Mechanism for switching a pull switch for lighting fixtures

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6423919
  • Patent Number
    6,423,919
  • Date Filed
    Monday, May 14, 2001
    23 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, July 23, 2002
    22 years ago
Abstract
A mechanism for switching a pull switch for a lighting fixture having having a vertical post, a socket mounted at an upper end of the vertical post, and a pull switch fitted within the socket, the switch being operatively connected with a mechanism, characterized in that the mechanism comprises a fixing seat mounted under the socket, the fixing seat having a center opening for passage of the vertical post, a driving member having a first end pivotally connected with the fixing seat, a string connecting the pull switch and a second end of the driving member, and a rod having an upper end connected with an intermediate portion of the driving member.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




This invention is related to a mechanism for switching a pull switch for lighting fixtures and in particular to one which can be easily operated to turn on or off a lighting fixture as required.




2. Description of the Prior Art




Referring to

FIG. 5

, the conventional lamp with a pull switch generally includes a base


61


, a vertical post


62


vertically mounted on the base


61


, a socket


63


arranged at the upper end of the vertical post


62


, a bulb (not shown) engaged with the socket


63


, a pull switch (not shown) mounted in the socket


63


, and a string


44


having an upper end extending through a connector


65


to engage with the pull switch. The string


44


is suspended from the connection


65


so that the string


64


is disposed in parallel with the vertical post


62


. The lower end of the string


44


is provided with a decoration member


66


for keeping the string


44


at a fixed position when it is not subject to external forces. When desired to turn on or off a lighting fixture, it is only necessary to pull down the string


44


to control the pull switch. However, such an operation still suffers from the following drawbacks:




1. The distance between the string


64


and the vertical post


62


is small and the string


64


cannot be kept at a fixed position so that when one wants to grasp the string


64


to operate the pull switch, one's hand will be often in collision with the vertical post


62


and it often takes several times to catch the string


64


thereby causing much inconvenience in operation.




2. The string


64


will move to and fro after being pulled to switch the pull switch, so that the decoration member


66


mounted at the lower end of the string


64


will hit the vertical post


62


to produce undesirable noise.




3. The string


64


will often slip out of one's hand so that one often has to try several times to hold the string.




Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a mechanism for switching a pull switch for light fixtures which can obviate and mitigate the above-mentioned drawbacks.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




This invention is related to a mechanism for switching a pull switch for a lighting fixture.




It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a mechanism for switching a pull switch for a lighting fixture which can be easily operated to turn on or off a lighting fixture.




It is another object of the present invention to provide a mechanism for switching a pull switch for a lighting fixture which is simple in construction.




It is a further object of the present invention to provide a mechanism for switching a pull switch for a lighting fixture which is low in cost and easy to assemble.




According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a mechanism for switching a pull switch for a lighting fixture having having a vertical post, a socket mounted at an upper end of the vertical post, and a pull switch fitted within the socket, the switch being operatively connected with a mechanism, characterized in that the mechanism comprises a fixing seat mounted under the socket, the fixing seat having a center opening for passage of the vertical post, a driving member having a first end pivotally connected with the fixing seat, a string connecting the pull switch and a second end of the driving member, and a rod having an upper end connected with an intermediate portion of the driving member.




The foregoing object and summary provide only a brief introduction to the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other objects of the present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which will become apparent to those skilled in the art, the following detailed description of the invention and the claims should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specification and drawings identical reference numerals refer to identical or similar parts.




Many other advantages and features of the present invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is an exploded view of the present invention;





FIG. 2

is a perspective view of the present invention;





FIG. 3

is a sectional view of the present invention;





FIG. 4

illustrates the operation of the present invention;





FIG. 5

is a perspective view of a lamp with a string for operating a pull switch.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT




For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings. Specific language will be used to describe same. It will, nevertheless, be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device, and further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated herein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.




With reference to the drawings and in particular to

FIGS. 1

,


2


and


3


thereof, a lamp comprises a socket


10


provided with a tubular connector


11


for the passage of a string


13


. An end of the string


13


extends through the tubular connector


11


to engage with a pull switch


12


. The pull switch


12


is well known in art and has no need to be described here in detail.




The present invention is characterized as follows:




A fixing seat


20


is mounted under the socket


10


and has a center opening


21


for the passage of a vertical post


30


of a lamp. The fixing seat


20


is provided with a pair of upwardly extending arms


22


at one end, and a pair of lugs


24


at the other end. The fixing seat


20


is fixedly secured to the bottom of the socket


10


by a screw


13


(see FIG.


3


). The lugs


24


are each formed with an open slot


23


.




A driving member


40


is provided at an end with an axle


42


which is fitted into the open slot


23


of the lugs


24


of the fixing seat


20


, so that the driving member


40


is pivotally connected with the fixing seat


20


. The driving member


40


has a vertical through hole


43


at the central portion and a stepped hole at the other end. The stepped hole includes a small hole


45


at the upper position and a large hole


46


at the lower position. The stepped hole has a vertical slit


47


which is dimensioned for the passage of a string


13


. The string


13


has a lower end provided with a head member


14


which is configured and dimensioned to fit into the large hole


46


of the driving member


40


from the bottom of the stepped hole.




A rod


50


has an upper end


51


which is force-fitted into the vertical through hole


43


of the driving member


40


so that the driving member


40


will be moved in unison with the rod


50


. However, if the driving member


40


is made by injection molding, the upper end of the rod


51


may be enclosed by the central portion of the driving member


40


.




As shown in

FIGS. 3 and 4

, when desired to turn on or off the lighting fixture, it is only necessary to move the rod


50


against the vertical post


30


of the lamp so that the driving member


40


will be rotated downwardly with respect to the fixing seat


40


thereby pulling down the string


13


to actuate the pull switch


12


. As the rod


50


is released, the pull switch


12


will pull back the string


13


thereby returning the driving member


40


and the rod


50


to their original positions.




In conclusion, the present invention has the following advantages:




1. The lamp


10


can be easily turned on or off simply by applying a slight force to move the rod


10


thereby making easier the operation.




2. The present invention is simple in construction, low in cost and easy to assemble.




3. The present invention utilizes a rod instead of a string to operate the switching a lamp thereby making it easier to control.




4. The rod


50


will not sway to and fro so that a user may hold the rod without any difficulty.




It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together may also find a useful application in other types of methods differing from the type described above.




While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.



Claims
  • 1. In a lighting fixture having a vertical post, a socket mounted at an upper end of said vertical post, and a pull switch fitted within said socket, said switch being operatively connected with a mechanism, wherein said mechanism comprises a fixing seat mounted under said socket, said fixing seat having a center opening for passage of said vertical post, a driving member having a first end pivotally connected with said fixing seat, a string connecting said pull switch and a second end of said driving member, and a rod having an upper end connected with an intermediate portion of said driving member.
  • 2. The mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein said fixing seat is provided with a pair of upwardly extending arms at an end thereof, and a pair of lugs at another end thereof, said fixing seat being fixedly secured to a bottom of said socket by a screw.
  • 3. The mechanism as claimed in claim 2, wherein said lugs are each formed with an open slot for receiving said first end of said driving member.
  • 4. The mechanism as claimed in claim 3, wherein said first end of said driving member is provided with an axle pivotally connected with said open slot of said lugs.
  • 5. The mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein said second end of said driving member has a stepped hole which includes a first hole and a second hole which is located under said first hole and larger than said first hole, said stepped hole having a vertical slit which is dimensioned for passage of said string, said second hole being dimensioned to receive a head member attached to a lower end of said string.
US Referenced Citations (6)
Number Name Date Kind
1691137 Schuchert Nov 1928 A
2014217 Williamson Sep 1935 A
2598310 Schaser May 1952 A
5339618 Sawyer Aug 1994 A
5878871 Miesner Mar 1999 A
5993159 Mack Nov 1999 A