Installing and extracting component of tool is plastic tubing with inside diameter which provides snug fit over bulb. Other components, which provide sturdiness and ease of operation, consist of metal tube, with collar near one end, and plunger, with knob on one end and Teflon tip on the other

Parker, J. H.

Snyder, E. B.

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

Pluri IV,CLøI I UUC 
December 1973	 B73-10433 
•	 NASA TECH BRIEF 
Langley Research Center 
NASA Tech Briefs announce new technology derived from the U.S. space program. They are issued to encourage 
commercial application. Tech Briefs are available on a subscription basis from the National Technical Information 
Service, Springfield, Virginia 22151. Requests for individual copies or questions relating to the Tech Brief program may 
be directed to the Technology Utilization Office, NASA, Code KT, Washington, D.C. 20546. 
Tool for Instaffing or Extracting Small Bulbs in Limited-Access Spaces 
S	 Tool for Installing and Extracting Small Bulbs 
S
A new tool has been designed to assist in the 
installation or the extraction of small light bulbs, in 
spaces where access is too limited for the use of fingers 
or pliers. This tool is of simple construction; and it 
could be used also for the removal of screwdriver-
loosened capscrews, in areas where retrieval could be 
troublesome. The installing and extracting component 
of the tool (see illustration) is plastic tubing with an 
inside diameter of a size to provide a snug fit over a 
bulb. The other components, which provide sturdiness 
and ease of operation, consist of a metal tube, with a 
collar near one end, and a plunger, with a knob on one 
end and a Teflon tip on the other. 
An aluminum collar is pressed onto the metal tube, 
and then the plastic tubing is pressed over the tube up to 
the collar. The plunger, with threaded ends, is slid 
inside the metal tube. The knob and the Teflon tip are 
then placed on the plunger ends to complete the 
assembly. Plastic-tubing length and diameter are deter-
mined by bulb access and bulb size. The metal tube must 
provide a tight fit with the tubing and a sliding fit for 
the plunger.
To install a light bulb with this tool, insert the bulb 
in the end of the plastic tubing, place the bulb in the 
socket, and retract the tool from the bulb by placing 
two fingers on the collar and pressing the plunger with 
the thumb. To extract a light bulb with the tool, push 
the end of the plastic tubing over the bulb, remove it 
from the socket by gripping the collar and twisting or 
pulling, and eject the bulb from the tool by pushing 
the plunger. 
Note: 
No further documentation is available. Specific ques-
tions, however, may be directed to: 
Technology Utilization Officer 
Langley Research Center 
Mail Stop 139-A 
Hampton, Virginia 23665 
Patent status: 
NASA has decided not to apply for a patent. 
Source: E. B. Snyder and J. H. Parker
Langley Research Center
(LAR-1 1543) 
Category 07 
This document was prepared under the sponsorship of the National
	 Government assumes any liability resulting from the use of the 
Aeronautics and Space Administration. Neither the United States 	 information contained in this document, or warrants that such use 
Government nor any person acting on behalf of the United States 	 will be free from privately owned rights.
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Tool for installing or extracting small bulbs in limited-access spaces

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