Threadless Light Socket With Adjustable Spring Locks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing threadless light bulb sockets are ineffective in accommodating various bulb sizes, shapes, and weights, and cannot be easily adapted for different light fixtures without modifying the fixture or manufacturing multiple socket types, and they lack adjustable retaining pressure.
Innovation Solution
A threadless light socket assembly with an insulator housing, radial holes for thread locks, and biasing springs that allows axial installation and removal of bulbs, with interchangeable components for different fixtures and adjustable retaining force, ensuring secure retention and electrical contact.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If known threadless sockets use flexible conductive material to allow bulb insertion, then bulb installation is easier, but the socket cannot accommodate various bulb sizes, shapes, and weights
Solution Approach 1:
The socket is divided into multiple functional segments: flexible conductive fingers for electrical contact and basic retention, plus separate thread lock components with biasing springs for adjustable mechanical retention. This segmentation allows each component to specialize in one function while collectively providing both ease of operation and adaptability to various bulb types.
Solution Approach 2:
The socket incorporates dynamic elements including flexible conductive fingers that adapt to different bulb positions, and biasing springs that provide adjustable retaining pressure. The springs can be modified to change the amount of force exerted on the bulb, allowing the same socket structure to accommodate bulbs of varying sizes and weights dynamically.
2Reliability
If known threadless sockets are designed for specific bulb types, then retention is adequate for that bulb type, but the socket cannot be used with different bulb sizes and weights
Solution Approach 1:
The socket design achieves universality by combining flexible conductive fingers that make electrical contact with any standard bulb base, plus thread lock components with adjustable springs that provide reliable mechanical retention. The interchangeable insulator housings further enhance universality, allowing the same basic socket mechanism to be installed in various light fixture types without modification.
Solution Approach 2:
The biasing springs allow parameter changes in retaining force to accommodate different bulb weights and sizes. By modifying the spring characteristics or pre-compression, the same socket structure can reliably retain lightweight bulbs or heavy flood lamps, providing both reliability and adaptability through parameter adjustment rather than structural redesign.
3Adaptability or versatility
If known threadless sockets are made larger to accommodate various bulbs, then adaptability improves, but the socket cannot be installed in standard light fixtures without modification
Solution Approach 1:
The socket components are designed to nest within standard light fixture sockets. The insulator housing and internal components are compact enough to fit within existing fixture cavities, allowing the adaptable socket mechanism to be installed in standard fixtures without requiring fixture modification, thus maintaining ease of installation while achieving versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The socket achieves adaptability not by increasing overall size but by utilizing internal dimensional optimization. The flexible fingers and thread lock mechanisms operate within the constrained space of a standard socket footprint, providing versatile bulb accommodation through clever internal geometry rather than external expansion.
4Ease of manufacture
If known threadless sockets use fixed retaining pressure, then manufacturing is simpler, but the socket cannot accommodate bulbs of different weights and sizes
Solution Approach 1:
The biasing springs introduce dynamic adjustability to the retaining pressure without significantly complicating manufacturing. The springs can be selected from standard components with varying spring rates, allowing the same basic socket design to be manufactured once and then adapted to different bulb weights by simply changing the spring parameter, rather than requiring multiple specialized socket designs.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables secure retention and electrical contact for a wide range of bulb sizes and shapes, adaptable to various fixtures without modification, and allows easy installation and removal, including in recessed fixtures, while meeting safety and code compliance.
Implementation Method 1
biasing springs that allows axial installation and removal of bulbs, with interchangeable components for different fixtures and adjustable retaining force
Data Source
AI summary
A threadless light socket assembly allows a light bulb to be changed by pushing or pulling the light bulb into or out of the socket provides an outer insulator housing and an insulator cap which carrying a ground socket in a medial channel that grounds a light bulb base to a power supply. Plural spring biased thread locks protrude into center of the ground socket and are staggered in height to align with threads defined in a light bulb base. A positive contact is in the socket assembly supplies positive power from a power supply to the light bulb base. The threadless light socket has interchangeable components to allow installation in new and existing light fixtures.