Wall-mounted lighting fixture

Claim 2

A wall-mounted lighting fixture comprising a mounting base adapted to be secured to a wall, said mounting base having a generally vertical front wall, an adjoining generally horizontal top wall and at least one generally horizontal slot in the front wall adjacent said top wall, said fixture further comprising lighting means carried by the front wall of said mounting base, a light transmitting shade, and at least one hinge means mounting said shade on said mounting base for movement between a lowered operating position in which said shade effectively shades said lighting means and a raised position in which said lighting means is readily accessible, said hinge means comprising a hinge member having a generally flat leg portion insertable into said slot from the back side of said mounting base, a head portion engageable with the inner face of said front wall to prevent said hinge from passing through said slot, and retaining means for holding the hinge captive relative to the mounting base, said hinge member being swingable between a first position in which the lower surface of said leg portion is in engagement with an edge of said front wall, said edge constituting at least a portion of the lower surface of said slot, for supporting said shade in its operating position and a second position in which said shade is supported in its raised position, at least a portion of said retaining means being on the opposite side of said front wall of said base from said head portion.

Claim 3

A wall-mounted lighting fixture comprising a mounting base adapted to be secured to a wall, said mounting base having a generally vertical front wall, an adjoining generally horizontal top wall and at least one generally horizontal slot in the front wall adjacent said top wall, said fixture further comprising lighting means carried by the front wall of said mounting base, a light transmitting shade, and at least one hinge means mounting said shade on said mounting base for movement between a lowered operating position in which said shade effectively shades said lighting means and a raised position in which said lighting means is readily accessible, said hinge means comprising a hinge member having a generally flat leg portion insertable into said slot from the back side of said mounting base, a head portion engageable with the inner face of said front wall to prevent said hinge from passing through said slot, and retaining means for holding the hinge captive relative to the mounting base, said hinge member being swingable between a first position in which the lower surface of said leg portion is in engagement with an edge of said front wall, said edge constituting at least a portion of the lower surface of said slot, for supporting said shade in its operating position and a second position in which said shade is supported in its raised position, at least a portion of said retaining means being on the opposite side of said front wall of said base from said head portion.

Claim 4

A wall-mounted lighting fixture comprising a mounting base adapted to be secured to a wall, said mounting base having a generally vertical front wall, an adjoining generally horizontal top wall and at least one generally horizontal slot in the front wall adjacent said top wall, said fixture further comprising lighting means carried by the front wall of said mounting base, a light transmitting shade, and at least one hinge means mounting said shade on said mounting base for movement between a lowered operating position in which said shade effectively shades said lighting means and a raised position in which said lighting means is readily accessible, said hinge means comprising a hinge member having a generally flat leg portion insertable into said slot from the back side of said mounting base, a head portion engageable with the inner face of said front wall to prevent said hinge from passing through said slot, and retaining means for holding the hinge captive relative to the mounting base, said hinge member being swingable between a first position in which the lower surface of said leg portion is in engagement with an edge of said front wall, said edge constituting at least a portion of the lower surface of said slot, for supporting said shade in its operating position and a second position in which said shade is supported in its raised position, at least a portion of said retaining means being on the opposite side of said front wall of said base from said head portion.

Claim 5

A fixture as set forth in claim 1 in which said retaining means comprises at least one tab extending from said leg portion for holding said front wall captive betwen said head portion and said tab, the width of said leg portion adjacent said mounting fixture being slightly less than the width of said slot thereby to substantially prevent horizontal movement of said hinge member.

Claim 6

A fixture as set forth in claim 2 wherein said retaining means comprises two spaced tabs extending generally from said leg portion.

Claim 7

A fixture as set forth in claim 2 wherein said hinge member is generally T-shaped and wherein the head portion is somewhat wider than said slot.

Claim 8

A fixture as set forth in claim 4 wherein said tab is struck from both said head portion and said leg portion and extends from said leg portion.

Claim 9

A fixture as set forth in claim 4 wherein said hinge member is resiliently deformable as said leg portion is inserted into said slot until said tab moves clear of said front wall at which point said hinge is held captive relative to said front wall.

Claim 10

A fixture as set forth in claim 4 wherein said slot is defined by a generally horizontal upwardly facing surface, constituting said edge, a downwardly ramping surface adjoining said horizontal surface on opposite sides thereof, and an upper horizontal surface constituting the top surface of said slot spaced above said upwardly facing horizontal surface, said slot being generally symmetrical about a vertical axis.

Claim 11

A fixture as set forth in claim 7 wherein said tab is adjacent said leg portion and extends therefrom a distance greater than the distance between said horizontal slot surfaces, said hinge member being resiliently deformable as said leg portion is inserted into said slot so that as said tab clears said front wall said tab returns substantially to its undeformed position thereby to hold the hinge captive relative to said front wall.

Claim 12

A fixture as set forth in claim 7 wherein said top surface of said slot adjoins said top wall.

Claim 13

A fixture as set forth in claim 4 in which said hinge member is formed from a resilient material such as spring steEl.

Claim 14

A fixture as set forth in claim 10 wherein said edge is generally horizontal and constitutes the lower surface of said slot and wherein said front wall has a generally horizontal downwardly facing surface constituting the top surface of said slot spaced above the first mentioned edge.

Claim 15

A fixture as set forth in claim 11 in which said tab extends from said leg portion a distance greater than the height of said slot, said mounting base and said tab interferring with one another and causing resilient movement of said tab relative to said hinge member as said leg portion is inserted into said slot until said tab clears said front wall at which point said tab returns to its undeformed position whereby the hinge is held captive relative to said front wall.

Claim 16

A fixture as set forth in claim 1 in which said hinge member includes an aperture in its leg portion, in which said shade has a corresponding aperture, and in which said fixture further comprises fastener means insertable through the aforementioned apertures for mounting said shade on said hinge means.

Claim 17

A fixture as set forth in claim 13 wherein said shade is a horizontally disposed channelshaped member having an upper leg, a center web portion, and a lower leg, said shade aperture being in said upper leg.

Claim 18

A fixture as set forth in claim 1 wherein said mounting base has two spaced horizontal slots, and wherein said shade is mounted relative to said mounting base by means of two of said hinge means, one for each said slot.

Claim 19

A fixture as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a transition section between said head and leg portions, said retaining means comprising at least one tab formed in part from said transition section.

Claim 20

A fixture as set forth in claim 16 wherein said transition section is generally at right angles to said head and leg sections, said transition section being disposed generally vertically on the outer surface of said front wall of said base when said hinge is in its said first position.

Claim 21

A fixture as set forth in claim 1 wherein said retaining means comprises a side flange extending downwardly from each lateral side of said leg portion, each side flange extending below said lower edge of said slot when said hinge is in its first position.

Claim 22

A fixture as set forth in clalim 18 wherein said side flange is wedge-shaped in side elevation with said side flange being of greatest height adjacent the front wall of said mounting base.

Claim 23

A fixture as set forth in clalim 18 wherein said side flange is wedge-shaped in side elevation with said side flange being of greatest height adjacent the front wall of said mounting base.

Claim 24

A fixture as set forth in claim 19 further comprising at least one tab struck from said hinge and projecting upwardly from said leg portion thereof in front of said front wall when said hinge is inserted in said slot, said tab locating said shade relative to said hinge.

Claim 25

A hinge as set forth in claim 20 wherein said slot has at least a portion thereof constituting the upper edge of said slot in close proximity to the lower edge of the slot, said slot portion being of less height than the thickness of said leg portion adjacent the head portion and said tab, whereby as the leg portion of said hinge is inserted into said slot from the back side of the mounting base, said side flanges cause said hinge to deform within said slot thereby to permit passage of said tabs past said front wall, said hinge returning substantially to its original position upon the passage of said side flange past said front wall.

Claim 26

A fixture as set forth in claim 21 wherein said front wall has means formed therein to permit passage of said tabs therepast as the hinge is inserted into said slot.

Claim 27

A wall-mounted lighting fixture comprising a mounting base adapted to be secured to a wall, said mounting base having a generally vertical front wall, an adjoining generally horizontal top wall and at least one generally horizontal slot means in the front wall adjacent said top wall, said fixture further comprising lighting means carried by the front wall of said mounting base, a light transmitting shade, and at least one hinge means mouNting said shade on said mounting base for movement between a lowered operating position in which said shade effectively shades said lighting means and a raised position in which said lighting means is readily accessible, said hinge means comprising a hinge member having a leg portion insertable into said slot means, another portion engageable with said front wall to prevent said hinge from passing through said slot means, and retaining means for holding the hinge captive relative to the mounting base, said retaining means comprising at least one tab deformable as said leg means is inserted in said slot means, said tab returning substantially to its initial position before insertion in the slot means thereby to hold the hinge captive relative to the mounting base, said hinge member being swingable between a first position in which the lower surface of said leg portion is in engagement with an edge of said front wall, said edge constituting at least a portion of the lower surface of said slot means, for supporting said shade in its operating position and a second position in which said shade is supported in its raised position, at least a portion of said retaining means being on the opposite side of said front wall of said base from said other portion.

Claim 28

A wall-mounted lighting fixture comprising a mounting base adapted to be secured to a wall, said mounting base having a generally vertical front wall, an adjoining generally horizontal top wall and at least one generally horizontal slot means in the front wall adjacent said top wall, said fixture further comprising lighting means carried by the front wall of said mounting base, a light transmitting shade, and at least one hinge means mouNting said shade on said mounting base for movement between a lowered operating position in which said shade effectively shades said lighting means and a raised position in which said lighting means is readily accessible, said hinge means comprising a hinge member having a leg portion insertable into said slot means, another portion engageable with said front wall to prevent said hinge from passing through said slot means, and retaining means for holding the hinge captive relative to the mounting base, said retaining means comprising at least one tab deformable as said leg means is inserted in said slot means, said tab returning substantially to its initial position before insertion in the slot means thereby to hold the hinge captive relative to the mounting base, said hinge member being swingable between a first position in which the lower surface of said leg portion is in engagement with an edge of said front wall, said edge constituting at least a portion of the lower surface of said slot means, for supporting said shade in its operating position and a second position in which said shade is supported in its raised position, at least a portion of said retaining means being on the opposite side of said front wall of said base from said other portion.

Claim 29

A fixture as set forth in claim 23 wherein said leg portion is insertable into said slot means from the front of said mounting base.

Claim 30

A fixture as set forth in claim 24 further comprising an intermediate portion substantially at right angles to said leg and other portions, said intermediate portion being wider than said leg portion and said tabs and said intermediate portion constituting said retaining means.

Claim 31

A fixture as set forth in claim 23 wherein said slot means comprises a pair of spaced slots, one for each said tab, said tabs being insertable into said slots from the front of said mounting base, said hinge means between said tabs being engageable with said mounting base thereby substantially to prevent inward movement of the hinge relative to the mounting base.