WO2007093647A1

WO2007093647A1 - Suspended projector

Info

Publication number: WO2007093647A1
Application number: PCT/ES2006/000066
Authority: WO
Inventors: Federico Martinez Weber
Original assignee: Antares Iluminacion, S.A.
Priority date: 2006-02-16
Filing date: 2006-02-16
Publication date: 2007-08-23
Also published as: EP1956291A1; DK1956291T3; PL1956291T3; EP1956291A4; EP1956291B1; ES2398470T3; PT1956291E

Abstract

The invention relates to a suspended projector including a projector (1), a case (5) housing electronic equipment and an adaptor (6) having an upper connection area (6a) inserted into the interior (3) of a rail (2) such that it can move along the length thereof and a lower area (6b) coupled to the projector (1). During operation, the device (1) is suspended from the rail (2) by the adaptor (6) and can be positioned along the length of same, said adaptor (6) being completely concealed with the lower area (6a) thereof housed in the casing (5) and the upper area thereof housed in the rail. The adaptor (6) can move longitudinally in relation to the casing (5) and elastic means (8) are provided in order to maintain the adaptor (6) housed inside said casing (5). In this way, mounting and removal operations are facilitated, with a good aesthetic finish being provided once the device (1) has been mounted by concealing the adaptor (6).

Description

Projector device suspended

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a projector device that, in the operating position, is suspended from a rail, normally fixed to the ceiling. The projector device of the invention can be moved along said rail to adapt to the lighting requirements.

More specifically, the projector device object of the invention is formed by a projector, a housing that houses an electronic equipment, and an adapter. The adapter is an element that, in said operating position, is inserted in a guided way inside the rail and with the possibility of sliding along it to allow the displacement of the projector device and adapt to the specific lighting requirements.

State of the art

In the field of technical lighting, projection devices are known, mainly intended for interior lighting applications, which are basically formed by a projector orientably coupled to a housing, and an adapter.

The adapter has a lower area that is attached to the housing, and an upper connection area that is inserted into a rail with the possibility of sliding along it. For this, the rail, typically made of aluminum, has an internal configuration profile complementary to the external configuration of the upper connection area of the device adapter. This upper area of the adapter allows the electrical connection of the projector through the rail.

With this described configuration, an adjustable projector arranged suspended from the rail and capable of sliding along it is obtained allowing it to adapt to the lighting needs, as indicated above. However, a drawback of these projection devices is that the lower part of the adapter is visible since Always stay out of the lane. This negatively influences the aesthetics of the assembly, especially when several projection devices are arranged in the same lane, the adapter becoming an unsightly element.

Description of the invention

The present invention proposes a projector device suspended in a rail with which this inconvenience described in relation to the prior art is solved, obtaining other additional advantages.

According to the invention, when the projector device is mounted on the rail, the adapter is completely hidden, since the upper connection zone thereof remains fully inserted inside the rail and the lower zone is fully accommodated in the inside the housing. In short, in operation, the adapter is always hidden, seeing only the rail, the housing and the projector. The concealment of the adapter positively influences the aesthetics of the assembly, especially when several projection devices are mounted on a rail.

To allow the assembly and disassembly of the projector device in said rail, the adapter can move longitudinally with respect to the housing. In cooperation with this longitudinal movement of the adapter with respect to the housing, elastic means are provided that tend to keep the lower area of the adapter housed inside the housing. Thus, to perform the assembly and disassembly operations of the device mentioned above, the operator simply has to separate the adapter from the housing against the action of said elastic means, assembling or disassembling the assembly on the rail in an efficient, comfortable way. And simple.

In an embodiment of the invention, the elastic means comprise a compression spring arranged inside the housing with a lower end fixed to a part thereof and with an upper end acting against the lower area of the adapter. When the projector is disassembled, outside the rail, the spring is prestressed. To perform the longitudinal movement of the adapter with respect to the housing, an axis is arranged inside said housing, with the spring surrounding said axis externally. This axis, which is connected by its upper end to the lower area of the adapter, allows both rotation and displacement of the adapter with respect to the housing. This allows the installation of the projector device in the rail in a quick and very simple way. The manipulation of the assembly (rotation and displacement) can be carried out comfortably from the same housing.

To facilitate the movement of the assembly, it is also provided to have a guide cover covering the housing. This cover has a hole that allows the guided passage of the shaft when moving the adapter with respect to the housing.

Locking means are also provided to prevent the adapter from slipping off the rail in said mounting position. These locking means can be, for example, a mechanical safety associated with the adapter which comprises a cam that fits into the inner profile of the rail. This lock includes a lever, and the cam is mounted in solidarity with

The said lever and also of electrical contacts arranged inside said rail.

With a suspended projector device such as the one described in accordance with the present invention, the aesthetic problem suffered by projectors of the same type known so far in the prior art is solved in an efficient, simple and economical manner. In addition, the adapter is a standard part, so that the invention is applicable to a wide range of suspended projectors of this type. It is evident, however, that the invention would also be applicable to other adapters used in this type of projectors.

Other objectives, advantages and characteristics of the suspended projector device of the invention will be clear from the description of the invention of a preferred embodiment. This description is given by way of non-limiting example and is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Brief description of the drawings

In these drawings:

Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of a suspended projector device according to the invention, in which the housing is partially shown;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the adapter of the suspended projector device of the invention; Y

Figures 4 to 8 are perspective views of the projector device of Figure 1 which show the sequence of assembly thereof in the rail.

Detailed statement of a preferred embodiment

The figures show a possible example of a suspended projector device according to the invention, which has been designated as a whole by reference 1.

The projector device 1 is suspended, in the mounting position, in a three-phase aluminum rail 2, which can be seen in Figures 3 to 8. The rail 2 has an inverted U-shaped cross section with a grooved interior profile 3 .

The suspended projector device 1 of the embodiment described in accordance with the figures is formed by a projector 4 rotatably arranged, through a joint 4a, to a housing 5 that houses an electronic equipment inside (not shown) . The projector device 1 also includes an adapter 6 at its top.

Said adapter 6, shown in detail in Figure 2 of the drawings, comprises an upper connection zone 6a which, in operation, is inserted inside 3 of the rail 2, such that the adapter 6 can be placed along the length of the lane 2. This upper connection zone 6a includes electrical contacts 20 (see figures 1 and 2) which, in operation, remain inside lane 2 and allow electrical contact between the device 1 and lane 2 with dependence on the relative position of both. A cover 21 is arranged coupled in the upper connection zone 6a of the adapter 6 that conceals and protects the electrical connection that comes from the electronic equipment.

The adapter 6 has a lower area 6b, see figure 2, which is coupled to the projector device 1, as will be described later in greater detail. In the lower zone 6b of the adapter 6 a wheel 6c is arranged to select the phase of the rail 2 through which the electric current passes.

With this configuration, when the assembly is assembled for operation, as shown in Figure 8, the projector device 1 is suspended from the rail 2 by means of the adapter 6, said adapter 6 being completely hidden. This is due to the fact that the upper connection zone 6a of the adapter 6 remains completely inserted inside the lane 2 and the lower zone 6b of the adapter 6 is completely arranged inside the housing 5. Thus, in The operating position, only lane 2, the housing 5 and the projector 4 are visible from the outside. This allows a better aesthetics of the assembly, especially when several projection devices 1 are mounted in the same lane 2.

In order to allow the assembly and disassembly operations of the projector device 1 in the rail 2, the adapter 6 can move longitudinally with respect to the housing 5, that is, in the direction of the arrow 7, as shown in figures 4, and 7 of the drawings.

In the exemplary embodiment described in relation to the figures, in particular Figure 1 of the drawings, the suspended projector device 1 includes elastic means 8 intended to keep the lower area 6b of the adapter 6 housed inside the housing 5 These elastic means 8 comprise a compression spring 9 that is arranged inside the housing 5. In particular, the spring 9 is with a lower end 9a fixed to a part of the housing 5 through a lock washer 22 and with an upper end 9b in contact with the lower zone 6b of the adapter. At said lower end 9a of the spring 9 there is a stop washer 23 intended to ensure the good seat of the spring 9. When the device projector 1 is disassembled, outside lane 2, spring 9 is prestressed.

To carry out the assembly and disassembly operations of the device 1, the operator simply separates the adapter 6 from the housing 5 against the action of the spring 9, assembling or disassembling the assembly in the rail 2. These operations will be described in greater detail below with relation to figures 4 to 8.

To perform the aforementioned longitudinal movement of the adapter 6 with respect to the housing 5 of the device 1, inside the housing 5 there is an axis 10, as can be seen in Figure 1. The spring 9 externally surrounds the axis 10, the which has an upper end provided with a flat widened area 11 that is housed with the possibility of turning in a cavity 12 formed inside the lower zone 6b of the adapter, as shown in Figure 1.

This configuration allows the rotation (arrow 12 in Figure 6) and the displacement (arrow 7 of Figures 4, and 7) of the adapter 6 with respect to the housing 5, which allows the installation of the projector device 1 in the rail 2 of A fast and very simple way. To carry out the turning movements 12 and displacement 7, the operator simply grabs the housing 5 of the assembly and makes it rotate and move as indicated.

In the embodiment shown, in particular in the exploded view of Figure 1, the device 1 also includes a guide cover 13 that covers the housing 5. This guide cover 13 has the function of facilitating the movement of the assembly. For this, said cover 13 has a configuration defined by a flat part 14 with a hole 15 that extends inferiorly in a cylindrical zone 16. The hole 15 allows the guided passage of the axis 10 when moving the adapter 6 with respect to the housing 5 in The direction of said arrows 7 and 12 (displacement and rotation, respectively). The possibility of providing a bushing within said cylindrical zone 16 of the cover 13 is provided to improve the guidance of the axis 10.

The safety washer 22 mentioned above holds together the assembly formed by the shaft 10, the spring 9, the cover 13 and the stop washer 23. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the device 1 also incorporates locking means 17 to prevent the adapter 6 from slipping off the rail 3 in the mounting position shown in Figure 8. In the embodiment shown, the means of The lock comprises a mechanical safety associated with the adapter 6. This mechanical safety comprises a cam 18 that fits into the inner profile 3 of the rail 2 and a lever 19. The cam 18 is integral with said lever 19 and with the electrical contacts 20 (see Figures 1 and 2) which, in operation, remain inside said lane 2.

To install the suspended projector device 1 in the rail 2, the disassembly position illustrated in Figure 3 of the drawings is started, in which the device 1 is with the adapter 6 outside the rail and the spring 9 is prestressed, it is that is, exerting a force that tends to bring the adapter 6 towards the housing 5. In this position, the lever 19 of the locking means is in the unlocked position, that is, with the cam 18 and the contacts 20 housed in the inside the upper connection zone 6a of the adapter 6. The device 1 is then placed in the three-phase rail 2 and the lever 19 is actuated in the direction of the arrow 24, as shown in Figure 4, to remove the cam 18 and the contacts 20 outside the upper connection zone 6a of the adapter 6 in order to block and connect the device 1 in the rail 2, the lever 19 remaining as shown in Figure 5. Subsequently, the housing 5 is rotated according to arrow 12 pa To align it to rail 2, as shown in Figure 6, and consequently to adapter 6. In this alignment position of the housing 5, the adapter 6 and the rail 2, the force exerted by the spring 9 forces the housing 5 to move up in the direction indicated by the arrow 7 (figure 7), so that the lower area 6b of the adapter 6 is housed inside the housing 5, thus leaving the entire adapter 6 hidden. The device 1 is finally as shown in Figure 8, the operator regulating the position of the projector 4 in the desired direction with respect to the housing 5 through its articulation 4a.

Although the present invention has been described in the report and illustrated in the accompanying drawings with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, the suspended projector device object of the invention is susceptible to various changes without departing from! protection scope defined in the following claims.

Claims

Claims:

1. Suspended projector device (1) comprising a projector (4), a housing (5) that houses electronic equipment inside it and an adapter (6) that has an upper connection area (6a) inserted inside ( 3) of a rail (2) with the possibility of sliding along it, and a lower area (6b) coupled to the projector device (1), such that, in operation, the projector device (1) is suspended from the lane (2) by means of said adapter (6) and can be arranged along it, characterized by the fact that, in the mounting position, said adapter (6) is completely hidden, with the lower zone (6a ) of the same housed in said housing (5), said adapter being able to move longitudinally (6) with respect to said housing (5) to allow assembly and disassembly operations of the projector device (1) in the rail (2).

2. Suspended projector device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises elastic means (8) that tend to keep said adapter (6) housed inside said housing (5).

3. Suspended projector device (1) according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that said elastic means (8) comprise a compression spring (9) with an end (9a) fixed to the housing (5) and leaving the opposite end (9b) of the spring (9) acting against the lower area (6b) of the adapter (6).

4. Suspended projector device (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises an axis (10) housed inside said housing (5), surrounded externally by the spring (10), which allows both the rotation as the displacement of the adapter (6) with respect to the housing (5).

5. Suspended projector device (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the housing (5) includes a cover (13) provided with a hole (15) for the guided passage of the shaft (10).

6. Suspended projector device (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises locking means (18, 19) that prevent the adapter from slipping off the rail (2) in the mounting position.