Bulb socket assembly

March 29, 1960

2,931,005

A. G. SAURWE1N ETAL

BULB SOCKET ASSEMBLY

Filed Sept. 17, 1954

Sheets-Sheet 1

<img file="US2931005A_D0001.tif" />

March 29, 1960

2,931,005

A. G. SAURWEIN ETAL

BULB SOCKET. ASSEMBLY

Filed Sept. 17, 1954

Sheets-Sheet 2

<img file="US2931005A_D0002.tif" />

2,931,005

Patented Mar. 29, 1960

United States Patent Office

2,931,005 BULB SOCKET ASSEMBLY Albert G. Saurwein and Richard H. Parker, St. Albans, Vt., assignors to Union Carbide Corporation, a corporation of New York

Application September 17, 1954, Serial No. 456,807 3 Claims. (Cl. 339—182)

This invention relates to a flashlight switch assembly, and more particularly concerns a switch for a flashlight having a two filament bulb for spotlight and floodlight operation.

In a dual purpose flashlight, that is, a flashlight adapted to receive a two filament flashlight bulb so as to be suitable for use as either a spotlight or a floodlight, there is a problem of providing a suitable switch which can be used to convert the flashlight to either spotlight or floodlight operation. Principal features that are desirable in a spotlight-floodlight type flashlight are prevention of short circuiting of the bulb filament elements, effective and easily manipulated flash and steady light switch controls and incorporation of the switch parts within a conventionally appearing flashlight assembly without altering to any perceptible degree the compactness and shape of the flashlight.

It is, therefore, an important object of the present invention to provide a switch mechanism suitable for use in a flashlight of the spotlight-floodlight type.

Another object of the invention is to provide in a flashlight having a two filament flashlight bulb, a novel flashlight bulb socket holder and switch selector means for selectively establishing electrical contact with each of the bulb filaments, whereby the flashlight may be operated as a floodlight or spotlight.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a sectional elevational view of a flashlight casing embodying the invention, and illustrating the flashlight in spotlight operation;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged portion of the section shown in Fig. 1, illustrating important features of the switch mechanism and illustrating the switch mechanism in floodlight operation;

Fig. 3 is an exploded view of the movable switch parts inside the flashlight casing;

Fig. 4 is an exploded view of the bulb socket assembly 45 of the invention; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the slide button switch assembly taken along the line 5—5 in Fig. 2, and showing underlying parts.

Referring now to the drawings, there is disclosed a 50 flashlight 10 constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of our invention and adapted to receive therein conventional batteries Ila and 11b. The flashlight 10 comprises a tubular casing or housing 12 made of thin gage metal such as chrome-plated steel or brass 55 or other similarly conductive material, preferably a metal capable of being finished to a highly polished state.

A conventional head assembly 14 provided at the upper end of the casing 12 includes an internally threaded closure member 16 adapted to be received on a corre- ao spondingly threaded portion 17 of the casing, a lens 18, and a plastic funnel-shaped reflector member 19 having a parabolic reflector 20 provided with a mirror finish and a hollow cylindrical externally threaded neck portion 22. The closure member 16 may be made entirely 65 of resinous material or may comprise a threaded metal ring 16α carried by a resinous body 166. An opening 24 in the reflector 20 communicates with the inside cylindrical surface 26 of the neck 22. At juncture of the inner surface 26 and the opening 24, there is provided '³an abutment or shoulder 27 against which a bulb flange of a two-filament flashlight bulb 29 may seat. Depending on which bulb filament is energized, the flashlight may be operated as a spotlight or a floodlight.

As a feature of the present invention, novel means are 5 afforded for receiving the two filament bulb 29 in a flashlight bulb socket holder assembly 32. Accordingly, the holder assembly 32 of the present invention comprises a metallic cylindrical shell 34 having a body portion 36 threaded so that it may be received on the externally 10 threaded portion of the neck 22, and an annular base flange 37 at one end of the shell body (see Fig. 4).

Disposed concentrically of the shell body 36 is a metallic tubular socket member 38 which extends inside the hollow of the neck 22 and terminates just short of 15 the reflector shoulder 27. This socket 38 is constructed to loosely receive therein the base 39 of the bulb 29. An open ended slot 40 in which the common terminal 42 of the two-filament bulb 29 reciprocatingly moves prevents rotation of the bulb relative to the socket 38. The socket 20 38 is predeterminedly spaced from the shoulder 27 by means of an annular flange 44 which seats against the end of the neck 22 and also contacts the shell flange 37.

Contact with the individual filaments of the hub 29 is consumated by means of flat, metallic, filament contact25 ing annular disks or rings 46 and 47. These disks are insulatingly spaced from each other by means of an annular insulating spacer 48 of predetermined thickness. Straddling the filament contacting disks 46 and 47 is a pair of annular insulating spacers 49 and 50. Each of ³³ these spacers 49 and 50 is constructed with the same inside diameter, which is slightly larger than the inside diameter of the socket flange 37, but approximately the same diameter as the inside diameter of the neck surface 26.

Integral with each of the filament contacting disks 46 and 47 is a flexibly resilient filament contacting tab 52 and 54 respectively, which extends generally radially inwardly and is angled in the direction of the bulb filament terminals 56 and 57 located at the bottom of the flashlight bulb base 39 to effect contact therewith. The free ends of the tabs 52 and 54 are disposed in predetermined spaced relation to each other, and in non-registering alignment so that each tab may contact only one filament terminal and each tab may simultaneously contact respectively its filament terminal.

In face contact with the annular insulator 50 is a disk 58 comprising a flat, annular margin 59 disposed in adjacency with the insulator 50, and a crown portion 60 offset from the plane of the margin 59 and formed to provide a seat 62 for receiving the cell cap of the battery Ila.

Means are provided for avoiding rotational and sliding movement of the disk contactors 46 and 47 relative to the insulators 48, 49 and 50, since such movement tends to throw the flexible tabs 52 and 54 out of registry with their respective bulb filament terminals 56 and 57, acts to break the continuity of the flashlight circuit, and causes short circuits. To this end, the contacting disks 46 and 47 and the insulator 48 are interlocked by providing the insulator 48 with a suitable plurality? of studs or projections 64 in one face thereof, the studs extending through registering openings 66 in the contactor disk 46 and terminating flush with the marginal surface thereof. Similar studs 67, not necessarily aligned with studs 64, are provided in the opposite face of the insulator 48 for registration in like manner with openings 68 provided in the contacting disk 47. Additional openings 69 in each of the disks 46 and 47 may be provided, see Fig. 4, so that the disks may be made in duplicate and used interchangeably. The studs 64 and 67 may be disposed in any spaced pattern that may be desired, two being shown in each face of the insulator 48 in the illustrated embodiment, althrough a larger or smaller number may be used. Relative

S,93 3 movement of the filament contacting disks 46 and 47 is thereby avoided because of the opposition of the studs 64 and 67 in the openings 66 and 68 respectively.

Retention of the socket holder assembly parts in assembled relation is accomplished by fastening the shell 34, the tubular socket flange 44, the disks 46 and 47, the insulating spacers 48, 49 and 50, and the cell cap contacting disk 58 together, as by riveting, by providing in each member registering rivet openings 70 and 72 for the passage therethrough of metallic fastening rivets 74.

For the purpose of providing electrical contact between the cell cap of the battery 11α and the base of the bulb 29, without short circuiting the bulb filament terminals 56 and 57, the rivet openings 70 in the filament contacting disks 46 and 47 are enlarged so that rivet contact is avoided, the studs 64 and 67 acting to retain the rivets concentrically in the openings 70.

Locator holes 73 may be provided in each of the socket holder assembly parts to facilitate assembling such parts. For illustration purposes, these locator holes 73 are shown in Fig. 4 disposed in alternate manner with either openings 70 or 72 as the case may be. In assembly, these openings 73 present a pair of aligned apertures in the flanges of the parts constituting the socket holder assembly 32.

In attaching the socket holder assembly 32 to the head assembly 14, the bulb 29 is first inserted in the socket 38 so that the common filament terminal 42 fits in the guide slot 40. In this position, the bulb 29 is resiliently supported in the socket 38 by the tabs 52 and 54, and at the same time, the bulb terminals 56 and 57 are in respective engagement with the tabs 52 and 54. The socket holder assembly 32 is then moved upwardly with respect to the head assembly 14 until the bulb flange 28 abuts-the shoulder 27 of the reflector 19 when the shell 34 is threaded onto the externally threaded portion of the neck 22 and the socket flange 44 engages the base of the neck 22. In this position the socket holder assembly 32 is fixedly mounted with respect to the head assembly 14 and the flashlight casing 12.

It will be noted from the drawings that in assembly the insulators 48, 49 and 50 extend beyond the shell flange 37 and the socket flange 44, and the filament contacting disks 46 and 47 in turn extend beyond the insulators 48, 49 and 50. By reason of the outward extension of the contacting disks 46 and 47, and their predetermined spacing, the disks are in a position to be contacted by the switch mechanism to be described hereafter.

It is to be pointed out at this stage that in the illustration shown in Fig. 1, both filaments in the bulb 29 have a common terminal 42 contactively engaging the socket 40, which in turn makes contact with the shell flange 37. The shell flange 37 makes electrical contact with the cell cap contactor disk 58 through metallic rivets 74. The cell cap contactor disk 58 makes direct electrical contact with the cell cap terminal of the battery 11α. A metallic helical spring member 75 provides sufficient bias to insure a continuous electrical path through the flashlight batteries, and serves as a pathway to ground, as it is in electrical contact with the flashlight casing wall 12. The other end of each of the filaments, that is, filament terminals 56 and 57, engages respective filament contactor disks 46 and 47 through the resilient tabs 52 and 54.

According to the present invention, selective completion of the electrical circuit from one or the other of the filament contacting disks 52 and 54 may be accomplished by means of a switching mechanism 108. For this purpose sufficient clearance is provided for the switch device between the flashlight casing 12 and the socket holder assembly 32 and batteries. The switch device 100 comprises a strip contactor 102 (Fig. 3) made of thin gage, electrically conductive material such as bronze, having an elongated rectangular body section 104 possessing resilient characteristics and an elongated flexibly resilient extension section 106. Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, the ,005 rectangular body section 104 is arranged inside the flashlight casing between the flashlight wall 12 and the batteries 11α and 116, so that the extension 106 projects toward the cap end of the flashlight with its terminal 5 portion disposed in the casing clearance alongside the bulb socket holder assembly 32.

To effect contact with one or the other of the disks 52 and 54 of the holder assembly 32, the portion of the extension 106 adjacent the free end thereof is offset suffi10 ciently to contact either of said disks by angularly bending it to form convergent flexing portions 108 and 110 terminating in a curved nose contacting portion 112. However, the nose 112 does not extend inwardly to such an extent as to interfere with the removal or insertion of 15 the flashlight batteries.

Permanently attached to the strip contactor 102 and arranged adjacent the inside of the casing wall 12 is a metal stop plate 114 which is insulated from the strip contactor 102 by a strip of insulation material 116 dis20 posed therebetween. Securement of the strip contactor, stop plate and insulator strip is accomplished by providing in opposed longitudinal edges of the body section 104, pairs of notches or cut-away areas 118 and 120 adapted to receive therein pairs of underturned tongues 25 122 and 124 integral with the insulator strip 116, and pairs of tongues 126 and 128 struck out from the body of the stop plate 114. As illustrated in the exploded view shown in Fig. 3, the tongues 126 and 128 straddle the tongues 122 and 124, and pass through notches 130 30 and 132 defined in opposite longitudinal edges of the insulator strip by the insulator tongues 122 and 124. Further securement of the strip contactor 102, stop plate 114 and insulator strip 116 is provided by underturning the terminal portions 134 and 136 respectively 35 of the insulator strip and the stop plate so as to embrace the underside of the extension 106. With the aforesaid construction there is little likelihood of any member catching on the switch construction and deranging same, as for instance when removing or inserting a battery.

Close tolerances between the notches 118 and 120 and the tongues 122, 124, .126 and 128, although desirable, are not necessary in the present invention. The notches are constructed slightly larger than the tongues. Movement of the switch mechanism parts relative to each 45. other may be restricted substantially by providing registering openings 140 and 142 in the insulator 116 and the strip contactor 102 to reecive theerthrough a depressed portion 144 pressed out from the body of the stop plate 114.

5θ Provision is made for limiting longitudinal movement of the switch mechanism 100 inside the flashlight casing. Accordingly, the stop plate member 114 is constructed to be slidably movable in a longitudinal direction by providing a pair of spaced embossed annular sections 146 55 and 147 in the stop plate, which are loosely receivable in elongated enclosed slots 148 and 150 in the flashlight casing 12. In assembly, the contactor strip 102, insulator strip 116 and the stop plate 114 are transversely curved to conform as closely as possible to the curvature of the βθ flashlight casing 12, so that the embossed areas 146 and 147 lie approximately flush with the outer surface of the flashlight casing. Each of the sections 146 and 147 is provided with a rivet receiving aperture 152 and 154 respectively therein.

₆5 Actuation of the strip contactor into engagement with either of the filament disks 46 or 47, may be performed by manipulating a switch bar or switch housing 156 disposed outside and adjacent the casing 12. The switch mechanism parts inside the flashlight casing are adapted to be movably carried by the switch housing 156 by means of rivets 158 passing through rivet openings 160 and 152, 154, provided for this purpose in the switch housing and the embossed sections 146, 147 respectively. The rivet ends are outturned to fit within the 75 recession defined by the raised sections 146, 147 to per2,931,006 rnanently secure the switch housing 156 to the stop plate 114.

Enlarged openings 162 and 164 in the insulator strip and strip contactor respectively concentrically disposed with respect to the axis of rivet 158 prevent electrical contact between the rivet end and the strip contactor 102. As a result of this construction, the switch housing 156 together with the switch parts 102, 114 and 116 may be reciprocatingly slidingly moved as a unit relative to the casing 12, the extent of movement being determined by the amount of movement of the raised sections 146 and 147 in the elongated slots 148 and 150. To protect the finish of the casing 12 during sliding of the switch housing 156, a protective gasket 166 provided with suitable openings 167 to receive the rivets 158 is interposed between the casing and the switch housing.

The slots 148 and 150 in the casing are of predetermined length so that the contactor strip 102 may be operatively moved into contact with either disk 46 or 47. As shown in Fig. 2, when the housing 156 is in the extreme forward position, the nose section 112 is in electrical contact with the disk 46. For illustration purposes, the circuit arrangement illustrated in Fig. 2 places the flashlight in floodlight operation, but this position may equally well be adapted for spotlight operation if so desired. Sliding movement of the switch housing 156 toward the rear end of the casing cams the nose 112 outwardly so that it rides over the disk 46. Continued movement of the housing in the same direction allows the nose to disengage itself from contact with the disk 46 into resilient engagement with the disk 47, see Fig. 1, which corresponds in this instance to spotlight operation.

Suitable provision is made to maintain the nose contacting portion 112 of the contactor strip 102 in contact with only one of the filament contacting disks 46 and 47 at a time. Accordingly, the insulating spacer 48 is provided with a larger diameter than each of the insulating spacers 49 and 50, but slightly smaller diameter than the diameter of each of the filament contacting disks 46 and 47. By providing the insulating spacer 48 with a sufficiently large and predetermined thickness, and at the same time forming the nose 112 of a sufficiently small radius of curvature, only one disk contactor at a time may be engaged by said nose when said nose is moved from one switch position to another.

It is desirable to shorten the time interval during which both filaments are energized. This is accomplished in the present invention by providing an inwardly extending projection or detent 168 in the wall of the casing 12, and an opposed projection or ridge 170 in the stop plate 114. Thus, in changing from floodlight operation to spotlight operation, moderate actuating pressure must be applied to the switch housing 156 in order for the projection 168 to resiliently override the ridge 170. This causes the stop plate 114 and its associated switch part members to move relatively quickly from floodlight position into spotlight position, and as a consequence minimizes the time interval during which neither filament is lit.

Completion of the flashlight circuit is accomplished by means of a slide button switch 172 mounted on the housing 156.

The button switch comprises a button 174 and a button switch housing 176 having depending tongues 178 which are adapted to fit in corresponding enclosed slots 180 in the switch housing 156, thereby forming a tongue and slot connection. This allows the button housing 176 to be reciprocatingly and slidably moved relative to the switch housing 156. The button 174 is mounted for axial movement in an aperture 182 in the button housing. The said button is also adapted to pass through an opening 184 in the switch housing 156, and is held captive therein by an outwardly disposed button flange 186, which normally lies in the opening 184 and rests against the underside of the switch housing 156. Communicating with the opening 184 is an elongated track opening 188 having a width slightly less than the diameter of the button flange 186.

A spring strip 190 in resilient engagement with the flanged end 186 of the button 174 is secured at one end by a rivet 192 to the inside of the switch housing 156.

The following means are provided for effecting operation of the flashlight circuit. For intermittent operation, depression of the button 174 inwardly moves the free end of a spring arm 190, which spring arm is provided 10 with a contacting tongue 191, and completes the flashlight circuit to ground by causing said tongue 191 to contact the strip contactor 102 through registering apertures 193, 194, 195 and 196 in the insulator 166, the casing 12, the stop plate 114 and the insulator strip 116 15 respectively. Release of the button interrupts the circuit due to the outward movement of the spring, which moves the button to its normal or off position.

Steady light operation is obtained by first manually pressing the button to complete the flashlight circuit. 20 This permits the button 174 to be manipulated longitudinally into the track opening 188 and prevents the spring 190 from breaking the circuit when the button 174 is released by reason of the opposition of the button flange 186 against the margin of the track. The button 25 switch operates equally well when the switch housing 156 is in spotlight position or floodlight position.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the present invention.