HK1114155B - Geared tilt mechanism for insuring horizontal operation of arc lamp - Google Patents

Description

Gear tilt mechanism for ensuring horizontal operation of arc lamp

Cross Reference to Related Applications

According to 35U.S.C. § 119, priority of U.S. provisional application No.60/644536, filed 2005, 18, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. This application is also a non-provisional application of the following U.S. provisional applications all filed on month 1, 18, 2005: no. 60/644639; no. 60/644747; no. 60/644534; no. 60/644720; no. 60/644688; no. 60/644636; no. 60/644517; no. 60/644609; no. 60/644516; no. 60/644546; no. 60/644547; no. 60/644638; no. 60/644537; no. 60/644637; no. 60/644719; no. 60/644784; no.60/644687, the entire contents of each application are incorporated herein by reference.

Is incorporated herein by reference

The following U.S. patents are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety: 4816974, respectively; 4974303, respectively; 5161883, respectively; 5600537, respectively; 5816691, respectively; 5856721, respectively; 6036338.

I. background of the invention

A. Field of the invention

Figures 1A to 1G show generally a stadium lighting system (see also the patents incorporated herein by reference). There is room for improvement in the illustrated lighting fixtures and their manner of operation.

B. Problems in the prior art

It is well known that there is a problem of light loss due to the tilt factor in some HID lamps. The applicant has developed and patented several ways of operating an arc tube in a glass envelope in a substantially horizontal position. See the above patents incorporated herein by reference.

There is room for improvement in this area. Some solutions require that the structure must be manually adjusted after the lighting fixture is erected. This is prone to error and labor intensive. Some solutions fix the relationship of the arc tube with respect to the lighting fixture. However, in most sports lighting systems, the angular orientation of the lighting fixture relative to the ground is different. In these cases it is not possible to ensure that all arc tubes of the system are finally mounted in a horizontal position.

Disclosure of the invention

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for automatically maintaining an arc tube of an HID lamp in a predetermined orientation relative to a lighting fixture. The device includes a mechanism that directs the arc tube toward the reflector of the fixture in substantially the same direction regardless of a change in orientation of the reflector relative to the fixture.

In one aspect, the present invention relates to an actuator disposed between a yoke that receives a lamp, a knuckle that mounts a lighting fixture, and a reflector, and to a new approach to address sports lighting. The present invention relates to devices, methods, and systems that efficiently and more efficiently transmit light to a target space with reduced glare and light spill outside the target space.

It is therefore a primary object, feature, or advantage of the present invention to provide a high intensity lighting fixture, method of use, and use thereof in a lighting system that ameliorates or solves certain problems and disadvantages in the art.

An apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention comprises a high intensity lighting fixture having a yoke adapted to receive an arc lamp such that an arc tube of the arc lamp is operable in a horizontal position or, as far as possible, in a most conventional operating position of the lighting fixture.

In another aspect of the invention, an arc lamp has an arc tube offset from a longitudinal axis of a lamp envelope and is used in combination with a yoke. The arc tube offset may be at an aiming angle that is within a typical range of aiming angles for moving illumination. The yoke and related structure will automatically maintain the arc tube level or nearly level even if the reflector moves anywhere within the typical range described above.

These and other objects, features, advantages and aspects of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims.

Description of the drawings

Fig. 1A to 1G show general components of a sports lighting system.

Fig. 2A to 2C illustrate a High Intensity Discharge (HID) arc lamp for use in an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 3 is a schematic partially exploded view of a lighting fixture 10 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4A to 4D schematically illustrate an automatic tilt factor correction mechanism according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5A to 5J are various views of a lamp cone in which an HID lamp can be removably mounted and on which a reflector can also be mounted.

Fig. 6A to 6I are various views of a knuckle mount connected to a cross arm on a stick.

Fig. 7A through 7K are various views of a knuckle that may be connected to the knuckle base shown in fig. 6A and the light cone shown in fig. 5A.

Fig. 8A to 8D are various views of a transmission for the preferred embodiment.

Fig. 9A to 9E are various views of a bushing for pivotally connecting a knuckle and a light cone together with a bolt.

Fig. 10A to 10B show a spring for the preferred embodiment.

Fig. 11A to 11C show a strap for locking a light cone to a knuckle.

Fig. 12A to 12F show auxiliary belts for such locking.

Fig. 13A to 13F show end stops that are also used to adjustably lock the angular orientation of the light cone relative to the knuckle.

Fig. 14A to 14J are various views of a yoke in which the HID lamp is mounted, the yoke being angularly pivotable about a lamp cone.

Fig. 15A to 15D are views of the yoke holder.

Detailed description of the preferred embodiments

A. Exemplary devices

1. Lighting fixture 10 overview

Fig. 3 illustrates the basic components of the sports lighting fixture 10 in exploded form.

The lamp cone 40 (360 aluminum with polyester powder coating) rotates about an axis 52 relative to a knuckle 50. Lamp cone 40 includes a receptacle 154 (shown schematically in FIG. 14A, commercially available)Available above), the socket 154 is bolted to a flat web 160 (see fig. 14A) between the arms 156 and 158 of the yoke (yoke) 80. Lamp 20 (Z-lamp of muske Corporation)^TM) Having a threaded base that can be screwed into and out of receptacle 154 (fig. 3 shows a screwed-in operating position) to install or remove lamp 20.

2. Lamp 20

The arc lamp 20 is a general type of lamp disclosed with some modifications in us patent No.5856721 to marske, incorporated by reference herein. These types of lamps are known under the trade name Z-lamp by the firm Mascade^TMA Metal Halide (MH) HID lamp is used, typically 1000 watts or more. Arc tube 12 of arc lamp 20 is inclined across the longitudinal axis of the arc lamp. In operation, arc lamp 20 is rotationally positioned within fixture 10 such that the longitudinal axis of the arc tube and the longitudinal axis of the arc lamp define a vertical plane and the longitudinal axis of arc tube 12 is as close to a horizontal plane as possible.

3. Yoke 80

Yoke 80 is pivotally supported in front of light cone 40 at pivot axis 140 (see fig. 3 and 5C). Pivot pins 152 of yoke 80 (see fig. 14A, which will be described in greater detail below) are slid longitudinally into mating receivers 134 (which define pivot axis 140) on opposite sides of opening 132 to light cone 40 and held in place by machine threads in pairs of threaded holes on opposite sides of receivers 134 via yoke retainers 173 (fig. 15A-15D).

The lamp socket 154 is mounted between the arms 156 and 158 of the yoke 80 by bolts, screws, or other means through the rear end 160 of the yoke 80. Yoke 80 is thus rotatable about an axis 140 defined by receiver 134 in lamp cone 40. By incorporating gearing, pivotable yoke 80 allows arc tube 12 of arc lamp 20 supported by yoke 80 to remain in a horizontal position independent of the tilt of lamp cone 40. Fig. 4A through 4E, along with fig. 5A and 14A, illustrate this general tilt factor correction feature of the lighting fixture 10.

The drive gear 202 (fig. 8A-8D) has a bull gear portion 204 spaced parallel to a pinion gear portion 206 by a shaft 208. Shaft 208 is rotatably pivotally mounted in opening 138 at the side of light cone 40 (offset from the axis of rotation of light cone 40 relative to knuckle 50). Bushing 203 (plastic sleeve/bushing-fig. 9A to 9E) provides a bearing surface for shaft 208 of gear 202 in opening 138 of light cone 40.

When the lighting fixture 10 is assembled, the pinion gear 206 meshes with the rack 170 (see fig. 7A) formed in the knuckle 50. The bull gear 204 in turn engages a rack 190 secured to one side of the yoke 80 (see fig. 14A). Lamp cone 40 may be rotated in a vertical plane about its pivot axis 136 relative to knuckle 50 so that lighting fixture 10 may have different aiming angles relative to the target. Because the front of yoke 80 (at its pivot axis 140) is fixed relative to lamp cone 40, yoke 80 also rotates in the vertical plane as lamp cone 40 rotates. If yoke 80 is completely fixed relative to lamp cone 40, the longitudinal axis of lamp 20 will also rotate in the vertical plane. However, this would conflict with the preference to operate the arc tube 12 in a horizontal plane regardless of the aiming angle of the fixture.

Thus, the lighting fixture 10 compensates for this as described below. The rack 170 is fixed in the knuckle 50. The knuckle 50 is fixed relative to the cross arm 7. The gearing and components associated therewith are selected such that rotational movement of lamp cone 40 about axis 136 causes yoke 80 to proportionally rotate about different pivot axes 140. The location of the yoke pivot axis 140 is intentionally selected to be at or near the front plane of the lamp cone 40. As lamp cone 40 rotates upward, the front of yoke 80 and drive gear 202 rise with it, but at the same time bull gear 206 lifts the rear free end of yoke 80 proportionately so that the orientation of lamp 20 and its arc tube 12 remains constant relative to the horizontal.

When assembled, the longitudinal axis of yoke 80 is aligned with or parallel to the longitudinal axis of lamp cone 40. Thus, when lamp 20 is properly mounted on yoke 80, the longitudinal axis of the lamp will be inclined at the same angle as the longitudinal axes of yoke 80 and lamp cone 40. This position is essentially the reference position. If lamp cone 40 is inclined, for example, 30 ° downwards from the horizontal with respect to cross arm 7 when rod 6 is upright, the longitudinal axis of yoke 80 is also inclined 30 ° downwards from the horizontal. This will place the arc tube 12 in a horizontal plane.

This relationship allows for the use of e.g. a Z-lamp^TMLamp 20 (fig. 2A-2C) and allows it to operate in a horizontal position, so long as the angular deviation of the arc tube from the arc lamp longitudinal axis is equal to the amount of tilt of lamp cone 40 from the horizontal. Thus, if arc tube 12 is tilted 30 ° relative to the longitudinal axis of lamp 20, and lamp 20 is screwed into the socket of yoke 80 such that the arc tube axis and the lamp axis lie in a vertical plane, arc tube 12 is horizontal when lamp cone 40 is tilted 30 ° downward from the horizontal. As mentioned above, operation of arc tube 12 in the horizontal plane will correct the tilt factor.

However, because not all lighting fixtures will be aimed 30 ° below the horizontal, yoke 80 automatically adjusts to maintain the orientation of yoke 80 relative to the horizontal for rotation of the lamp cone within a selected range (e.g., from 15 ° above the horizontal to 47 ° below the horizontal in the plane of knuckle 50) on either side of a reference position (e.g., 30 ° below the horizontal).

Fig. 4A to 4D further illustrate such automatic tilt factor correction. If the light cone 40 is tilted upward a few degrees from its reference position of 30 ° relative to horizontal, the drive gear 202 will rotate in a counterclockwise direction in the opening 138 of the light cone 40 as shown in fig. 4C. The rack 170 is fixed with respect to the knuckle 50 and with respect to space. The lamp cone 40 is tilted about its axis of rotation 136 (see fig. 4A to 4D), the axis of rotation 136 also being fixed in space. The front of cone 40, and hence yoke 80, will move upward along an arc (see reference numeral 302, fig. 4A-4D). The drive gear 202 will likewise move upwardly along an arc (reference numeral 304). However, the counterclockwise rotation of the drive gear 202 means that the large gear 204 will simultaneously rotate counterclockwise. Because bull gear 204 is fixed relative to light cone 40, counterclockwise rotation of bull gear 204 will cause rack 190 to move vertically upward within light cone 40 along a third arc (referenced 306) independently of the vertically upward movement of light cone 40. Accordingly, because rack 190 is fixed to yoke 80, the rear portion of yoke 80 will pivot upward with rack 190, and the amount of rotation is proportional to the amount of upward rotation of lamp cone 40. When cone 40 is rotated downward, the rear portion of yoke 80 will automatically undergo a similar proportional downward movement (fig. 4D). However, because the rear of yoke 80 is closer to the pivot axis of lamp cone 40, the amount of movement of the rear of yoke 80 is less than the amount of movement of lamp cone 40.

In this embodiment, the range of inclination above and below the horizontal is approximately +15 to-60. This range covers most of the conventional moving illumination aiming angles (95% of which are at the 30 ° beam and reference axis). It will be appreciated that the guide factor for running the automatic tilt factor correction is the pivot position of yoke 80. The pivot axis serves the above-mentioned function because it is substantially in the same plane as the connection surface between the lamp cone 40 and the reflector frame 30. The more closely the yoke is pivoted to the lamp cone 40 at the rear of the lamp cone 40, the more difficult it will be to obtain accurate correction. Some variation between the position of arc lamp 20 and the reflective surface of fixture 10 may be relatively small. Thus, a slight amount of re-targeting can be performed if desired.

The gear ratio (bull gear 204 and pinion gear 206 have the same number of teeth) is carefully selected so that any upward or downward tilt of lamp cone 40 can be accurately compensated for, thereby maintaining the same downward angular orientation of yoke 80. In other words, although yoke 80 is connected to lamp cone 40 and yoke 80 moves with lamp cone 40 as lamp cone 40 pivots away from the reference position, the gearing causes yoke 80 to pivot to maintain the same orientation relative to the horizontal. Since lamp cones 40 rotate about different axes than yoke 80, the choice of gearing is critical to producing the correct proportional motion of yoke 80. Although there will be some variation in the actual physical position of yoke 80 relative to lamp cone 40, the orientation of yoke 80 remains parallel to its reference position. This will cause the Z-lamp to be moved to either its reference position or to some extent away from the reference position (within the drive range) whether the lamp cone 40 is at its reference position or at some other offset^TMThe arc tube 12 of the lamp 20 can be kept horizontal.

To account for the play and to apply an eccentric force relative to yoke 80, a tension spring 210 (see fig. 10A-10B) is connected between a rod 212 of yoke 80 and a rod 214 located in front of lamp cone 40. The spring is selected to maintain a suitable biasing force. It is necessary to preload the transmission so that there is no play or backlash in the gears. This increases the accuracy of the aiming. When performing maintenance on the lighting fixture 10, the spring 210 may be easily disengaged by pulling the spring 210 away from the rod 214. The pitch circle diameters of the last teeth on the bull gear 204 are cut slightly larger than the pitch circle diameters of the other teeth. This makes the combination insensitive to re-engagement.

Fig. 11, 12 and 13 show a band and end stop that can be clamped along a curved slot in the knuckle 50. When cone 40 is rotatably coupled to knuckle 50 by bolt 174, the protrusions on the sides of cone 40 extend into the curved slots. Thus, the angular orientation of the light cone 40 relative to the knuckle 50 may be set by clamping the pair of straps 146, 148 in place (as a lower end stop) and setting and clamping the end stop 142 in place (as an upper end stop). This combination provides a stronger clamping force against torsional forces than if the tightening were solely by means of the bolt 174. The band and end stop may have structures that allow them to be clamped in place along the curved slot by bolting. Furthermore, it allows a relatively easy release of the position of the lamp cone 40. The two bolts on the band for the lower end stop can simply be loosened so that the pair of lower end stops slides away. This would allow, for example, maintenance personnel to operate the lighting fixture. When the lighting fixture is operated by a maintenance person, the lower-end stopper strip can be released, so that the lighting fixture is inclined downward to be hung vertically. With the upper end stops in place, after which the worker need only rotate the lamp and lamp cone 40 back until it abuts the upper end stops, slide the lower end stop strip pairs into abutment with the ledges or bosses of the end lamp cones in the slots, and tighten the bolts again. Thus, the initial aiming of the lighting fixture is maintained. This avoids having to do a re-aiming or calibration.

As described above, one feature of the present invention is that the orientation of the lamp relative to certain reference positions is maintained substantially independent of the pivoting of lamp cone 40. It can be appreciated that the exemplary embodiment utilizes multiple pivot axes and transmissions to accomplish this. However, this arrangement results in a slight movement of the lamp relative to the reflector associated with the lamp cone 40 while maintaining a generally consistent orientation of the lamp with some external reference plane. This may slightly adjust the beam distribution pattern from the lighting fixture. For example, if lamp cone 40 is tilted upward about 15 from a 30 downward position, then not only will the reflector associated with the lamp cone tilt upward about 15, but the lamp repositioning within the reflector will cause the beam to be deflected upward by an additional about 7.5 degrees. It is sometimes necessary to recognize this and to compensate for it. However, since the scale is fully known, once the configuration is selected, this can be an integral part of the system design. It may actually be advantageous because even though there may be some physical limitations on how far up or down the lamp cone 40 is adjusted (e.g., due to physical limitations of the lighting fixture structure or limitations in the practical application for that matter), the beam shift that adjustment produces is proportionally increased, resulting in a wider range of possible adjustments.

Further explanation of the advantages of the overall tilt factor correction structure and options for the structure can be found in the patents incorporated by reference herein.

It will be appreciated that the above exemplary embodiments are given by way of example only and not as a limiting illustration. Variations that are obvious to those skilled in the art are intended to be included herein. The scope of the invention is limited only by the claims.

It is not necessary to use the Z-lamp of the Comke company^TMAnd a lamp. With appropriate modification, a standard arc lamp may be utilized.

It will be appreciated that the combination of components shown in the figures is merely one way in which adjustability between the base for mounting the lighting fixture to the cross-arm and the lighting fixture may be achieved. The figures show how the combination of the transmission and the adjustable yoke in an exemplary embodiment allows for the direction of the arc lamp to be compensated and maintained regardless of (within a reasonable range of) the vertical direction of the lamp cone for receiving the yoke. The figures are intended to show one skilled in the art a combination. The general concept includes a supplement or mechanism for maintaining the function and result of a certain orientation of the lamp.

Claims (14)

1. A high intensity lighting fixture for increasing useable light at a target area without increasing energy usage, comprising:

a. a light cone pivotally mounted on a knuckle for mounting a lighting fixture;

b. a reflector frame mountable to the lamp cone;

c. a high intensity discharge lamp having a base mountable in a lamp cone and an arc tube positionable inside a reflector frame, the arc tube of the lamp adapted to operate in or near a horizontal plane regardless of an aiming angle of the fixture relative to a target area;

d. a mechanism for automatically positioning a lamp, said mechanism comprising:

a lamp yoke mounted within a lamp cone and rotatable about a lamp yoke pivot axis, the lamp cone being rotatable relative to the knuckle about a lamp cone pivot axis to set different aiming angles for the lighting fixture; a mechanical connection between the lamp yoke and the lamp cone adapted to cause rotation of the lamp yoke about the lamp yoke pivot axis in proportion to any rotation of the lamp cone about the lamp cone pivot axis, the amount and direction of proportional rotation of the lamp yoke within the lamp cone being adapted to automatically maintain an operating position of the selected arc tube relative to horizontal within a range of lighting fixture aiming angles.

2. The fixture of claim 1 wherein the high intensity discharge lamp has a glass envelope surrounding the arc tube.

3. The fixture of claim 2 wherein the arc tube has a longitudinal axis that is offset from a longitudinal axis of the glass envelope.

4. The lighting fixture of claim 3 wherein said offset comprises rotation of a longitudinal axis of said arc tube relative to a longitudinal axis of said glass envelope such that said arc tube is generally tilted relative to the longitudinal axis of the glass envelope.

5. The lighting fixture of claim 4 wherein the angle of inclination is 30 °.

6. The fixture of claim 1 wherein the high intensity discharge lamp comprises an arc tube located inside a glass envelope, the arc tube being substantially coaxial or aligned with a longitudinal axis of the glass envelope.

7. The fixture of claim 1 wherein the position of the selected arc tube is substantially horizontal when the fixture is in the operating position.

8. A lighting fixture according to claim 1, wherein the lighting fixture is used in combination with a stadium lighting system.

9. The lighting fixture of claim 1 wherein the lighting fixture is used in combination with a plurality of identical lighting fixtures.

10. A method of increasing the available light of a high intensity discharge light source to a target area, comprising:

a. installing the high intensity discharge light source in a lighting fixture;

b. automatically maintaining an angular orientation of the high intensity discharge light source relative to a reference operating position for a range of aiming angles of the lighting fixture relative to a target area;

c. mounting a light source in a structure that is independently movable relative to a lighting fixture;

wherein the independently movable structure is pivotable relative to the lighting fixture.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the independently movable structure is pivotable relative to the lighting fixture about a pivot axis that is separate from a pivot axis of the lighting fixture.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein any change in the orientation of the lighting fixture within a range causes the independently movable structures to proportionally pivot.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the proportional movement is achieved through a transmission.

14. A lighting fixture for area lighting, comprising: a knuckle plate adapted to be coupled to a cross-arm, a light cone adapted to receive a high intensity discharge light source, and a knuckle connectable to the knuckle plate and the light cone, the light cone being rotatable relative to the knuckle about a light cone pivot axis and comprising:

a. a lamp yoke located in the lamp cone and rotatable about a lamp yoke pivot axis;

b. a compound transmission that pivots the yoke in proportion to any pivoting of the light cone relative to the knuckle.