The present invention relates generally to luminaires and, more particularly, to mounting of flood light luminaires.
Flood light luminaires, or flood luminaires, are known in the prior art for use in many commercial and industrial lighting applications, including outdoor applications such as for illuminating playing fields, parking lots, the exterior of a building, home, or other structure, or sporting events, for example. One well-known flood light luminaire known in the art is the Hawk light emitting diode (“LED”) flood light that is commercially available from the Applicant of the present application, Atlas Lighting Products, Inc., located in Burlington, North Carolina.
Flood light luminaires may be mounted to mount surfaces using a variety of mounting systems. Two common mounting systems used to mount a flood light luminaire to a mount surface is a trunnion mount and a knuckle mount. A trunnion mount is commonly used to attach a flood light luminaire to a flat mount surface, such as the ground, a stage, a rooftop, or a wall, for example. A knuckle mount is typically used to attach a flood light luminaire directly to an electrical fixture, such as conduit or a junction box, for example. The knuckle mount is generally used for smaller and lighter flood light luminaires. Once mounted, both the knuckle mount and the trunnion mount enable adjustment of the flood light luminaire to change direction of light emitting from the flood light luminaire. To this end, the Hawk flood light is available with both a knuckle mount or a trunnion mount.
There is a need in the industry for the ability to quickly adapt a flood light luminaire having a knuckle mount to a trunnion mount, or vice versa. In this regard, an end user may purchase a flood light luminaire having a knuckle mount, but realize at a later time that a trunnion mount is better suited for the specific mounting application. As a result, the end user would need to replace the flood light luminaire with a flood light luminaire having a trunnion mount. As another example, an end user may want to install a luminaire having a knuckle mount at a mount location where a luminaire was previously installed with a trunnion mount. In either case, there is a need to be able to quickly adapt a flood light luminaire having a knuckle mount to be mountable to a mount surface that would otherwise only be suitable for a trunnion-type mount in a cost-effective manner.
The present invention overcomes the shortcomings and drawbacks of known approaches for adapting a flood light luminaire having a knuckle mount to a trunnion-style mount for mounting the luminaire to a mount surface. While the invention will be discussed in connection with certain embodiments, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to these embodiments. On the contrary, the invention includes all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention.
According to one exemplary embodiment, an adapter is provided for mounting of a luminaire having a luminaire fixture having a threaded knuckle mount stem to a mount surface. The adapter includes a base and a socket supported by the base that defines a first wireway through the base. The socket includes an upstanding sidewall that projects upwardly from the base that includes a threaded bore configured to receive the threaded knuckle mount stem of the luminaire fixture. The base also includes a notch formed in the base that extends through a portion of the upstanding sidewall of the socket to form a second wireway in communication with the first wireway and a pair of apertures formed in the base and spaced laterally from the internally threaded socket on opposite sides of the base. The pair of apertures are configured to receive mounting hardware for attaching the adapter to the mount surface.
A method of retrofitting a luminaire having a luminaire fixture including a threaded knuckle mount stem and a lighting source operatively connected to a bundle of electrical leads routed from the luminaire through the threaded knuckle mount stem to a trunnion mount for mounting the luminaire to a mount surface is provided. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the method comprises the steps of providing an adapter having a base, an internally threaded socket supported by the base that defines a first wireway through the base, and a pair of apertures formed in the base and spaced laterally from the internally threaded socket on opposite sides of the base. The method includes routing the bundle of electrical leads through the first wireway and mounting the luminaire to the adapter by threadedly coupling the threaded knuckle mount stem of the luminaire fixture to the internally threaded socket. The method further includes mounting the adapter to the mount surface by installing mounting hardware through the pair of apertures and into mount bores in the mount surface to secure the adapter and the luminaire to the mount surface.
According to another embodiment of the invention, an adapter is provided for mounting a luminaire having a luminaire fixture including a threaded knuckle mount stem to a mount surface. The adapter includes a base configured to engage the mount surface and a socket supported by the base that defines a first wireway through the base. The socket includes an upstanding sidewall that projects upwardly from the base and includes a threaded bore configured to threadably receive the threaded knuckle mount stem of the luminaire fixture for coupling the luminaire to the adapter. The adapter further includes a notch formed in the base that extends through a portion of the upstanding sidewall of the socket to form a second wireway in communication with the first wireway and a pair of apertures formed in the base and spaced laterally from the internally threaded socket on opposite sides of the base. The pair of apertures is configured to receive mounting hardware for attaching the adapter to the mount surface.
A method of replacing a first luminaire mounted to a mount surface, the first luminaire having a luminaire fixture including a trunnion mount, with a second luminaire having a luminaire fixture including a threaded knuckle mount stem and a lighting source operatively connected to a bundle of electrical leads routed from the luminaire through the threaded knuckle mount stem is provided. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the method comprises the steps of providing an adapter including a base, an internally threaded socket supported by the base that defines a first wireway through the base, and a pair of apertures formed in the base and spaced laterally from the internally threaded socket on opposite sides of the base. The method includes disconnecting and removing the first luminaire from the mount surface to expose a pair of mount bores formed in the mount surface and attaching the adapter to the second luminaire. Attaching the adapter to the second luminaire includes routing the bundle of electrical leads through the first wireway and mounting the second luminaire to the adapter by threadedly coupling the threaded knuckle mount stem of the luminaire fixture to the internally threaded socket. The method further includes attaching the adapter to the mount surface by installing mounting hardware through the pair of apertures and into engagement with the pair of mount bores in the mount surface to secure the adapter and the second luminaire to the mount surface. To this end, the pair of mount bores were previously used to secure the first luminaire to the mount surface.
Various additional features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the following detailed description of the illustrative embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with a general description of the invention given above, and the detailed description given below, serve to explain the invention.
Referring now to the figures, and to
For various reasons, a need may arise to replace the trunnion-mounted flood light luminaire 10 shown in
Referring now to
The exemplary flood light luminaire 32 shown in
With reference to
As shown, the pair of apertures 62 are formed in the base 46 and spaced laterally from the internally threaded socket 52 so as to be located on opposite sides of the base 46. In the embodiment shown, the internally threaded socket 52 is located directly between the first aperture 62 and the second aperture 62 along a longitudinal axis A1 of the base 46. However, other configurations of the pair of apertures 62 are possible, such as a catty-corner configuration or a configuration where both apertures 62 are located closer to a lengthwise edge 68 of the base 46 so as to be offset from the longitudinal axis A1, for example.
As shown, the pair of apertures 62 are each elongated along the longitudinal axis A1 of the base 46 to define a slot. The slot configuration of the apertures 62 provides the adapter 30 with adjustability for various lateral spacing ranges of mount bores 36 in the mount surface 12, as well as lateral adjustability of the adapter 30 along the mount surface 12, for example. Each aperture 62 is configured to receive appropriate mounting hardware, such as a bolt 70 and a washer 72 combination, for example, for attaching the adapter 30 to the mount surface 12. To this end, the mounting hardware may be in the form of screws, bolts with our without washers, or any other suitable coupling devices, for example.
The internally threaded socket 52 is positioned between the first leg 60 and the second leg 64 of the base 46 and is configured to receive the threaded knuckle mount stem 44 for coupling the luminaire 32 to the adapter 30. The internally threaded socket 52 includes an upstanding sidewall 74 that projects upwardly from the first side 48 of the base 46. As shown, the upstanding sidewall 74 includes a first threaded bore 76 and a second threaded bore 78. The first threaded bore 76 defines the first opening 56 to the first wireway 54 and is configured to threadably receive the threaded knuckle mount stem 44 of the luminaire 32 for coupling the luminaire 32 to the adapter 30. The second threaded bore 78 extends through the upstanding sidewall 74 of the socket 52 and is configured to threadably receive a set screw 80 therethrough for preventing rotation of the threaded knuckle mount stem 44 of the luminaire 32 relative to the adapter 30.
In the embodiment of the adapter 30 shown, the upstanding sidewall 74 is annular in transverse cross-section. However, the upstanding sidewall 74 may have other transverse cross-sectional shapes, such as square, hexagonal, or any other polygonal shape, for example. In one embodiment, the threaded bore 76 is configured to receive the threaded knuckle mount stem 44 which includes a ½ inch threaded connection having 14 threads per inch (i.e., ½-14), according to the National Standard Taper Pipe Threads (“NPT”) size chart, for example. However, it will be understood by a person skilled in the art that the threaded bore 76 may have other size and thread count configurations to accommodate other connection configurations, such as a ¾-14 or a ⅜-18 NPT connection configurations, for example.
As shown in
Having described the adapter 30 according to embodiments of the present invention, a process of replacing a first, trunnion-mounted flood light luminaire 10 with a second, flood light luminaire 32 having a knuckle mount 34 using the adapter 30 according to one embodiment of the present invention will now be described in additional detail in connection with
Either before the first luminaire 10 is removed, during, or after removal, the adapter 30 is to be attached to the second luminaire 32. The adapter 30 is mounted to the second luminaire 32 by first routing the bundle electrical leads 82 through the first wireway 54 and through the adapter 30. Next, the adapter 30 is attached to the luminaire 32 by inserting the threaded knuckle mount stem 44 into the threaded bore 76 of the socket 52 and rotating the adapter 30 and/or luminaire 32 to threadedly couple the adapter 30 to the threaded knuckle mount stem 44 of the luminaire 32. The threaded knuckle mount stem 44 is prevented from rotating relative to the socket 52 of the adapter 30 by threading the set screw 80 through the bore 78 in the upstanding sidewall 74 and into engagement with the threaded knuckle mount stem 44 of the luminaire 32, as shown in
With the adapter 30 attached to the luminaire 32, the adapter 30 and luminaire 32 assembly may then be attached to the mount surface 12. In this regard, mounting the adapter 30 to the mount surface 12 includes engaging the second side 50 of the adapter 30 with the mount surface 12, aligning the apertures 62 of the adapter 30 over the mount bores 36, and installing mounting hardware 70 through each aligned aperture 62 and mount bore 36 to secure the adapter 30 and luminaire 32 assembly to the mount surface 12, as shown in
As shown in
In an alternative embodiment, the bundle of electrical leads 82 may be routed directly through the first wireway 54 and out from the adapter 30 through the second opening 58 to the first wireway 54. This wiring configuration would be appropriate for a mount surface that includes a conduit aperture for receiving the bundle of electrical leads 82, for example. In this regard, the adapter 30 would be mounted to the mount surface with the first wireway 54 generally aligned over the conduit aperture so that the bundle of electrical leads 82 may be routed directly through the first wireway 54 and into the conduit aperture. Thus, depending on the configuration of a mount surface, the bundle of electrical leads 82 may either be routed (1) directly through the first wireway 54 and out from the adapter 30 through the second opening 58 to the first wireway 54 or (2) through the first wireway 54 and the second wireway 88 and out from the adapter 30 via the notch 66.
While various aspects in accordance with the principles of the invention have been illustrated by the description of various embodiments, and while the embodiments have been described in considerable detail, they are not intended to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the invention to such detail. The various features shown and described herein may be used alone or in any combination. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. The invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus and methods and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the scope of the general inventive concept.
The present application claims the filing benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 63/335,941, filed Apr. 28, 2022, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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63335941 | Apr 2022 | US |