Connector Device and Illumination Apparatus Comprising the Connector Device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a connector device for an illumination apparatus and an illumination apparatus compris ^¬ ing said connector device. Background Art

For a common illumination apparatus currently used, for instance, an illumination apparatus having a tubular light engine of a conventional light source, the light engine has to be electrically connected to a power supply via a connector device and has the location and illumination direction fixed thereby. However, after the currently known connector device is connected to the light engine, an illumination direction of the light engine cannot be adjusted, that is, the connec ^¬ tion between the light engine and the connector device is me- chanically fixed and cannot be changed, and it cannot achieve for instance the rotation of the light engine relative to the connector device to change the illumination direction of the light engine.

Besides, according to the designs of the currently known con- nector devices of other types, only after removing the connector device from the light engine, i.e., separating the connector device from the light engine, could the user adjust the illumination direction of the light engine, moreover, after the adjustment, the user should re-connect the light en- gine with the connector device. The above design of the con ^¬ nector device is quite unfavorable to the flexible use of the illumination apparatus, and the user cannot flexibly and con- _^

veniently adjust the light engine to make the illumination of the illumination apparatus adapted to particular application circumstances, such design limits the situations where the illumination apparatus can be applied, and the user has to look for a lamp holder matching the light engine to ensure that the light can illuminate in a correct direction. Such illumination apparatus is not friendly to the user.

Summary of the Invention

In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides a novel connector device and an illumina ^¬ tion apparatus comprising said connector device. According to the connector apparatus of the present invention, the light engine can be flexibly and conveniently rotated relative to the connector device without removing the connector device from the light engine, so as to simply adjust an illumination direction of the illumination apparatus. Besides, the con ^¬ nector device according to the present invention has a simple structure and a low cost, and the user's operation to this device is simple and convenient, without complex operation process and instruction.

One object of the present invention is accomplished via a connector device, i.e., a connector device used for an illu ^¬ mination apparatus, comprising a stationary element for connecting to the illumination apparatus, a first movable ele- ment for connecting to a power supply, a second movable ele ^¬ ment rotatably connected to the stationary element, and a locking element arranged between the stationary element and the second movable element, characterized in that rotation of the second movable element in a first direction drives the locking element to release locking of the second movable ele ^¬ ment, and when the second movable element continues to be ro ^¬ tated in the first direction and drives the first movable el- ement to rotate together, rotation of the first movable ele ^¬ ment enables the locking element to release locking of the first movable element. According to the solution of the pre ^¬ sent invention, prior to operation of a user to the second movable element, the connector device, with the locking ele ^¬ ment therein, can maintain the connection of the stationary element with the first and second movable elements. The user can achieve the rotation of the first moveable part just by rotating the second movable element, and such operation is extremely convenient and simple, without removing the movable element from the stationary element, thereby the user can quite simply achieve the rotation of the first movable ele ^¬ ment relative to the stationary element, when the first mova ^¬ ble element is connected to the light engine, so as to adjust an illumination direction of the illumination apparatus

According to a preferable embodiment of the present inven ^¬ tion, at least one first drive structure and a second drive structure are arranged on a surface of the second movable el ^¬ ement facing the stationary element, wherein the second mova- ble element, with the interaction between the first drive structure and the locking element, enables the locking ele ^¬ ment to move and releases locking of the second movable ele ^¬ ment, and the second movable element, with the interaction between the second drive structure and the first movable ele- ment, drives the first movable element to rotate together. With the aid of the first and second drive structures ar ^¬ ranged on the second movable element, the second movable ele ^¬ ment can simply transmit a rotational force to the first mov ^¬ able element via a built-in, integrated part thereof, without other additional tools, when the second movable element is subject to rotational operation, so as to achieve indirect manipulation to the first movable element. Preferably, the first drive structure, with an axial compo ^¬ nent force generated on the locking element when the second movable element is rotated, enables the locking element to move axially to release locking of the second movable ele- ment . A component of a force applied on the second movable element when the second movable element is rotated turns to be applied on the locking element, and the locking element subsequently can move along an axial direction of the locking element with the help of the component of the force. In this way, a displacement distance and range of the locking element needed for unlocking the second movable element can be re ^¬ duced so as to render a more compact structure of the con ^¬ nector device having the locking element.

Preferably, the locking element locks the second movable ele- ment when the locking element is received in the first drive structure. Specifically, in a movement direction of the lock ^¬ ing element, an end portion of the locking element can be re ^¬ ceived in the second movable element to lock the second mova ^¬ ble element. According to this configuration, the locking el- ement can move out of the second movable element, through the axial movement thereof, so as to unlock the second movable element .

Preferably, a driven structure, arranged on a surface of the first movable element facing the second movable element, is connected with the second drive structure in a form-fitted manner. Specifically, after the second movable element is ro ^¬ tated with a certain angle, the driven structure can be against in the second movable element and engaged in the se ^¬ cond drive structure, in this way, a force applied on the se- cond movable element can be transferred, via the driven structure, to the first movable element, so as to enable the first movable element to rotate with the second movable ele ^¬ ment through a simple design.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the second movable element is rotated in a second direction oppo- site to the first direction, rotation of the second movable element in the second direction is capable of restoring the locking of the first movable element and the second movable element by the locking element. In order to again achieve locking of the first and second movable elements after the rotational adjustment of the first movable element is fin ^¬ ished, the locking element can be restored to a position where it is located before unlocking the first and second movable elements, by simply rotating the second movable ele ^¬ ment in an opposite direction, so as to achieve restoring of locking of the first and second movable elements.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first movable element comprises at least one third drive structure, when the second movable element continues to be rotated in the first direction and drives the first movable element to rotate together, the first movable element, with the interaction between the third drive structure and the locking element, enables the locking element to continue to move and release the locking of the first movable element with the locking element. In order to continue to unlock the first movable element after unlocking the second movable ele ^¬ ment so as to enable the first movable element to rotate, when the second movable element drives the first movable ele ^¬ ment to rotate together, the first movable element can use a drive structure arranged thereon, preferably integrally con- figured, i.e., a third drive structure, to allow the locking element to continue to move axially, and continued movement of the locking element can release locking of the first mova- ble element. During the process of unlocking the first and second movable elements, the rotational direction of the first movable element is consistent, and the operating action are also continuous, thus providing simple and convenient un- locking actions.

Preferably, the third drive structure, with an axial compo ^¬ nent force generated on the locking element when the first movable element is rotated, enables the locking element to move axially to release locking of the first movable element. Thus, a displacement distance and range of the locking ele ^¬ ment needed for unlocking the first movable element can be reduced, continuity of acts for unlocking the first movable element after unlocking the second movable element is main ^¬ tained, thus rendering a more compact structure of the con- nector device having the locking element, and simpler and more convenient operation action.

Advantageously for the present invention, the third drive structure is configured as bore structure, through which bore structure the locking element extends and is received in the first drive structure to lock the first movable element and the second movable element. The bore structure forms a con ^¬ tinuous movement path and passage needed for the locking ele ^¬ ment to lock and unlock the first and second movable ele ^¬ ments, rendering continuous and consistent unlocking action on the second movable element.

Advantageously, the bore structure is arranged at the edge of the first movable element at least along the circumference of the first movable element. The bore structure arranged at the edge could provide positional aligning the bore structure to the initial position of the locking element, and that the bore structure could still correspond to the position of the locking element during the rotation of the second movable el ^¬ ement .

Preferably, the edge portion of the bore structure towards the stationary element is configured to be rounded. When the first movable element is driven by the second movable element to rotate together, resistance resulted from the interaction between the part of the end portion of the locking element in direct contact with the bore structure and the edge portion of the bore structure can be reduced as much as possible, such that a relatively small force is required for rotating the first movable element and the simplicity of the operation is improved.

Preferably, the first drive structure is configured as a first recess, and the second drive structure is configured as a second recess. The design of the recess simplifies both manufacture and machining of the second movable element and can provide effective interaction between the locking element and the first recess, and between the driven structure and the second recess. According to a preferable design of the present invention, the first recess is configured in a hemispherical profile, and the second recess is configured in an elliptical profile. The hemispherical profile of the first recess provides a rel ^¬ atively small resistance of interaction between the end por- tion of the locking element and the first recess when the se ^¬ cond movable element is rotated. Besides, the elliptical pro ^¬ file of the second recess provides that the driven structure on the first movable element can be adapted to the elliptical profile to move, when the second movable element is rotated, and subsequently be against and engaged in the second recess, such that the first movable element is driven by the second movable element.

According to a preferable embodiment of the present inven ^¬ tion, the locking element is configured as a cylindrical structure having elastic resilience, and when the second mov ^¬ able element is rotated in a second direction opposite to the first direction, the locking element is capable of automati ^¬ cally restoring the locking of the first movable element and the second movable element with the resilience. The elastic locking element can automatically restore to a locking state from an unlocking state, without an additional tool or an ex ^¬ ternal force, which improves the operation simplicity.

Advantageously, the locking element comprises a spring and a pin, when the second movable element is rotated in the second direction, the pin is capable of automatically restoring the locking of the first movable element and the second movable element with the spring. This simple structure design pro ^¬ vides simple operation actions and results in a low cost of manufacturing this connector device. Preferably, the end portion of the locking element capable of interacting with the first drive structure and the second drive structure is configured in a hemispherical shape. When the end portion of the locking element interacts with the first drive structure on the second movable element, and when the end portion of the locking element interacts with the third drive structure on the first movable element, the hemi ^¬ spherical end portion has a relatively small resistance with the hemispherical first recess, and a relatively small re ^¬ sistance with the rounded portion of the third drive struc- ture . The other object of the present invention is accomplished via an illumination apparatus which comprises the connector device as described above and a light engine. According to the illumination apparatus of the present invention, a user can simply and conveniently rotationally adjust the first movable element of the connector device so as to adjust the illumina ^¬ tion direction of the light engine.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The accompanying drawings constitute a part of the present Description and are used to provide further understanding of the present invention. Such accompanying drawings illustrate the embodiments of the present invention and are used to de ^¬ scribe the principles of the present invention together with the Description. In the accompanying drawings the same compo- nents are represented by the same reference numbers. As shown in the drawings :

Fig. 1 shows an exploded diagram of a connector device ac ^¬ cording to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 shows a cross section schematic diagram in a state where a locking element of the connector device locks a first movable element and a second movable element according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 3 shows a cross-section schematic diagram in a state where the locking element of the connector device unlocks the second movable element but still locks the first movable ele ^¬ ment according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figs. 4a to 4c show top schematic diagrams during a process of successively unlocking the second movable element and the first movable element with the locking element by operating the second movable element in a first direction according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

Figs. 5a to 5b show top schematic diagrams during a process of locking the first movable element and the second movable element with the locking element by operating the second mov ^¬ able element in a second direction according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description of the Embodiments

Fig. 1 shows an exploded diagram of a connector device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The con ^¬ nector device 100 according to the present invention compris ^¬ es a stationary element 1 connected to a light engine of an illumination apparatus, a second movable element 3 capable of being sleeved on the stationary element 1 and partially en- veloping the same, and a first movable element 2 arranged be ^¬ tween the stationary element 1 and the second movable element 3. Furthermore, the connector device 100 also comprises a locking element 4 arranged inside the stationary element 1 and located between the stationary element 1 and the second movable element 3.

As shown in Fig. 1, a cavity 11 with a cylindrical profile can be preferably arranged on an inner wall of the stationary element 1. The cavity 11 extends along an axial direction of the stationary element 1 and is used to receive a spring 41 and a pin 42 included by the locking element 4. The pin 42 thereby can move along an axial direction of the pin 42 in the cavity 11. Herein, the pin 42 can be of a material pref ^¬ erably of metal or rigid plastic, and so designed pin 42 is wear-resistant and features such as insulation. A first drive structure and a second drive structure (not shown) are ar ^¬ ranged on an inner surface of the second movable element 3, 1. e., a surface facing the stationary element 1. Preferably, a plurality of bore structures is arranged on the edge of the first movable element 2. These bore structures can be prefer ^¬ ably designed to distribute in half arc and form a third drive structure 7 in direct interaction with the pin 42. An end portion 8 of the pin 42 extend through the bore struc ^¬ tures and is received in the first drive structure to form locking of the first movable element 2 and the second movable element 3 by the locking element 4. Besides, a driven struc- ture 21, arranged on a surface of the first movable element

2, interacts with the above second drive structure such that the second movable element 3 can drive the first movable ele ^¬ ment 2 to rotate together. Electrical contact bodies 9 are further arranged on the first movable element 2 in order to provide an electric power to the light engine of the connect ^¬ or device 100.

Fig. 2 shows a cross-section schematic diagram in a state where the locking element 4 of the connector device 100 locks the first movable element 2 and the second movable element 3 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In Fig. 2, the locking element 4 is already in a state of locking the first movable element 2 and the second movable element 3. In this state, the end portion 8 of the pin 42, with a spring force of the spring 41, presses against and received in the first drive structure which is configured as first recess in a hemispherical shape, thereby forming the locking of the se ^¬ cond movable element 3 by the locking element 4. Hereby, a main body of the end portion 8, by the spring force of the spring 41, also completely extends through the third drive structure 7 which is configured as bore structures, hence forming the locking of the first movable element 2 by the locking element 4. Besides, in Fig. 2, the driven structure 21 on the first mov ^¬ able element 2 is received in the second drive structure 6 preferably for instance in a form-fitted manner. The second drive structure 6 is preferably configured as second recess having an elliptical profile. The driven structure 21 is preferably configured as protrusion having a cylindrical pro ^¬ file, hence, when the second movable element 3 is rotated, the protrusion can move in the second recess and then presses against one end of the second recess to be engaged in the se- cond recess.

Fig. 3 shows a cross-section schematic diagram in a state where the locking element 4 of the connector device 100 un ^¬ locks the second movable element 3 but still locks the first movable element 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention. When the second movable element 3 is rotated in the first direction, the first drive structure configured as the first recess can press against the end portion 8 of the pin 42. Preferably, the first recess is configured in a hemi ^¬ spherical profile recessed away from the locking element 4, and the end portion 8 is configured in a hemispherical pro ^¬ file protruding to the second movable element 3. Hence, there is a relatively small resistance when the first recess and the end portion 8 interact with each other. Under a compression of the first drive structure, the pin 42 receives a force, a component force of the compression force, from an axial direction thereof, thereby the pin 42 moves against the spring force of the spring 41 in the axial direction thereof. With the rotation of the second movable element 3, the end portion 8 of the pin 42 completely leaves the first recess, the top of the end portion 8 presses against the second mova ^¬ ble element 3, and at least part of the end portion 8 is lo ^¬ cated in the bore structures of the first movable element 2. In a case where the second movable element 3 continues to be rotated relative to the stationary element 1, in a state that the pin 42 completely withdraws from the first recess to re ^¬ lease the locking of the second movable element 3, the second movable element 3 drives the first movable element 2 via the interaction between the second drive structure 6 configured as the second recess and the driven structure 21, thereby the first movable element 2 also can be rotated relative to the stationary element 1 in the first direction. When the first movable element 2 is rotated, the third drive structure 7 configured as the bore structures continues to press the end portion 8 of the pin 42 by means of a bore edge portion to ^¬ wards the stationary element. The component force of the com ^¬ pression force forms a force applied on the pin 42 along an axial direction of the pin 42. With the force applied on the pin 42 along the axial direction thereof, the pin 42 can again move against the spring force of the spring 41, and subsequently the pin 42 completely withdraws from the bore structure when the pin 42 moves to a particular position, thereby, the locking element 42 releases the locking of the first movable element 2. Accordingly, the first movable ele ^¬ ment 2, completely unlocked, can be rotated in the first di ^¬ rection relative to the stationary element 1, therefore, the electrical contact bodies arranged on the first movable ele- ment 2 are also rotated therewith.

It should be noted herein that although Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 only schematically show the case that the locking element 4 moves relative to one of the plurality of bore structures on the first movable element 2 to show that the locking element 4 unlocks the first movable element 2 and the second movable element 3, according to the connector device 100 of the pre ^¬ sent invention, the locking element 4 also can move relative to other bore structures in a manner as described above as the second movable element 3 is continuously rotated in the same direction, so as to achieve unlocking of the first mova ^¬ ble element 2 and the second movable element 3 by the locking element 4. Figs. 4a to 4c show top schematic diagrams during a process of successively unlocking the second movable element 3 and the first movable element 2 with the locking element 4 by op ^¬ erating the second movable element 3 in a first direction Dl according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 4a shows an initial state of the connector device 100. In this state, the end portion 8 of the pin 42 runs through the bore structure on the first movable element to be received in the first recess of the second movable element. Besides, in the initial state shown, the plurality of bore structures on the first movable element can be positionally corresponding to a plurality of first recesses on the second movable element. Hereby, the driven structure 21 on the first movable element is located in an intermediate position in the second driven structure 6, that is, the driven structure 21 preferably con- figured as protrusion does not press against both ends of the second recess which is preferably configured in an elliptical shape .

In Fig. 4b, due to the rotation of the second movable element 3 in the first direction Dl, the first recess on the second movable element 3 is positionally offset from the bore struc ^¬ tures on the first movable element, the pin 42 moves in the axial direction, and the driven structure 21 can move to and press against one end of the second recess. Hereby, the elec ^¬ trical contact bodies 9 on the first movable element are not changed relative to the state as shown in Fig. 4a. As the se ^¬ cond movable element 3 continues to be rotated in the first direction Dl, the second movable element 3 drives the first movable element with the help of the driven structure 21 which is already against the second recess, consequently, the first movable element is rotated. Hereby, as can be seen from Fig. 4c, the electrical contact bodies 9 change with respect to Fig. 4a and Fig. 4b, and they are in consistent with the rotating direction the first direction Dl .

Figs. 5a to 5b show top schematic diagrams during a process of locking the first movable element 2 and the second movable element 3 with the locking element 4 by operating the second movable element 3 in a second direction D2 according to an embodiment of the present invention. After the electrical contact bodies 9 have been adjusted to desired locations, the second movable element 3 can be rotated in the second direc ^¬ tion D2 opposite to the first direction Dl in order to re- store the locking of the first movable element and the second movable element 3. Hence, the end portion 8 of the pin runs through the bore structure on the first movable element, with the help of the resistance of the spring, to return to the first recess of the second movable element 3, whereupon the locking element restores the locking of the first movable el ^¬ ement and the second movable element. Besides, the driven structure 21 also moves with respect to the second recess from one end of the second recess according to the rotation of the second movable element 3 and back to an intermediate position of the second recess.

It should be noted herein that the first direction and the second direction shown and described in the embodiments are merely illustrative, and in a specific operation, according to the connector device of the present invention, an operator also can exchange the first direction and the second direc ^¬ tion to achieve desired functions to be achieved by the pre ^¬ sent invention. The above is merely preferred embodiments of the present in ^¬ vention but not to limit the present invention. For the per ^¬ son skilled in the art, the present invention may have vari ^¬ ous alterations and changes. Any alterations, equivalent sub- stitutions, improvements, within the spirit and principle of the present invention, should be covered in the protection scope of the present invention.

List of reference signs

1 stationary element

2 first movable element

3 second movable element

4 locking element

5 first drive structure

6 second drive structure

7 third drive structure

8 end portion

9 electrical contact body

11 cavity

21 driven structure

41 spring

42 pin

100 connector device

Dl first direction

D2 second direction