Under-Cabinet LED Fixture and Raceway Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing under-cabinet LED lighting systems lack a convenient and integrated mounting solution for LEDs and wiring raceways, requiring separate purchases of fixtures and raceways that are not optimally suited for each other.
Innovation Solution
A combination under-cabinet LED fixture and raceway system comprising an upper housing, a lower housing, and a raceway cover that can be snap-fitted together to create either an LED fixture or a raceway, utilizing alternating ridges and grooves for secure assembly and minimizing height.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If separate LED fixtures and raceways are purchased and installed, then each component can be optimized for its specific function, but the overall system complexity increases and installation time is extended
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the LED fixture and raceway into a single integrated unit where the housing serves dual purposes: it encloses the LED components and simultaneously provides the raceway structure for wire management. This merging eliminates the need for separate components while maintaining functional optimization.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing structure is designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously: structural enclosure, LED mounting, wire routing, and heat dissipation. The ridges and grooves in the housing serve both structural integrity and wire channel functions, demonstrating multi-functionality that reduces system complexity.
2Ease of operation
If traditional mounting methods are used for LED fixtures, then installation is straightforward, but the height and space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The LED components are nested within the housing structure which also contains the wire chase pathways. The lens, LED array, and driver are arranged in a compact nested configuration that minimizes the overall height while maintaining accessibility for installation.
Solution Approach 2:
The wire chase pathways are integrated into the lateral dimensions of the housing rather than extending vertically. The ridges and grooves provide wire routing paths within the horizontal plane, reducing the vertical height requirement while maintaining wire management functionality.
3Device complexity
If LED fixtures are designed with integrated wire chases, then the number of components is reduced, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is segmented into distinct functional zones with ridges and grooves that are molded as integral features rather than requiring post-manufacturing assembly. This segmentation allows for precise wire routing paths to be built-in during the molding process, reducing the need for high-precision mechanical machining.
Solution Approach 2:
The manufacturing method transitions from mechanical machining to injection molding, which changes the precision parameters from dimensional tolerances to mold cavity tolerances. This parameter change allows for consistent ridge and groove dimensions to be achieved more efficiently through molding technology.
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
Provides a compact, adjustable, and integrated solution for under-cabinet LED lighting that combines the functions of a fixture and raceway in a single assembly, offering a streamlined installation process and reduced component count.
Implementation Method 1
Each of the inner surfaces of the first and second side walls of the lower housing have alternating, horizontally extending ridges and grooves formed therein which are adapted to frictionally receive the first and second side walls of the upper housing so that the ridges and grooves of the side walls of the lower housing and the ridges and grooves of the side walls of the upper housing may be snapped together
Data Source
AI summary
A combination under-cabinet LED fixture and raceway is comprised of an upper housing member to which either a lower housing member may be secured thereto to create an LED fixture or to which a raceway cover may be secured thereto to create a raceway. A modified form of the invention comprises an upper housing member and a lower housing member with the lower housing member being selectively reversibly inserted into the upper housing member to form either a raceway or an LED fixture.