Patent Description:
In general, a power switch of a light fixture is provided in a rail structure having a conductive copper piece, so that relative positions of the power switch, the rail structure and the light fixture are fixed.

Since the relative positions of the power switch and the light fixture are fixed, an illumination direction of the light fixture is invariable, in a way that the light fixture may not illuminate a dark area. Therefore, there is need for improvement of a conventional power switch.

<CIT> relating to a time switch comprises a housing assembly and a switch structure, and the switch structure is disposed in the housing assembly.

<CIT> discloses a switch according to the preamble of claim <NUM>.

In view of the task above, it is a primary object of the present disclosure to provide a power switch, which solves, with a novel structural design of a housing assembly and a connection assembly, the issue of unadjustable relative positions of a conventional power switch and a light fixture.

To achieve the object above, the present disclosure provides a power switch applied to a light fixture. The power switch includes a housing assembly, a switch structure and a connection assembly. The housing assembly includes an annular accommodating groove. The switch structure is disposed in the housing assembly. The connection assembly is disposed in the annular accommodating groove and includes a connecting element and an outer collar. The connecting element is connected to the light fixture and has an annular portion. The outer collar is sleeved at the annular portion of the connecting element and is accommodated in the annular accommodating groove.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the connecting element has a first limiting portion that is provided on an outer side of the annular portion, and the outer collar has a second limiting portion that is provided on an inner side of the outer collar, wherein the second limiting portion corresponds to the first limiting portion.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the outer collar and the connecting element are rotated to a predetermined position, the first limiting portion and the second limiting portion are mutually abutted.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the housing assembly includes a limiting slot that is provided on an inner wall of the annular accommodating groove, the outer collar has a third limiting portion that is provided on an outer side of the outer collar, wherein the third limiting portion is provided in the limiting slot.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the third limiting portion moves in the limiting slot such that the connection assembly rotates relative to the housing assembly.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the power switch further includes a line contact group disposed in the housing assembly. The line contact group includes a live line contact and a neutral line contact. One end of the live line contact and one end of the neutral line contact are respectively located on the other ends of the two conductive contacts.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the switch structure is in an on state, the live line contact and the neutral line contact are respectively in contact with the other ends of the two conductive contacts.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the housing assembly includes a first shell and a second shell.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the two contact openings are respectively located on sidewalls of the first shell and the second shell.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the housing assembly further includes a fixing element connecting the first shell and the second shell.

In continuation to the description above, the power switch of the present disclosure includes a housing assembly, a switch structure and a connection assembly. The housing assembly includes an annular accommodating groove. The connection assembly includes connecting element and an outer collar. The outer collar is sleeved at an annular portion of the connecting element and accommodated in the annular accommodating groove, such that the connecting element is rotatable relative to the housing assembly. The connecting element is connected to the light fixture, so that the light fixture is rotatable along with the connecting element relative to the housing assembly, allowing relative positions between the power switching and the light fixture to be adjusted.

Moreover, the housing assembly includes a limiting slot located on an inner wall of the annular accommodating groove. The connection assembly has a first limiting portion located on an outer side of the annular portion. The outer collar has a second limiting portion and a third limiting portion. The second limiting portion is provided on an inner side of the outer collar, and the third limiting portion is provided on the outer side of the outer collar. With the second limiting portion corresponding to the first limiting portion, the third limiting portion is provided in the limiting slot. With the design of the first limiting portion and the second limiting portion, or the design of the third limiting portion and the limiting slot, the number of rotations of the connecting element can be restricted, so as to prevent an issue of tangled wires of the light fixture caused by an excess number of rotations.

In order to make the structure, characteristics, and effectiveness of the present disclosure further understood and recognized, a detailed description of the present disclosure is provided as follows, along with embodiments and accompanying figures.

<FIG> shows a schematic diagram of a power switch according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. <FIG> shows an exploded schematic diagram of the power switch shown in <FIG>. <FIG> shows a schematic diagram of a first shell and a connection assembly shown in <FIG>. <FIG> shows a schematic diagram of the connection assembly in <FIG> from another perspective. The description below is given with the foregoing accompanying drawings.

A power switch <NUM> of this embodiment is applied to a light fixture (not shown). The power switch <NUM> includes a housing assembly <NUM>, a switch structure <NUM> and a connection assembly <NUM>, wherein the switch structure <NUM> is disposed in the housing assembly <NUM>. Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, the housing assembly <NUM> includes an annular accommodating groove <NUM> and a limiting slot <NUM>, wherein the limiting slot <NUM> is provided on an inner wall of the annular accommodating groove <NUM>. Specifically, the housing assembly <NUM> includes a first shell <NUM> and a second shell <NUM>. Each of the first shell <NUM> and the second shell <NUM> has a semicircular groove, and the two semicircular grooves together form the annular accommodating groove <NUM>. The semicircular groove of the first shell <NUM> in <FIG> and <FIG> are depicted as the annular accommodating groove <NUM>, and it should be noted that the second shell <NUM> also has a corresponding semicircular groove that is however not depicted due to the angles in <FIG> and <FIG>. Moreover, the housing assembly <NUM> may also have two limiting slots <NUM>, which are preferably arranged symmetrically on the inner wall of the annular accommodating groove <NUM>. In other words, the semicircular groove of each of the first shell <NUM> and the second shell <NUM> may be provided with the limiting slot <NUM>.

Preferably, the housing assembly <NUM> may further include a fixing element <NUM> connecting the first shell <NUM> and the second shell <NUM>. The fixing element <NUM> of this embodiment is an L-shaped fastener for simultaneously fastening the first shell <NUM> and the second shell <NUM>, thereby fixing the first shell <NUM> and the second shell <NUM>.

The connection assembly <NUM> is disposed in the annular accommodating groove <NUM>, and is rotatable in the annular accommodating groove <NUM>. As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the connection assembly <NUM> of this embodiment includes a connecting element <NUM> and an outer collar <NUM>. The connecting element <NUM> has an annular portion <NUM>, and the outer collar <NUM> may be sleeved at the annular portion <NUM> of the connecting element <NUM>. Accordingly, by accommodating the outer collar <NUM> in the annular accommodating groove <NUM>, the connection assembly <NUM> may be disposed at the housing assembly <NUM>. Since the annular accommodating groove <NUM>, the annular portion <NUM> and the outer collar <NUM> are all annular structures, the connection assembly <NUM> is made rotatable relative to the housing assembly <NUM>. Moreover, connection to the light fixture is achieved by the connecting element <NUM> of the connection assembly <NUM>, so that the light fixture is also made rotatable along with the connecting element <NUM> relative to the housing assembly <NUM>, further allowing relative positions between the power switch <NUM> and the light fixture to be adjusted.

Specifically, one end of the connecting element <NUM> is the annular portion <NUM> and is located in the annular accommodating groove <NUM>, and the other end of the connecting element <NUM> is connected to the light fixture. When the connecting element <NUM> rotates relative to the outer collar <NUM>, or the overall of the connection assembly <NUM> (i.e., the connecting element <NUM> and the outer collar <NUM>) rotates in the annular accommodating groove <NUM>, relative positions between the light fixture and the housing assembly <NUM> may be adjusted.

Preferably, the connecting element <NUM> further has a first limiting portion <NUM>, which is provided on an outer side of the annular portion <NUM>. Further, the outer collar <NUM> has a second limiting portion <NUM> and a third limiting portion <NUM>. The second limiting portion <NUM> is provided on an inner side of the outer collar <NUM>, and the third limiting portion <NUM> is provided on an outer side of the outer collar <NUM>. When the outer collar <NUM> is sleeved at the outer side of the annular portion <NUM>, the second limiting portion <NUM> corresponds to the first limiting portion <NUM>. When the outer collar <NUM> and the connecting member <NUM> relatively rotate to a predetermined position, the first limiting portion <NUM> and the second limiting portion <NUM> are mutually abutted. In other words, the outer collar <NUM> and the connecting element <NUM> are relatively rotatable; for example, the annular portion <NUM> rotates with the outer collar <NUM> until the first limiting portion <NUM> and the second limiting portion <NUM> become mutually abutted. With the structure of the first limiting portion <NUM> and the second limiting portion <NUM>, the outer collar <NUM> and the connecting element <NUM> are allowed to rotate relatively by almost <NUM> degrees.

The third limiting portion <NUM> is provided in the limiting slot <NUM>, and moves in the limiting slot <NUM>. When the third limiting portion <NUM> of the outer collar <NUM> moves in the limiting slot <NUM>, the overall of the connection assembly <NUM> and the light fixture are also driven to rotate, so as to adjust the relative positions between the light fixture and the housing assembly <NUM>. In this embodiment, the radian of the limiting slot <NUM> is approximately <NUM> degrees, so that the connection assembly <NUM> is rotatable for approximately <NUM> degrees in the annular accommodating groove <NUM>.

With the design of the first limiting portion <NUM> and the second limiting portion <NUM>, or the design of the third limiting portion <NUM> and the limiting slot <NUM>, the number of rotations of the connecting element <NUM> can be restricted, so as to prevent an issue of tangled wires of the light fixture caused by an excess number of rotations.

<FIG> shows a schematic diagram of the power switch shown in <FIG> in an on state. <FIG> shows a schematic diagram of a switch structure and a line contact group in the power switch shown in <FIG>. <FIG> shows a schematic diagram of the power switch shown in <FIG> installed to a rail structure. <FIG> shows a schematic diagram of the power switch shown in <FIG> in an off state. <FIG> shows a schematic diagram of a switch structure and a line contact group in the power switch shown in <FIG>. An on state and an off state of the power switch <NUM> are to be described below with the foregoing accompanying drawings.

As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the housing assembly <NUM> includes two contact openings <NUM> and <NUM>, which are respectively located on sidewalls of the first shell <NUM> and the second shell <NUM>. Moreover, the switch structure <NUM> includes a knob <NUM> and two conductive contacts <NUM>. The knob <NUM> is partially exposed from the housing assembly <NUM> for a user rotate so as to turn on or turn off the power switch <NUM> (the light fixture). The two conductive contacts <NUM> are disposed at the knob <NUM>, so that the conductive contacts <NUM> are rotatable along with the knob <NUM>. In addition, the conductive contacts <NUM> are located inside the housing assembly <NUM>, and respective one end of the conductive contacts <NUM>, along with the rotation of the knob <NUM>, may be exposed on the outside of the housing assembly <NUM> from the contact openings <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively.

The power switch <NUM> further includes a line contact group <NUM> disposed in the housing assembly <NUM>, and in this embodiment, the line contact group <NUM> is disposed inside the first shell <NUM>. The line contact group <NUM> includes a live line contact <NUM>, a neutral line contact <NUM> and a ground line contact <NUM>. One end of the live line contact <NUM> and one end of the neutral line contact <NUM> respectively contacts with respective other ends of the two conductive contacts <NUM>. Specifically, respective one end of the conductive contacts <NUM> may be exposed on the outside of the housing assembly <NUM> through the contact openings <NUM> and <NUM>, and the respective other ends are close to the live line contact <NUM> or the neutral line contact <NUM>.

Moreover, the power switch <NUM> of this embodiment may be installed to a rail structure <NUM> of the light fixture, wherein the rail structure <NUM> includes a conductive copper piece <NUM>. When a user intends to turn on the light fixture, the knob <NUM> may be rotated so as to drive the conductive contacts <NUM> to rotate. At this point, respective one end of the two conductive contacts <NUM> are exposed on the outside of the housing assembly <NUM> (as shown in <FIG>) from the contact openings <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively, and the respective other ends of the two conductive contacts <NUM> are in contact with the live line contact <NUM> and the neutral line contact <NUM>, respectively (as shown in <FIG>). The conductive contacts <NUM> are exposed on the outside of the housing assembly <NUM> from the contact openings <NUM> and <NUM>, and can further contact with the conductive copper piece <NUM> of the rail structure <NUM> and be conducted (as shown in <FIG>). In other words, when the switch structure <NUM> is in an on state, the respective one end of the two conductive contacts <NUM> are exposed on the outside of the housing assembly <NUM> from the contact openings <NUM> and <NUM>, and are conducted with the conductive copper piece <NUM> of the rail structure <NUM>.

Conversely, when a user is to turn off the light fixture, the knob <NUM> is rotated in reverse to drive the conductive contacts <NUM> to rotate in reverse, such that the respective one end of the two conductive contacts <NUM> enter the housing assembly <NUM> (as shown in <FIG>) from contact openings <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively, and the respective other ends of the conductive contacts <NUM> do not contact with the live line contact <NUM> and the neutral line contact <NUM> (as shown in <FIG>). In other words, when the switch structure <NUM> is in an off state, the respective one end of the two conductive contacts <NUM> enter the housing assembly <NUM> from the contact openings <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively, and are not conducted with the conductive copper piece <NUM> of the rail structure <NUM>.

In conclusion, the power switch of the present disclosure includes a housing assembly, a switch structure and a connection assembly. The housing assembly includes an annular accommodating groove. The connection assembly includes connecting element and an outer collar. The outer collar is sleeved at an annular portion of the connecting element and accommodated in the annular accommodating groove, such that the connecting element is rotatable relative to the housing assembly. The connecting element is connected to the light fixture, so that the light fixture is rotatable along with the connecting element relative to the housing assembly, allowing relative positions between the power switching and the light fixture to be adjusted.

Claim 1:
A power switch (<NUM>), being able to be connected to a light fixture, the power switch (<NUM>) comprising:
a housing assembly (<NUM>);
a switch structure (<NUM>), disposed in the housing assembly (<NUM>);
characterized in that
the housing assembly (<NUM>), comprising an annular accommodating groove (<NUM>); and the power switch (<NUM>) further comprising:
a connection assembly (<NUM>), disposed at the annular accommodating groove (<NUM>), the connection assembly (<NUM>) comprising:
a connecting element (<NUM>), adapted to be connected to the light fixture, the connecting element (<NUM>) having an annular portion (<NUM>); and
an outer collar (<NUM>), sleeved at the annular portion (<NUM>) of the connecting element (<NUM>) and accommodated in the annular accommodating groove (<NUM>).