US3072875A

US3072875A - Dust-proof lamp sockets

Info

Publication number: US3072875A
Application number: US132280A
Authority: US
Inventors: Warren H Johnson; Robert E Fitzgerald
Original assignee: United Carr Fastener Corp
Current assignee: United Carr Fastener Corp
Priority date: 1961-08-16
Filing date: 1961-08-16
Publication date: 1963-01-08
Anticipated expiration: 1980-01-08

Description

Jan. 8, 1963 w. H. JOHNSON ETAL 3,072,875

DUST-PROOF LAMP socxms Original Filed Nov. 25, 1958 Imve niors Wavren H. J0 Wjumn Roaez if E. 1 2% zgew'aidg z WaE J-W 223 d State 3 Claims. (Cl. 339-101) Our invention aims to provide improvements in lamp socket and like assemblies. An object of the invention is to provide a housing member with a skirt portion extending from one end thereof and provided with one or more apertures through which a cable or wires may pass and be gripped tightly by the skirt to prevent passage of moisture and dust into the socket device where the contact members for a light bulb are housed.

A further object of the invention is to form a skirt portion from extruded plastic tubing, attach one end to a conventional lamp socket housing in any suitable manner and heat seal the other end of the extruded skirt to provide a single opening or two or more openings for the passage of a conductor wire or wires.

Referring now to the drawings which illustrate pre ferred embodiments of our invention:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of one form of our in vention having two conductor wire-receiving apertures in the skirt portion;

PEG. 2 is a partial section taken on the line 2-2 of KG. 3;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the device from the wirereceiving end thereof;

FIG. 4 is an elevational view of a modified form of device showing a single wire-receiving aperture in the skirt;

FIG. 5 is a partial section taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is an end view of the device shown in FIG. 4 from the wire-receiving end.

Our invention, as illustrated by FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 is particularly directed to a snap attached lamp socket housing having a hollow housing portion 1 which may be held in snap engagement with a support by the yieldable portions 2. This housing portion may hold .a suitable electrical means, not shown, and which is connected to suitable electric current supply by suitable wiring.

In order to make the housing mounting tight at the wiring end, we have provided a simple skirt construction 3 beyond one end of the housing portion 2. The construc tion of the skirt 3 depends on the device desired. It may be one piece with the housing or it may be a separate piece attached thereto. In the construction illustrated, the skirt 3 is formed from a tubular piece of extruded plastic. One end 4 is connected by a suitable adhesive 5 (FIG. 2) to the housing portion 1. The other end is flattened, trimmed, and has a semi-circular heat-sealed Unit 776,318, Nov. 25, Ser. No.

portion 6, thereby providing two wire-receiving apertured portions 77. Thus, when the wires 88 are inserted into the portions 77, they are tightly surrounded and gripped by those portions to form seals against the entrance of moisture or dust.

Referring more specifically to a modified form of our invention as shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, we have shown a hollow housing 1 which may be permanently attached to a support by a rivet or collar portion 9. In this construction we have provided a skirt 3 which is the same as that described above except that the flattened portion is different.

In some cases it may be advisable to have only a single wire-receiving aperture in which case we cut the flattened end at the corners and provide heat-sealed portions 10- it at opposite sides of a central wire-receiving apertured portion 11, as best shown in FIG. 4.

It will be seen that we have provided a simple, inexpensive means of providing a suitable electrical device with protection against damage by moisture or dust passing into the device from the wiring end. By making the skirt 3 from a simple inexpensive extruded piece of tubing, we eliminate expensive mold costs and we can vary the shape and utility by simple trimming and heatsealing operations. As shown in the drawings, the hollow portion 1, which may be a lamp socket shell for holding contact means for engagement with a lamp, has a diameter at least several times the diameter of ,the conductor means 8 and the internally cylindrical skirt 3 has a diameter snugly fitting on said hollow portion at 5 and hence initially several times the diameter of the conductor means 8. As is also shown on the drawings, the internally cylindrical skirt 3 has a portion thereof extending from said hollow portion 1, having a somewhat flattened configuration from the junction of the hollow portion 1 with the skirt 3 outward. The flattened portion has at least one cutaway portion extending from the end of the tubing. The hollow portion is seamed together along the edge of the cutaway portion. The flattened, cutaway, seamed portion thus defines a tapered section terminating at the said remote end of the tubing in a longitudinally directed opening defined by the wall '7 in FIGS. 1 through 3 and by the wall 11 in FIGS. 4 through 6 of a cross section to tightly surround the electrical conductor means and the seamed portions as best shown in the end views (FIGS. 3 and 6). The seamed portions afford a longitudinal thickened rib means stiflening the tapered portion. The tapered portion with the flattened, more or less webor wing-like portions, extend longitudinally from said seamed edges, thereby providing means for grasping the skirt in a region which does not obstruct passage of the conductor means through the skirt 3.

This application is a continuation of our application, Serial No. 776,318, filed November 25, 1958 now abandoned.

While we have illustrated and described two diflerent forms of our invention, it should be understood that we are not to be limited thereto because our invention is best defined by the following claims.

We claim:

1. In a lamp socket and like housing of the type comprising a hollow portion for housing contact means for engagement with a lamp and a flexible tubular skirt means connected at one end to said hollow portion and having its other end formed to tightly surround flexible electrical conductor means for feeding current to said contact means and in which said hollow portion has a diameter at least several times the diameter of said conductor means, the improved flexible tubular skirt means which consists of a single flexible piece of tubing of a diameter snugly fitting over said hollow portion, said tubing having a portion thereof flattened at .a point remote from said hollow portion, said flattened portion having at least one cutaway portion extending from the end of said tubing remote from said hollow portion and the walls of said flattened portion being seamed together along the edge of said cutaway portion, said flattened cutaway seamed portion defining a short tapering section terminating at said remote end of said tubing in a longitudinally directed opening of a cross section to tightly surround said flexible electrical conductor means, said seamed portion affording a longitudinal stiffening of said tapered portion facilitating the insertion of such flexible electrical conductor means therethrough.

2. The improvement of claim 1, said flattened portion having one said cutaway and seamed portion of arcuate shape centrally of said flattened end portion and defining two of said longitudinally directed openings for receiving separate electrical conductor means.

3. The improvement of claim 1, said flattened portion 5 having two said cutaway and seamed portions defining between them a single said longitudinally directed opening and stiffening two opposed sides of the tapered portion leading thereto.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Flood Jan. 9, 1951 Heller Mar. 22, 1955 Alfred et al Dec. 13, 1955 Franklin Aug. 28, 1956

Claims

1. IN A LAMP SOCKET AND LIKE HOUSING OF THE TYPE COMPRISING A HOLLOW PORTION FOR HOUSING CONTACT MEANS FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH A LAMP AND A FLEXIBLE TUBULAR SKIRT MEANS CONNECTED AT ONE END TO SAID HOLLOW PORTION AND HAVING ITS OTHER END FORMED TO TIGHTLY SURROUND FLEXIBLE ELECTRICAL CONDUCTOR MEANS FOR FEEDING CURRENT TO SAID CONTACT MEANS AND IN WHICH SAID HOLLOW PORTION HAS A DIAMETER AT LEAST SEVERAL TIMES THE DIAMETER OF SAID CONDUCTOR MEANS, THE IMPROVED FLEXIBLE TUBULAR SKIRT MEANS WHICH CONSISTS OF A SINGLE FLEXIBLE PIECE OF TUBING OF A DIAMETER SNUGLY FITTING OVER SAID HOLLOW PORTION, SAID TUBING HAVING A PORTION THEREOF FLATTENED AT A POINT REMOTE FROM SAID HOLLOW PORTION, SAID FLATTENED PORTION HAVING AT LEAST ONE CUTAWAY PORTION EXTENDING FROM THE END OF SAID TUBING REMOTE FROM SAID HOLLOW PORTION AND THE WALLS OF SAID FLATTENED PORTION BEING SEAMED TOGETHER ALONG THE EDGE PORTION DEFINING A SHORT TAPERING SECTION TERMINATING AT SAID REMOTE END OF SAID TUBING IN A LONGITUDINALLY DIRECTED OPENING OF A CROSS SECTION TO TIGHTLY SURROUND SAID FLEXIBLE ELECTRICAL CONDUCTOR MEANS, SAID SEAMED PORTION AFFORDING A LONGITUDINAL STIFFENING OF SAID TAPERED PORTION FACILITATING THE INSERTION OF SUCH FLEXIBLE ELECTRICAL CONDUCTOR MEANS THERETHROUGH.