Patent Publication Number: US-9903575-B2

Title: High and low voltage separating driver brackets for lighting systems and methods for installation

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/101,626 (“the &#39;626 application”), filed on Jan. 9, 2015 and entitled “LED Driver Enclosure with High Voltage and Low Voltage Divider.” The &#39;626 application is hereby incorporated in its entirety by this reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     Embodiments of the invention relate to enclosures for light engine drivers with dividers for high and low voltage wiring. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Luminaires, particularly those with light engines that require a driver or other electrical device, often consist of multiple components assembled into the luminaire or lighting system. Often times a driver or other necessary equipment will be located within an enclosure. The driver may be used to convert incoming electricity to a different voltage, amperage, or the like. The result is that the driver, which is contained in an enclosure, must receive wires that carry different voltages or currents. If wires with dissimilar electrical loads come into contact with one another within the enclosure, there may be a risk of fire, short circuit, or failure of the luminaire. 
     SUMMARY 
     Aspects of the present disclosure relate to light engine driver brackets that incorporate a divider that separates low voltage wires from high voltage wires within a driver enclosure. The driver bracket partitions the driver enclosure into regions where wires of different voltages are confined to prevent unwanted contact or interaction. These driver brackets allow an installer to quickly and easily install or replace a driver while reducing the possibility of installation errors or wire migration that may bring wires of dissimilar voltages into contact with one another. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a driver enclosure and light engine assembly according to certain embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of a driver enclosure and light engine assembly according to certain embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of the driver enclosure and light engine assembly of  FIG. 1  with high and low voltage wiring. 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view of the driver enclosure and light engine assembly of  FIG. 2  with high and low voltage wiring. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the driver enclosure and light engine assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 6  is a plan view of the driver enclosure and light engine assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the driver enclosure and light engine assembly of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 8  is a plan view of the driver enclosure and light engine assembly of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 9  is a side view of the driver enclosure and light engine assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 10  is a rear view of the driver enclosure and light engine assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 11  is a perspective view of a driver bracket with a divider and high and low voltage wires. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The subject matter of embodiments of the present invention is described here with specificity to meet statutory requirements, but this description is not necessarily intended to limit the scope of the claims. The claimed subject matter may be embodied in other ways, may include different elements or steps, and may be used in conjunction with other existing or future technologies. This description should not be interpreted as implying any particular order or arrangement among or between various steps or elements except when the order of individual steps or arrangement of elements is explicitly described. 
     The described embodiments of the invention provide a driver bracket for separating high and low voltage wires within a driver enclosure. While the driver brackets are discussed for use with light engines, they are by no means so limited. Rather, embodiments of the driver bracket may be used in any electrical device. 
     Embodiments of the invention relate to a driver enclosure for a light engine driver for powering a light engine assembly. The driver enclosure includes a divider for separating high voltage and relatively lower voltage wires in the enclosure. In one embodiment, the light engine assembly is a light-emitting diode (LED) assembly and the light engine driver is an LED driver. 
       FIGS. 1-4  are exploded perspective views of a driver enclosure  30  with a driver bracket  10  and light engine driver  24 . As illustrated, the driver enclosure  30  is cylindrical, but other shapes and/or geometries are contemplated. The driver enclosure  30  is in communication with a light engine assembly  44 . In  FIGS. 1 and 3 , the driver enclosure  30  is attached to the light engine assembly  44  with a light engine support bracket  40 , while in  FIGS. 2 and 4  the driver enclosure  30  is attached to the light engine assembly  44  with a flexible conduit  42 . With reference to  FIGS. 1-4 , the divider  22  may be, but does not have to be, incorporated into a driver bracket  10  onto which the light engine driver  24  is attached. The driver bracket  10  is located within the driver enclosure  30  and securely retains the light engine driver  24 . The light engine driver  24  includes a low voltage end  26  and a high voltage end  28 . Similarly, the driver bracket  10  includes a high voltage end  14  and a low voltage end  16 . One or more relatively high voltage input power wires  52  (e.g., 120-277 V) deliver power to the high voltage end  28  of the light engine driver  24 , which transforms the power to a lower voltage (e.g., 60 V), and one or more low voltage output power wires  56  exit the low voltage end  26  of the light engine driver  24  and deliver power to at least one light engine assembly  44 . 
     The driver bracket  10  is formed of a substantially planar base  12  having a front surface  11 , a back surface  13 , a top edge  46 , and a bottom edge  48  (visible in  FIG. 11 ). A divider  22  is provided on the high voltage end  14  of the driver bracket  10 . The divider  22  is supported by an upstanding arm  20  that extends upwardly from the base  12 . The base  12 , upstanding arm  20 , and divider  22  collectively define a front portion  15  and a back portion  17  opposite the front portion  15  of the driver bracket  10 . The divider  22  is shown extending substantially parallel to the base  12  but may extend at an angle relative to the base  12  so long as it permits wires to pass on each side (on the first side  23  and on the second side  25 ) of the divider  22  when the driver bracket  10  is positioned within the driver enclosure  30 . Furthermore, in certain embodiments the divider  22  may extend directly from the base  12  of the driver bracket  10  as a straight or angled structure without the upstanding arm  20 . The upstanding arm  20  may be of any length, but most often will be of a length such that the divider  22  extends relatively centrally within the driver enclosure  30 . An optional back plate  18  may extend upwardly from the low voltage end  16  of the driver bracket  10 . The optional back plate  18  may serve as a mounting point between the driver bracket  10  and the driver enclosure  30 , and may serve as an anchor point or attachment points for one or more wires  52 ,  54 ,  56 . The driver bracket  10  may be formed integrally or, alternatively, the various components may be formed separately and subsequently assembled together to form the driver bracket  10 . The driver bracket  10  may be formed of any suitable material, such as aluminum, steel or a polymeric material. 
     Previous bracket configurations have included an aperture in the bracket in which the driver is positioned, splitting the driver into a high voltage side on one side of the bracket and a low voltage side on the other side of the bracket. Unlike these prior constructions, the driver bracket  10  of the present invention does not include an aperture to receive the driver. Rather, the light engine driver  24  is located entirely on one side (such as front surface  11 ) of the base  12  of the driver bracket  10 , with physical separation of high voltage and low voltage wires provided by the divider  22 , as discussed below. One benefit of this configuration is that the entire light engine driver  24  is accessible to the electrician from a single side of the driver bracket  10 , simplifying the electrician&#39;s access and attachment of the various wires to the light engine driver  24 . 
     In use, the driver bracket  10  serves to physically separate high voltage input power wires  52  and low voltage wires  54 ,  56  in the driver enclosure  30 . The driver bracket  10 , including the divider  22 , may partition the driver enclosure  30  into high and low voltage regions where wires carrying different potentials may be housed. Physical separation of the wires is desirable for safety purposes and to meet various electrical code requirements. Exemplary wire routing diagrams are shown in  FIGS. 3, 4, and 11 , in which one or more high voltage input power wire(s)  52  are routed along the front portion  15  of the driver bracket  10  and into the light engine driver  24 , and a low voltage control wire  54 , such as an optional dimming wire (which may, but does not have to, operate at around 10 V and which could be provided to allow the light engine assembly  44  to be dimmable), is routed along the back portion  17  of the driver bracket  10  to the light engine driver  24  and into the low voltage end  26  of the light engine driver  24  (best seen in  FIG. 11 ). The divider  22  serves to physically separate and maintain such separation between the high voltage input power wire(s)  52  and the low voltage control wire(s)  54  at the high voltage end  28  of the light engine driver  24 . 
     In certain embodiments, as shown in  FIG. 11 , the driver bracket  10  may include a wire clearance  21  in the base  12  and/or optional back plate  18  near the low voltage end  16  of the driver bracket  10 . The wire clearance  21  provides a space for the low voltage control wire  54 , which would otherwise be confined to the back portion  17  of the driver bracket  10 , to wrap around and connect to the low voltage end  26  of the light engine driver  24  in the front portion  15  of the driver bracket  10 , and provide control, such as for a dimmer switch. The wire clearance  21  should be sized and located appropriately to minimize the risk of interaction between the low voltage control wire  54  and the high voltage input power wire  52  and/or the low voltage output power wire  56 . 
     Physical separation of the high voltage input power wire(s)  52  from the low voltage output wire(s)  56  (which power the at least one light engine assembly  44 ) is achieved by locating the low voltage output power wires  56  on the low voltage end  26  of the light engine driver  24 , as shown in  FIGS. 2, 4, and 11 . The low voltage output wire(s)  56  exit the driver enclosure  30  and are connected to at least one light engine assembly  44 . The driver bracket  10  may include an exit clearance  19  in the optional back plate  18  and/or base  12  at the low voltage end  16  of the driver bracket  10  to allow the low voltage output power wire  56  to connect to the low voltage end  26  of the light engine driver  24  and then pass through the driver enclosure  30  and on to a light engine assembly (not shown). 
     Clearances  19 ,  21  may take on any number of configurations or arrangements, including notches, apertures, or other passages that may confine or otherwise restrict the wires to prevent unwanted intermingling of wires with different potentials, while still allowing for the routing of wires as necessary for the application. 
     While one particular wire routing configuration is illustrated in  FIGS. 2, 4, and 11 , it will be recognized that other wire routing possibilities may be utilized. For example the high voltage input power wire  52  may be routed by the divider  22  into the back portion  17  of the driver bracket  10  and the low voltage control wire  54  (if used) could be routed by the divider  22  into the front portion  15  of the driver bracket  10 . Further, as noted above, the low voltage control wire  54  is optional; if the light engine assembly  44  need not be dimmable the low voltage control wire  54  could be omitted, and another high voltage input power wire  52  could be provided and routed along the same path as the high voltage input power wire  52  or alternatively routed as low voltage control wire  54  shown in  FIGS. 2 and 4  to provide an alternate high voltage pathway. 
     Still referring to  FIGS. 1-4 , installation of the driver bracket  10  with its associated light engine driver  24  into the driver enclosure  30  may first require mounting or otherwise affixing the light engine driver  24  to the driver bracket  10  (e.g., to the front surface  11  or back surface  13  of the base  12 ). First, the light engine driver  24  should be aligned with the driver bracket  10  so that the low voltage end  26  of the light engine driver  24  is in proximity to the low voltage end  16  of the driver bracket  10 . Once the driver bracket  10  and light engine driver  24  are properly aligned, the light engine driver  24  may be fastened, snapped, or otherwise affixed to the base  12  of the driver bracket  10 . As shown, the base  12  of the driver bracket  10  may be substantially planar without any holes or apertures that are large enough for the light engine driver  24  to pass through. That is, the light engine driver  24  will be confined to one side (either the front surface  11  or the back surface  13 ) of the base  12  of the driver bracket  10  and will not fully or partially penetrate the base  12  of the driver bracket  10 . 
     The light engine driver  24  may then be wired by connecting a high voltage input power wire  52  to the high voltage end  28  of the light engine driver  24 . Similarly, the low voltage output power wire  56  may be connected to the low voltage end  26  of the light engine driver  24 . In certain cases, the light engine driver  24  may also be connected to a low voltage control wire  54 , such as for a dimmer switch. After all the desired wire connections to the light engine driver  24 , the wires  52 ,  54 ,  56  may be routed appropriately to prevent mixing or interference between the high voltage input power wire  52  and the low voltage control wire  54  and/or low voltage output power wire  56 . For example, in certain cases, the high voltage input power wire  52  may be routed by the divider  22  into the front portion  15  of the of the driver bracket  10 , while the low voltage control wire  54  may be routed by the divider  22  into the back portion  17  of the driver bracket  10 . The divider  22  serves to separate the high voltage input power wire  52  from the low voltage control wire  54  to prevent interference or interaction between the wires  52 ,  54 , which may lead to short circuits, fire hazard, or failure of the light engine driver  24  and/or light engine assembly  44 . The low voltage output power wire  56  may similarly be separated from the high voltage input power wire  52  by the separation due to the length of the light engine driver  24  and driver bracket  10 . 
     After the wires  52 ,  54 ,  56  are properly routed, the driver bracket  10  with mounted light engine driver  24  may be inserted or otherwise installed into the driver enclosure  30 . During insertion, any excess wire  52 ,  54 ,  56  may be coiled or otherwise wrapped up to fit within the driver enclosure  30 . In certain cases, the driver bracket  10  may locate and stabilize the light engine driver  24  and wires  52 ,  54 ,  56  within the driver enclosure  30  by the interaction of the driver bracket  10  with the interior surface of the driver enclosure  30 . In certain embodiments, the driver enclosure  30  may include one or more guide channels  32  or other features on its inner surface that may engage with the top edge  46  and/or bottom edge  48  of the base  12  to guide the insertion and maintain the location of the driver bracket  10  in the driver enclosure  30 . As installed, the driver bracket  10  may partition the driver enclosure  30  into a low voltage region and a high voltage region. These regions provide the volume for wires of different potential within the driver enclosure  30  while reducing or eliminating the risk of wires of different potential interacting with one another. 
     An endplate  34  may attach (such as with fasteners, snaps, adhesives, or any other suitable attachment means) to one end of the driver enclosure  30  and enclose the driver bracket  10  and light engine driver  24  therein. The endplate  34  may have one or more knockouts  36 , which, if needed, could be removed to provide an aperture (not shown) and allow power wires, such as the high voltage input power wire  52  and optional low voltage control wire  54 , to be passed through the endplate  34 . These knockouts  36  may be positioned on the endplate  34  such that a wire or other equipment passing through an aperture is easily directed by the divider  22  into one side (either the front portion  15  or back portion  17 ) of the driver bracket  10 . This allows additional high or low voltage wires to be fed through the driver enclosure  30  and directed to the high or low voltage regions to prevent comingling or unwanted interaction between wires of differing potentials. 
     In some embodiments, the length of the driver bracket  10  and/or divider  22  is such that the divider  22  may contact the inner surface of the endplate  34  when the driver bracket  10  is positioned within the driver enclosure  30  so as to completely separate the low and high voltage regions within the driver enclosure  30 . The divider  22  provides physical separation between the knockouts  36  so that high voltage input power wires  52  passing through one knockout  36  and into the front portion  15  of the driver bracket  10  are prevented from inadvertently contacting low voltage control wires  54  (e.g., a dimming wire) passing through another knockout  36  and into the back portion  17  of the driver bracket  10 . 
     In other embodiments, there may be a small space or gap between the inner surface of the endplate  34  and the divider  22 . This gap, the size of which may be chosen based upon the size of the driver enclosure  30 , gauge or length of wires  52 ,  54 ,  56 , and/or any other factors as necessary for a particular application, may provide clearance to prevent or reduce pinch or other impingement of wires  52 ,  54 ,  56  during the installation of the driver bracket  10  and/or endplate  34 . 
     A conduit carrying the high voltage input power wire  52  and low voltage control wires  54  may attach directly to a knockout  36  on the endplate  34 . Alternatively, as shown in the figures, multiple conduits carrying power wires may be directed into one or more 1-to-2 conduit converter  38 , which would allow power wires from two (or more) conduits to be routed through a single knockout  36  on the endplate  34 . In this manner, multiple light engine assemblies  44 , each including its own driver enclosure  30  and/or light engine driver  24 , could be connected in a series configuration, with a high voltage input power wire  52  coming from one conduit and being wired to a first light engine driver  24 , and also being split so that another high voltage input power wire  52  can be passed through another conduit and to a second (or subsequent) downstream light engine assembly  44 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1, 3, 5, 6, 9, and 10 , the driver enclosure  30  may be connected to at least one light engine assembly  44  with a light engine support bracket  40 . As shown, the light engine support bracket  40  may allow the light engine assembly  44  to move horizontally relative to the driver enclosure  30  and to pivot at an angle relative to the driver enclosure  30  (as shown, the angle of the light engine assembly  44  relative to the driver enclosure  30  is approximately 90 degrees). The adjustability of the light engine assembly  44  relative to the driver enclosure  30  provides flexibility for placement of the light engine assembly  44  and the driver enclosure  30 . 
     Similarly, as shown in  FIGS. 2, 4, 7, and 8 , the driver enclosure  30  may be connected to at least one light engine assembly  44  with a flexible conduit  42 . The flexible conduit  42 , which may be fastened to the inside of the driver enclosure  30  and/or the inside of the light engine assembly  44 , provides a mechanical connection that allows the driver enclosure  30  and light engine assembly  44  to independently move relative to one another. This flexible connection facilitates installation of the light engine assembly  44  and/or driver enclosure  30  in a range of ceiling volumes or spaces. In certain embodiments, the conductors or wires between the driver enclosure  30  and light engine assembly  44  are contained within the flexible conduit  42 . 
     Any of the above described components, parts, or embodiments may take on a range of shapes, sizes, or materials as necessary for a particular application of the described invention. The components, parts, or mechanisms of the described invention may be made of any materials selected for the suitability in use, cost, or ease of manufacturing. Materials including, but not limited to aluminum, stainless steel, fiber reinforced plastics, rubber, elastomers, carbon fiber, composites, polycarbonate, polypropylene, other metallic materials, or other polymers may be used to form any of the above described components. 
     Different arrangements of the components depicted in the drawings or described above, as well as components and steps not shown or described are possible. Similarly, some features and sub-combinations are useful and may be employed without reference to other features and sub-combinations. Embodiments of the invention have been described for illustrative and not restrictive purposes, and alternative embodiments will become apparent to readers of this patent. Accordingly, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above or depicted in the drawings, and various embodiments and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the claims below.