Electric lamp with insulating base
AssigneeGTE Products Corporation
InventorsDaniel D. Devir, Richard J. Dolan, James P. Szep
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An electric, incandescent lamp including an electrically insulating (e.g., plastic) base which is securedly positioned on the lamp's sealed end portion without the need for adhesives or the like. The base functions to securedly retain the lamp's lead-in wires (a total of four in a dual filament lamp) in a preestablished alignment externally of the lamp's sealed end (from which the wires project) to thereby assure positive electrical connection thereto when the lamp and base are inserted within a corresponding electrical socket. The invention is ideally suited for use in a tail light assembly for an automobile.
Claims8
An electric lamp comprising:
- a sealed, light-transmitting glass envelope having a bulbous portion and a press sealed end portion, said press sealed end portion substantially rectangular is cross section;
- at least one filament located within the interior of said bulbous portion of said envelope;
- a pair of lead-in conductors each connected at one end thereof to said filament, each of said conductors sealed within said press sealed end portion of said envelope and projecting exteriorly thereof;
- and
- an electrically insulating base member including a first portion having an opening therein and a protruding second portion adjacent said first portion for being positioned within a socket having electrical contacts therein, said press sealed end portion of said envelope being securedly positioned within said opening, said first portion of said base member thereby providing a cover for said press sealed end portion, each of said exteriorly projecting portions of said conductors passing through said protruding second portion and protruding externally thereof, said first portion of said insulating base member including means for maintaining the externally protruding portions of said conductors in predetermined alignment within said first portion and against a respective external surface of said protruding second portion such that electrical contact can be provided between said electrical contacts within said socket and said external protruding portions of said conductors in the region of said protruding second portion when said second portion is positioned within said socket, said first portion of said base member including flexure means therein for enabling the sidewalls of said first portion to expand outwardly during positioning of said press sealed end portion of said glass envelope therein to prevent damage to said sealed end portion and to enable said press sealed end portion to be positioned within said first portion without the need for adhesives or the like.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.