Lamp socket and panel assembly with grounding switch

Claim 1

A lamp socket and panel assembly comprising: a non-conductive panel, a central hub on said panel having an opening therein bounded by an outer peripheral surface defined by alternating lands and grooves; axially projecting stop surfaces on said hub adjacent said grooves; a radial notch in said hub having a camming surface thereon; a lamp socket formed of a nonconductive elastomeric material, said socket having a body with front and rear portions; an annular flange on said body intermediate said front and rear portions; a center longitudinal cavity in said front portion of the body adapted to receive the base of a lamp bulb having lead wires connected to the filaments thereof, said intermediate flange adapted to engage the peripheral surface of said panel; first and second terminal members carried by said socket adapted to be connected in an electrical circuit, one of said terminals being disposed in said cavity and adapted to engage one lead of said lamp bulb; an annular conductive bulb holder carried on the front portion; said holder having a plurality of integral flexible locking ears spaced circumferentially therearound adapted to register with said grooves at an insertion position, said ears having rounded triangular tips spaced from said flange by the thickness of said panel member and including a hypotenuse index surface thereon; a contact prong formed integrally on said holder extending into the cavity and adapted to electrically connect with the other lead of said lamp bulb, said holder having a radially extending cantilevEred spring finger integrally formed thereon adapted to contact said other terminal to complete an electrical circuit through the light bulb, said finger registering with said notch at said insertion position, said lamp socket being attachable to said panel by inserting said ears through said grooves and rotating the body with the locking ears passing across the surface of said lands until engagement of said hypotenuse index surface at an indexed position with said stop surface, said spring finger engaging said camming surface at said notch as said socket is rotated to said indexed position to bias said spring finger against said other terminal to complete the electrical circuit through said bulb only when said socket is in an indexed condition on said panel member.