a spanning diameter between the two fixing units  6061 ,  6062  to fit in different sizes of the installation cavity  602 . 
     In some embodiments, the light source  603  includes a LED module  6031 . 
     The light body includes an optical module  609  for changing a light path of a light of the light source  611 . 
     In some embodiments, the optical module includes a reflective cup  6091  for guiding the light to a light opening of the light body  631 . 
     In some embodiments, an inner side of the dome housing has a reflective layer  608  for reflecting the light of the light source  611 . 
     In some embodiments, the light body has a handle  691  for a user to hold to rotate the light body  631  along the first rotation shaft  613 . 
     In some embodiments, the user holds the handle  691  to rotate the dome housing  607  along the second rotation shaft  612 . This may be performed because the light body is attached to the dome housing  607 . 
     In some embodiments, the handle  691  has a switch  692  for changing a light parameter of the light source. 
     In some embodiments, the switch  692  has a rotation switch part  693  for setting a maximum light intensity of the light source  611 . 
     In some embodiments, the switch  692  further has a mode switch  694  for adjusting a color temperature of a mixed light output of the light source  611 . 
     In  FIG.  19   , the first rotation shaft  613  has a first wiring hole  6131 . 
     The second rotation shaft  612  has a second wiring hole  6121 . 
     The first wiring hole  6131  and the second wiring hole  6121  are used for passing a metal wire  6133  for electrically connecting a driver circuit to the light source. 
     Please refer to  FIG.  1    to  FIG.  17   , which illustrate detailed examples for above embodiment. The same reference numerals refer to the same components among the drawings and may not be described again if being mentioned for brevity. 
       FIG.  1    illustrates a downlight embodiment of a lighting apparatus. In  FIG.  1   , the driver box  3  has a top cover  31  with a manual switch for setting a light parameter, like a color temperature of the lighting apparatus. There is a rotation bracket that has a central part  1  and a fixing bracket  2 . The dome housing  4  and the driver box  3  are disposed on two opposite sides of the central part  1 . 
       FIG.  2    illustrates a side view of the example in  FIG.  1   . In addition to the components mentioned above, the lighting apparatus has a first limiting unit  41  which is a protruding block for limiting a rotation angle of the first rotation shaft  7 . The first rotation shaft  7  may include multiple components for performing a rotation between two components. Various known structures may be used. Parts of the first rotation shaft  7 , as well as the second rotation shaft, may be integrated with the two components to be rotated with each other. 
       FIG.  3    illustrates a cross-sectional view of the example in  FIG.  1   . In  FIG.  3   , the driver circuit  33  is placed in the driver box  3 . There is a second rotation shaft  8  for the dome housing  4  to be rotated with respect to the rotation bracket. The light source  6  may include a light source plate, a reflective cup  62  and a light passing cover  63 . The dome housing  4  may has a heat dissipation housing  5 . 
       FIG.  4    illustrates a zoom-up view of a first rotation shaft.  FIG.  4    illustrates components of the first rotation shaft that may include a first rotation lever  71 , a first stopping pad ring  73 , a first stop part  72 , a first wave shape pad  74 , and a first limiting block  731  for performing a limiting rotation. A first wiring hole  711  is reserved for allowing a wire to pass through. 
       FIG.  5    illustrates a zoom-up view of a second rotation shaft. The second rotation shaft has a second rotation lever  81  that has a second wiring hole  811 . There is a second stopping unit  82  that has a second wave shape pad  84 , a second stopping pad ring  83  and a second stopping block  831 . 
       FIG.  6    illustrates a top view of the example in  FIG.  1   . The rotation of the second rotation shaft  8  is limited by the second limiting block  11 .  FIG.  6     
       FIG.  7    illustrates an example of an elongated bar that has an adjustment plate  772 , a limiting part  77321 , a limiting unit  773  with clips  7732  placed in a limiting groove  7731 , a connecting plate  771 , a folded edge  7711 , a connector bolt  7714 , an escape  7723 , a sliding track  7721 , a limiting bolt  7712 , and a fixing bracket  7722 . 
       FIG.  8    illustrates another view of the example in  FIG.  7   . 
       FIG.  9    illustrates an example of a fixing bracket connecting to the central part. The structure has a folding structure  88221 , a folding edge  8822 , a support plate  882 , a connector plate  881  with two connecting parts  8812 ,  8811 , a sliding groove  88111  and some positioning grooves  88112 . 
       FIG.  10    illustrates a zoom-up view of an area of the rotation bracket. The zoom-up view illustrates the positioning unit  883 , the limiting block  8821  and the limiting escape  88121 . 
       FIG.  11    illustrates another view of the example in  FIG.  10   . 
       FIG.  12    illustrates an example of a dome housing and a light body. In  FIG.  12   , the dome housing  99100  has some labels  99110 . 
       FIG.  13    illustrates a zoom-up view of the example in  FIG.  12    that shows a rotation lever  99300 , a wiring hole  99310 , a positioning face  99320 , a limiting unit that has a positioning block  99411  and a stopping pad  99410 , a positioning block  99411 , a screw  99330  to provide a rotation shaft. 
       FIG.  14    illustrates a top view of the example in  FIG.  12   . 
       FIG.  15    illustrates a side view of the example in  FIG.  12   . The dome housing  99100  has a heat dissipation housing  99200 . 
       FIG.  16    illustrates a zoom-up view of the example in  FIG.  12   .  FIG.  12    illustrates a screw  9330 , a wave shape pad  99340 , a stop pad  99410 , a wiring hole  99310 , a rotation lever  99300 , a pad  99350 , and a positioning block  99411 . 
       FIG.  17    illustrates a first limiting unit example. The stop pad  99410  has a vertical edge  99412  and a position block  99411 . 
     The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has been described with reference to specific embodiments. However, the illustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings. 
     The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the techniques and their practical applications. Others skilled in the art are thereby enabled to best utilize the techniques and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. 
     Although the disclosure and examples have been fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be noted that various changes and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications are to be understood as being included within the scope of the disclosure and examples as defined by the claims.