Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6272794
-
Patent Number
6,272,794
-
Date Filed
Thursday, September 7, 200024 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, August 14, 200123 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
- Friedman; Carl D.
- Porterie, Jr.; L. Bennett
Agents
- Haeberlin; Jeffrey A.
- Middleton Reutlinger
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- B42 F 1300
- 248 342
- 248 343
- 248 906
- 362 365
- 362 364
- 362 363
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A recessed fixture housing in which the major components are designed with taper fits to allow the components to be pressed together in assembly to create an air-seal engagement construction. The fixture housing also provides a junction box accessible from either the room side or the attic side of a fixture, while maintaining a sealed fixture housing. Further, a recessed fixture frame for use with a housing of maximal size to be installed between building structural members with mounting bars having protruding tabs. Mounting bar brackets are inset from each frame side an amount sufficient to accommodate the tabs between the building structural member and the bracket.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to recessed fixtures, and particularly to an improved fixture frame allowing the frame and fixture housing to be mounted flush with ceiling support members.
2. Description of Prior Art
As an energy conservation measure, many buildings are being constructed with a continuous vapor/air-flow barrier between conditioned (heated or cooled) spaces and unconditioned spaces (attics, wall cavities, etc.). The intent of the barrier is to retain conditioned air within the building's outer envelope thereby reducing heating/cooling energy costs and to reduce the seepage of moisture into unconditioned spaces where condensation would damage materials. To meet this demand, it is becoming increasingly popular for recessed fixtures, such as recessed lighting fixtures, to be constructed with sealed housings to reduce airflow through the fixture. The Model Energy Code, Washington State Energy Code and many local ordinances require lighting fixtures with sealed housings that comply with prescribed leakage testing conducted in accordance with ASTM E283 “Standard Test Method for Rate of Air Leakage Through Exterior Windows, Curtain, Walls, and Doors” standards. Additionally, many utilities offer rebate programs that promote sealed fixtures.
Further complicating sealed fixture design are requirements that fixture wiring be accessible at a junction box at each fixture for installation and maintenance purposes. Additionally, sealed fixtures rated for both ceiling and no-ceiling access must allow for a sealable opening in the housing to access the junction box from either the room side or the attic side of the fixture.
Commercially available sealed lighting fixtures are typically provided with gaskets, tapes and/or chemical sealant applied at the seams and holes in their housings. These sealing methods involve costly materials, complicate fixture assembly and may degrade over time and may not properly reseal.
To properly dissipate heat generated by a lamp (bulb), sealed recessed light fixtures require housings having sufficient volume. It is an industry standard to provide mounting bars to mechanically attach recessed fixtures to building structural members. These bars have length exceeding the width of the fixture mounting frame because the mounting frame is usually rectangular. Buildings have structural members spaced at distances prescribed by code. These factors sometimes conflict with each other and a fixture having maximal volume for heat dissipation has a mounting frame size which will not allow mounting bars to fit between building members.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a recessed fixture housing which does not require the use of gaskets, tapes or chemical sealant materials to create a sealed housing.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a recessed fixture which eliminates the need for additional components to achieve or surpass air-seal requirements as defined in ASTM E283.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a recessed fixture housing in which the major components are designed with taper fits to allow the components to be pressed together in assembly to create an air-seal construction.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a sealed recessed fixture housing having a junction box which is accessible from either the room side of the fixture or the ceiling side of the fixture.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a recessed fixture frame for use with a housing of maximal size to be installed between building members arranged with minimal spacing.
Preferably, the recessed fixture housing of the present invention has a mounting frame section having a bottom and a raised wall extending therefrom, a housing wall section having a bottom rim, a top rim, and a side wall, said side wall having a junction box opening, a housing cover section having a top and a skirt depending therefrom, and a junction box. The mounting frame raised wall and housing wall section bottom rim are in an air-seal engagement, and the housing wall section bottom rim and said housing cover section skirt are also in an air-seal engagement. The junction box is received within said junction box opening; and the junction box and side wall are also in an air-seal engagement, said air-seal engagement sealing the junction box opening.
Additionally, the preferred recessed fixture frame of the present invention has a pair of mounting bar assemblies having bar sections, mounting stubs at the ends of the bar sections, tabs protruding from the bar section, and notches between each tab and mounting stub. Each mounting bar assembly is slidably attached to the mounting bar brackets of a mounting frame section. The mounting frame section is narrow enough to fit between a building's structural members. The mounting frame section mounting bar brackets are inset from each side an amount sufficient to accommodate the mounting stubs and tabs of each mounting bar assembly between the building structural member and the bracket.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
FIG. 1
is a top view of recessed fixture housing of the present invention.
FIG. 2
is a sectional view taken along line
2
—
2
of FIG.
1
.
FIG. 3
is a partial sectional view of detail
3
of
FIG. 2
, without fasteners or a collar tab.
FIG. 3
a
a partial sectional view of detail
3
of FIG.
2
.
FIG. 4
is a perspective exploded view of a portion the recessed fixture housing of
FIG. 1
, taken from outside the junction box area of the fixture housing.
FIG. 5
is a perspective exploded view of a portion of the recessed fixture housing of
FIG. 1
, taken from inside the junction box area of the fixture housing.
FIG. 6
is a top view of a recessed fixture frame of the present invention.
FIG. 7
is a top view of the recessed fixture frame of
FIG. 6
installed between building structural members.
FIG. 8
is a partial perspective view of the recessed fixture frame mounting bar assembly of
FIG. 6
installed on an inverted “T” bar structural member.
FIG. 9
is an enlarged exploded view of a pivotable mounting stub member of the recessed fixture frame of FIG.
6
.
FIG. 10
is a top view of the mounting frame section of the recessed fixture frame of FIG.
6
.
FIG. 11
is a side view of the mounting frame section of FIG.
10
.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
A. Fixture Housing
As shown in
FIGS. 1 and 2
, the recessed fixture housing of the present invention has four major components, namely a mounting frame section
10
, a housing wall section
12
, a housing cover section
14
, and a junction box
11
.
Mounting frame section
10
has a central opening
16
, through which a reflector (not shown) or other appliance may be installed. In the preferred embodiment, central opening
16
is circular and sized to accept a standard recessed fixture reflector. It should be recognized, however, that central opening
16
may be of any size or shape which mounting frame section
10
will accommodate.
As shown in
FIG. 3
, mounting frame section
10
also has a raised wall
18
extending upward from the mounting frame section
10
. The raised wall
18
has a slight inward cant or taper. In the preferred embodiment, raised wall
18
is frustoconically shaped. Other shapes, however, may be utilized.
Additionally shown in
FIG. 3
, housing cover section
14
has a top piece
20
and a skirt
22
extending downward from the top piece
20
. The skirt
22
, similar to the raised wall
18
, also has a slight cant or taper outward from top piece
20
. Likewise, in the preferred embodiment, skirt
22
is frustoconically shaped, but other shapes may be utilized.
The housing wall section
12
of the preferred embodiment is cylindrically shaped, the shape being coincidental to the shape of mounting frame section raised wall
18
and housing cover section skirt
22
. The housing wall section
12
has a side wall
24
and an open top and bottom. Housing wall section
12
is outwardly flexible along its bottom rim
26
and inwardly flexible along its top rim
28
. Most importantly, housing wall section
12
is sized such that the bottom rim
26
perimeter is smaller than the outer perimeter
70
of the mounting frame raised wall
18
, but larger than the inner perimeter
72
of the mounting frame raised wall
18
. Further, housing wall section
12
is also sized such that the top rim
28
perimeter is smaller than the outer perimeter
74
of the housing cover skirt
22
, but larger than the inner perimeter
76
of the housing cover skirt
22
. Preferably, housing wall section bottom rim
26
is sized to meet raised wall
18
midway between its outer perimeter
70
and inner perimeter
72
. Likewise, housing wall section top rim
28
is sized to meet housing cover skirt
22
midway between its outer perimeter
74
and inner perimeter
76
.
Also shown in
FIG. 3
, in the preferred embodiment, the mounting frame raised wall
18
is formed as the outer face of an inverted v-shaped groove
34
.
Flexibility of the housing wall section rims
26
,
28
of the preferred embodiment is achieved by fabrication of the section by rolling an approximately 0.032 inch thick sheet of aluminum or galvanized steel such that the cylindrical shape is formed. A seam will be formed where the ends of the sheet meet. A seal may be formed at the seam by forming a step down portion on one end, and setting the other end into the step. Fasteners may then be used to hold the seam together.
Assembly may be accomplished by placing the housing cover section skirt
22
over the housing wall section flexible top rim
28
, and the housing wall section flexible bottom rim
26
over the mounting frame section raised wall
18
. By applying a downward force on the housing cover section
14
, housing wall section flexible top rim
28
will flex inward slightly, allowing the housing cover section
14
to seat on the housing wall section
12
with housing cover skirt
28
compressing housing wall section flexible top rim
22
and creating an air-seal engagement. By air-seal engagement, it is meant that the engagement between the elements meets the reduced airflow requirements set forth herein.
The downward force on the housing cover section
14
will be further transmitted through housing wall section causing housing wall section flexible bottom rim
26
to flex outward slightly, allowing housing wall section
12
to seat on the mounting frame section
10
with housing wall section flexible bottom rim
26
compressing mounting frame section raised wall
18
and creating an air-seal engagement.
As shown in
FIG. 3
a,
the preferred embodiment utilizes sheet metal screws
30
through housing cover section skirt
22
and into housing wall section
12
to hold housing cover section
14
downward and in compressive contact with housing wall section
12
. Also, specifically in the preferred embodiment, collar tabs
32
extend upward from mounting frame section
10
, providing a member through which sheet metal screws
30
may hold housing wall section
12
downward in position over mounting frame section
10
. Collar tabs
32
are also shown in FIG.
11
. Housing wall section
12
could, however, also be held downward in position over mounting frame section
10
by otherwise fastening housing wall section
12
to mounting frame section
10
, such as directly to mounting frame section raised wall
18
.
Also shown in
FIGS. 1 and 2
is junction box
11
, which is recessed into housing wall section junction box opening
13
.
As shown in
FIG. 4
, junction box
11
has an inner door
15
, an outer door
17
, a junction box plate
19
, and sides
21
.
Sides
21
have ribs
23
. Ribs
23
serve to strengthen the rigidity of the junction box
11
. Junction box
11
is slightly wider than the width, w
o
, of the housing wall section junction box opening
13
, such that the side edges of junction box opening
13
seat in ribs
23
along the inside edge of the junction box sides
21
. Thus, side edges of junction box opening
13
provide slight compression against junction box sides
21
, further strengthening the rigidity of junction box
21
for attachment of conduit (not shown) or the pulling of electrical wires (not shown) into junction box
11
.
Junction box plate
19
has wings
35
which extend wider than the width, w
o
, of the housing wall section junction box opening
13
and attach to mounting frame section junction box bracket
36
, as shown in FIG.
2
. As shown in
FIGS. 4 and 5
, junction box plate
19
has an upturned bolt holding tab
25
which holds bolt
27
.
Inner door
15
has arcuate flanges
29
, bolt receiving hole
31
, and wiring hole
33
. Inner door
15
is slightly wider than the width, w
o
, of the housing wall section junction box opening
13
in order to cover the junction box opening
13
completely. Arcuate flanges
29
are contoured to the surface of the housing wall section
12
.
Thus, inner door
15
may be placed over housing wall section junction box opening
13
such that its sides and the edges of arcuate flanges
29
fit flush against the inside of housing wall section
12
. Bolt
27
is received by bolt receiving hole
31
. Wing nut
35
may then be tightened against inner door
15
forcing the inner door sides and the edges of arcuate flanges
29
tightly against the inside of housing wall section
12
, creating a air-seal along the housing wall section/inner door interface. Further, inner door
15
reinforces housing wall section
12
in the area of housing wall section junction box opening
13
.
Wiring hole
33
will accommodate wiring, as shown in
FIG. 2
, to the interior of the fixture housing. A wiring strain relief
36
will serve, in addition to relieving wiring strain, to further restrict the flow of air through the fixture housing.
Thus, wiring to the fixture may be accessed from either the room side or the attic side of the fixture through either junction box inner door
15
or outer door
17
, while maintaining a strongly rigid junction box
11
and substantially air-tight fixture.
B. Fixture Frame
As shown in
FIG. 6
, a preferred embodiment of the recessed fixture frame of the present invention has a mounting frame section
10
and mounting bar assemblies
40
.
Each mounting bar assembly
40
has a bar section
42
which has opposing ends
44
. Located at each end
44
is a mounting stub
46
,
48
.
In use, as shown in
FIG. 7
, mounting stubs
46
,
48
will be perpendicular to bar section
42
in order to abut building structural members
50
. Mounting stubs
46
,
48
may then be attached to building structural members, such as ceiling joists
50
by fasteners
52
, which are preferably screws or nails.
In the preferred embodiment, mounting stubs
48
are pivotably attached to bar section
42
to aid in installation. This design is described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,957,573, incorporated herein by reference. Thus,
FIG. 6
shows mounting stubs
48
in a pivoted position as used during installation, while
FIG. 7
shows mounting stubs
48
in their final non-pivoted position after installation.
FIG. 9
provides an enlarged exploded detail view of the mounting stub pivot mechanism.
As shown in
FIGS. 6 and 7
, bendable tabs
54
protrude from the bar section
42
a short distance from each mounting stub
46
. As shown in
FIG. 8
, bendable tabs
54
are used when installing the recessed fixture frame on an inverted “T” bar structural member
56
. Bar section end
44
has a notch
58
between tab
54
and mounting stub
48
. Notch
58
is sized to accept inverted “T” bar structural member bead
60
. Thus, mounting bar assembly
40
may be positioned over inverted “T” bar structural member
56
such that notch
58
engages inverted “T” bar structural member bead
60
. Bendable tab
54
may then be bent under inverted “T” bar structural member bead
60
to lock the mounting bar assembly
40
onto the inverted “T” bar structural member
56
.
As shown in
FIG. 6
, mounting frame section
10
has a mounting frame plate
62
, opposing side sections
64
and opposing end sections
66
. Mounting frame plate
62
has a predetermined maximum width, w, measured between opposing sides
64
, such that the mounting frame section
10
may fit between ceiling joists
50
or inverted “T” bar structural members
56
.
As shown in
FIG. 10
, the mounting frame section
10
of the preferred embodiment also has a circular central opening
68
for receiving the fixture appliance (not shown), such as a reflector/lamp assembly, of a recessed fixture. It should be understood that the opening
68
may be of any shape or location in the mounting frame section
10
. However, a circular shape and central location has been selected for the preferred embodiment to allow compatibility with standard circular reflector trims and to provide optimal spacing from the fixture housing for dissipation of heat generated by a lamp.
As shown in
FIG. 9
, mounting frame section
10
also has mounting bar brackets
70
extending upward from the mounting frame plate
62
at each end section
66
. A critical feature of the invention is that mounting bar brackets
70
are inset from each side
64
an amount sufficient to accommodate the mounting stubs
46
,
48
, notches
58
and tabs
54
of each mounting bar assembly
40
.
This detailed description is given primarily for clearness of understanding and no unnecessary limitations are to be understood therefrom for modifications will become obvious to those skilled in the art upon reading this disclosure and may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention and scope of the appended claims.
Claims
- 1. A recessed fixture frame comprising:a pair of mounting bar assemblies, each mounting bar assembly having: a bar section having opposing ends; mounting stubs perpendicular to said bar section at each end; tabs protruding from the bar section located a predetermined distance from each mounting stub; and notches between each tab and each mounting stub; and a bottom frame section having: a maximum width to fit between building structural members; opposing side and end sections; an opening for receiving a fixture appliance; and a pair of mounting bar brackets extending from the bottom frame section at each end section, said mounting bar brackets being inset from each side an amount sufficient to accommodate the mounting stubs and tabs of each mounting bar assembly end between the bracket and the building structural member; said mounting bar assemblies slidably engaged by said bottom frame mounting bar brackets.
- 2. The recessed fixture frame of claim 1, said bottom frame opening being circular and centered between the bottom frame sides.
- 3. The recessed fixture frame of claim 2, said bottom frame maximum width being along a line through the center of said circular central opening.
- 4. The recessed fixture frame of claim 3, said bottom frame sides being inwardly curved from the point of predetermined maximum width to the location of the mounting bar bracket along each bottom frame end section.
US Referenced Citations (10)