Patent Grant
8038315
Not Applicable.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to a luminaire housing, and more particularly to a luminaire housing with a printed bottom panel.
2. Description of the Related Art
Luminaire housings often have a luminaire housing frame constructed from plastic, extruded metal, or other material. The luminaire housing frame may define one or more light exit openings through which light from a light source located interiorly of the luminaire housing frame may exit to illuminate a desired area. The light openings may include downlight, uplight, and/or sidelight openings. One or more lenses or louvers may be placed adjacent the light exit opening(s) to limit glare from the light source and/or to alter characteristics of light from the light source prior to the light illuminating the desired area.
Many such luminaire housings may be non-aesthetically pleasing. For example, such luminaire housings may contain unsightly edges and junction points visible to a user that may be formed at junctures of luminaire housing components such as lenses, baffles, and/or luminaire housing frames. Also, for example, such luminaire housings may contain lenses or baffles which have a rugged industrial look.
The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of this invention, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the invention will be better understood by reference to the following description of embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
It is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless limited otherwise, the terms “connected,” “coupled,” “in communication with” and “mounted,” and variations thereof herein are used broadly and encompass direct and indirect connections, couplings, and mountings. In addition, the terms “connected” and “coupled” and variations thereof are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings.
Furthermore, and as described in subsequent paragraphs, the specific mechanical configurations illustrated in the drawings are intended to exemplify embodiments of the invention and that other alternative mechanical configurations are possible.
Referring now to
The bottom panel 20 has an opaque ink printed area 22 applied thereto that outlines a light permeable light passageway 24 in bottom panel 20. Border 23 represents the border between the printed area 22 and the light passageway 24. In other embodiments multiple light passageways, borders, and/or printed areas may be formed in bottom panel 20. For example, a thin ink printed line may be located interiorly of, and offset slightly from, border 23, creating two printed areas (one being the thin printed line and the other being exterior to the border 23) and two light passageways (one light passageway being between the border 23 and the thin printed line and the other being interior to the thin printed line). Also, for example, a solid square printed area may be located interiorly of border 23 and interiorly of light passageway 24, creating two printed areas (one being the solid square printed area and the other being exterior to the border 23) and one light passageway (the area that is interior to border 23 and surrounds the square printed area). In the depicted embodiment the light passageway 24 is completely free of screen printing, but the light passageway 24 may alternatively be lightly printed such that it still is light permeable.
The printed area 22 may be created by applying one or more layers of ink to the interior facing side of the bottom panel 20 using a desired process. The interior facing side of the bottom panel 20 is the side of the panel that will not typically be directly visible by a user, or, in other words, the side of the panel that generally faces the interior portion of the luminaire housing 10 and any light source that may be installed within the luminaire housing 10. The process used to apply one or more layers of ink may be a large format screen printing process that applies at least two layers of ink to ensure the printed area of the bottom panel 20 is opaque. In certain embodiments when a black printed area is desired two layers of black ink may be applied to ensure the printed area of the bottom panel 20 is opaque. In other embodiments when a white printed area is desired two layers of white ink may be first applied followed by a black layer atop the two white layers to ensure the printed area of the bottom panel 20 is opaque while still appearing white when viewed from the bottom side/exterior facing side of bottom panel 20. Alternative processes may be used to apply one or more layers of ink to bottom panel 20 as is known to those in the art. Such processes include, for example, digital flat bed printing, inkjet printing, and plate printing.
With particular reference to
The depicted end plates 34 support a ballast housing having a ballast housing top piece 42 and a ballast housing bottom piece 43. The ballast housing extends longitudinally between the end plates 34 and may enclose one or more ballasts or power supplies for powering a light source. For example, the ballast housing may enclose one or more electronic ballast for powering 2 T5 fluorescent lamps or 2 T5HO fluorescent lamps. Reflective mirror finish pieces 34 may be placed over portions of the ballast housing to help reflect light from fluorescent bulbs 2 in a generally upward direction and/or to provide a clean visual appearance. Top piece 42 and bottom piece 43 may be extruded aluminum and reflective mirror finish pieces 34 may be polished extruded aluminum.
The depicted end plates 34 also contain apertures and screw holes for mounting a pair of attachment support brackets and air craft cables 6, which are visible in
Luminaire housing frame 30 has been shown and described in detail herein. However, it is noted that in alternative embodiments of luminaire housing 10, alternative luminaire housing frames may be utilized. For example, luminaire housing frames may be utilized that are configured to surround non-fluorescent light sources and/or are configured to support no reflectors, or alternative reflectors than those described herein. Also, for example, luminaire housing frames may be used that omit end plates 34 and allow for direct attachment of end caps 52 to housing frame sides 32. Also, for example, luminaire housing frames may be used that utilize non-linear end plates and/or sides. One skilled in the art will realize that other alternative housing frames 30 may be utilized.
End caps 52 are provided on latitudinal sides of the luminaire housing frame 30. The end caps 52 each have an end cap printed panel 54 coupled to a bottom surface thereof. The end cap printed panel 54 may be a polycarbonate panel and in some embodiments the polycarbonate panel may be a PALSUN® UV2 Flat Solid Polycarbonate Sheet having a thickness of approximately 1.5 millimeters. The end cap printed panels 54 in the depicted embodiment are substantially coplanar with the bottom panel 20 and are located immediately adjacent the bottom panel 20. In the depicted embodiments the entirety of the end cap printed panels 54 are printed with at least one layer of ink on an interior facing side of the end cap printed panels 54 using a desired printing process. In some embodiments the printing process is a screen printing process. In some embodiments enough layers of ink are applied to make the ink printed portions of the printed panels 54 opaque. The interior facing side of each of the end cap printed panels 54 is the side which is not directly visible by a user, or, in other words, the side which faces generally toward the interior of the respective end cap 52 and faces the same general direction as the interior side of the bottom panel 20. The end caps 52 may be die-cast aluminum in some embodiments.
Optionally, the end caps 52 may be removed from the luminaire housing frame 30 to allow multiple luminaire housing frames 30 to be installed in a row in a latitudinal end to latitudinal end relationship. Multiple luminaire housing frames may be installed in a row utilizing joiner aligners insertable in the ends of frame sides 32, or otherwise. Once multiple luminaire housing frames 30 have been joined to one another, end caps 52 may be attached at the outermost latitudinal ends of the joined luminaire frames 30. When multiple luminaire housing frames 30 have been joined together the bottom panels 20 of adjoining luminaire housing frames 30 will be in a substantially coplanar arrangement. Moreover, where each luminaire housing frame 30 is joined to another luminaire housing frame 30, a latitudinal end of one bottom panel 20 will be immediately adjacent a latitudinal end of the adjacent bottom panel 20. The immediate adjacency of the latitudinal ends of the bottom panels 20 and the substantially coplanar relationship between the two adjacent bottom panels 20 may create a smooth uninterrupted appearance at the intersection between the two bottom panels 20.
To join two luminaire housing frames 30 to one another in one embodiment, an end cap 52 may be removed from a latitudinal end of each of the two luminaire housing frames 30. Joiner aligners may then be partially inserted at the end cap free ends of frame sides 32 in slots (shown in
The end cap screen printed panels 54 and the screen printed area 22 of the bottom panel 20 may be printed with common and/or similar colors of ink. The common colors of ink and/or the substantial coplanar arrangement of the screen printed panels 54 and the bottom panel 20 may create a smooth uninterrupted appearance at the intersection between the end caps 52 and the bottom panel 20. A smooth uninterrupted appearance may also be present at the intersection of the light passageway 24 and the screen printed area 22 due at least in part to the two areas being formed from a single polycarbonate panel. Application of the ink to the interior surface of the screen printed panels 54 and the bottom panel 20 creates an aesthetically pleasing glossy transparent appearance. All or portions of the end caps 52 and/or all or portions of the luminaire housing sides 32 may be painted a common and/or similar color as the end cap screen printed panels 54 and the screen printed area 22 of the bottom panel 20 to create a smooth uninterrupted appearance for most visible portions of the luminaire housing 10. In some embodiments the luminaire housing sides 32 and the end caps 52 may be coated with an electrostatically applied and thermally cured powder coat paint finish.
With particular reference to
With particular reference to
The foregoing description has been presented for purposes of illustration. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. It is understood that while certain forms of the invention have been illustrated and described, it is not limited thereto except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims and allowable functional equivalents thereof.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6471388 | Marsh | Oct 2002 | B1 |
| 7093955 | Sejkora et al. | Aug 2006 | B2 |
