Lamp Base and Stem Assembly With Captured Screw Fixings
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing lighting systems are often too large or cumbersome to be supplied fully assembled, requiring consumers to assemble and commission them, which can be complex and challenging, especially for elderly or infirm individuals.
Innovation Solution
A light fitting design that includes a base, an illumination means, and an elongate support member with pre-installed headed shank fixings. The elongate support member has a receiving aperture with adjustable depth retention, and the base features a mounting point aperture with an enlarged region, a threshold, and an indented region, allowing for easy assembly and secure fixation without the need for complex manipulation of individual fixings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If threaded fixing elements (screws, bolts, cam-lock fasteners) are used to fasten lighting structure components, then the structure achieves strong and stable connection, but the assembly process becomes challenging and complex for consumers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-installs headed shank fixings into the elongate support member during manufacturing, so that consumers only need to insert the pre-assembled unit into the base rather than manually installing individual fixings. This preliminary action eliminates the complex manipulation of screws and fasteners while maintaining strong structural connection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a slot aperture in the base as an intermediary mechanism that guides and captures the headed shank fixing during assembly. The slot's threshold region captures the head while allowing shank passage, and the indented region provides automatic positioning, mediating between the fixing and the base to simplify the assembly process while ensuring strong fixation.
2Quantity of substance
If lighting systems are supplied disassembled to reduce packaging size, then shipping and storage efficiency improves, but assembly complexity increases for the consumer
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary assembly of the headed shank fixing into the elongate support member at the factory, creating a pre-assembled unit that is compact for shipping but simple for consumer assembly. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining disassembled shipping efficiency while reducing assembly complexity through pre-prepared components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the headed shank fixing with the elongate support member into a single pre-assembled unit. This combination maintains the benefits of disassembled shipping (reduced packaging volume) while eliminating the complexity of assembling multiple separate components, as the fixing is already integrated into the support member.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple component parts are used to construct the lighting structure, then design flexibility and adaptability improve, but the assembly process becomes more time-consuming and effort-intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent reduces assembly time by pre-installing the headed shank fixing into the elongate support member during manufacturing. This preliminary action eliminates the time-consuming steps of manually installing fixings and aligning components, while the modular design with slot aperture retention means maintains design flexibility and adaptability.
Data Source
AI summary
A lamp base 60 supports an upright stem in the base-contacting end of which two headed machine screw are received in a threaded bore. To assemble base 60 to the stem, each screw and head pass axially through a region 61 of an opening 68B, 70B in base 60, each region 61 having a bore diameter enlarged to pass the head. The fixing shanks are then transferred laterally to an adjacent countersunk region 63 of each opening 68B, 70B by relative displacement between the stem and base 60 to capture the fixing heads, preventing axial removal of the fixings from the openings 68B, 70B by cooperation of the fixings' male countersinks with the base's female countersinks 63. The screws are then tightened to secure together the stem and base. Disassembly is accomplished by reversing the foregoing process. The structure described enables supply of the knocked-down lamp as a flat pack with captured fixing(s).