US2993193A - Solderless light socket - Google Patents

Description

July 18, 1961 J sc 2,993,193

SOLDERLESS LIGHT SOCKET Filed May 11, 1959 IN VEN TOR.

JACOB SCHMIER ATTORNEY Filed May 11, 1959, Ser. No. 812,345 2 Claims. (Cl. 339-180) My invention relates to an electric lamp socket of the pigtail type.

Heretofore, pigtail type electric lamp sockets have had the lead wires attached thereto by means of soldered JOlntS. In order to compel the solder to adhere to the wire conductors and to the metal parts of the socket, 1t is necessary to use a cleaning agent known to the trade as flux. This flux has always been a source of trouble because deposits of a solid residue are left on the socket after assembly. After the soldered pigtail socket is in use, two types of failure occur which are directly traceable to the residual deposits of flux. One type of failure is a short circuit across these deposits of solid residue; another type of failure is corrosion and mechanical failure of the metal parts of the socket and the wire electncal conductors. Under some atmospheric conditions these failures have resulted in explosions.

It is an object of my invention to disclose a new method of fastening lead wires to pigtail type electric lamp sockets accomplished by means of mechanical clamping or clinching.

It is another object of my invention to provide mechamcal means of connecting lead wires to pigtail electric lamp sockets, which means are not afiected by atmospheric conditions.

Another object of my invention is to provide means of connecting lead wires to pigtail sockets which is superior in strength to existing methods, and which is easily and economically produced.

With the above and related objects in view, which will become evident from the detailed description heremafter set forth, my invention consists in the details of construction and combination of parts as described and shown on the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shell of the lamp socket for holding the base of an electric light bulb. The conventional outer casing of metal or of rubber, which may encircle the cylindrical portion of the shell is not shown.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view showing the elements of the pigtail type of electrical lamp.

FIG. 3 is a sectional View taken along line 33 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a modification of the shell without any insulators thereon.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 6 is another view of the modification of the shell having one extruded member.

Referring now in greater detail to the drawing wherein similar reference charactersrefer to similar parts, I

show in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, a threaded shell of metal,

generally designated as A, adapted to hold a screw base electric light bulb, which has a cylindrical side 10 with threads 12 adjacent the open end of the shell; and it has a substantially closed base 14 .(see FIG. 4). A plurality of openings 16, 18 and 20 are in the metal circular base 14 for reasons hereinafter to be explained. The base 14 is adapted to have disc- like insulators 22 and 24 engaging each of its sides with the'insulator 24 being located Within the shell A. V a

A wire holding lug, generally designated as B is adapted to have prongs 25 fit through complementary nited States Patent 0 i Patented July 18, 1961 ice openings in the insulator 22 and complementary openings 18 in the base 14 of shell A (FIGS. 2 and 3) in order to grasp and to be anchored to the circular base 14 thereby providing electrical contact to the threaded portion 12 of the shell A. An extension 26 on the lug B has side flanges 28 and 30 which are adapted to be pressed around the wire 32 of an insulated conductor, generally designated as C. The central contact, generally designated as D, which must be insulated from the shell, has a bulb engaging end 34 which is adapted to receive the central contact of the electric light bulb and it has a cylindrical portion 36 which passes through the openings in the insulators 22' and 24, and it passes through the central opening 16 of the circular base '14. When the end of the cylindrical portion'36 is peened over, it is adapted to hold the wire holding contact, generally designated as E, in position. The wire holding contact E has a circular ring-like portion 38 and a pair of flanges 40 and 42 which are pressed around the wire portion 32 of the insulated conductor C.

Through the opening 20 of the circular base 14 and the aligned opening 20A in the disc insulator 22 is a holding rivet 44 whose ends abut a portion of the insulator disc 22 and the circular base 14. The holding rivet 44 retains the insulator disc 22 in a predetermined position on the base 14 and prevents the contact D from engaging the conductive bulb-holding shell A.

The lug B serves to clamp the conductor 32 to the shell A and it also serves as part of the clamp to hold the disc insulator 22 upon the circular base 14.

The central contact D of the lamp socket is insulated from the shell A by virtue of the two insulator discs 22, 24.

In FIGS. 4 and 5, the shell A1 is modified in construction to have an extrusion 46 which eliminates the use of the rivet 44. The extrusion 46 is adapted to pierce an opening in the disc insulator 22 and when bent over keeps the disc insulator in place on the shell.

In FIG. 6 a second modification of the shell is shown wherein two extrusions 48 and 50 serve as a lug tor holding Wire to the shellAZ and also as a retainer to keep the insulator disc 22in position.

Although my invention has been described in consider-able detail, such description is intended as being illustrative rather than limiting, since the invention may be variously embodied, and the scope of the invention is to be determined as claimed.

I claim:

1. A solderless pigtail socket adapted to retain an electrical lamp comprisinga cylindrical metallic shell having one end closed by an integral metallic'base, said base having a central relatively large aperture and also having a pair of lug receiving apertures, first and second insulator discs sandwiched about said base, said first disc being positioned inside said shell and having a relatively small central aperture complementary with the central aperture of said base, said second disc having apertures complementary with the apertures of said base but having a relatively small central aperture, a first wire holding lug including prongs and side flanges, said prongs projecting through the complementary :lug receiving apertures in said second insulator disc and said, base and being electrically and mechanically secured to said base,

said side flanges being electrically and mechanically secured to a first conductor from an outside circuit, a central contact insulated from'said shell and projecting through said complementary central apertures and secured to said insulator discs, said central contact having one end adapted to make electrical contact with a central contact of an electrical bulb and having its other end mechanically and electrically secured to a ring portion of a second wire holding lug, said second wire 3 holding lug including side flanges electrically and mechanically secured to a second conductor from said outside circuit.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said base and second insulator disc have complementary rivet receiving apertures and a rivet projecting through said apertures to secure said second insulator disc to said base.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Eckstein Apr. 1, 1930 Ackerman May 17, 1949 McCann Ian. 10, 1950 Coyle June 2, 1953 Pollock July 21, 1953

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