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US 7,029,153 B2Granted
Lighting fixture frame and mounting panel apparatus
AssigneeThin-Lite Corporation
InventorShin W. Rhee
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A lighting fixture frame and mounting panel apparatus that includes a frame formed with an interior wall circumscribing a central opening and a panel for mounting a lighting device. The frame is formed with inwardly projecting stop pads and resilient legs formed with inwardly projecting teeth, and the panel is received upwardly into the central opening until it is securely mounted in a panel slot formed between the lower surfaces of the pads and the upper surfaces of the teeth.
Claims7
A lighting fixture frame and mounting panel apparatus comprising:
- a fixture frame including an upper edge, a lower edge, and a vertically oriented interior wall circumscribing a central opening and a panel path to a horizontal stop plane;
- the interior wall including a plurality of resilient legs formed with respective teeth projecting horizontally inwardly into the panel path and having respective upwardly facing support surfaces collectively configured to define a nest plane spaced from the stop plane;
- and
- a fixture panel complementally contoured and dimensioned for slidable receipt through the central opening and advancement along the panel path to engage the respective teeth and flex the legs to deflect the teeth clear of the path and to, upon further advancement to the stop plane, clear the teeth such that the legs will urge the respective teeth back into the panel path disposed below the panel.
1 more element
A lighting fixture frame and mounting panel apparatus comprising:
- a frame configured with frame segments including respective vertically oriented interior walls formed therebetween with a central opening defining a panel path;
- at least two of the frame segments being disposed on opposite sides of the opening;
- stop pads on the upper extremity of the interior wall of the frame segments on the opposite sides of the opening and including respective lower surfaces are disposed in a horizontal plane;
- the frame including at least one resilient leg terminating in a free extremity including a horizontally inwardly projecting tooth that includes a downwardly facing cam surface on one side and an upwardly facing support surface on the opposite side;
- and
- a panel having a bottom panel side and a top panel side and being complementally configured and contoured for slidable receipt upwardly through the central opening and advancement along the panel path to engage the cam surface and to upon further advancement flex the leg and drive the tooth aside to be advanced therepast to engage the stop pads and clear the tooth and allow the leg to flex the tooth back into the path.
3 more elements
A lighting fixture frame and mounting panel apparatus comprising:
- a frame formed with a plurality of frame segments including respective vertically oriented interior walls defining therebetween a central opening and a panel path;
- stop pads projecting inwardly from the upper extremity of the interior wall of each frame segment and including respective lower surfaces disposed such that the collective lower surfaces of the stop pads are disposed in a horizontal plane;
- the frame including a plurality of legs terminating in respective free extremities including respective horizontally inwardly projecting teeth that include downwardly facing cam surfaces on their respective bottom sides and upwardly facing support surfaces on the respective top sides spaced below the horizontal plane;
- and
- a panel having a bottom panel side and a top panel side and being complementally configured and contoured for slidable receipt upwardly through the central opening and advancement along the panel path, to engage the cam surfaces and to, upon further advancement, flex the respective legs and drive the respective teeth aside to be advanced therepast to allow the legs to flex the respective teeth back into the path.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.