GB2436863A

GB2436863A - Embedded Light Fixture Support

Info

Publication number: GB2436863A
Application number: GB0606688A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Albinson
Original assignee: BAA Ltd
Current assignee: BAA Ltd
Priority date: 2006-04-03
Filing date: 2006-04-03
Publication date: 2007-10-10
Also published as: GB0606688D0; WO2007113584A3; WO2007113584A2

Abstract

Apparatus for installing a ground light such as an airfield ground light. The apparatus includes a preformed plug portion which is receivably mountable in a hole in a surface in which the ground light is to be mounted. The apparatus also includes a mounting plate which is embedded in the plug portion. A top portion of the plug can be removed to expose the mounting plate for mounting the ground light thereon. The apparatus can be made using a mould. A method of installing a ground light includes receiving the described plug portion in a hole in a surface in which the ground light is to be mounted. The method also includes cutting the top portion away from the plug portion to expose the mounting plate. The method further includes mounting the ground light on the mounting plate.

Description

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2436863

1

LIGHTING FITMENT APPARATUS AND METHOD BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

5 This invention relates to a lighting fitment apparatus and method. In particular,

this invention relates to a lighting fitment apparatus and method for use with airfield ground lights.

Present methods for installing ground lights such as airfield ground lights include 10 coring a hole into the surface into which the ground light is to be installed and then pouring concrete into the hole to form a plug. In situations where it is desired to replace an existing ground light, the area around the existing ground light can be similarly cored out to form a new cored hole for installing a replacement ground light.

15 Once the concrete has been poured into the cored hole, it is necessary to wait until the concrete has dried. This is inconvenient, since the curing of the concrete may take some time and in certain situations the amount of time which can be spent at a site for installing one or more ground lights is limited. This is especially relevant in the case of, for example, airfields where access to the site for installing the ground lights may be 20 limited to a short time-window due to the undesirability of closure of the portion of the airport, in which the new ground lights are to be installed.

Once the concrete has cured, a central cored hole is cut into the plug to allow a cable to be introduced (for example via a side hole through the concrete plug or via a duct 25 which passes below the concrete plug in the hole). Once the cable is introduced, it is temporarily covered with a back fill material and capped with a bitumen bound material to stop the temporary back fill material escaping. The concrete plug is then cored a second time to form a larger diameter hole in an upper portion of the plug into which the ground light can be mounted. Mounting is usually achieved by gluing. Prior to this 30 gluing, the temporary fill material in which the power feed cable is buried can be removed and the cable made available for connection to the ground light.

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Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the existing method for installing a ground light requires a large number of steps to be performed on-site. These steps include coring the initial hole, filing the hole with concrete, waiting for the concrete to cure, and then 5 coring first one, then another hole in the cured plug and finally installing the ground light. The number of ground lights which can be installed in a given time-window can therefore be prohibitively low.

This invention has been made in consideration of at least some of the problems 10 indicated above.

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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Particular and preferred aspects of the invention are set out in the accompanying independent and dependent claims. Combinations of features from the dependent claims 5 may be combined with features of the independent claims as appropriate and not merely as explicitly set out in the claims.

Aspects of the invention are defined in the accompanying claims.

10 According to an aspect of the invention there can be provided an apparatus for installing a ground light. The apparatus includes a preformed plug portion which is receivably mountable in a hole in a surface in which the ground light is to be mounted. The apparatus also includes a mounting plate which is embedded in the plug portion. A top portion of the plug can be removed to expose the mounting plate for mounting the 15 ground light thereon.

Removal of the top portion can involve cutting away a portion of the plug by, for example, a coring process. In some examples, the top portion can be removeably receivable in the plug portion. The removable portion can be inserted following a coring 20 process or the space for receiving the removable top portion may be defined during a moulding process for making the plug. The ability of the top portion to be removably received means that the plug can be installed in anticipation of the later installation of a ground light in the plug.

25 The plug portion can include a first tubular portion extending between a top surface of the plug portion and the mounting plate. The first tubular portion can receive means for lifting the plug portion. The plug portion can also include a second tubular portion extending between a bottom surface of the plug portion and the mounting plate. The first and second tubular portions are interconnected via an aperture in the mounting 30 plate. The second tubular portion can receive wires or such like for providing power to a mounted ground light.

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The second tubular portion can have a larger diameter than the first tubular portion. The tubular portions can be defined by respective tubes made of, for example, a plastics material. These plastics tubes can form part of a mould for making the described 5 apparatus. The plug portion can be substantially cylindrical, whereby the hole in the surface for receiving the plug portion can be made by a coring process. The mounting plate, the first tubular portion and/or the second tubular portion can be co-axial with the cylindrical plug portion.

10 Reinforcing portions can be embedded within the plug portion.

The plug portion can be preformed using concrete which is poured into a mould to pre-cast the plug portion. Pre-casting allows the concrete to cure prior to it being received in the hole in the surface, which can greatly reduce the amount of time required 15 for installing a ground light on-site.

External grooves can be provided for improving retention of the plug portion in the hole in the surface using glue.

20 An example of a ground light that the described apparatus and methods can be used to install is an airfield ground light.

The described apparatus may be provided in its originally molded form, or with an opening cut into a top surface of the plug portion, exposing the mounting plate for 25 mounting the ground light thereon. A mould for making the described apparatus can include an outer drum and a mounting plate positioned within the drum. One or more tubes can extend between an upper and/or lower opening of the drum for defining the first and/or second tubular portions. Concrete can be poured in to the mould for making the described apparatus.

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5

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of installing a ground light. The method includes receiving a plug portion of the apparatus described above in a hole in a surface in which the ground light is to be mounted. The method also includes removing the top portion from the plug portion to expose the 5 mounting plate. The method further includes mounting the ground light on the mounting plate.

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Removing the top portion away from the plug portion can include cutting a hole into a top surface of the plug portion to a depth at which the mounting plate is embedded in the plug portion.

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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the invention and to show how the same may be carried into effect reference is now made by way of example only to the accompanying 5 drawings in which like reference signs relate to like elements and in which:

Figure 1 shows a schematic side view of a plug;

Figure 2 shows a schematic top view of the plug shown in Figure 1; and

Figure 3 shows a schematic cross section view of the plug shown in Figures 1 and

10 2;

Figure 4 shows a schematic 3D view of the plug shown in Figures 1 to 3;

Figure 5 shows a schematic 3D view cross section view of the plug shown in Figures 1 to 4; and

Figure 6 shows a schematic cross section view of a blanking plug.

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While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments are shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed,

20 but on the contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

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DESCRIPTION OF PARTICULAR EMBODIMENTS

Particular embodiments will now be described by way of example only in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings.

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An apparatus for installing a ground light such as an airfield ground light into a surface will now be described, with reference to Figures 1 to 5.

According to embodiments of this invention, a plug can be pre-formed at a 10 location away form the site at which the ground light is to be installed. Prefabrication of the plug allows it to be cured and properly hardened prior to its arrival at the surface into which the ground light is to be installed. This avoids problems of having to wait until the concrete or other material which is used to make plug cures. Instead, a hole can be made in a surface into which a ground light is to be installed and the pre-formed, hardened plug 15 can be inserted directly into the surface.

Figure 1 shows an example of such a plug 10 received in a hole 22 in a surface 20. As can be seen from Figure 2, which shows a schematic top view of the plug 10 shown in Figure 1, the plug 10 can be, for example, circular in cross section (i.e. a 20 cylindrical plug). This shape allows the hole 22 in the surface 20 to be formed by a coring process, although other shapes of plugs, are possible.

The plug 10 can be attached within the hole 22 in a surface 20 using, for example, a resin. As is shown in Figure 1, one or more external grooves 2 can be provided at the 25 surface of the plug 10 in order to allow an improved attachment within the hole 22 using resin.

The plug 10 can comprise a generally solid body into which one or more items can be embedded. As described hereinafter, manufacture of the plug 10 can involve the 30 use of a mould into which the various components of the plug 10 are positioned whereby those components become embedded within the mould material (for example, concrete)

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once the material is poured into the mould. With reference to Figures 2 to 5, the various components which can be included within the plug 10 will now be described.

The apparatus can include a mounting plate 14. The mounting plate 14 can 5 comprise, for example, a plastics material. The mounting plate is embedded within the plug 10 a predetermined distance away from a top surface 11 of the plug 10. The depth below the surface 11 of the plug 10 at which the mounting plate 14 is embedded can be predetermined according to the depth of the ground light which is eventually to be received in the plug 10.

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With reference to Figure 5, once the plug 10 has been received in the hole 22, a method of installing a ground light can further include cutting a hole into the top surface 11 of the plug 10 using, for example, a coring process. The portion of the top part of the plug 10 which is to be cored away is shown schematically by the dashed line 30 in Figure 15 5. In this example, the hole which is produced in the top surface 11 is of substantially the same diameter as the mounting plate 14, which in this example is circular. However, in other examples, it will be understood that the diameter of the hole which is cored into the top portion of the plug 10 maybe narrower than the mounting plate 14. Once the hole indicated by the dashed line 30 has been cut (cored) away from the top of the plug 10, the 20 ground light can be mounted onto the mounting plate 14 within the hole.

Mounting of the ground light to the mounting plate can be performed by gluing or bolting or by some other process. It will be noted that the mounting plate 14 allows the cored hole portion indicated by the dashed line 30 to be simply lifted out of the top half 25 of the plug 10 once the edges of the hole have been cut.

Accordingly, the process for installing a ground light is shortened with respect to existing methods, since it is not necessary to wait for the concrete or other material of the plug 10 to cure on-site. Nor is it necessary to make numerous cores into the plug. 30 Instead, the plug can simply be lowered into the hole 22 and fixed in place using, for

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example, resin in the gap 24 between the plug 10 and the hole 22, and then the hole for receiving the ground light itself can be cored away from the top surface 11 of the plug 10.

In other examples, the top portion may be removable received within the plug.

5 This can be achieved either by coring out the top portion off-site or by including a portion in a mould for making the plug 10 which defines the hole indicated by the dashed line 30. In either case, once the hole on the plug 10 is formed, a removable top portion can then be removeably received therein.

10 In the example described in relation to Figures 1 to 5, the plug 10 can also be provided with means for reinforcing the material from which the plug is made. In this particular example, reinforcing bars 18 are embedded within the plug 10. The reinforcing bars 18 can be positioned proximal the mounting plate 14 thereby providing additional strength for the plug 10 in the region in which the hole is to be cut away for receiving the 15 ground light.

In the example described herein in relation to Figures 1 to 5, pre-existing tubes can be provided within the plug 10. These tubes can be made from for example, plastic tubing. The tubes can define one or more tubular portions. The purpose of the first 20 tubular portion 12 is to receive means for lifting and manoeuvring the plug 10 as it is being lowered into the hole 22. In some examples, the tube 12 can be glued to the mounting plate 14.

As is shown in Figures 2 to 5, the plug 10 can also include a second tube 16 25 defining a second tubular portion which extends away from the mounting plate 14 towards a lower surface 13 of the plug 10. The second tube may also be glued to the mounting plate 14.

A blanking portion 22 can be provided at the bottom of the tube 16 to close off 30 the bottom of the tube 16 thereby avoiding materials such as resin or other materials accumulated in the hole 22 from entering the tube 16. The second tubular portion allows

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passage for means such as wires or cabling for providing power to the ground light when it is received in the cutaway portion indicated in Figure 5 schematically by the dashed line 30.

5 It should be noted that in contrast to known mounting methods, it is not necessary to make more than one core in the described plug 10. Instead, only a single coring process need by required to cut away the portion indicated by the dash line 30 in Figure 5 as opposed to the multi-stage coring processes described in the background section above. In some examples, the coring can be performed off-site as described above, 10 thereby further quickening the on-site installation process.

As can be seen from, for example, Figures 2, 4 and 5, the components such as the reinforcing portions 18, the mounting plate 14, and the first and second tubular portions 12 and 16 may all be co-axially embedded within the plug 10. The tubular portions may 15 be cylindrical.

A method for installing a ground light such as an airfield ground light will now be described with continued reference to Figures 1 to 5. As described above in relation to Figure 1, a first stage for installing a ground light can include coring a hole 22 into a 20 surface 20. The depth of the hole can be measured, and a plug 10 of a suitable size can be selected such that the upper surface 11 of the plug is level with the surface 20 when the plug 10 is received in the hole 22. The cored hole can be screeded off the top of the surface 20 to a precise depth using, for example, sand/resin mortar.

25 A predetermined quantity of pourable resin or other glue-like material can then be poured into the cored hole and the pre-cast plug 10 can be introduced. The plug 10 can be guided by a number of vertical rods (made for example, from PVC) spaced at equal distances around the periphery of the plug 10. These rods are sacrificial and any portions of the rods which extend from the surface 20 after the plug 10 has been received in the 30 hole 22, can be cut away.

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As the plug 10 sinks into the resin, the resin is displaced within the gap 24 between the plug 10 and the sides of the hole 22. The resin is displaced up and around the periphery of the plug 10 so that when the plug 10 is level with the surface 20 the annular space 24 around the plug 10 is substantially filled with resin.

5

As described above, the plug 10 can be lifted into position using a tool which exploits the first tubular portion 12 of the plug 10. It should be noted that the first tubular portion 12 also allows introduction of a power feed cable into the second lower tubular portion 16 without the need to separately core any vertical cable galleries. Due to the 10 relatively small size of the first tubular portion 12 there is no need for the first tubular portion to be temporarily filled in prior to the coring away of the portion indicated in Figure 5 by the dashed line 30.

The coring process to produce the hole indicated by the dashed line 30 in Figure 5 15 can be carried out such that the coring bit meets the mounting plate 14. This can ensure that a well formed socket is created in a pre-cast plug 10 and, as indicated above, allows the cored out portion to be simply lifted up and out of the plug 10 thereby creating a space for receiving the ground light. As described above, the top portion may be pre-cored or removeably received in a pre-moulded space. In such examples, no on-site 20 coring is necessary.

The apparatus described herein can be manufactured using a mould into which a material such as concrete can be poured to pre-cast the plug 10. A mould for making the apparatus described herein can include an outer drum which can, for example, be 25 cylindrical and can further include elements such as those described above in relation to Figure 5 positioned at appropriate places within the drum such that they become embedded in their desired position once the concrete or another material is introduced into the mould.

30 Thus, for example, the mould can include the above described drum with the mounting plate positioned therein. The mould can further include one or more plastic

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tubes defining the tubular portions 12 and 16 as well as one or more reinforcing portions 18.

With reference to Figure 6, there is now described a blanking plug 50. The 5 purpose of the blanking plug is to fill a hole left behind by the removal of a no longer desired ground light in a manner which is swift and easy to install.

The blanking plug 50 comprises a plug similar to that described above except that the blanking plug need not comprise the internal structure and elements such as the first 10 and second tubular portions and/or the mounting plate 14. The plug 50 can be prefabricated in the way which is described above, namely off-site and then transported to the site once it has cured. Again, prefabrication of the blanking plug off-site allows the curing process (which may be the most time-limiting factor when works are being carried out in, for example an airfield) to take place off-site a method of blanking off an old plug 15 in which an no longer desired ground light is required can then include coring out the old ground light and receiving the blanking plug 50 into the cored hole.

The blanking plug 50 can include features such as the external grooves 52 which are also described above (reference numeral 2 in Figure 1, for example) for improving 20 grip between the blanking plug 50 and the hole in which it is received using glue. The blanking plug 50 can also include reinforcing elements 58 such as those described above. The blanking plug 50 can further include a loop of material such as a metal which is embedded into the plug 50 for lifting and manoeuvring the plug into a hole.

25 The blanking plug can be manufactured in a manner similar to that described above, namely it can be formed in a mould into which concrete can be poured. The features such as the reinforcing portions 58 and the loop of material 60 can be appropriately positioned within the mould prior to filling the mould with, for example, concrete.

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13

Claims

1. Apparatus for installing a ground light, the apparatus comprising:

a preformed plug portion receivably mountable in a hole in a surface in 5 which the ground light is to be mounted; and a mounting plate embedded in the plug portion, whereby a top portion of the plug can be removed to expose the mounting plate for mounting the ground light thereon.

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2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plug portion comprises a first tubular portion extending between a top surface of the plug portion and the mounting plate.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the plug portion comprises a second tubular 15 portion extending between a bottom surface of the plug portion and the mounting plate, wherein the first and second tubular portions are interconnected via an aperture in the mounting plate.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the second tubular portion has a larger diameter 20 than the first tubular portion.

5. The apparatus of any of claims 2 to 4, wherein each tubular portion comprises a plastic tube.

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6. The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the plug portion is substantially cylindrical.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein at least one of the mounting plate, the first tubular portion and the second tubular portion are co-axial the cylindrical plug 30 portion.

8.

9.

10

11

12,

13,

14,

15.

16.

17.

14

The apparatus of any preceding claim comprising reinforcing portions embedded within the plug portion.

The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the preformed plug portion comprises pre-cast concrete.

The apparatus of any preceding claim comprising one or more external grooves for improving retention of the plug portion in the hole in the surface using glue.

The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the ground light is an airfield ground light.

The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the top portion is removable by a coring process.

The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the top portion is removeably received in the plug portion.

The apparatus of claim 12 or claim 13 with said top portion removed.

A mould for making the apparatus of any preceding claim, the mould comprising: an outer drum; and a mounting plate positioned within the drum.

The mould of claim 15 comprising one or more tubes extending between an upper and/or lower opening of the drum for defining said first and/or second tubular portions.

A method of making the apparatus of any of claims 1 to 14, the method comprising filling the mould of claim 15 or claim 16 with concrete.

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18. A method of installing a ground light, the method comprising:

receiving a plug portion of the apparatus of any of claims 1 to 12 in a hole in a surface in which the ground light is to be mounted;

removing the top portion away from the plug portion to expose the 5 mounting plate; and mounting the ground light on the mounting plate.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein removing the top portion from the plug portion comprises coring a hole into a top surface of the plug portion to a depth at which

10 the mounting plate is embedded in the plug portion.

20. The method of claim 18 or claim 19, wherein the ground light is an airfield ground light.

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21. Apparatus for installing a ground light, the apparatus being substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

22. A method of making an apparatus for installing a ground light, the method being substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying

20 drawings.

23. A method of installing a ground light, the method being substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

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