WO2001057432A2

WO2001057432A2 - Lowerable ceiling light with safety device

Info

Publication number: WO2001057432A2
Application number: PCT/IT2001/000044
Authority: WO
Inventors: Anselmo Barichella
Original assignee: Anselmo Barichella
Priority date: 2000-02-04
Filing date: 2001-01-30
Publication date: 2001-08-09
Also published as: WO2001057432A3; IT1316347B1; ITMI20000186A0; ITMI20000186A1; AU3771101A

Abstract

A ceiling light includes a base (B) to be secured to the ceiling, to which the supply wires (A) arrive, and one or more lamp-holders (P) as well as a protective glass or the like mounted on a mobile disk (M) connected to the base (B) through a lowering mechanism, and also a safety device suitable to cut off the electrical connection between the supply wires (A) and the disk (M) as soon as the latter starts to move away from the base (B).

Description

"LOWERABLE CEILING LIGHT WITH SAFETY DEVICE"

The present invention relates to ceiling lighting apparatuses, and in particular to a lowerable ceiling light provided with a safety device. It is known that a conventional ceiling light consists of a base secured to the ceiling on which there is mounted at least one lamp-holder as well as a protective glass or the like. Since ceiling lights are generally used for the lighting of high- ceiling premises such as the entrance halls of residential buildings, public offices, hotels and so on, there is often the problem of reaching the ceiling lights to cany out their cleaning and/or maintenance (e.g. replacing a blown bulb).

It is clear that the use of long ladders or the like implies problems of time, cost, weight and risks of fall for the user, and can be particularly difficult when the ceiling light to be reached is located in an area whose floor has an impervious surface, typically above a flight of stairs. Moreover, the user can have difficulty in finding a place where to put down the glass while replacing the bulb, and he may even be forced to climb back down to the ground to lay it in a safe place. This results in an increase of the climbing up and down the ladder with a proportional increase in the length and risks of the operation.

There is also an electric safety problem, in that the user operates close to the supply wires in which current could still flow even if the ceiling light switch is turned off. The only really safe solution would be to switch off the main switch of the building (i.e. "switching off the current meter"), but this results almost always not practical in that by doing so the power would be cut also to many other electric consumers. Also the lowerable pendant is known since a long time, i.e. a lighting fixture hanging from the ceiling through a cable delivered by a frictioned winding device which allows to raise and lower at will the pendant. In this way it is possible to avoid the use of the ladder when it is necessary to operate on the pendant, which is simply clutched from the ground through an extensible rod and lowered to man's level.

However this solution does not avoid the electric safety problem, in that the supply wire is generally spiraled so that it may extend and shorten according to the position of the pendant while retaining a permanent electrical connection. As a consequence, also with a lowerable pendant there are the above-mentioned risks for the user.

Therefore the object of the present invention is to provide a ceiling light which overcomes the above-mentioned drawbacks.

This object is achieved by means of a lowerable ceiling light provided with a safety device which allows the electric supply only when the ceiling light is in its operating position, i.e. completely raised. Other advantageous features are disclosed in the dependent claims. The fundamental advantage of the ceiling light according to the present invention is that of allowing cleaning and/or maintenance operations with total safety for the user, without requiring the use of ladders and with the same easiness wherever the ceiling light is located.

Another advantage of this ceiling light is that said results are achieved by means of a structure which is simpler, smaller and cheaper with respect to a conventional lowerable pendant.

These and other advantages and characteristics of the ceiling light according to the present invention will be clear to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of an embodiment thereof, with reference to the only drawing, annexed as fig.l, wherein the ceiling light is diagrammatically illustrated in a vertical sectional view.

With reference to said figure, there is seen that the present ceiling light includes a conventional base B to be secured to the ceiling, where the supply wires A from the electric network arrive. A first novel aspect of the present ceiling light is given by the presence of the mobile disk M on which there is mounted at least one lamp-holder P, for a relevant bulb L, as well as a protective glass or the like (not illustrated).

The disk M is connected to the base B through a pair of supporting cables F

(only one visible in the figure), each of which through an idle roller R ends up in a winding fomied an a winding device N provided with a return spiral spring U. In this way, disk M can be moved away from base B lowering it to man's level for the operations required. The keeping of the lowered position can be achieved either by using a frictioned winding device or by providing locking means for the winding device (e.g. pin, clamp or the like) to prevent the immediate reascending of disk M under the action of spring U.

A second novel aspect of the ceiling light according to the invention is the presence of a safety device which provides to cut off the electrical connection as soon as the mobile disk M stalls to move away from base B.

In the illustrated embodiment said device takes the form of electrical connectors made up of a first fixed member C mounted on base B and a second mobile member C mounted on disk M at a corresponding position. These members C, C have a substantially frustoconical mating shape so as to achieve a self- centering coupling with respective central electrical contacts E, E'. In other words, the current may reach bulb L only when connector C fits into connector C so as to achieve contact between E and E', whereas as soon as the descent of disk M begins said contact is interrupted thus achieving the electrical insulation of the mobile portion of the ceiling light on which the user operates.

Obviously said device described above for exemplificative purposes is just one of several possible types of safety device for achieving said electrical insulation.

It may be considered, for example, that the supply wires A rather than arriving at connectors C may be connected to the entrances of one or more terminal boxes provided with a mechanism for cutting off the electrical connection which is controlled by a microswitch. In other words, the connection is maintained as long as the microswitch is kept pressed by disk M (or by any member mounted thereon).

In this case it could even be possible to do without cables F by directly using for support the electric wires extending between the outlet of the tem inal box and disk M.

Also, the above-described connectors C, C and a microswitch could be combined to allow the flow of current to the connectors only when disk M has reached the operating position, so as to prevent the onset of an electric arc between contacts E and E'.

Therefore, it is clear that the above-described and illustrated embodiment of the ceiling light according to the invention is just an example susceptible of various modifications. In particular, the lowering function can be achieved by arranging the winding devices N on base B or partly on the latter and partly on disk M, and the cables F may be more than two for greater stability of disk M.

Also, the winding devices may be of a type different from that illustrated (e.g. with horizontal axis) and they may be motor-driven to further facilitate the operations for lowering and raising the mobile portion of the ceiling light. In this case, the electric motors driving the winding devices are controlled through a remote control either by wire or tlirough a wireless device (e.g. through radio or infrared waves). Moreover, disk M could also easily act as an "interface" to provide an existing conventional ceiling light with the advantages of the present invention. In other words, the existing ceiling light rather than being secured to the ceiling could be secured to disk M which obviously should have a lower surface without the lamp-holder L and the protective glass.

Claims

CLA1MS

1. Ceiling light including a base (B) to be secured to the ceiling, to which the supply wires (A) arrive, characterized in that it further includes a mobile disk (M) comiected to said base (B) tlirough a lowering mechanism, said disk (M) being suitable to carry at least one lamp-holder (P) and a protective glass or the like, and including as well a safety device suitable to cut off the electrical connection between said supply wires (A) and the disk (M) as soon as the latter starts to move away from the base (B).

2. Ceiling light according to claim 1, characterized in that the safety device consists of electrical com ectors made up of a first fixed member (C) mounted on the base (B) and a second mobile member (C) mounted on the disk (M) at a conesponding position, said connecting members (C, C) having a substantially frustoconical mating shape so as to achieve a self-centering coupling with respective central electrical contacts (E, E').

3. Ceiling light according to claim 1, characterized in that the safety device consists of one or more terminal boxes provided with a mechanism for cutting off the electrical connection which is controlled by a microswitch, the supply wires (A) being connected to the entrances of said tenninal boxes.

4. Ceiling light according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lowering mechanism includes one or more winding devices ananged on the disk (M).

5. Ceiling light according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lowering mechanism includes one or more winding devices arranged on the base (B).

6. Ceiling light according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lowering mechanism includes one or more supporting cables (F).

7. Ceiling light according to one or more of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that the disk (M) is connected to the base (B) through electric wires extending between the outlet of the tenninal box and the disk (M).

8. Ceiling light according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lowering mechanism is motor-driven.

9. Ceiling light according to claim 8, characterized in that the lowering mechanism is controlled through a wireless remote control.