Lighting arrangement with an exchangeable lighting cap

Abstract

A lighting arrangement with an exchangeable lighting cap, includes a holder for the lighting cap and a lock lever to lock the lighting cap in position on the holder. The front face of the lighting caps has at least one light emitting element, for emitting light in a direction perpendicular to the front face. The edge of the front face has two positioning slots that are perpendicular to the direction of illumination. The holder comprises an opening for receiving the front face and has two positioning elements arranged at a rim of the opening, wherein the positioning elements can be inserted into the positioning slots of the lighting cap by elastic deformation to fix the position of the lighting cap on the holder. The lock lever has an open position for inserting the lighting cap into the holder and a locked position for locking the lighting cap in position.

Claims

1. A lighting arrangement with an exchangeable lighting cap, comprising: the lighting cap with at least one light emitting element arranged on a front face of said lighting cap, wherein a direction of illumination is perpendicular to the front face, and with two positioning slots arranged at an edge of the front face, each of the positioning slots being aligned perpendicular to the direction of illumination; a holder with an opening for receiving at least the front face of the lighting cap, wherein two positioning elements are arranged at a rim of the opening, the positioning elements being insertable into the positioning slots of the lighting cap by elastic deformation of the holder or of the lighting cap to fix the position of the lighting cap in the holder by a tight fitting; and a lock lever arranged at the lighting cap and the holder, the lock lever being turnable between an open position for inserting the lighting cap into the opening of the holder and a locked position for locking the lighting cap in position on the holder.

2. The lighting arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the positioning elements are rounded pins and the positioning slots have a rectangular shape with three inner faces, wherein the rounded pins in an inserted position inside the positioning slots are elastically deformed and are in contact with each of the three inner faces.

3. The lighting arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the positioning slots are arranged on opposing sides of the light emitting element.

4. The lighting arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the lighting cap comprises a first and a second wing at the edge of the front face aligned perpendicular to the direction of illumination and each of the positioning slots is positioned in one of the wings.

5. The lighting arrangement according to claim 4, wherein the first wing has a different width along the circumference of the front face than the second wing.

6. The lighting arrangement according to claim 4, wherein the both wings are arranged on the lighting cap in a plane parallel to the front face.

7. The lighting arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the shape of the opening of the holder and the shape of the front face including the wings of the lighting cap correspond to each other.

8. The lighting arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the lock lever has two parallel surfaces, one of the surfaces being in an in-plane support with the holder in a reference plane between at least the holder and the lock lever.

9. The lighting arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the lock lever has two parallel surfaces and one of the surfaces of the lock lever is partially in an in-plane support with a contact surface of each of the wings in the locked position of the lock lever in a reference plane between at least the lighting cap and the lock lever.

10. The lighting arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the lighting cap comprises a support plane surface positioned parallel to the front face and shifted backwards relative to the front face and a spring element is provided on the support plane surface to press the lock lever against the contact surface of each of the wings in the locked position of the lock lever.

11. The lighting arrangement according to claim 10, wherein the spring element is an elastic seal arranged on the support plane surface of the lighting cap.

12. The lighting arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the lock lever is provided for bayonet-locking the lighting cap to the holder and two spring holders are arranged on a surface of the holder to engage with the first surface of the lock lever in the locked position pressing the lock lever towards the holder.

13. A method for turn-locking a lighting cap in a lighting arrangement, the method comprising: providing a holder comprising an opening for the lighting cap with two positioning elements being arranged at a rim of the opening; turning a lock lever with an opening into an open position where the opening of the lock lever and an opening of the holder are superposed; inserting the lighting cap into the openings of the lock lever and the holder; and turning the lock lever into a locked position locking the lighting cap to the holder, wherein during inserting the lighting cap into the opening of the holder, each of the two positioning elements of the holder are pushed into a positioning slot of the lighting cap under elastic deformation of the holder or of the lighting cap to fix the position of the lighting cap in the holder by a tight fitting.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The above and other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from and elucidated with reference to the following description of preferred embodiments, in which

(2) FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a lighting cap;

(3) FIG. 2a shows a perspective view of a holder and a lock lever of an embodiment of a lighting arrangement;

(4) FIG. 2b shows a sectional side view of an alternative embodiment of a holder and a lock lever;

(5) FIG. 2c shows a perspective view of a lighting arrangement with the lock lever of FIG. 2a in an open position;

(6) FIG. 3a shows a perspective view of the lighting arrangement of FIG. 2c with the lock lever in a locked position;

(7) FIG. 3b shows a top view of the lighting arrangement of FIG. 3a;

(8) FIG. 4 shows a side view of the lighting arrangement of FIG. 3a;

(9) FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of the lighting arrangement of FIG. 3a.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

(10) FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a lighting cap 20. In the center of a front face 22 of the lighting cap 20 a light emitting diode with a plane light emitting surface as a light emitting element 21 is arranged. The light emitting element 21 is surrounded by a frame 211 protruding from the front face 22 by the height of the light emitting element 21. The light emitted from the light emitting element 21 is primarily directed in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the flat front face 22 of the lighting cap 20.

(11) As shown in FIG. 1, the front face 22 has a circular shape. At an edge 24 of the front face 22 two wings 26a, b extend in a plane parallel to the front face 22, wherein both wings 26a, b are placed on opposing sides of the light emitting element 21. The plane of the wings 26a, b is arranged slightly offset to the front face 22. Each of the wings 26a, b has a different width along the circumference of the edge 24 of the front face 22, allowing to insert the lighting cap 20 only in one orientation into a holder 30, as it becomes apparent from FIG. 2c. The height of both wings 26a, b along the direction of illumination and the length of both wings 26a, b in a direction perpendicular to the direction of illumination is identical in this embodiment.

(12) Each of the wings 26a, b is divided into two equal parts by a positioning slot 23a, b, which is formed as a gap in each wing 26a, b reaching the edge 24 of the front face 22. Both positioning slots 23a, b have a cubic shape and extend through the full height of each wing 26a, b along the direction of illumination. Accordingly, each of the positioning slots 23a, b has three inner faces 25a, b, c. At least the wings 26a, b, preferably also the front face 22 are made out of a polymer material, which has elastic properties and which in particular can be compressed by 2-5% when a positioning element 33a, b of a holder 30 is pressed into the positioning slot 23a, b of the lighting cap 20.

(13) In a position set back relative to the front face 22 and the wings 26a, b, the lighting cap 20 comprises a cooling body 210 made of a thermally conductive polymer material. The part of the lighting cap 20 comprising the front face 22 and the light emitting element 21 is arranged in the center of a planar surface of the cooling body 210. This planar surface has also a circular shape with a larger diameter than the diameter of the front face 22 and functions as a support plane surface 27 to help to align the lighting cap 20 relative to other parts of a lighting arrangement 10, in particular to a lock lever 40.

(14) FIG. 2a shows a holder 30 and a lock lever 40 of the lighting arrangement 10. The holder 30 has an opening 31, wherein the shape of the opening 31 corresponds to the shape of the front face 22 and the wings 26a, b of the lighting cap 20. Two positioning elements 33a, b are arranged at the rim 32 of the opening 31 extending towards the center of the opening 31. Both positioning elements 33a, b are positioned at opposing sides of the rim 32, wherein the exact position of the positioning elements 33a, b corresponds to the arrangement of the positioning slots 23a, b on the lighting cap 20.

(15) Each of the positioning elements 33a, b comprises a rounded head 35, which is connected via a connection section 36 to the rim 32 of the opening 31 and in particular to the inner peripheral surface 34 of the opening 31. The rounded head 35 is rounded in both spatial directions perpendicular to the direction of illumination and flat in the direction of illumination. At least both rounded heads 35, preferably both positioning elements 33a, b and most preferably the holder 30 is made of an elastic polymer material. Accordingly, also the both positioning elements 33a, b can be compressed during inserting into the positioning slots 23a, b, leading to a well-defined press-fit of both components.

(16) The lock lever 40 comprises also an opening 42, wherein the shape of the opening 42 of the lock lever 40 corresponds to the shape of the opening 31 of the holder 30. As shown in FIG. 2a, in an open position of the lock lever 40, both openings 31, 42 are superposed, such that the lighting cap 20 can be inserted into the openings 31, 42. To insert the lighting cap 20, both the lock lever 40 and the holder 30 are arranged in a flat contact to each other. For turning the lock lever 40 by hand, two handles 43a, b are arranged on the lock lever 40 on two opposing sides of the opening 42.

(17) When the lighting cap 20 is arranged in the opening 31 of the holder 30, the rim of the front face 22 as well as of the wings 26a, b is not in contact with, but arranged close to the inner peripheral surface 34 of the opening 31 of the holder 30, as shown in FIG. 2c. However, both positioning elements 33a, b have been inserted into the corresponding positioning slot 23a, b of the lighting cap 20 under elastic compression to achieve a press-fit, wherein in particular the rounded heads 35 are deformed and a section of the surface of the rounded head 35 is in a flat contact to each of the three inner faces 25a, b, c of each positioning slot 23a, b due to the compression of the material.

(18) After the lighting cap 20 is positioned inside the opening 31 of the holder 30, the lock lever 40 is turned by 45 from an open position, as shown in FIG. 2c, into a locked position, as shown in FIG. 3a. The opening 42 of the lock lever 40, which is superposed with the opening 31 of the holder 30 in the open position of the lock lever 40, is turned relative to the opening 31 of the holder 30 in the locked position, locking the lighting cap 20 against being pulled out of the holder 30.

(19) On the surface of an embodiment of the holder 30 facing the lock lever 40, two spring holder 44a, b are arranged to engage with the first surface 41a of the lock lever 40 in the locked position, as shown in FIG. 2b. In an embodyment comprising to spring holders 44a, b, it is preferred that the holder 30 has a larger diameter than the lock lever 40, in particular larger than the distance between the outmost positions of the handles 43 of the lock lever 40. The spring holders 44a, b each apply a force on the first surface 41a of the lock lever 40, pressing the lock lever 40 towards and against the reference plane RP on the holder 30.

(20) In FIG. 3b the lighting cap 20 is depicted transparently. The opening 42 of the lock lever 40 is turned relative to the opening 31 of the holder 30 and accordingly, parts of the surface 41b of the lock lever 40 are now in contact with a contact surface 28 on the side of the wings 26a, b facing away from the front face 22, which leads to a bayonet-locking of the lighting cap 20.

(21) To press the lock lever 40, in particular the upper surface 41b of the lock lever 40, against the contact surface 28 of the wings 26a, b in a reference plane RP, as a spring element 29 an elastic ring is placed on and fixed to the support plane surface 27 of the lighting cap 20 surrounding the front face 22. By the force applied by the spring element 29 onto the lower surface 41a of the lock lever 40, the upper surface 41b of the lock lever 40 is pressed against the contact surface 28 of each of the wings 26a, b of the lighting cap 20, ensuring that there is an in-plane contact between both surfaces 41b, 28, as shown in FIG. 5. Since the contact surface 28 and the front face 22 are aligned perfectly parallel to one another, also both surfaces 41a, b, which are also parallel to one another, are parallel to the front face 22 of the lighting cap 20. Accordingly, when the upper surface 41b of the lock lever 40 is in an in-plane contact with a surface of the holder 30 in the reference plane RP, the front face 22 of the lighting cap 20 is perfectly aligned with the holder 30 via the lock lever 40, as shown in FIG. 4. Correspondingly, no further reference surface surrounding the light emitting element 21 at the lighting cap 20 is necessary.

(22) While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description are to be considered illustrative or exemplary and not restrictive; the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments.

(23) For example, only either the material of the wings 26a, b adjacent to the positioning slots 23a, b or alternatively the material of the positioning elements 33a, b may be elastic, also allowing a press-fitting of the positioning elements 33a, b inside the positioning slots 23a, b. The other of the two elements 26a, b or 23a, b may not provide a significant or intended contribution to the press-fitting. Alternatively, only one of the elastic inner faces 25a, b, c of the the positioning slots 23a, b may be elastic or may provide elastic deformation during insertion of a lighting cap 20, wherein the other two of the inner faces 25a, b, c might not be designed to contribute to the press-fitting of the lighting cap 20 in the holder 20 by elastic deformation.

(24) Other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings the disclosure, and the appended claims.

(25) In the claims, the word comprising does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article a or an does not exclude a plurality. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutual different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage. Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope.