Patent Application
20050026483
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrical lighting fixtures and, more particularly, an improved socket system for use with fluorescent lamps, and especially Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps (“CCFL”).
2. Description of the Related Art
Cold cathode fluorescent lamps are a miniaturized fluorescent lamp with unique characteristics, in addition to their size. Conventional fluorescent lamps require heated electrodes at both ends of the lamp for operation, necessitating a pair of terminals at each end so that a current can heat the filaments constituting the lamp electrodes.
Once the filaments are heated, a substantial voltage gradient is created between the electrodes to ionize the gas contained within the lamp. The ionization causes a glow which causes phosphors coating the interior of the lamp to glow brightly. Depending upon the choice of phosphors, the lamp can fluoresce in many shades and colors.
The cold cathode fluorescent lamp (“CCFL”) normally has a diameter that is a fraction of that of the “regular”, heated electrode fluorescent lamp. Because the electrodes can arc without being heated, the lamp operation is substantially cooler. Moreover, only a single electrical conductor is needed at each end to complete the lamp circuit.
Currently, sockets for cold cathode fluorescent lamps are u-shaped spring clip conductors that connect electrically with a conductive surface at each end of the lamp that is electrically coupled to an electrode. The lamp is press fitted into place and the spring clip socket holds the lamp and supplies energy to the electrodes.
Because of the fragility of the conventional cold cathode fluorescent lamp, both the insertion and removal processes of a lamp in and from such a socket is a delicate procedure. Without substantial precautions, lamps could be destroyed while attempting their insertion or removal. Such a mishap could prove to be costly, if personal injury followed.
There are no known health hazards from exposure to lamps that are intact and not broken. The major hazard from broken lamps is the possibility of sustaining glass cuts. Also, if the lamp envelope is broken the lamp integrity is compromised. Once the lamp is broken, then numerous chemicals and materials could be inhaled, ingested or contacted with the skin or eyes.
At least one supplier of such lamps, ALKCO, of Franklin Park, Ill., a division of JJI Lighting Group, Inc., recommends that a piece of paper be inserted under a lamp to be removed. Lifting up on the ends of the piece of paper provides a support sling which spreads the removal force over a larger area. The lamp can then be removed with less danger of breakage.
Conventional fluorescent lamps are of much larger diameter and may be considered sturdier and more robust, with fewer handling hazards. The sockets for such lamps in current use include a pair of conductive spring clips to engage the pins of the lamp. The lamps are oriented so that they slide into the socket and are then rotated through approximately 90° to engage the conductive clips.
This operation is not without hazards. Too forceful a rotation of the lamp could result in either the breaking of the pins which are connected to the lamp electrodes or potentially a rotation of the glass tube in the end fitting which could break the vacuum seal and disable the lamp. It is also possible to break the glass tube with all of the attendant consequences.
What is needed, and what is supplied by the current invention, is a bulb socket that can automatically seat and unseat a typical fluorescent tube or bulb without the need to manually manipulate the bulb to get it in and out of the sockets.
According to the present invention, there is provided a rotating lamp bracket or lamp holder into which a lamp can be placed. Preferably, the CCFL has a conductive end cap which can seat into a u-shaped spring clip socket with conductive arms. Alternatively, the socket can be adapted to contact whatever contact elements have been provided to power the electrodes. For the conventional fluorescent lamp, a pair of spring clip elements can be provided to enage the electrode pins at each end of the lamp.
When in the open position, the lamp can be supported by the brackets at each end. The brackets are adapted to rotate about an axis that is orthogonal to the axis of the lamps. Rotating the bracket then deposits the lamp ends into the waiting socket and further rotation of the bracket causes an interaction in which each bracket causes the lamp or bulb to be fully seated in the associated socket. The lamp is then fully locked into place by the rotating bracket by a positive friction fit slot-and-tab system built into bracket.
Removal of the bulb is then accomplished by rotating the brackets in the opposite direction. Support arms engage the ends of the bulb and continued rotation of the brackets urge the bulb out of the sockets until the bulb is supported wholly by the brackets. The operation is substantially similar for CCFL and conventional fluorescent lamps with the only difference being that the conventional lamp may require a built in orienting device to assure that the pins enter the spring clips.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a socket system for fluorescent bulbs that facilitate insertion, locking and removal of the bulbs into frictional sockets.
It is an additional object of invention to provide a socket system for the easy and safe insertion and removal of cold cathode fluorescent lamps.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a socket system that easily inserts and removes bulbs with conductive end caps into and from frictional spring clips that power the lamps by providing all necessary electrical contact to energize and operate the fluorescent lamp.
It is a further object of invention to provide a socket system for conventional fluorescent lamps that does not require rotation of the lamp to seat the conductive pins into conductive socket clips.
The novel features which are characteristic of the invention, both as to structure and method of operation thereof, together with further objects and advantages thereof, will be understood from the following description, considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which the preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated by way of example. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only, and they are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention.
Turning first to
The CCFL device 14 includes a CCFL bulb 16 that is supported within a cylindrical case 18 by resilient support means 20. A conductive end cap 22 secures the CCFL device and enables the CCFL electrodes to be coupled to a source of electrical energy.
The socket 12 includes a rotating cover 24 which, in the open position, supports the bulb 16 above the socket 12 and, in the closed position, cams the conductive end caps 22 into full contact with a spring clip 26 that is connected to a source of electrical energy. To remove a bulb 16, the cover 24 must be rotated to the open position. A supporting arm 28, best seen in
The component parts of the socket 12 are shown in
Protrusions (not shown) can be placed on the cover 24 which can cooperate with indentations in the side walls 34 of the base 36. These protrusions then can act s a “soft latch” to indicate when the cover 24 is closed or provide a slight resistance to opening the cover 24.
If the CCFL is constructed according to the teachings of Marsh, and as shown in
The supporting arm 28 is positioned to hold the CCFL 14 with the socket cover 24 in the open position. However, as the socket cover 24 rotates to the closed position, the supporting arm 28 rotates away as the CCFL 14 engages the spring clip 26. Opening the socket cover 24, the supporting arm 28 rotates into engagement with the CCFL 14 and applies a force to disengage it from the spring clip 26. As the rotation is completed, the CCFL 14 rests on the supporting arm 28 for easy removal and replacement.
The operational sequence is shown in
In
In
In
On the inner surface of the rotating cover 124 is an orienting protrusion 129 which aligns the pins 122 with the spring clips 126. The remainder of the structure is substantially similar to that of the preferred embodiment designed for CCFLs.
In operation, a fluorescent lamp 114 is placed on the open rotating covers 124 positioned at each end of the lamp 114. The orienting protrusion 129 need be found on only one of the sockets 112, but as a practical matter, will be placed on both. The lamp 114 then rests on the supporting arm 128, properly oriented to enter the spring clips 126 when the rotating covers 124 are closed.
Modifications and variations in the design will occur to those skilled in the art and the scope of the invention should be limited only by the claims appended below.
