Track lighting apparatus
DCFirst Claim
1. Track lighting apparatus comprising in combination,a longitudinal track section having a body with a right end and a left end and having a lateral cross section defined by first and second lateral sides, a top side of top width and a bottom side having a slot of width smaller than said top width, said sides defining a channel within said track which is open from beneath said track via said slot,a first insulator structure disposed within said channel adjacent said first lateral side, said first insulator structure carrying a neutral bus facing inwardly of said channel at a first lateral distance from said first lateral side and carrying a ground bus facing inwardly of said channel at a second lateral distance from said first lateral side, said ground bus being vertically separated from said neutral bus,a second insulator structure disposed within said channel adjacent said second lateral side, said second insulator structure carrying vertically separated first and second voltage busses which face inwardly of said channel at substantially identical lateral distances from said second lateral side;
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Accused Products
Abstract
Track lighting apparatus is disclosed which includes a track section, plug box and plug connector designed to incorporate two lighting circuits independently controllable within the same track section. The track section includes a neutral bus and a grounding bus on one lateral side and two independent voltage busses on its other lateral side. The head of the plug box inserted in a bottom slot running the longitudinal length of the track section, may be rotated into position in only one direction, thereby preventing inadvertent connection of neutral and grounding contacts to voltage busses and vice versa. The plug box head has a voltage contact which may be mechanically moved between two positions for alternative connection to either of the voltage busses of the track when the plug head is connected to the track. The plug connectors, one designed for insertion via the right hand end of the track section, the other via the left hand end, are provided to connect two or more track sections together in straight, "L", "T" , or "X" patterns, or to provide electrical feed from the wall or ceiling on which the track is installed or to provide track section termination. The plug connectors include a grounding finger to connect the track structure to the grounding bus and includes an inverse L shaped channel in which a connection member is disposed. The connection member includes a lateral contact, a vertical member and a lateral terminal member.
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Citations
41 Claims
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1. Track lighting apparatus comprising in combination,
a longitudinal track section having a body with a right end and a left end and having a lateral cross section defined by first and second lateral sides, a top side of top width and a bottom side having a slot of width smaller than said top width, said sides defining a channel within said track which is open from beneath said track via said slot, a first insulator structure disposed within said channel adjacent said first lateral side, said first insulator structure carrying a neutral bus facing inwardly of said channel at a first lateral distance from said first lateral side and carrying a ground bus facing inwardly of said channel at a second lateral distance from said first lateral side, said ground bus being vertically separated from said neutral bus, a second insulator structure disposed within said channel adjacent said second lateral side, said second insulator structure carrying vertically separated first and second voltage busses which face inwardly of said channel at substantially identical lateral distances from said second lateral side; - and
a plug box with a contact head having a lateral width smaller than said slot of said track and adapted for insertion into said channel of said track via said slot in said bottom side of said track section, said contact head carrying a neutral electrical contact on one longitudinal side, a voltage electrical contact on an opposite longitudinal side, and a ground electrical contact on said one longitudinal side on which said neutral electrical contact is carried, said ground electrical contact being vertically separated from said neutral electrical contact by a distance corresponding to the vertical separation between said ground bus and said neutral bus of said track section, said voltage electrical contact being moveable between a first fixed vertical position and a second fixed vertical position, the distance between said first vertical position and said second vertical position corresponding to the vertical separation of said first and second voltage busses of said track, whereby on insertion of said contact head of said plug box into said slot with longitudinal alignment of said head with said track, and after ninety degree rotation of said head within said channel such that said neutral contact and said ground contact of said head turns toward said neutral bus and said ground bus and said voltage contact turns toward said first and second voltage busses, electrical contact is established between said neutral contact of said head and said neutral bus of said track, between said ground contact of said head and said ground bus of said track, and between said voltage contact of said head and either of said first or second voltage busses of said track, depending upon whether said voltage contact is in its first fixed vertical position or its second fixed vertical position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A contact head of a plug box adapted for use with track lighting apparatus comprising,
an insulating structure having vertical, longitudinal and lateral dimensions defining a contact head lateral cross-section profile, a neutral electrical contact means and a ground electrical contact means carried on one longitudinal side of said structure, and a voltage electrical contact means carried on an opposite longitudinal side of said structure, said voltage electrical contact means being frictionally secured within said structure, yet movable between a first fixed vertical position and a second fixed vertical position, said neutral contact means, said ground contact means and said voltage contact means for establishing electrical connection with a neutral bus, a ground bus, and one of two voltage busses carried by a longitudinal track lighting section defined by a track lateral cross-section profile, wherein said contact head lateral cross-section profile and said track lateral cross section profile are cooperatively dimensioned to prevent said neutral contact means and said voltage contact means of said contact head structure respectively contacting said either of said two voltage busses and said neutral bus of said track lighting section.
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26. A low profile track lighting section comprising;
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a metallic body having a lateral cross-section defined by first and second lateral sides, a top side of top width and a bottom said having a slot of width smaller than said top width, said sides defining a channel within said track which is open from beneath said track via said slot, a first insulator structure disposed within said channel adjacent said first lateral side, said first insulator structure carrying ground and neutral busses vertically spaced at first and second distances from said top side of said body, a second insulator structure disposed within said channel adjacent said second lateral side, said second insulator structure carrying first and second voltage busses which are vertically spaced from said top side of said body substantially the same as said ground and neutral busses in said first insulator structure are spaced from said top side of said body.
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27. A plug connector adapted to electrically connect to a longitudinal track lighting section including a metallic track carrying a ground bus insulated from said metallic track, said plug connector comprising,
a structure of insulating material including a plug base and a plug head means integrally formed with said plug base, said plug head means having longitudinal, lateral and vertical dimensions, said structure having at least one electrical connection member extending between said plug head and said plug base, said electrical connection member including a contact disposed on a lateral side of said head and including a connection terminal disposed on a terminal surface of said plug base, said electrical connection member being a ground member including a ground top plate disposed on contiguous top surfaces of said plug base, and said plug head, a ground contact disposed on a lateral side of said plug head, and a grounding finger extending vertically from said ground top plate, said plug head means for electrically connecting said ground bus of said tracking lighting section to said ground top plate and said metallic track structure via said ground contact of said plug head.
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29. A plug connector adopted to electrically connect to a longitudinal track lighting section comprising,
a plug connector including a plug base and a plug head integrally formed with said plug base, said plug connector having at least one electrical connection member extending between said plug head and said plug base, said electrical connection member including a contact disposed on a lateral side of said head and including a connection terminal disposed on a terminal surface of said plug base, wherein said plug head and said plug base have at least one inverse L shaped longitudinal channel communicating with an inverse L shaped opening in said plug base, said channel in said plug head having a longitudinal slot in its lateral side from which said contact is disposed, said electrical connection member including a vertical plate with said contact extending laterally outwardly therefrom, thereby forming an inverse L shaped member, said connection member, after insertion via said inverse L shaped opening in said plug base, having said contact extending laterally outwardly from said longitudinal slot in said plug head.
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35. The plug connector of 34 wherein
said ground bus is disposed at a second lateral distance from said first lateral side of said track section, said second lateral distance being different from said first lateral distance of said neutral bus, said difference in lateral distances defining a separation distance, and wherein said plug head is a right hand plug head adapted to plug only into the right hand end of said track section and defined by said first and second voltage contacts being disposed on the lateral side of said plug which faces said second lateral side of the right hand end of said track section.
Specification