Light fixture having flexible shroud

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10914455-B2
Application number	US-201916394371-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 25, 2019
Priority date	Apr 25, 2018
Publication date	Feb 9, 2021
Grant date	Feb 9, 2021

Abstract

A light fixture includes a flexible shroud, an outer housing, and a light source within a light engine. The light engine couples within the outer housing so as to define a gap between the light engine and an inner perimeter of the outer housing. The flexible shroud forms at least first and second edge portions. The light engine couples with the first edge portion, and the inner perimeter of the outer housing couples with the second edge portion, so that the flexible shroud covers at least part of the gap. A shroud for a light fixture may include a flexible shroud that defines one or more edges. The shroud may include one or more coupling features along the one or more edges. The flexible shroud may form a thickness variation at the coupling feature, to engage a corresponding coupling feature of a light fixture.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A light fixture, comprising:
a light source within a light engine;
an outer housing having an inner perimeter, wherein the light engine is positioned within the outer housing so as to define a gap between the light engine and the inner perimeter of the outer housing; and
a flexible shroud that forms at least first and second edge portions, wherein:
the light engine couples with the flexible shroud along at least the first edge portion of the flexible shroud, and
the inner perimeter of the outer housing couples with the flexible shroud along the second edge portion of the flexible shroud,
so that the flexible shroud extends across at least a portion of the gap.

2. The light fixture of claim 1 , wherein the flexible shroud is in tension across at least part of the gap.

3. The light fixture of claim 2 , wherein:
the flexible shroud couples movably with at one of the light engine and the inner perimeter, and couples fixedly with the other of the light engine and the inner perimeter, such that when the light engine moves within the outer housing, the flexible shroud moves with respect to the one of the light engine and the inner perimeter, to minimize the tension.

4. The light fixture of claim 1 , wherein the flexible shroud comprises silicone.

5. The light fixture of claim 1 , wherein the flexible shroud comprises a colored material.

6. The light fixture of claim 5 , wherein the colored material comprises one or more of a phosphor, a pigment, a dye and a dichroic material.

7. The light fixture of claim 1 , wherein the flexible shroud comprises a thickness of less than three millimeters at any point that is at least three millimeters from the first edge portion and the second edge portion of the flexible shroud.

8. The light fixture of claim 1 , wherein the flexible shroud comprises at least one thickness variation, and at least one of the light engine and the inner perimeter couples with the flexible shroud by at least partially enclosing the thickness variation.

9. The light fixture of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the flexible shroud has a visually flat appearance.

10. The light fixture of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the flexible shroud is opaque.

11. The light fixture of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the flexible shroud is reflective.

12. The light fixture of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the flexible shroud is translucent.

13. The light fixture of claim 12 , the light source being a first light source, the light fixture further comprising a second light source that illuminates the flexible shroud from within the outer housing, such that the flexible shroud glows.

14. The light fixture of claim 1 , wherein the flexible shroud forms an aperture, the first edge portion being an inner periphery of the aperture, the second edge portion being an outer periphery of the flexible shroud.

15. The light fixture of claim 14 ,
the light engine being a first light engine;
the light fixture further comprising:
one or more additional light engines, each having an additional light source therein;
and wherein:
the flexible shroud forms a number of apertures corresponding in number to the first light engine and the additional light engines, such that each aperture defines a respective inner periphery of the flexible shroud; and
each of the light engines couples with the flexible shroud along at least a portion of a respective one of the inner peripheries.

16. A shroud for use in a light fixture, comprising:
a flexible shroud that defines one or more edges; and
one or more coupling features along the one or more edges,
wherein the flexible shroud forms a thickness variation at least one of the coupling features, to engage a corresponding coupling feature of a light fixture.

17. The shroud of claim 16 , wherein the flexible shroud is planar when no stress is applied to the shroud.

18. The shroud of claim 16 , wherein the flexible shroud is downwardly concave when no stress is applied to the shroud.

19. The shroud of claim 16 , wherein the flexible shroud comprises silicone.

20. A method of visually de-emphasizing a gap between a light engine and a light fixture housing, comprising:
providing a light fixture housing that has an output aperture bounded by an inner perimeter;
providing a light source within a light engine;
coupling the light engine within the light fixture housing, wherein:
the light engine is coupled and disposed within the light fixture housing so as to leave a gap between the light engine and the inner perimeter of the light fixture housing, and
the light engine is configured to emit light through the output aperture; and

coupling a flexible shroud across at least a portion of the gap between the light engine and the inner perimeter of the housing, wherein the flexible shroud obscures a substantial portion of the gap.

Assignees

• Abl Ip Holding Llc

Inventors

• Tepo Megan Marie
• Grove Douglas Dewayne
• Weiss Daniel Aaron
• Aggarwal Januk Swarup

Classifications

• F21S8/026

  intended to be recessed in a ceiling or like overhead structure, e.g. suspended ceiling · CPC title

• F21V1/17

  the material comprising photoluminescent substances · CPC title

• F21V21/14

  Adjustable mountings · CPC title

• F21V15/015 Primary

  Devices for covering joints between adjacent lighting devices; End coverings · CPC title

• F21V15/012 Primary

  Housings with variable shape or dimensions, e.g. by means of elastically deformable materials or by movement of parts forming telescopic extensions of the housing body · CPC title