Patent ID: 7294006
Filing Date: 2007-11-13
Classification: H01R

Abstract:
1. A bulb socket comprising: a shell defining an interior space delimited by a circumferential side wall and having an open end for entry and receipt of a base of a bulb in the interior space, a stepped flange being provided on an inside surface of the side wall at a location close to the open end, the stepped flange having a converged cross-sectional dimension as compared to the side wall of the shell; a depression device comprising a pushbutton arranged in the interior space of the shell and movable between a first position and a second position by a depression operation; a clamp device mounted to the pushbutton to be movable in unison therewith and having a circumference received in the interior space and a plurality of clamping fingers extending from the circumference in a direction toward the open end of the shell, each clamping finger forming on an inside face thereof at least one catch; and first and second conductive plates fixed inside the shell and having first and second vertical sections respectively, which are engageable with a ring contact and a tip contact of the base of the bulb when the bulb is received in the shell; and wherein by initiating the depression operation of the pushbutton by inserting the base of the bulb into the shell, the pushbutton and the clamp device are moved from the first position to the second position where the clamping fingers are forced inward by the stepped flange to have the catch engaging the base and thus retaining the bulb in a position for electrical engagement with the conductive plates and wherein when the pushbutton and the clamp device are moved from the second position to the first position, the clamping fingers are allowed to move to an outward expanded condition to allow the base to easily withdraw out of the shell.