Lighting assembly with ac to dc converter and heat-sinking housing

Abstract

A lighting assembly includes a heat-sinking housing, a lens, a light source module including at least one LED, and an AC to DC converter to receive an AC voltage and supply regulated electrical energy to power the light source module. The housing includes a closed rear wall and a sidewall that defines a housing cavity containing the at least one LED. The closed rear wall and the sidewall are formed of a heat conductive material to conduct heat generated by the light source module. The assembly has a front end face, and at least one exterior width dimension of less than 3½ inches. In one example, a circular recess defined along an inner edge of the front end face contains the lens in the assembly. In another example, the front face includes a tool-less mating mechanism, for example a twist-and-lock mechanism comprising multiple flanges and/or slots.

1 . A recessed lighting system, comprising:
 a lighting assembly, comprising:
 a light source module including at least one LED; 
 an AC to DC converter to receive an AC voltage of one of approximately 120 VAC or approximately 277 VAC and supply regulated electrical energy to power the light source module; 
 a heat-sinking housing comprising a plurality of heat sink fins, a closed rear wall, and a sidewall joined to the closed rear wall and extending 360 degrees around the central axis of the heat-sinking housing to define a housing cavity that extends forward from the closed rear wall and outward to the sidewall, the closed rear wall and the sidewall being formed of a heat conductive material to conduct heat generated by the light source module, the AC to DC converter being physically coupled to the heat-sinking housing using a connecting mechanism and insulated from the heat-sinking housing; 
 a plurality of electrical wires coupled to the AC to DC converter and passing through the closed rear wall of the heat-sinking housing; and 
 a front end face, 
 wherein:
 the sidewall of the heat-sinking housing is coupled to the front end face; 
 the light source module is positioned inside the housing cavity closer to the closed rear wall than to a forward surface of the front end face; 
 the front end face further comprises a tool-less mating mechanism to facilitate coupling with a trim; and 
 an outside width of the lighting assembly is less than 3½ inches and fits between multiple tabs of a standard junction box. 
 
   
     
     
         2 . The lighting system of  claim 1 , further comprising the trim coupled to the front end face of the lighting assembly via the tool-less mating mechanism. 
     
     
         3 . The lighting system of  claim 2 , wherein the trim includes clips adapted to couple the trim to a junction box. 
     
     
         4 . The lighting system of  claim 1 , wherein the lighting assembly is adapted to be installed in a junction box that allows a ceiling to maintain a fire rating of up to two hours as described in the National Electric Code. 
     
     
         5 . The lighting system of  claim 1 , wherein the closed rear wall and the sidewall of the lighting assembly are formed of aluminum. 
     
     
         6 . The lighting system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the light source module directly contacts the heat-sinking housing; and   the light source module does not directly contact the AC to DC converter.   
     
     
         7 . The lighting system of  claim 1 , wherein the lighting assembly further comprises:
 a lens positioned to direct light produced by the light source module out into an area surrounding the recessed lighting system; and   a circular recess defined along an inner edge of the front end face to contain the lens.   
     
     
         8 . The lighting system of  claim 7 , wherein at least a portion of a front surface of the lens and the forward surface of the front end face define a nearly planar front surface for the lighting assembly. 
     
     
         9 . The lighting system of  claim 1 , wherein the AC to DC converter includes a circuit board contained in the housing cavity of the lighting assembly. 
     
     
         10 . The lighting system of  claim 1 , further comprising an enclosure to contain the lighting assembly, wherein the enclosure comprises one of a standard junction box or a 4-10 inch recessed lighting fixture. 
     
     
         11 . A lighting assembly, comprising:
 a light source module including at least one LED;   an AC to DC converter to receive an AC voltage from an electrical system of a building and supply regulated electrical energy to power the light source module;   a heat-sinking housing, comprising:
 a closed rear wall and a sidewall that defines a housing cavity containing the at least one LED, wherein:
 the heat-sinking housing includes a plurality of heat sink fins formed on an outside surface of the closed rear wall; and 
 the closed rear wall and the sidewall are formed of a heat conductive material to conduct heat generated by the light source module; and 
 
   a front end face coupled to the heat-sinking housing, the front end face comprising a tool-less mating mechanism that can be used to couple the heat-sinking housing to a trim,   wherein:   a circular recess is defined along an inner edge of the front end face to contain a lens;   the sidewall has at least one exterior width dimension of less than 3½ inches;   the AC to DC converter is positioned closer to the closed rear wall of the heat-sinking housing than to the front end face, and is coupled to the heat-sinking housing using a connecting mechanism; and   the lighting assembly further comprises the trim and the trim can be coupled to the heat-sinking casting using the tool-less mating mechanism and includes clips so that the trim is capable of being coupled to a junction box.   
     
     
         12 . The lighting assembly of  claim 11 , wherein the AC to DC converter is insulated from the heat-sinking housing. 
     
     
         13 . The lighting assembly of  claim 11 , wherein the closed rear wall and the sidewall are formed of aluminum. 
     
     
         14 . The lighting assembly of  claim 11 , wherein:
 the light source module directly contacts the heat-sinking housing; and   the light source module does not directly contact the AC to DC converter.   
     
     
         15 . The lighting assembly of  claim 11 , further comprising the lens, wherein:
 the lens is positioned to direct light produced by the light source module out into an area surrounding the recessed lighting system; and   at least a portion of a front surface of the lens and a forward surface of the front end face define a nearly planar front surface for the lighting assembly.   
     
     
         16 . The lighting assembly of  claim 15 , wherein the lens diffuses the light produced by the light source module. 
     
     
         17 . The lighting assembly of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 a reflector positioned inside the heat-sinking housing to direct light emitted from the light source module through the lens.   
     
     
         18 . The lighting assembly of  claim 11 , wherein the AC to DC converter includes a circuit board contained in the housing cavity. 
     
     
         19 . The lighting assembly of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 wires, passing through the closed rear wall of the heat-sinking housing, to supply electrical power to one of the AC to DC converter or the light source module.   
     
     
         20 . The lighting assembly of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 wires to supply electrical power to at least the AC to DC converter, the wires being coupled to at least one keyed or interlocking connector of a pair of complimentary keyed or interlocking connectors.   
     
     
         21 . The lighting assembly of  claim 11 , wherein the tool-less mating mechanism comprises a twist-and-lock mechanism comprising at least one of multiple flanges, multiple slots, or multiple grooves to facilitate coupling with the trim. 
     
     
         22 . A system, comprising:
 the lighting assembly of  claim 11 ; and   an enclosure to contain at least a portion of the lighting assembly, wherein the enclosure comprises one of a junction box or a 4-10 inch recessed lighting fixture.   
     
     
         23 . A lighting assembly, comprising:
 a light source module including at least one LED;   an AC to DC converter to receive an AC voltage from an electrical system of a building and supply regulated electrical energy to power the light source module;   a heat-sinking housing, comprising a closed rear wall and a sidewall that defines a housing cavity containing the at least one LED, wherein the closed rear wall and the sidewall are formed of a heat conductive material to conduct heat generated by the light source module;   a lens; and   a front end face coupled to the heat-sinking housing,   wherein:   a circular recess is defined along an inner edge of the front end face to contain the lens;   at least a portion of a front surface of the lens and a forward surface of the front end face define a nearly planar front surface for the lighting assembly;   the lighting assembly has a height that allows it to fit within a junction box allowing a ceiling to maintain a UL fire-rating of at least two hours; and   the lighting assembly has at least one exterior width dimension of less than 3½ inches.   
     
     
         24 . The lighting assembly of  claim 23 , wherein the heat-sinking housing includes a plurality of heat sink fins formed on an outside surface of the closed rear wall. 
     
     
         25 . The lighting assembly of  claim 23 , wherein the AC to DC converter includes a circuit board contained in the housing cavity. 
     
     
         26 . The lighting assembly of  claim 23 , in combination with an enclosure to contain at least a portion of the lighting assembly, wherein the enclosure comprises one of a junction box or a 4-10 inch recessed lighting fixture. 
     
     
         27 . A lighting assembly, comprising:
 a light source module including at least one LED;   an AC to DC converter to receive an AC voltage of 120V from an electrical system of a building and drop the AC voltage to a lower voltage to supply regulated electrical energy to power the light source module;   a heat-sinking aluminum housing comprising:
 a closed rear wall having a plurality of heat sink fins formed on an outside surface of the closed rear wall; and 
 a sidewall, coupled to the closed rear wall, that extends 360 degrees around the central axis of the heat-sinking housing and defines a housing cavity that extends outward to the sidewall, the housing cavity containing the at least one LED; 
   a front end face coupled to the heat-sinking housing; and   a plurality of wires, passing through the closed rear wall of the heat-sinking housing, to supply electrical power to one of the AC to DC converter or the light source module;   wherein:   the lighting assembly has a height that allows it to fit within a junction box allowing a ceiling to maintain a UL fire-rating of at least two hours;   the sidewall has at least one exterior width dimension of less than 3½ inches;   the light source module is positioned inside the housing cavity and directly contacts the heat-sinking housing;   the light source module does not directly contact the AC to DC converter; and   the AC to DC converter is positioned closer to the closed rear wall of the heat-sinking housing than to the front end face, and is coupled to the heat-sinking housing using a connecting mechanism, and is insulated from the heat-sinking housing.   
     
     
         28 . The lighting assembly of  claim 27 , further comprising a tool-less mating mechanism to facilitate coupling with a trim. 
     
     
         29 . The lighting assembly of  claim 28 , in combination with the trim coupled to the front end face via the tool-less mating mechanism, wherein the trim includes clips adapted to couple the trim to a junction box. 
     
     
         30 . The lighting assembly of  claim 27 , in combination with an enclosure to contain at least a portion of the heat-sinking housing, wherein the enclosure comprises one of a junction box or a 4-10 inch recessed lighting fixture.