EP0383371A1

EP0383371A1 - Quick-coupling articulated joint for adjustable spotlight

Info

Publication number: EP0383371A1
Application number: EP90200202A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Fabio Reggiani
Original assignee: Reggiani SpA Illuminazione
Current assignee: Reggiani SpA Illuminazione
Priority date: 1989-02-17
Filing date: 1990-01-29
Publication date: 1990-08-22
Also published as: IT8919467A0

Abstract

A pin joint for adjustable spotlights comprises a supporting arm (11) provided at one end with half pins (12, 12') each of which is fitted with a generically "V"-shaped spring (16) with its central portion embracing at least more than half the circumference of the corresponding pin and with its ends shaped with grooves (18, 19) which snap onto opposing lateral edges of apertures disposed on either side of a slot for sliding the support into the body of the spotlight, when the support is fitted into its slot thereby forming housings for rotation of the pins, frictionally restricted by compression of the arms of the springs.

Description

This invention refers to a pin joint for an adjustable spotlight, with innovatory assembling features.
The scope of this invention is to provide a restricted pin joint which, although it is inside the body of the spotlight, does not necessarily require the latter to be opened in order to fasten it and which moreover can be fastened quickly and reliably without the need for special tools.
This scope is achieved by providing a pin joint for an adjustable spotlight, in which a support comprises aligned lateral pins each of which fits into a housing in the body of the spotlight for restricted rotation, characterized by the fact that a leaf spring is centrally bent to embrace at least more than half the circumference of the pin to form the housing thereof and branches off into divaricated arms received by an aperture in the body whose edges engage with the ends of the arms in order to bring them together and tighten the housing around the pin.
The innovatory principles of this invention and its advantages with respect to the known technique will be more clearly evident from the following description of a possible exemplificative embodiment applying said principles, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

- figure 1 shows a schematic rear view of a spotlight with an articulated support made according to the invention;
- figure 2 shows a cross-sectional view along the line II-II of figure 1;
- figure 3 shows a schematic exploded perspective view of the end portion of the support with pin joint and with spring coupling elements of the spotlight of figure 1;
- figure 4 shows a schematic scrap view of a second possible embodiment;
- figure 5 shows another schematic scrap view of the embodiment of figure 4.

With reference to the figures, as shown in figure 1, a spotlight 10 with swivel joint made according to the invention, comprises a supporting arm 11 having close to one end two half pins 12, 12′ disposed on opposing sides. The opposite end of the support 11 is not shown since it can be made with securing means of any known type, such as for example a plate for securing it to a wall by means of screws, a spring clip, etc..
The body 20 of the spotlight has a slot 13 to slidingly receive the joint end of the supporting arm 11. Said slot has two lateral apertures 14 and 15 at right angles to its longitudinal direction.
As can be more clearly seen in figure 3, the half pins 12, 12′ are fitted with two spring elements 16, 16′, respectively, (only the elements of the spring 16 will be hereinafter referred to, it being understood that the spring 16′ is identical and that its component parts have the same reference numbers as the corresponding parts of the spring 16, but with the suffix ').
The spring elements are generically "V"-shaped with a semi-cylindrical central portion 17 with a diameter substantially similar to that of the half pins and with a semi-circumference larger than half the circumference of the half pins.
The free ends of the elements 16 are shaped to form two grooves 18 and 19 extending towards each other with a width substantially equal to the thickness of the edges of the two lateral apertures 14 and 15. The divergence of the two arms of one spring 16 is such that the distance between the two grooves is greater than the distance between the two opposing edges of each aperture 14 and 15.
The support is fitted onto the spotlight by positioning the spring elements on the half pins and inserting the end of the support into the slot 13 so that the two spring elements are compressed and slide into the two apertures 14 and 15 until the grooves 18 and 19 snap onto the opposing edges of said apertures, as can be clearly seen in figure 2.
In this position, the compression of the arms of the springs towards one another and, consequently, the corresponding flexure of the semi-cylindrical portion around the pin advantageously frictionally restrict the rotation of the pins, so that the spotlight does not move under its own weight but only when it is orientated by hand.
Once the support 11 has been fitted into the body of the spotlight, the latter can be orientated in a plane perpendicular to the pins with a maximum angle depending upon the length of the slot 13 in which the support 11 slides, as can easily be imagined by the technician.
The springs 16 must obviously be of such dimensions as to support the weight of the spotlight, both in terms of the load that the arms can withstand without becoming distorted, and in terms of thrust exerted by the grooves 18 and 19 on the edges of the apertures 14 and 15.
It should be noted that any force exerted on the support, in order to remove it from the body of the spotlight in the coupling direction gives rise to components which, due to the propensity of the pins to wedge themselves in the open portion of the semicylinders 17, tend to force the grooves of the springs even harder against the edges of the apertures. Moreover, the shorter the perimetral length of the half pins not embraced by the semicylinders 17, the greater the force that must be exterted before the pins come out of the springs. It is thus possible to obtain a joint which is highly reliable in terms of preventing accidental uncoupling caused by externally applied force.
Whenever it is necessary to detach the support from the body of the spotlight, it is sufficient to lever one of the two ends of the springs, for example using the blade of a screwdriver, so as to disengage the corresponding groove from the edge of the aperture.
It is obviously possible to imagine various coupling means between the ends of the springs and the body of the spotlight. For example, figures 4 and 5 (in which only one end of a spring is shown since the other end is identical) schematically show a second possible embodiment of such coupling, in which the ends of the springs 16, instead of being shaped with grooves, are made with two lateral slits which engage with two corresponding ledges 23 and 24 disposed on opposing edges in the apertures at the sides of the slot through which the support slides.
It is clear that a system for fitting the support onto the body of the spotlight made according to the principles claimed herein enables the spotlight to be assembled extremely rapidly. Moreover, since it is possible to first secure the support, by means of known securing means, for example to a wall, and then snap the body onto it, the securing means can be made in such a way as to be concealed by the body of the spotlight once it is installed.
The above-described embodiments are obviously given merely by way of example in order to illustrate the innovatory principles claimed herein and should not therefore be understood as a limitation to the sphere of this invention.
For example, the ends of the springs can be made with gripping extensions protruding from the body of the spotlight so as to enable it to be disassembled more easily.
Moreover, the shape of the body of the spotlight with its slots for the supporting arm and the shape of the support itself are given herein for descriptive convenience, it being understood that they may be of any desired shape in order to satisfy particular aesthetic or practical criteria.
For example, the edges onto which the ends of the springs engage may be recessed in the body of the spotlight so that, once they are engaged, the springs cannot be seen from the outside. It is thus also posssible to hide the ends of the springs completely, by not offering the possibility of easily separating the parts.
The grooves at the ends of the springs can be shaped and orientated differently according to the particular design of the slot for sliding the support into the body of the spotlight and the shape of the edges of the lateral apertures, as is easily imaginable by the technician.
The ends of the springs can also be simply bent to fit into grooves or recesses made on the edge of the apertures.
Although in the embodiments described the springs advantageously engage by means of a sliding movement it is also possible for them to be secured in position by manually pressing the two arms and subsequently fitting them in place.
Lastly, it is also possible to devise means for securing the ends of the springs to the body of the spotlight differing from the ones described which are simply fitted in; for example, if the advantage of easy removibility is not considered necessary, it is possible to use springs with perforated ends for screws or rivets to be connected to the body of the spotlight in the position in which the springs are locked onto the pins. If the springs are sufficiently flexible it is also possible to insert or remove the pins without removing the securing means, by simply exerting sufficient force when inserting or removing them as to enable them to pass (by flexure of the springs) through the aperture in the semi-cylindrical shapes.

Claims

1. A pin joint for an adjustable spotlight, in which a support comprises aligned lateral pins each of which fits into a housing in the body of the spotlight for restricted rotation, characterized by the fact that a leaf spring is centrally bent to embrace at least more than half the circumference of the pin to form the housing thereof and branches off into divaricated arms received by an aperture in the body whose edges engage with the ends of the arms in order to bring them together and tighten the housing around the pin.

2. A joint as claimed in Claim 1, characterized by the fact that the edges of the aperture fit into the ends of the arms in order to hold the spring in place.

3. A joint as claimed in Claim 1, characterized by the fact that the ends of the arms are shaped to form grooves which engage with the edges of the aperture.

4. A joint as claimed in Claim 1, characterized by the fact that the ends of the arms are made to engage with the edges by sliding the arms along said edges.

5. A joint as claimed in Claim 1, characterized by the fact that the ends of the springs are secured to the body of the spotlight by means of screws or rivets.