US3527934A - Take-apart lamp harps - Google Patents

Description

Sept-8 1970 H. BERGMAN TAKE-APART LAMP HARPs 2 Shee'ts-Sheet l Filed June 17, 1968 y JNVENToR. HERMAN BERGMAN LA 144i ,f

ATTORNEYS sept. s 1970 H. BERGMAN 3,527,934

TAKE-APART LAMP HAnPs A 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 17, 1968 F/Gy/o VFmt/3 INVENTOR. HERMAN BERGMAN ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,527,934 TAKE-APART LAMP HARPS Herman Bergman, Searingtown, N.Y., assignor to Berger gldlstries, Inc., Maspeth, N.Y., a corporation of New Filed June 17, 1968, Ser. No. 737,675 Int. Cl. Fllv 17/06 U.S.. Cl. 240-148 10 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A takefapart lamp harp to be mounted on a lamp for supporting a shade thereon. 'Ihe lamp harp has components which can be readily connected together and disassembled from each other. The lamp harp consists of a resilient wire bail and a bracket which has a base and a pair of channels extending upwardly from the base and respectively receiving elongated free end portions f the bail legs. These elongated free end portions of the bail legs respectively have diierent constructions. One of the channels has a construction permitting one of the bail legs to be introduced at its free end portion laterally into this one channel. Said one channel has a means preventing longitudinal movement of said one bail leg out of this one channel after it has been laterally introduced into the same. The other of the bracket channels has a means which limits the other bail leg movement at its free end portion into this other channel only longitudinally and through a top open end thereof, and in addition this other channel may have a means preventing longitudinal displacement of the other bail leg out of the other channel as long as the one bail leg has its free end portion situated in the one channel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to lamps.

In particular, the present invention relates to lamp harps and especially to take-apart harps where a bail of the harp is removably connected with a bracket of the harp.

Although take-apart lamp harps are known, the most Widely used conventional harps of this type are relatively complex and cannot be assembled and disassembled with maximum convenience. They include, in addition to the bracket and bail of the harp, such elements as sleeves slidable along the bail legs to coact with the bracket for releasably retaining the bail legs attached thereto. They also include ats on the bail legs to match the inner surfaces of channels on the bracket. Because of these complications, the conventional structure is relatively expensive to manufacture and somewhat difficult to manipulate in connection with assembly and disassembly of the bracket and bail.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, accordingly, a primary object of the present invention to provide a harp of the above general type which will avoid the above drawbacks.

In particular, it is an object of the invention to provide a harp which consists only of a bracket and a bail, so that elements such as sleeves shiftable along the bail legs into ensheathing relationship with respect to the bracket channels can be entirely eliminated.

A further object of the invention is to provide an exceedingly secure connection between the bail and the bracket of the harp even though these components in themselves are of an exceedingly simple and inexpensive construction.

In particular, it is an object of the invention to provide a harp of the above type where one of the bail legs 3,527,934 Patented Sept. 8, 1970 must be situated out of the bracket in order to enable the other bail leg to be connected and disconnected from the bracket to achieve in this way an exceedingly simple structure of the type referred to above.

It is a further object of the invention to eliminate the flats on the bail legs while maintaining a rigid connection between the bracket and the bail.

Also, it is an object of the invention to provide a harp of the above type where assembly and disassembly of the bail and bracket thereof can be quickly and conveniently carried out with exceedingly simple manipulations.

According to the invention the harp consists only of a bracket and a bail. The bail has a pair of legs terminating in elongated free end portions which are constructed dijerently from each other. The bracket has a base and a pair of opposed channels directed upwardly from the base and having their interiors directed toward each other. `One of these channels has a construction permitting one of the bail legs to enter at its free end portion laterally into this one channel while the latter channel has means preventing longitudinal movement of the one bail leg out of this one channel once it is located therein. The other channel has a means which limits the other bail vleg to movement at its free end portion into this other channel only longitudinally through a top open end of this other channel, and in addition this latter channel may have a means which prevents longitudinal displacement of the other bail leg at its free end portion out of this other channel as long as the one bail leg is located within the one channel. In this way, the other bail leg can be introduced into and removed from the other channel only when the one bail leg is out of the one channel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings which form part of this application and in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary elevation showing the harp of the invention mounted on a lamp and showing a lamp shade and nial in dot-dash lines;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary elevation of the lower free end portions of the legs of a bail of the harp;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary elevation showing the bail leg portions of FIG. 2 assembled with a harp bracket;

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the bracket of FIG. 3 as seen when looking upwardly toward the lower surface of this bracket;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary elevation taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 3, in the direction of the arrows, and showing the connection of the left bail leg to the left bracket channel at a scale which is enlarged as compared with FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a transverse section taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 3, in the direction of the arrows, and also showing the assembly of FIG. 5 at an enlarged scale as compared to FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a transverse section taken along line 7 7 of FIG. 3, in the direction of the arrows, showing, at a scale which is enlarged as compared to FIG. 3, details of the connection between the right bail leg of FIG. 3 and the right bracket channel;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary elevation showing the connection between the bail legs and bracket of a harp of another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a bottom plan view of the bracket of FIG. 8 as seen in looking upwardly tofward this bracket;

FIG. l0 is a longitudinal sectional elevation taken along line .l0-10 of FIG. 9, in the direction of the arrows, and showing details of the connection between the bail legs and the bracket channels;

FIG. 1l is a transverse sectional elevation, taken along 3 line 11-11 of FIG. 8, in the direction of the arrows, and showing, at a scale which is enlarged as compared to FIG. 8, the connection between the right bail leg of FIG. 8 and the right bracket channel;

FIG. 12 is a transverse section, taken along line 12-12 of FIG. 8, in the direction of the arrows, and showing, at an enlarged scale as compared to FIG. 8, the structure for interconnecting the left bracket channel and the left bail leg of FIG. 8; and

FIG. 13 is a transverse section, taken along line 13 13 of FIG. 8, in the direction of the arro-ws, and showing the details of the connection between the right bail leg and right bracket channel of FIG. 8, FIG. 13 also being at a scale which is enlarged as compared to FIG. 8.

DESCRIPTION OF TH-E PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIG. 1, there is fragmentarily illustrated therein a lamp having an ornamental support, e.g. base, 22. The top end of support 22 is formed with an opening through which a threaded pipe 24 extends downwardly into the interior of the support 22. The pipe 24 is fixed to the support 22 in any known way. At its upper end, upwardly beyond the support 22, the pipe 24 is screwed into the lower tapped collar of a standard light socket 26. The harp 28 of the present invention is iirmly clamped between the socket 26 and the top of the support 22. This harp 28 consists in its entirety of a resilient bail 30 of circular cross-section and a bracket 32. The bail 30 carries in a conventional manner, a lamp shade and iinial shown in dot-dash lines in FIG. l.

The bracket 32 has a fiat base 34 formed with a central opening 36 (FIG. 4) through which the pipe 24 extends. Also, the bracket 32 includes a par of opposed elongated channels 38 and 40 extending upwardly from opposed ends of the base 34 and having their hollow interiors directed to ward each other. These bracket channels 38 and 40 are inclined upwardly and outwardly at an angle of less than 90 (e.g. 45 to 60) with respect to the base 34 and are oppositely inclined. The elongated channel 38 has a pair of opposed parallel side walls 42a and 42b which terminate in free longitudinal side edges 44a and 44b (FIG. 5) that are spaced from each other sufficiently to permit the left leg 46 of the resilient wire bail 30 to snugly slidably enter laterally into the channel 38 between the side walls 43a and 42b thereof. This leg 46 terminates in a downwardly and inwardly inclined elongated free end portion 48 having an inclination corresponding to that of the channel 38 and received therein when the parts are assembled.

At its lower extremity the free end portion 48 of the bail leg 46 is swaged, for example, so as to have an outwardly protruding portion 50 which engages downwardly directed concave surface portion 52a and 52b at the bottom edges of the side walls of the channel 38. Thus, this structure forms a means preventing longitudinal movement of the bail leg 46 out of the channel 38 once the bail leg 46 is situated therein. In order to displace the bail leg 46 out of the channel 38 it is necessary irst to move the free end portion 48 of leg 46 downwardly along the channel 38 and then the bail leg 46 can be displaced to the right, as viewed in FIG. 3, laterally out of the channel 38.

The other channel of the bracket 32 has opposed side walls 54a and 54a and 54b respectively provided adjacent the open top end of the channel 40 with opposed inwardly directly projections 56a and 56b in the form of simple dimples extending inwardly in the manner shown most clearly in FIG. 7. Thus, these projections 56a and 56b form for the channel 40 a means limiting introduction of the bail leg 58 at its elongated free end portion 60 into the channel 40 only longitudinally through the open top end thereof. Also, the bail leg 58 must be removed through this open top end of the channel 40 only by axial, i.e. longitudinal, displacement with respect thereto. The projections 56a and 56b prevent lateral displacement of the free end portion 60 of bail leg S8 into or out of the channel 40.

The channel 40 also has a means which will prevent longitudinal movement of the free end portion 60 of the bail leg 58 with respect to the channel 40 as long as the free end portion 48 of the bail leg 46 is in the channel 38. This means includes an inwardly directed projection 62 formed in the outer of channel 40 and having the configuration of a dimple and an indentation in the form of a transverse groove 64 which may simply be pressed into the end portion 60 of bail leg 58 at an outer surface portion facing away from the bail leg 46. It will be noted that the free end portion 60 of the leg 58 is inclined, in the same way as the channel 40.

The bail 30, when unstressed, has a condition where its legs 46, 58 are mutually spaced apart a distance greater than that betwen the bases of the channels 38, 40 and, therefore, will, when coupled to the bracket, press against and frictionally engage these bases thereof.

Thus when the bracket 32 and bail 30 are assembled, a rigid connection is provided therebetween preventing separation of the bail and bracket from each other and preventing twisting of the bail. As long as the bail leg 46 is not connected with the bracket 32, it is possible for the bail leg 58 to rock in the channel 40 about the projections 56a and 56b to an extent enabling the indentation 64 to be displaced away from or toward the projection 62.

Once the bail leg 58 is connected with the channel 40, the bail leg 46 can be connected with the channel 38. As long as the bail leg 46 is connected with the channel 38 it is not possible, due to the size and stiffness of the resilient wire bail 30 and the configuration of the components, to rock the leg 58 so as to situate the indentation 54 beyond the projection 62, and therefore the bail leg 58 remains reliably connected with the bracket 32. Thus, it is essential with this construction that the bail leg 46 be unconnected from the bracket 32 in order for the bail leg 58 to be joined to or disconnected from the bracket 32.

Referring now to FIGS. 8-13, the embodiment of the invention which is illustrated therein is a harp 69 which consists in its entirely only of a bracket 70 and a bail 72 made of a resilient wire of circular cross-section which may be the same wire as that used for the bail 30. The bracket 70 has a fiat base formed with a central opening 76 (FIG. 9) through which the pipe 24 passes. The bracket 70 also has a pair of opposed channels 78 and 80 extending upwardly from the base 74, but these channels have upper vertical portions respectively extending perpendicularly with respect to the at base 74 (and parallel to one another) and intermediate inclined portions 81 extending from these upper portions in opposite directions of inclination, respectively, inwardly down to opposed ends of the base 74.

The bail legs 82 and 84 of the bail 72 extend only in a vertical direction at their lower free end portions and are snugly slidably received only in the upper, vertically extending portions of the channels 78 and 80, respectively. With this embodiment it is the bail leg 84 which corresponds to the leg 46 in that this bail leg 84 must be disconnected from the bracket 70 in order to connect the bail leg 82 to the bracket and to disconnect the bail leg 82 therefrom.

The channel 80 has a pair of opposed parallel side walls 86a and 86b terminating in free longitudinal side edges 88a and 88b spaced from each other by a distance sufiiciently great to enable the lower elongated free end portion of the bail leg 84 to snugly slidably enter laterally into and be displaced laterally out of the channel 80. When the parts are assembled the resiliency of the wire bail 72 (which when unstressed has its legs mutually spaced apart further than the channels) maintains the leg 84 pressing outwardly against the outer wall portion (base) of the channel 80. This channel 80 has a means preventing outward displacement of the bail leg 84 longitudinally through the top open end of the channel 80, and such means includes the tapered channel portion formed by the oppositely inclined side wall portions 90a and 90b shown most clearly in FIG. 11. These inclined side wall portions 90a and 90b have inner surface portions directed downwardly toward the ilat base 74 of the bracket 70 and they engage an outwardly protruding lower extremity 92 of the lbail leg 84 in the manner shown in FIG. l1 so as to prevent upward displacement of the bail leg `84 beyond the position shown in FIG. 11 with respect to the channel 80. In addition, the channel 80 has at its outer wall (base) an inwardly directed dimple 94 extending beneath and abutted by the bottom end of the leg 84 to prevent downward displacement thereof once it is located within the channel 80.

The channel 78 of the bracket 70 has a pair of opposed side walls 96a and I96b respectively formed with an upper pair of opposed inwardly directed projections 98a and 98h and with a lower pair of inwardly directed opposed projections 100:1 and llltlb. These projections also lmay be in the form of simple dimples pressed into the side walls 96a and 96b. As is apparent from FIG. 12, the dimples or projections 98a and 98b, and 100a and 100b form a means which limits the bail leg 82 to movement into and out of the channel 78 only longitudinally through the open top end thereof. The means formed by these latter projections prevent the bail leg 82 from being displaced laterally into or out of the channel 78. The outer wall (base) of the channel 78 is formed with an inwardly directed dimple 102 situated just beneath and adapted to be abutted by the bottom extremity of the bail leg 82 so as to limit the extent of downward movement thereof, and thus this leg 82 can only be located in the upper vertically extending portion of the channel 78.

The length of this vertical portion of channel 78 between the upper pair of dimples 98a and 98b and the lower pair of dimples 100a and 100b forms a means which prevents lateral displacement of the bail leg 82 with respect to the channel 78 as long as the bail leg 84 is within the channel 80. Because of the diameter and relative stiffness of the bail 72 it is not possible to tilt the bail leg 82 with respect to the channel 78, once it is contained therein, since the pairs of projections in the side walls of the upper vertical portion of the channel 78 strictly limit the bail leg 82 to a condition where it can only extend vertically while in the upper vertical portion of the channel 78. As a result, in order to introduce the bail leg 82 into or remove it from the channel 78 it is necessary for the bail leg 84 to be situated out of its associated channel 80. In this latter condition the entire bail 72 can be moved down so as to introduce the bail leg 82 into the channel 78 or up so as to remove the bail leg 82 out of the channel 78. Once this bail leg 82 is situated in the channel 78 it is possible for the bail leg 84 to be laterally displaced with respect to the channel 80 into or out of the latter with the leg 84 being maintained in the channel 80 through the above described tapered channel structure and outwardly flaring end 92 of the leg 84 and being stressed by its resiliency against the base ofthe channel 80.

It is particularly to be noted that the bail leg 82 at its lower free end portion which is received in the channel 78 has a simple cylindrical conlguration devoid of any depressions, protu-berances, or the like, While the other bail leg 84 has at its lower free end portion only the outwardly aring extremity 92 which can be very simply manufactured, as by swaging, so that the bail 72 is of an outstandingly simple and inexpensive construction. On the other hand, the bail 30 can be manufactured at only a slight additional cost since the lower free end portions of the bail legs are only required to be bent inwardly toward each other with one bail leg requiring only the outwardly ilaring portion 50 and the other requiring only tfhe simple indentation 64.

In both embodiments the brackets are formed from simple one-piece sections of sheet metal in an inexpensive manner by simple punching, swaging, and bending operations, or the like, so that the harps of both embodiments are exceedingly inexpensive.

At the same time by providing the bail legs of both harps with asymmetrical constructions it is possible to achieve the above results according to which one leg can only be connected to and disconnected from the bracket while the other leg is disconnected therefrom, to achieve in this way the exceedingly simple structure referred to above.

The manipulations required in connection with assembly and disassembly of the harp are also exceedingly simple. Should the operator try rst to disassemble the bail leg 58 of FIGS. 1-7 or the bail leg 82 of FIGS. 8-13, it will become immediately apparent that this cannot be done. Instead a simple inward pressure on the other bail leg, namely the leg 46 of the FIGS. 1-7 and 84 of FIGS. 8-13, will immediately displace it laterally out of its bracket channel, so that in this way the parts are quickly disassembled and can be readily reassembled through the reverse of these operations.

What is claimed is:

1. A take-apart lamp harp comprising a resilient wire bail having a pair of opposed legs respectively terminating in elongated free end portions of different constructions,

and a bracket having a base and a pair of opposed upwardly directed channels having interiors directed toward each other, one of said channels having a pair of opposed side walls directed toward the other of said channels and respectively terminating in free longitudinal side edges spaced from each other far enough to provide for entry of one of said free end portions of one of said legs laterally into said one channel, and said one channel having means 4coacting with said one free end portion when the latter is in said one channel to prevent outward longitudinal movement 0f said one bail leg with respect to said one channel, the other of said channels having an open top end through which the free end portion of the other bail leg can be introduced longitudinally into said other channel, said other channel having means limiting said other bail leg to introduction into said other channel only through said top open end thereof and preventing displacement of said other bail leg laterally out of said other channel and longitudinally out of the latter when said one leg is in said one channel, so that to attach said bail to said bracket said other leg must rst be introduced at its free end portion longitudinallyinto said other channel and then said one leg laterally introduced into said one channel, while to remove said bail from said bracket said one leg must first be laterally displaced out of said one channel before said other leg can be longitudinally displaced outwardly of said other channel.

2. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said one bail leg terminates at said free end portion thereof in an outwardly protruding enlarged portion and said means of said one channel, which prevents outward longitudinal movement of said one leg out of said one channel after being laterally introduced into the latter, including surface portions of said one channel directed downwardly toward said base of said bracket and overlying and engaging said enlarged portion of said one leg.

3. The combination of claim 2 and wherein said one channel terminates in bottom edge portions which have said downwardly directed surface portions engaging said outwardly protruding portion of said one leg.

4. The combination of claim 2 and wherein said one channel has a tapered portion provided with said downwardly directed surface portions engaging said outwardly protruding portion of said one bail leg.

5. The combination of claim 4 and wherein said one channel has a projection extending inwardly beneath said one bail leg to limit downward movement thereof toward said base of said bracket.

6. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said other channel has a pair of opposed side walls of which at least one has at least one projection directed inwardly toward the other wall and situated inwardly of said other bail leg at said free end portion thereof to form the means limiting said other bail leg to movement into said other channel only longitudinally through said open top end thereof.

7. The combination of claim 6 and wherein said free end portion of said other leg has an outer surface portion facing away from said one bail leg and formed with an identation, said other channel having a projection extending into said indentation to prevent axial displacement of said other leg with respect to said other channel until said one leg is rst removed from said one channel.

8. The combination of claim 6 and wherein said channels and free end portions of said bail legs are respectively inclined with respect to said base of said bracket at an angle of less than 90, and said one channel and bail leg portion therein being inclined oppostely to the other channel and said other bail leg portion therein, said channels flaring upwardly away from one another.

9. The combination of claim 6 and wherein said other channel has two pairs of projections, inclusive of said one projection, at side walls thereof directed inwardly toward each other and one pair of projections being situated beneath the other pair of projections by a distance great enough to prevent tilting of said free end portion of said other bail leg with respect to said other channel so that said other bail leg can only be removed from and introduced into said other channel by longitudinal movement through said open top end thereof while said one leg is out of said one channel, and said free end portion of said other bail leg having a smooth uninterrupted cylindrical surface devoid of projections, indentations and the like.

10. The combination of claim 9 and wherein said channels have upper portions extending perpendicularly with respect to said base of said bracket and receiving said free end portions of said bail legs, respectively, and said channels having between said upper portions and said bracket base intermediate elongated portions which are oppositely outwardly inclined at an angle of less than 90 with respect to said base of said bracket and which extend from said upper channel portions inwardly toward each other to said base of said bracket.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,453,658 11/1948 Chilo 24U-148 2,531,023 11/1950 Berger 240-148 2,650,294 8/ 1953 Berger 240-148 2,662,166 12/1953 Berger 240-148 2,670,432 2/ 1954 Benander 240-148 2,802,098 8/ 1957 Chilo 240-148 NORTON ANSHER, Primary Examiner

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