US2044290A - Wiring device - Google Patents

Description

`gime i6, 1936. A E, GRAN-|- 2,044,290

WIRING DEVICE Enea Aug. 16, 1934 INVENTOR Patented June 16, 1936 WIRING DEVICE Albert E. Gra-nt, New York, N. Y., assignor to Raylite Trading` Co. Inc., New York, N. Y.

Application August 16, 1934, serial N0. '140,043

1 Claim.

My invention relates to wiring devices and a principal object of my invention is to provide an improved lamp socket of efficient and eco-nomical construction which may be more conveniently connected or disconnected from its supporting fixture.

Another principal object is to provide a device of this character having a plurality of separable casing portions of insulating material and improved means for securely holding the portions in assembled relation, said means comprising interlocking conducting parts entirely housed within the casing.

A further object is to provide an improved lamp socket which may be securely attached to a wire carrying xture and which may be electrically connected without a surplusage of wire such as might result in shorting the electric circuit, and other and further objects will appear from the following specification.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure 1 is a vertical elevation of a lamp socket embodying my improved features of construction.

Figure 2 is a sectional View taken on line 2 2 of Figure 1, showing the conducting parts of the device connected and interlocked.

Figure 3 is a similar section taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is an inverted plan View of the device.

Figure 5 is a vertical section taken on line 5-5 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a similar section taken on line 6-6 of Figure 2.

Figure 7 is a section taken on line 1 1 of Figure 3, illustrating the catch employed for holding the portions in their interlocked relation, and

Figure 8 is a sectional View similar to Figure 2 illustrating the positions of the conductor members when they are unconnected and the casing portions are in separable relation.

The casing for the device is made of insulating composition, such as hard rubber, and comprises a cap portion I0 and a body portion ll. The cap portion is provided with a downwardly extending circumferential flange l2 which ts over the side walls of the body portion and has a central opening therein at I3, the walls of which are threaded so that the cap may be secured to a standard wire carrying xture. On opposite inner sides of the cap its walls are formed to provide buttresses I0-||l which are recessed at Ill-I4 to receive the conducting lugs Iii-I6 and the ends of binding screws Iii-I5. The binding screws are threaded into the conducting lugs lS-li, respectively, which, in turn, are secured to the cap by means of drive screws l'I-I'I. The conductors I 5 are of resilientconducting metal and extend arcuately and in a substantially lateral plane, as shown.

The body portion il is cylindrical and is partitioned by a wall i8 which divides it into two chambers, an upper chamber i9 and a lower chamber 20. Housed in the lower chamber and lining the interior walls thereof is a threaded contact 2l adapted to receive a lamp or a male threaded plug. The contact 2i has an integral flange 22 whereby it is riveted to the wall I 8. The riveting is accomplished by means of an eyelet 23, made of conducting metal, which also secures a conductor strip 25 to the partition wall in. the upper chamber. The conductor 25 is of reduced width adjacent its ends and is bent to extend thru a key-shaped slot 24 formed in the chamber wall. It extends above the top of the body portion and is inwardly bent adjacent its upper free end to provide an integral ange 26 adapted to slide over and frictionally engage one of the lug conductors i6.

Diametrically opposite the flange 22, the upper edge of the threaded contact shell is cut away to accommodate a rectangular bead 2 embossed on the under side of the partition Wall. This bead serves to supplement the eyelet 23 in holding the threaded contact in position and surrounds a contact 28 which is secured to the partition by means of an eyelet 3l. This eyelet extends thru the partition and also secures a conductor 32 in the upper chamber to the partition wall. The conductor 32 is in all respects similar to the conductor 25, is similarly retained in a slot 24 of the casing wall and is bent inwardly at its top to provide a ange 26' for engaging one of the lug conductors I6.

As best shown in Figure 7, a chamber 35 is moulded integral with the wall of the upper chamber and the upper edge of the body portion is notched or cut away to provide a rectangular opening 36 in communication with the chamber 35. A spring catch 31 comprising a single corrugated strip of resilient metal is inserted in the chamber 35 and is outwardly bent adjacent its upper end to extend thru the opening 36. The flange I2 of the cap is also notched or cut away in register with the opening 36 whereby the cap is engaged by the projecting end of the spring catch to prevent the cap from being accidentally turned relative to the body portion, as when a lamp or plug is being screwed or unscrewed in relation to the socket.

To connect the device in relation to a standard xture, the cap is first removed from the body portion. This is accomplished by pressing the exposed end of the catch downwardly until it is clear of the cap flange I2, as indicated in broken lines in Figure '7, and then turning the cap and body portions of the casing relative to each other until the anges 26 and 26 are disengaged from the respective conductors l5, the casing portions being then separated.

The current carrying wires are then drawn thru the central opening in the cap and the cap is threaded onto the xture. The ends ofthe Wires are thereupon rmly connected tothe binding screws in the usual manner. It should be noted here that no surplusage of wire is requiredl to effect the connection and the possibility of short circuit from such cause is thereby eliminated. After the wiring has been completed, the upper end of the body portion is reinserted in the cap with the conductors positioned as shown in Figure 8 and the casing portions are turned relativeto each other to connect and interlock the conductors of the respective portions, whereupon the spring catch will again snap into the notched portion of the cap.

In this manner and by these means the portions are firmly interlocked and secured in assembled relation and a positive electrical connection is effected between the binding terminals and the respective contacts 2| and 30.

It will be noted that the upper chamber of the body portion is substantially void and is well adapted to house a switch mechanism if desired.

Having thus described my invention, I claim A lamp socket scomprising a body'portion of moulded insulating material formed with a partition between its ends to provide an upper and lower chamber, the upper chamber having vertically extending slots formed in the side wall of the body portion, conductors of sheet metal riveted to said partitionV and extending therefrom thru said slots and having their upper ends bent to extend laterally; a cap of insulating material -having conductors xed on its inner wall and bent laterally to engage and interlock with the 20 Y ALBERT E. GRANT.

Images