What is "bayonet mount"

Bayonet \Bay"o*net\, n. [F. bayonnette, ba["i]onnette; -- so called, it is said, because the first bayonets were made at Bayonne.]

1. (Mil.) A pointed instrument of the dagger kind fitted on the muzzle of a musket or rifle, so as to give the soldier increased means of offense and defense.

   Note: Originally, the bayonet was made with a handle, which required to be fitted into the bore of the musket after the soldier had fired.

2. (Mach.) A pin which plays in and out of holes made to receive it, and which thus serves to engage or disengage parts of the machinery.

   Bayonet clutch. See Clutch.

   Bayonet joint, a form of coupling similar to that by which a bayonet is fixed on the barrel of a musket.
   --Knight.

   bayonet mount, (photography) a coupling mechanism for attaching removable lenses to the body of a camera, using a bayonet socket.

   bayonet socket, a coupling mechanism for attaching matching cylindrical parts to each other, where each of which has an arced L-shaped slot with the longer side perpendicular to the axis of the cylinder, such that the slots slide inside each other. There is also usually a knoblike projection on the mount so that when the two parts to be connected are fully inserted in proper alignment, they are locked in place. It is designed for rapid coupling and decoupling, requiring the turning of one part through only a small arc, in place of a screw-type arrangement, which requires several full turns.

A bayonet mount (mainly as a method of mechanical attachment, as for fitting a lens to a camera) or bayonet connector (for electrical use) is a fastening mechanism consisting of a cylindrical male side with one or more radial pins, and a female receptor with matching L-shaped slot(s) and with spring(s) to keep the two parts locked together. The slots are shaped like a capital letter L with serif (a short upward segment at the end of the horizontal arm); the pin slides into the vertical arm of the L, rotates across the horizontal arm, then is pushed slightly upwards into the short vertical "serif" by the spring; the connector is no longer free to rotate unless pushed down against the spring until the pin is out of the "serif".

The bayonet mount is the standard light bulb fitting in the United Kingdom and in many countries that were members of the British Empire including Pakistan, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Ireland, and New Zealand, parts of the Middle East and Africa and, historically, France and Greece.