Water-tight lamp socket

• US 5,660,560 A
• Filed: 12/22/1995
• Issued: 08/26/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Tzu-Ling Cheng, You-Jen Cheng
• Original Assignee: Tzu-Ling Cheng, You-Jen Cheng
• Inventors: Cheng, You-jen, Cheng, Tzu-ling
• Primary Examiner(s): Pirlot, David L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): TA, THO DAC
• Application Number:
  US08/576,218
• Time in Patent Office: 613 Days
• Field of Search: 439/419, 439/417, 439/414, 439/271, 439/280, 439/306, 439/336, 439/339, 439/340, 439/356
• US Class Current: 439/419
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 33/22 for screw type base, e.g. for lamp
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 33/9655 for bayonet type coupling devices
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 4/2406 having needles or pins

Abstract

A water-tight lamp socket which includes a rubber packing ring mounted around the socket body and having two recessed portions disposed at two opposite ends of the wire groove on the socket body, two water sealing retainers respectively mounted around the electric wire in the wire groove of the socket body and set in the recessed portions of the rubber packing ring and held down by the socket cap of the lamp socket to seal the gap of the wire groove, and a water sealing ring mounted within the socket body to seal the gap between the socket body and the lamp bulb.

Claims

1. A water-tight lamp socket of the type comprising a socket body to hold a lamp bulb, said socket body having a wire groove, two socket cap mounting slots, a center slot through said wire groove, and a T-shaped side slot through said wire groove, an electric wire mounted in said wire groove, a socket cap fastened to said socket body to hold down said electric wire, said socket cap having two downward hooks respectively hooked in said socket cap mounting slots, and a pressure block pressed against said electric wire, a center metal contact plate mounted in said center slot and having a pointed tip disposed in contact with one conductor of said electric wire, and a side metal contact plate mounted in said T-shaped side slot and having a pointed tip raised from a horizontal top section thereof and disposed in contact with one conductor of said electric wire, wherein:

said socket body further comprises a recessed portion at one end of said wire groove around said T-shaped side slot to receive the horizontal top section of said side metal contact plate, permitting the horizontal top section of said side metal contact plate to be disposed in flush with said wire groove, two upright sliding grooves disposed at two opposite sides of said recessed portion to receive two opposite projections of said side metal contact plate, and two opposite pairs of projections bilaterally raised from the periphery at two opposite ends relative to said wire groove;

said side metal contact plate has two projections raised from the horizontal top section thereof at two opposite sides and respectively forced into engagement with the upright sliding grooves of said socket body;

a rubber packing ring is mounted around said socket body outside said wire groove, having two recessed portions respectively disposed at two opposite ends of said wire groove;

two water sealing retainers are respectively mounted around said electric wire an set in the recessed portions of said rubber packing ring;

a water sealing ring is mounted within said socket body around the base of said lamp bulb to prohibit water from entering the inside of said socket body through the gap between said socket body and said lamp bulb;

the pressure block of said socket cap is pressed against said water sealing retainers to hold down said electric wire, having mounting grooves at a bottom side thereof respectively forced into engagement with the projections of said socket body.

2. The water-tight lamp socket of claim 1 wherein said socket body has an inside annular groove around the inside wall thereof, which receives said water sealing ring.