Illumination – Light source and modifier – Ionized gas or vapor light source
Patent
1996-05-28
1998-08-18
Lazarus, Ira S.
Illumination
Light source and modifier
Ionized gas or vapor light source
362 61, 362 80, 362226, B60Q 100, F21K 2700, H01R 3300
Patent
active
057950563
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention concerns an assembly for holding a lamp in an opening of a reflector of a motor vehicle headlight in which the lamp is mountable in the opening from a rear side of the reflector with a socket of the lamp engaging a supporting surface of the reflector, a cover for closing the opening is releasably attached to the rear side reflector at its rear side, and at least one spring holding element is tensioned against the cover and the lamp socket for pressing the socket against the supporting surface of the reflector when the lamp is mounted.
Such an assembly for arranging a lamp in an opening of a reflector of a motor vehicle headlight is disclosed in German patent publication DE 28 52 833. An opening of the reflector for receiving the lamp is surrounded by a collar formed on a rear side of the reflector. A surrounding shoulder is formed on an interior surface of the collar which has a support surface for a socket plate facing opposite a direction from which the lamp is mounted. A cover is a ring-shaped cap which is mounted on the collar of the reflector in a screwing manner. A spring holding element, which is a coiled spring, surrounds a cylindrical socket of the lamp between the socket plate and the cover. The coil spring engages an interior surface of the cap and presses the socket plate of the lamp against the support surface of the reflector. Thus, when the lamp is changed, only the cap must be released, and not the spring holding element as well, from attachment with the reflector. Mounting the cap is quite inconvenient and time consuming if the coiled spring is not affixed to the cap. The coiled spring can get bent or even become lost if the cap and the coiled spring are inadvertently, upon changing the lamps, laid to the side and/or the mounting of the cap and the coiled spring are not carried out in a correct manner. When the cap is mounted on the collar of the reflector at a diagonal to a lamp axis, the lamp can be forced from its desired position to an unfocused position relative to the reflector. One tries to prevent this latter from happening by placing shoulders on the cover and/or the reflector, but this defocusing of the lamp cannot always be assured. A coiled spring can only be used as the spring element if the lamp has a sufficiently large socket plate.
A spring holding element is disclosed in German patent publication DE 23 12 633 which has a ring-shaped portion which is placed in a collar and two spring tongues, whose free ends are directed in a direction opposite to a direction in which a lamp will be mounted, are positioned on opposite sides of the ring-shaped portion. Holding shoulders are formed on the ring-shaped portion having claws which are pressed into an inner side of the collar. The ring-shaped portion of the spring holding element has a support surface for the lamp facing a direction opposite to a direction in which the lamp will be mounted. The spring tongues have radial portions which are bowed inwardly to self-guidingly snap, behind, the socket. Thus, a mounting and dismounting of the lamp can be quickly carried out in an uncomplicated manner. However, a position of the lamp relative to the reflector is dependent upon the position of the spring holding element. Further, the lamp is not securely supported by the reflector because the connection between the spring holding element and the reflector can be loosened by vibrations or by driving operations.
In german patent publication DE 28 53 227, a tongue serving as a spring holding element is manufactured of sheet metal strip and has one portion attached to a collar surrounding an opening of a reflector and another portion snapingly gripping behind a lamp mounted in an opening of the reflector, with the socket being pressed against a support surface of the reflector facing the direction opposite to a direction in which the lamp is mounted as well as against a support surface facing radially to a lamp axis. In this case, fixed seating of the lamp depends upon a fixed seating of the spring
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Hella KG & Hueck Co.
Lazarus Ira S.
Spark Matthew J.
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