Patent Abstract:
An in-ground light fixture is disclosed having multiple separate and watertight compartments for the various components of the fixture, allowing for maintenance and service of the fixture without exposing weather-sensitive components to the elements. The fixture also includes a pan and tilt assembly, which can be selectively controlled with a common household tool to change the direction of the light without having to access the pan and tilt assembly.

Full Description:
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This non-application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/229,845 filed Aug. 31, 2000, and hereby claims the benefit of the embodiments therein and of the filing date thereof. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Sub-surface lighting fixtures, such as in-ground or submerged well lights, are among the most dramatic and beautiful means of highlighting a specific feature or area of a property. In-ground lighting fixtures of this invention are designed for either flush mount concrete or masonry installation and the like or flush mount soil installation. 
     In the field of outdoor lighting fixtures, there is no greater challenge than to design an in-ground or well lighting fixture. In-ground lighting fixtures are constantly being subjected to the elements, specifically the affects of heat, cold, rain, sun, ice, wind, dirt, and debris. 
     Additionally, in-ground lighting fixtures are subject to damage from lawn chemicals, passersby, vehicles of all types, maintenance and service personnel and their equipment, animals, as well as the surrounding vegetation. The most damaging of all is perhaps, moisture from any source, e.g., rain, snow, dew, humidity, or lawn sprinklers. 
     In other instances, in-ground lighting fixtures, which are installed prior to construction, may be damaged during the completion of the construction, e.g., the in-ground fixture is installed, prior to pouring the concrete or asphalt patio, walk or driveway. 
     In still other cases, the in-ground or well lighting fixture is installed prior to landscaping and damage may occur during completion of the landscaping. 
     During and after installation of an in-ground or well light fixture, the fixture is subject to inspection, maintenance, and possibly repair; however, each is made more difficult after installation has been completed. In the case of submerged fixtures, there is a very real danger of leakage into the fixture after maintenance or relamping. 
     Given each of the above challenges, many have attempted to develop an effective, reliable, durable, and user friendly in-ground fixture, but have been unable to meet all of these challenges in a single style fixture. Clearly, there exists a need to design a lighting fixture which can withstand these conditions and environmental extremes. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Faced with this state of the art, it is a general object of this invention to improve the effectiveness and reliability of in-ground or well light fixtures. 
     Further objects of this invention are to provide: 
     1. a watertight exterior housing compartment, which keeps water and debris out of the fixture; and supports a lamp housing, a ballast housing and a wiring compartment, each housing being sealed from each other and from the environment; 
     2. a lamp housing within the exterior housing with a rugged, tempered glass lens, which is fully sealed and the fixture may be relamped in the field or the lamp housing removed for relamping elsewhere; 
     3. a fully sealed ballast housing within the exterior housing; 
     4. an easy to operate aiming mechanism for panning, tilting and locking the fixture&#39;s beam pattern using only a common household tool without having to remove the lamp housing; 
     5. a fixture, which is adaptable to the most popular lamp choices; 
     6. a wiring compartment that is separate, water tight and sealed from the rest of the fixture and which is easily accessible from the outside for inspection or maintenance without having to enter to the ballast housing, lamp housing or exterior housing; 
     7. an exterior housing and wiring compartment which may be installed and sealed during construction permitting the remaining components to be installed at a later date. 
     Other objects and advantages will become apparent from consideration of the following description taken in connection with the drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     This invention may be more clearly understood with the following detailed description and by reference to the drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an in-ground or well light incorporating this invention; 
     FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the invention of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the lamp housing subassembly of the fixture of FIG. 2, with a lamp shown in phantom; 
     FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of the lamp housing subassembly of FIG. 1 taken along an axis orthogonal to the section of FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the lamp housing of FIGS. 2 and 3 showing the pan and tilt head subassembly of the fixture; 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the upper side of the pan and tilt subassembly of FIGS. 2,  3  and  5 ; 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the underside of the pan and tilt subassembly of FIGS. 2,  3  and  5 ; 
     FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the pan and tilt subassembly of FIGS. 2,  3 ,  5 ,  6 , and  7 ; 
     FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the lens subassembly of the fixture of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 10 is an exploded side elevational view of the lens subassembly of the fixture of FIG. 9; 
     FIG. 11 is a perspective underside view of the ballast assembly of the fixture of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the ballast subassembly of the fixture of FIGS. 2 and 11; 
     FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view of the two-piece bucket subassembly of the fixture of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the wire box subassembly of the fixture of FIG. 1; and 
     FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view of the wire box subassembly of FIG.  14 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The in-ground or well light fixture of this invention, generally designated  10 , is shown in FIG.  1 . 
     The fixture  10  of this invention, with its light-emitting lens  11  and trim ring  12 , is generally enclosed by a cylindrical exterior housing member  13 , which is made of a UV stabilized corrosive resistant polycarbonate, as described in  Modern Plastics  1998  Encyclopedia , pages B-56 through B-57, and commonly sold under the G. E. Plastics trademark LEXAN. The exterior housing  13  is designed for flush-mount installation and is strong enough to withstand drive-overs by vehicles weighing up to 5,000 pounds. 
     The exterior housing member  13  is molded in two parts, an upper housing member  13   a  and a lower housing member  13   b , both of which can be see more clearly in FIG.  13 . The upper housing member  13   a  and lower housing member  13   b  are joined together by a screw wedge lock and seal better shown and described below in connection with FIG.  13 . 
     The upper housing member  13   a  also includes several forked tabs  13 T, which extend outward from the housing member  13   a , for securing the housing  13  to reinforcement bars (not shown) where the fixture is installed in, for example, concrete. In the case of in-soil installation, the tabs  13 T serve to stabilize the fixture within the soil. 
     At the top end of the upper housing member  13   a , opposite its connection with the lower housing member  13   b , is the fixture&#39;s light-emitting lens  11  which is enclosed in watertight fashion to the upper housing member  13   a  by a trim ring  12 , attached by a single screw fastener  14  and an internal locking tab, opposite the screw fastener  14 , not shown in FIG.  1 . 
     The upper housing member  13   a  also includes a side manifold  16  for receiving a wiring box subassembly  20 , which is generally cylindrical and is secured to the upper housing member  13   a  at its flange  20 F by a plurality of screws S, three of which appear in FIG.  1 . 
     The wiring box or electrical housing  28 , as shown in FIG. 1, includes a power in receptacle  21  for the fixture&#39;s lead in electrical wiring, an external wiring and inspection port  22 , as well as several wiring punch-outs (not shown) for alternate wiring lead-in positions. 
     The light fixture  10 , in addition to the housing  13  and wiring box subassembly  20 , is comprised of several subassemblies shown in FIG.  2 : a ballast subassembly  50 , a lamp subassembly  40 , a pan and tilt subassembly  60  of FIG. 5, a lens subassembly  30 , and a pinion subassembly  70  of FIG.  5 . 
     FIG. 2 also illustrates the fixture&#39;s upper housing member  13   a , lower housing member  13   b , generally discussed above. 
     The ballast subassembly  50  contains a ballast and other electrical components depending upon the type of lamp used and is enclosed by the generally cylindrical ballast housing  55  and is designed to fit within the lower housing member  13   b . The ballast subassembly  50  is watertight and sealed from the fixture&#39;s other subassemblies as well as from the exterior housing  13 . The ballast housing  55  is made of a UV corrosive resistant polycarbonate commonly sold under the G. E. Plastics trademark LEXAN, as described above, and has two ballast hooks  52 , one ballast tab  53 , and three electrical sockets  51 , which are attached to the top portion of the ballast housing  55 , and each are described in more detail in connection with FIGS. 11 and 12 below. 
     The lamp subassembly  40  comprising a pan and tilt subassembly  60 , best seen in FIGS. 3, and  5 - 7 , and a pinion subassembly  70  of FIG. 5 is enclosed by a generally cylindrical lamp house  41 . The lamp house  41  may be made of LEXAN, described above, and is designed to fit within the upper housing member  13   a . The lamp house  41  supports and partially encloses the pan and tilt assembly  60  and the lens assembly  30 . 
     The lens assembly  30  is configured to fit within the lamp house  41  and partially enclose the pan and tilt assembly  60  and pinion subassembly  70  (FIG.  5 ). Trim ring  12  covers the lens assembly  30  in watertight fashion, and attaches to the lamp house  41  to complete the fixture, as shown in FIG.  2 . 
     Referring now generally to FIGS. 3,  4 , and specifically to FIG. 5, which illustrate the lamp subassembly  40  including the pan and tilt subassembly.  60  and pinion subassembly  70 , the pan and tilt subassembly  60  and pinion subassembly  70  are designed to fit within and be supported by the lamp house  41 . The pan and tilt subassembly  60  rests upon the interior base of the lamp house  41  and is attached thereto. 
     The pan and tilt subassembly  60  is comprised of a lamp socket  45 , a cylindrical tilt gear  62 , engaged with and lying on top of a cylindrical pan gear  63 , all of which are supported by a pan and tilt track  66 . The pan and tilt subassembly  60  is described in greater detail in conjunction with FIGS. 6,  7  and  8 . 
     The lamp house  41 , best seen in FIGS. 2-4, is generally cylindrical in configuration with one end closed. At its open end, the lamp house  41  has a lip  46 , which extends outward and away from the main body of the lamp housing  41 . The lip  46  is designed to engage and be supported by upper housing member  13   a  at its ridge  17 , which extends inward from the interior portion of the upper housing member  13   a . An O-ring  47  seals the lip  46  and ridge  17 . 
     The lip  46  of the lamp housing  41  has a flattened top portion, which holds several tab locks, one of which is the lens lock  78 , two of which are shown in FIG. 5, and the other being the lamp lock  79 , one of which is shown in FIG.  5 . The tab locks  78  and  79  are described in detail in conjunction with FIGS. 9 and 10 below. 
     At the exterior portion of the closed end of the lamp housing  41 , as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, are three electrical connection pins  41 T, which are configured to be received by three electrical connection sockets  51  attached to the exterior top portion of the ballast housing  55 , as shown in FIG.  11 . 
     A pan and tilt retainer  61  of FIG. 5 has a number of legs  61 L, one of which is shown in FIG. 5, which extend away from of the retainer  61  and are designed to be received by the flat portion of the lamp housing lip  46  in a press fit engagement. The pan and tilt retainer  61  is further secured to the lamp housing lip  46  by pinhead screws  46 S, one which is shown in FIG.  5 . Also connected to the pan and tilt retainer  61  is the pinion subassembly  70 . 
     The pan and tilt subassembly  60  is .operated by the pinion subassembly  70 . At the top end of the pinion shaft  71 , the shaft  71  attaches to the pan and tilt retainer  61 . A pan and tilt stop  76  is also located at the top end of the pinion shaft  71 . At the lower end of the pinion shaft  71  is the pinion spring  74 , upon which the shaft  71  rests and is biased upward. Just above the spring  74  on the pinion shaft  71  are two gears; a tilt spur gear  72  and a pan spur gear  73 , which engage tilt gear  62  and the pan gear  63  when the pinion shaft  71  is properly engaged and rotated. 
     The pinion subassembly  70  is biased to normally engage the pan gear  62 . To engage the pan gear  62 , all that is needed is a standard screwdriver, which fits into the top of the pinion shaft  71 . Turning the screwdriver orients the pan gear  62 . 
     To engage the tilt gear  63 , the pinion shaft  71  is depressed by a screwdriver or the like. When the pinion shaft  71  is depressed to engage the tilt gear  63 , the pan gear  62  is automatically locked into place. Removing the screwdriver sets and locks both the pan gear  62  and tilt gear  63 . 
     The top portion of the pinion shaft  71 , which engages the screwdriver or the like, is not covered by the lens subassembly  30  when in place in the fixture  10 . This allows for the manipulation of the pan and tilt without having to remove the lens subassembly  30 . To access the pinion shaft  71 , all that is required is to remove the trim ring  12  to expose the top of the pinion shaft  71 . 
     FIGS. 6,  7  and  8  illustrate the pan and tilt assembly  60  in detail. At the center of the pan and tilt assembly  60  is the lamp socket  45 . The lamp socket  45  is configured to be received and held in place by the socket mount  64 . 
     The socket mount  64  is U-shaped with a base having two legs which extend away from the base. The bottom portion of the socket  45  rests against the base of the socket mount  64 , while the legs of the socket mount  64  receive the sides of the socket  45  and hold it firmly. The socket mount  64  is attached to a pan and tilt carriage  65  by a pair of rivets  65 S, one of which is shown in FIG.  8 . 
     The pan and tilt carriage  65  is also generally U-shaped, with a base and two legs, which are parallel to each other and extend away from the base. The base of the pan and tilt carriage  65 , at its center, is angled so as to form an apex  68 . The apex supports a J-hook  69 , which extends at an angle away from the base of the pan and tilt carriage  65  at or about the same angle as the socket  45 . The J-hook  69  is designed to hook onto and ride along the raised center portion  62 R of the tilt gear  62  through which the lamp and lamp socket  45  are positioned, as seen more clearly in FIG.  6 . 
     The pan and tilt track  66  is generally U-shaped with two legs which are parallel and extend away from the base. The pan and tilt track  66  is attached to the bottom interior portion of the lamp house  41 , as seen in FIGS. 3 and 4. The pan and tilt track legs  66  each have identical arcuate openings or slits  66 S. 
     The pan and tilt carriage  65  is movably attached to the pan and tilt track  66  by four snap fasteners  67  attached through the slots  66 S of the pan and tilt track legs  66 , such that the pan and tilt carriage  65  may freely move along the pan and tilt track slots  66 S, when activated by the pinion shaft  71 . 
     The tilt gear  62  fits on top of and engages the pan gear  63 . Both the tilt gear  62  and pan gear  63  rest upon and are supported by the wings  66 W and square brackets  66 B, which extend away from the pan and tilt track legs  66 . As described above, operation of the pan and tilt assembly  50  is controlled by the pinion shaft  71 . Rotating the pinion shaft  71  normally engages the pan gear  62  and changes the pan angle of the socket  45 . Rotating the pinion shaft, while also depressing the pinion shaft  71 , engages the tilt gear  63  and adjusts the tilt angle of the socket  45 . 
     FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate the lens subassembly  30 , comprised generally of a shield  36 , lens mount  33 , lens  11 , and lens retainer  31 . The lens subassembly  30  has a shield  36  which surrounds the pan and tilt subassembly  30  and pinion subassembly  70 . The shield  36  is attached to the lens mount by screw fastener  37 . Two O-rings  35  seal the lens mount  33  to the lamp housing  41 . The lens  11  has a bottom portion of greater diameter  11 F than the top portion of lens  11 . The lens  11  is enclosed between and thereby attached to the lens mount  33  by way of the lens retainer  31 , and three screws  37 . An O-ring seals the union between the lens  11  F and the lens mount  33 . 
     The top of the lens retainer has two lens handles  39 , which lay flat against the surface of the lens retainer  31  when not in use. The lens handles  39  aid in removing the lens subassembly  30  or lamp subassembly  40 . 
     The top of the lens retainer  31  has several slots  38 , which are designed to engage the tabs  78  on the lamp housing  41  (FIG.  5 ). Depending upon which tabs are engaged,  78  or  79 , the service or maintenance personnel may remove either the lens subassembly  30  alone or the lamp subassembly  40  including the lens subassembly  30 . The ability to remove either the lens subassembly  30  or the lamp subassembly  40  provides a tertiary benefit wherein relamping can occur on site by simply removing the lens subassembly  30  or relamping can occur elsewhere by removing the entire lamp subassembly  40 , which includes the lamp  40 L (FIG.  3 ). 
     The lens subassembly  30  is completed by a trim ring  12 , held in place on the lens retainer  31  by a single trim ring screw  14 , as seen in FIG.  2 . The trim ring is not only decorative but prevents unauthorized access to the pinion subassembly  70 , which controls the pan and tilt. The top of the pinion shaft  71  is flush with the lens retainer  31 . Removing the trim ring  12  exposes the top of the pinion shaft  71  which can be rotated to adjust the pan and tilt with a simple handheld tool, such as a screwdriver, as discussed earlier in conjunction with FIGS. 3,  4  and  5 . 
     FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate the ballast subassembly  50 , which is electrically connected to the lamp housing  41  by way of three plug-in electrical sockets  51  located on top of the ballast housing  55 . The top of the ballast housing  55  also holds two ballast hooks  52 , attached by screw, and one ballast tab  53 , also attached by screw. 
     The ballast hooks  52  are slidably connected to the ballast housing  55 . The base of the lamp housing  41  is configured to push the ballast hooks  52  outward and away from the ballast housing  55 , to firmly engage the lower housing member  13   b , when the two subassemblies are properly aligned. The ballast hooks  52 , by engaging the lower housing member  13   b , cause the ballast subassembly  50  to become secured within the lower housing member  13   b , such that the ballast subassembly  50  is not removed when the lamp subassembly  40  is removed for relamping or repair. 
     The ballast tab  53  aids in the alignment of the ballast subassembly  50  with the lamp housing  41 . 
     FIG. 13 illustrates.the two housing members  13   a  and  13   b , which make up the exterior housing  13 . The upper housing member  13   a  is joined with the lower housing member  13   b  by a screw wedge lock and bucket seal  13 S to form a watertight compartment. 
     The upper housing member  13   a  has four tabs  13 T, three of which appear in FIG.  13 . As described above, the tabs aid in stabilizing the fixture on installation. Finally, FIG. 13 illustrates the manifold  16  of the upper housing member  13   a , to which the wire box subassembly  20  is attached in a watertight fashion, better described in connection with FIGS. 14 and 15 below. 
     FIGS. 14 and 15 illustrate the wiring box subassembly  20 . The wire box  28  may be made of LEXAN, described above, and is attached in a watertight manner to the upper housing member  13   a  at its flange  20 F by a plurality of screws. Thus, any moisture or debris which may be introduced into the wiring box  28  is kept from entering the housing  13 , where the lamp and electrical components are or will be located. 
     The wiring box  28  has a power-in receptacle  21 , one inspection port  22 , and several conduit entries having knock outs (not shown) for under or side access. 
     The power-in receptacle  21  is watertight as is the inspection port  22 . The inspection port  22  has a cover  23  and is sealed by an O-ring or the like as seen in FIG.  15 . 
     The separate waterproof wiring box  28  allows the installer entry into the wire box assembly  20  to perform all wiring activity without also having to access the main housing  13  and expose the fixture&#39;s components to the elements. 
     The wire box assembly  20  is large enough, with over 50 cubic inches in volume, to contain more than enough wire to meet the needs of any landscape designer or architect. 
     The wire box  28  has a cover  23  over the opening between the wire box  28  upper housing member  13   a . The wire box cover  23 , in the preferred embodiment, is threaded for easy removal and is designed to be received by the wire box  28 , with two O-rings  28 R completing the seal. 
     The wire box cover  23 , opposite the wire box  28 , has several terminal blocks, three of which  24 ,  25  and  26  are illustrated in FIGS. 14 and 15. 
     The wire box  28  also has an anti-siphon device. 
     A significant feature of this invention is that the wire box subassembly is separate and watertight from the exterior housing  13 . The ballast subassembly  50  is also separately watertight from the exterior housing  13 , and finally, the lamp subassembly  40 , with lens subassembly  30  is separate and watertight from the exterior housing  13 . 
     Because each subassembly is separate and watertight, maintenance and service personnel can perform work without exposing the components of the fixture of this invention to the elements when performing routine service, maintenance or lighting changes. 
     For installation, the empty housing  13  and wire box subassembly  20  may be installed and sealed with a dummy lens and trim ring. Wire may be pulled into the fixture&#39;s wire box  28  through the conduit opening  20 , with access through inspection port  22 , if available, or through manifold  16 , if the housing is already mounted in permanent surface. 
     The ballast assembly  50 , the lamp house assembly and lens assembly  30 , may be installed whenever needed. Although each assembly is sealed from the other, each may be removed and serviced as required. Access to the sealed wire box  28  is available throughout the fixture&#39;s service life by opening the fixture  10 , removing the lens subassembly  30 , lamp house subassembly  40 , and removing internal wire box cover  23  of FIG.  15 . 
     The above-described embodiments of the present invention are merely descriptive of its principles and are not to be considered limiting. The scope of the present invention instead shall be determined from the scope of the following claims including their equivalents.

Technology Classification (CPC): 5