Elastically Deformable Bracket for Low Profile LED Fixture
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Solution Overview
Problem
The installation of ceiling lighting fixtures is challenging in plenums with limited space due to shallowness or obstructions like plumbing structures and electrical conduits, which restricts the manipulation of light fixtures during installation.
Innovation Solution
A snap-in LED light fixture assembly with a low vertical profile and an installation bracket featuring flared arms that are elastically deformable, allowing insertion into narrower openings and accommodating different grid types by bending, facilitating easier installation in constrained spaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the light fixture is designed with a standard installation bracket, then the fixture can be installed in open plenums, but the fixture cannot be installed in plenums with limited space or obstructions
Solution Approach 1:
The installation bracket arms are designed to be elastically deformable, allowing them to flex during installation to pass through narrow openings, then return to their original configuration to provide stable support. This dynamic property enables the bracket to adapt to both open and constrained plenum spaces without requiring multiple different bracket designs.
Solution Approach 2:
The bracket arms are designed with specific elastic properties and geometric configurations that allow them to change their effective width. When force is applied during installation, the arms compress to a narrower width to fit through tight spaces, then expand to their full width to engage properly with ceiling grid members.
2Illumination intensity
If the light fixture housing is designed with a larger width, then the fixture provides better light distribution, but the fixture cannot be inserted into narrow openings in the ceiling grid
Solution Approach 1:
The bracket arms are designed with elastic deformability, allowing them to flex inward during insertion to pass through narrow ceiling openings, then spring back to their full width to support a wider light fixture housing that provides adequate light distribution.
Solution Approach 2:
The solution addresses the width constraint by operating in the vertical dimension - the bracket arms flex vertically and elastically during insertion, then return to their horizontal configuration to support the full-width fixture, effectively bypassing the narrow opening constraint without compromising horizontal light distribution.
3Strength
If the installation bracket arms are made rigid, then the bracket provides stable support, but the bracket cannot be inserted into plenums with limited manipulation space
Solution Approach 1:
The bracket arms are designed with elastic deformability, allowing them to flex during installation manipulation in tight spaces, then return to their original rigid configuration to provide stable support for the light fixture.
Solution Approach 2:
The bracket arms are designed as flexible elastic elements that can temporarily deform to navigate constrained installation spaces, then recover their shape to provide rigid support, combining the benefits of flexibility during installation with rigidity during operation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables convenient and efficient installation of lighting fixtures in small or obstructed plenums by providing a flexible and adaptable solution that ensures proper alignment and secure engagement with ceiling grids, even in tight spaces.
Implementation Method 1
The first arm is elastically deformable to facilitate insertion into an opening having a width that is less than a width between a first point on the first arm and a second point on the second arm on a same horizontal plane
Data Source
AI summary
An LED light fixture assembly includes an LED light housing and an installation bracket. The LED light housing has a first side configured to convey light from an interior of the light housing to an exterior of the light housing. The first side defines a bottom side of the LED light housing when installed in a ceiling, and has a first width. The installation bracket is coupled to the LED light housing, and includes a first arm and a second arm. The first arm includes at least a portion flaring out from and extending downward from a first location of the LED light housing. The first arm is elastically deformable to facilitate insertion into an opening having a width that is less than a width between a first point on the first arm and a second point on the second arm on a same horizontal plane.