Cylindrical Junction Box with Flat Facets for Recessed Lighting
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Solution Overview
Problem
The complexity and time required in installing recessed lighting due to the need for separate fire-rated drywall boxes and junction boxes, which can be cumbersome and require extensive preparation for unique octagonal openings.
Innovation Solution
A cylindrical junction lighting box with flat inset facets that allow for easy installation by providing knock-out holes for conduit fittings, eliminating the need for customized fixtures and simplifying the cutting process with a circular opening, and incorporating a mounting system with telescoping sliding rails for secure positioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If separate fire-rated drywall boxes and junction boxes are used, then fire-rated protection is ensured, but installation complexity and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the fire-rated drywall box and electrical junction box into a single integrated unit. The junction box is mounted within the fire-rated box structure, eliminating the need for separate installation of two distinct components while maintaining both fire protection and electrical junction functions in one assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated fire-rated box serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides fire-rated protection, houses the electrical junction box for wire connections, and acts as the mounting structure for the recessed lighting fixture. This multi-functional design reduces the number of separate components needed.
2Reliability
If separate fire-rated drywall boxes and junction boxes are used, then fire-rated protection is ensured, but installation time increases
Solution Approach 1:
By integrating the junction box within the fire-rated box structure, the patent eliminates the sequential installation process of first installing the fire-rated box and then separately mounting the junction box. The integrated design allows installers to treat it as a single unit, significantly reducing installation time while maintaining fire-rated protection.
3Shape
If customized octagonal openings are required, then proper fit for traditional fixtures is achieved, but preparation time and measurement complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent specifies that the opening in the fire-rated box should be circular rather than the traditional octagonal shape required by some fixtures. Circular openings are significantly easier and faster to cut using standard drilling and routing tools, eliminating the complex measurements and multiple cutting passes required for octagonal shapes, while the integrated junction box design adapts to accommodate standard circular openings.
4Reliability
If traditional separate boxes are used, then fire-rated protection is provided, but the number of components and assembly steps increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the electrical junction box within the fire-rated box structure, reducing the component count from two separate boxes to one integrated unit. This consolidation maintains both fire protection and electrical junction functionality while simplifying the overall assembly and reducing the number of mounting steps required.
Data Source
AI summary
A light housing assembly includes: (1) a junction box unit having a body with a partially-cylindrical sidewall, a closed end, and a circular opening opposite the closed end, and flat inset facets on the sidewall with knock-out holes formed on the flat inset facets; (2) a light emitter housing containing a light source; and (3) an exterior surface fixture, with a reflector, including means for securing the light emitter housing to the junction box unit. Versions of the light housing assembly may include a mounting bracket assembly for mounting the junction box unit to supportive structure.