In the following detailed description and in the several figures of the drawing, like elements are identified with like reference numerals. The figures may not be to scale, and relative feature sizes may be exaggerated for illustrative purposes.
In an exemplary embodiment, the housing 60 is fabricated of a transparent or translucent material, e.g. polycarbonate or clear ABS. The housing includes a hollow tube or barrel portion 62, a head portion 64, and an interference feature 66 which protrudes from the outer periphery of the hollow tube portion 62 spaced from the head by a gap 68. In an exemplary embodiment, the housing 60 is designed to be interference fitted into a bore or opening 22 formed in a support structure 20, e.g., a spa tub wall. For example, the opening may be formed by drilling a hole in the support structure, and may have a circular cross-section. The housing barrel portion 62 and interference feature 66 may have a corresponding circular cross-sectional configuration for this example, with the outer diameter of the housing barrel portion 62 somewhat smaller than the nominal inner diameter of the opening 22. In an exemplary embodiment, the interference feature 66 may have a generally partial spherical contour, with an outer diameter at its outermost extremity which is somewhat larger than the opening diameter. The outer dimension of the interference feature 66 and the opening dimension are selected so that the housing may be interference fitted into the opening in a tight interference fit.
In other embodiments, the housing barrel portion 62 and interference feature 66 may have other cross-sectional configurations, e.g. matching non-circular opening configurations. For example, the opening may have a rectilinear configuration, and the housing barrel portion 62 and interference feature 66 may have a matching rectilinear configuration.
In an exemplary embodiment, the head portion 64 provides a flat seal surface 64A, against which the gasket 70 is positioned. The gasket in an exemplary embodiment may be fabricated of silicone, EPDM, VITON™, or liquid RTV silicone, preferably of a clear or translucent material. An exemplary gasket thickness range is between 0.030 inch to 0.10 inch, or more preferably 0.030 inch to 0.060 inch.
The light source assembly 80 may include, in an exemplary embodiment, a light source 82, which may be an LED source, positioned within the open space 80 within housing barrel portion 62 adjacent the head portion 64. An o-ring seal may be used to stabilize the position of the light source within the housing. The assembly 80 may also include a circuit board 84, to which are attached leads 86 which are connected to the light source 82 and leads 88A-88B which may connect to a source of electrical power, or in a daisy chain connection with other light source assemblies. A potting compound may be used to fix the position of the circuit board and seal the electrical components within the housing barrel portion 62.
The exposed top surface 64B (
The light assembly 50 may be readily installed in a support structure such as a wall of a spa tub. An exemplary installation technique may include the steps of (a) forming an opening in the wall, e.g. by drilling a hole, (b) passing the leads 88A-88B through the opening, (c) inserting the housing end 63 into the opening, and (d) pushing assembly 50 into the opening until the head portion and gasket seat against the wall surface 24. In an exemplary embodiment, the interference feature 66 may be oversized with respect to the opening size such that an impact force may be applied to facilitate the seating of the assembly. For example, the impact force may be applied by a rubber mallet against the outer surface of the head portion 64. This seating may also compress the gasket 70 between the seal surface 64A and the surface 24 of the wall, to provide a liquid seal. The gasket portion 70A (
For some embodiments, e.g., applications in which the LED assembly 50 is above a water line or in which it is unnecessary to provide a water-tight seal, the gasket 70 may be omitted, and the LED assembly installed without a gasket.
It may be the case that the opening 22 is formed in the wall 20 at some offset from the perpendicular, or that the wall surface 22 is not completely true or flat. In the past, these types of features or imperfections may lead to difficulties in getting a light fitting head to lie flat against the wall surface. The interference feature 66 may ameliorate these difficulties, by provide some relatively limited range of rotational movement of the head portion within the opening about the interference feature. This is depicted in
The housing 60 in an exemplary embodiment may be fabricated by injection molding, or by machining, or by other techniques.
The shoulder 163 of the housing structure 160 may provide a stop surface against which may be seated a circuit board assembly or other structure for a light source, for example.
As with the housing structures 60 and 160, the structure 200 includes a hollow tube portion 202, a head portion 204 and an interference feature 206. In this embodiment, the housing structure 200 further includes a flange portion 210 spaced from the interference feature 206 by a gap 208. A flange surface 210A provides a seal surface against which a gasket 220 will be seated when the housing structure is installed in a support structure. As with the housing structures 60 and 160, a light source assembly 230 may be installed within the hollow space inside the housing structure, with connection leads extending from the end 202A of the hollow portion 202.
An assembly including the housing structure 200 may be installed into an opening in a support structure. The opening is undersized relative to the outer dimension of the interference feature 206. An exemplary installation procedure includes inserting the head portion 204 into the opening, and applying an insertion force against the housing structure, e.g. on flange surface 210B, to force the interference feature into the opening, until the gasket and seal surface 210A are seated against the surface of the support structure surrounding the opening. For example, the insertion force may be applied by a rubber mallet, striking either end 202A or against an end of a pipe inserted over the tube portion with its distal end seated against the flange surface 210B.
One exemplary application for use of a light assembly including the housing structure 200 is illustrated in
Although the foregoing has been a description and illustration of specific embodiments of the invention, various modifications and changes thereto can be made by persons skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as defined by the following claims.