The electric harnesses for automobiles and vehicles in general have been traditionally designed by extending sepa¬ rate wires to service points, such as signal lamps and headlights, by way of operating switches and fuses. All signal and warning lights have also been implemented by means of separate wires extending between a power source transducer and a light source. A result of this is that the automobile electric harnesses constitute a labour-intensive and remarkably expensive part of an automobile. A second problem is the defect sensitivity of such electric harness¬ es, which is caused by a large number of joints between conductors and various components as well as by the fact that the conductors have a remarkably long total length. The localization of contact faults and short circuits and the mending of defects in such electric harnesses is trouble¬ some. A third drawback is the fact that different service points require a different lamp. A fourth drawback is that the lamps having just a certain service life are compara¬ tively expensive due to the special design thereof. A fifth drawback is the large surface area of contact terminals. Thus, the gold plating of contact terminals is not feasible and, thus, oxidation causes contact faults.

International Patent application WO 93/10591 discloses an improved system, wherein the signal lamps and other such electrically operated items are connected in parallel to a common wire, whose conductor is supplied with a code in view of controlling the operation of the lamps and other such actuators. The lamp or the lamp base or socket is provided with necessary electronics for identifying an operation control code intended for a particular lamp or some other actuator. This arrangement can be used for essentially simplifying the electric harness of an automobile for a

substantial reduction in total costs and susceptibility to defects.

An object of this invention is to provide a novel type of combination including a lamp and its connector socket, which is suitable for use in the or a like wiring system as dis¬ closed in the above-cited Patent publication WO 93/10591 in such a manner that the lamps can be produced as inexpensive standard components for reducing the number of different lamps while substantially reducing the susceptibility to defects caused e.g. by contact faults.

This object is achieved by a solution as set forth in claim 1.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the combination of a lamp and a connector socket includes an intelligent or smart connector socket, whose internal coding can be used for assigning different functions to signal lamps which are identical or only differ from each other in terms of power ranges.

Naturally, the intelligent element of a connector socket, i.e. electronics and coding, can be separated and removed away from the connector socket of a lamp to which said intelligent element is linked with a wire.

The invention will now be described in more detail by means of an exemplary embodiment with reference made to the accom- panying drawing, in which

fig. 1 shows a combination of the invention including a lamp and a wire connector with the wire connector opened (one half of the housing is removed) and coupled between a wire 1 and a lamp 12;

fig. 2 shows the wire connector of fig. 1 in a section along a line II-II in fig. 1; and

fig. 3 shows an alternative way of implementing the inven¬ tion in terms of arranging the components.

A wire connector 3 provides a galvanic joint between flat metal-strip conductors 2, which are covered with an insulat¬ ing sheath 11, and a signal lamp 12.

In the illustrated case, the conductors 2 included in the wire 1 are connected to the + and - terminals of a current source and the conductor 2' serves as a code conductor, the ON/OFF switching of the lamp 12 being effected in response to an identification code received therefrom. Naturally, the code and the current can also travel in a common conductor, whereby a separate code conductor is not needed. The supply of current from the conductors 2 to the connector 3 proceeds by way of conductor strips 4. One conductor strip 4 is connected by way of a semiconductor switch 8s to one termi¬ nal 13 of the lamp 12. The other conductor strip 4 is con¬ nected by way of an electronic component 8 to the other lamp terminal 13'. The electronic component 8 is provided with necessary circuit elements for the regulation of power traveling through the lamp 12. In addition, the electronic component 8 supplies the switch 8s with an ON/OFF control whenever it identifies an identification code intended for the appropriate connector 3 and received from the code conductor 2' . The code conductor 2' is connected to the electronic component 8 by way of a plurality of parallel- connected connector strips 6. The conductor strips 6 can be optionally cut along a line 7a. Depending upon which conduc¬ tor strips 6 are cut, the lamps 12 that are identical or have a desired power range can be operated in different modes for a given purpose, e.g. as a blinker, a brake light, a parking light, a reverse light or a like. Thus, the coding effected by cutting the strips 6 is consistent with the

location of each lamp 12 and an intended corresponding application. This coding can be effected e.g. with a sharp- pointed tool by "nailing". In view of this nailing, a top housing section 3a (fig. 2) included in the connector hous- ing is provided with necessary holes 7 or sharp-pointed pins are preset in these holes. For this nailing there are pref¬ erably available multi-pointed tools, wherein the desired points can be extended to a cutting depth. The cutable coding strips 6 can of course be replaced by relays or switches, certain ones of which being activated or inacti¬ vated beforehand in such a manner that the code is only able to pass through some of the parallel-connected relays or switches.

Regarding the operation and operating reliability of such a connector it is essential to secure a faultless and long- lasting galvanic contact between the conductors 2, 2' and the conductor strips 4, 6. Therefore, the conductor strips 4 and 5 are fitted with special connector pins 9 whose tips are shaped in such a manner that the plastic sheath 11 and conductors 2 included in the wire 1 can be pierced at the same time as the top housing section 3a, which is fitted with said connector strips 4, 5, 6, is pivoted or pressed into position against a bottom housing half 3b. The housing halves 3a and 3b can be fastened to each other e.g. by means of self-locking snap couplings.

Alternatively, it is possible to use a special tool, provid¬ ed with punching pins corresponding to the connector pins 9 but having a lightly smaller diameter and used for making preliminary holes in the conductors 2. Thus, the tips of the actual connector pins 9 need not be sharpened for piercing.

Neither need the connector be provided with a prefabricated housing but, instead, the connector area can be sealed hermetically with an adhesive, a resin or a like paste.

The tips of pins 9 are designed as sharp points in view of providing an elongated cutting ridge whose direction corre¬ sponds substantially to the longitudinal direction of the conductors. Thus, the piercing of conductors 2 is effected in such a manner that in the middle of a conductor is first made an elongated incision, the conductor sections on either side thereof turning downwards and pressing firmly against the sides of the pin 9. This produces between the pins 9 and the conductor 2 a contact with a large surface area and a continuous prestress.

From the lamp 12 extend two pins 13 and 13' insertable in slots included in the wire connector 3. The connector hous¬ ing 3 can be provided with a special holder element 14 for fixedly securing the lamp 12 along with its connector socket 3 in a fixing hole. Extending from the holder element 14 or elsewhere from the connector housing 3 are flexible tongues 15 which take hold of the opposite sides of the lamp 12 at its reduced neck portion 16 for immobilizing the lamp 12. The lamp neck portion expands conically towards the lamp socket, whereby the compression force of tongues 15 pulls the lamp 12 towards the connector housing 3. The holder element 14 can be a separate component spaced from the connector housing 3.

The base of the tongues 15 may include undercuts for provid¬ ing pivot hinges for the tongues.

The lamp 12 has its outer shroud, including the reduced neck portion 16, made entirely of glass and only the connector pins 13, 13' are made of metal. The pins 13, 13' and their counterparts in the connector socket have a small surface area and, therefore, can be gold-plated. One of the pins 13, 13' can be thicker and longer than the other, whereby the lamp 12 can only be inserted in position at a certain atti¬ tude. This is necessary e.g. whenever one side of the fila-

ment is provided with a reflector. The more flexible thinner pin is preferably made shorter.

This type of lamps are more inexpensive to manufacture than lamps with specially designed metal sockets. Also the reduc¬ tion in a selection of lamps lowers the costs and facili¬ tates use. For example, a motorist only needs to carry along a few lamp types as spare parts. One lamp type may operate e.g. within a power range of 1-5 W and another lamp type within a power range of 5-25 W. The lamp replacement is also easily performed as it requires no turning action or special holders.

Naturally, the invention is not limited to the above exem- plary embodiment. An alternative embodiment is shown in fig. 3. There, the connector socket electronics 8 and coding facility 6 are separated from a connector socket 3a and included in a separate component 3b, which is placed at an arbitrary distance from the lamp connector socket 3a and linked with a wire or a cord 17 to the connector socket 3a.

The number of connector pins 13, 13' can of course be more than two, for example, when the lamp 12 includes a plurality of filaments or a single filament is supplied from various connector pins with powers or outputs corresponding to various functions. However, the latter can be implemented by means of the electronic component 8 in such a manner that powers or outputs corresponding to various functions are delivered from one and the same connector pin to a single filament. Thus, a single lamp can be used for carrying out the functions of several different signal lamps.

It is also possible to implement the invention in such a manner that the connector pins 13, 13' are included in the connector socket 3 and the slots are included in the lamp

12. This reversed configuration is just a little more expen-

sive than the one described above. In other respects the structure and operation are the same as above.