Expandable Lighting Fixture Collapsible Housing Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Lighting fixtures, especially large ones like troffer and high bay lights, occupy excessive space during storage and shipping, leading to increased costs and inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
The development of expandable lighting fixtures that can change their dimensions by having a movable member that can be extended or retracted, allowing the fixture to lock in an expanded configuration for installation and collapse for storage or shipping, reducing the overall size and shipping volume.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If lighting fixtures are manufactured with fixed large dimensions for proper illumination coverage, then illumination effectiveness is improved, but storage and shipping space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The lighting fixture incorporates movable housing sections that can transition between extended and retracted positions, transforming a static structure into a dynamic one. The driver housing can be positioned in retracted, flush, or extended positions relative to the lower housing, allowing the fixture to adapt its dimensions based on operational or storage needs while maintaining proper illumination coverage when deployed
Solution Approach 2:
The driver housing is designed to be received within the cavity of the lower housing when in the retracted position, creating a nested configuration. This nesting allows the larger housing components to be contained within each other, significantly reducing the overall volume of the fixture for storage and shipping while maintaining full functionality when extended
2Ease of operation
If lighting fixtures are designed with extended housing for mounting and operation, then installation capability is improved, but shipping cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The fixture employs a dynamic housing system where the driver housing can be extended during installation to provide adequate mounting surface area and then retracted for compact shipping. This dynamic adjustment allows the same fixture to excel in both installation capability and shipping efficiency without compromise
Solution Approach 2:
The housing is divided into separable sections (lower housing and driver housing) that can move independently relative to each other. This segmentation allows the driver housing to be extended during installation for proper mounting and electrical connections, then retracted for compact shipping, reducing shipping volume and associated costs
3Ease of manufacture
If lighting fixtures have fixed dimensions, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but adaptability for different storage and shipping configurations decreases
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than creating multiple fixed-dimension fixtures for different applications, the invention implements a single dynamic fixture design where housing sections can move between retracted and extended positions. This provides configuration adaptability for various storage and shipping scenarios while maintaining relatively simple manufacturing processes through the use of standardized movable components and tracking mechanisms
Data Source
AI summary
A lighting fixture configured to expand and collapse, and methods for expanding and collapsing a light fixture are disclosed. Embodiments of the lighting fixture include a lighting fixture with a movable section that collapses into at least one cavity in a base housing for storage and shipment, and extends from the cavity for operation. In the collapsed configuration the lighting fixture fits into a smaller container than when the lighting fixture is in the expanded configuration. In some embodiments a locking member locks the movable section into its extended position and can be retracted by a user by manually disengaging the locking member. Accessories and extenders that can be attached to the lighting fixture can be stored in the one or more cavities into which the movable section is stowed in the collapsed configuration.