Shock resistant lighting fixture

A light fixture for holding a tubular lamp having end contacts at each opposite end comprising:

• a housing providing a concave inside surface;
• a first socket, mounted to said inside surface of said housing and having a first contact element recessed therein for mating with a first end contact of the lamp;
• a second socket, having a second contact element recessed therein for mating with a second end contact of the lamp, said first socket oriented axially aligned with said second socket, said second socket resiliently mounted to said inside surface of said housing, movable toward and away from said first socket;
• and
• a reflector mounted covering said inside surface of said housing, said first socket and said second socket protruding from said inside surface of said housing through said reflector, said reflector providing a hole adjacent to said first socket for receiving a first end of the lamp therein, during relamping, to position a second end of the lamp into said second socket, said second socket resiliently displaceable a distance sufficient to retract said lamp in a direction from said hole inwardly of the housing, to position said first end of said lamp in alignment to insert said first end into said first socket, wherein said first socket and said second socket provide laterally arranged slots proceeding axially along said sockets from inwardly leading ends of said sockets, to permit lateral entry of said first end and said second end of said lamp into said first socket and said second socket respectively.

A method for relamping a light fixture for holding a tubular lamp therein, the tubular lamp having end contacts at each opposite end, comprising:

• provide a light fixture having a housing with a first socket and a second socket mounted facing each other at opposite ends of the housing in axial alignment;
• provide a reflector mounted to said housing on an inside surface of said housing, with said sockets protruding from said housing through said reflector;
• provide a hole in said reflector adjacent to said first socket;
• provide that said second socket is spring loaded, resiliently movable axially toward and away from said first socket;
• provide that the first socket and the second socket have contact elements arranged recessed inside each socket;
• provide a lamp element having end contacts at each opposite end;
• insert the lamp element at a first end into the hole adjacent to said first socket;
• swing a second end of the lamp element toward the second socket and insert therein;
• push the lamp element toward the second socket, making electrical contact between the respective end contact of the lamp and the contact element of the second socket, and further push the lamp to depress the spring loaded second socket;
• swing the first end of the lamp element into alignment with the first socket and insert therein;
• and
• allow the spring loaded second socket to retract, thus holding the lamp element resiliently between the first socket and the second socket.