US3341803A - Combination electrical conduit and bulb socket - Google Patents

Description

p 1 1967 c. R. P. BUSTAMANTE COMBINATION ELECTRICAL CONDUIT AND BULB SOCKET Filed Oct. 28, 1964 C Foamra/FBuswmmz vmz mbz ymw ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,341,803 COMBINATION ELECTRICAL CONDUIT AND BULB SOCKET Carlos Roberto P. Bustamante, 4a GP. 40, Santa Ana, El Salvador Filed Oct. 28, 1964, Ser. No. 407,100 4 Claims. (Cl. 339-21) The present invention relates to improvements in combination continuous electrical conduit-outlet prepared from a flexible material. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved combination continuous electrical conduit-outlet that is particularly suited for mass production. Specifically, the present invention relates to a novel combination continous electrical conduit and socket assembly that is eminently suited for decorative, artistic and commercial adaptations.

Many continuous electrical outlets, of both flexible and rigid types, are known in the art that have been proposed for use and placement around a room, shop, laboratory or other type of enclosure, as a convenient outlet, to permit the use of lights, electric cleaners, fans, small motors, or any other type of electrical appliances, at any point about the room, and to permit their being moved about the room, at will, without the inconvenience of unusually long leads which are unsightly and a nuisance. Such outlets may be suitably fastened to a wall at the baseboard, chair rail or any other place that the trim of the room might suggest, and may be secured in a vertical or a horizontal position as convenience may demand.

However, many of the presently known continuous outlets have been objectionable for a number of reasons, sometimes because they are diflicult to use, while others have been too costly or difficult to manufacture. Some of the conduits are not flexible enough to be coiled therefore making it impractical to form long lengths of such conduits and store the same. While another objection to the prior art outlets is that many of them are only suitable for use with electrical appliances having plugs and are not suitable for direct use with bulbs.

There is thus a clearly demonstrated need in the art for vast improvements in the field of combined electrical v conduit-outlets of a flexible and continuous nature.

It is therefore a principal object of this invention to provide an improved flexible continuous electrical conduitoutlet that is not subject to the defects of prior art structures.

It is another object of this invention to provide a fiexible continuous electrical conduit-outlet that is not limited or restricted by the location of sockets and outlet openings therein.

It is a' further object of this invention to provide a continuous electrical conduit-outlet (hereinafter referred to simply as a conduit) that is truly flexible and susceptible to a variety of artistic adaptations, and yet will be of economical cost and amenable to mass production.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a novel baseless electric lamp and outlet plug having terminal contact portions that are eminently suitable for use with the new conduit-outlet of this invention.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a multi-outlet system comprising a plurality of baseless lamps and outlet plugs having wedge-shaped stem press portions at one end and supported by their stem press portions in side-by-side relation in a continuous conductor for free sliding movement therethrough.

Other objects of this invention, together with an appreciation for the advantages thereof, will become increasingly apparent as this description proceeds.

Broadly stated, the objects of this invention are accomplished by providing a central strip of insulating material which is joined with two electrically conductive strips connected in turn with outer metal strips which provide electrical contacts of opposite polarity. The electrically conductive members are prepared from an electrically conductive interior web which is sealed or laminated within an insulating material, for example, by sandwiching the electrically conductive web between two plastic insulating layers. The central insulating strip may also be of plastic and is attached by adhesive welding, etc. in abutting relationship to the electrically conductive strips. The metal strips are attached in any suitable manner to the outside ends of the electrically conductive strips, such that the strips are in electrical contact with the conductive webs. The assembly is then formed into a suitable enclosing shape, defining a longitudinal slit, and may desirably be provided with transverse slits to provide flexibility and permit dividing into a number of flexible portions that will each act as a separate bulb or plug receiving electrical socket. It is also desirable to provide wedge shaped insulating members to insure that the electrically conductive metal strips do not accidentally contact one another when the conduit is subjected to compression. A bulb and plug, each having a wedge shaped bottom contact portion are also provided to permit insertion between the electrically conductive metal members and provide a novel electrical socket-outlet concept.

The assembled electrical conduit is adapted to be used with various electrical connections, bulbs, etc., such as a groups of lamps, plugs or other similar type electric devices, formed with protruding stem press portions from which project the terminal contacts of the lamp. Such devices will be slidably supported by their stem press portions in side-by-side relation within the longitudinal slit for free sliding movement therethrough. According to a further aspect of the invention, the stem press portion of each lamp or plug is wedge-shaped so that each lamp or plug may be inserted in the longitudinal slit, with the terminal contacts of the lamp or plug enclosed within the conduit such that the edges of the longitudinal slit elastically grip the stem press portion with sufficient force to support the lamp or plug in place in the conduit.

Turning now to the drawings in which the same or similar reference numerals have been used to denote similar parts throughout the several figures:

FIGURE 1 isa broken out pictorial view, partly in section, showing the arrangement of parts prior to assembly; FIGURE 2 is a pictorial view, partly in section and similar to FIGURE 1, but showing the parts in assembled position;

FIGURE 3 is a pictorial view showing the arrange? ment of parts after a suitable tube forming operation;

FIGURE 4 is a pictorial view, showing a novel separator that has been developed according to the invention for use therewith;

FIGURE 5 is an end view of the device of the invention, partly in section, and showing a bulb developed according to the invention for use therewith;

FIGURE 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method of supporting the structure according to the invention for illuminating uses;

FIGURE 7 is an embodiment, similar to FIGURE 4, but illustrative of a different cross-sectional shape that the invention may take, and further showing an electrical plug that has been developed according to the invention for use therewith; and

FIGURE 8 is another embodiment similar to FIGURES 4 and 7, but illustrating a further cross-sectional shape that may be utilized according to the invention.

In the drawings, there is shown a tubular conduit in which lamps, plugs and the like are slidably mounted. The conduit is formed of a suitable elastic or synthetic material and it is provided with a longitudinal slit extending the full length thereof. This slit is adapted to receive the flattened sides of the stem press of each lamp or plug which is forcibly inserted with the outer end of the stem press and the wire terminal contacts positioned within the slit edges of the tubular conduit which define the slit to thereby spring apart such edges. The sprung apart edges thus form a conduit and are thereby caused to elastically grip the stem press of each individual lamp or plug with suflicient force to hold them in substantial sideby-side row alignment if desired within the conduit while permitting sliding movement of the lamp therethrough. However, the elastic or spring-like engagement of the longitudinal edges of the slit serves to lock the lamp or plug in place in the conduit against easy withdrawal. In this manner, the terminal contacts of each lamp or plug are properly aligned with the electric current supply contacts of the slit edges or continuous socket portion in which they are inserted so as to insure the proper contact of the terminal wire contacts with the electrically conductive socket contacts.

It will thus be understood that the conduits described may be constructed of any length and in any desired cross section which would provide for the proper disposition of the bulbs, plugs, and the like.

Turning now to the drawings, FIGURE 1 shows the first stage of manufacture wherein a central strip of insulating material (plastic, etc.) is joined with two electrically conductive strips 12 and 14 followed by connection with outer metal contact strips 16 and 18. The electrically conductive members 12 and 14 are prepared from an electrically conductive interior web 22 (copper or aluminum wire, etc.) which is sealed or laminated within an insulating material, for example, by sandwiching the electrically conductive web between two plastic insulating layers 60 and 61. The member 10 may also be of plastic and is attached by adhesive welding, or the like in abutting relationship to the electrically conductive strips 12 and 14 (see FIGURE 2). The metal strips 16 and 18 are folded over conductive strips 12 and 14 or are attached in any other suitable manner to the outside edges of the electrically conductive strips 12 and 14 as shown in FIGURE 2, such that the strips 16 and 18 are in electrical contact with the webs 22 along the outer edges of the webs.

As shown in FIGURE 3, the assembly of FIGURE 2 is formed into a tubular shape A and is preferably provided with slits at 24 to provide flexibility and divide the tube A into a number of flexible portions that will each act as a separate bulb receiving electrical socket. The electrical contact providing metal strips 16 and 18 of the tube shaped conduit A in FIGURE 3 are prevented from coming together and creating a short circuit due to the wedge shaped insulating members 30 which are provided with a notch to be entered into the opening 28 (see FIGURE 4).

The assembled electrical conduit A is adapted to be used with electrical connections, bulbs, plugs and the like such as the bulb 40 shown in FIGURE 5 which has wedge shaped bottom contact portion 42 to permit the bulb to be inserted between the metal members 16 and 18 at the opening 28 (see FIGURES 3 and 4). FIG- URES 7 and 8 show that the conduit A can also have other cross sectional configurations such as at B and C. It is thus clear that the present conduit may be of any convenient shape.

The conduit A may be provided with a number of apertures, such as the transverse apertures 11 or the longitudinal aperture 13 for securing the conduit to various supports. For example, simple securing devices, such as screws or bolts in combination with the apertures 11 may be used to fasten the conduit to a suitable support. By any suitable means, the outlet may be secured to a support or wall in any desired position, such as a hori- 4 zontal position or a vertical position as shown in FIG- URE 6.

In FIGURE 6, the mounting illustrated permits the invention to be hung between suitable supports, in any desired location. As shown, a rope, cable, wire or the like 63, composed of any suitable or proper material, may be passed through the aperture 13 provided in the conduit member 10 to support the conduit.

Referring now to the separators 30, it will be recognized that any desired number of these outwardly extending separators may be employed in the slit 28 for spacing the conduit sections 12, 16 and 14, 18 apart at their front edges. The separator extends across the slit 28 of the conduit and is held in place by means of the notch 32. Each separator is provided, at its outer end with at least one curved edge, so that no obstruction will be offered thereto when being inserted between the conduit sections. The dimensions of the separator are also desirable for the quick and easy insertion of the bulb 40 or plug 50.

Turning now to the bulb 40, there will be seen the usual lead in wires through which the current is carried into the interior of the lamp to the filament. The lead wires extend from the inside of the glass envelope out through the bottom of the lamp through a wedge shaped section 42 of glass which is formed during the normal sealing operation by flattening out a section of the glass envelope just below the spherical portion of the envelope. The wire leads of the illustrated embodiment are then bent out at 44 and 46 on either side of the wedge shaped section 42 in such a manner as to cause the wire to lie snugly adjacent to the flattened glass but yet protrude therefrom to a sufficient extent to permit the making of a good electrical contact between the wire and the electrically conductive metal members 16 and 18 which will contact both flattened sides of the wedge shaped glass member. It is, of course, readily apparent that these contact leads might be positioned somewhat differently to obtain the same result particularly if the socket opening 28 defined by the members 16 and 18 were to be modified accordingly. The other remaining component parts of the lamp are for the most part the same as those normally used in the prior art. The two wire conductors lead to the filament which is electrically connected and secured to each of the wires at their inner end.

The lamp of this invention as shown in the drawings has two distinctive features, the one being that it has entirely eliminated the usual threaded brass base which is important from the standpoint of cost in saving material. Also, the invention saves some costly processing steps.

Referring now to the plug 50 shown in FIGURE 7, it will be recognized that the structure thereof is similar for the most part to those normally used in the prior art. However, as with the bulb 40, the usual wire leads terminate in a wedge shaped portion 52 of any suitable insulating material such that they lie snugly adjacent thereto, but yet protrude therefrom to a sufficient extent to permit the making of good electrical contact between the wire leads and the metal members 16 and 18.

In accomplishing its objectives, it will be understood that the conduit forming the object of this invention will have very numerous applications in the art. For example, owing to the flexibility of the conduit, it is easy to understand that it may be straight, curved or inclined in any position, such that with this device, various combinations can be made and beautiful luminous effects can be obtained. Morever, the present conduit can be substituted for various electrical conduits now in use which are subject to defects and objections previously noted.

It should therefore be understood that the present invention may be subject to various changes or modifications that will be apparent to those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of this invention.

For example, various plastic materials, including synthetic resins and glass or ceramics, can obviously be substituted for the several insulating materials shown in the drawing. It is also contemplated that the elements shown may be formed from plastic materials of divergent chemical origins, i.e., difi'erent synthetic resins or from divergent physical origins, i.e., from granular, fibrous or other particulate materials, as well as from resin sheet or 5 liquid form resinous materials.

It is moreover within the contemplation of this invention that the several electrically conductive materials may have various forms. Thus, the metal contacts 16 and 18 may be replaced by any substituents which will provide the desired electrically conductive result. The form shown is, however, preferred. It is also recognized that the electrically conductive webs may be replaced by materials that will be found to act as equivalents. Presently it is preferred that the conduit contains electrically conductive webs formed from interlaced fibers of electrically conductive materials, including the various metals and alloys. By interlaced is meant the products formed by textile orientation processes such as carding, lapping, drawing, weaving, knitting, felting, and the like. The web or mesh like products thus formed may also be secured or bonded in various ways. For example, if a loosely woven or cross lapped product is employed, it may be desirable to coalesce, weld, or otherwise secure it at the junctures.

Further, the invention may be subjected to some obvious physical modifications. Thus, while the strip material is shown having a substantially T-shaped configuration, permitting mounting of the invention according to embodiments using the apertures 11 or 13, it will be understood that a simpler rectangular cross-section may also be employed if desired.

Accordingly, this disclosure should only be considered as illustrative of the invention, and the invention should only be limited to the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is: a

1. A continuous electrical outlet of tubular strip form comprising a strip of flexible insulating material having a longitudinal continuous slit through its surface, each edge of the slit having a strip of electrically conductive sheet metal folded thereon to provide a continuous electrical contact, and each strip of electrically conductive sheet metal being in electrical contact with an electrically conductive web means disposed within said flexible insulating material.

2. A continuous electrical conduit consisting of a tubular element of insulating material, said element having a longitudinal slit therein for the insertion of an incandescent lamp and the like, a pair of substantially continuous electrically conductive conduit means imbedded in the insulating material of said element for transmitting electrical energy of opposite polarity from an electrical energy source to opposite edges of said longitudinal slit, and electrically conductive contact means on each of said opposite edges in electrical contact with the respective electrically conductive means for imparting electrical energy of opposite polarity to an incandescent lamp and the like placed in contact therewith.

3. The structure of claim 2 wherein each electrically conductive conduit means comprises an electrically conductive web of interlaced fibers of an electrically conductive material.

4. The structure of claim 2 wherein each electrically conductive contact means is a metal strip that is disposed about an edge surface of the longitudinal slit.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,064,199 12/1936 Elder 339-21 2,108,031 2/1938 Aculf 339-21 2,234,745 3/1941 Von Rarrel 339-21 2,699,659 1/1955 Haas 339-144 X 2,999,180 9/1961 Howles et al 339-144 X 3,064,457 11/1962 Van den Boom et al. 339-20 X 3,118,717 1/1964 Horan 339- 3,215,969 11/1965 Verrone 339-21 FOREIGN PATENTS 206,960 1/ 1960 Austria. 852,146 10/ 1939 France.

MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner. PATRICK A. CLIFFORD, Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. A CONTINUOUS ELECTRICAL OUTLET OF TUBULAR STRIP FORM COMPRISING A STRIP OF FLEXIBLE INSULATING MATERIAL HAVING A LONGITUDINAL CONTINUOUS SLIT THROUGH ITS SURFACE, EACH EDGE OF THE SLIT HAVING A STRIP OF ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE SHEET METAL FOLDED THEREON TO PROVIDE A CONTINUOUS ELECTRICAL CONTACT, AND EACH STRIP OF ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE SHEET METAL BEING IN ELECTRICAL CONTACT WITH AN ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE WEB MEANS DISPOSED WITHIN SAID FLEXIBLE INSULATING MATERIAL.

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