Lamp Vent Structure

Abstract

A lamp housing having an upper portion defining a vent for ventilating the interior of the housing. The upper portion comprises a hollow dome section and a hollow cover section. A portion of the wall of the cover section is indented inwardly from a corresponding portion of the wall of the dome section to define the vent, while other portions of the walls of the dome and cover sections are continuous.

Parent Case Text

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 42,959, filed June 3, 1970 now abandoned.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a vent for a lamp and more particularly, to a vent structure for a lamp of the spire type.

Lamp vent structures of the type concerned with in this invention are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 116,476; 129,846 and 170,152. All of these patents describe covered vent members which are common in this particular art. Vents which are formed by conical and enlarged dome members fitting over vertical openings in the illumination section of a lamp are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 116,476. Exteriorly projecting hood members are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 129,846 or 170,152. These prior art constructions necessitate the use of enlargements on the exterior upward portions of the illumination section and do not lend themselves to an aesthetic appearance. They also necessitate extra procedures in fabrication. The prior art nowhere discloses a vent structure for the spire type lamp wherein the vents are formed internally of the exterior wall surface of the illumination portion and without an enlargement thereof. Neither does the prior art show the venting means for a spired top lamp which can be fabricated by the mere placement of a solid dome member over a lower top illumination portion and yet effect proper ventilation in a weather proof manner.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a vent structure for a lamp which has a minimum number of fabrication steps and parts yet is effective for providing proper ventilation in a gas type lamp. It is another object of this invention to provide a vent structure which is durable and yet aesthetic in appearance. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a venting structure which can be manufactured economically and yet provide a weather proof vent. It is still another object of this invention to provide a vent structure for a lamp which can be easily maintained in an operating condition.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The foregoing objects are accomplished and the shortcomings of the prior art are overcome by the present vent structure wherein a multiplicity of indentations or concave portions are spaced about an illumination section of a lamp. A dome member preferably forms the upper portion of the top illumination section and in effect is a continuation of the exterior wall of the illumination portion with vent openings being formed by indentations or concave portions in the illuminating section. The indentations terminate in a short upstanding wall portion with the lower most portion of the dome member and the uppermost portion of the cover section for the illumination portion terminating in the same horizontal plane.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING

A better understanding of the present vent structure will be accomplished by reference to the drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a lamp illustrating the vent structure.

FIG. 2 is a view in side elevation with the illumination portion and the dome section broken away and illustrating the continuity between the dome and the cover section for the illumination portion.

FIG. 3 is a view in horizontal section taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a view in horizontal section taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a partial view in vertical section taken along line 5--5 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Proceeding to a detailed description of the present invention, the vent generally 10 is shown in a typical gas lamp generally 11 which has the usual illumination section 12 with inverted mantles 13 which are supplied by gas through a support post 14. Unlike the ordinary gas lamp, the present lamp 11 is provided with a hollow dome spire 20 the exterior surface of which is closed and with the cover section 15 for illumination section 12 forms a continuous upstanding wall member 22.

Referring specifically to FIG. 4, the vent 10 is formed in the upper wall 22 of the cover section 15 by a multiplicity of indented or concave sections 23 which are six in number and disposed about central opening 25 of the illumination section. It will be noted that two bosses 27 are oppositely disposed from each other and between two of the indentations 23 form holes for two screws 28 which threadably engage the dome 20, the threaded screws serving as removable fastening means. This engagement is best seen in FIG. 2 where there will be noted the contact and continuous coplanar relationship between the exterior walls 30 of the dome 20 and the exterior wall 32 of the cover section 15 to form solid wall portions 22 between vent openings 10 formed by indentations 23 and openings 42 and 43. It will also be noted that the concave sections 23 are in effect internal walls extending into the interior of the illumination section and that those portions of the dome wall not contacting the cover wall intercept the cover, if the dome wall were extended.

As best shown in FIG. 5, the lowermost portion 34 of dome 20 will overlap the uppermost portion 35 of the cover section 15 and will terminate in the same horizontal plane. This is indicated at line 38. A short upstanding wall section 40 is provided for each indentation or concave portion 23 immediately adjacent to central opening 25 and at the uppermost portion of cover section 15. An opening 42 and 43 is thus formed between the upstanding wall portion 40 and the lowermost portion 34 of dome 20 to provide the flow of gases from inside illumination portion 11 to the outside. As will be further noted in FIG. 5, the concave portions 23 extend a substantial distance downwardly across the surface of cover section 15 from the lowermost part 34 of dome 20. This in effect forms an open portion of the vent but with the surface being concave any moisture or snow will tend to flow downwardly and off the indentation 23. As the upper portion of the cover section 15 and the lower portion of the hood or dome 20 terminate in a coplanar manner, rain cannot be easily blown through opening 42 or 43 as concave indentations 23 extend from outside the exterior confines of dome 20 to within its interior confines, the confines of dome 20 and cover 15 formed by the respective walls.

OPERATION

A better understanding of the advantages of the vent 10 will be had by a description of the manner in which it is formed and utilized. Cover section 15 forming the top of illumination section 11 is fabricated from cast aluminum and will have the indentations 23 and bosses 27 already formed therein. It will thus have the appearance as shown in FIG. 4. Hollow dome 20 will be cast as a separate piece and all that is required to attach the dome 20 is to seat it on the uppermost ledge 45 of cover section 15 with the threaded holes 29 aligned with the holes in bosses 27 and screws 28 inserted therein from the inside of the illumination section 12. This placement will automatically form the spacing between the upstanding wall sections 40 of the concave members 23 and the internal surface 41 of dome 20. The vents such as shown at 10 with openings 42 and 43 are in effect internal in that no protrusion or hood is required to be attached to the exterior surface of the upstanding wall portion 22 forming the top of the illumination section. However, the vent is also external in that it is exposed to a degree but with a downward slope which prevents the accumulation of moisture.

It will be recognized that while the preferred embodiment is shown with a hexagonal top or dome 20 in conjunction with a cover section 15 terminating in a hexagonal central opening, any number of vents can be employed by increasing the geometrical configuration of the dome and the number of indentations surrounding the central opening in the wall member 32. Conversely, the number of vents can be decreased in a similar manner by employing a triangular or square shape for the dome and the upper section of the cover section 15. While the surface 30 of dome 20 and surface 32 of cover 15 forming upstanding wall portion 22 are described as being slightly curved, the exterior wall of the sections could be straight by having them formed in a straight line. While the preferred metal for forming both the dome 20 and the cover section 15 is aluminum, it should be understood that any metal which is easily cast and readily available such as iron or steel could be used in its place. Further, dome 20 and cover section 15 are preferably fabricated in two separate parts. Although a more expensive procedure, they could be molded as a single entity. Alternatively, in place of threaded screws 28, other securing means such as internal welding could be used for a two part structure or other removable fastening means such as frictionally engageable clips or wedges could be employed.

It will thus be seen that through the present invention there is now provided the venting structure for a lamp which is easily manufactured yet effective in providing weather proof venting. The vent structure provides an aesthetically appearing vent for a spire type lamp and yet affords maximum ventilation with the interior of the lamp. The vent is in effect formed in the walls of the lamp itself and thus is durable and maintenance free.

The foregoing invention can now be practiced by those skilled in the art. Such skilled persons will know that the invention is not necessarily restricted to the particular embodiments herein. The scope of the invention is to be defined by the terms of the following claims as given meaning by the preceding description.

Claims

1. A lamp housing having an upper portion defining a vent for ventilating the interior of the housing, said upper portion comprising a hollow cover member having an upper surface, a hollow dome member having a lower surface joined to the upper surface of said cover member, each of said members having a plurality of walls with spaced first portions and second portions, said second portions extending between said first portions, said first portions of said dome and cover members forming a continuous surface, said second portion of said cover member being indented inwardly with respect to the second portion of said dome member to define a vent

2. The lamp structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said indented second

3. The lamp structure as defined in claim 2 wherein said concave portions

4. The lamp structure as defined in claim 3 wherein said cover member and

5. The lamp structure as defined in claim 4 wherein said dome member and

6. The lamp structure as defined in claim 5 wherein said dome member and

7. The lamp structure as defined in claim 4 wherein the dome and cover members terminate in a common plane.