TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to luminaires, and more particularly to an LED retrofit kit for retrofitting existing linear luminaires with an LED light source.

BACKGROUND

Traditionally, luminaires, such as strip or linear luminaires, use incandescent or fluorescent lamps to provide lighting in a desired area, but incandescent and/or fluorescent lamps have been found to be inefficient and to have a relatively short lamp life. Therefore, efforts have been made to identify suitable alternative illumination sources.

Light emitting diodes (“LEDs”) have been identified as one alternative to traditional incandescent and fluorescent lamps because LEDs consume less electricity than incandescent or fluorescent lights to produce a given output of light; and on average, LEDs last longer than incandescent or fluorescent lights before failing. However, unlike simply changing a light bulb in a conventional luminaire, exchanging existing fluorescent lamp based luminaires with LED based luminaires can be costly, labor intensive, and time intensive, especially when there are a large number fluorescent lamp based luminaires that need to be replaced. The time, cost, and the effort required to exchange existing fluorescent lamp based luminaires disposed in a space with LED based luminaires may deter users from making such a change.

LED retrofit kits for retrofitting existing fluorescent lamp based luminaires with LED light sources do exist, but the existing kits may not be compatible with the different sizes and configurations of existing fluorescent lamp based luminaires. That is, an existing LED retrofit kit may be compatible with a fluorescent lamp based luminaire having one width but may not be compatible with another fluorescent lamp based luminaire having a different width. Further, existing LED retrofit kits may not be configured for easy and safe installation. For example, during installation, an installer may have to hold a retrofit LED light engine against a channel of an existing fluorescent lamp based luminaire with one hand while trying to fasten the gear tray against the channel with the second hand. Fastening the gear tray to the channel may require two free hands, but since the installer has to keep holding the gear tray against the channel to prevent the gear tray from falling, the installer has no free hands or only one free hand to safely and easily fasten the gear tray to the channel without either dropping the gear tray or juggling between a fastener and a tool (e.g., screwdriver) to insert the fastener into the channel.

This background information is provided to reveal information believed to be of possible relevance to the present disclosure. No admission is necessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the preceding information constitutes prior art against the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The foregoing and other features and aspects of the present disclosure are best understood with reference to the following description of certain example embodiments, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 illustrates a perspective view of an example LED retrofit kit with first mounting brackets, in accordance with example embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 2 illustrates another perspective view of the example LED retrofit kit of Fig. 1 with tethers coupled thereto, in accordance with example embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 3 illustrates a top view of a first example gear tray of the example LED retrofit kit of Fig. 1, in accordance with example embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 4 illustrates an enlarged view of a portion of the example LED retrofit kit of Fig. 1, in accordance with example embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 5 illustrates an enlarged view of a portion of the first example gear tray of Fig. 3, in accordance with example embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 6 illustrates a perspective view of an example linear luminaire that is retrofitted with the example LED retrofit kit of Figure 1, in accordance with example embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 7 illustrates an enlarged view of a top portion of the example linear luminaire of Fig. 6 that is retrofitted with the example LED retrofit kit, in accordance with example embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 8 illustrates an enlarged view of a bottom portion of the example linear luminaire of Fig. 6 that is retrofitted with the example LED retrofit kit, in accordance with example embodiments of the present disclosure; Fig. 9 illustrates an enlarged view of a portion of the example LED retrofit kit of Fig. 1 with a second mounting bracket, in accordance with example embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 10 illustrates an enlarged view of a top portion of another example linear luminaire that is retrofitted with the example LED retrofit kit of Fig. 9, in accordance with example embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 11 illustrates an enlarged view of a bottom portion of the other example linear luminaire of Fig. 10 that is retrofitted with the example LED retrofit kit of Fig. 9, in accordance with example embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 12 illustrates a perspective view of another example gear tray that is wider than the example gear tray of Fig. 5, in accordance with example embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 13 illustrates a perspective view of another example LED retrofit kit that comprises the other example gear tray of Fig. 12 and third mounting brackets, in accordance with example embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 14 illustrates a perspective view of yet another example linear luminaire that is retrofitted with the other example LED retrofit kit of Fig. 13, in accordance with example embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 15 illustrates an enlarged view of a bottom portion of the yet another example linear luminaire of Fig. 13 that is retrofitted with the other example LED retrofit kit of Fig. 13, in accordance with example embodiments of the present disclosure; and

Fig. 16 illustrates the third mounting bracket with a double sided adhesive tape attached thereto, in accordance with example embodiments of the present disclosure.

The drawings illustrate only example embodiments of the present disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, as the present disclosure may admit to other equally effective embodiments. The elements and features shown in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis is instead being placed on clearly illustrating the principles of the example embodiments. Additionally, certain dimensions or positions shown in the drawings may be exaggerated to help visually convey such principles.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

The present disclosure describes an LED retrofit kit (herein‘retrofit kit’) that is configured to retrofit existing non-LED based linear luminaires (e.g., fluorescent lamp based linear luminaires lamp, incandescent lamp based linear luminaires, etc.) with an LED light source. The retrofit kit of the present disclosure is configured to retrofit linear luminaires of various widths using different mounting brackets, thereby providing greater flexibility as compared to existing retrofit kits. The retrofit kit of the present disclosure includes a common gear tray that is integrated with different mounting provisions that allow the gear tray to use different mounting brackets to retrofit linear luminaires of various widths without having to modify or use a different gear tray. Further, the retrofit kit of the present disclosure is configured to provide a hands-free assist to an installer while the linear luminaire is being retrofitted with an LED light source using the retrofit kit. That is, the retrofit kit of the present disclosure provides a feature that eliminates the need for an installer to keep holding the retrofit kit against the linear luminaire while fastening the retrofit kit to the linear luminaire, thereby providing the installer two free hands to properly and safely fasten the retrofit kit to the linear luminaire.

Turning now to the figures, example embodiments of a retrofit kit will be described in association with Figures 1-18. Referring to Figures 1-18, a retrofit kit 100 may include an elongate gear tray 102. The elongate gear tray 102 may include a base panel 108 that may be bound by a first long edge 110, a second long edge 112 that is disposed opposite to the first long edge 110, a first short edge 114, and a second short edge 116 that is disposed opposite to the first short edge 114. Further, the base panel 108 may include a first surface 122 and a second surface 123 that is disposed opposite to the first surface 122. The first surface 122 may have a light emitting diode (LED) panel 191 that is attached thereto, and the second surface 123 may have a power control device 291 (e.g., LED driver) that is coupled thereto. The power control device 291 may be electrically coupled to the LED panel 191. In other example embodiments, any other light source that is more efficient and durable than the fluorescent and incandescent light sources may replace the LED panel 191 without departing from a broader scope of the present disclosure. In addition to the base panel 108, the elongate gear tray 102 may include a first wing panel 118 and a second wing panel 120 that extend from the first long edge 110 and second long edge 112 of the base panel 108, respectively, at an angle that is not co-planar with the base panel 108.

The base panel 108 may include a first set of first mounting holes 124 and a second set of first mounting holes 126 that are disposed adjacent the first short edge 114 and the second short edge 116 of the base panel 108, respectively. Further, the base panel 108 may include a first set of second mounting holes 128 and a second set of second mounting holes 130 that are disposed adjacent the first short edge 114 and the second short edge 116 of the base panel 108, respectively. As illustrated in Figure 5, the first set of first mounting holes 124 and the second set of first mounting holes 126 may each include a first pair of first mounting holes 132 that is disposed at a first distance dl from a central long axis 150 of the gear tray 108 in a first direction towards the first long edge 110 and a second pair of first mounting holes 134 that is disposed at the first distance dl from the central long axis 150 of the gear tray 108 in a second direction towards the second long edge 112. Similarly, the first set of second mounting holes 128 and the second set of second mounting holes 130 may each include a first pair of second mounting holes 136 that is disposed at a second distance d2 from the central long axis 150 of the gear tray 108 in the first direction towards the first long edge 110 and a second pair of second mounting holes 138 that is disposed at the second distance d2 from the central long axis 150 of the gear tray 108 in the second direction towards the second long edge 112. The first direction may be opposite to the second direction and the first distance dl may be shorter than the second distance d2. The pairs of first and second mounting holes (132, 134, 136, and 138) may be through holes that extend from the first surface 122 through the second surface 123 of the base panel 108.

Even though the present disclosure describes each set of mounting holes (124, 126, 128, and 130) as having two pairs of first and second mounting holes (132, 134, 136, and 138), i.e., a total of four mounting holes in each set, one of skill in the art can understand and appreciate that in other example embodiments, each set of mounting holes (124, 126,

128, and 130) may include only two mounting holes or greater than two mounting holes without departing from a broader scope of the present disclosure. For example, the base panel 108 of the elongate gear tray 102 may include a total of four mounting holes disposed adjacent the first short edge 114 and a total of four mounting holes disposed at the opposite second short edge 116. The four mounting holes may include a first mounting hole that is disposed at a first distance dl from the central long axis 150 of the gear tray 102 in a first direction towards the first long edge 110, a second mounting hole that is disposed at the first distance dl from the central long axis 150 in a second opposite direction towards the second long edge 116, a third mounting hole disposed at a second distance d2 from the central long axis 150 of the gear tray 102 in a first direction towards the first long edge 110, and a fourth mounting hole that is disposed at a second distance d2 from the central long axis 150 of the gear tray 102 in a second direction towards the second long edge 112. In said example embodiment, the second distance d2 may be greater than the first distance dl, and the second direction may be opposite to the first direction. As illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 4, and 6, the first mounting holes (132, 134) may be configured to receive fasteners 142 therethrough to removably couple a first mounting bracket 104 to the base panel 108 (and corresponding mounting holes can have a removably coupled first mounting bracket at the opposite end of the base panel 108). Similarly, as illustrated in Figure 9, the second mounting holes (136, 138) may be configured to receive fasteners 142 therethrough to removably couple a second mounting bracket 904 to the base panel 108 (and corresponding mounting holes can have a removably coupled second mounting bracket at the opposite end of the base panel 108). In other words, the first mounting holes (132, 134) may be configured to couple the first mounting bracket 104 to the gear tray 102 and the second mounting holes (136, 138) may be configured to couple the second mounting bracket 904 to the gear tray 102. The fasteners 142 may include, but are not limited to, screws, rivets, etc.

As illustrated in Figures 4 and 9, the first mounting bracket 104 and the second mounting bracket 904 may each include a base (402, 902) and two arms (404, 406) that extend angularly from the base (402, 902). The first mounting bracket 104 and the second mounting bracket 904 may be flexible (or adjustable) such that the arms (404, 406) thereof may be adjusted by a user as desired. For example, the arms (404, 406) of the mounting brackets (104, 904) may be bent inward and towards each other during shipping so that they don’t stick out. Further, during installation, the arms (404, 406) of the mounting brackets (402, 902) may be bent outward and away from each other or substantially perpendicular to the base (402, 902) (shown in Figure 13 with respect to a third mounting bracket 1204). The arms (404, 406) of the mounting brackets (104, 904) may be configured to remain in the adjusted position till further adjustments are made. That is, if the arms (404, 406) are bent inwards, the arms (404, 406) may remain bent inwards till a user further adjusts them, for example, bends them outward and away from each other.

Further, the arms (404, 406) of the mounting brackets (104, 904) may include multiple slots 435 that are configured to receive fasteners therethrough to removably couple the gear tray (102, 1202) to a channel (602, 1002) of a linear luminaire. The multiple slots 435 allow the gear tray (102, 1202) to be coupled to channels of various heights.

The first mounting bracket 104 may be different from the second mounting bracket 904 in that a length h of the base 902 of the second mounting bracket 904 may be greater than a length h of the base 402 of the first mounting bracket 104. In other words, the second mounting bracket 904 may be wider than the first mounting bracket 104, where the width of the mounting bracket (104, 904) is defined by the length of the base (402, 902) of the mounting bracket (104, 904).

The first mounting bracket 104 may be configured to receive (or accommodate) any appropriate channel of a linear luminaire that has a channel width that is less than or equal to the first width (h) of the first mounting bracket 104. So, as illustrated in Figures 6-8, the gear tray 102 of the retrofit kit 100 may be fitted with the first mounting bracket 104 when the gear tray 102 is to be coupled to a channel 602 of a linear luminaire 604 that has a channel width‘cl’ that is less than or equal to the first width (h) of the first mounting bracket 104. The channel width‘cl’ of the channel 602 may be defined as the distance between the two side walls 606 of the channel 602. Similarly, the second mounting bracket 904 may be configured to receive (or accommodate) any appropriate channel of a linear luminaire that has a channel width that is less than or equal to the second width (h) of the second mounting bracket 904 and greater than the first width (h) of the first mounting bracket 104. So, as illustrated in Figures 10-11, the same gear tray 102 of the retrofit kit 100 may be fitted with the second mounting bracket 904 when the gear tray 102 is to be coupled to a channel 1002 of a linear luminaire 1004 that has a channel width‘c2’ that is less than or equal to the second width (F) of the second mounting bracket 904 and greater than the first width (h) of the first mounting bracket 104. The channel width‘c2’ of the channel 1002 may be defined as the distance between the two side walls 1006 of the channel 1002.

In one example, the first width (h) is 3.5 inches and the second width (F) is 4.5 inches. In said example, the gear tray 102 with the first mounting bracket 104 may be configured to retrofit any appropriate linear luminaire having a channel width that is in the range of 2.5 inches and 3.5 inches; and the gear tray 102 with the second mounting bracket 904 may be configured to retrofit any appropriate linear luminaire having a channel width that is in the range of 3.5 inches - 4.5 inches. It is noted that the example values of the channel widths provided above are non-limiting; and that in other examples, the gear tray may be configured to be mounted to linear luminaires having other channel widths depending on the width of the mounting bracket that is coupled to the gear tray.

As illustrated in Figure 9, the second width (b) of the second mounting bracket 904 substantially matches a width of the gear tray 102 (measured from the first long edge 110 to the second long edge 112). The size of the channel of the linear luminaire that can be received in the gear tray 102 may be limited by the width of the gear tray 102 and/or the width of the mounting bracket (104, 904) that is coupled thereto. To receive a channel of a linear luminaire having a channel width that is greater than the width of the gear tray 102 and the second width (I2) of the second mounting bracket 904, wider gear trays and mounting brackets may be needed.

Figures 12-16 illustrate a second example gear tray 1202 with a third example mounting bracket 1204 that is coupled thereto, where the second example gear tray 1202 that is wider than the gear tray 102 of Figures 1-11 and the third example mounting bracket 1204 is wider than the second mounting bracket 904 illustrated in Figures 9-11. The second example gear tray 1202 may only one set of mounting holes 1206 (shown in Figures 12-13) that are equally distant from the central long axis of the second gear tray 1202. The second gear tray 1202 and the third mounting bracket 1204 may be configured to retrofit any appropriate linear luminaire having a channel width (c3) that is greater than the second width (I2) of the second mounting bracket 104 and the width of the gear tray 102, but less than or equal to the third width (I3) of the third mounting bracket 904. So, as illustrated in Figures 14-15, a retrofit kit 1200 having a second gear tray 1202 that is fitted with the third mounting bracket 1204 is used to retrofit a linear luminaire 1504 having a channel 1502 that has a channel width‘c3’ that is less than or equal to the third width (I3) of the third mounting bracket 1204 and greater than the second width (I2) of the second mounting bracket 904. In one example, the third width (I3) is 5 inches. That is, in said example, the second gear tray 1202 with the third mounting bracket 1204 may be configured to retrofit any appropriate linear luminaire having a channel width that is in the range of 4.5 inches - 5 inches.

Even though the present disclosure describes the width of the linear luminaire channels that can be received in a mounting bracket as being defined by the width of the mounting bracket, one of skill in the art can understand and appreciate that the width of the linear luminaire channels that can be received in a mounting bracket may be independent of the width of the mounting bracket. For example, the first mounting bracket 104 may be configured to receive any appropriate linear luminaire channel having a channel width that is less than a first width, where the first width is independent of the width of the first mounting bracket 104.

In addition to flexible arms, the mounting brackets may include a hands free assist features that are attached to the arms of the mounting brackets. One such example hands free assist feature 1802 is illustrated in Figure 16. In particular, Figure 16 illustrates the hands free assist feature 1802 being attached to each arm (404, 406) of the third mounting bracket 1204. Even though the hands free assist feature 1802 is illustrated as being attached to the arms of the third mounting bracket 1204, one of skill in the art can understand and appreciate that hands free assist feature can be used with the first and second mounting brackets (104, 904) as well. In the example embodiment illustrated in Figure 16, the hands free assist feature 1802 may be a double sided adhesive tape that may be used to temporarily attach the gear tray 1202 to the channel 1502 while the installer fastens the gear tray 1202 to the channel 1502 using fasteners 1702.

For example, during installation, an installer may position the gear tray (102, 1202) against a channel (602, 1002, 1502) of a linear luminaire such that: (a) the power control device 291 faces the channel (602, 1002, 1502), (b) the power control device 291 is disposed in a cavity (e.g., 1710) defined by the channel (602, 1002, 1502), and (c) the side walls (406, 1006, 1506) of the channel (602, 1002, 1502) are disposed between the arms (404, 406) of the mounting bracket (104, 904, 1204). Then, the arms (404, 406) of the mounting bracket (104, 904, 1204) are bent towards the side walls (406, 1006, 1506) as illustrated in Figures 13 and 14. Further, the hands free assist feature 1802, i.e., the double sided adhesive tape on the arms (404, 406) of the mounting bracket (104, 904, 1204) may be used to temporarily attach the gear tray (102, 1202) to the channel (602, 1002, 1502) by sticking the arms (404, 406) of the mounting bracket (104, 904, 1204) to the channel (602, 1002, 1502) using the double sided adhesive tape. Once the gear tray (102, 1202) is temporarily attached to the channel (602, 1002, 1502), both the hands of the installer are free to fasten the gear tray (102, 1202) to the channel (602, 1002, 1502). In particular, to fasten the gear tray (102, 1202) to the channel (602, 1002, 1502), the installer may insert a fastener 1702 such as a screw through one of the multiple slots 435 of each arm (406, 408) of each mounting bracket (104, 904, 1204) and fasten the screw to the channel (602, 1002, 1502) using a tool (e.g., electric screwdriver).

Even though the present disclosure describes the hands free assist feature 1802 as being a double sided adhesive tape, one of skill in the art can understand and appreciate that in other example embodiments, the hands free assist feature may include any other appropriate mechanism or device that allows the gear tray to be temporarily attached to the channel of the linear luminaire. For example, the hands free assist feature may include, but is not limited to, magnetic tape, spring features, etc.

In addition to the gear tray and the mounting brackets, the retrofit kit 100 may optionally include tethers 171 that are coupled to the gear tray 102. The tethers 171 are configured to be coupled to the channel (602, 1002, 1502) as a safety measure to prevent the gear tray (102, 1202) from falling to the floor and hurt a person in the event that the gear tray (102, 1202) detaches from the channel (602, 1002, 1502). Even though the present disclosure describes the gear tray (102, 1202) as comprising mounting holes (132-138), one of skill in the art can understand and appreciate that in other example embodiments, the mounting holes (132-138) may be replaced by slots. For example, the first mounting slots 132 may be replaced by one slot and the second mounting holes 136 may be replaced by another slot. Alternatively, one of the first mounting slot and the second mounting slot may be replaced by one slot such that one end of the slot may be at a first distance dl from the center long axis 150 and the other end of the slot may be at a second distance d2 from the center long axis 150, without departing from a broader scope of the present disclosure.

Although example embodiments are described herein, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications are well within the scope and spirit of this disclosure. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the example embodiments described herein are not limited to any specifically discussed application and that the embodiments described herein are illustrative and not restrictive. From the description of the example embodiments, equivalents of the elements shown therein will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, and ways of constructing other embodiments using the present disclosure will suggest themselves to practitioners of the art. Therefore, the scope of the example embodiments is not limited herein.