Halogen lamp with light exit shield

A halogen lamp assembly comprising a housing, a halogen bulb installed in the housing, and a light exit shield removably mounted in the light exit opening of the housing, a support ring with a radially inward-projecting ring land, a first ring-shaped groove on inside radial surface of said support ring, a first O-ring mounted in said groove, said ring land being in front of the forward of the first O-ring, a first shield disk resting against the rear surface of the ring land, and a shield grid removably mounted in the support ring.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
 The lamps which have a removable light exit shield with a permanently
 installed shield disk, that is, a clear or matte disk of glass, plastic,
 or the like, at the light exit opening of its housing, are known. Light
 exit shields with permanently installed shield grids are also known.
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
 According to the invention, therefore, a lamp which can be provided with
 any desired type of light source and which has a flip-up light exit shield
 with a permanently installed lens or shield disk and a second permanently
 installed shield disk is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,349,510. No provisions
 are made for the possible removal of the lens and/or the shield disks, and
 any attempt at such removal would be associated with considerable effort.
 A halogen lamp in which two shield disks and a shield grid are laid loosely
 between two retaining rings in the light exit opening of the housing is
 known from CH680,684. The front or outer retaining ring can be removed
 from the housing, whereupon the shield disks and the shield grid are freed
 and can fall out of the light exit opening.
 The goal of the present invention is to provide a halogen lamp in which it
 is possible to install, in removable fashion, one or two of the same or
 different shield disks and a shield grid in a light exit shield which can
 be removed from the lamp housing. It is also to be possible to handle the
 light exit shield as a closed functional unit, regardless of the number of
 parts which have been inserted into it.
 This task is accomplished in accordance with the invention in a halogen
 lamp of the type comprising a housing, a halogen bulb installed in the
 housing, and a light exit shield removably mounted in the light exit
 opening of the housing. The lamp includes a support ring with a radially
 inward-projecting ring land, a first ring-shaped groove on inside radial
 surface of said support ring, a first O-ring mounted in said groove, ring
 land being in front of the forward of the first O-ring. A first shield
 disk rests against the rear surface of the ring land, and a shield grid is
 removably mounted in the support ring.
 The light exit shield designed according to the invention can therefore be
 handled as a closed functional unit comprising any desired set of shield
 disks and/or shield grids and can be removed with all of its parts held
 loosely in it from the housing and possibly reinstalled after certain of
 the individual parts have been replaced.
 The first O-ring or, in the case of the embodiment, having two O-rings are
 held in their grooves regardless of whether or not they are resting
 against shield disks. As desired, one or two shield disks can be inserted
 at the locations provided for them in front of the first O-ring or between
 the two O-rings. The shield grid, which is also removable, is held in any
 desired manner, i.e., either in a positive form-locking or in a
 friction-locking manner, at the inner end of the support ring.
 There are other features of the present invention including a spacer ring,
 which serves, first, to provide support against the halogen bulb mounted
 in the housing and second to support the loose retaining ring of the
 shield grid. The specific designs such as the lead or bayonet arrangement
 to hold the spacer ring or the retaining ring itself on the housing are
 also meritorious advanced of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE METHOD AND SYSTEM
 Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a
 halogen lamp assembly in accordance with the present invention. The lamp
 includes a linkage of rods 10 and an external housing 11, supported
 adjustably on said linkage of rods 10. A light exit shield, designated
 overall by reference number 16, is installed in light exit opening 14,
 which is located at the forward end of external housing 11. Light exit
 shield 16 has a support ring 18, which is screwed by thread 20 onto the
 forward end of the actual housing 12, which is installed inside external
 housing 11.
 A first ring-shaped groove 24 and a second ring-shaped groove 26 are
 provided on the inside surface of the forward end of support ring 18,
 i.e., the end facing away from halogen bulb 40. A first elastic O-ring 28
 and a second elastic O-ring 30 are inserted into these grooves. Near the
 forward end of support ring 18, a ring land 32 projects inward from the
 inside surface of the ring. The rear surface of this land rests against a
 first shield disk 34. The rear surface of first shield disk 34 is held by
 first O-ring 28, whereas a second shield disk 36, which is parallel to
 first shield disk 34, rests against the rear surface of first O-ring 28.
 The second disk is held in turn at its rear surface by second O-ring 30.
 The forward edge of a spacer ring 38, the rear-facing edge of which is
 supported against halogen bulb 40 mounted in housing 12, is also in
 contact with the rear surface of second shield disk 36.
 A shield grid 44 fills the space between a forward-facing, ring-shaped
 shoulder 42 on the inside surface of spacer ring 38 and the rear surface
 of second shield disk 36. The forward edge of spacer ring 38 is provided
 with an outward-directed bead 46, which grips second O-ring 30 slightly
 from underneath and thus ensures that spacer ring 38 is held firmly in
 light exit shield 16, consisting of support ring 18, shield disks 34, 36,
 spacer ring 38, and shield grid 44. Light exit shield 16 can therefore be
 handled as a single functional unit and can be removed as a complete
 subassembly from, and set back into position on, housing 12. In the
 removed state, spacer ring 38, shield grid 44, and one or both shield
 disks 34, 36 can be easily removed or replaced as desired, whereupon light
 exit shield 16 can be placed back on the housing. Thus, any desired
 modification can be made to light exit shield 16, or individual parts can
 be replaced by others with a different function or a different shape. The
 long extension 46 is a handle for adjusting the external housing 11 of the
 halogen lamp assembly.
 Even though particular embodiments of the present invention have been
 illustrated and described herein, it is not intended to limit the
 invention and changes and modifications may be made therein within the
 scope of the following claims.