DESC:FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to a lighting apparatus and more particularly, to a lighting apparatus having a detachable driver unit.

BACKGROUND

Lighting apparatuses such as battens usually include a light source and a driver connected with the light source. The driver is adapted to control the operation of the light source. Both the light source and the driver usually form a single integrated unit in the existing lighting apparatuses. Out of these two components, the drivers are usually more prone to damage, for example, owing to fluctuations in voltage. Further, in case of damage to any of the light source or the driver, the entire integrated unit having the light source and the driver is to be replaced by a user. Therefore, the user does not have the option to replace only the damaged component and end up replacing the entire unit only. Moreover, it is inconvenient for the user to replace either of the component on his/her own, for example, due to complexities associated with constituent wiring connections. Therefore, it would need a skilled labor personnel to repair the lighting apparatus. As a result, an overall operational cost of the existing lighting apparatuses is also high.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts, in a simplified format, that are further described in the detailed description of the invention. This summary is neither intended to identify key or essential inventive concepts of the invention and nor is it intended for determining the scope of the invention.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a lighting apparatus having a detachable driver unit is disclosed. The lighting apparatus includes a first housing adapted to accommodate a light source and a first end cap adapted to close one end of the first housing. The first end cap includes an input connector extending in a direction away from the first housing. The lighting apparatus includes a driver unit disposed adjacent to the first end cap and adapted to control the operation of the light source. The driver unit includes a second housing and a first driver end cap adapted to close one end of the second housing. The first driver end cap includes a driver connector adapted to engage with the input connector of the first end cap.

To further clarify the advantages and features of the present invention, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which is illustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 illustrates an exploded view of a lighting apparatus having a detachable driver unit, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 2A illustrates a side view of a sub-assembly of a first housing and a diffuser of the lighting apparatus, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 2B illustrates another side view of the sub-assembly of the first housing and the diffuser depicting positioning of a Light Emitting Diode Printed Circuit Board (PCB) therein, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 3A illustrates various views of a first end cap for closing one end of the sub-assembly, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 3B illustrates various constituent components of the first end cap, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 4A illustrates various views of a second end cap for closing another end of the sub-assembly, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 4B illustrates various constituent components of the second end cap, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 5A illustrates a side view of a second housing of a driver unit of the lighting apparatus, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 5B illustrates another side view of the second housing depicting a positioning of a driver PCB , according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 6A illustrates various views of a first driver end cap for closing one end of the second housing, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 6B illustrates various constituents of the first driver end cap, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 7A illustrates various views of a second driver end cap for closing another end of the second housing, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and
Figure 7B illustrates various constituents of the second driver end cap, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Further, skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the drawings are illustrated for simplicity and may not have necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the flow charts illustrate the method in terms of the most prominent steps involved to help to improve understanding of aspects of the present invention. Furthermore, in terms of the construction of the device, one or more components of the device may have been represented in the drawings by conventional symbols, and the drawings may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the drawings with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having benefit of the description herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated system, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skilled in the art to which this invention belongs. The system, methods, and examples provided herein are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.

For example, the term “some” as used herein may be understood as “none” or “one” or “more than one” or “all.” Therefore, the terms “none,” “one,” “more than one,” “more than one, but not all” or “all” would fall under the definition of “some.” It should be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that the terminology and structure employed herein is for describing, teaching, and illuminating some embodiments and their specific features and elements and therefore, should not be construed to limit, restrict, or reduce the spirit and scope of the present disclosure in any way.

For example, any terms used herein such as, “includes,” “comprises,” “has,” “consists,” and similar grammatical variants do not specify an exact limitation or restriction, and certainly do not exclude the possible addition of one or more features or elements, unless otherwise stated. Further, such terms must not be taken to exclude the possible removal of one or more of the listed features and elements, unless otherwise stated, for example, by using the limiting language including, but not limited to, “must comprise” or “needs to include.”

Whether or not a certain feature or element was limited to being used only once, it may still be referred to as “one or more features” or “one or more elements” or “at least one feature” or “at least one element.” Furthermore, the use of the terms “one or more” or “at least one” feature or element do not preclude there being none of that feature or element, unless otherwise specified by limiting language including, but not limited to, “there needs to be one or more...” or “one or more element is required.”

Unless otherwise defined, all terms and especially any technical and/or scientific terms, used herein may be taken to have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person ordinarily skilled in the art.

Reference is made herein to some “embodiments.” It should be understood that an embodiment is an example of a possible implementation of any features and/or elements of the present disclosure. Some embodiments have been described for the purpose of explaining one or more of the potential ways in which the specific features and/or elements of the proposed disclosure fulfil the requirements of uniqueness, utility, and non-obviousness.

Use of the phrases and/or terms including, but not limited to, “a first embodiment,” “a further embodiment,” “an alternate embodiment,” “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “multiple embodiments,” “some embodiments,” “other embodiments,” “further embodiment”, “furthermore embodiment”, “additional embodiment” or other variants thereof do not necessarily refer to the same embodiments. Unless otherwise specified, one or more particular features and/or elements described in connection with one or more embodiments may be found in one embodiment, or may be found in more than one embodiment, or may be found in all embodiments, or may be found in no embodiments. Although one or more features and/or elements may be described herein in the context of only a single embodiment, or in the context of more than one embodiment, or in the context of all embodiments, the features and/or elements may instead be provided separately or in any appropriate combination or not at all. Conversely, any features and/or elements described in the context of separate embodiments may alternatively be realized as existing together in the context of a single embodiment.

Any particular and all details set forth herein are used in the context of some embodiments and therefore should not necessarily be taken as limiting factors to the proposed disclosure.

For the sake of clarity, the first digit of a reference numeral of each component of the present disclosure is indicative of the Figure number, in which the corresponding component is shown. For example, reference numerals starting with digit “1” are shown at least in Figure 1. Similarly, reference numerals starting with digit “2” are shown at least in Figure 2.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 illustrates an exploded view of a lighting apparatus 100 having a detachable driver unit 102, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The lighting apparatus 100 may include, but is not limited to, a first housing 104 and a diffuser 106 adapted to be disposed on the first housing 104. Figure 2A illustrates a side view of a sub-assembly of the first housing 104 and the diffuser 106, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The first housing 104 may be adapted to accommodate a light source. The light source may include, but is not limited to, one or more Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). In an embodiment, the light source may be disposed on a Printed Circuit Board (PCB), referred to as an LED PCB (shown in Figure 2B). The diffuser 106 may be adapted to diffuse the light emitted by the light source into the surroundings.

Figure 2B illustrates another side view of the sub-assembly of the first housing 104 and the diffuser 106 depicting positioning of the LED PCB 208 therein, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The diffuser 106 may include surfaces 202 and a groove 204. The groove 204 may be adapted to fix the housing 104, for example, through a mounting clamp. Further, the first housing 104 may include a slot 206 adapted to receive the LED PCB 208. The LED PCB 208 may include one or more LEDs 210 as the light source. The LEDs 210 may be disposed on the LED PCB 208 as an array. The light emitting from the LED PCB 208 may be incident on the surfaces 202 of the diffuser 106, which will diffuse light into the surroundings for smooth glare-free light output. Further, the base 212 of the housing 104 allows for ease in positioning of the lighting apparatus 100.

The lighting apparatus 100 may also include a first end cap 108-1 adapted to close one end 110-1 of the first housing 104. Figure 3A illustrates various views of the first end cap 108-1, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Particularly, Figure 3A illustrates a front view 302, a back view 304, and a side view 306 of the first end cap 108-1, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The first end cap 108-1 may include an input connector 112. The input connector 112 may be extending in a direction away from the first housing 104.

Figure 3B illustrates various constituent components of the first end cap 108-1, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The first end cap 108-1 may include a first protrusion 308 adapted to form electrical contact of the male connector, i.e., the input connector 112 on the first end cap 108-1. The first end cap 108-1 may also include a second protrusion 310 adapted to restrain movement of the LED PCB 208 in the slot 206 of the first housing 104. The second protrusion 310 may also ensure locking of the first end cap 108-1 on the first housing 104.

Further, the first end cap 108-1 may include the input connector 112 fitted in such a way that it will be away from the first housing 104 when the first end cap 108-1 is fixed on the first housing 104. Furthermore, an edge 314 may be adapted to contact an end of the first housing 104 to support the fixing of the first end cap 108-1 on the first housing 104

The lighting apparatus 100 may include a second end cap 108-2 positioned opposite to the first end cap 108-1. Figure 4A illustrates various views of the second end cap 108-2, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Particularly, Figure 4A illustrates a front view 402, a back view 404, and a side view 406 of the second end cap 108-2, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The second end cap 108-2 may be adapted to close the first housing 104 from another end 110-2.

Figure 4B illustrates various constituent components of the second end cap 108-2, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The second end cap 108-2 may include a third protrusion 408 adapted to restrain movement of the LED PCB 208 in the slot 206 of the first housing 104. The third protrusion 408 may also be adapted to provide locking of the second end cap 108-2 on the first housing 104. The second end cap 108-2 may include an edge 410 adapted to contact with the first housing 104 and to support the fixing of the second end cap 108-2 on the housing 104.

Further, the lighting apparatus 100 may include the driver unit 102 disposed adjacent to the first end cap 108-1. The driver unit 102 may be adapted to control the operation of the light source. In an embodiment, the driver unit 102 may be adapted to convert AC voltage to DC voltage. The driver unit 102 may include, but is not limited to, a second housing 114 and a first driver end cap 116-1 adapted to close one end 118-1 of the second housing 114.

Figure 5A illustrates a side view of the second housing 114, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 5B illustrates another side view of the second housing 114 depicting a positioning of a driver PCB 502, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The second housing 114 may include a slot 504 adapted to receive the driver PCB 502. Further, the second housing 114 may include a groove 506 adapted to fix the second housing 114, for example, through a mechanical clamp.

Figure 6A illustrates various views of the first driver end cap 116-1, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Particularly, Figure 6B illustrates a front view 602, a back view 604, and a side view 606 of the first driver end cap 116-1, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The first driver end cap 116-1 may include a driver connector 600. The driver connector 600 may be a two-chord connector. The driver connector 600 may be adapted to engage with the input connector 112 of the first end cap 108-1. The driver unit 102 may be detachable from the first housing 104 by disengagement of the driver connector 600 from the input connector 112.

Figure 6B illustrates various constituents of the first driver end cap 116-1, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The first driver end cap 116-1 may include a pair of protrusions 608 adapted to restrain the movement of the driver PCB 502 in the slot 504 of the second housing 114 and to ensure locking of the first driver end cap 116-1 on the second housing 114. The first driver end cap 116-1 may also include a pair of metal inserts 610 adapted to form electrical contact of a female connector, i.e., the driver connector 600 of the first driver end cap 116-1 of the second housing 114. The pair of metal inserts 610 is electrically isolated from each other.

The first driver end cap 116-1 may include an edge 612 adapted to connect the respective end of the second housing 114 and to support the first driver end cap 116-1 on the second housing 114. Further, the first driver end cap 116-1 may include the driver connector 600 fitted in such a way that it is away from the second housing 114 when the first driver end cap 116-1 is fixed on the second housing 114.

In an embodiment, the driver unit 102 may also include a second driver end cap 116-2 positioned opposite to the first driver end cap 116-1. Figure 7A illustrates various views of the second driver end cap 116-2, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Particularly, Figure 7A illustrates a front view 702, a back view 704, and a side view 706 of the second driver end cap 116-2, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The second driver end cap 116-2 may be adapted to close another end 118-2 of the second housing 114. In an embodiment, two core cables may be connected for an input to the driver unit 102 through the second driver end cap 116-2.

Figure 7B illustrates various constituents of the second driver end cap 116-2, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The second driver end cap 116-2 may include a protrusion 708 adapted to restrain the movement of the driver PCB 502 in the slot 504 in the second housing 114 and to provide locking of the second driver end cap 116-2 on the second housing 114. The second driver end cap 116-2 may also include an edge 710 adapted to contact the respective end of the second housing 114 and to support the fixing of the second driver end cap 116-2 on the second housing 114.

In an embodiment, the driver unit 102 may include a failure notification indicator formed on the second housing 114. The failure notification indicator may be indicative of a malfunction of the driver unit 102.

As would be appreciated by a person skilled in the art, the present disclosure is explained for detachability of the driver unit 102 with respect to the lighting apparatuses 100. However, in other embodiments, the aspect of the detachability of the driver unit 102 is equally applicable for any other similar apparatus, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the application of the present invention is not limited to the lighting apparatuses 100 and can be achieved in any other device having a driver unit.

As would be gathered, the lighting apparatus 100 of the present disclosure offers a convenient replacement of the driver unit 102. Owing to the provision of the detachable engagement of the input connector 112 and the driver connector 600, the driver unit 102 can be easily replaced by the user. Owing to this construction, the user will have to simply disengage the connectors 112, 600 to replace the driver unit 102. Moreover, the user will not even need to handle any wiring connections while replacing the driver unit 102. In addition, skilled labor is not required to perform the replacement and associated cost is thereby eliminated. This would lead to significant reduction in an operational cost of the lighting apparatus 100. Moreover, this would lead to less wastage as the light source does not have to be replaced now, any time the driver unit 102 is damaged. Further, a total height of the lighting apparatus 100 is less than the height of the existing lighting apparatuses. Therefore, the lighting apparatus 100 is compact, cost-effective, operation-effective, and easy to use.

While specific language has been used to describe the present subject matter, any limitations arising on account thereto, are not intended. As would be apparent to a person in the art, various working modifications may be made to the method in order to implement the inventive concept as taught herein. The drawings and the foregoing description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment. ,CLAIMS:1. A lighting apparatus (100) comprising:
a first housing (104) adapted to accommodate a light source;
a first end cap (108-1) adapted to close one end (110-1) of the first housing (104), the first end cap (108-1) comprising an input connector (112), wherein the input connector (112) is extending in a direction away from the first housing (104); and
a driver unit (102) disposed adjacent to the first end cap (108-1) and adapted to control the operation of the light source, the driver unit (102) comprising:
a second housing (114); and
a first driver end cap (116-1) adapted to close one end (118-1) of the second housing (114) and comprising a driver connector (600), wherein the driver connector (600) is adapted to engage with the input connector (112) of the first end cap (108-1).

2. The lighting apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the driver unit (102) is detachable from the first housing (104) by disengaging the driver connector (600) from the input connector (112).

3. The lighting apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 1, comprising a diffuser (106) adapted to be disposed on the first housing (104) to diffuse the light emitted by the light source into the surroundings.

4. The lighting apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 1, comprising a second end cap (108-2) positioned opposite to the first end cap (108-1), wherein the second end cap (108-2) is adapted to close the first housing (104) from another end (110-2).

5. The lighting apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the driver unit (102) comprising a second driver end cap (116-2) positioned opposite to the first driver end cap (116-1) and adapted to close another end (118-2) of the second housing (114).

6. The lighting apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the driver unit (102) comprising a failure notification indicator formed on the second housing (114), wherein the failure notification indicator is indicative of a malfunction of the driver unit (102).

7. The lighting apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the light source comprising at least one Light Emitting Diode (LED) (210) disposed on a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) (208).

8. The lighting apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 7, wherein the first housing (104) comprising a slot (206) adapted to receive the LED PCB (208).

9. The lighting apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 8, wherein the first end cap (108-1) comprising:
a first protrusion (308) adapted to form electrical contact of the input connector (112); and
a second protrusion (310) adapted to restrain movement of the LED PCB (208) in the slot (206) of the first housing (104).

10. The lighting apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 9, wherein the first end cap (108-1) comprising an edge (314) adapted to contact an end of the first housing (104) for supporting the fixing of the first end cap (108-1) on the first housing (104).