Improved Lighting Apparatus

Field of invention

The present invention relates to flexible control, regulation housing, manufacture and production of long life, efficient, cost effective, light sources having effective delivery of light to the desired area or in the desired direction whilst in a compact and flexible form and having facility for full individual control over brightness and being immune to supply voltage variations whilst maintaining compatibility with all manner of existing wiring and existing dimmer controllers whether manual or automated.

Background Art

Key present day requirements for all electrical appliances are ease of use, energy efficiency and flexible control features. Many electrical supply voltages and frequencies are used throughout the world and many strategies for regulation and control of power to appliances have been developed.

It would be desirable to have appliances that offered ease of use, were both economical and flexible with regard to power requirements and were compatible with the many existing control strategies and approaches in addition to offering efficient use of power and so reducing energy demand overall.

Additionally, as increasing demands are placed on electricity supply networks the regulation of the supply tends to worsen with short term power drops, spikes and surges.

It would be useful to have a universal approach to power line conditioning or controlling for appliances that minimised or eliminated the effect of short term drops and surges yet was compatible with existing wiring and supply voltage control devices.

This is particularly the case in the field of lighting appliances that the present invention also addresses. With lighting, short-term surges and drops are immediately visible as flicker. The objective here would to provide a universal apparatus that eliminates this annoying flicker yet still retains compatibility with existing lighting controllers and dimmers. Ideally such a device would also be cost effective whilst maintaining energy efficiency and would further provide the ability to adjust individual light sources and globes.

Lighting presents a significant total load to the world's power supply grids in every city of the world. It would be desirable to reduce the associated energy consumption. This could be achieved by developing new light sources that improving the efficiency and effectiveness of light delivery. Ideally this should be done in a cost effective manner, part of which relates to the energy efficiency and effectiveness for day to day operation and part of which relates to the length of service life each light provides. It would also be desirable to improve the efficiency of lights and so significantly drop the operating temperature thus reducing any potential fire hazard and enabling new applications, and new cost effective materials and methods of construction.

The earliest electrically powered light sources were the low pressure electric discharge tube and the heated filament light. Of these the heated or incandescent filament globe has been most widely used because of its cheap, simple construction.

For incandescent lights, visible radiation emission is created by an electrical current heating a filament to such a temperature that it glows and emits light. This is done in a chamber with largely transparent walls so designed, constructed and filled to avoid degradation of the filament when heated, the overall device being referred to as a light globe. Incandescent lights suffered from limited operational life because of the delicate nature of the filament, low efficiency and excessive heat output.

One advantage of these globes was that control of the heating current enabled the globe to be dimmed, though light emission efficiency dropped dramatically and the colour of the light emitted changed when the light was dimmed, becoming more yellow to red in tinge, ultimately ceasing visible radiation even

though significant power was still being used. Overall filament globes were of low efficiency for visible light emission.

The light output spectrum was strong in the infrared spectrum but limited to being at longer wavelengths in the visible spectrum, giving the light emitted a yellow characteristic not consistent with sunlight spectrum for example.

Any attempt to make the filament more robust resulted in increased thermal mass and so increased energy was required to heat the filament to a suitably high temperature. Any attempt to make a filament hotter resulted in reduced operating life or blackening of the envelope containing the filament due to evaporation and condensation of the filament material. As a result these light globes were a compromise that had limited life and poor efficiency as light emitters.

The quartz halogen incandescent light was developed to overcome some of the limitations of the basic incandescent globe. The surface temperature of the transparent chamber was increased by making it smaller and closer to the heated filament and the globe was filled with a suitable material that in combination enabled any filament material evaporating from the filament to be removed from the globe surface. This meant that the filaments could be run at higher temperatures and thus the colour spectrum of emission could be improved. The technology was referred to as quartz halogen or quartz iodide with quartz referring to the high temperature nature of the glass used and iodide or halogen referring to the material included in the envelope to prevent glass coating and darkening.

Quartz halogen lights were marginally better in efficiency than basic filament globes but only when run at high intensity. They had very high heat output, high glass surface temperatures and caused colour shift when dimmed. Both filament and quartz halogen lights provided a very intense source from the small bright filament leading to higher incidence of dazzle and user fatigue. Both types were fragile and had limited operational life before needing replacement. These light sources became popular because they were cheap to mass produce and the overall monetary and energy costs associated with

manufacture and operation were just not considered over the cheap purchase price.

Discharge tube light sources date back before the time of development of the filament globe. These originally used low pressure gas in transparent tubes that emitted coloured light when electrified by high voltages at low currents. These basic tube lights are still used today and are more commonly known as neon lights although many other gases and gas combinations are used.

These glow discharge tubes required somewhat elaborate electrical control circuitry and suffered from limited and colour-tinged light output but had no need for filament heaters of incandescent sources and so were relatively robust and could be reliably switched on and off repeatedly.

The discovery that some materials would fluoresce when illuminated with ultraviolet light provided the bases of the more recent fluorescent light.

Fluorescent lights overcame some of the limitations of the incandescent lights having more flexible control over colour tinge, higher efficiency, lower heat output and reduced dazzle, but in order to get these tubes to operate with commonly available voltages, filament heaters had to be included in each end of the tube. These heaters would enable an arc to strike in the contained gas.

Modern fluorescent lights are quite physically large but offer high efficiency, improved life and relatively cool operation. Fluorescent lights have simple control of electrical discharge current using a series ballast but need a starter circuit to initially heat the filaments.

Fluorescent lights have also been compacted into globe sized structures but retain the features of the lager globes including filaments that require heating current. This means that the tube will blacken over time as the filament evaporates, the efficiency will be limited by the need to have heated filaments and the ultimate compactness of the light will be limited because of the need for two wires and a filament at each end of the tube. There is also the need for an electronic ballast and starter circuit and the need to let the combined heat of the globe and the controller out and thus avoid excessive temperature rise that can affect reliability of the enclosed electronics necessary for operation.

A further significant issue with these globes is the difficulty of maintaining operation when used with dimmers. Many of these compact fluorescent lights could not be dimmed as the control circuitry could not maintain effective filament heating. Any attempt to dim these lights resulted in excessive blackening of the tube and shortened operational life.

Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lights (CCFL) are a glow discharge light source that combine the advantages of neon and fluorescent technologies. CCFL have not been widely used until recently because of the need for complex control circuitry, and especially where wide operating range flicker free dimming is required.

CCFL lights do not have any heated filaments and so theoretically run cooler and more efficiently than compact fluorescent lights. Also filament evaporation blackening is eliminated. This means longer life for the globe and any associated electronics.

Because there is no need for filaments and double wiring into each end of the tube the lights can also be made more compact.

Light emitting diodes (LED) are a more recent light sources. LED are solid state emitters and so are robust. There is a limited range of colours available with the highest efficiency devices often being restricted to a two colour mix of blue and yellow to approximate white light but recent devices have used phosphors in conjunction with ultraviolet solid state diode emitters and so a wider range of colours is now available. These devices are easily dimmed by control of operating current but require strict regulation of the maximum current to avoid failure, are of limited light output, are expensive, require heat sinking to avoid excessive temperature rise and are again a small intense light source leading to harsh light in some applications. Whilst light emitting diodes potentially have a very long life, the need for higher output has forced operating currents and temperatures and shortened device life.

What is needed is a long life, robust, low power, cost effective, cool running, flicker free, dimmable light source with highest possible efficiency of light delivery in the preferred direction, compact size and minimum dazzle factor. The light should have control over light output colour spectrum at manufacture

and should not change spectrum with age or when dimmed. The light source should not flicker with short term variations in mains power but retain compatibility with existing wiring and dimmers. It should be low cost to manufacture, have long service life, be compatible with existing wiring and be easy to install.

Ideally this light source would provide controlled start-up, controlled turnoff and regulated light output immune to short term variations in source voltage and frequency.

Many of the light fittings in use require high temperature fittings thus not allowing for close mounting of the light fitting into existing structures such as cupboards, walls or ceilings. When this is inappropriately done, fire hazards can result. What is needed is a low temperature rise light source suitable for such mounting. A means of either flush mounting or of aimable or gimbal mounting that enabled the light source to be aimed as required but still maintained a seal would be desirable. It would also be desirable if such a device could be constructed so that either mounting arrangement was possible with the one device.

It is often required to provide a means of mounting an apparatus onto, into or through a surface where speed and integrity of mounting, ability to securely clamp against vibration or rattles and ability to move or remove and patch the hole are required at any time. Examples of use include where it is desired to gain access to a wall cavity to wire or mount a light fitting or to blank off a hole from a previous access or fitting.

Such boundaries could be walls, ceilings, floors, panels, signs, partitions, cabinets, enclosures or other structures having at least one suitable boundary surface.

Many devices have been proposed to achieve some aspects of this but most require an accurately sized hole or are designed to fit a certain thickness of material or range of material thicknesses. Some designs use springs and levers but these usually need a high resultant profile, suffer from high manufacturing cost, as they provide a mounting force ultimately limited by the spring tension have a general lack of secure clamping. Some designs offer spring fingers that

potentially offer improved mounting security but are not designed to securely clamp on thin surfaces where the mounting hole has been inaccurately cut. Examples of these designs are also usually assembled from multiple parts implying increased manufacture cost and often have sharp metal parts that pose a cut and a corrosion hazard.

Ideally what is required is a means of mounting that, is suited to a wide range of mounting surface thicknesses possibly including mounting on material where access to the far side is not required. Requires little accuracy of cut hole provided that the boundary of the hole is covered and so obscured by the mounting arrangement , has a minimum of parts, is cost effective to make, uses minimum material, does not pose a cut or corrosion hazard, is simple, quick, secure, adjustable, relocatable and removable. Such a mounting could then form a base for attachment of other apparatus or devices.

The present invention also provides innovative aspects of secure mounting together with reliable electrical connection and integrated electronics means for control of an appliance such as a light.

Overhanging pin structures have been used for electrical connectors for some time. These structures offer intrinsic retention of the appliance when correctly inserted, a degree of safety over other approaches including those of bayonet and screw type design as there are no exposed electrical parts and the use of an intrinsically self-cleaning or wiping action. Examples of overhanging pin connectors include starter devices for fluorescent tubes and more recently for example for the European GU 10, GZ10 plug/socket specification. A further advantage of the overhanging pin design offered by standards such as GU10, GZ10 is that pin separations can be accurately defined and so made to have good clearances for a given size of apparatus using the design. This means that high voltage including mains voltage ratings can be achieved with relatively compact structures.

To date, the appliances using overhanging pin structures such as GU10, GZ10 have tended to be devices operating at high temperatures such as medium to high power halogen lamps. This has meant that the companion socket has of

necessity been fabricated to withstand high temperatures, often being made of ceramic material.

The advent of energy efficient appliances has seen the reduction in waste heat and so a potential reduction in temperatures of the appliances and the high temperature requirements for the plug and for the socket. High efficiency lighting is one example where the temperature rise is minimized as the light globe appliances are now lower power compact types with lower ratings that draw far smaller powers than previous light sources and in addition there is little waste heat generated because of the efficiency. Ideally the light source has an operating temperature less than 85 degrees Celsius anywhere during operation.

Once high temperature capability is no longer required, new materials can be used for manufacture of the appliance and in particular any associated overhanging pin socket.

For an electronics integration aspect of the invention, the introduction of electronic control of appliances has required the inclusion of additional functionality in appliances and in external controllers. The use of independent controller devices at the appliance or the point of actual use has not been widespread to date because a means to take full advantage of the advances in electronics functionality at the same time as controlling cost and providing improved reliability has not been available. This applies in particular to the design and manufacture of sockets for appliances including light sources.

What is needed is an improved socket invention that takes advantage of the safety and compaction aspects of the overhanging pin style of connector specifically targeting high efficiency low temperature applications.

This aspect of the invention should be small and cost effective to manufacture, provide fast, safe, secure, reliable connection for overhanging pin appliances and enable the direct integration of electronics at each point of use. Such an invention should be of improved compactness, eliminating the need for separate small parts and trailing wires for the socket and enabling additional features such as electronics control integration in a cost effective manner. The present invention addresses all of these requirements with aspects of novelty

and inventiveness for the apparatus the method of fabrication for the electrical, mechanical and combined electromechanical aspects of the socket including means of connection and means of ensuring reliable connection as well as for the integration of electronics.

In prior art, many overhanging pin socket designs exist in the art. Some of these also address mounting and supporting aspects. Murjahn et al PCT/DE2001/003819 discloses a lamp supporting device for halogen high voltage lamps of base type GU10 or GZ10 having overhanging pins.

The novel integrated circuit board and connector aspects of the present invention can be used with a wide range of present technologies including the older incandescent filament based light sources and the more recent Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFL) containing filament heaters but is particularly suited to new high efficiency long life lighting such as CCFL and light emitting diode or LED.

The degree of folding and compaction possible for the compact fluorescent tube is fundamentally limited by the smallest tube diameter that can be achieved and this in turn is limited by the need for the two connections and the filament at each end of the tube. The CCFL light source overcomes these restrictions. By eliminating the filaments the tube can be made smaller in diameter.

The novel inverted tube configuration and reflector design of the present invention overcomes limitations on efficiency of light emission with increasing compaction and reduction of overall light source size for tube or distributed light sources and can thus be used to advantage with a wide range of present technologies including neon and the more recent Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFL) containing filament heaters but is particularly suited to new high efficiency long life lighting such as Cold Cathode Fluorescent Light (CCFL) sources.

The novel temperature control aspects of the housing including conduction, convention and radiation aspects maintaining desired temperature of the light emitter device and the electronics of the present invention can be used with a wide range of present technologies such as Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFL)

containing filament heaters and light emitting diode or LED, but is particularly suited to new high efficiency long life lighting such as cold cathode fluorescent or CCFL, as even with these technologies an optimum operating temperature exists.

When considering the present CFL lighting technologies, there are a number of other issues limiting ultimate performance. A more sophisticated control circuit is needed with CFL to provide power to the filaments and to regulate the plasma current through the often shorter tubes. The necessary circuit has been miniaturised and is commonly mounted inside the CFL base. In this location the heat soak from the tube power dissipation increases the operating temperature of the whole circuit. A common failure mode for CFL is thus for overheating of the control electronics components resulting in failure under the stress of switch-on, long before tube blackening or intermittent striking due to loss of thermionic emission from the heaters.

The start-up or strike cycle for the tube also requires filament heating that takes time and consumes energy. As a consequence, CFL are not suited to applications where frequent on-off switching cycles are required.

The use of filaments with CFL also causes problems where dimming of the light is required. The filaments still need to be adequately heated even when the tube is operating at lower light output. This is difficult or impossible to achieve with the CFL controllers and so adds to cost or limits their utility.

The problem of tube blackening also remains with significantly diminished light output occurring from initial use to end of life.

Although less raw materials are required for the manufacture of CFL when compared to traditional fluorescent lights, the requirements are still quite significant especially when the limited lifetime and consequential replacement requirement is taken into account. As result present day CFL typically have service lives of less than 4000 hours.

Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lighting is an alternate technology to standard and CFL lighting. CCFL should not to be confused with Compact Fluorescent Lighting or CFL. CFL now universally means heated filament or miniaturized

fluorescent technology. In contrast CCFL dispenses with the need for filaments, only requiring a single electrode and connection in each end of the tube.

CCFL lighting overcomes many of the restrictions identified above with CFL.

With no need for filaments the tubes do not require two wires at each end and do not need a heated filament nor the power supply circuitry and the power to heat the filaments. CCFL contain a single electrode at each end.

CCFL eliminates the filament as a source of failure and blackening. CCFL is far better suited to repeated switching and has significantly longer tube life and the lack of need for filament heaters simplifies the electronics circuit complexity and peak start-up energy demand. As a result the typical life of a CCFL tube is of the order 20,000 hours.

A key advantage of the CCFL technology is that the diameter of the tube can be reduced well below that of CFL because the filament and dual wires are not required. This means that bending and compaction become easier. More extreme compactions and more optimal shape structures possible and general manufacturing costs are simultaneously reduced.

Further, because of the reduction in diameter CCFL also uses less basic materials such as glass and filament tungsten and less overall tube contents such as the amount of phosphor and the amount of additives such as noble gases and mercury. When this is considered with the overall extended lifetime of the CCFL a much higher resource efficiency results over that of the CFL. There are also no basic limitations with switch-on/switch off cycles or dimming with CCFL.

As a result of the opportunity for better compaction, the overall delivered light output per watt of power should be better than that of CFL where high compaction of the light source is required.

Additionally the removal of the filament heating requirement lowers the peak power demand on the electronics suggesting higher basic electro-optic conversion efficiency is possible.

Despite these potential advantages, the use of CCFL instead of CFL has not been widespread to date. This can be explained in part because of the need for more complex yet higher efficiency control electronics, and in part because little

effort has been channelled into design of optimum globe shapes and reflectors and the combinations thereof.

The present invention addresses the issue of improved light output and hence efficiency for compacted fluorescent lights and in particular for CCFL with tube diameters of T1 or less by considering the optimal design of the light source and the associated housing and reflector for maximum compaction, and the apparatus and methods required for thermal management.

The controller aspect of the present invention can be used with a wide range of lighting apparatus including the older incandescent filament based light sources but is particularly suited to new high efficiency long life lighting such as cold cathode fluorescent or CCFL and light emitting diode or LED.

The invention thus offers significant improvements in effectiveness and efficiency over presently available light sources including CFL fluorescent in areas of longer life, reduced operating temperature, higher efficiency, better directed light output, fully dimmable compatibility. With smaller size and longer life the light source aspect of the invention also provides more efficient and effective use of raw materials and significantly lower overall cost in areas of manufacture, operation and disposal.

Prior art teaches of means of folding and compaction of CCFL generally describing a laterally twisted or spring-coil shape or spring lamp. US patent number 6,779,910 granted 2 ^nd January 2001 recognises thermal issues associated with CFL and teaches of moving the heat sensitive parts of the controller circuit far from the heat produced by the lamp. A reflector of special geometry that provides symmetrical distribution of light is also described. No teaching is offered for heat management for optimal efficiency, optimal tube shape, optimal reflector structure for directing and controlling light, uniform heating of the tube to avoid hot or cold spots nor efficiency or effectiveness of the power controller.

US patent number 6,168,299 granted 2 ^nd January 2001 teaches of both the shortest lamp generally known to the fluorescent industry being the spring coil lamp and describes a generally parabolic reflector in a novel energy efficient down lighted lighting fixture. No teaching is offered for optimal tube or reflector

shape or for thermal management or for power control over the life of the lamp. The double spiral lamp tube shape is not described and no claim is made for electrical connection means to the spring coil tube.

Of light guiding and reflecting approaches, prior art generally considers light pipe approaches allowing for spread of light through edge lit structures or the use of parabolic based reflector structures. US patent 7,226,195 granted 5 ^th June 2007 is representative and teaches of the use of CCFL tubes for edge lit displays with at least two CCFL linear tubes.

Some of the designs focus on achieving directionality of light and some concentrate on diffusing light. US patent number 7, 217,010, granted May 2007 identifies the use of a reflector apparatus for diffusing the light from various light sources including fluorescent tubes of a point or linear shape. The apparatus is intended only to diffuse or spread light over larger angles and so reduce intensity and used a fixed focal length structure with a negative focal length to achieve this. The apparatus described by Linn does not attempt to concentrate light in any particular direction and is not intended to be used for light sources distributed in more than one dimension. The apparatus also necessarily involves the use of a side screen.

The present invention shows a new, novel and innovative design of light and reflector that is concave away from the intended direction of intended maximum light. The invention embodies both optimum and compromise structures suited to mass production through the invention as demonstrated by the described embodiments.

US patent 7,288,895 granted 30 ^th October 2007 teaches of the use of a local already existing heat source to heat a CCFL tube. No claim is made for temperature regulation or reduction of heating.

US patent 7,208,886 teaches of adjustment of initial starting or firing voltage based on sensing of the temperature of the immediate environment prior to starting or firing. Again no claim for regulation or a temperature sensing method demonstrating operation above a set critical temperature is made. No prior art teaching the elements of the present invention has been found.

The novel reversible housing and mounting aspects of the present invention can be used with a wide range of present lighting technologies including the older incandescent filament based light sources and the more recent Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFL) containing filament heaters but is particularly suited to new high efficiency long life lighting such as CCFL and LED.

Summary of invention

In a first aspect of the invention a controller apparatus is described wherein when fed with a source of electrical power of variable voltage and frequency having adjustable average voltage by means of variable phase switching control, zero crossing switch control, cycle dropping average voltage control, root mean square or average proportional control or other means of varying adjustment conveyed with the source of electrical power is processed in at least two independent manners, one manner being to extract and store power or energy for supply of current to a load under some form of control and at least one other being to extract signals relating to average supply as influenced by said varying adjustment means for the purpose of extracting and processing said information to be used as the form of control for the first said manner.

Another aspect of the invention includes the ability to pre-set the supply of current or voltage to the said load whilst simultaneously retaining said proportional or other control behaviour.

Another aspect of the invention allows the processing of the said extracted signals and includes adjustment of voltage or current or power in a manner changing consistently with time after power is applied, removed or otherwise changed proportionally in response to said means of varying adjustment conveyed with the source of electrical power, said adjustment of power being referred to as ramp-up, ramp-down or smoothing depending on the nature of the change.

Another aspect of the invention allows the processing of the said extracted signals and includes adjustment of voltage or current or power in response to a signal, derived decoded or otherwise extracted from the connection to the source of electrical power or by wireless, wire guided infrared or other means,

said adjustment of power being independent of or in conjunction with means conveyed with the source of electrical power or in response to an external or local signal or both whether acting independently or together, and including the ability to pre-set the supply of current or voltage to the said load whilst simultaneously retaining said proportional or other control behaviour.

In another aspect of the invention the efficiency of aid controller is maintained by controlling and minimising the voltage drop from the source of electrical power to the said load whilst maintaining the desired control behaviour, whether an independent device or built into a source or a load or distributed between same and including being built into a plug for a source or a socket for a load or both.

Where more than one controller aspect of the invention is used to control the or each load and including the use of one means of controlling influencing more than one load and energy source means and these can be operated in series or in parallel or in other combination and with one or more sources and one or more loads suitably connected and may be used in conjunction with one or more lighting devices containing or associated with ballast and control circuitry said circuitry be the said load.

The said lighting apparatus aspect of the invention is sometimes referred to by the inventor as controlled plasma or CP when used with discharge tube technology such as neon CCFL to emphasise the control and regulation aspect of the invention and also to avoid confusion with CFL.

Another aspect of the invention describes an apparatus being means of mounting a structure in a hole into or through all manner of boundary surfaces, types and thicknesses in a removable and repairable manner.

Another aspect of the invention describes a means of tightening and clamping the mounting of a structure to a surface through a hole that allows for clamping of more than one surface part or skin or layer whether at installation or subsequently.

Another aspect of the invention describes a means of securely mounting or fastening to a wide range of surface thicknesses.

Another aspect of the invention describes a means of mounting or fastening or tightening to a surface where the far side of the surface is not reached or reachable.

Another aspect of the invention describes a means or method of manufacture of the flange and the fingers from one common and continuous material for cost and reliability.

A means of mounting a plug, grommet, socket or other apparatus on or through a boundary in a secure yet efficiently removable and replaceable manner is described.

In addition a new apparatus for use with a surface mounted device said surface mounted device requiring either flush mounting or aimed protruding mounting wherein the one apparatus of the invention enables both arrangements by means of reversal or re-orientation of the said device.

Another aspect of the present invention describes an electrical device or socket for use with overhanging pin structures and with provision for integral controller electronics, featuring improved safety and reduced cost together with reliable wiping action and connection tensioning. The overall invention is referred to as a controller or controller socket.

The ability to provide compact, cost effective integrated electronics in the socket means all manner of appliance control at the point of use is enabled by features and cost effectiveness of the invention including manual and automated voltage, current, power and power factor control, interference suppression, safety disconnection, timed operation and remote telemetry applications.

In another aspect of the invention, the socket structure is described that also has provision for additional circuitry closely integrated with the planar or printed circuit structure or otherwise, thus eliminating the need for separate insulated flying leads and enabling a compact overall structure.

In another aspect of the invention, the socket structure is provided in conjunction with a suitable tensioning structure, separating the electrical connection aspect and offering reliable electrical contact.

In another aspect of the invention, no live parts are made available for touching contact when inserting or removing the appliance or when using the appliance mounted in the socket.

In another aspect of the invention, a source of power is made available to the appliance by the invention through the integrated wiring whether directly or having been processed by any associated electronics present.

In another aspect of the invention a light source apparatus is described with integral reflector having preferred light delivery direction having a distributed source or emitter being substantially distributed in three dimensions greater than the dimensions of cross-section of the emitter wherein the said shaping of the source or emitter is of a substantially concave general shape when considered for any point in the preferred direction of light emission or delivery, said distributed light source being so shaped such that light radiated generally in the preferred direction from any point on the surface of the emitter also has passage in the said preferred direction and said emitter substantially unobstructed by any other part of the light source itself when observed from the direction of said preferred light delivery, and optionally being described as spiral or spiral section or conical spiral or conical spiral section or concave spiral or conical spiral or compound spiral shaped being of single, double or multiple spiral construction or sections thereof.

In another aspect of the invention a reflector apparatus is described to be used in conjunction with a generally concave distributed light source which together act as a source of directed radiation and including use as a light source, said reflector being of single or multiple parts and fabricated to be of highly specularly reflective surface finish presented generally towards the emitter by suitable forming, polishing, plating, chemical polishing vapour coating or other means of reflector manufacture having high specular reflectivity and said reflector generally conforming to the profile of the said shaped emitter envelope.

In another aspect of the invention the reflector is located in overall close proximity to the generally concave emitter tube including touching the said tube at points thus providing an image in close proximity to the tube emitter itself.

In another aspect of the invention a reflector light source apparatus is described being so shaped in three dimensions as to substantially maintain the desired geometry with respect to the said emitter whilst maintaining some degree of contact with the said emitter surface continuously or at points in a grazing manner and so allowing some degree of heat transfer by conduction and convection, whether the heat flow is augmented by conformal conductive materials or not.

In another aspect of the invention the close proximity of the reflector to the tube affords mechanical integrity thus increasing the strength of the overall light and its resistance to shock and vibration.

Another aspect of the invention provides a light source that maintains desired colour when dimmed.

Another aspect of the invention is to allow thinner material for the light emitter having lower thermal mass and less material involved in manufacture whilst maintaining structural integrity by utilising the combined structural strength of the light emitter and closely associated reflector to maintain robustness and resistance to damage due to shock and vibration.

Another aspect of the invention is to provide a light source that eliminates flicker and other undesirable light variations even when dimmed.

In another aspect of the invention a reflector light source apparatus used in conjunction with a housing having maximum surface area within the constraints of overall physical size of the apparatus is described together with multiple chimney or pipe structures so designed to allow multiple contact points with the said reflector whether the heat flow is augmented by conformal conductive materials or not and so manage heat extraction from the said reflector and thus by consequence the said emitter in part by conductive, convective and radiative heat flow means thus assisting in maintaining optimal efficiency of light emission for the said emitter.

It is noted that the reflector light source apparatus could be used in conjunction with any other light source or used with any other mounting, housing, electrical controller or light controlling structures not according to the invention including

lenses, light pipes and other light directing and reflector devices without departing from the ambit of the present invention.

The present invention offers extended life, cool operation, increased efficiency, reduced power consumption improved reliability and life, more delivered light output in the desired direction in a compact package no constraints for short switching cycles and no restrictions on dimmability and available external controller compatibility thus substantially overcoming the limitations of compact prior art lights including CFL and filament based technologies.

Other objectives, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from consideration of the following description of preferred embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Description of the figures

Figure 1 shows a functional schematic block diagram of the controller part of the invention wherein an input power source of arbitrary voltage and frequency 1 is applied to the controller input. The incoming power source optionally containing information relating to average control voltage is then conveyed to an energy store 2 and a pulse width or average detector circuit part 4. A modulator 5 takes the average derived signal from 4 and combined this with any locally set level input 9 then passes the result on to the regulator 6 and then to the load 7. Any required power factor correction is also provided at the input 8. A demand estimator 3 adjusts the range of voltage drop between the load 7 and the energy store 2 to provide sufficient headroom for satisfactory circuit operation whilst not wasting excess energy or power by having excess voltage to requirements.

Figure 2 shows the circuit schematic of a preferred embodiment of the invention being a simple and low cost version of the invention in accordance with Figure 1 wherein a source of power is input at 1 , circuit components 2 provide necessary phase or power factor correction. In this simple preferred embodiment the input power is then converted to unsmoothed dc and passed to the two identified circuit blocks being the energy store 3 and the average

level extractor 4. The input average level and any local control are also combined here. The derived control signal is then passed to the regulator 6 and hence to the load 7, the said load being conditioned in this case to accept dc. Demand estimation is also provided in accordance with Figure 1 being set to a fixed value by adjusting the value of the energy store capacitor in response to the input voltage and frequency and in this embodiment is set at initial construction for a particular load, though other circuit embodiments may provide variable energy store headroom.

Figure 3 shows a preferred embodiment of the light housing allowing for either flush mounting or adjustable gimbal mounting with the one housing and mounting apparatus. The light 6 is mounted in a ball structure 1 having a flush mounting flange 2 with suitable diameter hole to mount the light largely within the ball structure on one side 3, said light being retained in position by other means. The ball structure 1 and the flush mounting flange 2 have the same maximum diameter in this preferred embodiment. The mounting flange 2 also has a shell structure with open internal parts 5 allowing passage of mounted structures.

Figure 4 shows another view and arrangement of the ball mounting structure wherein the overall light source or globe 6 has been relocated to the flange end of the ball wherein the hole 3 has suitable diameter matching that of the flange opening previously described. The ball structure part 1 having the same equatorial diameter as the flange part will fit in a common mounting structure. This part is shown in Figure 5 following and not repeated in this figure.

Figure 5 shows a preferred embodiment of a mounting structure for the housing structure shown in Figures 3 and 4 wherein a single moulded part being fabricated from suitable material including plastics having sufficient structural strength and elastic flexure capability 1 has at least two integral flexible fingers 7, one of which is shown for clarity. The inside diameter is such that both passage and support of the housing structure described previously is facilitated in both orientations of flush mount and gimbal mount. The or each finger 7 has an attachment region 4, a low height flexure region allowing fit into the smallest design diameter hole, a rising taper section allowing locking into or clamping

down on all manner of mounting surfaces and shells somewhat in the manner of a coarse thread, yet also facilitating removal and relocation.

Figure 6 shows a preferred embodiment of integrated socket nature of the apparatus wherein a circuit and socket substrate 1 has all conductive parts presenting risk of electric shock confined to regions away from user contact. The substrate being a printed circuit board of type FR4 of the art in this preferred embodiment has suitable slots cut to enable penetration of overhanging pin structures such as GU 10 of the art through the substrate to the component and conductor side where connection is made by spring contact component parts 3, suitably mounted and anchored using the printed circuit mounting and connection techniques of the art including but not limited to through hole and surface mount techniques. The same substrate also supports mounting of other components including all manner of circuitry shown schematically as 4 and connection wiring 5. The substrate mounting structure takes cost advantage of material choice allowed by the low operating temperature of any mounted apparatus.

Figure 7 shows a preferred embodiment that shows a front view of a distributed light source such as a CCFL tube 1 having T1 structure being approximately 1/8 ^th inch diameter and wound as a double spiral. The T1 tube 2 is so structured as to present no overlapping or shadowing when viewed from the preferred direction that could otherwise reflect and reduce light output in the said preferred direction. One of the required two single end connection electrodes of the CCFL tube type is also shown 3. It should be noted that the tube is a three dimensional structure that is generally conical concave away from the preferred direction and direction of view of the figure, the outer or connection end of the tube being closer to the said preferred direction than the centre crossover section, the said structure being described as concave away from the preferred direction of light delivery. The spiral structure is also necessarily spaced out in the direction away from the preferred direction of light delivery, being at an angle of 30 degrees from the axis and is of a generally linear conical shape also in this preferred embodiment.

Figure 8 shows a preferred embodiment of the light apparatus having the tube structure generally concave away from the direction of preferred light delivery and showing the housing structure allowing electrical insulation and thermal behaviours of convention, conduction and radiation wherein a highly reflective part or reflector 3 is placed in close proximity to the CCFL tube 1 , said apparatus having electrical connections to the tube being at least partially insulated by the plastic material of the housing 4 penetrating or otherwise passing the reflector structure 3, said insulation being shown as 2. The reflector or the housing or both also provides a mounting flange 4 enabling the apparatus to be retained in a luminaire housing, said flange structure also allowing the optional attachment of a transparent cover structure that has been removed in this figure for clarity. Figure 8 also shows the preferred embodiment of the housing for the shaped light emitter and the associated reflector 5 being constructed from plastic or other mouldable material and being generally of thin section having multiple chimney structures 6 each being open at the end generally towards the preferred lighting direction behind the reflector structure and open at the end generally away from the preferred direction of light delivery thus enabling passage of air through the or each chimney structure adjacent to the reflector structure surface. The said housing also comprises indentations, flutes or grooves 7 that in part provide side walls for the chimneys, and in part provide structural integrity being generally conformant to the reflector surface.

The fluted structure in conjunction with the chimney structure provides increased surface area for facilitated radiation and convention transfer of heat away from the apparatus during operation.

The rear of the said housing 5 forms an attachment to the generally separate connector part that also houses the ballast and electrical circuitry for the tube with the rear of the tube and reflector housing forms a seal to the end of the ballast and electrical circuitry housing part 8 whilst the ends of the said chimney structures are open to airflow past the said housing 5. In the preferred embodiment the reflector 3 is manufactured from highly reflective finish metal that provides good thermal conductivity throughout its structure relative to the heat flow away from the structure and so helps to minimise thermal gradients throughout the reflector and thus for the whole of the emitter tube 1 being in

close association with the reflector. The preferred embodiment also optionally provides improved thermal contact between the emitter tube and the reflector optionally with the sparing use of conformal conductive material such as silicone RTV adhesive that also provides a degree of structural integrity. In the preferred embodiment shown the reflector structure is held in place by a clipping action by means of penetrations through the reflector structure being retained on the insulated protrusions of the electrical connections 2, one of which is shown.

Figure 9 shows an overall view of a preferred embodiment of the combined apparatus reversed for the gimbal or ball mount arrangement 1 showing the reversible ball mount 2, the attachment means 3, the globe with transparent cover in place 4 and the socket connection means having local adjustment both being inside a cover 5.

Detailed description of the figures

Figure 1 shows a functional schematic block diagram of the controller part of the invention wherein an input power source of arbitrary voltage and frequency 1 is applied to the controller input. The incoming power source contains information relating to average voltage whether the waveform is sinusoidal or a more complex waveform such as that from a leading or lagging phase dimmer, cycle dropper, half wave rectifier or other modifying device affecting the average voltage and whether or not the average voltage is also varying over time. The input power from the source is then simultaneously conveyed to an energy store part 2 and a pulse width or average detector circuit part 4. A modulator 5 takes the average derived signal from 4 and combines this with any locally set level input 9 then passes the result on to the regulator 6 and then to the load 7. Any required power factor correction is also provided at the input by the circuitry 8. A demand estimator 3 adjusts the range of voltage drop between the load 7 and the energy store 2 based on average demand history for the load to provide sufficient headroom for satisfactory circuit operation whilst not wasting excess energy or power by having excess voltage to that of the known load demand requirements. The controller invention overcomes the

problem of sensitivity to short term voltage or power fluctuations seen in many appliances and loads including lights. Without the invention, lights in particular will be seen to flicker when mains variations occur. With the invention this behaviour is eliminated whilst still retaining load control in response to power supply variations. Additionally the circuit schematic allows for a local input signal that also and independently controls the power to the load but again with the benefit of removal of flicker. A local set level input 9 will directly affect the delivered power. This set level input could be provided by a manual adjustment means or could be derived from other inputs such as detection of ambient light level, detection of movement, detection of sounds, in response to a timer controlled variation, in response to temperature, in response to airflow or combinations thereof.

Figure 2 shows the circuit schematic of a preferred embodiment of the invention being purposely chosen as a simple and low cost version of the invention in accordance with Figure 1 wherein a source of power is input at 1 , circuit components 2 provide necessary phase or power factor correction. In this simple preferred embodiment the input power is then converted to unsmoothed dc and simultaneously passed to the two identified circuit blocks being the energy store 3 and the average level extractor 4. The input average level and any local control are also combined in the circuitry 4. The derived control signal is then passed to the regulator 6 and hence to the load 7, the said load being conditioned in this case to accept dc. Demand estimation is set to a fixed value by adjusting the value of the energy store capacitor in response to the input voltage and frequency and in this embodiment is set at initial construction for a particular load, though other circuit embodiments may provide variable energy store headroom. Additional advantages of the invention exemplified by the preferred embodiment include controlled slow ramp-up and ramp-down of the load, ramp-down control and speed also being a function of the energy store headroom. This is in addition to preservation of the response to dimmer control of the supply and simultaneously the removal of short term flicker due to power supply variations and is in accordance with the functional schematic diagram of Figure 1 and with the claims of the patent relating to the controller aspect.

Figure 3 shows a preferred embodiment of the light luminaire housing aspect of the invention allowing for either flush mounting or adjustable gimbal mounting with the one housing and mounting apparatus. The light 6 is mounted in a ball structure 1 having a flush mounting flange 2 with suitable diameter hole to mount the light largely within the ball structure on one side 3, said light being retained in position by other means. The ball structure 1 and the flush mounting flange 2 have the same maximum diameter in this preferred embodiment. The mounting flange 2 also has a shell structure with open internal parts 5 allowing passage of mounted structures. The preferred embodiment shows an assembled luminaire made from separate moulded parts that clip together, said material having suitable characteristics and including fabrication from plastic as a preferred embodiment as would be suited to other aspects of the invention relating to evolved heat and temperature elevation such as light efficiency and controller operation. The figure shows a luminaire suited to a light source or globe being of 50 mm diameter front flange suitable for replacement of common halogen down-lights though other embodiments are possible. The ball structure diameter for this preferred embodiment is 73.25 mm and with the various flange and mounting parts allows adjustment to angles of 45 degrees off-axis. Various locking, guiding and locating structures may also be used as part of the luminaire without departing from the ambit of the invention with regard to multipurpose reversible mounting catering for flush and gimbal mounting as evidenced by the preferred embodiment.

Figure 4 shows another view and arrangement of the reversible ball section mounting luminaire structure wherein the globe 6 has been removed from the ball shaped side or end and relocated to the flange end of the ball wherein the hole 3 has suitable diameter matching that of the ball flange opening previously described, allowing for the insertion and retention of the light globe part of the invention. The ball structure part 1 having the same equatorial diameter as the flange part will fit in a common mounting or attachment structure having a suitable diameter hole. When the globe is inserted on the flange side the combined globe and sphere section housing apparatus can be inserted into a suitable preferred embodiment mounting structure to present either a flush fit or an adjustable gimbal facility when mounted.

When the globe is inserted into the other ball section side of the spherical ball mount apparatus and the apparatus then mounted in the same suitable preferred embodiment housing apparatus being secured around an equatorial line of the spherical part and so provide an aimable gimbal mounting arrangement that protrudes below the said mounting apparatus and so can be adjusted or aimed over a wide range of angles and orientations.

Figure 1 shows a preferred embodiment having the globe installed in the gimbal configuration. The luminaire housing structure takes cost advantage of material choice allowed by the low operating temperature of any mounted apparatus. The attachment part is shown as a preferred embodiment in Figure 5 following.

Figure 5 shows a preferred embodiment of a mounting structure for the housing structure shown in Figures 3 and 4 wherein a single moulded mounting structure apparatus part 1 is fabricated from suitable plastics material such as glass reinforced PBT having appropriate thermal strength retention, sufficient structural strength and sufficient elastic flexure capability to allow insertion and removal without fracture. The use of plastics material also enables low cost manufacture. The said attachment apparatus has at least two integral flexible fingers 7, only one of which is shown in the figure for clarity. The said apparatus has an inside diameter hole 2 with diameter and structure such that both passage and support of the housing structure described previously is facilitated in both orientations of flush mount and gimbal mount. In the preferred embodiment this is 73.25 mm. The or each finger 7 is designed to fit into a wide range of mounting surface hole diameters with varying material thicknesses and being of variable finish including rough sawn by having said fingers following a starting diameter then extending both out and up to the outer diameter of the overall apparatus, though significantly displaced vertically. Each finger thus has an attachment region 4, a low height flexure region allowing fit into the smallest design diameter hole, a rising taper section allowing locking into clamping down on all manner of mounting surfaces and shells somewhat in the manner of a coarse thread, yet also facilitating removal and relocation. In the preferred embodiment for the previously described 50 mm down-light globe the fingers start at an outside diameter of 86 mm and extend to an outer diameter of 100 mm and with typical material thickness of 2 mm. The mounting

structure takes cost advantage of material choice allowed by the low operating temperature of any mounted apparatus for lighting according to other aspects of the invention.

Figure 6 shows a preferred embodiment of integrated circuitry and socket nature of the apparatus wherein a circuit and socket substrate 1 has all conductive parts presenting risk of electric shock confined to regions away from user contact, the circuit structure also being housed in a suitable containment. The substrate being a printed circuit board of type FR4 of the art in this preferred embodiment has suitable circular slots cut to enable penetration of overhanging pin structures such as GU10 of the art through the substrate to the component and conductor side and enabling mechanical retention through turning after insertion. Electrical connection is made to the circuitry by spring contact component parts 3, that are inserted or otherwise suitably mounted and anchored using the printed circuit mounting and connection techniques of the art including but not limited to through hole and surface mount techniques. The same substrate also supports mounting all manner of other electrical components including all manner of circuitry shown schematically as 4 and connection wiring 5. The substrate mounting structure takes cost advantage of material choice allowed by other aspects of the invention allowing low operating temperature of the associated mounted apparatus. Various locating structures are also used to ensure correct insertion and removal of the load apparatus in the combined socket and circuit board. In the preferred embodiment the circuitry is the controller aspect of the invention with provision for manual control of load level and having means of connection of the power supply including facility for looping on to another preferred embodiment apparatus.

Figure 7 shows a front view of a preferred embodiment shaped distributed light source such as a CCFL tube 1 having structure being approximately 1/8 ^th inch diameter and wound as a double spiral being an " up across and down" wound structure. This can be alternately thought of as two intertwined coarse spirals. The tube 2 is so constructed as to present no overlapping or shadowing of previous or subsequent turns when viewed from the preferred lighting that could otherwise reflect and reduce light output in the said preferred direction. In the figure the gaps between the turns at 4 are shown as grazing incidence from

the viewing angle. One of the two single end connection electrodes of the CCFL tube type is also shown 3. The tube is a three dimensional structure that is generally conical concave away from the preferred direction of light delivery this being the direction of view of the figure. The outer or connection end of the tube is closer to the said preferred direction than the centre crossover section, the said structure being described as concave away from the preferred direction of light delivery. The spiral structure is also necessarily spaced out in the direction away from the preferred direction of light delivery, an aspect that cannot be shown in this view but is seen in figure 8. In the preferred embodiment the cone angle is 30 degrees from the axis resulting in an overall tube cone height of approximately 32 mm with shortest path distance between adjacent turns of approximately 2.5 mm, noting that the tube shape is varying in all three dimensions.

Figure 8 shows a preferred embodiment of the light globe apparatus having the tube structure generally concave away from the direction of preferred light delivery and showing the housing structure allowing electrical insulation and thermal behaviours of convention, conduction and radiation wherein a highly reflective part or reflector 3 is placed in close proximity to the CCFL tube 1 , said apparatus having electrical connections to the tube being at least partially insulated by the plastic material of the housing 4 penetrating or otherwise passing the reflector structure 3, said insulation being shown as 2. The reflector or the housing or both also provides a mounting flange 4 enabling the apparatus to be retained in a luminaire housing, said flange structure also allowing the optional attachment of a transparent cover structure that has been removed in this figure for clarity. Figure 8 also shows the preferred embodiment of the housing for the shaped light emitter and the associated reflector 5 being constructed from plastic or other mouldable material and being generally of thin section having multiple chimney structures 6 each being open at the end generally towards the preferred lighting direction behind the reflector structure and open at the end generally away from the preferred direction of light delivery thus enabling passage of air through the or each chimney structure adjacent to the reflector structure surface. The said housing also comprises indentations, flutes or grooves 7 that in part provide side walls for the chimneys, and in part

provide structural integrity being generally conformant to the reflector surface thus allowing passage of heat away from the tube and reflector structure by the mechanism of conduction whilst the rate of heat transfer and so the resulting temperature of the reflector structure and tube are maintained generally at the desired value. The fluted structure in conjunction with the chimney structure provides increased surface area for radiation and convention transfer of heat thus further providing means of temperature regulation, the thermal heat flow rates and time constants also being within the capability of the construction materials used given that the overall heat output of the tube and electronics for the preferred embodiment is quite low being of the order 5 Watt.

The rear of the said globe housing forms an attachment to a generally separate connector part has a further housing 5 containing the ballast and electrical circuitry for the tube. The rear of the tube and reflector housing forms a seal to the end of the ballast and electrical circuitry housing part 8 whilst the ends of the said chimney structures are open to airflow past the said housing 5. This maintains effective heat flow for the tube and reflector part without subjecting the electronics to excessive heat soak from the tube structure in the preferred embodiment. The reflector 3 is manufactured from highly reflective finish metal in the preferred embodiment that provides good thermal conductivity throughout its structure relative to the heat flow away from the structure and so helps to minimise thermal gradients throughout the reflector and thus for the whole of the emitter tube 1 being in close association with the reflector. The preferred embodiment also optionally provides improved thermal contact between the emitter tube and the reflector with the sparing use of conformal conductive material such as silicone RTV adhesive.

Detailed description of the invention

A first aspect of the invention describes a power supply controller wherein a source of power is processed by two separate circuit parts to provide energy efficient regulated output and simultaneously allows local and remote power control. Referring to the controller part of the invention shown in figure 1 , an input power source 1 being a source of electrical power such as mains voltage

having been optionally been previously treated to have adjustable amplitude or phase or other controlling strategy and so not necessarily being sinusoidal is split into two separate streams, one stream providing the source of power or energy to the Energy Store 2 for feeding to the Regulator 6 and hence under control to the load 7 and the other stream being fed to the Pulse width /Ave 4 that derives information from the incoming wave with regard to phase modulation average level or other parameter according to need. The control means could also be fed from a source and by a means not conveyed by the power supply wiring itself.

The Regulator 6 is the overall power metering or control part that feeds power from the Energy Store. The Regulator 6 is under the control of the Modulator 5 which in turn takes input from both the Pulse width /Ave 4 and the Set Level 9 and local input 9.

The Power Modulator 5 compares the pulse Width/Ave 4 and the Set level 9 and produces a signal that represents the product of the two. When either the Pulse width /Ave 4 or the Set Level is zero the Modulator turns off the Regulator. The Modulator also provides such functions as power on ramp-up, power off ramp-down and smoothing.

PF correct 8 provides any necessary load conditions required by the input Power Source 1. For example, certain load conditions may need to be met when a master dimmer is used on a high efficiency low current light to ensure consistent operation of the master dimmer.

In operation, the Energy Store 2 stores sufficient power to ensure load demands can be met and is continuously topped up from the supply. The energy storage capability is programmed as part of the design of the apparatus of the invention taking into account the requirements of the Load 7 and will differ for each load type.

The Pulse width /ave 7 monitors the input power Source Line 1 for control information including ratio control and derives a filtered signal representative of any control information in the incoming waveform. This is passed to the Modulator 5. The Modulator processes this together with any local input 9 and then sends a signal to adjust the power regulator 6 accordingly, thus controlling

the load 7. This signal represents the product of the average pulse width/ave 4 signal and the local input Set Level 9 suitably scaled and linearised. When either of the average Pulse Width/ave 7 signal and the Local Input 9 are zero the Regulator 6 is turned off. When both are set to maximum the Regulator 6 is turned fully on.

The average power fed to the Load 7 will be known at all times by the modulator. The energy store will have been appropriately dimensioned and this will mean that the Pulse Width/ave 4 will provide a control signal that follows the energy requirement of the load. This has the effect of dynamically trying to keep the voltage across the regulator just ahead of the load requirement. This minimises the power dissipation and so overall power wastage in the Regulator 6 maintaining the efficiency of the invention. Note that the local input 9 can over-ride this. The invention derives power for operation directly from the input power source 1 also, and so when the input source is turned off the invention consumes no power and this is the expected mode of operation. When the Regulator 7 is turned off by the Set level 9 control with power source 1 still applied the invention consumes a standby current.

In order to further describe the invention, two examples of the operation of the invention are given. Referring to Figure 2, in the first example the input voltage is a full sine wave of 100% duty cycle with no phase control and no dropped cycles. The pulse width /ave 4 will be set to maximum or unity (full cycles) and the load will be under control of the set level control 9. The preferred embodiment of figure 2 shows conversion to dc after power factor correction. In this specific embodiment it is assumed that the load can utilise dc power. At turn on the power extract/control extracts and stores sufficient energy to operate the load at full power. This is not immediately made available to the load 7 by the power regulator circuit 6.

At switch-on of the input power source 1 the pulse width /ave 4 will see the first power applied or switch-on transient and will thereafter derive an increasing average signal up to the average value of the waveform of the input power source 1. The modulator will then ramp the regulator 6 up to full value over a time set by the Modulator 5. This time ramp time can be preset.

The set level 9 controls the maximum value of this ramp and provides the control signal to the power regulator. The load will thus ramp up to the set level 9 value at a fixed rate following the pulse width /Ave 4 signal. In practice the ramp up rate can be set so that the power is applied at any rate from cycle by cycle to multi-second ramps and so any form of power control including phase control and cycle dropping is catered for, and short term variations such as spikes and sags in the mains can be filtered out.

If the power extract/control 2 module has stored more energy or voltage than is needed by the load, the action of the control loop formed by the Regulator 6 , the Modulator 5 , the Pulse width /average 4 and the energy store 2 loop will tend to regulate the output to the load. This will remove all variations in the source power arising from short term variations in the input voltage source including brown out, surges and spikes. This can be better understood by considering the effect of changing the setting of the Pulse width /ave 4 changing the excess voltage stored by the Energy store. A lower gain of the Pulse width /ave 4, the more power will be available for the Power regulator circuit 6 from the Energy store 2 and so the better the load regulation will be but the voltage drop across the Regulator will then also be higher and so more power will potentially be wasted. These parameters are thus set for each application to ensure minimised power usage. Ultimately the majority of power in the energy store is fed to the load 7, the preferred embodiment of the invention requiring little power itself for operation.

In a similar manner the effect of switching the power source voltage off is the reverse. At switch-off the output ramps down at the set rate. If the energy store is under-dimensioned the output will lose smoothing or regulation from the Regulator 6 during this process. Ultimately both the Energy store 2 and the modulator 5 will decay to zero, the values set in the invention will dictate which decays faster and hence when the load comes out of regulation and simply follows the Input voltage down to zero.

In a second example, the preferred embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 2 is considered to be operating as for the first example when the input signal has either 50% cycles dropped or a 50% phase controlled signal applied.

The Pulse width /ave 4 detects the drop in ratio and adjust down to the new setting. The rate at which the load reacts is at the time constant set in the modulator. At any time during this process the set level 9 could also be used to control the load, and would also be subject to the same time constant. The effect of this is to provide smooth light transitions and regulated light output at all times.

If a lower mains voltage is applied by intentional adjustment for example through a variable transformer, the pulse width /ave control detect 4 will see 100% duty cycle and the output will be regulated by the power modulator 5 depending on whether the unit was designed with sufficient power storage headroom in the energy store 2. In this case the invention will maintain the set power output and hence the light level. Again there is a limit where the invention will no longer be able to maintain regulation and will pass any line variations directly through to the light source though the variations will be filtered to remove short term variations in accordance with any design requirement.

Another aspect of the invention describes a single housing including that of a luminaire structure that provides the dual functions of flush mounting and gimbal mounting with the one apparatus.

Referring to the preferred embodiment of the invention shown in figure 3, a hollow generally tube shaped housing constructed of metal or plastic or other suitable material optionally translucent has a generally spherical section 1 with a suitable hole 4 in the top, a generally flat section around a suitable hole at the bottom 3 and a hollow tube shaped edge section 2. The suitable hole is so dimensioned as to house a light globe or other device. In use the apparatus has two different configurations possible from the same apparatus. The luminaire may have the light globe mounted in the bottom suitable hole and be mounted flush with a surface or may have the light globe mounted in the top suitable hole 4 and be mounted upside down through a surface such that the apparatus can be gimbal rotated and so aimed, the same apparatus serving both purposes whilst maintaining a seal with the said surface. The globe is held in place by the globe base and a suitable socket apparatus. The re-entrant nature

of the lower flange allows for wider range of gimbal angle adjustment when used in this mode. Figure 4 shows a preferred embodiment of the luminaire configured fro flush mounting.

Another aspect of the invention describes a means of mounting a structure in a hole into or through all manner of boundary surfaces, types and thicknesses in a removable and repairable manner.

Another aspect of the invention describes a means of tightening and clamping the mounting of a structure to a surface through a hole that allows for clamping of more than one surface part or skin or layer whether at installation or subsequently.

Another aspect of the invention describes a means of securely mounting or fastening to a wide range of surface thicknesses.

Another aspect of the invention describes a means of mounting or fastening or tightening to a surface where the far side of the surface is not reached or reachable.

Another aspect of the invention describes a means or method of manufacture of the flange and the fingers from one common and continuous material for cost and reliability.

Referring to the preferred embodiment of figure 5, the invention comprises a single piece part having a flange with dimensions being larger than the intended mounting hole and having two attached shaped fingers having generally 4 sections being a attachment section 4 providing mounting and strength, a radial flexure section 5 having a separation from the rear face of the flange equal to or less than the minimum intended overall surface mounting thickness, a section 6 tapering out to be within the maximum diameter of he flange and simultaneously up to the expected maximum height or thickness of the overall dimension of the mounting surface and a section 7 following within the profile of the flange and at or close to the maximum height or thickness of the overall dimension of the mounting surface.

In use, the sense of the fingers being as for either a left or a right hand thread, for any size hole greater than the diameter of the mounting of the fingers and less than the overall diameter of the flange, the installation of the invention

commences with the engagement of the fingers on the hole followed by rotation in an appropriate left or right hand thread direction. The fingers will expand and lock down on the surface thus mounting the invention. The invention can be removed by reversal of the rotation direction or by physical deformation of one of the fingers through the hole in the flange offered by the preferred embodiment, always remaining within the elastic limits of the material of construction of the invention.

The attachment aspect of the invention also provides for varying thicknesses of material or for the alignment and securing of two or more boundary surfaces once penetrated by applying adjustable force from the front-most to the backmost surface and any surfaces sandwiched in-between.

In use the invention having two or more fingers is inserted into an approximately circular orifice cut through the or each boundary part, said hole being smaller than the front face of the attachment aspect of the invention. Insertion is effected by the deformation of the fingers during initial insertion. The range of thicknesses of the total surface structure is catered for by adjusting the range of heights of the finger starting point and finishing point above the front or flange rearmost surface whilst the degree of mounting security is adjusted by the ramp angle of the fingers.

The unit is initially retained when the fingers are released when in or through the surfaces and is then able to be tightened down and so clamp all surfaces between front and back by rotation, somewhat in the manner of a course thread, but with care being exercised so as not to exceed the elastic limits of the invention. Reversal of the direction of rotation, the prising in of the fingers or both enables removal.

In use, the attachment aspect of the invention can thus be used for mounting, plugging, clamping or aspects of all three functions.

In another aspect of the invention all electrical components connectors and conductors are placed on the side of the invention away from the user access and the apparatus is placed in a suitable insulated housing thus minimising the risk of electric shock in use.

In another aspect of the invention, a socket structure suited to overhanging pin appliance mounting and connection is combined with electrical circuitry on a common circuit substrate to enable reduction of cost and size, improvement in reliability and eliminating separate small parts and wiring of the prior art. Referring to the preferred embodiment of Figure 6, a socket part of the invention 5 having the shaped slots for entry and turning of the overhanging pins from an appliance, globe or other load has a narrow end of the slot being the region where electrical connection is made and maintained. The electrical contact part 7 is fabricated as components mounted using circuit construction techniques of the art such as surface mount or through hole technology.

In another aspect of the invention, the socket structure offers independent contact force on each of the overhanging pin structures, said contact being optionally taken by an appliance on insertion or only after insertion on turning the appliance in a direction suited to the invention as required. This aspect of the invention ensures reliable connection is made to the socket structure in the event that there is some mis-alignment of the pins of the appliance.

The preferred embodiment of Figure 6 shows the combine circuit and socket part of the invention 5 having the shaped slots for entry and turning of the overhanging pins from an appliance, with the narrow end of the slot being the region where electrical connection is made and maintained.

In another aspect of the invention, the socket structure is described that also has provision for additional circuitry closely integrated with the planar or printed circuit structure or otherwise thus eliminating the need for separate insulated flying leads and enabling a compact overall structure. Referring to the preferred embodiment of Figure 6, the circuit board 1 has one or more regions 4 for circuitry or componentry connected by conductors 5 to the socket connection parts 3 suitably located near the socket holes 2.

In another aspect of the invention, a source of power is made available to the appliance by the invention through the integrated wiring whether directly or having been processed by any associated electronics present or not. Power is made available ultimately through electrical connection 4. In the case where no

electronic circuitry is present with the socket having been remotely mounted the invention would revert to a compact socket structure.

In another aspect of the invention a light source apparatus is described with integral reflector having preferred light delivery direction having a shaped source or emitter for emission of radiation or light source of any spectral distribution and including infrared and UV wavelengths said source being substantially distributed in three dimensions greater than the dimensions of cross-section of the emitter wherein the said shaping of the source or emitter is of a substantially concave general shape when considered for any point in the preferred direction of light emission or delivery, said distributed light source being so shaped such that light radiated generally in the preferred direction from any point on the surface of the emitter also has passage in the said preferred direction and said emitter being so shaped to be substantially unobstructed by any other part of the light source itself when observed from the direction of said preferred light delivery, and optionally being described as spiral or spiral section or conical spiral or conical spiral section or concave spiral or conical spiral or compound spiral shaped being of single, double or multiple spiral construction or sections thereof.

In another aspect of the invention the inverted tube having need of electrical connection utilises insulating material in part associated with the overall housing for the light source or globe, being necessarily located at the ends of the tube closest to the direction of preferred light delivery.

In another aspect of the invention the shaped linear cone double spiral distributed light source or tube is used in conjunction with a reflector, together acting as a source of directed radiation and including use as a light source, said reflector being of single or multiple parts and fabricated to be of highly reflective surface finish presented generally towards the emitter by suitable forming, polishing, plating, chemical polishing vapour coating or other means of reflector manufacture having high specular reflectivity and said reflector generally conforming to the profile of the said shaped emitter is described.

In another aspect of the invention the reflector cone that generally follows to profile of the light emitter is truncated at or marginally before the narrow end of the spiral, and the end of the said reflector left open to allow the passage of air.

In another aspect of the invention the material of the reflector being generally conductive to electricity is insulated from the electrical connection means to the tube by insulating material in part associated with the overall housing for the light source or globe.

In another aspect of the invention the reflector part is mechanically located and retained within the overall globe housing by the insulating material in part associated with the overall housing for the light source or globe.

In another aspect of the invention a reflector light source apparatus is described being so shaped in three dimensions as to substantially maintain the desired geometry with respect to the said emitter whilst maintaining some degree of contact with the said emitter surface continuously or at points in a grazing manner and so allowing some degree of heat transfer by conduction and convection, whether the heat flow is augmented by conformal conductive materials or not.

In another aspect of the invention a reflector light source apparatus used in conjunction with a housing having maximum surface area within the constraints of overall physical size of the apparatus is described together with multiple chimney or pipe structures so designed to allow multiple contact points with the said reflector whether the heat flow is augmented by conformal conductive materials or not and so manage heat extraction from the said reflector and thus by consequence the said emitter in part by conductive, convective and radiative heat flow means thus assisting in maintaining optimal efficiency of light emission for the said emitter.

The reflector light source apparatus could be used in conjunction with any other light source or used with any other mounting, housing, electrical controller or light controlling structures not according to the invention including lenses, light pipes and other light directing and reflector devices without departing from the ambit of the present invention.

As a result the present invention offers extended life, cool operation, increased efficiency, reduced power consumption improved reliability and life, more light output delivered in the desired direction in a compact package and having no constraints for short switching cycles and no restrictions on dimmability and available controller compatibility thus substantially overcoming the limitations of compact prior art lights including CFL and filament based technologies.

Preferred embodiments

In a first preferred embodiment a simple analogue design is shown for the controller aspect that embodies the attributes of the invention and has commercial advantage because of simplicity. It should be noted that the invention is in no way limited to the use of analogue design techniques and implementations or to the use of the particular type of load shown.

Referring to Figure 2 the preferred embodiment shows the invention being used to control a low power plasma or CCFL light. The load is assumed to contain the necessary ballast and voltage conditioning circuitry required by the plasma light and no claim is made for this, though claim would be made if the invention were to be included in a globe housing.

Each of the functions of the general description can be identified in the preferred embodiment shown in Figure 2.

Input power source is a line voltage input at 1 and may be 240 Vrms directly from the mains or from an external dimmer. The input power is converted to dc by the bridge rectifier configuration, still representing a supply of power for the energy store and a suitable signal for pulse width /average determination 4 having not been smoothed at this juncture. For the preferred embodiment the load is a 5 Watt plasma ( CCFL) light and the suitable demand estimator for 240V 50 Hz is 2 u F.

The Power factor correction 2 and uses an 82 kOhm resistor and a 0.1 uF capacitor.

The Modulator is 8, being a divider fed with the average value of the waveform, with the set level being the setting of the divider arms, the series resistor and the smoothing capacitor at 4. The design maintains net source impedance

above 100 kOhm, increasing the time constant as the output is reduced and so affording increased smoothing. The potentiometer has a value of 500 kOhm and resistors of 1 kOhm and 82 kOhm towards the source and towards the common respectively provide adjustment of the maximum and minimum output voltages. By this means the circuit provides multiple functions for removal of short term flicker, enhanced flicker reduction and lower outputs, controlled ramp-up and ramp-down with application of power, response to average values from supply dimmers and regulation of the maximum and minimum voltages provided to the load. The filter for rise, fall and surge regulation has been set by the value of the smoothing capacitor at 4 being 2 uF.

In practice the preferred embodiment also includes components for EMI/EMC and safety aspects. These have not been shown but include a series fusible resistor to provide a safety function in the event of malfunction or inadvertent use on an unsuitable load.

Referring to Figure 3, a preferred embodiment of the light luminaire housing aspect of the invention is shown allowing for either flush mounting or adjustable gimbal mounting with the one housing and mounting apparatus. The light 6 is mounted in a ball structure 1 having a flush mounting flange 2 with suitable diameter hole to mount the light largely within the ball structure on one side 3, said light being retained in position by other means. The ball structure 1 and the flush mounting flange 2 have the same maximum diameter in this preferred embodiment. The mounting flange 2 also has a shell structure with open internal parts 5 allowing passage of mounted structures. The preferred embodiment shows an assembled luminaire made from separate moulded parts that clip together, said material having suitable characteristics and including fabrication from plastic as a preferred embodiment as would be suited to other aspects of the invention relating to evolved heat and temperature elevation such as light efficiency and controller operation. The figure shows a luminaire suited to a light source or globe being of 50 mm diameter front flange suitable for replacement of common halogen down-lights though other embodiments are possible. The ball structure diameter for this preferred embodiment is 73.25 mm and with the various flange and mounting parts allows adjustment to angles of 45 degrees off-axis. Various locking, guiding and

locating structures may also be used as part of the luminaire without departing from the ambit of the invention with regard to multi-purpose reversible mounting catering for flush and gimbal mounting as evidenced by the preferred embodiment.

Figure 4 shows another view and arrangement of the reversible ball section mounting luminaire structure wherein the globe 6 has been removed from the ball shaped side or end and relocated to the flange end of the ball wherein the hole 3 has suitable diameter matching that of the ball flange opening previously described, allowing for the insertion and retention of the light globe part of the invention. The ball structure part 1 having the same equatorial diameter as the flange part will fit in a common mounting or attachment structure having a suitable diameter hole. When the globe is inserted on the flange side the combined globe and sphere section housing apparatus can be inserted into a suitable preferred embodiment mounting structure to present either a flush fit or an adjustable gimbal facility when mounted.

When the globe is inserted into the other ball section side of the spherical ball mount apparatus and the apparatus then mounted in the same suitable preferred embodiment housing apparatus being secured around an equatorial line of the spherical part and so provide an aimable gimbal mounting arrangement that protrudes below the said mounting apparatus and so can be adjusted or aimed over a wide range of angles and orientations. Figure 1 shows a preferred embodiment having the globe installed in the gimbal configuration. The luminaire housing structure takes cost advantage of material choice allowed by the low operating temperature of any mounted apparatus. The attachment part is shown as a preferred embodiment in Figure 5 following.

Figure 5 shows a preferred embodiment of a mounting structure for the luminaire housing structure shown in Figures 3 and 4 wherein a single moulded mounting structure apparatus part 1 is fabricated from suitable plastics material such as glass reinforced PBT having appropriate thermal strength retention, sufficient structural strength and sufficient elastic flexure capability to allow insertion and removal without fracture. The use of plastics material also enables low cost manufacture. The said attachment apparatus as at least two

integral flexible fingers 7, only one of which is shown in the figure for clarity. The said apparatus has an inside diameter hole 2 with diameter and structure such that both passage and support of the housing structure described previously is facilitated in both orientations of flush mount and gimbal mount. In the preferred embodiment this is 73.25 mm. The or each finger 7 is designed to fit into a wide range of mounting surface hole diameters with varying material thicknesses and being of variable finish including rough sawn by having said fingers following a starting diameter then extending both out and up to the outer diameter of the overall apparatus, though significantly displaced vertically. Each finger thus has an attachment region 4, a low height flexure region allowing fit into the smallest design diameter hole, a rising taper section allowing locking into clamping down on all manner of mounting surfaces and shells somewhat in the manner of a coarse thread, yet also facilitating removal and relocation. In the preferred embodiment for the previously described 50 mm down-light globe the fingers start at an outside diameter of 86 mm and extend to an outer diameter of 100 mm and with typical material thickness of 2 mm. The mounting structure takes cost advantage of material choice allowed by the low operating temperature of any mounted apparatus for lighting according to other aspects of the invention.

Figure 6 shows a preferred embodiment of integrated circuitry and socket nature of the apparatus wherein a circuit and socket substrate 1 has all conductive parts presenting risk of electric shock confined to regions away from user contact, the circuit structure also being housed in a suitable containment. The substrate being a printed circuit board of type FR4 of the art in this preferred embodiment has suitable circular slots cut to enable penetration of overhanging pin structures such as GU 10 of the art through the substrate to the component and conductor side and enabling mechanical retention through turning after insertion. Electrical connection is made to the circuitry by spring contact component parts 3, that are inserted or otherwise suitably mounted and anchored using the printed circuit mounting and connection techniques of the art including but not limited to through hole and surface mount techniques. The same substrate also supports mounting all manner of other electrical components including all manner of circuitry shown schematically as 4 and

connection wiring 5. The substrate mounting structure takes cost advantage of material choice allowed by other aspects of the invention allowing low operating temperature of the associated mounted apparatus. Various locating structures are also used to ensure correct insertion and removal of the load apparatus in the combined socket and circuit board. In the preferred embodiment the circuitry is the controller aspect of the invention with provision for manual control of load level and having means of connection of the power supply including facility for looping on to another preferred embodiment apparatus.

Figure 7 shows a front view of a preferred embodiment shaped distributed light source such as a plasma or CCFL tube 1 having structure being approximately 1/8 ^th inch diameter and wound as a double spiral. This can be alternately thought of as two intertwined coarse conical spirals joined at the narrow end. The tube 2 is so constructed as to present no overlapping or shadowing of previous or subsequent turns when viewed from the preferred lighting that could otherwise reflect and reduce light output in the said preferred direction. In the figure the gaps between the turns at 4 are shown as grazing incidence from the viewing angle. One of the two single end connection electrodes of the CCFL tube type is also shown at 3. The tube is a three dimensional structure that is generally conical concave away from the preferred direction of light delivery this being the direction of view of the figure. The outer or connection end of the tube is closer to the said preferred direction than the centre crossover section, the said structure being described as concave away from the preferred direction of light delivery. The spiral structure is also necessarily spaced out in the direction away from the preferred direction of light delivery, an aspect that cannot be shown in this view but is seen in Figure 8. In the preferred embodiment the cone angle is 30 degrees from the axis resulting in an overall tube cone height of approximately 32 mm with shortest path distance between adjacent turns of approximately 2.5 mm.

Figure 8 shows a preferred embodiment of the light globe apparatus having the tube structure generally concave away from the direction of preferred light delivery and showing the housing structure allowing electrical insulation and thermal behaviours of convention, conduction and radiation wherein a highly reflective part or reflector 3 is placed in close proximity to the CCFL tube 1 , said

apparatus having electrical connections to the tube being at least partially insulated by the plastic material of the housing 4 penetrating or otherwise passing the reflector structure 3, said insulation being shown at 2. The reflector or the housing or both also provides a mounting flange 4 enabling the apparatus to be retained in a luminaire housing, said flange structure also allowing the optional attachment of a transparent cover structure that has been removed in this figure for clarity. Figure 8 also shows the preferred embodiment of the housing for the shaped light emitter and the associated reflector 5 being constructed from plastic or other mouldable material and being generally of thin section having multiple chimney structures 6 each being open at the end generally towards the preferred lighting direction behind the reflector structure and open at the end generally away from the preferred direction of light delivery thus enabling passage of air through the or each chimney structure adjacent to the reflector structure surface. The said housing also comprises indentations, flutes or grooves 7 that in part provide side walls for the chimneys, and in part provide structural integrity being generally conformant to the reflector surface thus allowing passage of heat away from the tube and reflector structure by the mechanism of conduction whilst the rate of heat transfer and so the resulting temperature of the reflector structure and tube is maintained generally at the desired value. The fluted structure in conjunction with the chimney structure provides increased surface area for radiation and convention transfer of heat thus further providing means of temperature regulation, the thermal heat flow rates and time constants also being within the capability of the construction materials used given that the overall heat output of the tube and electronics for the preferred embodiment is quite low being of the order 5 Watt.

The rear of the said globe housing forms an attachment to a generally separate connector part that has a further housing 5 containing the ballast and electrical circuitry for the tube. The rear of the tube and reflector housing forms a seal to the end of the ballast and electrical circuitry housing part 8 whilst the ends of the said chimney structures are open to airflow past the said housing 5. This maintains effective heat flow for the tube and reflector part without subjecting the electronics to excessive heat soak from the tube structure in the preferred embodiment. The reflector 3 is manufactured from highly reflective finish metal

in the preferred embodiment that provides good thermal conductivity throughout its structure relative to the heat flow away from the structure and so helps to minimise thermal gradients throughout the reflector and thus for the whole of the emitter tube 1 being in close association with the reflector. The preferred embodiment also optionally provides improved thermal contact between the emitter tube and the reflector with the sparing use of conformal conductive material such as silicone RTV adhesive.

An embodiment so constructed according to the preferred embodiments achieved a light output of 1000 Lux at a distance 250 mm on axis with 5 watt of electrical power into the controller and maintained a globe surface temperature of 39 degrees Celsius when operating at an ambient environment temperature of 20 degrees Celsius. The embodiment was fully dimmable either from the inbuilt adjustment of the controller of from an external dimmer or aspects of both. It was easily mounted in either gimbal or flush mount configuration. A CFL example of prior art needed 11 watt of input power to deliver 1000 Lux on axis at distance of 250 mm and had a surface temperature of 70 degrees Celsius. It was not dimmable. For comparison of power and temperature a 50 Watt halogen light source with step down ballast consumed a total 60 Watt and had a surface temperature of 430 degrees Celsius. It was not dimmable and had no reversible mounting feature.

Other geometries of reflector and light emitter source and of the temperature regulating and management features and of the housing and connector means can of course be created by the method without departing from the ambit of the invention.