Unified driver and light source assembly for recessed lighting

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9964266-B2
Application number	US-201414184601-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 19, 2014
Priority date	Jul 5, 2013
Publication date	May 8, 2018
Grant date	May 8, 2018

Abstract

A compact recessed lighting system is provided. The lighting system includes a light source module and a driver separately coupled to a unified casting. The driver is formed in a “donut” shape such that the light source module may be coupled to the casting in the center hole formed by the driver. The lighting system may also include a reflector that surrounds the light source module and shields the driver from exposure to the area surrounding the lighting system. Based on this configuration, the lighting system provides a compact design that allows the combined casting, light source module, driver, and reflector to be installed in a standard junction box instead of a “can” housing structure to reduce the overall cost of the lighting system while still complying with all building and safety codes/regulations. This configuration also allows the lighting system to achieve a UL fire-rating of at least two hours.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A compact recessed lighting system, comprising:
a light source module for emitting light;
a driver for powering the light source module to emit light, the driver including an electronic device to at least one of supply and regulate electrical energy to the light source module;
a unified casting with a heat conducting closed rear face, a heat conducting sidewall and an open front face wherein the heat conducting sidewall is joined to the heat conducting closed rear face at one end and defines the open front face of the unified casting at another end, wherein the heat conducting sidewall has a first dimension between the heat conducting closed rear face and the open front face of less than 2 inches and extends 360 degrees around a center axis of the unified casting to define a first cavity that extends forward from the heat conducting closed rear face to the open front face of the unified casting and outward to the heat conducting sidewall, wherein the light source module and the driver are positioned inside the first cavity while being coupled to the heat conducting closed rear face of the unified casting such that the light source module is closer to the closed rear face of the unified casting than the open front face of the unified casting, and wherein the unified casting includes a plurality of elements positioned proximate to the open front face so as to align with corresponding tabs of a standard junction box and thereby facilitate holding the unified casting up against the standard junction box when the unified casting is installed in the standard junction box; and
a reflector positioned inside the first cavity of the unified casting and coupled to and surrounding the light source module such that the reflector directs light produced by the light source module into an area surrounding the compact recessed lighting system while enclosing the driver from exposure to the area surrounding the compact recessed lighting system,
wherein the heat conducting closed rear face and the heat conducting sidewall of the unified casting significantly dissipate heat generated by the light source module during operation of the light source module.

2. The compact recessed lighting system of claim 1 , wherein the driver is donut shaped or “C” shaped.

3. The compact recessed lighting system of claim 1 , further comprising a trim directly coupled to the unified casting, wherein the trim connects to the unified casting through use of retention clips or springs.

4. The compact recessed lighting system of claim 1 , wherein:
the light source module is a light emitting diode (LED) module; and
the light source module is coupled to the heat conducting closed rear face of the unitary casting using at least one of a resin, one or more clips, one or more bolts, one or more screws, and one or more clamps.

5. The compact recessed lighting system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a lens to shield the light source module while being transmissive to light emitted by the light source module.

6. The compact recessed lighting system of claim 1 , further comprising:
an inner enclosure for enclosing the driver within the unified casting.

7. The compact recessed lighting system of claim 1 , wherein the heat conducting sidewall of the unified casting has heat sink fins formed on its outside surface.

8. The compact recessed lighting system of claim 1 , further comprising:
the standard junction box having a closed rear end, an open front end, and a sidewall surrounding a second cavity,
wherein:
the heat conducting closed rear face of the unified casting has a second dimension across the closed rear face that is less than 3½ inches; and
the unified casting, with the light source module, the driver and the reflector therein, are substantially contained within the second cavity of the standard junction box.

9. The compact recessed lighting system of claim 8 , wherein the unified casting is directly attached to the standard junction box via the plurality of elements of the unified casting and the corresponding tabs of the standard junction box.

10. The compact recessed lighting system of claim 9 , further comprising:
a first plurality of wires electrically coupled to the driver, wherein the first plurality of wires passes through the heat conducting closed rear face of the unified casting; and
a second plurality of wires that emerge from the standard junction box and that are to bring electricity from an electrical system of a building in which the recessed lighting system is to be installed,
wherein the first plurality of wires are connected to the second plurality of wires through a plurality of caps or a connector inside of the standard junction box.

11. The compact recessed lighting system of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of elements of the unified casting and the corresponding tabs of the standard junction box facilitate use of at least one of screws, bolts, twist-and-lock connections and friction or tension clips to directly attach the unified casting to the standard junction box.

12. The compact recessed lighting system of claim 8 , wherein the standard junction box is a fire rated junction box having an Underwriters Laboratories (UL) fire-rating of at least two hours.

13. The compact recessed lighting system of claim 1 , wherein the reflector separates the driver from the light source module such that the reflector directs the light produced by the light source module into an area surrounding the compact recessed lighting system while enclosing the driver from exposure to the area surrounding the compact recessed lighting system.

14. The compact recessed lighting system of claim 1 , wherein:
the unified casting includes at least one rabbet proximate to the first cavity; and
the heat conducting closed rear face of the unified casting includes one or more mounting elements to receive and hold at least one of the light source module and the driver.

15. The compact recessed lighting system of claim 1 , wherein the unified casting includes at least one twist-and-lock connector integrated in the unified casting.

16. The compact recessed lighting system of claim 15 , further comprising:
a trim directly coupled to the unified casting, for covering a hole in a ceiling or wall of a building in which the compact recessed lighting system is placed, wherein the trim connects to the unified casting via the at least one twist-and-lock connector.

17. A compact recessed lighting system, comprising:
a light source module for emitting light;
a driver for powering the light source module to emit light, the driver including an electronic device to at least one of supply and regulate electrical energy to the light source module;
a heat conducting unified casting with a closed rear face, a sidewall and an open front face wherein the sidewall is joined to the closed rear face at one end and defines the open front face of the unified casting at another end, wherein the sidewall defines a cavity that extends forward from the closed rear face to the open front face of the unified casting and outward to the sidewall, wherein the light source module and the driver are positioned inside and completely contained within the cavity of the unified casting such that the light source module is closer to the closed rear face of the unified casting than the open front face of the unified casting and sits behind a ceiling or a wall when the unified casting is installed in a hole in the ceiling or the wall; and
a reflector positioned inside the cavity of the unified casting and coupled to and surrounding t

Assignees

• Danesh Michael D
• Dmf Inc

Inventors

• Danesh Michael D

Classifications

• F21Y2115/10

  Light-emitting diodes [LED] · CPC title

• H04R1/24

  Structural combinations of separate transducers or of two parts of the same transducer and responsive respectively to two or more frequency ranges · CPC title

• F21V7/041

  with conical or pyramidal surface · CPC title

• H04R2499/11

  Transducers incorporated or for use in hand-held devices, e.g. mobile phones, PDA's, camera's · CPC title

• H04R23/02

  Transducers using more than one principle simultaneously · CPC title