Fixture for a light assembly
11499685 · 2022-11-15
Assignee
Inventors
Cpc classification
F21S8/024
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F21S8/02
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F21V21/025
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F21S4/24
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F21S8/026
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F21S4/20
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
International classification
F21S4/20
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F21S4/24
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F21V21/02
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
Abstract
A fixture adapted to be arranged inside a wall for mounting at least one tape light is disclosed. The fixture includes a mounting plate adapted to be mounted inside a wall and defining at least two arcuate slots extending proximate to an edge of the mounting plate to facilitate an engagement of the mounting plate to a mounting structure arranged inside the wall. The mounting plate defines at least one hole extending from a first surface to a second surface. The fixture includes an end cap removably engaged to the mounting plate and having a housing portion defining a chamber to receive an electrical connector and having a base defining a groove arranged aligned with the at least one hole of the mounting plate. The groove and the hole facilitate an extension of a plurality of wires.
Claims
1. A fixture adapted to be arranged inside a wall for mounting at least one tape light having a plurality of light emitting diodes and an electrical connector connected to the tape light, the fixture comprising: a mounting plate adapted to be mounted inside the wall and defining at least two arcuate slots extending proximate to an edge of the mounting plate to facilitate an engagement of the mounting plate to a mounting structure arranged inside the wall, and at least one hole extending from a first surface to a second surface arranged opposite to the first surface; and an end cap removably engaged to the mounting plate and having a housing portion defining a chamber to receive the electrical connector and having a base defining a groove arranged to be aligned with the at least one hole of the mounting plate, wherein the groove and the hole facilitate an extension of a plurality of wires to the electrical connector to power the tape light.
2. The fixture of claim 1, wherein the housing portion includes a pair of parallel walls extending outwardly from the base, and a rear wall extending outwardly from the base and arranged between the pair of the parallel walls, and the end cap includes a cover adapted to be removably engaged with the pair of parallel walls and the rear wall covering an access opening of the housing portion, wherein the cover is an opaque cover.
3. The fixture of claim 2, wherein the housing portion includes a front opening defined between the pair of walls and the base to facilitate an extension of the tape light outside the housing portion.
4. The fixture of claim 1 further including a conduit extending through the groove and the hole, wherein the plurality of wires extends through the conduit.
5. The fixture of claim 1 further including an elongated channel structure adapted to be removably coupled to the housing portion and receive the tape light from the housing portion, and a lens removably coupled to the channel structure and covering the channel structure to facilitate a passage of light from the light emitting diodes to an ambient environment.
6. The fixture of claim 1, wherein the at least one hole includes a first hole and a second hole and the housing portion is a first housing portion, wherein the groove is aligned with the first hole and the tape light is a first tape light, and the end cap further includes a second housing portion defining a cavity and a bottom defining an opening aligned with the second hole to facilitate an extension of a plurality of cables to an electrical terminal to power a second tape light.
7. The fixture of claim 6, wherein the end cap includes a cover removably engaged to the second housing portion, wherein the cover is an opaque cover.
8. The fixture of claim 6 further including a conduit extending through the opening and the second hole, wherein the plurality of cables extends through the conduit.
9. The fixture of claim 6, wherein the end cap includes a channel portion having a substantially L-shape, wherein the first housing portion and the second housing portion intersects with the channel portion and respectively receive the first tape light and the second tape light from the first housing portion and the second housing portion, and at least one lens covering the channel portion to facilitate an exit of the light from the first tape light and the second tape light to an ambient environment.
10. The fixture of claim 9, wherein the channel portion includes a first sidewall and a second sidewall arranged spaced apart and opposite to the first sidewall, wherein the first tape light is supported on the first sidewall and the second tape light is supported on the second sidewall.
11. A light assembly, comprising: at least one tape light having a plurality of light emitting diodes and an electrical connector connected to the tape light; a mounting plate adapted to be mounted inside a wall and defining at least two arcuate slots extending proximate to an edge of the mounting plate to facilitate an engagement of the mounting plate to a mounting structure arranged inside the wall, and at least one hole extending from a first surface to a second surface arranged opposite to the first surface; and an end cap removably engaged to the mounting plate and adapted to be arranged inside the wall and having a housing portion defining a chamber to receive the electrical connector and having a base defining a groove arranged aligned with the at least one hole of the mounting plate, wherein the groove and the hole facilitate an extension of a plurality of wires to the electrical connector to power the at least one tape light.
12. The light assembly of claim 11, wherein the housing portion includes a pair of parallel walls extending outwardly from the base, and a rear wall extending outwardly from the base and arranged between the pair of the parallel walls, and the end cap includes a cover adapted to be removably engaged with the pair of parallel walls and the rear wall covering an access opening of the housing portion, wherein the cover is an opaque cover.
13. The light assembly of claim 12, wherein the housing portion includes a front opening defined between the pair of walls and the base to facilitate an extension of the tape light outside the housing portion.
14. The light assembly of claim 11 further including a conduit extending through the groove and the hole, wherein the plurality of wires extends through the conduit.
15. The light assembly of claim 11 further including an elongated channel structure adapted to be removably coupled to the housing portion and receive the tape light from the housing portion, and a lens removably coupled to the channel structure and covering the channel structure to facilitate a passage of light from the light emitting diodes to an ambient environment.
16. The light assembly of claim 11, wherein the at least one hole includes a first hole and a second hole, the housing portion is a first housing portion and the tape light is a first tape light, wherein the groove is aligned with the first hole, and the end cap further includes a second housing portion defining a cavity and a bottom defining an opening aligned with the second hole to facilitate an extension of a plurality of cables to an electrical terminal to power a second tape light.
17. The light assembly of claim 16, wherein the end cap includes a cover removably engaged to the second housing portion, wherein the cover is an opaque cover.
18. The light assembly of claim 16 further including a conduit extending through the opening and the second hole, wherein the plurality of cables extends through the conduit.
19. The light assembly of claim 16, wherein the end cap includes a channel portion having a substantially L-shape, wherein the first housing portion and the second housing portion intersects with the channel portion and respectively receive the first tape light and the second tape light from the first housing portion and the second housing portion, and at least one lens covering the channel portion to facilitate an exit of the light from the first tape light and the second tape light to an ambient environment.
20. The light assembly of claim 19, wherein the channel portion includes a first sidewall and a second sidewall arranged spaced apart and opposite to the first sidewall, wherein the first tape light is supported on the first sidewall and the second tape light is supported on the second sidewall.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION
(11) Example embodiments are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Unless otherwise expressly stated in the drawings, the sizes, positions, etc., of components, features, elements, etc., as well as any distances therebetween, are not necessarily to scale, and may be disproportionate and/or exaggerated for clarity.
(12) The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should be recognized that the terms “comprise,” “comprises,” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. Unless otherwise specified, a range of values, when recited, includes both the upper and lower limits of the range, as well as any sub-ranges therebetween. Unless indicated otherwise, terms such as “first,” “second,” etc., are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, one element could be termed a “first element” and similarly, another element could be termed a “second element,” or vice versa. The section headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not to be construed as limiting the subject matter described.
(13) Unless indicated otherwise, the terms “about,” “thereabout,” “substantially,” etc. mean that amounts, sizes, formulations, parameters, and other quantities and characteristics are not and need not be exact, but may be approximate and/or larger or smaller, as desired, reflecting tolerances, conversion factors, rounding off, measurement error and the like, and other factors known to those of skill in the art.
(14) Spatially relative terms, such as “right,” left,” “below,” “beneath,” “lower,” “above,” and “upper,” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element's or feature's relationship to another element or feature, as illustrated in the drawings. It should be recognized that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if an object in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the term “below” can, for example, encompass both an orientation of above and below. An object may be otherwise oriented (e.g., rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein may be interpreted accordingly.
(15) Unless clearly indicated otherwise, all connections and all operative connections may be direct or indirect. Similarly, unless clearly indicated otherwise, all connections and all operative connections may be rigid or non-rigid.
(16) Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. Thus, the same or similar numbers may be described with reference to other drawings even if they are neither mentioned nor described in the corresponding drawing. Also, even elements that are not denoted by reference numbers may be described with reference to other drawings.
(17) Many different forms and embodiments are possible without deviating from the spirit and teachings of this disclosure and so this disclosure should not be construed as limited to the example embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.
(18) Reference in this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. The appearance of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments.
(19) Referring to
(20) As shown in
(21) As shown in
(22) Moreover, the fixture 102 includes an end cap 122 removably engaged to the plate 104 and adapted to be arranged inside the wall. As shown in
(23) Moreover, the end cap 122, i.e., the housing portion 124, includes at least one groove, for example, a groove 144 (shown in
(24) As shown in
(25) Referring to
(26) Referring to
(27) As shown in
(28) The first housing portion 524 has a base 544, a pair of walls 546, 548 extending outwardly and perpendicularly to the base 544, and a rear wall 550 extending perpendicularly to the base 544. The pair of walls, for example, a first wall and 546 and a second wall 548, are arranged spaced apart from each other and located substantially parallel to each other, while the rear wall 550 extends from the first wall 546 to the second wall 548. Accordingly, a chamber 552 of the first housing portion 524 is defined between the base 544, the walls 546, 548, and the rear wall 550. Further, free edges of the walls 546, 548 and the rear wall 550 arranged opposite to the base 544 together define an access opening 554 of the chamber 552, while the first housing portion 524 also defines the front opening 540 at an intersection of the channel portion 528 (e.g., the first portion 530) with the first housing portion 524. Moreover, the first housing portion 524 includes at least one groove, for example, a first groove 556 (shown in
(29) The second housing portion 526 has a bottom 570 a pair of walls 572, 574 extending outwardly and perpendicularly to the bottom 570, and a rear wall 576 extending perpendicularly to the bottom 570. The pair of walls 572, 574, for example, a first wall 572 and a second wall 574, are arranged spaced apart from each other and located substantially parallel to each other, while the rear wall 576 extends from the first wall 572 to the second wall 574. Accordingly, a cavity 578 of the second housing portion 526 is defined between the bottom 570, the walls 572, 574, and the rear wall 576. Further, free edges of the walls 572, 574 and the rear wall 576, arranged opposite to the bottom 570, together define an access opening 580 of the cavity 578, while second housing portion 526 also defines the front opening 542, arranged opposite to the rear wall 576, through which the second tape light 700 extends into the channel portion 528 (i.e., second portion 532).
(30) As shown, the front opening 542 is disposed at an intersection of the second portion 532 with the second housing portion 526. Moreover, the second housing portion 526 includes an opening 582 (shown in
(31) Additionally, each of the pair of the sidewalls 536, 538 of the channel portion 528 includes a C-shaped structure 594 extending outside the channel portion 528. The c-shaped structures 594 may facilitate an engagement of the channel portion 528, and hence the end cap 522, with the channel structures 142 of the fixture 502. Moreover, the fixture 502 includes at least one lens 596 (shown in
(32) A method for mounting the light assembly 100 is now described. For mounting the light assembly 100, a technician may mount the plate 104 with the suitable mounting structure via the plurality of fasteners before the drywall is installed. After mounting the plate 104, a drywall installer installs the drywall such that the plate 104 is hidden inside/behind the drywall. Also, before installing the drywall, the technician may extend the conduit 146 through the central hole 120 of the plate 104 and mounts/attaches the conduit 146 with the plate 104 using the first threaded bolt 148.
(33) The technician also extends the plurality of wires 210, connected to a power source, through the conduit 146. After installing the drywall, the technician may make an elongated cut into the drywall at the location where the endcap 122 and the channel structure 142 is to be mounted. It may be envisioned that the elongated cut is defined into the drywall such that the plate 104 is located at an end of the cut. Subsequently, the technician engages the end cap 122 with conduit 146 such that the conduit 146 extends through the groove 144 of the housing portion 124. The end cap 122 may be arranged at any angular orientation relative to the plate 104 by rotating the end cap 122 relative to the conduit 146. Before extending the conduit 146 through the groove 144, the cover 152 is disengaged from the housing portion 124.
(34) Thereafter or otherwise, the technician may arrange the electrical connector 206 inside the chamber 136 and the connect the electrical wires 210 to the electrical connector 206. Further, the tape light 200 is also connected with the electrical connector 206. The tape light 200 extends outside the chamber 136 through the front opening 140 and is arranged/positioned along the base 126 of the housing portion 124. The technician also engages the channel structure 142 with the housing portion 124 by aligning the c-shaped structures 168 of the housing portion 124 with the c-shaped structures 170 of the channel structure 142 and inserting the link bars (not shown) inside the c-shaped structures 170 of the channel structure 142 and the c-shaped structures 168 of the housing portion 124. The channel structure 142 is arranged such that the channel structure 142 extends from the front opening 140 of the housing portion 124 and extends away from the housing portion 124. The tape light 200 is also positioned along the base 162 of the channel structure 142. Thereafter, the technician mounts the cover 152 on the housing portion 124 and arranges the end cap 122 and the channel structure 142 inside the drywall such that the channel structure 142 extends along the length of the elongated cut. The technician also engages the end cap 122 with the plate 104 vis the second threaded bolt 150. Subsequently, the technician engages the lens 172 or the lens with the channel structure 142 covering the access opening 174 of the channel structure 142. Now the drywall installer applies ultra-thin drywall tape to help with the mudding. This mudding is also helped by the large wings or flanges that extend out housing portion 124. The light assembly 100 and the fixture 102 are mudded into the wall so that only the lens 172 is visible, making a great looking and clean installation.
(35) It may be envisioned that the light assembly 500 may be mounted/installed similar to the mounting/installation of the light assembly 100 except that the mounting plate 104 is arranged and attached at a desired orientation relative to the TSGB bracket by rotating the mounting plate 104 relative to the TSGB bracket to achieve a desired angular orientation of the end cap 522 relative to the drywall. Also, the first conduit 560 and the second conduit 584 are extended through the first hole 116 and the second hole 118 of the plate 104 and are coupled to the plate 104 by the threaded bolts. Thereafter, the end cap 522 is mounted to the plate 104 by extending the first conduit 560 and the second conduit 584 though the first groove 556 and the opening 582 of the end cap 522, respectively, and coupling the end cap 522 to the plate 104 in a manner similar to the coupling of the end cap 122 with the plate 104.
(36) The light assembly 100, 500 provides a safe connection to a power source, and the end cap 122, 522 prevents the visibility of the electrical connector 206, 606 and the electrical terminal 706 and also a connection of the electrical connector 206, 606, and the electrical terminal 706 to the power source without creating a dark spot at the location of connection of the connector 206, 606 and the terminal. In addition, the light assembly 500 may be mounted at any angle desired by the user by rotating the plate 104 about its central axis to position the first hole 116 and the second hole 118 at any desired positions to mount the end cap 522 at any desired orientations relative to the drywall. The arcuate slots 106 of the plate 104 facilitates mounting of the plate 104 with the TSGB bracket or junction box corresponding to any desired positions of the first hole 116 and the second hole 118. Also, no additional wiring is required for the light assembly 100, 500 as it may be easily connected with a TSGB or runs the wires to a junction box to facilitate the electrical connection to the light assembly 100, 500. Also, the fixture 102, 502 allow for installing in-wall channels without having to have an electrician return to the site after installing the drywall.
(37) It should be understood that the foregoing description is only illustrative of the aspects of the disclosed embodiments. Various alternatives and modifications can be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the aspects of the disclosed embodiments. Accordingly, the aspects of the disclosed embodiments are intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variances that fall within the scope of the appended claims. Further, the mere fact that different features are recited in mutually different dependent or independent claims does not indicate that a combination of these features cannot be advantageously used, such as a combination remaining within the scope of the aspects of the disclosed embodiments.