US3384858A - Lampholder for fluorescent lamps - Google Patents

Description

y 1968 G. JOHNSON LAMPHOLDER FOR FLUORESCENT LAMPS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 9, 1965 FIG. 5.

FIG. 4.

INVENTOR.

savage- Jam/ 0M 07709418) 7 \fia/ May 21, 1968 G. JOHNSON LAMPHOLDER FOR FLUORESCENT LAMPS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 9, 1965 wdl INVENTOR. GEOPGE JOHNSOA/ United States Patent 0 3,384,858 LAMPHQLDER FUR FLUORESCENT LAMPS George Johnson, Bronxville, N.Y., assignor to Kulka Electric Corporation, Mount Vernon, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Apr. 9, 1965, Ser. No. 446,972 12 Claims. (Cl. 339-52) AESTRACT 0F THE BISCLGSURE A fluorescent lampholder of the tombstone type having at its lower end self-contained mounting means for snap-locking securement of the lampholder to a fixture wall from one side thereof. The bottom wall of the lampholder has a depending base portion of reduced crosssectional area and sized to fit snugly within a mounting opening in the fixture wall when the bottom wall rests flush against the outer surface of said fixture wall, while a retaining flange projecting from the lower end of the lampholder engages the inner surface of the fixture wall and a spring clip secured to the lampholder remote from the retaining flange snaps through the mounting opening and engages the inner surface of the fixture wall to rigidly hold the lampholder in mounted position.

This invention relates to improvements in lampholders for double-ended gaseous discharge lamps, such as fluorescent lamps, and relates in particular to lampholders of this type having self-contained mounting means.

The invention is particularly concerned with fluorescent lampholders commonly referred to as the tombstone type because of their physical resemblance to tombstones. Such a lampholder normally has a rectangular base adapted to be secured to a fixture wall, and an upstanding dome-shaped body member containing a recess or socket for receiving one end of the fluorescent lamp. One tombstone lampholder assembly consist of a pair of lampholders mounted in spaced relationship on the fixture wall with the sockets aligned and facing each other. One of the lampholders is compressible, having a spring-loaded plunger containing the lamp socket for permitting a lamp to be inserted between the lmpholders and to be held in this inserted position under spring tension. In mounted position, the lamp is parallel to the fixture wall upon which the lampholders are mounted and the lampholders are perpendicular to the wall.

Fluorescent lampholders have conventionally been mounted on the walls of fixtures by means of screws. Quite recently, the trend has been to provide self-locking mounting means for the lampholders which permits rapid assembly without requiring the use of screws or other separate fasteners. For example, in the patent to Eugene R. Kulka, Patent No. 3,116,098, issued Dec. 31, 1963, there is shown a pair of butt-on type lampholders having self-contained spring mounting clips which provide a snap-locking action by means of which the lampholders may be instantly mounted on opposed fixture walls. Such mounting clips perform satisfactorily for lampholders of the butt-on type, since the axial biasing force upon the lamp is applied in a directional normal to the fixture walls so that it is absorbed by the wall itself. In the tombstone type of lampholder, however, the biasing force on the lamp is applied to the lampholder body which is perpendicularly upstanding from the wall, tending to cause the lampholder to tilt.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a lampholder assembly of the tombstone type in which the lampholders are provided with self-contained spring mounting means so arranged as to permit the lampholder Patented May 21, 1968 ice base to be conveniently mounted and removed from a fixture wall with a snap locking action.

Another object of the invention is to provide a lampholder assembly of the character described in which the base of each lampholder is so constructed as to provide a rigid and secure mount for the lampholder in cooperation with the aforesaid spring means.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a lampholder of the tombstone type having a body including a flat bottom wall, and a base portion depending from said bottom Wall and sized to fit snugly within the mounting opening of a fixture wall. The lampholder also has a laterally-projecting retaining flange extending parallel to and spaced below the bottom wall of said body portion, and a spring clip projecting from said base portion at a point remote from said retaining flange in such a manner that when the base portion is inserted in said mounting opening the retaining flange underlies the fixture wall and the spring clip engages a remote portion of the fixture wall to hold the lamp in a mounted position upright on the fixture wall.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention Will become apparent during the course of the following specification when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a compressible lamp holder made in accordance with the present invention, the lamp holder being shown in inverted position and in the course of being mounted on a fixture wall;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the lampholder shown in FIG. 1, showing the lampholder mounted on the fixture wall which is partially broken away to expose the lampholder;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational View of the lampholder of FIG. 1 shown mounted in inverted position on the fixture wall which is shown in section and in full line; the fixture wall being also shown in phantom to illustrate the position in which the lampholder is inserted into and removed from the mounting opening in the fixture wall;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of a modified form of lampholder made in accordance with the present invention and shown mounted in inverted position on a fixture wall, with portions of the lampholder broken away and shown in section to reveal inner structural details;

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the lampholder of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of still another modified form of lampholder shown mounted on a fixture wall in inverted position;

FIG. 7 is a bottom plan view of the lampholder of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of a pair of lampholders mounted on a fixture wall with a fluorescent lamp mounted between the lampholders and with portions thereof shown in section;

FIG. 9 is a front plan view of the compressible lampholder with a portion of the casing broken away to reveal inner constructional detail; and

FIG. 10 is a front plan view of the stationary lamp holder shown in FIG. 8.

Referring in detail to the drawings, and in particular to FIG. 8, there is shown a lampholder assembly comprising a pair of spaced lampholdcrs 10 and 12 mounted upon a wall 14 of a lamp fixture. Between the lampholders 1G and 12 is mounted a lamp 16 of the fluorescent type, having a tubular glass envelope 18 with contact heads 20 and 22 at each end.

The lampholder 10 constitutes the compressible lampholder of the assembly, having a depressible spring-biased plunger 24 permitting mounting of the lamp 16 between the lampholders, and retaining the lamp securely in its iounted position. The lampholder 12 consttiutes the stationary lampholder of the assembly. The lampholders are of the tombstone type and are mounted on the fixture wall 14 with their front walls, containing the lamp socket recesses, normal to the plane of said fixture wall and facing each other in the usual spaced relationship, In the drawings, the lampholders and 12 are shown mounted in inverted position and depending from the fixture wall 14.

The stationary lampholder 12, shown in FIGS. 8 and 10, includes a molded body 26 made of electrically-insulating material such as a urea plastic and having a lower portion of rectangular cross-section and an arch-shaped upper portion, in the usual manner of tombstone type lampholders. The body 26 has a front wall 28 containing a recessed socket 30 for receiving the projecting terminal portion (not shown) carried by the lamp head 22. Mounted in the socket 30 are contact members 32 for engaging and making electrical contact with the lamp terminals carried by lamp head 22, in the manner described in the aforementioned U.S. Patent No. 3,116,098. Lampholder body 26 also has opposed side walls 33 and a planar bottom wall 34. The socket 30 may be bordered by a resilient ring 35 affixed to the front. wall 28 as by cementing, and serving as a water-tight seal for the socket and inserted lamp terminals, when the lampholder assembly is employed for outdoor use.

The compressible lampholder 10 has a molded body 36 of similar arch shape, including sidewalls 37, a front wall 38, and a planar bottom wall 39. The front wall 38 is formed with an opening 40 for receiving the slidable plunger 24. As shown in FIG. 8, an internal spring 42 urges the plunger 24 to the outwardly-projecting position shown. The plunger 24 is of cylindrical shape having a recessed socket 44 in the front wall thereof for receiving the projecting terminal portion carried by lamp head 20. Mounted within socket 44 are contact members 45 for making electrical contact with the lamp terminals carried by said lamp head 20. A resilient sealing ring or gasket 46 may border the socket 44 in the plunger 24, as shown.

The assembly heretofore described is conventional and well-known, the lampholders 10 and 12 being mounted on the fixture wall 14 in spaced relationship and with the respective sockets 30 and 44 aligned and facing each other. To mount the lamp 16 between the lampholders 10 and 12, the terminal portion of lamp head 20 is first inserted in the socket portion 44 of plunger 24, and the lamp is then moved toward the left, as viewed in FIG. 8, to slide the plunger 24 inwardly of the lampholder 10 against the biasing force of spring 42, until the opposite lamp head 22 is clear of the front wall 28 of stationary lampholder 12. The terminal portion of head 22 is then inserted into the socket 30 of lampholder 12 and the lamp is released, being firmly held between the lampholders by the force of spring 42. The lamp is removed from its mounted position by manually moving it to the left to depress plunger 24 until the head 22 is clear of the stationary lampholder 12, tilting the lamp until the head 22 is out of alignment with lampholder 12, and then withdrawing the head 20 from plunger 24.

Ordinarily, tombstone lampholders of this type are formed for receiving mounting screws by means of which the lampholders may be mounted on a fixture wall. The present invention is concerned with a novel type of base of reduced area provided with self-contained mounting means by means of which each lampholder can be instantly mounted on the fixture wall with a snap-locking action. Since the identical base and mounting means is provided on both the compressible lampholder 10 and stationary lampholder 12, a description of this structure as applied to the compressible lampholder 10 will serve equally for the stationary lampholder 12.

As shown in FIG. 8, the fixture wall 14 is provided with a pair of identical spaced mounting openings 50 sized to receive the base portions of the respective lampholders 10 and 12, for mounting the lampholders on said fixture wall. FIG. 1 shows a preferred shape of mounting opening 50, and FIGS. 1-4 illustrate in detail a preferred form of mounting assembly for lampholder 10 which is employed with a mounting opening of this shape. The mounting opening 50 shown in FIG. 1 is of generally circular shape but has a straight edge 52 at one side thereof to prevent rotation of the mounted lampholder therein. The mounting openings 50 are preferably arranged in the fixture wall 14 with their straight edges 52 facing each other. Each mounting opening 50 is of considerably lesser area than the bottom wall 34 or 39 of its respective lampholder body.

Depending from the bottom wall 39 of the body 36 of compressible lampholder 10 is an integral base portion 54 sized to fit substantially snugly within the mounting opening 50 and best shown in FIG. 1. The base portion 54 has a semi-circular rear edge 56 and a flat front edge 58. The shape of base portion 54 conforms to that of the mounting opening 50, except that the base portion is provided with a pair of opposed angular cut-away sections 60 and 62 at the region adjacent the juncture of the front edge 58 with the arcuate rear edge 56. These cutaway sec tions permit the base portion 54 to be inserted anguraly within the mounting opening 50 in a manner to be presently described.

A metallic plate 64 is mounted at the front of lampholder body 36 by means of a rivet 66. A shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the lower front surface of the lampholder body 36 is recessed at 68 to receive the plate 64 such that the front surface of plate 64 is flush with the front wall 38 of lampholder body 36. The plate 64 has a bottom wall 70 which registers with the bottom wall 39 of lampholder body 36, side walls 72 which register with the side walls 37 of lampholder 36, and an arcuate top edge 74 which embraces the lower portion of plunger 24.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the plunger 24 is formed with a semi-circular flange 76 which projects radially from the lower rear end of said plunger to act as a stop to prevent forward movement of the spring biased plunger out of the lampholder 10. The opening 40 in the front wall of lampholder body 36 has an arcuate upper portion 40a sized to fit closely about the corresponding portion of plunger 24, and an enlarged lower portion 40b sized to permit passage of the plunger flange 76 therethrough as shown in FIG. 9, so that the plunger 24 can be assembled from the front of the lampholder body 36. After the plunger 24 is thus assembled, the plate 64 is secured to the front of the lampholder body, and its arcuate top edge 74, forms with the arcuate upper portion 40a of opening 40 a complete circular opening closely surrounding the plunger 24 and serving to guide its longitudinal sliding movement in the lampholder body 36. In the mounted position of plate 64, its upper portion adjacent the top edge 74 overlies the plunger flange 76 and is engaged thereby in the extended position of plunger 24, as show in FIG. 8.

Formed integrally with the plate 24, and depending from the central portion of the bottom wall 39 thereof, is an L-shaped bracket 78 having a short leg 80 contiguous and co-planar with the plate 24, and a longer leg or retaining flange 82 which is substantially perpendicular to the leg 76 and extends forwardly thereof. The included angle between the legs 80 and 82 is actually slightly less than as shown in FIG. 3, for a purpose to be presently explained.

The lower rear end of lampholder body 36 is formed with a central slot 84 which extends through the rear wall and bottom wal ofs aid body, A slot 86 extending through the rear wall and bottom wall of the base portion 54, and having an inclined forward wall 86a as shown in FIG. 4, registers with and communicates with the slot 84 as an extension thereof. A spring clip 88 is mounted within the slots 84 and 86, the clip 88 having an angularly-bent free end portion 90. The straight end portion of the spring clip 88 is mounted flush against the inner, forward wall of slot 84 by rivet 66 and extends into slot 86, with the bent end 90 projecting outwardly of slot 86 and normally spaced from the inclined wall 86a thereof as shown in FIG. 4.

The lampholder base portion 54 is formed with a pair of through slots 92 and 94 which communicate with aligned apertures in the bottom wall 39 of lampholder body 36 to provide entry for a pair of insulated electrical leads 95 and 96. Said leads 95 and 96 extend within the interior of the lampholder body and are electrically connected to the contact members 48 in socket 44.

The broken line representation of wall 14 in FIG. 3 illustrates the manner in which the lampholder is mounted on said wall. The lampholder 10 is tilted forwardly relative to wall 14 and the bracket retaining flange 82 is inserted within the mounting opening 50 and slid frowardly until the short leg 80 is adjacent the straight edge 52 and the retaining leg 52 underlies the fixture wall 14 beyond said straight edge. In this position, the lampholder base portion 54 is aligned with the mounting opening 50 and positioned to enter said mounting opening when the lampholder 10 is turned perpendicular to the wall 14. As the base portion 54 enters the mounting opening 50, the angularly bent end portion 90 of spring clip 88 engages the rear edge of mounting opening 50 and is passed thereby into slot 86, thereby permitting the rear of base portion 54 and the bent spring portion 90 to pass through mounting opening 50. The cut-away side sections 60 and 62 of the base portion 54 provide sufiicient clea ance to permit said base portion to be moved angularly through the circular portion of mounting opening 50.

In the upright mounted position of lampholder 10, the bottom wall 39 of lampholder body 36 rests flat upon the upper surface of fixture wall 14, and the depending "base portion 54 extends snugly through the mounting opening 50. Once the lampholder body 36 is in upright position upon fixture wall 14, as shown in full line in FIG. 3, the bracket retaining flange 82 underlies the wall 14 and is substantially flush therewith, and the angular end portion 90 of spring clip 88 snaps outwardly of slot to a position in which it partially underlies the wall 14 rearwardly of the curved edge of mounting opening 50. The portion of the spring clip 88 immediately adjacent the angular end portion 90 engages the rear edge of the mounting opening 50, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 8, urging the lampholder 10 in a forward direction so that the L-shaped bracket 78 is held in firm engagement with the fixture wall 14.

When the lamp 16 is inserted between the lampholders 10 and 12, the lamp presses rearwardly against lampholder 10 exerting a force which would tend to tilt said lampholder rearwardly in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 8 about the rear bottom edge of lampholder body 36. The flange 82 of bracket 78, however, by its engagement with the under surface of fixture wall 14, prevents such tilting movement.

To detach the lampholder 10 from the fixture wall 14, it is only necessary to pull vertically upon the lampholder body 36. This will cause the lampholder 10 to tilt in a counterclockwise direction about the point of contact between the bracket 78 and the edge of mounting opening 50, so that the bent end portion 90 of spring clip 88 is pressed within the slot 86 and passes through the mounting spring.

As was previously indicated, the forwardly-extending bracket retaining flange 82 forms an angle of slightly less than 90 with the bracket leg 80, so that in mounted position it forms a slight angle with the fixture wall 14, as shown in FIG. 4. This provides a self-adjusting feature for the mounting means to compensate for variations in thicknesses of fixture walls. To permit such self-adjustment, the aperture 98 in plate 64, through which rivet 66 passes, is made of appreciably larger diameter than said rivet 66. if the lampholder 10 is inserted in a mounting opening of a fixture wall of greater thickness than the length of the short bracket leg 80, and turned to an upright position on said fixture wall, engagement of the bracket flange 82 with the under surface of the wall will exert a longitudinal pull on the plate 64, causing the plate 64 to move downwardly along the front surface of the lampholder body 36, as permitted by the enlarged aperture 98. This downward movement of the plate 64 (and integral bracket 78) will locate the bracket flanges 82 at the proper position to bear against the lower surface of the thick fixture wall in the mounted position of the lamp-holder.

As previously described, the stationary lampholder 12 is provided with identical mounting means, as shown in FIGS. 8 and -'l0. Lampholder i12 is shaped identically to lampholder 10, having an identical base portion 54, a recessed spring clip 88, and a front plate 64 carrying the L shaped mounting bracket 78. The plate 64 overlies the front wall 26 of the body 26 of the lampholder 12, and partially borders the socket 30 therein, but in this instance, of course, does not act as a stop to limit movement of a plunger. The lampholder 12 is mounted in an identical mounting opening 50' in fixture wall 14, in the manner described above.

'FIG. 5 shows a compressible lampholder having a modified form of mounting means constructed for insertion in a rectangular mounting opening in fixture wall 114. In this instance, the lampholder base portion 154 is formed of rectangular cross-section, conforming in shape to said mounting opening 150. The lampholder 110 has a front plate 164 carrying an L-shaped mounting bracket [178, and a rear spring clip 188 which are identical to those previously described and operate in the same manner. Since the mounting opening 150 is rectangular, the cut-away side sections 60 and 62 of the previous-lydescribed lampholder 10 are not required and are omitted in this embodiment.

It will be appreciated that the positions of the L- shaped bracket and the spring clip can be reversed if desired, that is to say the spring clip may be mounted at the front of the lampholder and the L-shaped bracket \may be at the rear thereof.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show a reversed arrangement, with the added feature that a separate plate and L-shaped bracket are omited and a mounting flange is formed integrally with the lampholder body.

In FIGS. 6 and 7 there is shown a compressible lampholder 210 having a body portion 236 of rectangular cross-section, with a base portion 254 formed integrally with the depending from the bottom wall 239 of body portion 236. The base portion 254 is also rectangular in cross-section but has a lesser area than the bottom wall 239, as shown in FIG. 7. A wide rectangular retaining flange 282 is formed integrally with and projects rearwardly from the base portion 254.

A metallic plate 264 is secured to the front Wall surface of lampholder body 236, the plate 264 being similar to plate 64 previously described except that instead of carrying an L-shaped bracket, it carries centrally at its bottom edge a spring clip 288 having an angularly bent free end portion 290. The free end portion 290 of spring clip 288 is formed somewhat differently from the aforementioned spring clip 88, having an arm 291 extending perpendicularly from plate 264 and resting upon the inner surface of fixture wall 14 to support the lampholder 210 against rearward tilting movement. Otherwise, the spring clip 288 serves the same purpose as spring clip 88 previously described, snapping into holding position when the lampholder 210 is inserted in mounted position within mounting opening 250. An angular slot 286 formed in the front surface of lampholder body 236, permits inward movement of the spring clip bent portion 290.

The lampholder 210 is mounted in a manner similar to that previously described. Lampholder 210 is tilted forwardly, and the retaining flange 282 inserted within the rectangular mounting opening 250 in fixture wall 214. The

lampholder body is then turned to the upright position shown in FIG. 6 so that the flange 282 rests flush against the under surface of fixture wall 14 and the base portion 254 projects through the mounting opening 250. In arriving at this position, the bent end portion 290 of spring clip 288 is pressed into the slot 286, and when the lampholder reaches its upright position, the spring clip portion 290 snaps out of the slot 286 and engages the lower surface of the fixture wall 214 adjacent the mounting opening 250.

It will be observed that in this embodiment, since the mounting flange 282 is formed integrally with the lampholder body and is not carried by a moveable plate, it is formed truly perpendicular to the axis of the lampholder body, so that it rests fiat against the under surface of fixture wall 214. It will also be appreciated that other variations may be made in the location of the mounting flange and spring clip; for example, a pair of spring clips may be mounted at either side of the lampholder body so as to engage the sides of the mounting opening, or in the alternative the mounting flange and spring clip may be located opposite each other at the sides of the lampholder base portion instead of at the front and rear thereof.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described herein, it is obvious that numerous omissions, changes and additions may be made in such embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A fluorescent lampholder comprising an elongated housing adapted to be mounted in upstanding position on the outer surface of a fixture wall for supporting one end of a fluorescent lamp, said fixture wall having a mounting opening, said housing including a flat bottom wall of substantially greater cross-sectional area than said mounting opening and a front wall normal to and upstanding from said bottom wall, socket means in said front wall sized to receive one end of said fluorescent lamp, a longitudinally extending base portion depending from said bottom wall, said base portion being of lesser cross-sectional area than said bottom wall and being sized to fit snugly within the mounting opening of said fixture wall when the lampholder housing is brought to a mounted position in which its bottom wall overlies said mounting opening and rests flush upon the outer surface of said fixture wall, a retaining member carried by said housing and projecting laterally from said base portion in a direction parallel to the axis of said socket means, and at least one spring clip carried by said lampholder housing and having a portion normally biased outwardly of said base portion and spaced from said retaining member, said retaining member being sized for insertion through said mounting opening from the outer surface of said fixture wall with said retaining member underlying and engaging the inner surface said fixture wall adjacent said mounting opening and said spring clip portion engaging the edge of said mounting opening in the mounted position of said lampholder housing to maintain said housing in upstanding position on said fixture wall.

2. A fluorescent lampholder comprising an elongated housing adapted to be mounted in upstanding position on the outer surface of a fixture wall for supporting one end of a fluorescent lamp, said fixture wall having a mounting opening, said housing including a flat bottom wall of substantially greater cross-sectional area than said mounting opening and a longitudinal front wall normal to and upstanding from said bottom wall, socket means in said front wall sized to receive one end of said fluorescent lamp, a longitudinally extending base portion depending from said bottom wall, said base portion being of lesser crosssectional area than said bottom wall and being sized to fit snugly within the mounting opening of said fixture wall when the lampholder body is brought to a mounted position in which its bottom wall overlies said mounting opening and rests flush upon the outer surface of said fixture wall, a retaining flange car ried by said housing and projecting laterally from said base portion in a direction parallel to the axis of said socket means, a recess formed in said base portion at a point remote from said retaining flange, and at least one spring clip carried by said lampholder body and having an end portion normally biased outwardly of said recess, said retaining flange being sized for insertion through said mounting opening from the direction of the outer surface of said fixture wall with the lampholder housing tilted relative to the fixture wall, the end portion of said spring clip engaging the edge of said mounting opening and being pressed thereby into said recess as the lampholder housing is turned toward an upright position on said fixture wall and being biased out of said recess into engagement with the edge of said mounting opening when the lampholder housing reaches its upright mounted position, whereby to hold said lampholder body in said upright mounted position with the retaining flange underlying and engaging the inner surface of said fixture wall adjacent said mounting opening, the housing bottom wall overlying and engaging the outer surface of said fixture wall, and the base portion extending within and through said mounting opening.

3. A fluorescent lampholder according to claim 2 in which said retaining flange is formed integrally with said base portion and extends parallel to and below the bottom wall of said lampholder housing.

4. A fluorescent lampholder according to claim 2 in which said retaining flange is integral with a plate secured to the front wall of said lampholder housing.

5. A fluorescent lampholder according to c1aim'4 in which said recess is located at the rear of said base portion opposite to said retaining flange.

6. A fluorescent lampholder comprising a body adapted to be mounted in upstanding position on a fixture wall for supporting one end of a fluorescent lamp, said fixture wall having a mounting opening, said body including a flat bottom wall and a front wall normal to and upstanding from said bottom wall, socket means in said front wall sized to receive one end of said fluorescent lamp, a base portion depending from said bottom wall and sized to fit snugly within the mounting opening of said fixture wall then the lampholder body is brought to a mounted position in which its bottom wall overlies said mounting opening and rests flush upon said fixture wall, a plate mounted on the lower portion of said front wall beneath said socket means, a retaining flange carried by said plate and projecting forwardly from the lower end thereof, and at least one spring clip carried by said lampholder body and having a portion normally biased outwardly of said base portion and spaced from,

said retaining flange, said retaining flange underlying and engaging the lower surface of said fixture wall adjacent said mounting opening and said spring clip portion engaging the edge of said mounting opening in the mounted position of said lampholder body to maintain said body in upstanding position on said fixture wall.

7. A fluorescent lampholder according to claim 6 in which said retaining flange projects forwardly from said plate at an angle slightly less than and in which said plate is mounted for limitedrsliding movement on said front wall, whereby to adjust for mounting on fixture walls of varying thicknesses.

8. A fluorescent lampholder comprising a body adapted to be mounted in upstanding position on a fixture wall for supporting one end of a fluorescent lamp, said fixture wall having a mounting opening, said body includ ing a flat bottom wall and a front wall normal to and upstanding from said bottom wall, socket means in said front wall sized to receive one end of said fluorescent lamp, a base portion depending from said bottom wall and sized to fit snugly within the mounting opening of said fixture, wall when the lampholder body is brought to a mounted position in which its bottom wall overlies said mounting opening and rests flush upon said fixture wall, a plate mounted on the lower portion of said front wall beneath said socket means, a retaining flange carried by said plate and projecting forwardly from the lower end thereof, a slot formed in the rear of said base portion, and at least one spring clip mounted on said lampholder body at the rear portion thereof opposite said plate and having an angular free end portion in registry with said slot and normally biased outwardly thereof so as to project from said base portion, said retaining flange underlying and engaging the lower surface of said fixture wall adjacent the front of said mounting opening and said spring clip portion engaging the rear edge of said mounting opening in the mounted position of said lampholder body to maintain said body in upstanding position on said fixture Wall.

9. In a fluorescent lampholder having a body including a lamp-receiving socket portion and a planar bottom face, a snap-fitting mounting assembly for retaining said lampholder on a fixture wall having a mounting opening therein, in a mounted position in which the bottom face of the lampholder body rests flat upon the outer surface of said fixture wall and the axis of said socket portion is substantially parallel to said fixture wall, said mounting assembly including a base portion of reduced crosssectional area depending from the bottom face of said lampholder body and sized to fit snugly within said mounting opening when the bottom face of said lampholder is brought flush against the outer surface of said fixture wall in the mounted position of said lampholder, a retaining member projecting laterally from said lampholder and sized for insertion through said mounting opening, said retaining member being substantially parallel to the bottom face of said lampholder body and being spaced therebelow to engage the inner surface of said fixture wall in the mounted position of said lampholder, and a spring clip mounted on said lampholder body and having a free end portion normally biased to a holding position in which it projects outwardly of said base portion at a point remote from said retaining member.

10. In a fluorescent lampholder having a body including a front wall carrying a lamp-receiving socket portion and a planar bottom face, a snap-fitting mounting assembly for retaining said lampholder on a fixture wall having a mounting opening therein when the lampholder is assembled from one side of said fixture wall to a mounted position in which the bottom face of the lampholder body rests flat upon the outer surface of said fixture wall and the axis of said socket portion is substantially parallel to said fixture wall, said mounting assembly including a base portion depending from the bottom face of said lampholder body and sized to fit snugly within said mounting opening in the mounted position of said lampholder, a retaining flange projecting laterally from said lampholder, said retaining flange being substantially parallel to the bottom face of said lampholder body and being spaced therebelow to engage the inner surface of said fixture wall in the mounted position of said lampholder, a recess formed in a portion of said base portion remote from said retaining flange, and a spring clip mounted on said lampholder body and having an angularly-bent free end portion normally biased to a holding position in which it projects outwardly of said recess, the free end portion of said clip being pressed into said recess when the lampholder base portion is inserted into said mounting opening, and snapping outwardly of said recess to overlie and engage the inner surface of said fixture wall in the mounted position of said lampholder.

11. A mounting assembly according to claim 10 in which said retaining flange projects forwardly of the front wall of said lampholder body and said spring clip is mounted on the rear portion of said lampholder body.

12. A mounting assembly according to claim 10 in which said retaining flange projects rearwardly from said lampholderbody and said spring clip is mounted at the front of said lampholder with the free end portion thereof normally projecting forwardly of said front wall.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,794,962 6/1957 Donato 339l28 2,916,675 12/1959 Middendorf 339128 X 3,111,353 11/1963 Nelson. 3,116,098 12/1963 Kulka 339128 X 3,260,986 7/1966 Staffel.

FOREIGN PATENTS 237,103 11/1964 Austria.

RICHARD E. MOORE, Primary Examiner.

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