Modular luminaire

• US 5,473,522 A
• Filed: 07/25/1994
• Issued: 12/05/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sportlite Inc. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Sportlite Inc. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Kriz, Dale, Tickner, Jerold
• Primary Examiner(s): Lazarus, Ira S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sember, Thomas M.
• Application Number:
  US08/279,955
• Time in Patent Office: 498 Days
• Field of Search: 362/221, 362/265, 362/225, 362/223, 362/222, 362/374, 362/375, 362/217, 362/219, 362/260, 362/307, 362/310, 362/237, 362/240, 362/241, 362/374
• US Class Current: 362/221
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 2/005 of modular construction
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 8/04 intended only for mounting on a ceiling or the like overhead structures F21S8/02 takes precedence; details of ceiling bases F21V21/03
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 19/0095 of U-shaped tubular light sources, e.g. compact fluorescent tubes
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 7/005 with an elongated shape to cooperate with linear light sources
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2103/37 U-shaped
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2113/00 Combination of light sources
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/00 Energy efficient lighting technologies, e.g. halogen lamps or gas discharge lamps

Abstract

A modular luminaire consists of a rectangular housing having a top, first and second sides and first and second ends, with an open light-emitting bottom. Elongated reflector members are located in a side-by-side relationship in the housing for independently reflecting the light from a compact fluorescent lamp from each of the reflector members out of the open bottom of the housing. The reflector members may be made as a single unit or as separate, independent individual units. The edges of the separate, individual reflector members are made to releaseably interconnect with one another; so that any desired number of reflector members and corresponding compact fluorescent lamps may be mounted in a side-by-side relationship in housings of different widths to provide the desired amount of light. Fixtures are designed to replace HID lamps and conventional, low efficiency fluorescent lamp luminaires.

Claims

1. A luminaire for use with a plurality of elongated lamps including in combination:

a rectangular housing having a top, first and second sides, first and second ends, and an open light-emitting bottom;

a plurality of elongated reflector members attached to said housing adjacent one another and extending between said first and second ends of said housing parallel to said first and second sides thereof;

said reflector members being spaced a predetermined distance from said top of said housing; and

at least one access opening in the top of said housing to provide access from the top of said housing to the space between the top of said housing and said reflector members without disturbing said reflector members.

2. The combination according to claim 1 wherein the cross section of each of said reflector members is uniform throughout the length thereof and wherein each of said reflector members terminates in a pair of opposed spaced-apart parallel edges located substantially in the plane of the bottom of said housing.

3. The combination according to claim 2 wherein the cross section of each of said plurality of elongated reflector members is substantially a parabolic cross section.

4. The combination according to claim 3 wherein said plurality of elongated reflector members comprises an odd number of reflector members.

5. The combination according to claim 4 wherein said reflector members have a specular surface.

6. The combination according to claim 5 further including connectors located in at least one of said first and second ends of said rectangular housing for supporting a plurality of elongated fluorescent lamps each centered within a corresponding one of said individual elongated reflector members.

7. The combination according to claim 6 wherein said reflector members are separate reflector members and individual elongated reflector members include mating elements along the edges thereof for releaseably interconnecting the adjacent edges of said reflector members with one another.

8. The combination according to claim 7 wherein said elongated fluorescent lamps are compact fluorescent lamps each having a base and removably secured in said connectors and mounted with a downward tilt of substantially 2°

to 3°

from the base end thereof.

9. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said reflector members are separate individual reflector members of first and second alternating types and said first types of said separate individual elongated reflector members have the lower edges thereof bent upwardly to form continuous elongated flanges thereon, and said second types of said plurality of reflector members have the opposite edges thereof nested into said flanges of said first types of reflector members located on opposite sides thereof.

10. The combination according to claim 9 wherein the cross section of each of said reflector members is uniform throughout the length thereof and wherein each of said reflector members terminates in a pair of opposed spaced-apart parallel edges located substantially in the plane of the bottom of said housing.

11. The combination according to claim 1 wherein the cross section of each of said plurality of elongated reflector members is substantially a parabolic cross section.

12. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said plurality of elongated reflector members comprises an odd number of reflector members.

13. The combination according to claim 12 wherein said reflector members are separate reflector members of first and second alternating types, and said first types of said elongated reflector members have the lower edges thereof bent upwardly to form continuous elongated flanges thereon, and said second types of said plurality of reflector members have the opposite edges thereof nested into said flanges of said first types of reflector members located on opposite sides thereof.

14. The combination according to claim 1 further including connectors located in at least one of said first and second ends of said rectangular housing for supporting a plurality of elongated fluorescent lamps each centered within a corresponding one of said individual elongated reflector members.

15. The combination according to claim 14 wherein said elongated fluorescent lamps are compact fluorescent lamps and each having a base end removably secured in said connectors and mounted with a downward tilt of less than 4°

from the base end thereof.

16. The combination according to claim 1 further including a cover for said access opening releaseably secured in said opening for supporting a fluorescent lamp ballast thereon in said space between said reflector members and the top of said housing, said cover permitting removal and replacement of a ballast attached thereto through said access opening in the top of said housing.

17. The combination according to claim 16 wherein said at least one access opening includes a plurality of access openings each having a corresponding removable cover for attachment thereto of a lamp ballast to permit access to each said lamp ballast through said access openings in the top of said housing by removal of said cover members from said corresponding access openings.

18. The combination according to claim 16 wherein said reflector members are separate reflector members of first and second alternating types and said first types of said elongated reflector members have the lower edges thereof bent upwardly to form continuous elongated flanges thereon, and said second types of said plurality of reflector members have the opposite edges thereof nested into the flanges of said first types of reflector members located on opposite sides thereof.

19. The combination according to claim 18 wherein the cross section of each of said reflector members is uniform throughout the length thereof and wherein each of said reflector members terminates in a pair of opposed spaced-apart parallel edges located substantially in the plane of the bottom of said housing.