Patent Application
20160104985
This invention generally relates to an electrified bus bar assembly and pertains more specifically to improved track, insulator construction, and take-away adaptors to power display elements.
It is common to find electrified bus bar assemblies in retail settings because they are a convenient and reliable power source for lighting and electrical devices. Typical electrical bus bar assemblies have an insulator mounted within a housing and two electrified conductors mounted to the insulator. Track lighting and continuous plug-in busways are common examples of this type of track assembly. Take-away adaptors are typically used to tap power from the track or busway and provide a power source for the attached take-away devices. This type of bus bar can typically power any low voltage device from an LED light to a three phase machine. Thus, the appeal of a bus bar assembly is the ability to insert any number of take-away adaptors along the track to power any number of low voltage electrical devices.
Retailers typically use bus bar assemblies because it is cost prohibitive to install and maintain a typical three prong outlet for every electrical device in a retail setting. Conventional bus bar assemblies often found in retail settings are typically designed to mount to a displays shelving. A problem arises when a retailer occasionally or frequently decides to change the location of a display implementing a mounted bus bar assembly. The retailer must decide to un-mount the bus bar assembly from the display for relocation or to relocate the display with the bus bar assembly attached. In either scenario the retailer is disrupting a display, using man hours to un-mount and remount the bus bar assembly or to relocate the shelving with the bus bar assembly still mounted; all while running the risk of damaging the shelving and/or bus bar assembly during relocation.
Another problem faced by retailers using conventional bus bar assemblies is the electrical conductors or bus bars are often exposed to provide a contact point for the take-away adaptor. This increases the risk that an employee or patron will contact the exposed conductors and be exposed to hazardous electrical shock. Likewise, having the conductors exposed increases the risk of a low resistance connection being made between the conductors and shorting the circuit, which forces the retailers to incur the expense of repairing or replacing the bus bar assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,747,025, hereinafter incorporated by reference in its entirety, illustrates the problems described above, which the current invention overcomes. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,747,025 a display panel is described that is formed from a single piece, in which parallel recesses are opened that allow electrical lighting means, powered by low voltage from a step-down transformer, to be mounted. The mechanical attachment and electrical supply of each flange is effected between two consecutive recesses of the panel, longitudinal electrical conductors being disposed externally, in the surface of the panel, along the edges of the recess. In such a system, the electrical conductors are directly accessible to be touched and the electrical devices powered by the assembly are mounted to the display shelving.
Therefore, the prior art fails to provide a bus bar assembly for a retail environment that is safe, reliable, inexpensive, robust, and simple to manufacture. The present invention provides such an electrified bus bar assembly. These and other advantages of the invention, as well as additional inventive features, will be apparent from the description of the invention provided herein.
In one aspect, the invention provides an electrified bus bar assembly for bringing power and/or signal to electrically powered devices. An embodiment of a bus bar assembly according to this aspect includes an elongated track. The track has at least a first and a second groove to receive and retain a first and a second electrical conductor of the track. The first and second electrical conductors are configured for connecting to a power source. The bus bar assembly also includes at least one removable take-away adaptor capable of forming an electrical contact with the first and second electrical conductor to provide power and/or signal to a low voltage electrical device.
In certain embodiments, the track has a generally horizontal base adapted to be mounted or connected to any flat surface. The track may be composed of a thermoplastic. In certain embodiments, the track may be composed of VO rated Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene.
In certain embodiments, the track has a first and second J-shaped flange extending upwardly from the opposite ends of said horizontal base. The first and second J-shaped flanges have upwardly extending legs from which substantially horizontal arms extend inwardly towards each other in an opposed relation.
In certain embodiments, the take away-adaptor includes one or more electrically conductive contact elements that connect to the first and second electrical conductors to supply a power connection. The take-away adaptor further comprises at least one jack to supply one or more electrical power and/or signal connections to a display element. In certain embodiments, the jack is one of a USB port or an electrical DC port.
In certain embodiments, the take-away adaptor includes at least a first and second electrically conductive contact element and a first and second blade. The first and second electrically conductive contact element provide an electrically conductive contact with a mating surface of the first and second electrical conductors, and the first and second blades couple with first and second rails of the track in an installed position of the take-away adaptor.
The first blade has an upper most edge, and the second blade has an upper most edge. The upper most edge of the first blade being situated in a first horizontal plane, the upper most edge of the second blade being situated in a second horizontal plane parallel to and spaced apart from the first horizontal plane.
In certain embodiments, the track includes first and second rails configured for contact with the first and second blades of the take-away adaptor in an installed position of the take-away adaptor.
In another aspect, a retail display system is provided. An embodiment of such a system according to this aspect includes a retail merchandise display. An elongated track is mounted one of on or adjacent the retail merchandise display. The track is powered from a power source. The system also includes one or more a take-away adaptors that are configured to connect to the track by a mechanical connection and an electrical connection. The take away adaptor is configured to provide electrical power through the track to a display element.
In one embodiment, the track is mounted to the retail display system. In another embodiment, the track is aligned vertically along the merchandise display system. In another embodiment, the track is aligned horizontally along the retail display system.
In certain embodiments, the display element is an LED lighting system configured for the merchandise display system. In certain embodiments, there is more than one bus bar assembly having one or more take-away adaptors. The take away adaptor includes a first and second blade for mounting said take away adaptor to said track. The track is channel-shaped in cross-section and comprises a plurality of walls.
Other aspects, objectives and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrate several aspects of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:
While the invention will be described in connection with certain preferred embodiments, there is no intent to limit it to those embodiments. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
In the following description of various example structures in accordance with the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration of various structures in accordance with the invention. Additionally, it is to be understood that other specific arrangements of parts and structures may be utilized and structural and functional modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Also, while the terms “top” and “bottom” and the like may be used in the specification to describe various example features and elements of the invention, these terms are used herein as a matter of convenience, e.g., based on the example orientations shown in the Figures and/or the orientations in typical use. Nothing in this specification should be construed as requiring a specific three dimensional or spatial orientation of structures in order to fall within the scope of this invention.
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As used herein, “display element” is meant to include any device requiring electrical signal transmission, e.g. power transmission, and may for example be personal computing devices, sensors, lights, and other devices. As one example, bus bar assembly 100 may provide electrical power to a plurality of laptop computers in a retailer's demonstration display. As another example, bus bar assembly 100 may provide electrical power to one or more sensors used to detect merchandise removal. As yet another example, bus bar assembly may provide electrical power to one or more lights of a retail display. As will be understood from the following, the bus bar assembly 100 overcomes existing problems in the art as discussed above.
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Additionally, the take-away adaptor 130 will have a first and second blade 135 and 137. A top most edge of the first blade 135 is positioned in a higher horizontal plane than a horizontal plane in which a top most edge of the second blade 137 is positioned in. As best illustrated in
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All references, including publications, patent applications, and patents cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and were set forth in its entirety herein.
The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in the context of describing the invention (especially in the context of the following claims) is to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing” are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.
Preferred embodiments of this invention are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the invention. Variations of those preferred embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description. The inventors expect skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventors intend for the invention to be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, this invention includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the invention unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.
