GB2139339A - Electric lighting apparatus - Google Patents

Electric lighting apparatus Download PDF

Info

Publication number
GB2139339A
GB2139339A GB08311870A GB8311870A GB2139339A GB 2139339 A GB2139339 A GB 2139339A GB 08311870 A GB08311870 A GB 08311870A GB 8311870 A GB8311870 A GB 8311870A GB 2139339 A GB2139339 A GB 2139339A
Authority
GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
electric lighting
relay
lighting apparatus
semiconductor switch
light
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
GB08311870A
Other versions
GB8311870D0 (en
GB2139339B (en
Inventor
John William White
Douglas Valentine Francis
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
ARLEN ELECTRICAL PLC
Original Assignee
ARLEN ELECTRICAL PLC
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by ARLEN ELECTRICAL PLC filed Critical ARLEN ELECTRICAL PLC
Priority to GB08311870A priority Critical patent/GB2139339B/en
Publication of GB8311870D0 publication Critical patent/GB8311870D0/en
Publication of GB2139339A publication Critical patent/GB2139339A/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of GB2139339B publication Critical patent/GB2139339B/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F21—LIGHTING
    • F21V—FUNCTIONAL FEATURES OR DETAILS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMS THEREOF; STRUCTURAL COMBINATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES WITH OTHER ARTICLES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F21V23/00—Arrangement of electric circuit elements in or on lighting devices
    • F21V23/04—Arrangement of electric circuit elements in or on lighting devices the elements being switches
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H47/00—Circuit arrangements not adapted to a particular application of the relay and designed to obtain desired operating characteristics or to provide energising current
    • H01H47/22—Circuit arrangements not adapted to a particular application of the relay and designed to obtain desired operating characteristics or to provide energising current for supplying energising current for relay coil
    • H01H47/24—Circuit arrangements not adapted to a particular application of the relay and designed to obtain desired operating characteristics or to provide energising current for supplying energising current for relay coil having light-sensitive input
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H05B—ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL
    • H05B47/00—Circuit arrangements for operating light sources in general, i.e. where the type of light source is not relevant
    • H05B47/10—Controlling the light source
    • H05B47/105—Controlling the light source in response to determined parameters
    • H05B47/11—Controlling the light source in response to determined parameters by determining the brightness or colour temperature of ambient light
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02B—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS
    • Y02B20/00—Energy efficient lighting technologies, e.g. halogen lamps or gas discharge lamps
    • Y02B20/40—Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Keying Circuit Devices (AREA)
  • Circuit Arrangement For Electric Light Sources In General (AREA)
  • Relay Circuits (AREA)

Abstract

A housing which includes connector means for an electric lighting element and control circuitry for the electric lighting element, the control circuitry comprising a relay having contacts operative for passing current to the connector means in response to energisation of an operating coil forming a part of the relay, a semiconductor switch via which an energising current is fed to the relay, and a light sensitive device which is responsive to ambient light levels in the vicinity of the apparatus and which is for initiating operation of the semiconductor switch so that electric current is fed to the connector means.

Description

SPECIFICATION Electric lighting apparatus This invention relates to electric lighting apparatus, especially for domestic and industrial use.
It is normally necessary for a switch to be operated manually in order to turn an electric light on and off. Lighting in or around buildings is however sometimes required when nobody is in attendance to operate a switch.
It is an object of the present invention to provide electric lighting apparatus which switches a light on and off automatically in response to the light level.
According to the present invention electric lighting apparatus comprises a housing which includes connector means for an electric lighting element and control circuitry for the electric lighting element, the control circuitry comprising a relay having contacts operative for passing current to the connector means in response to energisation of an operating coil forming a part of the relay, a semiconductor switch via which an energising current is fed to the relay, and a light sensitive device which is responsive to ambient light levels in the vacinity of the apparatus and which is for initiating operation of the semiconductor switch so that electric current is fed to the connector means.
The control circuitry may comprise a mains power supply unit for the relay and the semiconductor switch.
The mains power supply unit may comprise a shunt diode and a series diode connected back to back, the connection therebetween being fed from the mains via a feed capacitor, a shunt smoothing capacitor connected to the series diode at one end thereof remote from its connection with the shunt diode, the relay operating coil and the semiconductor switch which comprises a load, being coupled to the smoothing capacitor via a series voltage limiting resistor to which a zener diode is connected so as to shunt the load and to serve in use for stabilising a voltage applied across the load.
The semiconductor switch may comprise a transistor connected in series with the relay operating coil, the series combination of the operating coil and the transistor being connected across the zener diode, and the light sensitive device being connected to form a part of a biasing network coupled to the base of the transistor.
The light sensitive device is preferably a light dependant resistor device. The light dependant resistor device may comprise a cadium sulphide photoconductive cell.
The relay operating coil may be shunted by a diode connected so as to be effective to suppress induced voltage spikes produced consequent upon relay operation.
The light sensitive device may be arranged adjacent to a window or porthole formed in the housing.
The lighting apparatus may comprise a wall light, for example of the type known as a bulkhead fitting.
The connector means may comprise a connector for a filament lamp.
The housing may comprise two parts, one part of which contains the control circuitry and which includes the window or porthole via which light is fed to the light sensitive device and the other part of which comprises a translucent cover for the electric lighting element.
One embodiment of the invention will now be described solely by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a wall light; and Figure 2 is a circuit diagram of control circuitry for use with the wall light shown in Figure 1.
Referring now to Figure 1, a wall light comprises a housing 2 having an upper part 4 which accommodates control circuitry including a light sensitive device in the form of a light dependant photoconductive cell to which light is fed via a window 6. The housing 2 includes a lower part which includes a translucent cover 8 via which light is radiated. The translucent cover 8 is secured to the upper part 4 by means of fixing screws 10, and the housing 2 is secured to a wall by means of screws (not shown) which pass through slotted apertures 1 2.
Beneath the translucent cover 8 there is provided an electric socket connector (not shown) for a 100 watt filament lamp 14 shown in the circuit diagram of Figure 2. The filament lamp 14 is connected to terminals 16 and 18 of the electric socket connector, the terminal 18 being connected to a mains terminal 20 and the terminal 1 6 being connected to a mains terminal 22 via relay contacts 24.
The contacts 24 are operatively associated with a relay operating coil 26 which is serially connected to a transistor switch 28 which is operated responsively to light passing through the window 6 to be incident upon a photoconductive cell 30. The relay operating coil 26 and the transistor switch 28 are provided with power by means of a power supply which comprises a pair of back to back diodes 32 and 34, which are fed with voltage from the mains via a feed capacitor 36. The diode 34 is shunted by a smoothing capacitor 38 and the voltage across the smoothing capacitor 38 is applied to the relay coil 26 via a series voltage limiting resistor 40. In order to stabilise the voltage which is applied via the voltage limiting resistor 40 to the relay operating coil 26, a zener diode 42 is provided.In operation of the transistor switch 28 induced voltage spikes are developed across the relay operating coil 26 and in order to absorb these spikes a shunt diode 44 is provided. The photoconductive cell 30 forms part of a biasing network comprising resistors 46,48 and 50 via which a biasing voltage is applied to the base terminal of the transistor 28.
In operation of the control circuit just before described, it will be appreciated that when light of a predetermined intensity is incident upon the photoconductive cell 30, the transistor 28 will be constrained to bottom and current will thus be passed through the transistor 28 so as to energise the operating coil 26 of the relay such that the contacts 24, which include a redundant terminal 25, are operated whereby power from the mains is applied to the 100 watt lamp 14.
It will be appreciated that the wall lamp described with reference to Figure 1 is given by way of example only and that other kinds of industrial or domestic lamp or lighting fitting may be provided without departing from the scope of the invention. It will be appreciated that by using a lighting fitting of the kind just before described, operation is effected in a completely automatic manner without the requirement for a switch to be manually operated.

Claims (2)

CLAIMS 1. A housing which includes connector means for an electric lighting element and control circuitry for the electric lighting element, the control circuitry comprising a relay having contacts operative for passing current to the connector means in response to energisation of a operating coil forming a part of the relay, a semiconductor switch via which an energising current is fed to the relay, and a light sensitive device which is responsive to ambient light levels in the vacinity of the apparatus and which is for initiating operation of the semiconductor switch so that electric current is fed to the connector means. 2. Electric lighting apparatus according to claim 1 in which the control circuitry comprises a mainspower supply unit for the relay and the semiconductor switch. 3. Electric lighting apparatus according to claim 2 in which the mains power supply unit comprises a shunt diode and a series diode connected back to back, the connection therebetween being fed from the mains via a feed capacitor, a shunt smoothing capacitor connected to the series diode at one end thereof remote from its connection with the shunt diode, the relay operating coil and the semiconductor switch which comprises a load, being coupled to the smoothing capacitor via a series voltage limiting resistor to which a zener diode is connected so as to shunt the load and to serve in use for stabilising a voltage applied across the load. 4. Electric lighting apparatus according to claim 3 in which the semiconductor switch comprises a transistor connected in series with the relay operating coil, the series combination of the operating coil and the transistor being connected across the zener diode, and the light sensitive device being connected to form a part of a biasing network coupled to the base of the transistor. 5. Electric lighting apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims in which the light sensitive device is a light dependant resistor device. 6. Electric lighting apparatus according to claim 5 in which the light dependant resistor device comprises a cadium sulphide photoconductive cell. 7. Electric lighting apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims in which the relay operating coil is shunted by a diode connected so as to be effective to suppress induced voltage spikes produced consequent upon relay operation. 8. Electric lighting apparatus according to any one of the precedinq claims in which the light sensitive device is arranged adjacent to a window or porthole formed in the housing. 9. Electric lighting apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims and which is in the form of a wall light. 10. Electric lighting apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims in which the connector means comprises a connector for a filament lamp. 11. Electric lighting apparatus according to claim 8 in which the housing comprises two parts, one part of which contains the control circuitry and which includes the window or porthole via which light is fed to the light sensitive device and the other part of which comprises a translucent cover for the electric lighting element.
1. Electrical lighting apparatus comprising a housing which includes connector means for an electric lighting element and control circuitry for the electric lighting element the control circuitry comprising a relay having contacts operative for passing current to the connector means in response to energisation of a operating coil forming a part of the relay, a semiconductor switch via which an energising current is fed to the relay, and a light sensitive device which is responsive to ambient light levels in the vacinity of the apparatus and which is for initiating operation of the semiconductor switch so that electric current is fed to the connector means.
1
2. Electric lighting apparatus substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
GB08311870A 1983-04-29 1983-04-29 Electric lighting apparatus Expired GB2139339B (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB08311870A GB2139339B (en) 1983-04-29 1983-04-29 Electric lighting apparatus

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB08311870A GB2139339B (en) 1983-04-29 1983-04-29 Electric lighting apparatus

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
GB8311870D0 GB8311870D0 (en) 1983-06-02
GB2139339A true GB2139339A (en) 1984-11-07
GB2139339B GB2139339B (en) 1986-11-26

Family

ID=10541966

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
GB08311870A Expired GB2139339B (en) 1983-04-29 1983-04-29 Electric lighting apparatus

Country Status (1)

Country Link
GB (1) GB2139339B (en)

Cited By (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE3514476A1 (en) * 1985-04-22 1986-02-27 Heinrich Wüst KG, 7536 Ispringen Twilight switching having a CMOS memory for suppressing optical feedback
NL1027679C2 (en) * 2004-12-07 2006-06-08 Ubbink Garden B V Fountain for positioning in garden is fed with water from fluid system by pump and has lighting system with at least one light source
CN103716942A (en) * 2012-09-29 2014-04-09 深圳市海洋王照明工程有限公司 Light-operated light-fixture system circuit
CN105050293A (en) * 2015-08-13 2015-11-11 刘胜泉 Tri-state intelligent induction lamp and control method thereof
CN105228302A (en) * 2015-09-30 2016-01-06 成都川睿科技有限公司 A kind of automatic street lamp circuit based on power switch

Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB1408907A (en) * 1972-08-25 1975-10-08 Gen Eelctric Co Ltd Electric luminaires or lanterns

Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB1408907A (en) * 1972-08-25 1975-10-08 Gen Eelctric Co Ltd Electric luminaires or lanterns

Cited By (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE3514476A1 (en) * 1985-04-22 1986-02-27 Heinrich Wüst KG, 7536 Ispringen Twilight switching having a CMOS memory for suppressing optical feedback
NL1027679C2 (en) * 2004-12-07 2006-06-08 Ubbink Garden B V Fountain for positioning in garden is fed with water from fluid system by pump and has lighting system with at least one light source
CN103716942A (en) * 2012-09-29 2014-04-09 深圳市海洋王照明工程有限公司 Light-operated light-fixture system circuit
CN105050293A (en) * 2015-08-13 2015-11-11 刘胜泉 Tri-state intelligent induction lamp and control method thereof
CN105228302A (en) * 2015-09-30 2016-01-06 成都川睿科技有限公司 A kind of automatic street lamp circuit based on power switch

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB8311870D0 (en) 1983-06-02
GB2139339B (en) 1986-11-26

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Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
PCNP Patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee

Effective date: 19960429