Patent ID: 7618167

Claim:
A recessed light fixture mountable to a panel, said panel defining a panel aperture extending therethrough, said recessed light fixture comprising: a housing, said housing defining an end wall and a side wall extending from said end wall, said side wall defining a side wall edge substantially opposed to said end wall, said housing further defining a housing flange extending substantially peripherally and outwardly from said side wall substantially adjacent said side wall edge, said side wall also defining a pair of mounting slots, said mounting slots each extending through said side wall and being substantially longitudinally oriented, said mounting slots being substantially circumferentially spaced apart from each other; and a retaining clip removably mountable to said housing, said retaining clip including a clip mounting element mounted to said housing; a clip body, said clip body defining a retaining flange, said retaining flange being located outside of said housing in a substantially parallel and spaced apart relationship relatively to said housing flange when said retaining clip is mounted to said housing in an operative oonfiguration; and an actuator operatively coupled to said clip mounting element and to said clip body for moving said clip body and said clip mounting element relatively to each other so as to vary a retaining flange-to-housing flange distance between said retaining flange and said housing flange; said clip mounting element including a mounting element base and a pair of mounting flanges extending from said mounting element base, said mounting flanges being in a substantially parallel and spaced apart relationship relatively to each other, said mounting element base being located within said housing and said mounting flanges each extending through a respective one of said mounting slots when said retaining clip is mounted to said housing in said operative configuration, said mounting flanges each being removably insertable into said respective one of said mounting slots; whereby, when said retaining clip is mounted to said housing in said operative configuration and said housing is mounted through said panel aperture with said panel positioned between said housing and retaining flanges, using said actuator to move said clip body relatively to said clip mounting element moves said retaining flange relatively to said housing flange to allow the attachment of said recessed light fixture to said panel by pinching said panel between said housing flange and said retaining flange.