Cooling a horticulture light fixture using an isolation chamber
View Patent ↗A vertically disposed HID lamp fixture for growing plants, which includes a housing having an interior, an exterior, a top hole, and a lower lip defining a light opening towards the plants, further including an inlet duct and outlet duct for the forced air cooling embodiment, a socket tower having an upper flange and a lower flange, the upper flange affixed around the perimeter of the top hole securing the socket tower to the housing, a reflector having an aperture, the lower flange affixed around the perimeter of the aperture suspends the reflector within the housing such that an isolation chamber is formed between the exterior side of the reflector and the interior of the housing, a HID lamp removably engages within said socket tower longitudinally extending substantially downward and through said aperture vertically disposed above said light opening sealed by a compressively held glass sheet.
1. A horticulture light fixture comprising:
a housing comprising a housing interior, an inlet duct, an outlet duct, and a lower lip defining an opening;
a reflector comprising a reflector interior, a reflector exterior, and an aperture; and
a light socket surrounding structure comprising a lower flange and an upper flange, the upper flange affixed to the housing; and
a light socket disposed within the light socket surrounding structure, the light socket adapted to selectively receive a lamp extending through the aperture to the reflector interior,
wherein the lower flange of the light socket surrounding structure is affixed around a perimeter of the aperture to define an isolation chamber between the reflector exterior and the housing interior, and
wherein the isolation chamber is in air flow communication with the inlet duct and the outlet duct and air flowing between the inlet duct and the outlet duct is prevented from commingling with air in the reflector interior.
2. The fixture of claim 1 , wherein the opening is at a bottom of the housing, and the upper flange of the light socket surrounding structure is affixed to a top of the housing.
3. The fixture of claim 1 , wherein the light socket surrounding structure comprises a leading edge facing the inlet duct.
4. The fixture of claim 3 , wherein the light socket surrounding structure comprises angled surfaces extending from the leading edge towards the outlet duct.
5. The fixture of claim 1 , wherein the inlet duct and the outlet duct each include outward extending material sized and adapted to be connectable to forced air ducting.
6. The fixture of claim 1 , wherein the light socket is positioned to orient the lamp in a vertical orientation, wherein when a first end of the lamp is engaged with the light socket, a second end extends vertically downward toward the lower lip.
7. The fixture of claim 1 , further comprising the lamp, wherein the lamp comprises a high intensity discharge horticulture lamp.
8. The fixture of claim 1 , wherein the inlet duct and the outlet duct are oriented substantially opposite one another to allow the air flowing between the inlet duct and the outlet duct to flow substantially horizontally in relation to the lower lip.
9. The fixture of claim 1 , further comprising a transparent sheet coupled to the lower lip, wherein a lamp chamber is defined between the transparent sheet and the reflector interior.
10. The fixture of claim 9 , further comprising a frame removably attached to the lower lip, the frame coupling the transparent sheet to the lower lip.
11. The fixture of claim 9 , further comprising at least one hinge hook affixed to the housing and at least one correspondingly mating hinge slot member securably attached to the transparent sheet, each of the at least one hinge hook and at least one correspondingly mating hinge slot member allowing for the transparent sheet to be rotatably opened away from a closed position about the lower lip.
12. The fixture of claim 11 , wherein the transparent sheet is configured to be removed from the housing by lifting the at least one correspondingly mating hinge slot member off of the at least one hinge hook.
13. The fixture of claim 1 , further comprising a forced air source in air flow communication with the inlet duct to force air through the inlet duct, into the isolation chamber, and out the outlet duct.
14. A method of cooling a horticulture light fixture comprising:
(a) providing a horticulture light fixture comprising:
a housing comprising a housing interior, an inlet duct, an outlet duct, and a lower lip defining an opening;
a light socket surrounding structure comprising a lower flange and an upper flange, the upper flange affixed to the housing;
a reflector comprising a reflector interior, a reflector exterior, and an aperture; and
a light socket disposed within the light socket surrounding structure, the light socket adapted to selectively receive a lamp extending through the aperture to the reflector interior;
wherein the lower flange of the light socket surrounding structure is affixed around a perimeter of the aperture to define an isolation chamber between the reflector exterior and the housing interior, and
wherein the isolation chamber is in air flow communication with the inlet duct and the outlet duct and air flowing between the inlet duct and the outlet duct is prevented from commingling with air in the reflector interior;
(b) installing the lamp into the light socket;
(c) energizing the lamp; and
(d) flowing air between the inlet duct and the outlet duct.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the light socket is positioned to orient the lamp in a vertical orientation, wherein when a first end of the lamp is engaged with the light socket, a second end extends vertically downward toward the lower lip.
16. The method of claim 14 , wherein the lamp is a high intensity discharge horticulture lamp.
17. The method of claim 14 , wherein the inlet duct and the outlet duct are oriented substantially opposite one another to allow the air flowing between the inlet duct and the outlet duct to flow substantially horizontally in relation to the lower lip.
18. The method of claim 14 , wherein the horticulture light fixture further comprises a transparent sheet coupled to the lower lip, wherein a lamp chamber is defined between the transparent sheet and the reflector interior.
19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the horticulture light fixture further comprises at least one hinge hook affixed to the housing and at least one correspondingly mating hinge slot member securably attached to the transparent sheet, each of the at least one hinge hook and at least one correspondingly mating hinge slot member allowing for the transparent sheet to be rotatably opened away from a closed position about the lower lip.
20. The method of claim 14 , wherein the air flowing between the inlet duct and the outlet duct comprises unfiltered cooling air.