Retractable Bollard Light

The present invention relates to a retractable bollard light, especially to a retractable bollard light that is configured to illuminate pathways and landscapes outdoors.

Bollard lights are commonly used in a yard or a park to illuminate pathways or grounds, or for landscaping purposes. The bollard lights are installed without cables set above the ground surface, and thus make the environment look neat. Hence, nowadays people tend to set the bollard lights in the yard rather than string lights.

However, the conventional bollard lights may affect movements of vehicles or people on the ground. For example, the bollard lights installed beside a drive way may limit the width of the vehicles, the bollard lights installed on a lawn may affect a mower operation, and the bollard lights installed by a pedestrian pathway may affect movements of the wheel chairs or the visually impaired.

To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a retractable bollard light to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.

The main objective of the present invention is to provide a retractable bollard light that is capable of retracting to be underground.

The retractable bollard light has a shell set and a main body. The shell set is configured to be set underground. The shell set includes an outer shell, an inner shell, and a top cover. The outer shell is tubular, the inner shell is tubular and is disposed in the outer shell, and the top cover is mounted on a top end of the outer shell and a top end of the inner shell. The top cover has a top surface and a bottom surface opposite to each other, and a top opening formed through the top surface and the bottom surface. The main body is movably disposed in the shell set, and the main body has a moving assembly, a light source assembly, and a power module. The moving assembly is mounted in the inner shell and is movable with respect to the inner shell along an extending direction of the inner shell. The light source assembly is mounted on the moving assembly and thereby is movable along with the moving assembly, and the light source assembly is disposed in the inner shell and is capable of moving out from the inner shell through the top opening. The power module is electrically connected to the moving assembly and the light source assembly.

With the moving assembly, the main body is moveable upward or downward with respect to the inner shell. When in use, the light source assembly of the main body moves through the top opening to an exterior of the inner shell; when not in use, the main body retracts back into the inner shell and returns underground. Therefore, the retractable bollard light may be retracted when not in use or for special needs to avoid affecting the activities on the ground.

Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

With reference to, a retractable bollard light in accordance with the present invention comprises a shell setand a main body. The retractable bollard light has a retracted state as shown inand an extended state as shown in.

With reference to, the shell setis configured to be set underground, and the shell setincludes an outer shell, an inner shell, and a top cover. The outer shellis tubular and is arranged along an up-down direction.

The inner shellis also tubular, and the inner shellis disposed in the outer shellalong an extending direction of the outer shell. In this embodiment, the inner shellis spaced apart from the outer shell, in other words, a gap is formed between the inner shelland the outer shell, thus being convenient for a user to set the inner shell, but it is not limited thereto.

The inner shellhas a gear rackand a guide track. The gear rackis mounted on an inner wall surfaceof the inner shell, and the gear rackextends along an extending direction of the inner shell. Likewise, the guide trackis mounted on the inner wall surfaceof the inner shell, and the guide trackextends along the extending direction of the inner shell.

To be more precise, in this embodiment, a cross-section of the inner shellis polygonal, and thus the inner shellhas multiple inner wall surfaceswhich are connected with each other and together surround an interior of the inner shell, and the gear rackand the guide trackare each formed on a respective one of the inner wall surfaces. Moreover, the inner shellmay have multiple guide tracksrespectively formed on different ones of the inner wall surfaces, but it is not limited thereto.

In this embodiment, the guide trackhas a grooveextending along the extending direction of the inner shell, but it is not limited thereto, as a configuration of the guide trackmay be altered according to need.

With reference to, the top coveris mounted on a top endof the outer shelland a top endof the inner shell; to be more precise, the top coverseals the top endof the outer shelland the top endof the inner shellto prevent water or dust falling into the gap between the inner shelland the outer shell. In this embodiment, the top coveris detachably mounted on the outer shelland the inner shell, thereby facilitating ease in installation and uninstallation.

The top coverhas a top surface, a bottom surface, a top opening, a scraper unit, and a roller. The top surfaceand the bottom surfaceare opposite to each other. In this embodiment, the top surfacefaces upward and is level with a ground surface.

The top openingis formed through the top surfaceand the bottom surface, and thereby an exterior of the inner shelland the interior of the inner shellspatially communicate with each other. In this embodiment, the top openingis shaped rectangular with rounded corners, but it is not limited thereto.

The scraper unitsurrounds the top openingand protrudes inwardly from an edge of the top opening. In this embodiment, the scraper unitis mounted between the top surfaceand the bottom surface, but in another embodiment, the scraper unitmay be mounted on the top surfaceor the bottom surface. The scraper unitis elastic and contacts the main body, thereby preventing water or dust entering the inner shellvia the top opening.

The rolleris rotatably mounted on the bottom surfaceof the top coverand arranged around the top opening; to be more precise, the rolleris cylindrical and is arranged extending along an edge of the top opening. The rollercontacts the main bodyand thereby helps the main bodymove smoothly.

With reference to, the main bodyis movably disposed in the shell set.

With reference to, the main bodyhas a moving assembly, a light source assembly, and a power module.

The moving assemblyis mounted in the interior of the inner shell, and the moving assemblyis capable of moving with respect to the inner shellalong the extending direction of the inner shell. The moving assemblyhas a casing, a motor, a gear, and a guiding unit. The motoris mounted in the casing, and the gearis rotatably mounted on the motor. The gearis located outside of the casingand engages with the gear rack, and thus the motoris capable of driving the gearto move along the gear rack.

With reference to, the guiding unitis mounted on a bottom side of the casingand protrudes radially to contact the guide track, thereby the guiding unitbeing movable along the guide trackand preventing the main bodyfrom rotating with respect to the inner shellduring moving.

To be more precise, the guiding unithas a wheeldisposed in the grooveof the guide track, and the wheelis capable of rolling in the groove, a width of the wheelis equal to a width of the groove, thereby helping reducing effect of friction between the guiding unitand the guide track, such that the main bodymay move smoothly. In another embodiment, the configurations of the guiding unitand the guide trackmay be altered according to need.

With reference to, the light source assemblyis mounted on the moving assembly, such that the light source assemblyis movable along with the moving assembly. The light source assemblyis disposed in the interior of the inner shelland is capable of moving out from the inner shellthrough the top opening.

The light source assemblyhas a housing, a driving module, an illumination unit, and a link. The housingis connected to the moving assembly, and with reference to, the housinghas an upper surfacewhich faces upward, and the upper surfaceis level with the top surfaceof the top coverwhen the retractable bollard light is in the retracted state.

With reference to, in this embodiment, the housingis shaped as a rectangular cuboid, and the scraper unitcontacts an outer wall surface of the housing. In addition, the rollerof the top coveralso contacts the outer wall surface of the housingto help the main bodymove smoothly.

With reference to, the driving moduleis mounted in the housing, and the illumination unitis pivotably mounted in the housing. The linkconnects with the driving moduleand the illumination unit, such that the driving moduleis capable of driving the illumination unitto pivot.

In this embodiment, the illumination unitis capable of pivoting around a horizontal axis, and thus the illumination unitmay change an illuminating angle up or down. With reference to, when the driving modulepulls the linkdownward, the linkwould pull the illumination unitaccordingly, and thus the illumination unitilluminates upward, vice versa. In addition, the light source assemblymay have two illumination unitsand two links, one of the linksconnects with one of the illumination unitsand the driving module, and the other one of the linksconnects with the two illumination units, thereby the two illumination unitsbeing synchronized, but it is not limited thereto.

Besides, with reference to, the light source assemblymay have a limit blocksecurely mounted in the housing, and thereby a moving range of the linkis limited. To be more precise, the linkmay further have a limit recess, and the limit blockwould engage with the limit recessas the driving modulekeeps moving the linkalong the same direction, and thus a moving range of the linkas well as a range of the illuminating angle of the illumination unitis limited, but it is not limited thereto, as the light source assemblymay not have the limit block.

With reference to, the power moduleis electrically connected to the moving assemblyand the light source assembly, and the power moduleis capable of controlling the moving assemblyto move, the illumination unitto illuminate, and the driving moduleto change the illuminating angle of the illumination unitwith a controlling circuit, and the power modulealso serves as a power supply.

In this embodiment, the power moduleis disposed in the casingof the moving assembly, but it is not limited thereto. In addition, the power modulemay be capable of slowly retracting the main bodyafter switched off. To be more precise, with reference to, the power modulemay have a power storagethat includes capacitorshaving large capacitance. The capacitorsare electrically connected to the moving assemblyof the main body. The capacitorsof the power storageare charged when the retractable bollard light is switched on, and once the retractable bollard light is switched off, the power storageis still capable of supplying electricity to the motor, and the main bodyslowly moves down to retract.

With reference to, when the retractable bollard light is extended, the motordrives the gearto rotate, and the moving assemblymoves upward along the gear rackof the inner shell. The guiding unitrolls in the guide track, and the rollerof the top covercontacts the housingof the light source assemblyand rotates.

On the other hand, when the retractable bollard light is switched off, the power storagedischarges and supplies power to the motor, the gearthus rotates at a constant speed with respect to the gear rack, and the main bodyretracts downward in a slow manner instead of free falling.

The retractable bollard light can be retracted to the retracted state when not in use. Since the shell setis arranged underground and the upper surfaceof the top coverand the upper surfaceof the housingare level with the ground surface, the retractable bollard light would not affect the movements of vehicles or devices on the ground.

Since the shell setmay be separated into the outer shelland the inner shell, and the top coveris detachable from the outer shelland the inner shell, it would be easy for the user to install or uninstall the bollard light.

The user may leave the outer shellunderground and move out the inner shellas well as the main bodyafter removing the top coverwhen the user is to conduct maintenance to the main body.

In addition, since the retractable bollard light is installed with parts underground, how to prevent water, dust, or any other small objects falling into the retractable bollard light is crucial. As a solution, the scraper unitof the top coverfills a gap between the top coverand the light source assemblyas well as the top coverseals the top endof the outer shelland the top endof the inner shellto prevent water or dust falling into the inner shell, hence reducing risk of damage.

When the main bodyis moving, the guide trackas well as the guiding unitmay prevent the main bodyrotating, and the wheelof the guiding unitand the rollerof the top coveralso help the main bodymove smoothly, thus wearing of the components as well as frequency of maintenance of the retractable bollard light may be decreased.

Furthermore, the illuminating angle of the illumination unitis changeable with the driving moduleand the link, such that an illumination range of the retractable bollard light can be adjusted according to occasions or weather.

Moreover, as the main bodyis retracted with the preserved electricity in the power storage, the retractable bollard light can be directly switched off, instead of cutting off the power supplied to the motor, the illumination unit, and the driving moduleseparately, and thus a control design of the retractable bollard light may be simplified.

Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and features of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in the details, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.