Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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LED LIGHT
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This is a continuation in part of U.S. Patent
Application Serial No. 12/759,744 filed April 14, 2010.
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a light, and more
specifically to a LED light to replace a fluorescent bulb.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Light fixtures with light bulbs mounted thereto have
existed for many years. Oftentimes, light fixtures are
utilized in cold environments such as walk in refrigerators
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and freezers to provide light. However, today's
governmental regulations requires that lighting used in
commercial refrigeration meets stringent lumen per watt
efficiency standards. The standards virtually eliminate
previously used incandescent light bulbs under normal
conditions because the are inefficient generators of light
and they create a large amount of heat in the refrigerated
space.
As such, refrigerated spaces are now provided with
enclosed and gasket water proof incandescent fixtures with
a translucent cover, oftentimes referred to as "jelly jar"
covers. A compact florescent bulb (CFL) is currently
utilized with these fixtures. However, these CFL bulbs
suffer from problems relating to their placement within
cold environments such as refrigerated spaces. For
example, these refrigerated CFL bulbs take several minutes
to warm up enough to produce light. Also, a refrigerated
CFL bulb is very inefficient and at -20 degrees Fahrenheit
may make less than 10% output when energized. Another
problem associated with CFL bulbs in refrigerated spaces
stems from the fact that the light fixtures are typically
positioned over the door leading into the refrigerated
space. This positioning of the light fixtures means that
the bulb must project light outwardly from its end to
illuminate the far end of the refrigerated space. A CFL
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bulb however does not project light very well in this
direction due to the configuration of the CFL bulb and
therefor the far end of the refrigerated space distal the
door may not be properly illuminated. Lastly, CFL bulbs
include mercury which may be harmful to the environment
when improperly disposed.
Accordingly, it is seen that a need remains for a
light fixture which may be placed in a refrigerated space
and which does not utilize an incandescent bulb. It is to
the provision of such therefore that the present invention
is primarily directed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In a preferred form of the invention a light for
replacing a conventional fluorescent light bulb which
comprises a mounting housing having a tubular side wall and
an end wall coupled to the tubular side wall, a plurality
of LED lights coupled to the mounting housing side wall, a
plurality of LED lights coupled to the mounting housing end
wall, and a fluorescent light fixture receptacle connector
coupled to the mounting housing opposite the end wall and
electrically coupled to the LED lights.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a combination light
and light fixture, shown in partial cross-section,
embodying principles of the invention in a preferred form.
Fig. 2 is a rear view of the combination light and
light fixture of Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the
combination light and light fixture of Fig. 1.
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the light of Fig. 1.
Fig. 5 is an exploded view of the light of Fig. 1.
Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a light in another
preferred form of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
With reference next to the drawings, there is shown a
combination light 10 and light fixture 11 in a preferred
form of the invention. The light fixture 11 has a base,
junction box or main housing 12 and a transparent or
translucent optical cover 13 threadably coupled to the main
housing 12 so as to provide a watertight enclosure or
interior space 14.
The main housing 12 has a pair of mounting flanges 17
having mounting holes 18 therethrough. A mounting bolt or
screw may be passed through the mounting hole 18 and into
the underlying structure to mount the fixture 11 to the
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underlying structure, such as the refrigerator interior
wall. The housing 12 has a front face 20 with an annular
receiver 21 and a rear face 22 with an aperture 23 through
which electrical wiring 24 extends that is coupled to a
local power source. The main housing 12 may be made of a
plastic material.
The optical cover 13 is generally bullet-shaped with
a generally cylindrical side wall(s) 26 having an open end
27 and a semi-hemispherical dome closed end 28 defining the
interior space 14. The open end 27 of the side wall 26 is
configured to mate threadably with the receiver 21 of the
main housing 12. The side wall 26 has an longitudinal
series of outwardly extending, annular, circumferential
prismatic rings or ridges 31. The optical cover 13 may be
made of a polycarbonate material or other material which
provides adequate strength, light transmission qualities,
and adaptability to temperature extremes.
The light 10 is positioned within the interior space
14 of the light fixture 11 and optical cover 13. The light
10 has a base 33 to which an internal housing 34 is
mounted. The light base 33 includes a fluorescent light
fixture receptacle connector or two pin contact 35 which is
configured to match that of a GU-24 CFL bulb, thereby
making them interchangeable. The light 10 also includes
internal electronic ballast and surge protector circuitry
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36 mounted within internal housing 34. The circuitry 36 is
electrically coupled to a plurality of LED lights 37.
The LED lights 37 are mounted to a tubular mounting
housing 38 having a side wall formed from six elongated
side plates or panels 39 and an end plate, wall or panel
40. Each side panel 39 has a matrix of thirty six LED
lights 37 which form a tube of LED lights, while the end
panel 40 has a matrix of thirty six LED lights 37. The LED
lights are positioned in a longitudinally aligned series of
annular arrays of LED lights, i.e., in a multitude of
annular arrays aligned axially along the longitudinal axis
of the light housing. This arrangement of the LED lights
may also be considered one elongated annular array of LED
lights. The number and arrangement of LED lights may vary
according to the amount of produced light and distribution
of produced light that is desired. The arrangement of the
LED lights produce light which emanates from light 10 in
generally a 360 degree pattern about the housing.
A hexagonal shaped external, protective housing 43
having six side cover plates 44 overlays the six LED light
side panels 39. The protective housing 43 also includes an
annular rear protective ridge 45 and an annular middle
protective ridge 46 which are both raised above the
exterior surface of the cover plates 44. The term annular,
as used herein, is intended to include any loop structure
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regardless of the exact shape and is not intended to be
limited to circular structures. Each cover plate 44 has a
matrix of light holes 47 which align with the underlying
LED lights 37. Similarly, protective housing 43 has an end
wall or plate 48 having light holes 49 therethrough which
align with the underlying LED lights 37 of the end panel
40. The end plate 48 is configured to have a size or
diameter larger than that of the combined six plates and
approximately the same dimensions as the rear and middle
ridges 45 and 46 so that it forms a front protective ridge
51 which is elevated with respect to the adjacent,
underlying side plates 48. The raised ridges 45, 46 and 51
restrict objects from unwanted or undesired contacting the
fragile LED lights, such as when the light 10 is placed
upon a table or other such purposeful or accidental
contact.
The end plate 48 also includes six corner protective
elements or projections 53 and a single middle protective
element or projection 54 which extend outwardly to protect
the LED lights 37 from accidentally contacting an object
and thereby damaging them.
The configuration of the light 10 is designed to allow
it to be interchanged with a CFL bulb of a similar size,
i.e., the configuration of the two pin contacts 35 and
circuitry 36 allow for the present LED based light. 10 to
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replace a CFL light within a standard CFL GU-24 socket.
In use and as best shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the
combination light fixture 11 and light 10 typically is
mounted to the interior wall of a refrigerated space above
the door. The fixture 11 is mounted to the wall by passing
mounting screws through flange mounting holes 18 and into
the underlying wall. The fixture 11 is coupled to a direct
source of electricity through conventional wiring.
The LED lights 37 of the side panels 39 are positioned
directly beneath or concentrically within the annular
prismatic rings 31 of the optical cover 13. The beveling
of the prismatic rings 31 causes axial light emanating from
the LED lights to be internally reflected or refracted off
the rings 31 in a forward direction away from the main
housing and more towards the closed end 28, as indicated by
the arrows in Fig. 3. This forward internal reflection or
refraction of the light aids in distributing the light
forwardly into the room, a great aid when the light fixture
is placed in a typical position horizontally (as shown in
Fig. 1) above the door. The forwardly projected light
illuminates the far side of the room. The LED lights 37 of
the end panel 40 also project light forwardly with respect
to the typical orientation of a light mounted horizontally
above a door.
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It has been found that the combination light and light
fixture of the present invention provides uniform lighting
within a typical food service sized refrigerated storage
room. The use of the LED lights also provides instant
illumination as there is no warm up period associated with
such, as oppose to CFL lights which may take several
minutes to fully illuminate in such cold environments.
It should be understood that the light 10 of the
present invention may be made of any small number of panels
or facets. Also, the packing density of the LED lights is
intended to approximate the light output of an incandescent
bulb for the intended enclosure.
It should also be understood that as used herein the
words transparent and translucent may be used
interchangeably is in intended to each include each other.
As such, the optical cover may be described as transparent
even though some portions may obscure or hamper the
transmission of light and it may also be described as
transparent even though it may be made of a clear material
which is not intended to diffuse light.
Lastly, it should be understood that the
circumferential prismatic ridge or ridges 31 are not
required to be continuous and may be in the form of one or
more segments. Also, the "concentric" positioning of the
LEDs relative to the prismatic ridges is not meant to be
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strictly construed to mean only those objects with the
exact same center point as it is meant to mean a general
orientation of two objects wherein one is place within the
other. This definition is meant to include different
shaped objects, such as the hexagonal shaped light within
a the circular cross-section of the optical cover, and
positioning wherein the centers are generally in the same
area but may not be exactly in common.
With reference next to Fig. 6, there is shown a light
60 in another preferred form of the invention. Here, the
light 60 is essentially the same as that shown in Figs. 1-5
except that it has side wall(s) that are generally
cylindrical in shape rather than hexagonal. Here the side
wall panel(s) 61 and side wall protective plate(s) 62 are
cylindrical in shape. Also, the end panel 63 and end plate
64 is dome shaped. Furthermore, the end plate 64 has a
plurality of grouped projections 65 extending
longitudinally which protect the LED lights should the end
of the light 60 come in contact with an object. Again, the
light 60 has an annular rear ridge 66, middle ridge 67, and
front ridge 68 which are raised from the surface of the
underlying side plates 62 to protect the LED lights from
unwanted contact.
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It thus is seen that a combination light and light
fixture is now provided which overcomes problems associated
with the prior art. While this invention has been
described in detail with particular references to the
preferred embodiments thereof, it should be understood that
many modifications, additions and deletions, in addition to
those expressly recited, may be made thereto without
departure from the spirit and scope of the invention as set
forth in the following claims.
