WO1997003318A1

WO1997003318A1 - Adaptor to be mounted on a low-energy fluorescent lamp and the use of the adaptor

Info

Publication number: WO1997003318A1
Application number: PCT/DK1996/000316
Authority: WO
Inventors: Joergen Munther
Original assignee: MUNTHER CHARIFA
Current assignee: MUNTHER CHARIFA
Priority date: 1995-07-11
Filing date: 1996-07-10
Publication date: 1997-01-30
Anticipated expiration: 1998-01-11
Also published as: AU6354496A; EP0836695A1

Abstract

An adaptor to be mounted on a low-energy fluorescent lamp for providing an outer form corresponding to a conventional incandescent lamp is comprised of two parts, viz. a top part and a bottom part. The top part is in the form of a hollow, at least partially transparent shell defining the general configuration of the adaptor and having a lower bottom aperture. The bottom part defines an essentially plane surface provided with one or more recesses or cutouts for receiving and maintaining of the light-emitting tube of a low-energy fluorescent lamp, said bottom part being mounted on the top part so that the bottom part covers the lower bottom aperture of the top part.

Description

Adaptor to be mounted on a low-energy fluorescent lamp and the use of the adaptor.

The present invention regards an adaptor to be mounted on a low-energy fluorescent lamp. More precisely, the present invention regards an adaptor of the above-mentioned type which allows the use of low-energy fluorescent lamps in connection with light fittings or lamps, which so far could only be used in connection with incandescent lamps having the normal or conventional shape of a bulb, the light fitting or lamp having been adapted to precisely this bulb shape of the incandescent lamp and having made impossible the use of low-energy fluorescent lamps with oblong light-emitting tubes.

Furthermore, the adaptor according to the present invention may be used as a protective device during the transport of a low-energy fluorescent lamp, or, alternatively, be configurated with a special shape in order to achieve a desired decorative or luminous effect.

Low-energy fluorescent lamps are typically formed with a screw base having a conventional E14 or E27 lamp thread and one or more light- emitting tubes which extend upwards from said base.

In this context the designations "up" and "down" and corresponding terms such as "top" and "bottom" etc. refer to the normal orientation of a incandescent lamp as well as a low-energy fluorescent lamp, when the respective lamp or low-energy fluorescent lamp is held with its screw base pointing downwards and with the light-emitting bulb-shaped part or the light-emitting tubes pointing upwards.

Different adaptor constructions are known for use in connection with low-energy fluorescent lamps. Examples of such adaptors are described in the following publications: DE 3.736.618, GB 2.228.789, GB 2.232.757, EP 0253 916, US 4.363.083, US 4.503.360, US 4.688.874, US 4.878.159, GB 2.177.488, DK 9400318, 095/14883, FR 2.659.422 and EP 0044.195.

From published patent specification GB 2.177.488 a support is known for a commonly known lamp shade to be mounted on a low-energy lamp and having the configuration of a diffuser. Published patent specification GB 2.228.789 teaches an adaptor which is formed as a shell with an opening corresponding to either the exterior of the light-emitting body or the exterior of the base. Thereby the adaptor may slide down over the top of the low-energy lamp and be fixated by being squeezed about the low-energy lamp or the base.

To enhance the fixation the opening is provided with a protruding edge part which has a squeezing effect on the low-energy lamp or the base.

However, this adaptor has the disadvantage of being easily displaced, as the fixation is carried out by simple squeezing without any form of control. When mounting, for example, a lamp shade by means of a clamp strap, the adaptor will easily be pushed laterally and get out of its engagement, and thereby will either hang askew or loosen itself.

Low-energy lamps are marketed in different power ratings, e.g. 5 or 7 watts, and the light-emitting body may have different configurations, depending on the power rating. Thus, a 5 watt low-energy lamp has a light-emitting body comprising a set of two parallel glass tubes extending a given distance from the base in its axial direction and interconnected at their respective ends by means of a short glass tube. On the contrary, the light-emitting body of a 7 watt low-energy lamp comprises two such sets of glass tubes which extend symmetrically from the base around the axis thereof. The length of the four glass tubes is normally less than the length of the two glass tubes in the 5 watt low- energy lamp. Naturally, other numbers and lengths of the glass tubes are possible.

The present invention aims at providing an improved type of the known adaptor. The new adaptor must allow easy mounting, without the use of tools, on usual low-energy lamps regardless of their power rating, and reliable fixation of the adaptor on the low-energy lamp.

Further, the present invention aims at providing an improved type of the known adaptor being easy to construct and cheap in production, without the use of special tools, but only by means of current, widely used fabrication and processing techniques for plastic materials, including moulding techniques such as blow moulding and punching or stamping techniques, etc. The adaptor according to the present invention is characterized in that it comprises a top part and a bottom part, that the top part has the form of a hollow, at least partially transparent shell, which defines the general configuration of the adaptor and has a lower bottom aperture, that the bottom part defines an essentially plane surface in which there are formed one or more recesses or cutouts for receiving and fixating the light-emitting tube or tubes of the low-energy fluorescent lamp, and that the bottom part is mounted on the top part so that the bottom part covers the lower bottom aperture in the top part.

The adaptor according to the present invention provides an extremely simple adaptor construction which directly and in a simple manner may be produced by means of conventional plastic processing techniques, including injection moulding and punching or stamping, as the adaptor can directly be manufactured in two parts, i.e. a top part and a bottom part. According to a first embodiment of the adaptor according to the present invention the top part and the bottom part may be integral, but in the presently preferred embodiment of the adaptor according to the present invention the bottom part and the top part are separate components which may be joined and locked by means of locking means.

The construction of the top part and the bottom part as separate components does not only involve advantages regarding production techniques in terms of a very simple production, but also the advantage that one of the two components, i.e. either the bottom part or the top part, may be exchanged or replaced by another component, for example in case of damage, or the adaptor may be produced and marketed as two separate components, i.e. a bottom part and a top part, the user having the choice to combine a given bottom part with a given, desired top part. It is particularly the multitude of different low-energy fluorescent lamps that makes desirable the possibility of using in an easy manner an adaptor in connection with an arbitrary low-energy fluorescent lamp, which in accordance with the teaching of the invention becomes possible by offering various bottom parts specially configurated after a given type of low-energy fluorescent lamp for one and the same top part.

The interconnection of the top and bottom parts by means of locking means may be established arbitrarily per se by means of arbitrary locking means, including threads, as the top and the bottom part may be provided with respective inner and outer threads or, vice versa, respective outer and inner threads, snap locks, bayonet locks, etc.

The configuration of the adaptor with separate bottom and top parts allows that the adaptor be made of the same material, which is desirable, as the adaptor is to appear as a homogeneous construction, possibly as an integrated unit. If the same material is used for the bottom and the top part, the material must at least be partially transparent, and the presently preferred material is plastic, including polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinylchloride and, preferably, polycarbonate with a high melting point.

The configuration of the adaptor with separate bottom and top parts allows that the choice of material for the bottom part and the top part be adapted to specific characteristics, including not only light- transmission properties, but also hardness and resilience. In an advantageous embodiment of the adaptor comprising separate bottom and top parts, the bottom and top parts are made of different materials, the top part being advantageously made of a transparent and rigid plastic material, whereas the bottom part is advantageously made of a transparent or opaque soft plastic material which provides a soft and resilient fixation of the adaptor on the low-energy fluorescent lamp and at the same time makes it possible that the recesses or cutouts formed in the plane wall of the bottom part be formed with a tight and elastically resilient fit relative to the light-emitting tube of the low-energy fluorescent lamp.

In accordance with a specific aspect of the present invention, said one or more recesses or cutouts in the bottom part of the adaptor may have the general form of a polygon, the corners of which are rounded so that they in a first position may slide loosely along the outer surfaces of the light-emitting tube or tubes of the low-energy fluorescent lamp, the sides of said polygon having rounded cutouts, and the cross-distance between diametrically opposite cutouts being adapted to be fitted tightly on the light-emitting tubes in a second position, which with a given angle is turned about the longitudinal axis of the low-energy fluorescent lamp. If a low-energy lamp comprises four glass tubes, the aperture is rectangular and the given angle is approx. 45°.

In accordance with this particular aspect of the invention, the adaptor according to the invention may in its first position easily be mounted on a given low-energy lamp with multiple glass tubes and then be brought to fit by being manually turned about the longitudinal axis of the low- energy lamp to its second position, while the bulging part by engaging around the top of the glass tubes of a low-energy lamp with only two bulbs functions as a guide and retains the adaptor directly thereon. Thus, a reliable guidance and maintenance of the adaptor on the low- energy lamp, regardless of its power rating, is achieved in a surprisingly simple manner.

Thus, a lamp shade dimensioned for use in connection with usual incandescent lamps may be placed on the low-energy lamp adaptor without any risk of the adaptor moving or loosening itself.

In order to provide a reliable locking of the adaptor relative to the low-energy fluorescent lamp the adaptor according to the invention may in a particular embodiment be formed so that the top part opposite the bottom opening is provided with a bulging part with inner dimensions designed to grip tightly around the free end of the light-emitting tube or tubes of the low-energy fluorescent lamp. The bulging part may be designed to have any suitable geometrical form, including a circular or rectangular bulge or a combination of such forms or any other geometrical form.

Instead of being provided with a bulge opposite the bottom opening the top part may be provided with apertures for allowing convective heat emission from the low-energy fluorescent lamp.

In accordance with an alternative or further embodiment of the adaptor according to the present invention, the top part and/or the bottom part are made with a material thickness of 0.1 to 10 mm, preferably 0.2 to 5 mm, and/or the top part and/or the bottom part are made of polymeric material having a hardness of 20 to 100 shore, e.g. polyurethane rubber or silicone rubber with a hardness of 70 shore, and/or the top part and/or the bottom part are made from a plastic material, e.g. polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinylchloride or, preferably, polycarbonate with a high melting point. The material preferred for the top and bottom part of the adaptor is polycarbonate with a high melting point, this material showing long term resistance to heat and radiation, which a surrounding element, in this case the adaptor, is subjected to by a low-energy fluorescent lamp.

Known articles for use in connection with lamp shades comprising clamps have so far been made of metal and formed as a holder resting on the base of the low-energy lamp, and it is particularly noted that these clamps both may be dangerously conductive of electric current and only have one resting point at the bottom of the holder, with the result that a light touch on the shade in order to adjust it may cause dangerous situations and fatal accidents.

The adaptor may further be used for protecting the fragile low-energy lamp during transportation, in connection with working illumination provided by hand lamps, and in a broader sense in connection with the illumination of indoors and outdoors advertisements and provided with various colours for advertising and informative purposes.

As suggested above, and as will result from the following detailed specification, the top part of the adaptor may be made of a preferably transparent material or partially transparent material. In accordance with illumination-technical principles known per se, the top part may further be provided with a top or bottom metallization or be coloured for providing a coloured light-emission from the low-energy fluorescent lamp. Alternatively, in order to provide a desired shadow effect, the top part may be provided with printed or stamped patterns, or may alternatively or additionally be provided with an overall or partial colouring, so that, in combination with or as an alternative to said shadow effect, there is provided a light-emission varying in colour.

The adaptor according to the invention will be further described in more detail with reference to the drawings, wherein

fig. 1 is a partially cross-sectional view, seen from one side, of a first embodiment of an adaptor according to the present embodiment, mounted on a lamp with a shade and a spring retainer,

fig. 2 is a partially cross-sectional view, seen from another side compared to fig. 1, of the first embodiment of the adaptor according to the present invention with a mounted shade,

fig. 3 is a more detailed view of the separate parts of the first embodiment of the adaptor according to the present invention shown in figs. 1 and 2 and of the accessory low-energy lamp seen in perspective, separate and partially cross-sectioned,

fig. 4 is a view corresponding to fig. 3 and showing another embodiment of the adaptor according to the present invention,

fig. 5 shows the first embodiment of the adaptor according to the present invention shown in figs. 1-3, mounted on a single light-emitting glass tube,

fig. 6 shows a third embodiment of the adaptor according to the present invention mounted on a low-energy lamp with four light-emitting glass tubes,

fig. 7 shows a third embodiment of the adaptor according to the present invention mounted on a low-energy lamp with two light-emitting glass tubes,

fig. 8 is a top view of the third embodiment of the adaptor according to the present invention,

fig. 9 is a bottom view of the third embodiment of the adaptor according to the present embodiment, and

fig. 10 shows a lamp with a shade and a spring retainer for usual incandescent lamps, but with the incandescent lamp replaced by the third embodiment of the adaptor according to the present invention.

Figs. 1-3 show a first and presently preferred embodiment of an adaptor according to the present invention, which adaptor in its entirety is designated the reference numeral 10 and is designed to be mounted on a low-energy lamp 30 and to support a lamp shade 44 which is fixed relative to the adaptor 10 by means of a spring retainer 46.

The adaptor 10 comprises a cast top part 12 having essentially the shape of a globe open at its lower part and provided with an upward extending box-shaped prolongation 14 at its upper part. The spherical part 12 has a size and form essentially corresponding to the spherical upper end of a conventional E27 incandescent lamp and thus providing an exterior surface which dimensionally corresponds to the spherical part of a E27 incandescent lamp.

As follows from fig. 1, the box-shaped prolongation 14 is provided to extend symmetrically along a median plane through the spherical part 12, in which median plane there are further provided outwardly extending bulges or bosses 16 serving to cooperate with and fixate said spring retainer 46 on the lamp shade 44. At its lower end, i.e. opposite the box-shaped prolongation 14, the spherical part 12 is provided with a cylindrical prolongation formed with an outer thread 18 or other corresponding locking means which allow the spherical part 12 to be locked with a bottom part or a bottom cover 20.

In the embodiment shown in figs. 1-3 the bottom part 20 is formed as a separate part which may advantageously be made of a softer and more resilient material than the spherical part 12 in order to allow a flexible adaptation to the glass tubes 32 of the low-energy lamp 30, which the adaptor 10 is designed to be mounted on. The bottom part 20 has a plane bottom surface 24 and a circular cylindrical wall 22 extending upwardly from it and defining an interior diameter which is slightly larger than the exterior diameter defined by the thread 18 and formed with inwardly extending tabs or cams 28 designed to provide means for cooperating with the exterior thread 18 for locking the bottom part 20 relative to the spherical part 12, when the bottom part 20 is attached to the thread 18 of the spherical part 12.

A cutout 26 is provided in the bottom surface 24, which cutout 26 in the embodiment shown in fig. 3 configurated so that the adaptor 10 may be mounted on the presently used conventional low-energy lamps with one clamp-shaped light-emitting glass tube as shown in fig. 5, two clamp- shaped light-emitting glass tubes as shown in fig. 3, four individual glass tubes as shown in Fig. 4 or three clamp-shaped light-emitting glass tubes, as presently known in the production of low-energy lamps.

The adaptor 10 which essentially comprises two parts, the spherical top part 12 and the bottom part 20, may be made of the same material or, as presented above, preferably different materials of different strength, resilience and light-transmitting properties. The spherical part 12 is preferably made of transparent plastic such as polypropylene or polyethylene or, preferably, polycarbonate with a high melting point, whereas the bottom part 20 may be made of transparent or non-transparent plastic material, e.g. soft polyethylene or polyvinylchloride or, preferably, polycarbonate with a high melting point. Other suitable materials will be obvious for those skilled in the art, as for special purposes the bottom part 20 may for example be made of a different plastic material or even aluminium. The above-mentioned spherical part 12 with its outwardly extending bulges or bosses 16 serves to lock the spring clamp 46 of the lamp shade 44, as shown in figs. 1 and 2 which show a part of a cross-section through the lamp shade 44 in two perpendicular planes, the first one being parallel to the above- mentioned symmetry plane containing the bulges or bosses 16, and the second one being perpendicular on the first one and passing through the adaptor 10.

Apart from varying the choice of material, the adaptor 10 may be modified in numerous ways, as the bottom part 20 may be formed according to a specific use, i.e. adapted to a given low-energy lamp, and the spherical part 12 may be modified in accordance with conventional incandescent lamp configurations as a top or bottom sealed lamp or may be shaped in any desired form, even a purely decorative form such as a figure, e.g. a commonly known cartoon figure, the adaptor 10 consequently constituting an independent decorative article for providing a decorative low-energy lamp constituting a figure, e.g. for use in a nursery, for advertising purposes, etc.

Fig. 4 shows an alternative embodiment of the adaptor which is designated the reference numeral 10' in its entirety. As described above, in Fig. 4 and the following figures, identical components, as described above with reference to Figs. 1-3, are designated identical reference numerals, whereas components that only have their configuration modified relative to the above-mentioned components, but serve the same purpose, are designated identical reference numerals, but primed once or twice. The embodiment shown in Fig. 4 is thus designated in its entirety the reference numeral 10' and differs from the above- mentioned first embodiment 10 in that the upwardly extending box-shaped prolongation 14 is lacking, the adaptor 10' being instead configurated with a top metallization 15. In the second embodiment 10' shown in Fig. 4 the bottom part is further modified that the bottom part 20' is configurated with an inner thread 22' instead of the inwardly extending tabs 28, as well as the cutout 26' in the bottom wall 24' is specially adapted to a low-energy lamp with four individual rod-shaped light- emitting glass tubes, one of which that is shown at the bottom of Fig. 4 is designated the reference numeral 34.

In Fig. 5 is shown the first embodiment 10 of the adaptor described above with reference to Fig. 3, mounted on a low-energy lamp with a single clamp-shaped light-emitting glass tube 32' which may be received in the box-like prolongation 14, as shown in Fig. 5. While the mounting of the adaptor 10 on the low-energy lamp shown in Fig. 5 provides a specific orientation of the adaptor 10 relative to the low-energy lamp, the provision of a separate spherical part 12 and a bottom part 20 as shown in fig. 3, when the adaptor 10 is mounted on the low-energy lamp shown in Fig. 3, allows a turning of the spherical part 12 relative to the bottom part 20 and thereby relative to the low-energy lamp to consequently allow an adjustment of the orientation of the entire adaptor 10 relative to the low-energy lamp 30 and thus relative to the lamp 40, on which the low-energy lamp and the adaptor 10 are mounted. The spherical part 12 may thus, by being turned relative to the bottom part 20, allow an adjustment of the orientation of the lamp shade 44 relative to the lamp 40 and thus, as shown in Fig. 1, a turning of the lamp shade relative to the lamp support 42 and lamp socket 44 of the lamp 40 without concomitant turning of the low-energy lamp 30 relative to the lamp socket 44.

Whereas the above-mentioned first and second embodiments of the adaptor according to the present invention are configurated as a two-part adaptor comprising an upper spherical part 12 and a bottom part 20, the adaptor according to the present invention may alternatively be configurated as a single integral component, as shown in Figs. 6-10 of the drawings, which show another embodiment 10" of the adaptor according to the present invention.

Similar to the above-mentioned first embodiment 10 the adaptor 10" has the shape of a globe and a size which compensates for a conventional incandescent lamp, it being pressed down over the low-energy lamps 32' by means of a cutout or recess 26" formed as a polygon at the bottom of the globe, which polygon has corners which in number correspond to the number of glass tubes 32' on a given low-energy lamp 30'. The corners are rounded with radii that correspond to the radii of the glass tubes 32', and the cross-distance between the corners allows the adaptor 10" to slide down over the glass tubes 32' with a loose fit.

The sides of the recess 26" are provided with cutouts with radii that also correspond to the radii of the glass tubes 32', but the cross- distance between opposite cutouts is adapted so that the adaptor 10", when turned about the longitudinal axis of the low-energy lamp 4, is tightened elastically against the glass tubes 32', thus reliably fixating the adaptor 10" to the low-energy lamp 32'.

Opposite the recess 26" the adaptor 10" has a bulge or box-like prolongation 14", the interior form of which corresponds to the exterior configuration of the top of the glass tubes 32' of a 5 W low- energy lamp 30'. The bulge 14" has a height which corresponds to the difference in length between the glass tubes 32' of the two above¬ mentioned low-energy lamps of different power ratings.

For low-energy lamps with four glass tubes 34, shown in Fig. 4, as for example is the case with a 7 W low-energy lamp, the polygon is a rectangle, and the angle by which the adaptor 10" is to be turned, is 45°.

The adaptor 10" is slid down over the glass tubes 34 of a low-energy lamp with four glass tubes 34 until the top of the glass tubes 34 abuts on the interior of the adaptor 10", whereafter the adaptor 1 is turned the correct angle. Due to their difference in length and the number of glass tubes 34, the four glass tubes 34 cannot be received inside the bulge 14". It is not essential that the bottom of the globe rest on the base of the low-energy lamp, fixation substantially being provided by the relation between the resting point at the top of the low-energy lamp and the tightly fitting recess 26" of the adaptor at an arbitrary point on the light-emitting glass tubes 34 themselves. This results in that the low- energy lamps may be used as support units for clamp lamp shades on a par with conventional incandescent bulbs designed for bracket lamps and table lamps.

The adaptor 10" has thus the advantage that the recess 26" at the bottom fits tightly around the low-energy lamp and having its resting point inside the globe so that the adaptor 10" is fixated around the low-energy lamp, thus forming a whole which provides a stable fixation for lamp shades 44' by means of the spring clamp 46', as shown in Fig. 10.

The adaptor 10" may have on its circumference bulges or bosses 16" which serve as abutments for the clamp holders of smaller lamp shades.

Advantageously, the material thickness of the adaptor 10" is between 0.1 and 10 mm, preferably between 0.2 and 5 mm.

The adaptor according to the present invention may be made of many different materials, for example polyvinylchloride, polyethylene or other polyolefines. The material must only have suitable properties so that it does not liberate volatile toxic substances and that it is resistant to the small amount of heat that is generated at the base of the low-energy lamp, so that undesirable deformation of the globe is avoided.

The material of the adaptor has a hardness that ensures good protection of the low-energy lamps, a softness that absorbs shocks, and an elasticity adapted to the clamp holders of the lamp shade, as well as sufficient rigidity to keep the lamp shades fixated around the low- energy lamps, which properties the known metal diffusers are not able to achieve.

The size of the adaptor may be varied and adapted to present and future low-energy lamp models. The adaptor according to the present invention may be manufactured in suitable tools so that it meets the special demands connected with being coupled to the lamp shade clamps and due to the different sizes and models of the low-energy lamps. The technology known from the production of balls and similar objects in different colours and sizes, for example of plastic or rubber, is utilizable in connection with the production of the adaptor 10 according to the present invention.

Further, the adaptor is utilizable as packaging fill in cartons to safeguard against shocks and damage that may occur during distribution, as the adaptor may be mounted on the low-energy lamps before packaging and/or they may constitute a part of the packaging in order to absorb shocks.

When the low-energy lamps are used for illuminating indoors or outdoors advertisements the low-energy lamps 4 may be mounted with adaptors in the form of either clear or coloured globes without the use of lamp shades with clamps. Thus, low-energy lamps with adaptors may be used for illuminating figures/letters etc. on for example a light panel/chain on a par with coloured conventional incandescent bulbs.

Claims

We cl aim:

1. An adaptor to be mounted on a low-energy fluorescent lamp, CHARACTERIZED in that the adaptor comprises a top part and a bottom part, that the top part has the form of a hollow, at least partially transparent shell, which defines the general configuration of the adaptor and has a lower bottom aperture, that the bottom part defines a generally plane surface in which one or more recesses or cutouts are formed for receiving and fixating the light-emitting tube or tubes of the low-energy fluorescent lamp, and that the bottom part is mounted on the top part so that the bottom part covers the lower bottom aperture of the top part.

2. An adaptor according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that the bottom part is integral with the top part.

3. An adaptor according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that the bottom part and the top part constitute separate components which may be joined together and locked by means of locking means.

4. An adaptor according to claim 3, CHARACTERIZED in that the locking means are constituted by cooperating inner and outer threads on the top and bottom parts, snap locks, bayonet locks or the like.

5. An adaptor according to any one of the claims 1 to 4, CHARACTERIZED in that the top part and the bottom part are made of the same material, preferably a transparent plastic material.

6. An adaptor according to any one of the claims 1 to 5, CHARACTERIZED in that the top part and the bottom part are made of different materials, the top part preferably being made of a transparent and rigid plastic material, whereas the bottom part is made of a transparent or non-transparent soft plastic material.

7. An adaptor according to any one of the claims 1 to 6, CHARACTERIZED in that the one or more recesses or cutouts have a substantially polygonal shape, the corners of which are rounded so that they in a first position may slide loosely along the outer surfaces of the light- emitting tube or tubes of the low-energy fluorescent lamp, the sides of said polygon having rounded cutouts, and the cross-distance between diametrically opposite cutouts being adapted to be fitted tightly on the light-emitting tube or tubes in a second position, which with a given angle is turned about the longitudinal axis of the low-energy fluorescent lamp.

8. An adaptor according to any one of the claims 1 to 7, CHARACTERIZED in that the top part, contrary to the bottom part, comprises a bulge with inner dimensions designed to grip tightly about the free end of the light-emitting tube or tubes of the low-energy fluorescent lamp.

9. An adaptor according to claim 8, CHARACTERIZED in that the one or more recesses or cutouts have the shape of a rectangle, and that the given angle is approx. 45°.

10. An adaptor according to any one of the claims 1 to 10, CHARACTERIZED in that the top part and/or the bottom part are made having a material thickness of between 0.1 and 10 mm, preferably between 0.2 and 5 mm, and/or that the adaptor is made of polymeric material having a hardness of between 20 and 100 shore, e.g. polyurethane rubber or silicone rubber having a hardness of 70 shore, or polyethylene or polypropylene.

11. The use of an adaptor according to any one of the preceding claims for protecting low-energy luminescent lamps and/or for use in lighting advertisements.