Lamp assembly

Claim 2

A lamp assembly comprising a base having a central portion and an attaching flange extending outwardly from the central portion, an electrically conductive light bulb holder secured to the base, a lens, attaching plate means hingedly secured to the lens and provided with an elongated slot therein, the attaching flange of the base extending through the slot and being slidable longitudinally therein, electrically conductive contact means carried by the attaching plate means, said light bulb holder being adapted to position a light bulb adjacent the contact means whereby sliding movement of the lens relative to the base may move the contact means into and out of electircal engagement with the light bulb.

Claim 3

The lamp assembly of claim 1 in which said base is metal and is electrically connected to the light holder, the base being adapted to be electrically grounded.

Claim 4

The lamp assembly of claim 1 in which the attaching flange is generally planar and said attaching plate includes a first generally planar portion hingedly secured to the lens, a second generally planar portion offset from the first portion and extending generally parallel therewith, said slot being provided between the planar portions, the contact means being carried by the second planar portion and said attaching flange extending through said slot between the first and second planar portions and generally parallel therewith.

Claim 5

The lamp assembly of claim 3 in which said second planar portion includes a tongue portion extending toward the hinged connection with the lens for normally maintaining the attaching flange generally parallel with the planar portions.

Claim 6

The lamp assembly of claim 1 in which said contact means comprises an elongated strip of relatively flexible and resilient metal having a pair of end portions and a middle portion, the end portions being connected to the attaching plate, the middle portion extending away from the end portions and being adapted to resiliently flex as the contact means engages the light.

Claim 7

The lamp assembly of claim 1 in which said attaching means includes two pairs of spaced-apart studs and said contact means comprises an elongated strip of relatively flexible and resilient metal having a pair of relatively straight end portions and a middle portion extending away from the end portions, each end portion engaging a stud of one of the stud pairs and extending toward a stud of the other stud pair, said middle portion extending between the studs of the other stud pair and being adapted to resiliently flex as the contact means engages the light bulb.

Claim 8

The lamp assembly of claim 6 in which the contact means and the studs are constructed and arranged so that each end portion is flexed about a stud of the other stud pair and bears against a stud of the first stud pair.

Claim 9

The lamp assembly of claim 1 including insulating means secured to the base between the light bulb holder and the contact means, the insulating means having an opening therethrough for receiving the end terminal of a light bulb whereby the end terminal of the light bulb may electrically engage the contact means but the remainder of the light bulb is insulated therefrom.

Claim 10

A lamp assembly comprising a base having a side wall and a generally planar attaching flange extending outwardly from the side wall, an electrically conductive light bulb holder secured to the base and adapted to be electrically grounded, a light bulb held by the holder in electrical contact therewith, a lens having a central portion and a side wall, an attaching plate formed of insulating material including a first generally planar portion hingedly secured to the lens and a second generally planar portion offset from the first portion and extending generally paralLel therewith, said attaching flange being provided with an elongated slot therethrough between the first and second planar portions, said attaching flange extending through said slot generally parallel with the first and second planar portions and being slidable longitudinally in said slot, and electrically conductive contact means carried by said second planar portion adjacent said light bulb and adapted to be connected to a power source whereby sliding movement of the lens relative to the base brings the contact means into and out of electrical engagement with the light bulb.

Claim 11

A lamp assembly comprising a base having a side wall and a generally planar attaching flange extending outwardly from the side wall, an electrically conductive light bulb holder secured to the base and adapted to be electrically grounded, a light bulb held by the holder in electrical contact therewith, a lens having a central portion and a side wall, an attaching plate formed of insulating material including a first generally planar portion hingedly secured to the lens and a second generally planar portion offset from the first portion and extending generally paralLel therewith, said attaching flange being provided with an elongated slot therethrough between the first and second planar portions, said attaching flange extending through said slot generally parallel with the first and second planar portions and being slidable longitudinally in said slot, and electrically conductive contact means carried by said second planar portion adjacent said light bulb and adapted to be connected to a power source whereby sliding movement of the lens relative to the base brings the contact means into and out of electrical engagement with the light bulb.

Claim 12

The lamp assembly of claim 9 in which said contact means comprises an elongated strip of flexible and resilient metal having a pair of relative straight end portions and a middle portion extending away from the end portions, the middle portion including a curved arcuate portion and a reversely curved socket portion, said light bulb including an end terminal, whereby the contact means may be flexed by engagement of the light bulb with the arcuate portion until the end terminal is received by the socket portion.

Claim 13

The lamp assembly of claim 9 in which the lens and the attaching plate are formed integrally of flexible insulating material, the hinged connection between the lens and the attaching plate being provided by a relatively narrow integral hinge portion.

Claim 14

The lamp assembly of claim 9 including a stud extending generally perpendicularly from the second planar portion of the attaching plate to below the plane of the first planar portion, the side wall of the base being positioned between the first planar portion and the stud, whereby withdrawal of the attaching flange from the slot is restrained.

Claim 15

The lamp assembly of claim 12 in which the second planar portion of the attaching plate includes a tongue portion extending toward the hinged connection with the lens for normally maintaining the attaching flange generally parallel with the planar portions, said second planar portion being flexible away from the first planar portion to permit the attaching flange to be withdrawn from the slot by moving the side wall of the base below the stud.

Claim 16

The lamp assembly of claim 9 including a flexible sheet of insulating material secured to the base by the light bulb holder and provided with an opening therethrough, the insulating sheet being positioned between the light bulb and the contact means, the light bulb having an end terminal extending through the opening in the insulating sheet whereby the end terminal may electrically engage the contact means but the remainder of the light bulb is insulated therefrom.