Air cooled horticulture lighting fixture for a double ended high pressure sodium lamp

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9903578-B1
Application number	US-201715691304-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Aug 30, 2017
Priority date	Jul 18, 2013
Publication date	Feb 27, 2018
Grant date	Feb 27, 2018

Abstract

An air cooled horticulture lamp fixture for growing plants in confined indoor spaces. The fixture seals the lamp and heat generated by the same to a reflector interior. Flow disruptors create turbulence in a cooling chamber thereby enhancing thermal transfer into a cooling air stream that flows over and around the reflector's exterior side thereby convectively cooling the lamp using the reflector as a heat sink. The lamp is effectively maintained at operational temperatures and the fixture housing is insulated from the hotter reflector by a gap of moving cooling air, allowing improved efficiencies of the lamp bulb in confined indoor growing spaces.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of cooling a horticulture lighting fixture, the method comprising the steps of:
providing said horticulture lighting fixture having a housing 200 with a downward facing bottom opening 205 , a first duct 235 , a second duct 245 , a housing interior 220 , a reflector 100 captured within said housing interior 220 , and a pair of sockets 230 A-B, each extending through said housing interior 220 and oriented so that said pair of sockets 230 A-B holds a lamp bulb 2 in a substantially parallel orientation in relation to a longitudinal axis extending between the first duct 235 and the second duct 245 ;
installing said lamp bulb 2 into said pair of sockets 230 A-B so that operation of said lamp bulb 2 illuminates surfaces of a reflector exterior side 102 of reflector 100 to reflect light downward through opening 205 ;
hanging said horticulture lighting fixture at a predetermined height above plants to be grown thereunder in a plant growing environment;
attaching a fan to said first duct 235 ;
energizing said fan so as to flow cooling air between said first duct 235 and second duct 245 ;
energizing said lamp bulb 2 so as to reflect light downward through opening 205 ;
removing heat from said fixture by flowing cooling air between said first duct 235 and second duct 245 through a cooling chamber defined by the space between said housing interior 220 and a reflector interior side 101 , with said cooling chamber formed so as to substantially prevent cooling air flowing between said first duct 235 and said second duct 245 from flowing between said reflector exterior side 102 and said reflector interior side 101 ; and
allowing said lamp bulb 2 to operate substantially free from contact with cooling air flowing between said first duct 235 and said second duct 245 , so that operating temperatures of said lamp bulb 2 are allowed to be higher than if said lamp bulb 2 were subjected to contact with cooling air flowing between said first duct 235 and said second duct 245 .

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
connecting intake ducting to said fan and configuring said fan so as to force cooling air into said first duct 235 .

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising:
connecting exhaust ducting to said second duct 245 .

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising:
configuring said intake and exhaust ducting so that said plant growing environment, with said lighting fixture oriented above a plant growing space thereunder, is isolated from cooling air flowing into the first duct 235 and exhausted through the second duct 245 .

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising:
substantially preventing air within said growing environment from mixing with cooling air flowing between the first duct 235 and the second duct 245 .

6. The method of claim 4 further comprising:
substantially preventing air within said growing environment from being pulled in to said lighting fixture and exhausted through said second duct 245 with a positive pressure between said first duct 235 and said second duct 245 , said positive pressure created by forcing cooling air from said fan into said first duct 235 .

Assignees

• Ip Holdings Llc

Inventors

• Stanley John

Classifications

• F21V7/10

  Construction · CPC title

• F21V29/50 Primary

  Cooling arrangements (air-treatment systems dissipating or using the heat of lighting fixtures F24F3/056) · CPC title

• F21V31/005

  Sealing arrangements therefor · CPC title

• A01G7/045

  with electric lighting · CPC title

• H01J61/22

  vapour of an alkali metal · CPC title