This application relates to lighting systems in general, and more particularly to emergency battery and/or driver enclosures and light fixtures incorporating the same.
Lighting systems, including those utilizing light-emitting diode (LED) light sources, may include emergency (or back-up) power features operating independently from a primary power source. Such emergency power features may include a battery and a driver to respectively power and control the lighting system in the event of failure of the primary power source (such as due to a power outage). As such, emergency power features may supply short-term power to the lighting system to provide a variety of emergency-related lighting, including evacuation lights, emergency signs, and other safety-providing lighting. Emergency power features are often included in close proximity to the light sources, and optionally may be housed within or as part of the housing of the lighting system. Due to existing housing-lid methodologies of construction, existing emergency drivers have a larger cross section and may be difficult to accommodate inside the housing of the lighting system.
Described herein are emergency power features with reduced overall size requirements. In certain embodiments, the emergency power features include a low profile emergency battery-driver enclosure. The features described herein may be beneficial to minimize the space occupied by such emergency features, particularly for modern lighting systems that may have low-profile and minimized lighting features.
Described herein are devices and systems for a driver enclosure (or battery-driver enclosure) for enclosing a battery and driver, and methods of use of the same. The driver enclosures described herein may be utilized in a lighting system, such as but not limited to a lighting system utilizing LED light sources. In certain embodiments, the driver enclosures described herein have reduced overall external dimensions without sacrificing usable space provided within the enclosure. The driver enclosures described herein may include an interlocking structure without and/or omitting a large overlap between a lid component and a base structure. In such cases, the interlocking structure may provide uniform or substantially uniform external dimensions as well as uniform or substantially uniform internal dimensions. In various embodiments, the driver enclosures described herein include a first member and a second member, and the first member and the second member overlap at non-adjacent (e.g., diagonal) corners of the enclosure. The overlap and interlocking of the first member and the second member at non-adjacent corners may optimize the space required for overlapping, thereby reducing changes in internal volume and/or external widths of the enclosure compared to traditional enclosures. Various other benefits and advantages may be realized with the systems and methods provided herein, and the aforementioned advantages should not be considered limiting.
Referring to
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Opposite from the first side 112, the first member 102 may include a first flange 115 extending from the first base 110. As best illustrated in
In certain embodiments and as illustrated in
In some embodiments, one or more locking features 141 may be provided on the first base 110. The locking features 141, such as but not limited to locking tabs, may selectively engage the second member 104 when the second member 104 is assembled with the first member 102 to minimize linear movement of the second member 104 relative to the first member 102 (see
Optionally, and as illustrated in
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The second side 142 includes an end 144 opposite from the second base 140. In certain embodiments, one or more engagement tabs 146 for engaging the locking apertures 124 on the first member 102 may extend from the end 144. In some embodiments, the engagement tabs 146 may extend substantially perpendicular to the second side 142, although they need not in other examples. Referring to
In certain embodiments, and as illustrated in
Referring to
Similar to the first member 102, the second member 104 may include a second flange 154 opposite from the second side 142 and extending from the second base 140. One or more locking notches 156 may be defined in the second flange 154 that are configured to interlock with the engagement tabs 116 of the first member 102. Referring to
The second member 104 may include the first end wall 164 and a second end wall 166. In certain embodiments, and as illustrated in
Optionally, an aperture 171 may be defined by the first member 102 and the second member 104. Referring to
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As represented by arrows 103 in
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A collection of exemplary embodiments is provided below, including at least some explicitly enumerated as an “Illustration” providing additional description of a variety of example embodiments in accordance with the concepts described herein. These illustrations are not meant to be mutually exclusive, exhaustive, or restrictive; and the disclosure not limited to these example illustrations but rather encompasses all possible modifications and variations within the scope of the issued claims and their equivalents.
Illustration 1. A battery-driver enclosure comprising a first member and a second member, wherein the first member and the second member together define the battery-driver enclosure, and wherein the first member and the second member overlap at non-adjacent corners of the enclosure.
Illustration 2. The battery-driver enclosure of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the first member comprises a first base and a first side extending from the first base, and wherein an end of the first side opposite from the first base comprises an engagement tab configured to engage the second member at one of the non-adjacent corners.
Illustration 3. The battery-driver enclosure of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the engagement tab extends perpendicular to the first side.
Illustration 4. The battery-driver enclosure of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the engagement tab comprises an end, an intermediate portion, and a main portion, wherein the main portion defines a greatest width of the engagement tab, and wherein the intermediate portion tapers from the main portion to the end.
Illustration 5. The battery-driver enclosure of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the second member comprises a second base, a second side extending from the second base, and a second flange extending from the second base opposite from the second side, wherein the second flange comprises a locking notch configured to engage the engagement tab of the first member.
Illustration 6. The battery-driver enclosure of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the locking notch comprises a main portion, an intermediate portion, and an end, and wherein the intermediate portion tapers from the main portion to the end.
Illustration 7. The battery-driver enclosure of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the first member further comprises a first flange extending from the first base opposite from the first side, wherein a height of the first flange is less than a height of the first side, and wherein the first flange comprises a locking aperture.
Illustration 8. The battery-driver enclosure of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the locking aperture comprises an end, an intermediate portion, and a main portion, wherein the main portion defines a maximum width of the locking aperture, and wherein the intermediate portion tapers from the main portion to the end.
Illustration 9. The battery-driver enclosure of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the second member comprises a second base and a second side extending from the second base, wherein the second side comprises an engagement feature configured to engage the locking aperture, and wherein the engagement feature is configured to cover the locking aperture.
Illustration 10. The battery-driver enclosure of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the engagement feature comprises a tapered end.
Illustration 11. The battery-driver enclosure of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein, at the non-adjacent corners, an engagement tab is engaged with a locking notch or an engagement aperture, and the engagement tab comprises an engagement feature configured to overlap and obstruct the locking notch or engagement aperture in which the engagement tab is engaged.
Illustration 12. A battery-driver enclosure comprising: a first member comprising a first base, a first side, at least one first locking tab, and at least one locking aperture; and a second member comprising a second base, a second side, at least one second locking tab, and at least one locking notch, wherein the first member and the second member are assembled such that linear movement of the first member relative to the second member engages the at least one first locking tab with the at least one locking notch and engages that at least one second locking tab with the at least one locking aperture.
Illustration 13. The battery-driver enclosure of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the at least one first locking tab is engaged with the at least one locking notch at a first corner of the battery-driver enclosure, and wherein the at least one second locking tab is engaged with the at least one locking aperture at a second corner of the battery-driver enclosure, wherein the first corner and the second corner are non-adjacent corners.
Illustration 14. The battery-driver enclosure of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the first corner and the second corner are diagonal corners.
Illustration 15. A method of assembling a battery-driver enclosure, the method comprising engaging a first member with a second member to form the battery-driver enclosure and such that the first member and the second member overlap at non-adjacent corners of the battery-driver enclosure.
Illustration 16. The method of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein engaging the first member with the second member comprises inserting engagement tabs of the second member within locking apertures of the first member and pivoting the second member relative to the first member to position engagement tabs of the first member within locking notches of the second member.
Illustration 17. The method of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, further comprising linearly moving the second member relative to the first member.
Illustration 18. The method of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein linearly moving the second member relative to the first member comprises causing engagement portions of the engagement tabs of the second member to overlap the locking apertures of the first member and causing engagement portions of the engagement tabs of the first member to overlap the locking notches of the second member.
Illustration 19. The method of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, further comprising causing an end wall of the first member to abut an end wall of the second member.
Illustration 20. The method of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, further comprising moving locking features of the first member from a stowed position to a deployed position, wherein, in the deployed position, the locking features overlap an end wall of the second member.
The various aspects, embodiments, implementations, or features of the described embodiments can be used separately or in any combination. In particular, it should be appreciated that the various elements of concepts from the figures may be combined without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.
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) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. Directional references such as “up,” “down,” “top,” “bottom,” “left,” “right,” “front,” and “back,” among others, are intended to refer to the orientation as illustrated and described in the figure (or figures) to which the components and directions are referencing. 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, or gradients thereof, 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 embodiments of 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.
As used herein, the term “substantially” refers to the complete or nearly complete extent or degree of an action, characteristic, property, state, structure, item, or result. For example, an object that is “substantially” enclosed would mean that the object is either completely enclosed or nearly completely enclosed. The exact allowable degree of deviation from absolute completeness may in some cases depend on the specific context. However, the nearness of completion will be so as to have the same overall result as if absolute and total completion were obtained.
Preferred embodiments of this invention are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the invention. The invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative constructions, and certain shown exemplary embodiments thereof are shown in the drawings and have been described above in detail. Variations of those preferred embodiments, within the spirit of the present invention, 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, it should be understood that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific form or forms disclosed, but on the contrary, 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.
The foregoing description, for purposes of explanation, used specific nomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the described embodiments. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the specific details are not required in order to practice the described embodiments. Thus, the foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments are presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the described embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/354,340, filed on Jun. 22, 2022, and entitled LOW PROFILE EMERGENCY BATTERY-DRIVER ENCLOSURE, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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63354340 | Jun 2022 | US |