US1825920A - Fixture mounting hickey - Google Patents

Description

R.. PoPP 1,825,920'

" FIXTURE IOUNTING HICKEY Fnd laren 18. 1929 ff. i,

Patented Oct. 6, 1931 UNITED STATES RUDOLF POPP, OF VALPARAISO, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO MCGILL MANUFACTURING PATENT OFFICE.

COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF INDIANA FIXTURE MOUNTING HICKEY Application Ied March 18, 1929. Serial No. 348,011.

My invention relates to means for mounting lighting fixtures and more particularly to a separable two piece unit adapted to connect a lighting fixture to a permanent support within an electrical outlet such for instance as the ceiling outlet box for ceiling fixtures.

The principal purpose of this invention is to provide a device of this character of simi ple construction that may be readily attached to the support in the electrical outlet and which will occupy a minimum of space between the ceiling and fixtures.

It is also a purpose of this invention to provide a separable unit of this character Wherein one portion of the unit may be fixed to the support in the outlet and the other portion of the unit assembled with the fixtures, and the two thereafter securely fastened together without the use of extra parts such as bolts or screws and the like.

Another purpose of this invention is to provide a two piece unit of this character which can be readily assembled after the wiring is completed without having to twist the fixture around and run the risk of marring either the fixture or wall upon which it is secured. This unit is also exceptionally useful in the process of wiring or hanging the fixtures since it forms a convenient means for temporarily supporting the fixtures while the wiring connections are being made after which the two elements of the unit Inay be locked together by a simple turning operation, and will thereafter be held against separation by the weight of the fixture or its downward pull.

I will describe one form which the invention may take by reference to the accom panying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a sectional View of a fixture mounted in position upon a ceiling by means of my mounting unit;

Fig. 2 is an end view of one of the elements r of the unit;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the other element of the unit; and

Fig. 4. is a View similar to Fig. 3 of a modified form.

Referring now in detail to the drawings,

I show at 5 a ceiling having therein the usual outlet box 6 into which a conduit 7 extends and is secured by means of the collar 8. A fixture 9 is adapted to be supported from this outlet box 6 and the projection 7 is the usual place for connecting the supporting means for such fixtures. The element .connecting the projection 7 with the fixture itself is commonly termed in the trade a hickey, and in the present device this connection is made by a two piece unit consisting of the member 10 having an aperture at 11 therein fitting over the end 7 and firmly secured thereto by ymeans of the nut 12. The member 10 has a depending extension 13 which, as shown clearly in Fig. 2, has a slot lor aperture 14 therein that is formed by `the intersection of two rectangular slots 15 and 1G extending at a slight angle to each other.

the slot 15 being the longer of the two.

The other half of the unit consists of the member 17 shown in perspective in Fig. 3 having an up-turned extension 18 which has a lateral projection 19 provided with ears 20 and 21 at the free end thereof. This projection 19 is, between the ears 2() and 21 and its base, of substantially the same width as the length of the slot 16 so as to fit snugly therein. Ears 2O and 21 form an end portion on the projection 19 which is considerably wider than the length of the slot 16 and in fact is made substantially the same width as the length of the slot 15. Opposite this upward extension 18, the member 17 is provided with a shelf 22, the purpose of which will be described more fully hereinafter.

The two members 10 and 17 are made of sufficiently strng metal to withstand the weight of the fixtures without bending or distortion and may readily be assembled in the following manner:

. Member 10 is first mounted in the position as shown in Fig. 1 and the member 17, after having the fixture 9 fastened thereto in some suitable manner to hold it up close enough for making wiring connections, is turned at a slight angle to the horizontal so as to align the projection 19 with the slot 15, and then is moved to bring the extensions 13 and 18 flat a against each other with the projection 19 extending through the slot 15.

To then securely lock the device against y removal by any ordinary shock or accident,

it is only necessary to give the member 17 a slight turn about a horizontal axis so as to align it with the member 10 and cause the member 19 to lit into the slot 16, and this is the final resting position ot' the connector or hickey. Projections 20 and 21, of course, bear against the outside ot the extension 13 and prevent withdrawal of the projection 19 from its slot. The overlapping extensions 13 and 1S give added rigidity to the structure at this point; and, since the weight of the ixture is a direct downward pull, the tendency ot this weight is to maintain the member 17 vertically aligned with the member 10 and to hold the projection 19 interiocked with the slot 16.

The member 17, as shown, is adapted to have mounted upon the shelf 2Q switch indicated generally by the numeral 23, and aise has in the central base portion thereof a connecting eiement 2st adapted to have a screw-threaded iXture support 25 screwed thereinto. This iixture support has at its lower end the usual securing nut Q6 which, when tightened up, serves to torce the iX- ture up in position against the ceiling. The member is also usually made hollow so that the switch controlling cord or chain QT may project downwardly therethrough.

F shows a slightly moditied form ot member 17, in which the extension 22 is provided with an upturned portion 28 apertured at Q9 to receive a. switch having a projecting mounting stem, which may be passed through aperture Q9 and secured thereto with anut or other securing means.

The elements designated by the numerals 23 to 2T, however, are merely utilized in this instance illustrations of how ay fixture may be mounted upon the lower member 17 ot' the mounting unit, as it is obvious that various other means ot securing the ixture to the member 17 may be employed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

It is thought that the above description will make the construction and use of this device clear to those skilled in the art and the advantages thereof readily apparent.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A device for supporting lighting lixtures comprising a member adapted for connection to a wiring outlet, a member having means for supporting a. lighting fixture and means on said members detachably connecting them together, said connecting means comprising a compound slot in one of said members made up of a pair of intersecting rectangular slots of different lengths and a projecting portion on the other member having an end portion of a width exceeding the length of the shorter slot and less than the length of the longer slot, and an intermediate portion of a width to fit in the shorter slot.

2. A device for supporting lighting tixtures and the like comprising a member having means whereby it may be connected to a wiring outlet, said member having a fiat portion projecting downwardly from said outlet and at one side thereof, a member having means for supporting a lighting tixture., said last named member having an upwardly extending flat portion overlapping said irst named portion, and means for interlocking said members comprising a locking slot in one ot' said portions, .and a projection on the other insertible endwise through said siot when said portions are placed against each other in one position and having means locking said portions together upon a. slight angular n'iovement of one of sain portions relative to the other.

ln witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 28th day of February, A. D.

RUDOLF POPP.

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