Patent Grant
7905626
The present invention relates generally to lighting apparatus and, in particular, to replaceable light bulbs for use in screw-socket light fixtures.
Conventional screw-base incandescent bulbs remain the primary source of household electrical illumination. Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) with screw bases have been developed for household use, and they are much more efficient than incandescent bulbs. But CFLs currently account for only about 5 percent of the market for household electrical illumination bulbs, with all (or substantially all) of the remaining 95 percent being incandescent bulbs. One major reason that CFLs have not gained wider acceptance is that, relative to incandescent bulbs, they cost significantly more.
Accordingly, it can be seen that a need exists for improvements in CFLs to make them more affordable. It is to such solutions that the present invention is primarily directed.
Generally described, the present invention provides a modular lighting apparatus that includes a replaceable bulb assembly, an adapter, and a mechanical and electrical connector assembly that removably connects the bulb assembly to the adapter for use. The bulb assembly includes a light-emitting component mounted to a body. And the adapter includes a standard screw base mounted to a body that houses an electronic ballast, which is electrically connected to the screw base. When assembled with the bulb assembly and adapter bodies connected together, the ballast is electrically connected to the light-emitting component by way of the electrical connectors.
In a first example embodiment the light-emitting component includes a spiral-tube CFL. In this embodiment the lighting apparatus fits in most existing household lighting fixtures. The combination of the adapter including the screw base, the adapter including the electronic ballast, and the connector assembly enabling the bulb assembly to be replaceable on the adapter provides significant advantages over known lighting systems. In particular, a major cost of conventional CFLs is the electronic ballast, which is discarded when the bulbs burn out even though the ballasts normally have much more life left in them. With the electronic ballast being integral to the adapter, however, when the bulb assembly reaches the end of its useful life it can be removed from the adapter and replaced with a fresh bulb assembly. So the electronic ballast can be reused with new bulb assemblies, thereby saving money and avoiding waste and environmental contamination. In addition, with the adapter also including the screw base, the lighting apparatus can be used with existing standard screw-socket light fixtures without any retrofitting or replacement work. So widespread household use can be made of the lighting apparatus, thereby contributing to significant cost savings for the public as well as energy savings, reduced pollution, and less dependence on foreign energy supplies.
In a second example embodiment the light-emitting component includes a transversely arranged CFL tube. In this embodiment the lighting apparatus has the additional advantage of a very low-profile relative to other similar-wattage lighting systems, so it can be more safely used in small spaces such as closets and crawl spaces.
In a third example embodiment the light-emitting component includes an omni-directional LED array. And in a fourth example embodiment the light-emitting component includes a primary omni-directional LED array and a secondary omni-directional LED array. In these embodiments the lighting apparatus have the additional advantage of employing high-efficiency LEDs in arrangements that disperse light to illuminate a space, so they are suitable for household use to illuminate rooms.
In a fifth example embodiment the adapter mechanically and electrically connects to a commercially available replaceable CFL bulb assembly. In this embodiment the adapter provides the advantage of adapting existing screw-socket light fixtures for use with existing replaceable CFL bulb assemblies that do not include an ballast.
And in a sixth example embodiment the adapter body includes an integral photocell. In this embodiment the adapter provides the advantage of automatic on/off control without increasing the overall height of the composite lighting apparatus.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading the following specification in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures.
The present invention may be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description of the invention taken in connection with the accompanying drawing figures, which form a part of this disclosure. It is to be understood that this invention is not limited to the specific devices, methods, conditions or parameters described and/or shown herein, and that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments by way of example only and is not intended to be limiting of the claimed invention. Also, as used in the specification including the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include the plural, and reference to a particular numerical value includes at least that particular value, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Ranges may be expressed herein as from “about” or “approximately” one particular value and/or to “about” or “approximately” another particular value. When such a range is expressed, another embodiment includes from the one particular value and/or to the other particular value. Similarly, when values are expressed as approximations, by use of the antecedent “about,” it will be understood that the particular value forms another embodiment.
Referring to the drawing figures,
The bulb assembly 12 includes a light-emitting component 18 and a body 20. The light-emitting component 18 may be provided by one or more compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) tubes or bulbs, other gas-discharge lamp tubes or bulbs (e.g., using neon, argon, krypton, xenon, or other noble gases), light-emitting diodes (LEDs), or other illumination devices that operate in conjunction with an electronic ballast to emit visible light. In the depicted embodiment, for example, the light-emitting component 18 is of the type included in conventional spiral-tube CFLs such as those commercially available from SYLVANIA (Danvers, Mass.) and N:VISION (Aurora, Ohio). As such, the depicted light-emitting component 18 includes a sealed glass tube containing two electrodes, a small amount of mercury, an inert gas (e.g., argon) under low pressure, and a phosphor powder coated along the inside of the tube (the components within the tube are not shown). It should be noted that the term “bulb assembly” as used herein is not limited to bulb-shaped structures.
The light-emitting component 18 is mounted to the body 20 of the bulb assembly 12. The body 20 includes a shell 22, first mechanical and electrical connectors 24 and 26 of the connector assembly 16, and electrical connections (not shown) from the electrical connectors to the electrodes of the light-emitting component 18. The shell 22 is made of a hard plastic or other durable, low-cost material that houses the electrical connections, which are of a conventional type (e.g., wiring).
The adapter 14 includes a screw base 28 and a body 30. The screw base 22 is of a conventional male type for screwing into conventional female-type screw sockets of household light fixtures. Thus, the screw base 28 includes a threaded sleeve contact 34 (also referred to as a “cap”), an end contact 36, and an insulation section 38 between the contacts (see
The screw base 28 is mounted to the body 30 of the adapter 14. The body 30 includes a shell 42, second mechanical and electrical connectors 44 and 46 of the connector assembly 16, an electronic ballast 48, and electrical connections (not shown) from the screw-base contacts 34 and 36 to the electronic ballast to the electrical connectors. The shell 42 is made of a hard plastic or other durable, low-cost material that houses the electronic ballast 48 and the electrical connections, which are of a conventional type (e.g., wiring).
The electronic ballast 48 includes a control circuit of a conventional type. In a typical commercial embodiment, for example, the electronic ballast circuit is of the type included in conventional spiral-tube CFLs such as those commercially available from SYLVANIA (Danvers, Mass.) and N:VISION (Aurora, Oh.). In other embodiments, the electronic ballast circuit is of the type disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,332,873; 6,911,788; 6,891,339; 6,879,117; 5,341,068; or 4,748,380, all of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. It will be understood that for convenience the electronic ballast 48 is shown in a block diagram form, which is not a true likeness of this component.
The combination of the adapter 14 including the screw base 28, the adapter 14 including the electronic ballast 48, and the connector assembly 16 enabling the bulb assembly 12 to be replaceable on the adapter provides significant advantages over known lighting systems. In particular, a major cost of conventional CFLs is the electronic ballast, which is discarded when the bulb burns out even though the ballast normally has much more life left in it. With the electronic ballast 48 of the lighting apparatus 10 being integral to the adapter 14, however, when the bulb assembly 16 reaches the end of its useful life it can be removed from the adapter 14 and replaced with a fresh bulb assembly. So the electronic ballast 48 can be reused with a number of new bulb assemblies 16 over time, thereby saving a significant amount of money and avoiding unnecessarily contaminating the environment. In addition, with the adapter 14 also including the screw base 28, the lighting apparatus 10 can be used with existing standard screw-socket light fixtures without any retrofitting or replacement work. So widespread household use can be made of the lighting apparatus 10, which could contribute to a significant cost savings for the public as well as energy savings, reduced pollution, and less dependence on foreign energy supplies.
Furthermore, to aid in starting up quickly, the lighting apparatus 10 may be of an instant-start design, a rapid-start design, or a starter-switch design, all of which are well known in the art and can be readily incorporated by persons of ordinary skill in the art. In addition, the lighting apparatus 10 may include other control components known in the art and readily incorporated by persons of ordinary skill in the art. Preferably, all of these electronic components are housed in the body 30 of the adapter 14 so they can be reused with the electronic ballast 28.
Details of example connector assemblies 16 will now be described. As mentioned above, the connector assembly 16 includes first mechanical and electrical connectors 24 and 26 of the bulb assembly body 20 and second mechanical and electrical connectors 44 and 46 of the adapter body 30. The first and second electrical connectors 26 and 46 disengageably contact each other to provide a path of electrical continuity for current to flow from the adapter 14 to the bulb assembly 12. And the first and second mechanical connectors 24 and 44 disengageably couple together to securely fasten the bulb assembly 12 to the adapter 14 for use.
For example, the depicted embodiment has two first electrical connectors 26 each including a conductive pin 50 with a head 52 defining a contact 54, and two second electrical connectors 46 each including a contact 56. The shell 22 of the bulb assembly body 20 includes a mating panel 58 from which the conductive pins 50 extend, and the shell 42 of the adapter body 30 includes a mating panel 60 defining apertures 62 through which the heads 52 extend so that the first contacts 54 engage the second contacts 56. The heads 52 have a larger lateral dimension than the pins 50, and the apertures 62 are curved slots each having an enlarged portion 64 that the heads can fit through and a narrowed portion 66 that the heads cannot fit through. The contacts 56 are provided by conductive pieces (e.g., copper strips) mounted between two retainers (e.g., tabs) 68 and at least partially surrounded by an insulating wall 70. The retainers 68 and the walls 70 extend inwardly from the inner surface of the adapter mating panel 60. If desired, the adapter contacts 56 may be spring-biased to impart a force to the bulb contacts 54.
In addition, the depicted embodiment has two first mechanical connectors 26 each including an arm 72 with a head 74, and two second mechanical connectors 46 each including an aperture 76. The arms 72 extend from the bulb mating panel 58 and through the aperture 76, which is defined by the adapter mating panel 60. The heads 74 have a larger lateral dimension than the arms 72, and the apertures 76 are curved slots each having an enlarged portion 78 that the heads can fit through and a narrowed portion 80 that the heads cannot fit through.
To install the bulb assembly 12 on the adapter 14, the bulb assembly is positioned adjacent the adapter until the pin-heads 52 insert through the enlarged portions 64 of the curved apertures 62 and the arm-heads 74 insert through the enlarged portions 78 of the curved apertures 76. Then the bulb assembly 12 and the adapter 14 are rotated relative to each other to move the pins 50 into the narrowed portions 66 of the curved apertures 62 and to move the arms 72 into the narrowed portions 80 of the curved apertures 76. In this position, the pin-head bulb-side contacts 54 are held in contact with the adapter-side contacts 56 and the arm-heads 74 are restrained from longitudinal movement by the adapter mating panel 60, so the bulb assembly 12 and the adapter 14 are electrically and mechanically connected together. To later remove the bulb assembly 12 from the adapter 14, these parts are rotated in the reverse direction (as shown by the directional arrows of
In other embodiments the mechanical and electrical connector assembly 16 can be provided with other connection components. For example, one alternative embodiment includes combined mechanical and electrical connectors such as the electrical connectors just described, as the heads and the narrowed aperture portions of these connectors provide a mechanical connection. In another alternative embodiment the first electrical connectors are pins without heads that are inserted into apertures without enlarged portions (for electrical connection but not mechanical connection). In yet another alternative embodiment the first and second connectors (electrical, mechanical, or both) are switched between the adapter and the bulb assembly (e.g., the electrical pin extends from the adapter body instead of the bulb assembly body). And in still another alternative embodiment the mechanical connectors include catch elements (e.g., detents) that releasably secure the bulb assembly and the adapter together rotationally. It will be understood that different numbers and/or conventional types of mechanical connector elements, electrical connector elements, or both can be used with good results.
In this embodiment, however, the bulb assembly 112 has a low profile relative to that of the first embodiment. In typical commercial embodiments, this low-profile design enables the lighting apparatus to be used safely in places such as closets, crawl spaces, cabinets, dark rooms, under counters, etc. where space is limited. When using conventional lighting apparatus in these places there is the risk of bumping against the bulb, resulting in electric shock/injury to the person and/or damage to the bulb. In addition, inflammable materials are more likely to come into contact with conventional higher-profile light bulbs in tight spaces, and when the lights are left on for a prolonged period of time (and thus overheat) this can pose a fire hazard.
The low-profile light-emitting component 118 may be provided for example by one or more CFL tubes in a lateral/transverse arrangement. That is, instead of the CFL tube extending generally longitudinally away from the body (e.g., spirally as in
In addition, the bulb assembly 112 may include a diffuser cover 140 made of glass or another generally transparent material. The diffuser cover 140 helps provide some insulating space to keep any nearby inflammable items from directly contacting the CFL tube. The diffuser cover 140 has a small longitudinal dimension (relative to its transverse dimension) so that it too has a low profile. In the depicted embodiment, the diffuser cover 140 is generally disk-shaped with a flat outer surface. In other embodiments the cover is thin but rectangular, polygonal, etc., as may be desired in a given application.
Furthermore, the mechanical and electrical connectors can be of the same or a different type as those of the first example embodiment. In the depicted embodiment, for example, the electrical connectors are the same (e.g., a pin-and-head connector received in a slot with enlarged and narrowed portions). The mechanical connectors are similar but somewhat different. In particular, the mechanical connectors include a slotted aperture (as shown) and a tab with a head (not shown). The slotted aperture has a first portion that extends longitudinally and a second portion that extends transversely to lock the head from being withdraw longitudinally.
Additionally or alternatively, the mechanical connectors can be provided by magnetic pieces (e.g., magnet and metal pieces) positioned on (e.g., recessed into) the adapter and bulb assembly bodies so that they align and face each other. This helps to keep the adapter and bulb assembly securely connected together even if they reverse-rotate a little bit. In the depicted embodiment, for example, a magnetic mechanical connector 123 is shown on the bulb assembly body 120.
In this embodiment, however, the light-emitting component 218 includes an array of LEDs 282. The number and lumen ratings of the LEDs 282 are selected based on the illumination desired. The LEDs 282 may be of a conventional type such as the residential and commercial model LR6 LEDs commercially available from CREE (Durham, N.C.). Additionally, the bulb assembly 212 may include a diffuser cover 240 made of glass or another generally transparent material. The diffuser cover 240 preferably has a screw-threaded base that mates with screw-threading on the body 220 so that it can be removed and replaced if needed. Also, the electronic ballast is of a different design and includes a ballast circuit for controlling LEDs. The selection and design of such LED electronic ballast circuits are within the abilities of those of ordinary skill in the art.
In typical LED devices, the LEDs are in a parallel arrangement so that all of the LEDs point in the same direction. In this embodiment, however, at least some (and preferably the majority) of the LEDs 282 are mounted on an upright stem 284 in an omni-directional arrangement, that is, with the LEDs pointed in many different directions. For example, in the depicted embodiment a number of the LEDs 282 extend radially outward from the stem 284 in a staggered arrangement so that no adjacent LEDs are parallel and pointed in the same direction. The upright stem 284 extends from the body 220, houses electrical connections from the LEDs 282 to the first electrical connectors, and is made of a material such as hard plastic or ceramic.
In alternative embodiments the LEDs are positioned in other omni-directional arrangements. For example, in one alternative embodiment the stem is generally spherical, hemispherical, aspherical, or hemi-aspherical, and some or all of the LEDs extend radially outward from the spherical stem so that each of these LEDs is pointed in a different direction.
In typical commercial embodiments, the light-sensing control 590 is a photocell of the type commercially available from AMERTAC (Saddle River, N.J.) under the WESTEK brand or from LAMSON HOME PRODUCTS (Cleveland, Ohio) under the CARLON brand. As such, the photocell functions to vary the current flow based on the amount of light incident to it, with its resistance increasing in high-light conditions and decreasing in low-light conditions. In addition, the adapter 514 may include an integral sensitivity control 592 of a type known in the art. With the light-sensing control 590 arranged as an integral part of the adapter 514 without increasing the height of the adapter, the overall height of the composite light fixture remains the same while providing the added feature of light control (on at dusk and off at dawn). It should be noted that the light-sensing control device can be integrally provided in any of the embodiments described herein as well as others not expressly disclosed herein.
While the invention has been shown and described in preferred forms, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many modifications, additions, and deletions can be made therein. These and other changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.
This application claims the priority benefit of the U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/003,675, filed Nov. 19, 2007; U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/003,702, filed Nov. 19, 2007; and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/965,027, filed Aug. 16, 2007, the entire scope and content of all of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
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