Ballast Transformer Mounting Arrangement

The present invention relates to a mounting arrangement and, more particularly, to a mounting arrangement for quickly and easily mounting a ballast transformer to a structural support member such as employed in an electrical lighting fixture.

In the manufacture of electrical lighting fixtures, particularly lighting fixtures utilizing high intensity discharge (HID) lamps, it is generally required to provide ballast transformers for properly controlling the operation of these lamps. In order to minimize assembly time and, therefore, reduce manufacturing costs, it is desirable that the ballast transformers employed by the lighting fixtures be quickly and easily mounted within the lighting fixtures, especially where the ballast transformers are bulky, heavy, and awkward to handle, and are required to be mounted in compartments of very limited space. The present invention is directed to a mounting arrangement of very simple design for quickly and easily mounting a ballast transformer to a structural support member, for example, as employed in a lighting fixture.

A ballast transformer to be mounted to a structural support member in accordance with the present invention includes a core portion made up of several laminations and has an opening in the core portion with first and second entrances. A mounting arrangement for mounting the ballast transformer to the structural support member in accordance with the invention comprises first and second mounting members and first and second securing means. The first mounting member has a first elongated, non-threaded mounting pin associated therewith which is inserted, via the first entrance, into the opening in the core portion of the ballast transformer. In a similar fashion, the second mounting member has a second elongated, non-threaded mounting pin associated therewith which is inserted, via the second entrance, into the opening in the core portion of the ballast transformer. The first securing means secures the first mounting member to the structural support member and the second securing means secures the second mounting member to the structural support member.

Various objects, features and advantages of a ballast transformer mounting arrangement in accordance with the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded view illustrating the manner in which a ballast transformer is mounted to a structural support member in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a front view illustrating the ballast transformer as mounted to the structural support member.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a ballast transformer 1 as arranged to be mounted to a structural support member 10 in accordance with the present invention. The ballast transformer 1 is of a conventional design and includes, as shown in FIG. 1, a core section 1a formed by the lamination of a large number of thin metal plates, and a plurality of winding sections 1b. As employed in accordance with the present invention, the ballast transformer 1 has an opening 2 extending through the laminated core section 1a thereof and having opposed first and second entrances 2a. The opening 2 is used in conjunction with a pair of L-shaped brackets 5 for the purpose of mounting the ballast transformer 1 to the structural support member 10. More particularly, and as indicated in FIG. 1, the L-shaped brackets 5 are mounted to the ballast transformer 1 by means of a pair of non-threaded elongated, compressible, split hollow mounting pins 6, commonly known as "roll-pins," which are first force-inserted through unthreaded openings 8 in the vertical portions of the L-shaped brackets 5 and then inserted into the opposing entrances 2a of the opening 2 in the ballast transformer 1. The diameters of the openings 8 and of the split mounting pins 6 are selected so that the mounting pins 6 will become compressed when force-inserted into the openings 8 and then tend to expand slightly once in the openings 8 to provide tight fits therein. It is not necessary for the pins 6 to fit tightly within the opening 2 in the ballast transformer 1, however, the lengths of the portions of the pins 6 within the opening 2 in the ballast transformer 1 should be sufficient to prevent the L-shaped brackets 5 from falling away from the ballast transformer 1. In addition, and for reasons to be apparent shortly, the lengths of the pins 6 should not be so great that the pins 6 lie in the paths of threaded openings 12 provided in the horizontal portions of the L-shaped brackets 5.

Once the L-shaped brackets 5 have been mounted to the ballast transformer 1 as described hereinabove, a pair of threaded bolts 18 are inserted into slotted openings 20 in the structural support member 10 and, after the ballast transformer 1 and the L-shaped brackets 5 have been properly positioned with respect to the structural support member 10, the bolts 18 are threaded into the openings 12 in the horizontal portions of the L-shaped brackets 5. The threaded bolts 18 are selected to have lengths so that the threaded portions thereof will extend past the axes of the mounting pins 6 and be immediately adjacent to the exposed ends of the mounting pins 6, as indicated in FIG. 2. As a result, the mounting pins 6 are "locked" positively in place by the threaded bolts 18 and are prevented from being removed accidentally, for example, as a result of vibration, from the associated openings 2 and 8.

It will now be apparent that a mounting arrangement has been described hereinabove which comprises very few parts and which is very simple to use. Thus, the ballast transformer 1 as described hereinabove may be easily and quickly mounted to a structural support member, even if the ballast transformer is heavy, bulky and awkward to handle and the ballast transformer is required to be installed in a compartment of limited space.

While there has been described what is considered a preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be obvious that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention as called for in the appended claims.