Luminaire including a double-ended lamp and means for protecting against electric shock during relamping

In a luminaire that is adapted to employ as a light source a double-ended lamp comprising a tubular light-transmitting envelope having a central longitudinal axis, conductive terminals at opposite ends of the envelope, and a light-generating filament located within said envelope and connected between said terminals, the terminals having surfaces that face axially outward of the envelope, the combination of:

• (a) a luminaire housing containing a light-emitting opening at one side through which said lamp is installed,
• (b) a pair of contacts disposed at spaced-apart locations within said housing and having portions adapted to respectively engage said outwardly-facing surfaces of said lamp terminals when the lamp is installed within said luminaire,
• (c) spring means for urging said contacts into engagement with said outwardly-facing terminal surfaces when the lamp is installed within said luminaire,
• (d) a socket of insulating material around each contact,
• (e) a pair of casings respectively disposed about said sockets, each casing including sidewalls at opposite sides of the associated socket and an end region through which said lamp is adapted to extend when installed within said luminaire, and in which:
• (f) said luminaire includes a cavity adjacent one sidewall of one of said casings into which one terminal of the lamp can be inserted during lamp installation to position said one terminal laterally adjacent the socket in said one casing, following which the other lamp terminal can be inserted into the other of said sockets to engage the contact within said other socket while said one terminal is positioned within said cavity, following which a compressive force directed axially of said lamp envelope can be applied to said lamp envelope to retract the contact engaging said other terminal against the bias of said spring means, following or during which said one terminal can be shifted laterally into engagement with its associated contact while said other terminal remains in engagement with its retracted associated contact, and
• (g) each casing is provided with a barrier (i) facing the light-emitting opening of the luminaire, (ii) positioned between the associated socket and said light-emitting opening, and (iii) constructed to block the conductive lamp terminals from engaging their associated contacts during lamp installation unless one lamp terminal is first positioned in said cavity, and
• (h) one of said barriers covers said cavity sufficiently to block access by an installer to said cavity when said one lamp terminal is positioned therein.