US2892077A - Lighting fixture with lamp-removal baffling - Google Patents

Description

June 23, 1 959 A. L. ROSENSTEIN 2,892,077

LIGHTING FIXTURE WITH LAMP-REMOVAL BAFF'LING File d May 15, 1958 l affarncy United States Patent LIGHTING FIXTURE WITH LAMP-REMOVAL BAFFLING Application May 15, 1958, Serial No. 735,415 3 Claims. (Cl. 240--51.11)

This invention has as its principal object the provision of improved baffle means for use in lighting fixtures such as trofi'ers and particularly characterized in that the lighting fixture includes a trough-like reflector means housing elongated fluorescent tubes, and the bafile means is positioned internally of the trough at spaced positions along the length thereof, the bafile being shiftable in a certain manner into positions of alignment lengthwise of the fluorescent tubes in order that the latter may be inserted and withdrawn readily from the trough fixture, especially by means of a lamp changers pole.

A more particular object of the invention is the provision of a trough-like lighting fixture for elongated lamps, and a plurality of bafiles mounted to pivot, and linked together to pivot into positions of alignment lengthwise of the fixture.

Additional aspects of novelty and utility relate to details of the construction and operation of the illustrative embodiment of the invention as described hereinafter in view of the annexed drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a lighting fixture equipped with the novel bafile means;

Fig. 2 is a plan view looking up into the bottom of the device of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-section looking in the direction of lines 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional detail looking in the direction of lines 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a sectional detail taken along lines 5-5 of Fig. 3.

The drawing in Fig. 1 shows a type of lighting fixture sometimes known in the trade as a Trougher or Trotter, such devices being characterized broadly by the fact that they are commonly elongated and comparable in shape to an inverted trough.

The fixture shown in Fig. 1, for example, includes a pair of elongated side walls and 11, a pair of end walls 12 and 13, and a top 14, seen to better advantage in Fig. 3.

Situated at spaced points along the interior of the trough are baflles 21, 22, and 23, mounted for joint pivotal movement in a manner to be described.

Above the battles are elongated tubular fluorescent lamps 8 removably supported by sockets 9 (Figs. 2 and 3) located at opposite ends thereof and of a character well known in the art such that lamps may be seated therein, or removed therefrom by certain simple inserting and turning motions which may be effected by an attendant using a common lamp pole P, the general form of which is indicated in Fig. 1, such poles having a yokeshaped clamp C at the end thereof, the jaws of which may or may not be mechanically operable by a handlever mechanism (not shown) extending to the lower end of the pole.

Such lamp poles are of varying degrees of refinement and are in common use to enable an attendant to change lamps in overhead fixtures without use of a ladder.

According to the construction particularly evident in Figs. 3 and 5, each of the light baflles fits closely, but with some marginal swinging clearance, into the trough and is normally disposed transversely of the latter for bafile operation, as in Fig. 1.

Each baflle is pivotally mounted centrally along its upper margin as by means of pivot bolts 27 extending through suitable apertures on the offset upper edge flange 21X provided on each baffle plate.

The pivots 27 are seated in the bottom wall 30 of channel member which serves as a multiple reflector and compartment partition, and also as a bafile mounting, this member having a pair of upwardly pitched reflectory faces or walls 31, 32, and respectively continuing in opposite lateral olfsets 31A, 32A, which are each joined to one of the trough side walls, as at 31X, by spot welding or the like. Pivot bolts 27 are preferably equipped with friction means, such as springs 28, tensionable by nuts 29 sufliciently to maintain the individual baflles in any position of adjustment.

The several bafiles are linked for joint pivotal motion by means, such as depicted in Fig. 2, comprising a first rigid link arm 34 pivotally attached as at 35, 36 to, and interconnecting, the baffles 21 and 22 at one side of a common center line through all pivots 27; and a second rigid link arm 38 similarly interconnecting batfies 22 and 23 as at 37, 39, but on the opposite side of said common center line.

The link arms 34 and 38 are simple angle bars attached as in Fig. 4 by free pivot rivets or bolts, which are set through the aforesaid offset upper edges (21X) of the respective bafiles.

Thus, an easy turning movement applied to any baflle will turn all in unison, and when it is desired to service or remove any of the fluorescent lamps 8, a lamp-pulling tool such as the pole P serves well to apply the necessary force to swing all baflles simultaneously into substantially longitudinal alignment, as indicated by the dotted-line positions depicted in Figs. 2 and 3.

Long troughers with a larger number of jointly swinging baffles are entirely feasible, although it is generally desirable to limit the length of these units to the length of the longest fluorescent tubes available.

I claim:

1. In a trougher for elongated lamps, a plurality of bafile plates centrally pivoted at spaced points along the inside length of the trougher to pivot about an axis at right angles to the top of the trougher from normal position respectively transverse to the trougher and lamps into positions approximately in line with a median lengthwise axis through the trougher and means linking said baflles for joint pivotal motion, as aforesaid, whereby the bafiles may be moved into non-obstructing position to facilitate entry and removal of said lamps from the trougher.

2. In a lighting fixture for elongated tubular lamps including a trough in which the lamps are seated, baffle means mounted pivotally in the trough at points along a median line such that said bafl'les can be turned into a normal position each disposed in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of the other and transverse to said trough and said lamps and median line; and means linking said battles for joint pivotal motion from said normal position into positions in which each bafile is turned into a plane nearly parallel with said median line and the lengthwise axis of said lamps so as to lie in non-obstructing relation to the lamps to permit removal of the latter from the fixture.

3. A lighting fixture in the form of an elongated housing having a top portion and side wall portions depending therefrom, at least two elongated lamps disposed in said housing lengthwise thereof one on each side of a median line extending lengthwise of said housing; socket means removahly mounting the lamps in the housing as aforesaid; means attached to the housing and providing at intervals along said median line a pivotal support for a baffie; a baffle plate carried by each said pivotal support for movement into and out of baffling positions in which the bafiles are in plane approximately parallel to each other and transverse to said lamps and obstructing removal of the lamps outwardly of the fixture; to nonobstructing positions in which the several baflles are turned into longitudinal positions each in a plane substantially parallel to the other and the length of said lamps; and means pivotally inter-connecting all bafiies to pivot the same into said non-obstructing position responsive to a turning moment applied to any baflie.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

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