Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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P~D 80003
The invention relates to an electric lamp/
reflector uni~ having an outer envelope consisting of
a concave reflector portion and a kransparent face
plate, in which outer envelope a halogen incandescent
lamp is provided the lamp envelope of which comprises
a bulb portion and a pinch which, in cross-section,
is substantially rectangular and which has thickened
portions extending along the longitudinal edges of its
major faces, on which pinch substantially U-shaped
resilient metal holding clips are clamped, which clips
bear on the said thickened portions, are supported by
respective supporting wires secured to the reflector
portion, and are connected electrically to a respec-
tive current supply member projecting from the pinch.
In such lamp/xeflector units the incandescent
lamp usually has to be alig~ed with respect to the con-
cave, in particular parabolic, reflector portion, which
alignment should be achievable in a simple manner and
must be reproducible in an automa-ted manufacturing pro~
cess.
In a known lamp/reflector unit of this kind
known from our Canadian Patent 1,101,393~ which issued
on May 19, 1981, the U shaped resilient holding elements
of the halogen incandescent lamp each consists of a ~ -
metal plate which is bent in the form of~a dovetail.
The base portion of the dovetail is centrall~ bent in-
wardly in such manner that a rigid three-line contact
is obtained between the holding element and the clamped
pinch. For the manufacture of this holding element,
first a blank must be punched from a resilient metal
sheet and then he bent several times; this is a compar-
ativel~ expensive method of manufacturing. Moreover,
the metal sheet of the holding element must be chosen
to be so thick that a supporting wire can be weld-
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PHD 80003 2 15.8.80
ed to it, this also increases costs. The electric connec-
tion of the current supply members projec-ting from the
pinch is made by welding their ends to the supporting
wires.
I-t is the object of the invention to provide an
electric lamp/reflector unit in which the holding ele-
ments for the halogen incandescent lamp can be manufactur-
ed in a simple manner from cheap material and can be pro-
vided and fixed on the pinch with ample si~e tolerances.
The invention accordingly provides an electric
lamp/reflector unit of the kind mentioned in the opening
paragraph characterized in that the holding~clips are ea~
bent from a piece o~ wire of resilient metal of which the
side limbs~of the U clamp the pinch between them and ex-
tend along the major faces of the pinch and are connected
to the current supply members directly by welding or
soldering.
The manu~acture of such holding clips from wire
can be automated and hence be performed at a favourable
cost-price. The amount of material i~self is smallO The
U-shaped wire pieces can be slid on to the pinch from its
free end towards the bulb portion of the lamp envelope.
;Since the side limbs can spread apart resiliently to sub-
stantially any extent~ the exact shape and dimensions of
the pinch are not~ very important for the assembling. Ne~
vertheless, afte~r assembly a fixed spatial relationship
between the holding clips and the pinch is obtained which
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is ensured by direct weldlng or soldering to the curren-t
supply members. ~ ~
The wire pieces preferably have a circular
cross-section.
In one embodiment the U-sha~ed holding clips
are provided on the pinch in such manner that their side
limbs each extend on oppositely located major pinch faces
adjacent the said thickened portions, at least one of the
side limbs engaging the pinch over its entire length.
In another embodiment of a lamp/reflector unit
according to -the in~ention the side limbs o~ the holding
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~HD 80003 3 15.8.80
clips respectively extend diagonally over oppositely-
located major pinch faces, one of the said limbs of each
holding clip ;`i engaging the pinch over its entire
length.
The holding elements can be provided on the
pinch with the cross-piece of the U adjacent the buIbous
envelope portion, said cross~piece being in the form of
a dovetail and rigidly clamping a said thickened portion
adjacent the bulb envelope portion. A side limb extending
from the lamp envelope along the pinch is connected to a
current supply member.
In such a lamp/reflector unit in which the side
limbs extend diagonally over the pinch, according to a
favourable embodimen-t bosses are provided on the major
pinch faces, which bosses the side limbs of the U engage
laterally, ~ `
Each holding clip may also be provided on the
pinch with its side limbs extending towards the bulb por-
tion of the lamp envelope and its cross-piece is beyond
the free end o~ the~ pinch and is connected to a respec-
tive ourrent supply member. Ad~antageously, the length of
each cross~piece is larger~than the~thickness~of the
plnch~suoh~that~of one of the side limbs only~one end en-
gages the pinch, said end being remote from the cross-
plece,~The end of the other side limb engaging~the pinchover its entire length may be bent along the junction of
the pinch and the~bulb lamp envelope portion and bear witl
its end face on a boss pres~ent~on a major pinch f`ace. As
a result of -this, this limb occupies a fixed and defined
position on the pinch.
The lamp of a lamp/reflector unit according to
the invention may comprise a halogen incandescent lamp
having one incandescent member but alternatively a halogen
incandescen-t lamp having two incandescent members whose
35 one ends are attached to a common -third current supply `
member, projecting from the pinch. Such a lamp/reflector
unit in one embodiment is characterized in that between
two holding clips having side limbs of the U e~tending in
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PHD 80003 4
the longitudinal direction of the pinch, an additional
resilient holding clip of a bent piece of wire is provided
which is substantially U-shaped having side limbs extending
in the longitudinal direction of the pinch, and the cross-
5 piece of the U being present beyond the free end of thepinch and bearing with one side limb on a boss present on a
major face of the pinch. The element may be connected to
the third current supply member by means of welding or
soldering. `
An advantageous and cheap embodiment of such a
lamp/reflector unit is obtained when the additional holding
clip corresponds in size and shape to the other two holding
clips
In another embodiment, a side limb of the addi- ~ ~
15 tional holdin~ clip is bent in the form of a hairpin about / ;
a boss on the major face of the pinch. The other side limb ;~
of the U of the additional holding element is preferably
bent at right angles with its end along the bulb portion of
lamp envelope.
According to a further embodiment of a lamp/
reflectox unit according to the invention a respective side
limb of each holding~clip and additional holding clip is
~provided~with an extension extending away from the pinch
; which is attached as a supporting wire to the reflector `~
25 portion.
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A lamp/reflector unit is known from German Offen-
legungsschrift 29 06 605 by We8tinghouse and which was made
available to the public;on Oct. 25, 1979 in which the U-
shaped element is of sheet metal and has parallel, flat,
30 side limbsO Hence it cannot adapt to the shapes of the
thickness portions, which in practice are more or less un-
defined dimensionally. Therefore in this case also no
seaure seating of the holding clips on the p1nch seal is ~`
ensured. The cross-pieces of the U of such clips are formed
35 into a tube which serves to receive a supporting wire.
Below the parallel side limbs for recéiving the pinch, two
strip-shaped projections are provided between which a cur-
rent supplymember projecting Erom thepinch seal is incorpor-
ated and welded. As a result of thisthemass of the holding
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PHD 80003 5 l5.8.80
clips which are already heavy due to their being for~ed
of sheet metal, is increased further. Moreover said hold-
ing clips are complicated, expensive, and difficult to as-
sem~e.
Embodimentsof lamp/reflector units according to
the invention and their component parts will now be
described in greater detail with reference to the accom-
panying drawings, of which:
Fig. 1 is a partial sectional view of a lamp/re-
flector unit which is provided with a halogen incandes-
cent lamp having two holding elements,
Fig. 2 shows on an enlarged scale the halogen
incandescent lamp used in Fig. 1,
Fig. 3 shows an elevation of the lamp shown in
Fig. 2 rotated through 90 about the longitudinal axis of
the lamp,
Fig. 4 is a sec-tional view through the halogen
; incandescent lamp shown in Fig. 2 taken on the line IV -
IV,
20 ~ Fig. 5 shows a halogen incandescent lamp incor-
porated in a reflector portion of a lamp/reflector uni-t
and having two holding elements with dif~erently shaped
supporting wires 5
Fig, 6 is an elevation on an enlarged scale of
~; ~ 25 the halogen incandescent lamp used in Fig~ 5,
Fig. 7 is an elevation o~ the lamp shown in Fig.
6 rotated through 90 about the longitudinal a~is of the
lamp,
Fig. 8 is an elevation of a halogen incandes-
cent lamp suitable for use in a lamp/reflector unit and
having two differently shaped holding elements 7
Fig. 9 is an elevation of the lamp shown in
Fig. 8 rotated through 90 about the longitudinal axis of
the lamp,
Fig. 10 is a sectional view through the halogen
incandescent lamp shown in Fig. 8 taken on the line X - X,
Fig. 11 is an elevation of a halogen incandes-
cent lamp suitable for use in a lamp/reflector unit again
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PHD 80003 6 1 5. 8. 80
having two differently shaped holding elements,
Fig. 12 is an elevation of the lamp shown in
Fig. 11 rotated through 90 about the longitudinal axis
of the lamp~
Fig. 13 is a sectional view through the halogen
incandescent lamp shown in Fig. 11 taken on the line
XIII - XIII,
Fig~l 14 is a longitudinal sectional view through
the pinch of the halogen incandescent lamp shown in Fig.11
and taken on the line XIV - XIV,
Fig. 15 is an elevation of a halogen incandes-
cent lamp similar to the lamp shown in Fig. 11 the holding
elements of which change into supporting wires,
Fig. 16 is an elevation of the lamp shown in
Fig~ 15 rotated -through 90 about the longitudinal axis~
Fig, 17 is an elevation of a halogen incandes-
cent lamp suitable for use in a Iamp/reflector unit hav-
ing two filaments and two hold:ing elements corr0sponding
to the lamp shown in Fig. 11, ~
Fig.~ 18 lS an elevatlon of the lamp shown in
Fig. 17 rotated through 90 about the longitudinal axis o~
the lamp,
Fig.~19 is an elevation of a halogen incandes-
c;ent lamp slmilar to the lamp shown in Fig. 17 having an
additional holding element which is connected to a third
current supply member,
Fig. 20 is a sectional view through the halogen
incandescent lamp shown in Fig. 19 taken on the line :~Y -
XX,
Fig. 21 is an elevation of a further halogen
incandescent lamp suitable for use in a lamp/reflector
unit having two filaments and two holding elements corres-
ponding to those of the lamp shown in Fig. 2, as well as
an additional holding element connected to the third cur-
rent supply member.
Fig. 22 is an elevation of the lamp shown in
Fig. 21 rotated through 180 about the longitudinal axis
of the lamp, and
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PHD 80003 7 15.8.80
Fig. 23 is a sectional view through the lamp
shown in Fig. 21 taken on the line XXIII - XXIII.
In Figs. 1 to 4, a lamp vessel 1 consisting,
for example~ of quartz glass or hard glass, comprises a
bulb portion 2 and a pinch 3 which in transverse cross-
sec$ion (Figure 4) is substantially rectangular. The bulb
portion is filled with inert gas and a halogen gas. A fi-
lament 4 is accommodated in the bulb portion 2 and its
two ends 5 extend into the pinch 3 and are there connect-
ed to molybdenum foils 6 embedded in the pinch 3. Currentsupply members 7 projecting from the pinch 3 are further-
more welded to the~molybdenum foils 6. On its major faces
14 the piuch 3 has thickened portions 9 along its longi-
tudinal edges.
Two substantially U-~shaped holding clips 10,
for example, of hard-drawn round steel wire having a dia-
meter of 1 mm and a tensile strength of 700 to 800 Nlmm
; are clamped laterally on the pinch 3. The holding clips
10~each have two parallel limbs -11 and 12 and a cross-
20~ piece 13 which is bent to form a dovetail~in a plane trans-
verse to the plane of~the side limbs With thls cross-
piece~13 foremost, the holding clips 10 are pu~shed on to
the pin~ch 3~from~its~free~end towards the~bulb portion 2
in such manner that 13 each dovetailed c~ross-piec~ fric-
25 tionally clamps~a respeotive thi~akened portion 9 of thepinch 3 adjacent the bùlb portion 2. The side limbs 11 and
12 of each holding clip lO each extend~on oppositely-lo-
~cated major~pinch faces 1L~ along edges~ of the thickened
portions. In the case~shown the two side~limbs 11 and 12
engage the pinch 3 throughout its length. The side limb
12 of each holding clip ~10 ex-tends beyond the free end of
pinch 3 and is welded there (at A, Fig. 2) to a respec-
tive current supply~member 7 so that -the holding clip 10
is fixed in position relati~e to the pinch 3
The other side limb 11 of each holding clip 10
is provided with an extended portion 15 which extends
transversely away frolll the pinch 3 and which~ af-ter an
aligning operatlon to adjust the position filament 4 rela-
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P~ 80003 8 15.8.80
lative to the reflector, is secured to a cranked support-
ing rod 16. As shown in Fig. 1, the supporting rods 16 are
attached in connection caps 17 of a re~lector portion 18
of a gas-tight outer enve]ope 23 of a lamp/re~lector uni-t.
~or the aligning operation, the supporting wires 16 are
first rotated about their ends 19 to be attached in the
connection caps 17 in such manner that their front ends
20 abut against the extension 15 of the holding clips 10
o~ the lamp which has been previously aligned with res-
pect to the reflector portion 18, after which they aresecured to said extension, for e~ample,~ by welding. The
other ends 19 o~ the supporting rods 16 are -then soldered
to the connection caps 17. A t:ransparent cover glass 25
is then sealed on to the reflector portion 18 and the in-
terior of the resulting outer envelope 23 is ~illed withan inert gas. Contact lugs 26 are then soldered on the
outside to the connection caps 17. The lamp/re M ector
unit may be used as a motorcar headlight.
I~ no aligning oper~tion is required, then, as
shown in ~igs. 5 to 7, the extensions 15 of the~side limbs
11 of the holding clips 10 extending away from the pinch
3 may be extended in length and bent at right angles to
~; form supporting wires 21 which are secured at ^their ends
in the connection caps 17 o~ the re~lector portion 18. ;~
The wire holding~clips 10 used in the embodiment
shown in Figs. 8 to 10 are dlstinguished Prom those shown
in Figs. 2 to 4 only in that~their side limbs 11 and 12
extend diagonally over~the pinch 3 and~bosses 22 and 23
are provided on the major pinch sides 14, on which bosses
the side limbs 1l and 12 bear laterally~
In the embodiments shown ln Figs. 11 ^to 16,
holding clips 30 are pushed on to the pinch 3 from below
with the side limbs 31 and 32 o~ a U shaped portion ~ac-
ing the bulb portion 2. The straight cross-pieces 33 pre-
sent beyond the free end of the pinch 3 are connected to
a respective current supply member 7 by soldering, so
that the position o~ each holding clip 30 is fixed rela-
tive to the pinch 3. The length of the cross-piece 33 is
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P~ 80003 9 15~8.80
larger than the normal (i.e. on thickened) thickness o~
the pinch 3 so that each side limb 31 engages the pinch 3
only at i-ts end remote from the cross-piece. Comparative-
ly large thickness dif`f`erences of`-the pinch 3 can be ac-
commodated thereb-y. In order to avoid a lateral movement
o~ the holding clips 30 on the pinch 3, the ends 34 of -the
side limbs 32 engaging the pinch along its entire length
are bent at right angles along the bulb portion 2 of the
lamp en~elope towards the lamp axis X - X and engage with
their end ~aces respective ribs 24 present in the centre
of` the pinch.
In Figs, 11 to 14 the side limbs 31 are again
provided with extended portions 35 extending laterally
away f`rom the pinch 3, which portions can cooperate with
a bent supporting wire 16 in the same ~ashion as that of`
the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 -to 4.
When said halogen incandescent lamps I need not
be aligned relative to the re~lec-tor part of` the lamp/re-
flector unit, the portions 35 of` the limbs 31 as shown in
Figs. 15 and 16 a~alogous to the embodiment shown in Figs.
5~to 7, are extended in length and bent to f`orm support-
ing wLres 36~whi~ch are secured in the connection caps 17
; ~of the re~lector portion 18.
The halogen incandescent lamp shown in Figs. 17
and 18 compris~ès two filaments 4 and 27 extending pa-
rallel to each other, ends 5 of which are connected via
the molybdenum foils~6 to the curren-t supply~members 7 ~-
projecting f`rom the~pinch 3 and attac~ed to~the holding
clips 30 provided on the pinch 3 in açcordance with Figs.
11 to 14. A further end 5a o~ filament 27 is electricaIIy
connected via a central rllolybdenum foil 6a to a central
current supply member 7a projecting from the pinch 3,
which~current supply member 7a is bent at right angles
and is conneoted to a third supporting wire mounted iIl
the re~lector portion l8.
In the halogen incandescent lamp shown in Figs.
19 and 20 an additional holding clip 40 is provided which
corresponds to the holding clip 30 cooperating with the
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PHD 80oo3 10 15.8.80
thickened portions 9 of the pinch 3 (compare ~igs. 11 to
14). The additional holding clip 40 also consists o~ a
piece of wire bent in the form of a U having side limbs
41 and 42 extending in -the longitudinal direction of the
pinch 3 and of which the limb 4Z bears on a boss 24 on t~
major pinch surface 1~, which rib simultaneously serves
as an abutment for the perpendicularly bent side limb 32,
34 of the left-hand holding clip 30 shown in Fig, 19. The
cross~piece 43 of the additional holding clip 40 present
beyond the pinch 3 is welded or soldered, analogous to the
cross-piece 33 of the holding element 30, to the central
current supply member 7a. In a manner also corresponding
to that of the holding clip 30~ the end 44 of the side
limb 42 of the additional hold:ing clip 40 is bent at right
lS angles along the bulb portion 2 and bears with its end
face on a boss 46 present on the major pinc~ surface 14.
The side limb 41 of the additional holding clip 40 com-
prises an extended portion 4S which extends away from the
pinch 3 and which, as for the extensions 35 of the hold-
20 ~ ing clips 30~, is secured to a supporting wire 16 pro~idedin the reflector portion~18 of the lamp/reflector unit.
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In~the halogen incandescent lamp shown in Figs,
; 2;1 to 23 ha~ing two filaments~4 and 27, the two holding
clips 10 connected to the current supply members 7 are
~ormed~as shown in ~igs. 2 to~ 40 For cooperation with the
central current supply~member 7a an additional holding
clip 50 is provided which~also consists of a substantially
U-shaped piece of wire proYided on the pinch 3 and of
which one side limb 52 engages, at least with its end 54
bent along the~bulb portion~2,~he major pinch face 14,
while -the other side limb 51 is bent in the form of a
hairpin about a prisma-tic boss 56 present in the centre
of the pinch on its major surface 64. The cross-piece 53
present beyond the pinch 3 of the side limbs 51 and 52 is
again welded or soldered to the central current supply
member 7aO The end g5 of the hairpin-shaped limb 51 is
bent away at right angles from the pinch 3 and is secured
to suppor~ing wires 16 held in the re~lector portion 18 '
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PHD 80003 11 15.8.80
in the same fasion as the extended portions 15 of the
holding clips 10. This embodiment is particularly sui-t-
able in those cases where very high dynamic forces occur,
respectively, when larger masses resulting from the lamp
construction are to be supported.
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