Abstract:
A fiber optic track lighting fixture and method with independent focusing and aiming of the individual light beams therefrom. The fixture comprises subassemblies easily assembled to form the fixture.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to track lighting and more particularly to fiber optic light fixtures. 
     The use of track lighting is well known and finds utility in the display field where flexibility is a great advantage. Fiber optic systems have been adapted to track lighting and, in addition to flexibility in the positioning of a beam of light, have served the useful purpose of removing the heat source from the space in which the fixture is located to a remote location. 
     Known fiber optic light fixtures such as that described in the Miller U.S. Pat. No. 5,325,272 dated Jun. 28, 1994, provide a luminaire which may be positioned along a track and which includes a mirror with two degrees of rotation to selectively position the light beam emanating therefrom. However, such known fixtures do not provide for selectively focusing the beam for each luminaire, do not provide for easy control of the number of luminaires, and do not provide for individual color control. 
     Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel fiber optic lighting fixture which obviates the deficiencies of known fixtures and which provides extraordinary flexibility in providing display lighting. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel method of selectively providing display lighting. 
     It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a novel fiber optic lighting fixture which is low in cost and easy to manufacture and to assemble, and which is easily adaptable to light guides of different diameters. 
     It is still another object of the present invention to provide a novel fiber optic lighting fixture and method with individual control over the color and focusing of the light from the luminaires. 
     It is yet still another object of the present invention to provide a novel fiber optic lighting fixture and method in which the number of luminaires is easily varied. 
     These and many other objects and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art to which the invention pertains from a perusal of the claims, the appended drawings, and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded pictorial view of one embodiment of the present invention in partial section. 
     FIG. 2 is a pictorial view in partial section showing the assembly of the components of FIG. 1. 
     FIG. 3 is an elevation taken through lines A--A in FIG. 2. 
     FIG. 4 is a pictorial enlargement of a portion of the fixture shown in FIG. 2. 
     FIG. 5 is a pictorial view showing the installation of the embodiment in a display case. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     With reference to FIG. 1, the elongated track 10 is preferably extruded aluminum but may be made of other metals or suitable plastics and may be mounted, e.g., internally along the upper corner of a display case as shown in FIG. 5. 
     A chassis 12 is adapted to slide into the track 10 from the end or to snap therein through the open side. One or more chassis may be used and may be selectively positioned along the length of the track at desired locations as a function of the merchandise to be displayed. An optional cover plate 14 may be snapped into the track from the open side thereof intermediate the chassis 12 and may serve to maintain the chassis 12 in the desired position along the track 10. 
     As shown in FIG. 5, a bundle 16 of suitable conventional fiber optic cables or light guides is provided with its distal end in light receiving relationship to a suitable source of illumination such as a conventional metal halide lamp (not shown). This bundle 16 of cables extends along the track into proximity to one of the chassis 12 where one of the cables 18 is separated from the bundle 16. 
     As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the end 20 of a fiber optic cable or light guide 18 is inserted into a connector collet 22 which may be inserted into a connector housing 24 which may be snapped into one end of the chassis 12 so that it is maintained axially aligned with the longitudinal axis of the track 10 to provide a beam of light from the remote source along the longitudinal axis of each chassis 12. 
     The chassis 12 desirably forms a truncated cylindrical cavity into which a carriage 26 may be snapped. When in place in the chassis 12, the carriage 26 is retained on a common longitudinal axis with the connector housing 24 but is free to translate along that axis within the limitations of the cavity in the chassis 12. The carriage 26 is also free to rotate about the longitudinal axis. 
     At the end of the carriage 26 nearest the light guide 18, the carriage 26 is provided with a slot receptacle for a lens 28. The lens may be easily changed to maximize the flexibility of the fixture. At the end of the connector housing 24 nearest carriage 26, the connector housing 24 may be provided with a slot receptacle for a color filter 29. The color filter 29 may easily be changed independently of the lens 28 by snapping the filter into a slot in the connector housing 24. In this way, the focal length/spot size and color of the spot may be individually controlled. 
     The carriage 26 also contains a mirror 30 which is desirably provided with pivotal mounting pins or projections adapted for insertion into the walls of the carriage 26. In this way, the mirror may rotate about the axis of the pins. 
     The fixture of the present invention provides great flexibility in the focus and positioning of the light within the display case. The number of luminaires may easily be varied, and for each luminaire, the filter 29 may be selected to provide the desired color. The lens 28 of the individual luminaire may be readily changed to select the desired focal length/spot size. The translation of the carriage 26 along the chassis 12 of the individual luminaire permits the focus of the beam of light to be changed. The aiming of the light from each luminaire may be individually controlled by the rotation of the carriage 26 within the chassis 12 in a first degree of mirror rotation and the rotational mounting of the mirror 30 in the carriage 26 provides a second degree of rotation for the mirror 30. 
     The entire fixture is readily assembled with the lens and mirror carrying carriage 26 and connector housing 24 removably assembled into the chassis 12 to form a subassembly which is then easily positioned along the track. 
     The number of luminaires within the track may be easily varied, even for a fiber optic cable having a fixed number of light guides. The desired number of luminaries may be inserted into the track and the free end of any guide within the cable may be capped with any suitable conventional termination to prevent a ny unwanted light from exiting such guide. 
     The fixture of the present invention may also be used with fiber optic cables having light guides of different diameter, so that the fixture may be easily retrofitted into an existing system with a previously installed light source and fiber optic cable. All that is required is the selection of an appropriately sized connector collet 22 and connector housing 24, and all of the other elements of the fixture may remain unchanged. 
     While a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described, it is to be understood that the embodiment described is illustrative only and the scope of the invention is to be defined solely by the appended claims when accorded a full range of equivalence, many variations and modifications naturally occurring to those of skill in the art from a perusal hereof.