Abstrict
A halogen lamp coupling structure for an electric heater allowing
a fitting plate of a halogen lamp to be fitted into and coupled
with a lamp fixing recess of a base serving as an insulation block.
The halogen lamp coupling structure comprises a strap coupling type
of elastic fixing member having a fixing strap fixed to the halogen
lamp to surround the halogen lamp and an auxiliary fixing strap
supported by an inner wall of the lamp fixing recess of the base.
The fixing strap and the auxiliary fixing strap are connected with
each other in a vertical direction by a bent piece.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A halogen lamp coupling structure for an electric heater for
allowing a fitting plate of a halogen lamp to be fitted into and
coupled with a lamp fixing recess of a base serving as an insulation
block, comprising: a strap coupling type of elastic fixing member
having a fixing strap fixed to the halogen lamp to surround the
halogen lamp and an auxiliary fixing strap supported by an inner
wall of the lamp fixing recess of the base, said fixing strap and
said auxiliary fixing strap being connected with each other in a
vertical direction by a bent piece, wherein the base serving as
the insulation block is formed with the lamp fixing recess which
takes the shape of an elliptical recess and accommodates the elastic
fixing member therein and of which the bottom is provided with a
fitting contact member for causing a lamp terminal of the halogen
lamp to be fitted into an elongated hole.
2. The halogen lamp coupling structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the fitting contact member includes a cover plate which defines
a bottom surface of the elliptical fixing recess and has the elongated
hole formed at a position corresponding to the lamp terminal for
guiding the fitting coupling of the lamp terminal therein, and a
connection terminal which is installed in a bottom groove below
the cover plate, is in contact with the lamp terminal fitted through
the elongated hole by means of elastic force of a spring and is
connected to an electric wire.
Description BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a halogen lamp coupling structure
for an electric heater in which a lamp terminal of a halogen lamp
is directly fitted into and coupled with a base. More particularly,
the present invention relates to a halogen lamp coupling structure
for an electric heater, wherein an elastic fixing member of which
an upper strap fixes the halogen lamp and a lower strap is fitted
into and secured in a fixing recess of a base is connected with
the halogen lamp so that the halogen lamp with the elastic fixing
member connected therewith is fitted into and coupled with the fixing
recess of the base.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, there have been provided various kinds of heating appliances.
Among them, electric heating appliances convert electric energy
into thermal energy by means of resistors and perform heating by
using heat generated as such. As for methods of radiating the heat,
there have been provided a method of reflecting heat, which is generated
from a heating element, by a reflector so that the heat is diffusively
radiated forward, and a method of radiating the heat forward by
using a blower.
One of the electric heating appliances using the blower can be
constructed, by way of example, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. 1
is a sectional view showing a heat generating device for a conventional
heater, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a major portion
of the heat generating device for the conventional heater, and FIG.
3 is an enlarged sectional view showing an essential portion of
the heat generating device for the conventional heater. Referring
to these figures, a cover plate body 1-1 is constructed by a generally
hemispherical plate and provided with a ventilation hole 1-1a at
the center thereof. An entire surface of the cover plate body 1-1
is formed with heat dissipating apertures 1-1b for dissipating heat
generated inside of the cover plate body 1-1.
A safety cover 1-2 is coupled with a front peripheral portion of
the cover plate body 1-1 for preventing inflammables or an adjacent
human body from coming into contact with halogen heating lamps 1-8
to be described later.
A reflecting mirror 1-3 is installed in front of an inner surface
of the cover plate body 1-1 for forward reflecting light and heat
which are emitted from the halogen heating lamps 1-8.
The reflecting mirror 1-3 is composed of a hemispherical plate
by depositing aluminum having superior reflectability onto an inner
surface of the hemispherical plate. The reflecting mirror 1-3 is
formed with ventilation holes 1-3a at a central portion thereof.
Further, an inclined surface 1-3b is formed at an outer periphery
adjacent to the ventilation holes 1-3a. The reflecting mirror 1-3
is disposed in front of and fixed to the cover plate body 1-1 with
a predetermined gap therebetween by using fasteners 1-3c.
A rear cap 1-4 having a plurality of heat dissipating apertures
1-4a is connected with a rear central portion of the cover plate
body 1-1.
A blower fan 1-5 driven by a driving motor 1-5a is installed in
the rear cap 1-4 so that it cause air to blow toward the ventilation
hole 1-1a of the cover plate body 1-1.
An air guide plate 1-6 is disposed in front of the ventilation
holes 1-3a of the reflecting mirror 1-3 for forward guiding the
air, which has passed through the ventilation holes 1-1a, 1-3a of
the cover plate body 1-1 and the reflecting mirror 1-3, along an
inner surface of the reflecting mirror 1-3.
The air guide plate 1-6 is in the form of a disk with a protruding
plate portion 1-6a formed at the rear thereof and with a forward-flared
guide wing portion 1-6b at a front outer periphery thereof. The
protruding plate portion 1-6a is fixed to a central inner surface
of the reflecting mirror 1-3 by spot welding.
With the structure of the air guide plate 1-6 constructed as such,
an air passage AT is formed between the air guide plate 1-6 and
the ventilation holes 1-3a of the reflecting mirror 1-3. The air
blown by the blower fan 1-5 is guided forward through the air passage
AT and along the inner surface of the reflecting mirror 1-3.
An insulation block 1-7 is fixed to a front surface of the air
guide plate 1-6 by a fastener 1-7a.
The insulation block 1-7 is provided with two pairs of connection
terminals 1-7b therein so that connection pins of the halogen heating
lamps which will be introduced from the front of the terminals can
be connected with the respective terminals. A front face of the
insulation block 1-7 is formed with a pair of lamp coupling grooves
1-7c. Further, electric wires are connected with the connection
terminals 1-7b for supplying electricity thereto.
The pair of halogen heating lamps 1-8 are coupled with the insulation
block 1-7.
Each of the halogen heating lamps 1-8 comprises a heating lamp
body 1-81 for generating heat, and a holding block 1-82 for holding
trailing ends of the heating lamp body 1-81. At this time, the heating
lamp body 1-81 is constructed such that a heating body 1-81b made
of tungsten is installed in a U-shaped quartz tube member 1-81a
filled with halogen and the heating body 1-81b is connected with
the connection pins 1-81c which are exposed from trailing ends of
the tube member 1-81a. The holding block 1-82 is molded with ceramic
to enclose and connect the both trailing ends of the tube member
1-81a.
The holding of the trailing ends of the tube member 1-81a by means
of the holding block 1-82 prevents the quartz tube member 1-81a
from being broken by external force upon handling of the halogen
heating lamp 1-8.
The holding block 1-82 of the halogen heating lamp 1-8 is fitted
into and coupled with the relevant lamp coupling groove 1-7c of
the insulation block 1-7, and the connection pin 1-81c is inserted
into and coupled with the relevant connection terminal 17b.
The reason why the halogen heating lamp 1-8 detachably coupled
with the insulation block 1-7 is employed in the prior art for generating
the heat is that the halogen heating lamp 1-8 which has been completely
used up can be easily replaced and superior heating effects can
be obtained.
A hollow tubular stay 1-9 is disposed at a front central portion
of the insulation block between the holding blocks 1-82 of the halogen
heating lamps 1-8. A reflector 1-10 for reflecting the heat and
light generated from the halogen heating lamps 1-8 onto the inner
surface of the reflecting mirror 1-3 is firmly attached to a leading
end of the stay 1-9. The stay 1-9 and the reflector 1-10 are coupled
with each other by using a fastening bolt 1-11 axially passing through
the interior of the stay 1-9 and a nut 1-11a screwed over a leading
end of the fastening bolt 1-11 which has passed through the holding
block 1-82 and a cover plate 1-7d of the insulation block 1-7.
In this case, the heating lamp body 1-81 is fitted into and bonded
with the holding block 1-82 by using an adhesive or the like. Then,
the holding block is coupled and assembled with the lamp coupling
groove 1-7c of the insulation block 1-7. Therefore, there is convenience
of assembly thereof. However, since the both ends of the heating
lamp body 1-81 are bonded with the holding block 1-82, there is
a problem in that the both ends of the heating lamp body 1-81 may
be easily broken when being subjected to impact.
Meanwhile, a specific example of a conventional electric heater
using reflected heat by means of a reflector is shown in FIGS. 4
to 6. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a coupling
structure of a conventional halogen heater tube, FIG. 5 is a sectional
view taken along line C--C of FIG. 4 in a state where all components
of FIG. 4 are coupled with one another, and FIG. 6 is a sectional
view taken along line D--D of FIG. 4 in the coupled state. In a
halogen lamp fixing device for the conventional electric heater,
a fitting plate 2 of a halogen lamp 1 is fitted into and fixed in
a lamp fixing recess 50 of a base 6. The halogen lamp fixing device
comprises an elastic fixing member 10 having fixing straps 20, 30
for fixing the halogen lamp 1. The lamp fixing recess 50 has a size
capable of simultaneously accommodating the fitting plate 2 of the
halogen lamp 1 and the elastic fixing member 10 therein and is formed
at a fixing position of the halogen lamp in the base 6. A bottom
surface of the fixing recess 50 is formed with fixing lever slits
51. Reference numeral 1-1 designates an insulation fabric for performing
an insulation function when the halogen lamp 1 is coupled with the
elastic fixing member 10; 3 is a lamp terminal; 21 is a fitting
boss inserted into a fitting hole 22; 40 is a bent piece for connecting
the fixing strap 20 and the auxiliary fixing strap 30; 31 are fixing
levers; 32 are fixing pieces; and 5-2 is a hole for an electric
wire.
According to the above constitution, as shown in FIG. 4, the base
6 is formed with the fixing recess 50 having a diameter corresponding
to that of the coupled halogen lamp 1 and the elastic fixing member
10, and the halogen lamp 1 is coupled with the elastic fixing member
around the insulation fabric 1-1 of the halogen lamp 1 by inserting
the fitting boss 21 of the fixing strap 20 into the fitting hole
22 thereof. The fixing levers 31 of the elastic fixing member coupled
with the halogen lamp are fitted into the fixing lever slits 51
formed in the bottom surface of the fixing recess 50 and then fixed
to the base 6 by bending the fixing pieces 32 exposed beyond the
bottom surface of the base 6, as shown in FIG. 6. Of course, a separate
electric wire (not shown) is connected to the lamp terminal 3.
However, since the halogen lamp 1 is coupled with the elastic fixing
member 10, the fixing levers 31 of the elastic fixing member 10
are fitted into the fixing lever slits 51 and fixed to the base,
and the lamp terminal 3 simultaneously penetrates through the base
6 and is additionally connected to the separate connection electric
wire (not shown), there are problems in that workability is lowered
and considerable time and skill are required for repair of the halogen
lamp 1 upon breakage thereof, thereby increasing repair costs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is conceived to solve the problem. An object
of the present invention is to provide a halogen lamp coupling structure
by which the life of a halogen lamp can be prolonged and the maintenance
of the halogen lamp can be facilitated.
To this end, the present invention is directed to a halogen lamp
coupling structure in which a lamp terminal of a halogen lamp is
directly fitted into and coupled with a base. More particularly,
the present invention is directed to a halogen lamp coupling structure,
wherein an elastic fixing member of which an upper strap fixes the
halogen lamp and a lower strap is fitted into and secured in a fixing
recess of a base is connected with the halogen lamp so that the
halogen lamp with the elastic fixing member connected therewith
is fitted into and coupled with the fixing recess of the base.
That is, according to one aspect of the present invention, there
is provided a halogen lamp coupling structure for an electric heater
for allowing a fitting plate of a halogen lamp to be fitted into
and coupled with a lamp fixing recess of a base serving as an insulation
block. The halogen lamp coupling structure comprises a strap coupling
type of elastic fixing member having a fixing strap fixed to the
halogen lamp to surround the halogen lamp and an auxiliary fixing
strap supported by an inner wall of the lamp fixing recess of the
base. The fixing strap and the auxiliary fixing strap are connected
with each other in a vertical direction by a bent piece. The base
serving as the insulation block is formed with the lamp fixing recess
which takes the shape of an elliptical recess and accommodates the
elastic fixing member therein and of which the bottom is provided
with a fitting contact member for causing a lamp terminal of the
halogen lamp to be fitted into an elongated hole.
The fitting contact member may include a cover plate which defines
a bottom surface of the elliptical fixing recess and has the elongated
hole corresponding to the lamp terminal, and a connection terminal
which is installed in a bottom groove below the cover plate, is
in contact with the lamp terminal fitted through the elongated hole
by means of elastic force of a spring and is connected to an electric
wire.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is
provided a halogen lamp coupling structure for an electric heater
for allowing a fitting plate of a halogen lamp to be fitted into
and coupled with a lamp fixing recess of a base serving as an insulation
block. The halogen lamp coupling structure comprises an elastic
fixing member including a receiving bore having a depth capable
of accommodating the fitting plate and a portion of a body of the
halogen lamp, and an insertion hole formed in a bottom surface of
the elastic fixing member so that a lamp terminal of the halogen
lamp can penetrate through the insertion hole. The base serving
as the insulation block is formed with the lamp fixing recess which
takes the shape of an elliptical recess and accommodates the above
elastic fixing member therein and of which the bottom is provided
with a fitting contact member for causing the lamp terminal of the
halogen lamp to be fitted into an elongated hole.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above and other objects and features of the present invention
will become apparent from the following description of preferred
embodiments given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings,
in which:
FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a conventional air heater;
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a major portion of FIG.
1;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of an essential portion of
FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a coupling structure
for a conventional halogen heater tube;
FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line C--C of FIG.
4;
FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line D--D of FIG.
4;
FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a halogen lamp coupling
structure according to one example of the present invention;
FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line E--E of FIG.
7;
FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line F--F of FIG.
7; and
FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a halogen lamp coupling
structure according to another example of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will
be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a halogen lamp coupling
structure according to one example of the present invention, FIG.
8 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line E--E of FIG. 7,
and FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line F--F of
FIG. 7. In the figures, like reference numerals are used for elements
similar to those of the conventional halogen lamp coupling structure.
The halogen lamp coupling structure for an electric heater allows
a fitting plate 2 of a halogen lamp 1 to be fitted into and coupled
with a lamp fixing recess 150 of a base 6 serving as an insulation
block.
The halogen lamp coupling structure comprises a strap coupling
type of elastic fixing member 100 having a fixing strap 120 fixed
to the halogen lamp 1 to surround the halogen lamp 1 and an auxiliary
fixing strap 130 supported by an inner wall of the lamp fixing recess
150 of the base 6. The fixing strap 120 and the auxiliary fixing
strap 130 are connected with each other in a vertical direction
by a bent piece 140.
The base 6 serving as the insulation block is formed with the lamp
fixing recess 150 which takes the shape of an elliptical recess
and accommodates the elastic fixing member 100 therein and of which
the bottom is provided with a fitting contact member 160 for causing
a lamp terminal 3 of the halogen lamp 1 to be fitted into an elongated
hole 162.
The fitting contact member 160 includes a cover plate 161 which
defines a bottom surface of the elliptical fixing recess 150 and
has the elongated hole 162 formed at a position corresponding to
the lamp terminal 3 for guiding the fitting coupling of the lamp
terminal therein, and a connection terminal 166 which is installed
in a bottom groove 163 below the cover plate 161, is in contact
with the lamp terminal 3 fitted through the elongated hole 162 by
means of elastic force of a spring 164 and is connected to an electric
wire 165.
FIG. 10 shows a halogen lamp coupling structure according to another
example of the present invention, similar to FIG. 7. The halogen
lamp coupling structure for an electric heater also allows a fitting
plate 2 of a halogen lamp 1 to be fitted into and coupled with a
lamp fixing recess 150 of a base 6 serving as an insulation block.
The halogen lamp coupling structure comprises an elastic fixing
member 200 including a receiving bore 210 having a depth capable
of accommodating the fitting plate 2 and a portion of a body 1-2
of the halogen lamp 1, and an insertion hole 220 formed in a bottom
surface of the elastic fixing member so that a lamp terminal 3 of
the halogen lamp can penetrate through the insertion hole.
The base 6 serving as the insulation block is formed with the lamp
fixing recess 150 which takes the shape of an elliptical recess
and accommodates the elastic fixing member 200 therein and of which
the bottom is provided with a fitting contact member 160 for causing
the lamp terminal 3 of the halogen lamp 1 to be fitted into an elongated
hole 162. Reference numeral 161 designates the cover plate for covering
the fitting contact member 160. Since the constitution of the fitting
contact member 160 is identical to that shown in FIGS. 7 and 9,
the description thereof will be omitted.
According to the present invention constructed as such, since the
lamp terminals 3 formed at the both ends of the U-shaped halogen
lamp 1 are simply fitted into and coupled with the fixing recess
150 of the base 6, there are advantages in that their assembly can
be easily made and impact resistance of the lamp can be enhanced.
To this end, the fitting plate 2 of the halogen lamp 1 and a portion
of the body 1-2 of the lamp adjacent the fitting plate are surrounded
by and coupled with the fixing strap 120 upon assembly thereof.
In this state, the auxiliary fixing strap 130 shown in FIG. 7 is
seated in the fixing recess 150 and the lamp terminal 3 is simultaneously
fitted into and penetrates through the elongated hole 162 of the
cover plate 161 disposed at the bottom of the fixing recess.
That is, easy coupling also means easy disassembly. Therefore,
if the lamp 1 is broken in the future, the lamp assembly of the
lamp and the elastic fixing member 100 coupled therewith can be
wholly replaced with a new one. Accordingly, it is not necessary
to separately disassemble the entire lamp assembly for the replacement
thereof.
Further, since the fixing recess 150 is formed as an elliptical
recess, the lamp terminal 3 can be conveniently fitted into the
elongated hole 162. That is, the lamp terminal is simply required
to be fitted into the elongated hole 162, so that their assemblability
can be improved.
The elastic fixing member 100 of the halogen lamp coupling structure
according to the present invention does not perform only the fixation
of the lamp. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the fixing strap 120 fixes
the lamp 1 and the auxiliary fixing strap 130 is secured in the
fixing recess 150. Since both the straps 120, 130 are connected
to each other by the bent piece 140, elastic movement therebetween
can be made owing to the bent piece 140. Thus, the fixing strap
120 and the lamp 1 can move in response to external impact or vibration.
Consequently, the impact resistance thereof can be enhanced. That
is, according to the present invention, the fitting coupling can
be facilitated and the impact resistance can be improved. In this
case, if the auxiliary fixing strap 130 is constructed to have a
height equal to the depth of the fixing recess 150, the elastic
fixing member 100 functions to press down the cover plate 161. Therefore,
it is not necessary to employ an additional means for attaching
the cover plate 161 to the base 6, e.g. riveting. As a result, the
number of manufacturing processes and production costs can be reduced.
Furthermore, the halogen lamp coupling structure of the present
invention can be constructed as shown in FIG. 10. In such a case,
the fitting plate 2 and a portion of the body 1-2 of the halogen
lamp 1 are fitted into the receiving bore 210 of the elastic fixing
member 200 and the lamp terminal 3 is fitted into the insertion
hole 220 formed in the bottom surface 221 of the elastic fixing
member 200. If necessary, a heat resistant adhesive (not shown)
may be applied thereto so as to maintain the coupling therebetween.
Then, the elastic fixing member 200 and the halogen lamp 1 are fitted
into the elliptical fixing recess 150 at a time. At this time, the
lamp terminal 3 of the halogen lamp 1 is fitted into and penetrates
through the elongated hole 162 of the cover plate 161. Since the
halogen lamp 1 is primarily assembled in a state where even the
portion of the body 1-2 of the halogen lamp 1 is fitted into and
coupled with the elastic fixing member 200, an interface pp between
the fitting plate 2 and the body 1-2 is not exposed to the outside.
Thus, even when subjected to impact, the interface pp is prevented
from being broken. Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, since
the elastic fixing member 200 having the circular bottom surface
221 is used, some degree of play thereof can be allowed in the elliptical
fixing recess 150, thereby having high flexibility and impact resistance.
Of course, to this end, a minor diameter of the ellipse should be
larger than the diameter of the elastic fixing member 200.
The elastic fixing member 200 is primarily coupled with each of
both the ends of the halogen lamp 1 and then simply fitted into
the fixing recess 150. Thus, the assemblability of the lamp and
the base can be greatly enhanced. Upon replacement of the halogen
lamp 1, only the broken halogen lamp 1 (elastic fixing member 200)
is disassembled from the fixing recess 150 and then a new halogen
lamp 1 (elastic fixing lamp 200) is fitted and assembled into the
fixing recess 150. At this time, the lamp terminal 3 penetrates
through the elongated hole 162 of the cover plate 161 and comes
into contact with the fitting contact member 160 so that the lamp
terminal 3 is supplied with electric power. Thus, since even an
ordinary person as well as the skilled can perform the replacement
or maintenance of the halogen lamp, after-sale service costs can
be reduced.
According to the present invention, since the strap coupling type
of elastic fixing member of which the upper strap fixes the halogen
lamp and the lower auxiliary strap is fitted into and secured in
the fixing recess is utilized, the halogen lamp and the elastic
fixing member can be coupled with the fixing recess of the base
at a time with only the fitting operation. Accordingly, upon even
replacement of the lamp, everyone can easily perform the replacement
of the lamp.
Alternatively, when the tubular elastic fixing member with the
closed bottom is utilized, the receiving bore of the tubular elastic
fixing member is constructed to be deep so that the fitting plate
and the portion of the body of the lamp can be fitted into the receiving
bore. Thus, the breakage of the lamp resulting from damage to the
interface between the fitting plate and the body of the lamp can
be avoided. Further, since the diameter of the elastic fixing member
is smaller than the minor diameter of the ellipse of the fixing
recess, the high flexibility can be ensured and the lamp can move
laterally with respect to the lamp terminal 3 when subjected to
impact. Thus, the impact resistance can be enhanced.
Although the present invention has been described with respect
to preferred embodiments shown in the drawings, the present invention
is not limited thereto. It will be apparent to those skilled in
the art that various substitutions, changes and modifications can
be made thereto without departing from the technical spirit and
scope of the invention.
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