AUTOMOBILE LAMP ASSEMBLY

Abstract: An automobile lamp assembly of a fixed focus type wherein the assembly has a socket cap (2), a flange (1A) and a socket (1) all integrally formed and a lamp (3) is fixedly mounted on the socket cap (2). The automobile lamp assembly has at least three tongues (5) of relatively thin form on the socket cap (2), and rectangular holes (4) formed in the flange (1A). The rectangular hole (4) has a size to allow the tongue (5) to pass therethrough. After adjusting a focus of the lamp (3) with the tongues (5) inserted into the holes (4), the tongues (5) are spot welded on the main body (1B) of the socket (1).

Description: The present invention relates to an automobile lamp assembly of a fixed focus type having a socket whose flange is integrally formed therewith. A conventional automobile lamp assembly has a flange integrally formed with a socket which is locally cut and folded down toward a socket cap side to form tongues which are spot welded on the socket cap, thereby forming an integral assembly of the socket cap and the socket. A lamp is mounted on the socket cap for electrical connection to terminals through the interior of a socket main body. With the structure of the lamp assembly as above, however, the size of the tongue is limited since it is made of the material forming the flange. Therefore, this structure is not satisfactory for a lamp assembly having a small size flange. Further, it is common that the flange is made relatively thick so as to ensure mechanical strength thereof. Thus, there arises a problem that a thick tongue is not suitable for welding. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an automobile lamp assembly which is suitable even for a lamp assembly having a small size flange and suitable for welding. According to this invention, in a automobile lamp assembly of a fixed focus type wherein the assembly has a socket cap, which is welded to a socket with an integrally formed flange, and wherein a lamp is fixedly mounted on the socket cap, a characteristic feature resides in that at least three tongues are provided on the socket cap whose material is relatively thin, rectangular holes having a size to allow the tongue to pass therethrough are formed in the flange, and after adjusting a focus of the lamp with the tongues inserted into the holes, the tongues are spot welded on the main body of the socket. Since the tongues are formed using a relatively thin material, the welding of the tongues onto the socket main body is easy. Further, since the flange is formed only with the rectangular holes, the flange with a small height is applicable to the integral lamp assembly of the type now concerned. An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an automobile lamp assembly according to the present invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 and 5 are a perspective view and a side elevational view showing a conventional automobile lamp assembly, respectively. First a conventional automobile lamp assembly will be described with reference to Figs. 4 and 5. A conventional automobile lamp assembly has a flange 11A integrally formed with a socket 11 which is locally cut and folded down toward a socket cap 12 side to form tongues 13 which are spot welded on the socket cap 12, thereby forming an integral assembly of the socket cap 12 and the socket 11. A lamp 14 is mounted on the socket cap 12 for electrical connection to terminals 11C through the interior of a socket main body 11B. With the structure of the lamp assembly as above, however, the size of the tongue 13 is limited since it is made of the material forming the flange 13. Therefore, this structure is not satisfactory for a lamp assembly having a small size flange. Further, it is common that the flange 11A is made relatively thick so as to ensure mechanical strength thereof. Thus, there arises a problem that a thick tongue is not suitable for welding. Figs. 1 to 3 show a preferred embodiment of an automobile lamp assembly of this invention. Reference numeral 1 represents a socket having a flange 1A formed integrally therewith, both formed with a same material and having a relatively small thickness. Reference numeral 2 represents a socket cap on which a lamp 3 is fixedly mounted. The socket 1 includes the flange 1A, a main body 1B, and terminals 1C. The lamp 3 is electrically connected to the terminals 1C through the interior of the lamp main body 1B. The flange 1A is formed with a plurality (e.g., four) of rectangular holes 4, whereas the socket cap 2 is formed with a correspondingly plurality (e.g., four) of tongues 5 which are preferably made of the same material and small thickness as those of the socket cap 2 and have a size to allow passage through the holes 4. The tongues 5 are inserted into the holes 4 formed in the flange 1A and spot welded on the socket main body 1B to thereby form an integral assembly of the socket 1 and the socket cap 2. The spot welding is performed after the focus of the lamp has been adjusted. As appreciated from the above description, only the rectangular holes 4 are formed in the flange 1A integrally formed with the socket, whereas the welding tongues 5 of a small thickness are formed on the socket cap 2. Consequently, by inserting the tongues 5 into the rectangular holes 4 and slidably coupling them onto the main body 1B of the socket 1, a focus adjustment of the lamp can be performed. Thereafter, the tongues 5 are spot welded on the socket main body 1B to form an automobile lamp assembly of a fixed focus type having a flange integrally formed with the socket. According to the present invention, the tongues for welding are formed on the socket cap and the rectangular holes are formed in the flange to pass the tongues therethrough and spot welded on the main body of the socket. Therefore, if only the size of the rectangular hole formed in the flange allows the tongues to pass through the holes, the lamp assembly of this invention is applicable even to an assembly whose flange is small in height. Further, the thickness of the material of the socket cap is usually thinner than that of the socket and the tongues are made of the same material of thin width, so that the tongues are suitable for welding.

Claims: An automobile lamp assembly of a fixed focus type wherein the assembly has a socket cap (2), which is welded to a socket (1) with an integrally formed flange (1A), and wherein a lamp (3) is fixedly mounted on the socket cap (2), characterized in that at least three tongues (5) are provided on said socket cap (2), rectangular holes (4) having a size to allow said tongues (5) to pass therethrough are formed in said flange (1A), wherein the thickness of said tongues (5) is relatively thin, and after adjusting a focus of said lamp (3) with said tongues (5) inserted into said holes (4), said tongues (5) are spot welded on the main body (1B) of said socket (1).

Inventors: KUDO, TETSUYA
Applicants: STANLEY ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
Application year: 1988
Main classification: F21M7
IPC codes: F21V19, H01K1