US1238850A - Portable electric light. - Google Patents

Description

s'. w. W ACKER. PORTABLE ELECTRIC LIGHT.

APPLICATION FILED APELZZ, i916.

mmase t. 4,1917.

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GEORGE W. WACKER, 0F RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO 'NATIONAL CARBON COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. L, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

romantic" ntncrnrc LIGHT.

. Specification of Letters Yatcnt. Patented Sept]. 4, llHill'i.

Application filednpril 22, 1916. Serial No. 92,847.

To all whom it may concern:

'Be it known that I, GEORGE W. Wnoxnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Rutherford, in the county of Bergen and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements-in Portable Electric Lights, of which the following is a supporting metal reflector. Tubular" flashlights ofthis kind having an electrically conductive lamp socket insulated-from the exposed metal fittings or casing parts are disclosed in the patent to Conrad Hubert No. 1,157,395 of October 19, 1915, for a portable electric light, and also in the patent to Conrad Hubert No. 1,2205%. of Marc-h27, 1917, for a portable electric light.

An important object of ,my present invention is to produce a construction which is simpler, stronger, more reliable and less expensive to manufacture than constructions heretofore employed. Another im-- portant object of my invention is to provide, in a construction having an insulated lamp socket, for the employmentor embodiment therein of the improved lamp socket which forms the subject of my application tar patent filed on even date herewith as Serial No. 92,846. Other objects and advantages of my invention will hereinafter appear.

My inyeention includes an annulus of insulating material upon one edge of which an edge of the metal reflector is turned over in'gripping relation and upon the other edge of which a contact-making or circuitcompleting flange extending from the electrically conductive lamp socket is turned over in gripping relation, whereby the electrically conductive lamp socket is supported upon and insulated from the reflector by the intermediary insulating annulus. My invention more particularly includes an an nular insulating disk to the inner edge of which the inner edge of the reflector is secured and to the outer edge of which the contact plate which carries the lamp socket is secured, the lamp socket projecting, in spaced relation to the reflector, into a central socket-receiving opening'which the re flector provides. My invention also includes other features. oflconstruction and combinations of parts as will appear from the following description.

I shall now describethe tubular. portable electric lightillustrated inithe accompany ing drawings'embodying my invention and shall-thereafter point out my invention in claimsfl Figure 1 is a cen tral longitudinal section of a portable electric light in which my invention' is embodied, with the circuit in the closed condition. V

Fig. 2 is an elevation, partly in section and with parts omitted, as-seen from above in Fig. 1 and with the circuit inthe open condition. I

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectionon a plane indicated by the lines 33 viewed from the right.

. Fig. l is an enlarged partial transverse section on a plane indicated by the lines l4 of Fig. 1 as viewed from the left, the lamp and the outer casing being omitted.

Fig. 5 is a similar section ona plane indicated by the lines 55 of Fig. 1 as viewed from the right.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged longitudinal section in the plane of Fig. 1 of the lamp socket and its insulating and supporting means, including the reflector, and showing the lamp in elevation.

The particular tubular portable electric light or flashlight illustrated in the accompanying drawings as embodying my invention has a battery-containing casing which includes a main cylindrical or tubular part 1 of metal. A usual metallic end cap 2 is screw-threaded over the rear end of the tube 1 and is provided at the inside with a usual battery-supporting electrically conductive spiral thrust spring 3.

The casing contains a battery shown as comprising two cells having a Zinc cup 4: forming one terminal oi the cell and having a carbon central end terminal 5, these batof Fig. 1 as tery cells being contained in a usual paper of the battery, is in contact with the central 35 example, fits snugly over the neck 14 and terminal 7 of; an ordinary miniature incandescent lamp having a bulb 8 and ausual ann'ul'ar screw tlirea'ded base 9 which forms the otherterminal of the lamp.

A usual fla ged metal ring lo is scrlew "threaded over he 'f rward end of the metal casing tube 1 and h lds in 'place'a usual lens -.11 and a lamp-supportingmetallic reflector 12 which is shown-a! held atits out-turned outer or peripheral edge between the lens 11- and an inturned flange'shown as provided upon" the outerscrew-threaded end of the tubular casing art 1. It is tobe noted that I the metallic re ector 12 is inelec'trically conthe battery through the, casing-tube 1, the- 'ductive relation with the metal casing tube 1 and' t'he metal 'end ring 10, and is-therefore electrically connected to the zinc terminal of metal end cap: 2 andthe thrust spring 3. Means involving my invent on and now to M be described are provided for supporting the lamp from the reflector 12. in insulated relation thereto, sothat the lamp circuit "may be part 14 between which is formed an inwardly .completed through its terminal 9, which forms also a supporting base for the lamp.-

The metallic reflector 12 is provided with a central tubular extension which provides a central socket-receiving opening, this tubular extension being shown as comprising a larger'forward part 13-and a reduced rear directed outer shoulder 15, as clearly appears in the drawings, particularly in Fig. 6. An

1- gripped-and securely annular insulating disk 16 of suitable insulating material such as vulcanized fiber, for

abuts against the shoulder 15 and is firmly held in place by means of a flange 17 turned over outwardly the inner edge of the neck 14 of the tubular extension from the reflector 12, the inner edge of the annular'insulating disk 16 being thus grippedand held by the inner edge of the reflector 12 so that the insulating disk 16 is securely supported upon the reflector 12.

A metallic lamp socket 18 projects outwardly into the metal socket-receiving open- -ing provided by the reflector 12 in spaced relation to the reflector at its neck or reduced part 14. The tubular lamp socket 18 is supported by a circuit-completing plate or contact plate 19, shown as formed in one piece with or from the same piece of metal as the lamp socket 18 and shown as forming a flange at the inner end of the tubular lamp socket 18. The contact plate 19 is spaced backwardly away. from the turned-over j flange 17 of the reflector by means of an an- -nular off-set or short cylindrical portion 20 which forms outwardly therefrom a flat annular seat or shoulder 21 having an outer peripheral rim 22 forming with the shoulder 21a cup or receptacle into which the outer edge or peripheral portion of the anfrom nular insulating disk 16 snugly fitsiand the free outer edge of the short cylindrical cup part 22 is turned over inwardly upon the outer edge of the insulating disk 16 to form an inturned-gripping flange 23 whlch firmly clamps the outer edge of the insulating dlsk 16 against the shoulder 21, whereby the contact plate 19 and the lamp socket 18 are suported by the intermediate annular insulatl-ng 'disk 16 upon the metallic reflector 12 its screw threaded base 9 is electrically conductive relation with the tubular socket part 18 but is insulated from the reflector 12 and the outer metal casing parts 'by the annular insulating-disk 16 -by which the lamp.

socket 18 and lamp are supported.

' 'Any suitable circuit-controlling mcans' may be provided for electrically connecting, the contact plate 19 with somemetallic partof the casing which is in electrical connec-' tion with the zinc terminal of the battery through the thrust spring 3. In the constructlon illustrated in the drawings, a longitudinally movable contact strip 24 is turned inward at its forward free end for controlling parts, this friction bein in-.

creased by means of a strip 28 of suitable material, such as fiber, interposed between the slide 25 and the outer surface of the metal casing tube 1, this fiber strip 28 also preventing'the scratching of the polished outer surface of the casing tube 1, the fiber strip 28 being held in place by the-tubular rivets 26,- as appears in Fig. l.

and are electrically insulated therefrom, so that the lamp .circuit s interrupted at tlllS. point. The terminal of the lamp formed by The lamp socket or tubular socket member 18 illustrated in the drawings is of the construction which forms the subject of my hereinbefore mentioned application for patcut for lamp socket. This socket member 18 1s a smooth cylindrical tube which freely receives the screw-threaded lamp base 9 of the lamp and at one of its sides is provided with a transversely slotted opening 29 which is slightly inclined to correspond with the screw-thread of the lamp base 9. The lamp base 9 is held in good conductive relation with the socketmember 18 and is gripped and held against unscrewing by means ofa split r ng 30 .of spring wire which engages and grips the outside of the tubular socket scribed within the member 18 and which has at one end a straight portion, as appears in the drawings, which enters or passes transversely through and beyond the slot 29 in the tubular socket member 18 and engages and presses upon the lamp base 9 in the groove formed by its screw-thread, it being noted that the resilient lamp-holding split ring 30 does not come in contact with the adjacent neck 1a of the reflector 12, from which the lamp socket 18,

split ring 30 and lamp base 9 are insulated by the means hereinbefore described involving my present'dnvention. The construction provided by my present invention is paricularly adapted for supporting the lamp socket of my invention with which it is shown as embodied in asingle construction. However, in carrying out my present invention a different form of lamp socket 'could be employed, for example, the usual screw-threaded form of lamp socket.

It is obvious that variousmodifications may be made in the construction shown in the drawings and above particularly deprinciple and scope of my invention. I

I claim:

'1. A portable electric light having, in combination, a'conductive reflector provided with a socket-receiving opening, a conductiv'e lamp socket in the opening and spaced out of contact with the reflector, and an annular insulating disk supporting the lamp socket on the reflector in insulated relation therewith and to the inner edge of which the reflector is secured. and to the outer edge of which the lamp socket is secured.

2. A portable electric light having, in combination, a conductive reflector, an an nular insulating disk engaged at its inner edge by and supported upon the reflector, a

conductive contact plate engaging the outer edge of the insulating disk and supported thereon, and a conductive lamp socket car? ried by the contact plate in spaced relation to the reflector. e

3. A portable electric light having, in

Gopies of this patent may 'be obtained for ing disk, and a conductive lamp socketcarried by the contact plate and projecting into the socket-receiving opening of the reflector in spaced relation to the reflector.

4. A portable electric light having, in combination, a conductive reflector, an annulus of-insulating material having opposite-edges upon one of which the reflector is turned over and grips, and a conductive lamp socket having a contact flange turned over upon and gripping the other edge of the insulating annulus.

5. A portable electric light having, in combination, a conductive reflector provided with a socket-receiving opening, an annulus of insulatin material having opposite edges upon one or which the inner edge of the reflector is turned over and grips, a conductive contact plate turned over upon and gripping the other edge of the insulating annulus, and a conductive lamp socket carried by the contact plate and projecting into the socket-receiving opening of the reflector in spaced relation to the reflector.

6. A portable electric light having in combination, a conductive reflector provided with an opening, an annular insulating disk upon the inner edge of which the inner edge of the reflector is turned over to grip the insulating disk, a conductive contact plate the outer edge of which is turned over upon and grips the outer edge of the insulating disk and which inwardly from its outer turnedover edge is provided with an annular offset which spaces the contact disk from the turned-over inner edge of the reflector, and a conductive lamp socket carried by the contact plate in spaced relation to the reflector;

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature.

- GEORGE W. WACKER.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 63.

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