US3144263A

US3144263A - Lamp swivel assembly with rotational limiting means

Info

Publication number: US3144263A
Application number: US74799A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jr Robert A Gray
Original assignee: Mueller Brass Co
Current assignee: Mueller Brass Co
Priority date: 1960-12-09
Filing date: 1960-12-09
Publication date: 1964-08-11
Anticipated expiration: 1981-08-11

Description

Aug. 11, 1964 Y R. A. GRAY, JR 3,144,263

LAMP SWIVEL ASSEMBLY WITH ROTATIONAL LIMITING MEANS Filed Dec. 9, 1960 United States Patent 3,144,263 LAMP SWIVEL ASSEMBLY WITH ROTATIONAL LIMITING MEANS Robert A. Gray, In, Port Huron, Mich, assignor to Mueller Brass (30., Port Huron, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Filed Dec. 9, 1960, Ser. No. 74,799 1 Claim. (Cl. 285-269) This invention relates to lamp swivel assemblies and the like, and more particularly to swivels for preventing twisting of electrical wires in lamps where the shade or reflector is permitted a universal adjustment movement.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved construction which permits a universal swiveling movement of the reflector but will prevent excessive twisting of the wires which might occur if the reflector were rotated more than 360 or a substantial portion thereof.

It is another object to provide a novel and improved lamp swivel of the above nature which is inexpensive to fabricate and has relatively few parts, thus increasing its reliability over long periods of use.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view in cross-section showing the components of the lamp swivel in assembled position;

FIG. 2 is an end elevational view of the assembly looking in the direction of the arrow 2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the stop ring;

FIG. 4 is an elevational view of the swivel ring which also shows in dot-dash lines the manner in which the flat surfaces of the swivel are engaged by the indentations on the swivel ring;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the swivel ring viewed in the direction of the arrow 5 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary cross-sectional View taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 1 and showing the coacting elements of the stop ring and swivel ring in engaged position.

In general terms, the invention comprises a hollow elongated body adapted to be mounted on a lamp base, and a swivel of generally spherical shape disposed within the body and adapted to support a bulb socket. A swivel seat is disposed within the body and is urged against the swivel by a spring, a retaining member mounted on the body holding the swivel in place. A stop ring having an inwardly extending projection is secured between the retaining member and body, and a swivel ring is mounted on the swivel and has a projection coacting with the stop ring projection to prevent rotation of the swivel more than 360.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the lamp swivel is generally indicated at 11 and comprises a body 12 of generally tapered tubular shape having an internally threaded portion 13 at one end for the reception of a nipple 14 which may be part of a lamp base (not shown). Nipple 14 is adapted to receive one or more electrical conduits indicated by dot-dash lines at 15 to be connected to a bulb socket.

The other end of body 12 has an externally threaded portion 16, and the cavity 17 within the body is provided with an intermediate annular shoulder 18. A swivel 19 is disposed within cavity 17. This swivel has a generally spherical shape with a central passage 20 for the reception of wires 15 and with oppositely disposed flat surfaces 21. Swivel 19 extends outwardly from body 12, and its outer end is provided with an externally threaded portion H 22 for the reception of a bulb socket indicated partially by dot-dash lines at 23. One side 24 of swivel portion 22 3,144,253 Patented Aug. 11, 1964 may be flat to receive a set screw (not shown) conventionally carried by the bulb socket, and a shoulder 25 is disposed between the spherical portion and the threaded portion of swivel 19 to properly locate the bulb socket when it is screwed onto portion 22.

A helical coil compression spring 26 is disposed within cavity 17, one end of this spring engaging shoulder 18. A swivel seat 27 of annular shape is partially disposed within spring 26, the portion of this seat facing swivel 19 being flared outwardly so as to receive the adjacent spherical portion of the swivel.

A retaining member 28 having an internally threaded portion 29 is threaded onto body portion 16. The end of retaining member 28 has an inwardly extending shoulder portion 31 the inner edge of which is of sufficiently small diameter to engage the spherical portion of swivel 19 so as to prevent the swivel from being pushed out of cavity 17 by spring 26. An annular groove 32 is formed in shoulder 31 facing body 12, and a stop ring 33 is disposed within the outer portion of this groove. The thickness of ring 33 is substantially less than the width of groove 32, and the ring is held securely in position when retaining member 29 is threaded onto body 12. An inwardly extending projection 34 is formed on ring 33, this projection being disposed within the inner portion of groove 32.

A swivel ring 35 is mounted on swivel 19, this ring being of generally circular shape but having two oppositely disposed inwardly extending indented portions 36 engaging flats 21 of the swivel. As in the case of stop ring 33, ring 35 may be fabricated as a stamping, or it may be made from flat stock if desired. The axial thickness of ring 35 is somewhat greater than that of ring 33, and a projection 37 on the ring extends axially into the inner portion of groove 32, the thickness of both rings 33 and 35 together being approximately equal to the width of groove 32 as seen in FIGURE 1.

In operation, the assembled lamp swivel is so constructed that swivel member 19 may be pivoted on an axis at right angles to the plane of the paper in FIG. 1, or may be rotated on its own axis so that a universal adjustment of the bulb socket 23 is permitted. Swivel 19 will be held in its adjusted position by its frictional engagement with seat 27 and shoulder 31, and its movements will be unhindered by excessive friction, since coil spring 26 does not directly engage the swivel.

A shoulder 33 is formed in cavity 17 surrounding swivel 19, and the edge of ring 35 opposite that from which projection 37 extends is adapted to engage this shoulder. The axial thickness of ring 35 is slightly less than the distance between shoulder 38 and the bottom of groove 32 when retaining member 28 is tightened with ring 33 in place.

Movement of swivel 19 on its axis transverse to the paper in FIG. 1 will be limited by the engagement of juncture 39 between shoulder 25 and swivel portion 19 of the swivel with the edge of aperture 41 on retaining member 28. The rotational movement of swivel 19 on its own axis will be limited by engagement of projection 37 of ring 35 with projection 34 of ring 33, as seen in FIG. 6. This will prevent excessive twisting of wires 15 which might otherwise occur if unlimited rotational movement of the swivel were permitted.

It will thus be seen that a novel and improved lamp swivel construction has been provided which has relatively few parts, these parts being capable of fabrication by simple and inexpensive machining or stamping methods. The unit permits wide latitude in adjusting a lamp or similar device, but is at the same time reliable and not subject to easy damage during long periods of use.

While it will be apparent that the preferred embodiment of the invention disclosed is well calculated to fulfill the objects above stated, it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible to modification, variation and change without departing from the proper scope or fair meaning of the subjoined claim.

What is claimed is:

In a lamp swivel assembly or the like, a body of generally tubular shape, a swivel having a generally spherical portion disposed within one end of said body and a mounting portion extending outwardly therefrom, retaining means fixed to said one body end and having an annular 10 groove between said retaining means and said body, a stop ring fixedly disposed within one portion of said groove and having a radially extending projection extending into the other portion of said groove, a compression coil spring Within said body, an annular seat engaged by said spring 1 and having a flared portion receiving said spherical swivel portion, a swivel ring separate from said fixed retaining means mounted on said spherical swivel portion and rotatable therewith, a pair of oppositely disposed flat surfaces on said spherical swivel portion, a pair of indented portions on said swivel ring engageable with said flat surfaces, an annular shoulder in said body engageable by one edge of said swivel ring, and a projection extending from the other edge of said swivel ring and disposed Within said groove, said projections coacting to limit the rotational movement of said swivel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,324,741 Svabek July 20, 1943 2,621,882 Fletcher Dec. 16, 1952 2,859,983 May Nov. 11, 1958 2,910,310 Mulac Oct. 27, 1959 3,012,798 Berger Dec. 12, 1961 3,037,799 Mulac June 5, 1962