Patent ID: 6874905

Claim:
A pathway light fixture, comprising: a mounting post; a socket assembly comprising: a lamp, a socket for retaining and providing electrical connection to the lamp; and a socket housing having a generally cylindrical shape and a bore therethrough for retaining the socket, wherein the socket housing has an upper end and a lower end, the lower end adapted for attachment to the mounting post, and the upper end having an outer sidewall with an outer diameter and at least two O-ring seats formed in the outer sidewall; an O-ring disposed in each of the at least two O-ring seats, the O-ring having an outer diameter greater that the outer diameter of the outer sidewall; a lens assembly comprising: a lens adapted for transmitting light from the lamp away from the fixture, the lens being generally cylindrical and having an upper end, a lower end and an outer diameter; a reflector having an upper portion adapted to closely fit over the upper end of the lens and a lower portion adapted to reflect light in a downward direction; and a lens support having a generally cylindrical shape, an upper end having a channel formed therein for receiving the lower end of the lens, a lower end, and a bore therethrough, the lower end having a recess adapted to receive the upper end of the socket housing, wherein the recess has an inner diameter with an inner sidewall that is tapered to provide an increasing diameter toward the opening of the recess and the inner diameter is greater than the outer diameter of the upper end of the socket housing; wherein, as the upper end of the socket housing is inserted into the recess, the O-rings generate increasing friction against the inner sidewall as the socket housing is pushed further into the recess to retain the socket housing within the recess and to form a water-tight seal between the socket housing and the lens support, and wherein a gap remains between the inner sidewall and the outer sidewall so that metal-to-metal contact between the sidewalls is avoided.