Mechanical articulation system with electrical and/or thermal conductivity via invisible, adjustable ball-and-socket joint

Abstract

Mechanical joint system with electrical and/or thermal conduction capability by means of an invisible adjustable hinge that connects and allows rotation of one body respects another one, i.e. a male body and a female body, by the integration of a rigid J-shaped joining part which enters perpendicularly through an access opening on the female face at any rotation position, and whose external end is fixed to the male body. The female body is internally equipped with a brake system that couples, guides and fixes the curved end of the J-shaped joining part and blocks its rotation movement. The J-shaped joining part integrates an electrical and/or thermal conductor that makes this invention of great interest for electronic devices with adjustable orientation, including LED lighting ones.

Claims

1. A mechanical joint system with electrical and/or thermal conduction capability by means of an invisible adjustable hinge applicable as part of a bigger system that mechanically connects two bodies and allows rotation of one body around the other, wherein the mechanical joint system comprises: a male body (1) and female body (2) to be rotated one about the other around a virtual rotation axis (0), i.e. without any physical shaft or pivot support, located on a face (21) of the female body, by means of a J-shaped joining part (3) with arbitrary cross-section, the arbitrary cross-section essentially consisting of a rectangular cross-section on a laminar J-shaped joining part (31), a circular cross-section on a tubular J-shaped joining part (32) or an elliptical one, the J-shaped joining part passes perpendicularly through an access opening (22) on the face of the female body at any rotation position; wherein the J-shaped joining part end located outside of the female body is mechanically fixed or coupled to the male body, in such a way that the geometry of a curved end of the J-shaped joining part is the result of a sweep of the cross-section of the J-shaped joining part along a circumference arc whose axis (0) is placed on the female body opening face; wherein the female body is internally equipped with a brake system (4) that couples, guides and fixes the curved end of the J-shaped joining part (3) and blocks its rotation movement, further comprising two brake components integrated in the female body and controlled by mechanical parts, the mechanical parts comprising screws (5), clamps (57) or wing nuts that act as retainer or blocking elements; the hinge comprising the J-shaped joining part (3) and/or the brake system (4), wherein the hinge further comprises an electrical and/or thermal conductive material for electric energy and/or heat transfer between the male and female bodies, and/or a rigid J-shaped joining part (3), totally or partially hollow, with one or more longitudinal conduits or channels (33).

2. The mechanical joint system with electrical and/or thermal conduction capability by means of an invisible adjustable hinge, as described in claim 1, comprising a rigid J-shaped joining part (3) that is longitudinally equipped with wires (6), cable covers or hoses for electricity power supply and/or data transfer between male and female bodies.

3. The mechanical joint system with electrical and/or thermal conduction capability by means of an invisible adjustable hinge, as described in claim 1, comprising a totally or partially hollow thermal J-shaped joining part (34) that implements a phase-change heat transfer devices, the phase-change heat transfer devices comprising a heatpipe or a vapour chamber.

4. The mechanical joint system with electrical and/or thermal conduction capability by means of an invisible adjustable hinge, as described in claim 1, comprising the J-shaped joining part (3) with a totally or partially grooved or dented surface (35) on its curved end in direct contact with some of the brake system parts and a brake system with one or more teeth (51) that get coupled in such dented surface exerting a calibrated friction between the brake and the J-shaped joining part to control the hinge angular pitch and orientation.

5. The mechanical joint system with electrical and/or thermal conduction capability by means of an invisible adjustable hinge, as described in claim 4, wherein a control of the angular hinge rotation is operated by a motor (52) located in the female body (2), with a gear (53) that engages the dented surface (35) of the J-shaped joining part curved end.

6. The mechanical joint system with electrical and/or thermal conduction capability by means of an invisible adjustable hinge, as described in claim 1, comprising a brake subsystem to be activated from the outside by a blocking screw (54) threaded in one of the brake components in such a way that, when tightened, the friction exerted against the J-shaped joining part is meaningfully increased.

7. The mechanical joint system with electrical and/or thermal conduction capability by means of an invisible adjustable hinge, as described in claim 1, wherein the hinge is equipped with a brake unblocking subsystem comprising a screw (5) with a flexible strip or a spring (55), acting as pressure element, and a mechanical pushbutton (56) to be activated from the outside to release the brake system friction once pressure against springs of the brake system is exerted, allowing the hinge rotation and orientation.

8. The mechanical joint system with electrical and/or thermal conduction capability by means of an invisible adjustable hinge, as described in claim 1, wherein the hinge is equipped with a telescopic subsystem consisting of a straight J-shaped joining part end outside of the female body that perpendicularly crosses one face of the male body and is held by a spring (36) with one end coupled to the male body and the other end to the joint part in such a way that it exerts a force on a joint part perpendicular to the face of the male body towards the inside of the male body that provides the hinge with a retractable function that reduces the total height of the system.

9. The mechanical joint system with electrical and/or thermal conduction capability by means of an invisible adjustable hinge, as described in claim 1, comprising two or more J-shaped joining parts aligned with a shared brake system.

10. The mechanical joint system with electrical and/or thermal conduction capability by means of an invisible adjustable hinge, as described in claim 1, integrating an electronic power device, such as an LED light source (7) or laser, a beam projector, a vision system, a screen (LCD or any other), a semiconductor or any integrated circuit.

11. The mechanical joint system with electrical and/or thermal conduction capability by means of an invisible adjustable hinge, as described in claim 10, comprising an electronic power device attached to the brake system (4) and a thermally conductive J-shaped joining part built in a conductive material or being a phase-change thermal device, with heat fins or a heatsink (8) externally to the female body.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) A series of figures is included at the end of this document showing illustrative schemes of the described invisible adjustable hinge system. These figures are not intended to be a limitation on the present invention.

(2) FIG. 1 shows the novel hinge cross-section view for 0°, 45° and 90° angle positions, where the main components are: a J-shaped joining part, which enters perpendicularly on the female body (2) at any rotation position through an opening on its face and it can be adjusted and blocked by a brake system (4) inside the female body.

(3) FIG. 2 shows the described hinge cross-section view as a simplified version, with a screw (without springs) as blocking system, centered in the brake system with access from the outside. The screw head is generally not visible since it is hidden by the J-shaped joining part.

(4) FIG. 3 illustrates the invention cross-section view with grooved or dented surface (35) of the J-shaped joining part and a brake with one or more teeth (51), with a clamp (57) to activate the blocking system comprising the sandwich brake elements;

(5) FIG. 4 includes a motor (52) with a gear (53) for rotation control.

(6) FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrates two cross-section views of hinge with a subsystem for blocking the position by means of a screw (55) and unblocking position by means of a pushbutton (56) from the outside, respectively.

(7) FIG. 7 illustrates three pictures on the same cross-section plane that show the invention with the telescopic or retractable subsystem. Cases for rotation at 0°, 45° and 90° are shown in a), b) and c), respectively.

(8) FIGS. 8 and 9 show two different application cases of hinge integrated in an LED compact wallwasher. Views of cross-section for 0°, 45° and 90° are provided, so the male body (1) and female body (2) of the system can be clearly distinguished.

(9) FIG. 10 shows a cross-section view of a recessed LED spotlight with the invention hinge where the J-shaped joining part is mechanically coupled to the male body (1) by means of a disc which allows azimuthal rotation, additionally to the hinge rotation characteristic movement. The J-shaped joining part is hollow to allow power supply; the brake system is fully integrated in the female body (2), which means a reduction in the number of components and facilitates assembly. Besides, the thermal J-shaped joining part (34) includes a phase-change heat transfer device, which transfers heat towards a heatsink (8) thermally attached to the flat end of the J-shaped joining part.

(10) FIGS. 11 and 12 show isometric views of the invention applied to a track LED mini-spotlight; in this case the J-shaped joining part integrates a rigid phase-change thermal transfer device, more specifically a multichannel heatpipe.

(11) FIG. 13 shows a cross-section view of a luminaire built with the invention which integrates a thermal transfer J-shaped joining part like the one in FIGS. 11 and 12 but with thermal heatsink to increase heat dissipation.

(12) FIG. 14 shows two different isometric views of the cited thermal J-shaped joining part (a) and a cross-section cut (b) where inner channels for thermal transfer and wire paths can be observed.

(13) FIG. 15 shows three consecutive rotation positions of the invention with circular cross-section tubular J-shaped joining part (32); FIG. 16 shows isometric views of such tubular part integrated in a cylindrical spotlight with the female body represented as transparent (a) and in cross-section along the tubular J-shaped joining part (b) such that the inner components can be seen in detail.

(14) FIG. 17 is an isometric view of a track LED spotlight with a rectangular cross-section laminar J-shaped joining part (31); FIG. 18 shows the invention integrated in the LED spotlight in four different angle orientations.

(15) FIG. 19 shows a cross-section view of the LED spotlight in FIGS. 17 and 18; FIG. 20 shows the exploded view with details on the main components.

(16) FIG. 21 illustrates a basic scheme of an articulated conventional system to join two bodies showing the technical difficulties found to conceive a hinge between faces of two bodies without presence of any protuberance.

DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLES OF EMBODIMENTS

(17) This hinge invention may be integrated in a great variety of systems; hence, it may be adapted to comply with specific technical requirements depending on the system needs but giving as a result similar implementation. Examples of embodiments that incorporate one or more aspects of the present invention are described and illustrated in the drawings. These illustrated examples are not intended to be a limitation on the present invention. For example, one or more aspects of the present invention can be utilized in other embodiments insofar as they come within the scope of the claims.

(18) FIG. 1 illustrates a view on the schematic embodiment cross-section for 0°, 45° and 90° hinge angle positions, a female body (2) with a face (21) with an opening (22) on its central area; the curved end of the J-shaped joining part (3) enters through the opening (22) and gets attached inside the female body (2) whereas its straight end is joined to the male body (1); an inner brake component (41) inside the female body (2) consisting of a half-cylinder geometry that, in this case, is integrated in the female body structure, and a outer brake component (42) with a concave cylindrical surface (421). These surfaces are corradial with a same shared virtual axis (0), which is located on the face of the female body (2). The J-shaped joining part (3) passes perpendicularly through the opening at every hinge possible orientation.

(19) The curved end of the J-shaped joining part (3) is delimited and blocked between the two brake parts as in a sandwich configuration which guides and limits the hinge displacement allowing only rotation movement. A clamping pressure is exerted by inner screws (5) and springs (55) between the sandwich brake components, high enough as to avoid the hinge movement and slippage between the brake parts due to the female body (2) weight, but allowing rotation with aid of an external additional force such as the applied one when manually handling the system by a user. These same screws allow fixing the brake components to the female body. All hinge mechanical parts are protected inside the embodiment.

(20) Depending on the selected materials to build the invention, the brake surfaces in direct contact with the J-shaped joining part (3), or the curved end of the J-shaped joining part in direct contact with the brakes, may include a film or a coating cover to improve friction, whose nature may be generally polymeric.

(21) The correct performance of this full system is not trivial, especially when fixed at 90° angle position (FIG. 1c), since the friction area is minimal, and the distribution of the exerted pressure by the sandwich brake system screws (5) and springs (55) varies and depends on rotation.

(22) In FIG. 2, a similar concept is depicted, with the straight end of the J-shaped joining part welded to the male body (1), without springs as part of the brake blocking system and with blocking screw heads accessible from the outside and in a centered position of the brake system, which permits a narrower hinge. Due to the rotation orientation, the screw may be inaccessible and protected by the hinge components, although the screws may be installed from the inside as well.

(23) FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment with blocking system by clamp (57) and the curved end of the J-shaped joining part with grooved or dented surface (35) for friction control purposes. Moreover, this area is hidden to the eye from the outside. The brake surface has one or more teeth (51) or bumb that couples with the hinge grooved or dented geometry, which allows a discrete angular pitch and a calibrated control of the hinge system orientation.

(24) FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment similar to the previous one, with increased capability for automatic or semi-automatic orientation control and position control by an electric motor (52) with a gear (53) which couples with the grooved or dented surface of the J-shaped joining part.

(25) The invention allows blocking rotation by means of a screw (54), as illustrated in FIG. 5. When the screw is tightened from the outside, the sandwich brake system exerts more friction and the female body orientation gets fixed and blocked, whereas if the screw is loosened, the join can be rotated till the desired orientation. It may also be equipped with an unblocking system such as in FIG. 6, which consists of a screw (5) with springs (55) or clamps as blocking elements and a mechanical pushbutton (56) which can be pressed from the outside and exerts pressure against the spring or clamp reducing the friction by the sandwich system and unblocking the hinge movement. This way, the hinge orientation can be adjusted by pressing the pushbutton.

(26) The J-shaped joining part may also be coupled to the male body by installing a disc, in such a way that the hinge system implements azimuthal rotation in addition to the hinge regular rotation, as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6.

(27) The embodiment may also consist of a retractable J-shaped joining part integrated in the male body, easily implemented by a spring (36) on the telescopic system connected to the J-shaped joining part end and held by a retainer (37), so retraction level varies progressively with hinge rotation. This embodiment with telescopic hinge, illustrated in FIG. 7, allows to decrease the full system length size, therefore it may be quite interesting for lighting devices and others.

(28) The invention may be integrated as a subsystem in many embodiments, mainly in electronics and lighting systems, allowing maximum simplicity of their components. FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate embodiments for LED wall-washers and describe the main elements in the system: a female body (2), a male body (1), a lens matrix (71) and a power source system (74). FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment with the female body (2), the brake system and the opening (22) that comprises the head of the system which contains the LEDs, whereas in FIG. 9 this elements are located in the same part as the power source. It must be emphasized that this document references as a female body (2) the one with the opening (22) where the J-shaped joining part (3) goes through.

(29) Additionally, the hinge has the capability to efficiently transfer heat between its bodies by means of a rigid J-shaped joining part with high thermal conductivity. This part may integrate a phase-change thermal transfer device, such as a heat-pipe or a vapour chamber.

(30) FIG. 10 illustrates a recessable spotlight device in which the female body includes the brake system without the need of an additional element or part to fulfil such role. In this case, the J-shaped joining part is mechanically coupled to the male body by a disc installed in a circular opening on the male body, allowing additional azimuthal rotation to the typical hinge rotational movement. This thermal J-shaped joining part (34) implements a phase-change thermal device thermally coupled to an aluminium heatsink (8) on one end. Depending on the power amount to be dissipated and the product costs, this J-shaped joining part end may be splitted in branches to distribute and dissipate heat more efficiently. This embodiment may be especially useful for high-power spotlights with small head dimensions.

(31) FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate specific embodiments with a track LED mini-spotlight which integrates the invention with the capability to efficiently transfer the heat generated by the LEDs towards the extrusion metallic track for dissipation purposes. As in the above mentioned case, the LED board is directly in contact with the thermal J-shaped joining part (34) with phase-change thermal transfer capability, which integrates sealed conduits or channels with a liquid that, once changed into vapour, extracts and transfers the heat generated by the LEDs (7) towards the braking system (4) and the fixed track (75) of the product, where a wider radiator area is available to increase transfer heat to the surroundings by convection mechanism. The J-shaped joining part (3) is equipped with hollow conduits or channels (33) to allow a path for wires (6) to provide power to the LEDs. Thanks to this invention, a direct thermal path connects the spotlight head to its fixed track, which improves the current state of the art and other available market solutions. This technology opens the possibility to design more compact products with a much higher power capability.

(32) FIG. 13 illustrates another spotlight example with the hinge invention; this embodiment also makes possible heat transfer similarly to the cited-above case, but the thermal J-shaped joining part (34) itself includes a heatsink (8) placed between male and female body in order to dissipate heat originated by the heat source.

(33) A thermal J-shaped joining part (34) with conduits or channels in its inner structure as to allow phase-change thermal transfer is illustrated in FIG. 14. A cross-section view of the cited thermal J-shaped joining part can be seen in picture b), in which conduits or channels (33) to pass wires (6) are located on lateral sides and thermal conduits or channels (39) to contain fluid for phase-change thermal transmission are instead in the central inner space.

(34) The described invention is compatible with any cross-section of the J-shaped joining part, as long as its curved end is the result of the geometry sweep previously described. For instance, embodiments in FIG. 14, 12 or 11 have rectangular cross-section J-shaped joining part whereas FIGS. 15 and 16 illustrate a tubular cross-section J-shaped joining part. In all cases, the J-shaped joining part may be massif or hollow; it may also comprise conduits or channels for thermal fluids or matter protected and hidden from the outside or implemented in a phase-change thermal transfer integrated device.

(35) This hinge invention may be implemented in an LED spotlight as illustrated in FIG. 16, where inner components are shown in a transparent body representation (a) and an embodiment cross-section view (b) for a better understanding of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

(36) The integration of the present invention in a compact and adjustable LED spotlight is one of the most suitable embodiments, not being a limitation to the present invention. It comprises a rectangular cross-section J-shaped joining part (31), a female body (2), which is the hinge movable element in this case, formed by an aluminium part free of screws or any external protuberance, with a rectangular opening (22) as illustrated in FIGS. 17 and 20; an optic system comprising an antiglare ring (72), a reflector (73) and an LED light source (7), a blocking system with an external brake component (42) in aluminium or copper, where the LED light source is thermally coupled in, and an inner brake component (41), with a metallic sheet part (76) to form the sandwich blocking system. The inner brake protection frame (38) surrounding the J-shaped joining part at the opening in the female body, in a way that scratches or damage due to rotation and movement are prevented on the curved surface of the J-shaped joining part. The brake system constrains the J-shaped joining part movement to rotation and forms a sandwich where the J-shaped joining part is blocked on its curved end by means of a metal sheet part screwed to the inner female body, what exerts pressure enough as to block the hinge movement, except when being manually oriented.

(37) The hinge movement is precise and smooth, without noticing any mechanical element from the outside, as illustrated in FIG. 18.