US3312815A - Lighting fixture - Google Patents

Description

April 4, 1967 D. E. WOOLEVER LIGHTING FIXTURE Filed Dec. 22, l964 AWUP/VEV United States Patent 3,312,815 LIGHTING FIXTURE Dwight E. Woolever, 3671 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, Calif. 90007 Filed Dec. 22, 1964, Ser. No. 420,375 4 Claims. (Cl. 240-73) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A lighting fixture having a wall plate that mounts a forwardly extending lamp-socket unit, a U-shaped housing around the socket unit with its ends staked to the wall plate, the housing having outer and inner pairs of grooves along the inside face thereof, the former grooves for lampshade holders that extend oppositely from the fixture, and the latter grooves for covers for the socket unit and which have openings through which the lampshades extend.

This invention relates to a lighting fixture which, while adapted for general use, is especially adapted for use in bathrooms, over or alongside medicine cabinets.

An object of the present invention is to provide a lighting fixture comprising several components that are capable of being firmly assembled without rivets, screws, solder or other such securing means, the invention contemplating simple upset or deformation of lugs or tabs on one outer component extending through slots in another outer component.

Another object of the invention is to provide a lighting fixture, as above characterized, in which the other components of the fixture are retained in operative position by the assembled outer components.

A further object is to provide a lighting fixture, as indicated, in which one of said other components, on opposite sides of the fixture, comprises a masking or enclosing plate to hide inner details of the construction and, thereby, provide a fixture of attractive and eye-appealing configuration.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a lighting fixture, as characterized, and which is provided with a lamp-socket component that is retained in nonshifting, operative position, without screws, rivets, solder,

or cement, by two opposed inner components, thereby greatly simplifying manufacture and assembly.

This invention also has for its objects to provide such means that are positive in operation, convenient in use, easily installed in a working position and easily disconnected therefrom, economical of manufacture, relatively simple, and of general superiority and serviceability.

The above objects are realized in a lighting fixture provided with a wall plate having slots to receive tabs or lugs of a housing member, and also an opening for snapretention engagement with said plate of an electrical lampsocket fitting and disposed with-in said housing. Before said tabs or lugs are staked to the wall plate, two oppositely disposed lampshade-holding members, and two plates that mask or conceal said shade-holding members, are mounted in the housing member by being slid into grooves provided in said member. Said shade-holding members are retained in spaced relation in the grooves provided in the housing, the same confining the lampsocket fitting between them to render said fitting stable in the assembly.

The invention also comprises novel details of construction and novel combinations and arrangements of parts, which will more fully appear in the course of the following description and which is based on the accompanying drawing. However, said drawing merely shows, and the following description merely describes, one embodiment 3,312,815 Patented Apr. 4, 1967 of the present invention, tration or example only.

In the drawing, like reference characters designate similar parts in the several views.

FIG. 1 is a plan View of a lighting fixture according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view as taken, generally, along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a face view of the mounting plate with broken portions of the housing and other components connected to said plate.

The lighting fixture that is illustrated comprises, generally, a mounting plate 5, a lamp-socket unit 6 extending forwardly from said plate and having snap-retention means 7 connecting the unit 6 to said plate, a housing 8 extending forwardly from the plate 5 around the unit 6, staked or twisted tabs 9 fixedly connecting said housing to the plate, two opposed lamp-shade-holders 10 mounted in the housing 8 on either side of the unit 6 to retain the latter centered between them, and two plates 11 also mounted in said housing and on the outsid-es of said holders 10 to conceal the same and provide the fixtures with a finished-surface appearance.

The mounting plate 5 comprises a rectangular plate having its four edges bevelled at 15 in the usual manner for wall plates, thereby providing a space 16 rearward of the front wall 17 of said plate. Holes 18 for mounting screws are provided in the usual manner. A central cruciform hole 19 in said wall 17 is flanked at the sides by two pair of slots 20 and by symmetrical-1y arranged upper and lower slots 21 vertically centered on the hole 19. The outer surface of the plate 5 is shown with decorative graining 22, the same being indicative of any surface ornamentation, texture, or the like, commonly used on such surfaces for enhancing the appearance thereof.

The lamp-socket unit 6 is shown as an insulated body 23 which, in this instance, is formed to have oppositely extending and similar lamp sockets 24 for mounting lamp bulbs 25. As seen in FIG. 2, said sockets 24 extend oppositely vertically, the lamps 25 extending vertically therefrom. A metal bracket 26 has an end 27 that bears against the front face of the wall 17, the same extending as a pair of diverging legs 28 from said end 27 to a connection at 29 to the body 23 of the unit 6.

The snap-retention means 7 is shown as two spaced spring members 30 that are connected to said bracket end 27 and are biased in a direction to catch the opposite edges 31 of the cruciform hole 19. Said spring members 30 are sloped toward each other so they may be inserted through hole 19 from the front, be compressed toward each other as they encounter the edges 31, and then snap out as they pass said edges and effect connection with the wall plate 5. It will be noted that the unit 6 extends in the manner of a cantilever from the wall plate and, while secured by the means 7 against frontto-bac:k movement, may have limited up-and-down movement with the means 7 as a fulcrum.

The housing 8 is formed as a metal extrusion having a wall 32 with two pair of grooves adjacent to and along the opposite edges of a wall. As seen best in FIG. 2, each said pair of grooves comprises an outer groove 33 and a groove 34 inward thereof. Said wall 32 has a U- shaped form with a rounded end portion 35 and parallel portions 36 extending from the portion 35 and provided with tabs 9 extending from the ends thereof. The latter extend through the slots 20 in the wall plate 5 and, when staked or twisted, effect a firm connection between the plate 5 and the housing 8. It will be noted that the staked tabs 9 extend into space 16 but not therebeyond.

view as taken on the line 22 of which is given by way of illus- Each lampshade-holder 10 is provided with a plate portion 37 that has a sliding fit in one of the grooves 34, the holders being slid into said grooves 34 before the housing 8 is staked to the wall plate 5. Each holder 10 is provided wih an embossment 38 at its end that fits into the rounded end portion 35 of the housing. Said holders are assembled in the housing with the embossments exending toward each other, the depth of the embossments being such that the same are spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the width of the bracket legs 28 of the bracket 26.

Said embossments 38 are formed with clearance holes 39 through which the lamp sockets 24 extend. Hence, the lamp-socket unit 6, particularly the cantilever end thereof, is confined between the embossments 38 and retained firmly in place due to the engagement of opposite edges of plate portion 37 in the grooves 34. Embossments 40, arranged on a helix, are provided in the annular wall 41 of each embossment 38, the same serving to threadedly engage the open ends of lampshades 42 that extend in opposite directions from the housing 32.

It is not practical to provide a finish surface on the outer faces of the plate portions 37 because of the die formation of the embossments 38. It is more practical to provide the plates 11 to conceal said plates 37 and to insert the same into the grooves 33 at the time the holders 10 are assembled, as hereinbefore described. The plates 11, being fiat, may be formed of sheet metal or other material ornamented or textured as desired, or to suit the appearance of the outer surface of the wall plate 5. A tab 43 on each plate 11 extends through one of the slots 21 and is staked to the Wall plate to keep said plate in fixed position. A curved edge 44 on the outer end of each plate 11 affords clearance for the lampshades 42.

The wires 45 for conducting electric current to the lamp sockets 24 extend from the body 23 through opening 31 in the'wall plate and between the spring members 30 to a current source.

While the foregoing has illustrated and described what is now contemplated to be the best mode of carrying out the invention, the construction is, of course, subject to modification without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, it is not desired to restrict the invention to the particular form of construction illustrated and described, but to cover all modifications that may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A lighting fixture comprising:

(a) a wall plate,

(b) a lamp-socket unit extending forwardly from the face of the wall plate,

(0) a U-shaped housing having ends staked to and extending from the wall plate around the mentioned unit,

((1) said housing comprising a wall having a groove along each edge thereof and extending along the inner side of said wall from one end thereof to the other,

(e) two similar lampshade-holders with the edges thereof engaged in said grooves, said holders having portions engaged with opposite sides of the mentioned unit to hold the same steady,

(f) the housing wall having additional grooves outward of and parallel to the mentioned grooves, and

(g) a plate having edges engaged in the latter grooves to cover the lamp-socket unit.

2. In a lighting fixture having a wall plate,

(a) a U-shaped housing comprising a wall having a rounded portion and opposed parallel leg portions with the ends thereof staked to the wall plate,

(b) a lamp-socket unit having one end in snap-retention engagement with the wall plate and extending in the housing toward and spaced from the rounded portion thereof, said unit including a body having opposite lamp socket portions centered on the center of the rounded portion of the body, and

(c) a pair of lampshade-holders having sliding engagement with the mentioned portions of the housing wall and formed with embossments with central openings therein concentric with the lamp socket portions of the mentioned unit, said ernbossments being spaced apart a distance suitable to engage and retain the extending portion of said unit centered in the housing.

3. In a fixture according to claim 2, a pair of plates having sliding engagement with said housing wall portions and disposed on the outsides of the shade-holders.

4. In a fixture according to claim 3, the inner surface of said housing portions being provided with inwardly facing parallel grooves, edge portions of said shade-holders and said plates being engaged in said grooves, and means effecting a staked connection between the wall plate and the ends of the housing legs.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,622,934 3/1927 White 24073 1,631,997 6/1927 Benjamin 240-73 1,681,186 8/ 1928 Jones et al. 240-73 2,428,167 9/1947 Linton 240--2 2,824,208 2/1958 Bauer 24073 3,117,730 1/1964 Jones 240-78 NORTON ANSHER, Primary Examiner R. M. SHEER, Assistant Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. A LIGHTING FIXTURE COMPRISING: (A) A WALL PLATE, (B) A LAMP-SOCKET UNIT EXTENDING FORWARDLY FROM THE FACE OF THE WALL PLATE, (C) A U-SHAPED HOUSING HAVING ENDS STAKED TO AND EXTENDING FROM THE WALL PLATE AROUND THE MENTIONED UNIT, (D) SAID HOUSING COMPRISING A WALL HAVING A GROOVE ALONG EACH EDGE THEREOF AND EXTENDING ALONG THE INNER SIDE OF SAID WALL FROM ONE END THEREOF TO THE OTHER, (E) TWO SIMILAR LAMPSHADE-HOLDERS WITH THE EDGES THEREOF ENGAGED IN SAID GROOVES, SAID HOLDERS HAVING PORTIONS ENGAGED WITH OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE MENTIONED UNIT TO HOLD THE SAME STEADY,

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