Abstract:
A fixture comprised of a base and a tensioning member integrated within the base provides a flexible tensioning force to retain a light bulb within the fixture. The light bulb can be a standard bulb, or a threadless bulb specifically designed for the fixture of the present invention.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    Priority is hereby claimed to co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/183,918, filed Feb. 22, 2000, entitled QUICK-FIT LIGHT FIXTURE. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The present invention relates to a quick-fit light fixture. In particular, to a light fixture that enables the insertion and retraction of a light bulb without the use of threads.  
           [0003]    The use of threaded light bulbs for receipt within threaded light fixtures likely dates back to the very beginning of the art. For many people, the use of threaded bulbs and fixture presents problems. After long periods of use the bulb can freeze in place and require the application of substantial force to remove. This proves dangerous in that bulbs can break within a fixture causing injury, and making removal of the threaded base nearly impossible. Furthermore, for elderly or others with weakened grips the threaded bulb can prove very difficult to manipulate. Additionally, a threaded bulb requires some skill and time to thread in and out, especially in consideration of the remote location of many light fixtures. Numerous examples of attempts to alleviate these difficulties exist in the prior art.  
           [0004]    In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 5,380,214 (Ortega, Jr.) teaches the use of two interior contacts that engage the threads of a conventional light bulb to allow for the insertion and removal of a light bulb without rotating the bulb. The contacts consist of two narrow elongated bands bent to capture a threaded bulb. This type of design, however, requires substantial modification of the traditional fixture. It also increases the number of installed parts and would add to the time and cost of producing a suitable fixture.  
           [0005]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,382,181 (Ortiz) teaches the use of a threaded adapter for use with conventional light fixtures. The adapter uses three internal spring retainers to apply pressure to capture the threads of a conventional light bulb. Again, this design proves less desirable in that the increased number of parts increases the cost of manufacture.  
           [0006]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,902,251 (Grzena) shows a specialized solution for use with wedge based lamp bulbs. The socket includes a spring contact arm and detent arm to capture the bulb. However, this comprises a highly specialized application that lacks wide spread applicability.  
           [0007]    U.S. Pat. No. 2,025,564 (Blake) shows still another electrical socket that uses elongated contact fingers to capture a specialty bulb within a socket. This application appears tailored to strings of lights commonly used at Christmas time.  
           [0008]    U.S. Pat. No. 2,122,848 (Stearns) shows the use of a coiled circular spring, presumably, to provide tension on two flanges to hold a bulb in place. This design also suffers from the drawback of unnecessary complexity that would make the design difficult to manufacture at a competitive cost.  
           [0009]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,422 (Forish et al.) shows a design for a lamp socket assembly for automotive applications. The design uses a complicated locking lug and socket assembly to retain a bulb for use, for example, in a tail light assembly. This represents a specialized application that would prevent widespread use in common household situations.  
           [0010]    Other examples exist in the art, however, to date a truly universal, flexible, low cost, easy to use alternative to the standard threaded bulb and fixture design has yet to be developed. Thus, a need exists in the art for a quick-fit snap in and out fixture for use with standard light bulbs and/or fixtures.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0011]    An object of the present invention comprises providing a light fixture that allows for direct insertion and removal of a light bulb.  
           [0012]    These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to the following specification, drawings, and claims.  
           [0013]    The present invention intends to overcome the difficulties encountered heretofore. To that end, a fixture comprised of a base and a tensioning member integrated with the base provides a flexible tensioning force to retain a light bulb within the fixture. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]    [0014]FIG. 1 a  is a perspective view of a fixture.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 1 b  is a top plan view of the fixture of FIG. 1 a.    
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 2 a  is a perspective view of an alternative fixture.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 2 b  is a top plan view of the fixture of FIG. 2 a.    
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 3 a  is a perspective view of another alternative fixture.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 3 b  is a top plan view of the fixture of FIG. 3 a.    
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 4 is a side elevational partial cross-sectional view of yet another alternative fixture.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the liner of the fixture of FIG. 4.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 6 is a side elevational cross-sectional view of the fixture of FIG. 4.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the fixture of FIG. 4.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 8 is a bottom plan view of the fixture of FIG. 4.  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 9 a  is a side elevational view of a threadless light bulb.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 9 b  is a side elevational partial cross-sectional view of the fixture of FIG. 4. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0027]    In the Figures, FIG. 1 a  shows a first embodiment of the present invention. A light bulb fixture  10  is shown, comprising a pressed fit liner/insert  12  and a flat tension spring  14 . The liner  12  contains slits  16  spaced periodically about the upper portion of the liner  12 . The slits provide the ability to weave the spring  14  around the upper portion of the liner  12 . The spring  14  is biased to provide for inward pressure on the liner  12  sufficient to grasp a light bulb (not shown). FIG. 1 b  shows that riveting contact mounts  18  affix to the inside of the liner  12 . The mounts  18  provide a means for attaching the fixture  10  to a base (not shown).  
         [0028]    In this manner, a conventional light bulb can be directly inserted and retracted from the fixture  10  without use of fixture threads. The spring  14  provides a force to keep the bulb in place, but also allows for easy removal. The fixture  10  is simply to use and manufacture and greatly simplifies the process of replacing a light bulb. The fixture  10  can mount to a conventional light fixture. For example, with mounts  18  or by securing threads to the bottom of the liner  12  of the fixture  10  it could easily adapt to thread into standard threaded fixtures.  
         [0029]    [0029]FIGS. 2 a  and  2   b  show an alternative embodiment of the present invention. A fixture  20  is shown comprised of a pressed fit liner  22 , a flat tension spring  24 , and check balls  26 . The spring  24  is formed to fit around the upper end of the liner  22 . The liner  22  also contains holes  29  sized to receive the check balls  26 . The diameter of the holes  29  is slightly less than the diameter of the check balls  26  to prevent the check balls  26  from passing through the holes  29 . The spring  24  presses the check balls  26  into the holes  29 . The check balls  26  provide a positive interior stop to retain a light bulb in the fixture  20 . The fixture  20  also includes mounts  28 . Otherwise, the fixture  20  achieves the same purpose, function, and advantages as described with regard the fixture  10 .  
         [0030]    [0030]FIGS. 3 a  and  3   b  show a fixture  30 . The fixture includes a standard threaded socket insert  32  with a slit  36 . A flat tension spring  34  provides a biasing force to compress the insert  32  to grasp a light bulb. Thus, the slit  36  allows for contraction and expansion of the insert  32  to allow for insertion and removal of the light bulb. The fixture  30  also contains mounts  38  or can simply thread into a standard base.  
         [0031]    FIGS.  4 - 8  show yet another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 shows a fixture  40  with a standard fixture base  42 . Within the interior of the upper portion of the base  42  is a pressed fit insert/liner  44 . FIG. 5 shows that the liner  44  is generally semi-circular in shape with an open slit  54 . The slit  54  in the liner  44  provides the ability to expand and contract in response to the insertion and removal of a light bulb  46  from the fixture  40 . The liner  44  is biased to achieve sufficient force to retain the light bulb  46 , but not such force that would create difficulty in removing the light bulb  46  from the fixture  40 . The liner  44  also contains riveting mounts  48  to allow securement of the liner  44  to the fixture base  42 . FIG. 6 shows that rivets  50  secure the liner  44  to the fixture base  42 . FIG. 8 shows that on the underside of the fixture  40 , mounts  50  secure to the base  42 . Washers  52  extend from the mounts  50  to provide additional securement for the liner  44 . FIG. 7, and FIG. 4 show a centrally located contact  56  that provides for transfer of current to the light bulb  46  during operation.  
         [0032]    [0032]FIGS. 9 a  and  9   b  show a variation of the embodiment of the invention as depicted in FIGS.  4 - 8 . In particular, FIG. 9 a  shows a light bulb  92  with a threadless base  96 . The light bulb  92  is designed for use with the fixture  90  depicted in FIG. 9 b . A pressed fit liner/insert  98  is biased to hold the base  96  of the bulb  92  in place. The fixture  90  is similar in design and function to the fixture  40  shown in FIGS.  4 - 8 . The threadless light bulb  92  has the advantage of presenting a uniform surface for retention by the liner  98 , which should make the bulb  92  easier to insert and remove than a standard threaded light bulb.  
         [0033]    Each of the embodiments of the present invention, comprise an efficient easy to manufacture alternative to the traditional threaded bulb and fixture design. The present invention allows for easier insertion and removal of light bulbs by eliminating the need to turn the bulb in or out of the threads. This allows for direct insertion and removal of the light bulb for greater ease of use without any sacrifice in safety or functionality. In this manner, the present invention substantially eliminates the problems associated with prior art light bulb fixtures.  
         [0034]    The foregoing description and drawings comprise illustrative embodiments of the present inventions. The foregoing embodiments and the methods described herein may vary based on the ability, experience, and preference of those skilled in the art. Merely listing the steps of the method in a certain order does not constitute any limitation on the order of the steps of the method. The foregoing description and drawings merely explain and illustrate the invention, and the invention is not limited thereto, except insofar as the claims are so limited. Those skilled in the art that have the disclosure before them will be able to make modifications and variations therein without departing from the scope of the invention.