Abstrict In a lighting fixture such as an exit sign, a mounting base assembly
is provided on a light emitting diode lighting device for mating
engagement with an electrical socket. Once full mating engagement
is achieved between the electrical socket and a base member of the
mounting base assembly, the position of the housing carrying the
light emitting diodes of the lighting device can be adjusted for
alignment purposes without disturbing the full mating engagement
of the electrical socket and the base member.
Claims What is claimed is:
1. A mounting base assembly for use in a lighting device having
a housing and engageable with an electrical socket of a lighting
fixture, comprising:
(a) an insulator mounted on the housing of the lighting device
for rotation therewith;
(b) a first electrical contact centrally located through said insulator
and mounted for rotation therewith;
(c) a second electrical contact mounted for rotation with said
insulator and spaced from said first electrical contact;
(d) a base member dimensionally sized to be matingly received in
full mating engagement with the electrical socket of the lighting
fixture and mounted on said insulator for 360 degree rotation relative
thereto, said base member electrically insulated from said first
electrical contact and electrically connected to said second electrical
contact; and
(e) means rotatable with said base member for retaining said base
member and said insulator to the housing of the lighting device,
whereby said retaining means and said base member can be rotated
until full mating engagement of said base member with the electrical
socket of the lighting fixture is achieved and thereafter said insulator,
said first electrical contact and said second electrical contact
can be rotated with the housing of the lighting device relative
to and without disturbing the full mating engagement of said base
member and the electrical socket.
2. The mounting base assembly in accordance with claim 1 wherein
said retaining means includes a cap portion rotatable with the base
member and a flange portion, said flange portion being mounted on
the housing of the lighting device and being engaged by said cap
portion for retaining said base member and said insulator to the
housing of the lighting device.
3. The mounting base assembly in accordance with claim 2 wherein
said cap portion has an opening through which said base member and
said insulator protrude.
4. The mounting base assembly in accordance with claim 2 wherein
said cap portion has detents which engage said flange portion.
5. The mounting base assembly in accordance with claim 1 wherein
said retaining means has an opening through which said base member
and said insulator protrude.
6. The mounting base assembly in accordance with claim 1 wherein
said second electrical contact is a cantilevered leaf spring captured
between said base member and said insulator.
7. The mounting base assembly in accordance with claim 6 wherein
said second electrical contact has a curved end engaging said insulator
and biasing said second electrical contact into electrical engagement
with said base member.
8. The mounting base assembly in accordance with claim 1 further
including a coil spring contact positioned between and electrically
connecting said base member and said second electrical contact.
9. A lighting device engageable with an electrical socket of a
lighting fixture, comprising:
(a) a housing;
(b) illumination means in said housing;
(c) a mounting base assembly comprising:
(i) an insulator mounted on said housing for rotation therewith;
(ii) a first electrical contact centrally located through said
insulator and mounted for rotation therewith;
(iii) a second electrical contact mounted for rotation with said
insulator and spaced from said first electrical contact;
(iv) a base member dimensionally sized to be matingly received
in the electrical socket of the lighting fixture and mounted on
said insulator for 360 degree rotation relative thereto, said base
member electrically insulated from said first electrical contact
and electrically connected to said second electrical contact; and
(v) means rotatable with said base member for retaining said base
member and said insulator to said housing, whereby said retaining
means and said base member can be rotated until full mating engagement
of said base member with the electrical socket of the lighting fixture
is achieved and thereafter said insulator, said first electrical
contact and said second electrical contact can be rotated with said
housing and illumination means without disturbing the full mating
engagement of said base member and the electrical socket.
10. The lighting device in accordance with claim 9 wherein said
retaining means includes a cap portion and a flange portion, said
flange portion being mounted on said housing and being engaged by
said cap portion for retaining said base member and said insulator
to said housing.
11. The lighting device in accordance with claim 10 wherein said
cap portion has an opening through which said base member and said
insulator protrude.
12. The lighting device in accordance with claim 10 wherein said
cap portion has detents which engage said flange portion.
13. The lighting device in accordance with claim 9 wherein said
retaining means has an opening through which said base member and
said insulator protrude.
14. The lighting device in accordance with claim 9 wherein said
second electrical contact is a cantilevered leaf spring captured
between said base member and said insulator.
15. The lighting device in accordance with claim 14 wherein said
second electrical contact has a curved end engaging said insulator
and biasing said second electrical contact into electrical engagement
with said base member.
16. The lighting device in accordance with claim 9 wherein said
illumination means are a plurality of light emitting diodes.
17. The lighting device in accordance with claim 9 further including
a coil spring contact positioned between and electrically connecting
said base member and said second electrical contact.
18. A lighting fixture such as an exit sign, comprising:
(a) a sign housing defining an enclosure therein;
(b) an electrical socket in said sign housing;
(c) a lighting device matingly engaged with said electrical socket
and comprising:
(i) a lighting device housing;
(ii) illumination means in said lighting device housing;
(iii) a mounting base assembly comprising:
an insulator mounted on said lighting device housing for rotation
therewith;
a first electrical contact centrally located through said insulator
and mounted for rotation therewith;
a second electrical contact mounted for rotation with said insulator
and spaced from said first electrical contact;
a base member matingly received in full mating engagement with
said electrical socket and mounted on said insulator for 360 degree
rotation relative thereto, said base member electrically insulated
from said first electrical contact and electrically connected to
said second electrical contact; and
means rotatable with said base member for retaining said base member
and said insulator to said lighting device housing, whereby, while
said base member is in full mating engagement with said electrical
socket, said insulator, said first electrical contact and said second
electrical contact can be rotated with said lighting device housing
and illumination means relative to and without disturbing the full
mating engagement of said base member and said electrical socket.
19. The lighting fixture in accordance with claim 18 wherein said
retaining means includes a cap portion and a flange portion, said
flange portion being mounted on said lighting device housing and
being engaged by said cap portion for retaining said base member
and said insulator to said lighting device housing.
20. The lighting fixture in accordance with claim 19 wherein said
cap portion has an opening through which said base member and said
insulator protrude.
21. The lighting fixture in accordance with claim 19 wherein said
cap portion has detents which engage said flange portion.
22. The lighting fixture in accordance with claim 18 wherein said
retaining means has an opening through which said base member and
said insulator protrude.
23. The lighting fixture in accordance with claim 18 wherein said
second electrical contact is a cantilevered leaf spring captured
between said base member and said insulator.
24. The lighting fixture in accordance with claim 23 wherein said
second electrical contact has a curved end engaging said insulator
and biasing said second electrical contact into electrical engagement
with said base member.
25. The lighting fixture in accordance with claim 18 wherein said
illumination means are a plurality of light emitting diodes.
26. The lighting fixture in accordance with claim 18 further including
a primary electric power circuit operationally connected to said
electrical socket for supplying power to said lighting device and
emergency electric power circuit operationally connected to said
primary electric power circuit to detect failure thereof and thereafter
provided auxiliary power to said lighting device through said electrical
socket.
27. The lighting fixture in accordance with claim 26 wherein said
emergency electric power supply is at least one rechargeable battery.
28. The lighting fixture in accordance with claim 27 wherein said
emergency electric power circuit includes a charging device for
keeping said at least one rechargeable battery fully charged during
periods of nonuse.
29. The lighting fixture base assembly in accordance with claim
18 further including a coil spring contact positioned between and
electrically connecting said base member and said second electrical
contact.
30. A lighting fixture such as an exit sign, comprising:
(a) a sign housing defining an enclosure therein;
(b) an electrical socket in said enclosure of said sign housing;
(c) a lighting device matingly engaged with said electrical socket
and comprising:
(i) a lighting device housing;
(ii) illumination means in said lighting device housing;
(iii) a mounting base assembly with a base member matingly received
in full mating engagement with said electrical socket and mounted
for 360 degree rotation relative to said lighting device housing
and said illumination means, and electrical contact means for providing
an electrical contact between said illumination means and said electrical
socket, whereby, while said base member is in full mating engagement
with said electrical socket, said lighting device housing and illumination
means can be rotated relative to said base member and said electrical
socket without disturbing the full mating engagement thereof and
without disturbing the electrical contact between said illumination
means and said electrical socket.
31. The lighting fixture in accordance with claim 30 wherein said
electrical contact means has a first electrical contact centrally
located through said mounting base assembly and electrically insulted
from said base member.
32. The lighting fixture in accordance with claim 31 wherein said
electrical contact means has a second electrical contact electrically
connected to said base member.
33. The lighting fixture in accordance with claim 32 wherein said
second electrical contact is a cantilevered leaf spring biased into
electrical contact with said base member.
34. The lighting fixture in accordance with claim 30 wherein said
illumination means are a plurality of light emitting diodes.
35. The lighting fixture in accordance with claim 30 further including
a primary electric power circuit operationally connected to said
electrical socket for supplying power to said lighting device and
emergency electric power circuit operationally connected to said
primary electric power circuit to detect failure thereof and thereafter
provided auxiliary power to said lighting device through said electrical
socket.
36. The lighting fixture in accordance with claim 35 wherein said
emergency electric power supply is at least one rechargeable battery.
37. The lighting fixture in accordance with claim 36 wherein said
emergency electric power circuit includes a charging device for
keeping said at least one rechargeable battery fully charged during
periods of nonuse.
38. The lighting fixture in accordance with claim 32 further including
a spring contact positioned between and electrically connecting
said base member and said second electrical contact.
Description BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to mounting electrical
lighting sources and, more particularly, to mounting and aligning
electrical lighting sources in illuminated exit signs.
Under current local fire and building codes, buildings to which
the public has access are required to have signage therein identifying
the exits. Most of these signs are required to exhibit a specific
amount of illumination and, oftentimes, must have an emergency backup
power source to provide emergency illumination to the light for
a specified period of time during periods when utility power to
the building is discontinued, thereby facilitating egress of persons
from the building.
Traditionally, two 15-watt incandescent lamps driven by 120 volt
alternating current (120 VAC) have been employed to provide normal
illumination while two 3.6-watt incandescent lamps driven by a self
contained emergency battery power supply are used for illumination
during power failure situations. A switching or transfer device
will automatically operate the emergency backup illumination system
when a power failure is detected.
While these traditional exit sign lighting arrangements perform
adequately, they do have a few drawbacks. A major drawback is that
the incandescent bulbs use large amounts of electric power thus
requiring a relatively large emergency battery power supply for
use during emergency lighting situations. Furthermore, while the
incandescent bulbs provide adequate illumination, such bulbs do
not have a long life in service and require frequent replacement.
To alleviate the drawbacks associated with incandescent bulbs,
many manufacturers are beginning to utilize light emitting diodes
(LEDs) rather than incandescent bulbs in exit signs. Each light
emitting diode provides a relatively small amount of light as compared
to the traditional incandescent bulbs whereby a large number of
light emitting diodes must be used to provide the same amount of
illumination offered by the traditional incandescent bulbs.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel mounting
base assembly for a plurality of light emitting diodes to properly
align the same inside an exit sign.
It is also an object to provide such a mounting base assembly which
allows the light emitting diodes to be powered by both the normal
utility electrical power (120 VAC) and, during emergency power situations,
an emergency battery power supply and associated charging and transfer
circuitry.
Still another object is to provide such a mounting base assembly
for a plurality of light emitting diodes in an exit sign which maintains
electrical continuity when the light emitting diodes are rotated
in any given direction.
A further object is to provide such a mounting base assembly for
a plurality of light emitting diodes in exit sign which may be readily
and economically fabricated and will enjoy a long life in operation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It has now been found that the foregoing and related objects can
be readily attained in a lighting fixture such as an exit sign having
a sign housing defining an enclosure therein, an electrical socket
in the sign housing and a lighting device matingly engaged with
the electrical socket. The lighting device has a lighting device
housing, an plurality of light emitting diodes for providing illumination
in the lighting device housing and a mounting base assembly for
matingly engaging with the electrical socket while allowing adjustment
of the lighting device housing and the light emitting diodes relative
to the electrical socket.
According to the invention, the mounting base assembly has an insulator
mounted on the lighting device housing for rotation therewith. A
first electrical contact is centrally located through the insulator
and mounted for rotation therewith while a second electrical contact
is mounted for rotation with the insulator and spaced from the first
electrical contact. A base member is matingly received in the electrical
socket and mounted on the insulator for 360 degree rotation relative
thereto. The base member is electrically insulated from the first
electrical contact and electrically connected to the second electrical
contact.
To retain the base member and the insulator to the lighting device
housing, a cap and flange arrangement is provided. The flange is
desirably mounted on the lighting device housing and engaged by
detents on the cap for retaining the base member and the insulator
to the lighting device housing. The base member and the insulator
protrude through an opening in the cap. With this arrangement, the
base member can be in full mating engagement with the electrical
socket while the insulator, the first electrical contact and the
second electrical contact can be rotated with the lighting device
housing and illumination means without disturbing the full mating
engagement of the base member and the electrical socket.
Ideally, the second electrical contact is a cantilevered leaf spring
captured between the base member and the insulator. The second electrical
contact has a curved end engaging the insulator and biasing the
second electrical contact into electrical engagement with the base
member.
In accordance with the present invention, a primary electric power
circuit is operationally connected to the electrical socket for
supplying power to the lighting device while an emergency electric
power circuit is operationally connected to the primary electric
power circuit to detect failure thereof and thereafter provided
auxiliary power to the lighting device through the electrical socket.
The emergency electric power circuit includes a plurality of rechargeable
batteries and a charging device for keeping the rechargeable batteries
fully charged during periods of nonuse.
The invention will be fully understood when reference is made to
the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of an exit sign housing with
portions removed and broken away to illustrate internal structure;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a light emitting diode lighting
device from the exit sign of FIG. 1 which has a mounting base assembly
in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the mounting base assembly
of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the mounting base assembly
in full mating engagement with the electrical screw-type socket
of the exit sign;
FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a second embodiment of
the mounting base assembly; and
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the mounting base assembly
of FIG. 5.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring first to FIG. 1 of the drawings, therein illustrated
is an exit sign generally designated by the numeral 10. The exit
sign 10 is mountable to both a canopy bracket (not shown) and a
standard electrical junction box (not shown) in a manner explained
in copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/925313 entitled
CANOPY MOUNTING DEVICE FOR EXIT SIGNS AND THE LIKE. With this arrangement,
the exit sign construction of this invention can be mounted directly
to a standard electrical junction box found in a ceiling or wall
of a building in any desired location.
The exit sign 10 comprises a central rectangularly shaped frame
12 with front and back cover members 14 and 16 at least one of
which incorporates a large stencil 18 having the letters "EXIT"
in the major surface thereof and a colored plastic diffuser 20 therebehind.
The central rectangularly shaped frame 12 and the front and back
cover members 14 and 16 are snap-fit together and cooperate to form
an enclosure 22 containing the necessary internal electrical lighting
components. The front and back covers 14 16 can use a plurality
of finger clips (not shown) to hold them in assembly with the central
rectangularly shaped frame 12. The exit sign 10 is preferably molded
from a plastic resin such as an engineering type thermoplastic such
as ABS, polycarbonate or polyphelyene oxide but it should be apparent
to those skilled in the art that they may be manufactured from other
suitable materials.
The enclosure 22 of the exit sign 10 is divided into a wiring compartment
24 and a lighting compartment 26 by a retaining wall 28 which extends
around the interior sides and top of the central rectangularly shaped
frame 12. The wiring compartment 24 contains an appropriate wiring
harness 30 and battery power pack module 32 for powering two 1-watt
direct current light emitting diode lighting devices 34 held by
standard screw type lamp sockets 36 extending downwardly into the
lighting compartment 26 from an upper part of the retaining wall
28. In a manner explained in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/160583
(Ware, Fressola, Van Der Sluys & Adolphson Docket No. 64-152)
entitled LIGHTING DEVICE USED IN AN EXIT SIGN by inventor Charles
R. Ruskouski, which is hereby incorporated by reference, with particular
reference to FIGS. 9 and 9A along with the description thereof,
utility power (120 VAC) is provided to the wiring harness 30 of
the exit sign 10 through electrical leads (not shown) which extend
into an electrical junction box (not shown) found in the ceiling
or wall of the building. The utility power is rectified into direct
current by appropriate circuitry in the battery power pack module
32 to power the light emitting diode lighting devices 34 through
the standard screw-type lamp sockets 36.
The battery power pack module 32 is electrically connected to the
wiring harness 30 and incorporates appropriate electronic components
and circuitry (not shown) designed in a manner well known to those
skilled in the art to charge an auxiliary rechargeable battery pack
(not shown) as well as to switch between the primary alternating
current power supply and the emergency direct power supply provided
by the rechargeable battery pack if the alternating current power
supply fails as would be the case during utility power outages.
Referring to FIG. 2 taken in conjunction with FIG. 1 each of the
light emitting diode lighting devices 34 has an elongated rectangular
plastic housing 38 having a plurality of eight frustoconical apertures
40 along one side thereof. Inside the elongated rectangular plastic
housing 38 is a printed circuit board 42 with a plurality of eight
light emitting diodes 44 thereon. One of the light emitting diodes
is located in each of the frustoconical apertures 40. The light
emitting diodes 44 are electrically connected in series, parallel
or series parallel to one another through electronic connections
(not shown) on the printed circuit board to illuminate the same
when powered by the battery pack module 32 through the wiring harness
30. The printed circuit boards 42 are electrically connected to
the wiring harness 30 through the screw-type lamp sockets 36 (FIG.
1) by means of mounting base assemblies generally indicated by the
numeral 48 (FIG. 2) which are threading received therein.
As illustrated in FIG. 1 in order for light rays from the light
emitting diode lighting devices 34 to evenly illuminate the stencil
18 when they pass through the diffuser 20 the frustoconical apertures
40 of the light emitting diode lighting devices 34 with the light
emitting diodes 44 therein have to face one another. To align the
light emitting diode lighting devices 34 in this fashion, the mounting
base assemblies 48 permit adjustment of the elongated rectangular
plastic housings 38 relative to the mounting base assemblies 48
once the assemblies 48 are fully inserted and tightened into their
respective screw-type lamp sockets 36.
Turning now FIGS. 3 and 4 the adjustment of the elongated rectangular
plastic housing 38 relative to the mounting base assembly 48 is
accomplished by providing the mounting base assembly 48 with an
insulator 50 a brass screw base member 52 and a knurled plastic
cap 54 along with a mounting flange 56 on the elongated rectangular
plastic housing 38. The insulator 50 is made from an insulative
material sold under the tradename VALOX and has an aperture 58 extending
therethrough which receives a center electrical contact 60 extending
from the printed circuit board 42. One end 62 of the insulator 50
has a rectangular shape fixedly received utilizing an adhesive in
a rectangular shaped opening 64 in the mounting flange 56 on the
elongated rectangular plastic housing 38. The rectangular shaped
end 62 of the insulator 50 is connected to a round barrel shaped
end by a transition collar 68. The outside surface of the insulator
50 is flat on one side thereof along which a cantilevered beryllium
copper leaf spring electrical contact 70 from the printed circuit
board 42 extends. The insulator 50 serves to insulate and separate
the cantilevered leaf spring electrical contact 70 from the center
electrical contact 60. A free end 72 of the cantilevered leaf spring
electrical contact 70 is curved and cooperates with a land portion
74 of the insulator 50 so as to bias the contact 70 into constant
electrical engagement with the screw base member 52 which fits over
the barrel shaped end 66 of the insulator 50 and sits on the collar
68 of the insulator 50. The contacts 60 and 70 are electrically
connected to the light emitting diodes 44.
To retain the various components of the mounting base assembly
48 to one another and the elongated rectangular plastic housing
38 the cap 54 fits over the screw base member 52 and has two diametrically
opposed detents 76 on the inside thereof engaging the flange 56
of the housing 38. To prevent relative rotation between the cap
54 and the screw base member 52 a tab 78 (FIG. 3) on the inside
of the cap 54 fits into a slot 80 on the screw base member 52. When
assembled, the elongated rectangular plastic housing 38 insulator
50 printed circuit board 42 center electrical contact 60 and cantilevered
leaf spring electrical contact 70 become one unit rotatable together
while the cap 54 and screw base member 52 are rotatable as a unit
relative thereto.
In installing the light emitting diode lighting devices 34 into
the exit sign 10 the knurled cap 54 of each light emitting diode
device 34 can be used to thread the screw base member 52 fully into
its associated screw-type socket 36. Once full mating engagement
is achieved thereby obtaining appropriate electrical connection
between the mounting base assembly 48 and the screw-type socket
36 the elongated rectangular plastic housing 38 can be grasped
by the installer and rotated thereby rotating the insulator 50
printed circuit board 42 center electrical contact 60 and cantilevered
leaf spring electrical contact 70 for each light emitting diode
lighting devices 34 to align the light emitting diode lighting devices
34 as shown in FIG. 1 with the light emitting diodes 44 facing each
other to fully illuminating the stencil 18. The cantilevered leaf
spring electrical contact 70 maintains electrical continuity with
the screw base member 52 in any given direction of rotation of the
elongated rectangular plastic housing 38. It should be appreciated
by those skilled in the art that the relative tolerances of the
components of the light emitting diode lighting devices 34 are such
that the light emitting diode lighting devices 34 will not go out
of alignment due to inadvertent jarring of the exit sign 10 by the
installer.
Turning now to FIGS. 5 and 6 therein is illustrated a second embodiment
of the mounting base assembly of the present invention. The components
in this second embodiment are similar to the components found in
the first embodiment of FIGS. 1-4 and like components have been
designated with like reference numerals except for the addition
of the reference character A. For example, the mounting base assembly
of the second embodiment is generally designated by the numeral
48A.
An elongated rectangular two-part plastic housing 38A for the light
emitting diode lighting device 34A can be adjusted relative to the
mounting base assembly 48A by providing the mounting base assembly
48A with an insulator 50A, a brass screw base member 52A and a knurled
plastic cap 54A along with a mounting flange 56A on the elongated
rectangular plastic housing 38A. The insulator 50A is made from
an insulative material sold under the tradename VALOX and has an
aperture 58A extending therethrough which receives a center electrical
contact 60A extending from a printed circuit board 42A. One end
62A of the insulator 50A has a rectangular shape fixedly received
utilizing an adhesive in a rectangular shaped opening 64A in the
mounting flange 56A on the elongated rectangular plastic housing
38A. The rectangular shaped end 62A of the insulator 50A is connected
to a round barrel shaped end 66A by a transition collar 68A.
Surrounding the transition collar 68A is a coil spring contact
82 made of stainless steel or beryllium copper which is sandwiched
between the screw base member 52A and a beryllium copper electrical
contact 70A. The electrical contact 70A extends to and is electrically
connected to the printed circuit board 42A. In the assembled state
shown in FIG. 6 the spring contact 82 is under constant compression
so as to create a constant electrical engagement between the screw
base member 52A, which fits over the barrel shaped end 66A of the
insulator 50A and sits on the collar 68A of the insulator 50A, and
the electrical contact 70A which sits in the mounting flange 56A.
The insulator 50A serves to insulate and separate the screw base
member 52A, the coil spring contact 82 and the electrical contact
70A from the center electrical contact 60A. The contacts 60A and
70A are electrically connected to the light emitting diodes 44A
through the circuit board 42A.
To retain the various components of the mounting base assembly
48A to one another and the elongated rectangular plastic housing
38A, the cap 54A fits over the screw base member 52A and has two
diametrically opposed detents 76A on the inside thereof engaging
the flange 56A of the housing 38A. To prevent relative rotation
between the cap 54A and the screw base member 52A, a tab (not shown
but identical to tab 78 in FIG. 3) on the inside of the cap 54A
fits into a slot 80A on the screw base member 52A. When assembled,
the elongated rectangular plastic housing 38A, insulator 50A, printed
circuit board 42A, center electrical contact 60A and electrical
contact 70A become one unit rotatable together while the cap 54A
and screw base member 52A are rotatable as a unit relative thereto.
During relative rotation of the various components, the coil spring
contact 82 would tend to maintain its position thereby creating
a sweeping action along the screw base member 52A and the electrical
contact 70A to maintain a good electrical connection therebetween.
The light emitting diode lighting device 34A is installed into the
exit sign 10 in a manner previously described with respect to the
first embodiment of FIGS. 1-4.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the present
invention can be modified to be used with other types of electrical
sockets such as bayonet-type sockets by modifying the base member.
It will therefore be seen from the above that the present invention
provides an effective means for aligning the light emitting diode
lighting devices within the housing of the exit sign. The exit sign
using the light emitting diode lighting devices has the same amount
of illumination as found in exit signs using traditional incandescent
lamps while at the same time greatly reducing power consumption.
It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those
made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained
and, since certain changes may be made in the above product without
departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all
matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying
drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting
sense.
It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended
to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention
herein described, and all statements of the invention which, as
a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween. |