Ballast housing for fluorescent lighting fixtures

Claim 1

IN A LIGHTING FIXTURE SYSTEM, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING AN ELONGATED CONTINUOUS BALLAST HOUSING OF GENERALLY CHANNEL CONFIGURATION INCLUDING A BASE AND UPWARDLY PROJECTING PARALLEL SIDE WALLS, SAID SIDE WALLS HAVING FLANGES ALONG THEIR UPPER EDGES OF SUBSTANTIALLY J-SHAPED CONFIGURATION IN TRANSVERSE CROSS SECTION EACH INCLUDING A BASE PORTION IN RIGHT ANGULAR RELATION TO THE SIDE WALL WITH AN OUTER SIDE PORTION PROJECTING UPWARDLY FROM THE OUTER EDGE OF THE BASE PORTION AND AN INNER SIDE PORTION OF LESSER HEIGHT PROJECTING UPWARDLY FROM THE INNER EDGE OF THE BASE PORTION AND HAVING AN OUTWARDLY TURNED ROUNDED UPPER LIP, EACH SAID FLANGES FURTHER INCLUDING A SHELF PORTION PROJECTING INWARDLY FROM SAID OUTER SIDE PORTION AT A POSITION UPWARDLY DISPLACED FROM SAID LIP, A PLURALITY OF JOINER MEMBERS ADAPTED FOR ATTACHMENT TO LAMP HOUSING UNITS EACH INCLUDING AN UPPER SECTION WITH A DEPENDING OUTER END SECTION AT ONE EDGE THEREOF AND AN INNER END SECTION INWARDLY AND UPWARDLY TURNED FROM SAID OUTER END SECTION IN INWARDLY SPACED PARALLEL RELATION THERETO, THE UPPER SECTIONS OF SAID JOINER MEMBERS TRAVERSELY ENGAGING THE UPPER EDGES OF THE OUTER SIDE PORTIONS OF SAID FLANGES AT LONGITUDINALLY SPACED POSITIONS THEREALONG WITH THE INNER END SECTIONS OF THE JOINER MEMBERS ABUTTING THE SIDE WALLS OF THE BALLAST HOUSING AND ENGAGING THE UNDERSURFACES OF THE BASE PORTIONS OF SAID FLANGES, THREADED FASTENERS EXTENDING THROUGH THE UPPER SECTIONS OF THE RESPECTIVE JOINER MEMBERS IN THREADED ENGAGEMENT THEREWITH AND ENGAGING SAID SHELF PORTIONS OF SAID FLANGES, AND MEANS FOR SUPPORTING SAID BALLAST HOUSING ADJACENT A CEILING.