U.S. patent number 3,732,414 [Application Number 05/125,980] was granted by the patent office on 1973-05-08 for portable illumination device.
Invention is credited to Charles Franc.
United States Patent |
3,732,414 |
Franc |
May 8, 1973 |
PORTABLE ILLUMINATION DEVICE
Abstract
A portable illumination device consisting of a substantially
flat battery having a top and bottom surface and having a bulb
receiving means provided substantially in the center of the battery
in which the positive and negative terminals of the battery are
disposed. The bulb receiving means comprises a socket which is
disposed co-axially within, and may be a metal socket, or
integrally formed in, the carbon electrode of the battery. The
socket forms the positive terminal of the battery, while a zinc can
surrounding the battery forms the negative electrode.
Inventors: |
Franc; Charles (Long Island,
NY) |
Family
ID: |
22422380 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/125,980 |
Filed: |
March 19, 1971 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
362/194 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F21L
2/00 (20130101); F21V 33/0028 (20130101); F21L
15/06 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
F21V
33/00 (20060101); F21l 007/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;240/10,10.61,10.65,10.68 ;136/121,125 ;315/33 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
362,546 |
|
Oct 1922 |
|
DD |
|
500,682 |
|
Nov 1954 |
|
IT |
|
Primary Examiner: Capozi; Louis J.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A portable illumination device, comprising:
a flat, dry cell battery having positive and negative electrodes,
said positive electrode comprising an electrically conductive rod
disposed in the center of said battery and including a recess for
receiving a lamp, and said negative electrode comprising an
electrically conductive metallic casing electrically insulated from
said rod;
an electrically conductive, threaded lamp socket, disposed in said
recess in said rod, and electrically insulated from said negative
electrode, for receiving a lamp;
a lamp, disposed in said lamp socket;
a decorative ornament, having a centrally disposed aperture
provided therein;
an annular locking member, disposed in said aperture in said
decorative ornament, for disposal over and engagement with said
lamp, for securing said decorative ornament thereon so that said
lamp extends through said aperture in said ornament; and
adhesive means, disposed on the bottom surface of said battery, for
securing said battery, lamp and decorative ornament on a gift
package.
2. A portable illumination device, comprising:
a flat, dry cell battery having positive and negative electrodes,
said positive electrode comprising a rectangular-shaped
electrically conductive rod disposed in the center of said battery
having a truncated oval-shaped recess, and said negative electrode
comprising an electrically conductive metallic casing electrically
insulated from said rod;
a lamp, having a truncated oval-shaped base of dimensions smaller
than said recess, slidably disposed in said recess in said rod;
a decorative ornament, having a centrally disposed aperture, for
disposal over said lamp;
an annular locking member, disposed in said aperture in said
decorative ornament, for disposal over and engagement with said
lamp, for securing said decorative ornament to said lamp; and
adhesive means, disposed on one surface of said battery, for
securing said battery, lamp and decorative ornament to a gift
package.
3. The portable illumination device as recited in claim 1, wherein
said lamp further comprises a rectangular-shaped collar, disposed
perpendicular to said lamp base, for engaging the top surface of
said battery when said lamp is slidably disposed in said recess.
Description
This invention relates to portable illumination devices, and in
particular to a flat battery having a lamp socket integrally formed
therein for receiving and energizing a lamp and thereby providing
illumination.
Previous portable illumination devices have utilized a dry cell
battery in combination with a separate light bulb socket, both
disposed within a common casing. This arrangement, while generally
satisfactory for some purposes, is subject to a number of
objections and disadvantages when utilized to provide illumination
on gift packages and ornaments. Because these arrangements are
aggregations of separate elements, they result in illumination
devices of objectionable height due to the fact that the light bulb
socket and light bulb must be disposed on the top of the battery
which is usually cylindrical in shape.
In accordance with the present invention, this disadvantage is
eliminated by providing a substantially flat battery with a bulb
receiving means disposed within the battery itself. This eliminates
the need for an external casing and enables such illumination
devices to be utilized to illuminate gift packages, decorative
ornaments or the like.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a new and
useful portable illumination device which is adapted for use on
gift packages, decorative ornaments and the like and whose
structure is substantially reduced in height.
It is another object according to the present invention to provide
an illumination device which is simple in design, inexpensive to
manufacture, and reliable in operation.
Other objects and features of the invention will become more
readily apparent with the following detailed description taken in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood,
however, that the drawings are designed for the purpose of
illustration only and not as a definition of the limits of the
invention.
In the drawings, wherein similar reference characters denote
similar elements throughout the several views:
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a portable illumination device
made in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 2 is a top cross-sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 1,
partially broken away;
FIGS. 3 and 4 are perspective views of the invention showing the
manner in which it is applied to a gift package or ornament when in
use;
FIG. 5 is a disassembled perspective view of the illumination
device shown in FIG. 3;
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a
portable illumination device constructed in accordance with the
present invention;
FIG. 7 is a top cross-sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 6,
partially broken away;
FIG. 8 is a front perspective view of the lamp shown in the
embodiment of FIG. 6; and
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 6 showing
the manner in which it is applied to a gift package when in
use.
Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a flat annular
battery 10 having a light bulb 11 disposed in a socket 12 provided
in the battery. Battery 10 may be any type of primary cell, such as
the well-known Leclanche dry cell, and consists of a solid zinc
cylindrical shell 13 having top surface 14 and bottom surface 15,
also of zinc, which form together the negative electrode of the
battery. The positive electrode consists of a carbon electrode rod
16 disposed within the cylindrical shell and insulated from the top
zinc surface 14 by an insulating member 17. Electrode 16 is
imbedded in a depolarizing core 18 which consists, for example, of
a black mixture of managanese dioxide and carbon black. A layer of
electrolyte paste 19 is disposed between core 18 and zinc electrode
13, and commonly consists of a solution of ammonium chloride and
zinc chloride in water.
Lamp 11 is provided with base 20 which has a contact terminal 21
disposed on its bottom surface. When bulb 11 is screwed all the way
into socket 12, terminal 21 will engage the bottom zinc surface 15
and the bulb will thus be energized. Metal socket 12 is disposed
concentrically with and extends entirely through the length of
carbon rod 16. Socket 12 is insulated from the top surface 14 by
insulating member 17, as previously stated, and is insulated from
the bottom zinc surface 15 by a second insulating member 22. A
circular aperture is provided in insulating member 22 in the region
of bulb contact 21 so as to expose the zinc electrode and allow
terminal 21 to contact the zinc when the bulb is screwed into
socket 12. It should be noted that means other than socket 12 may
be used to receive the base of bulb 11, such as providing bulb
threads for base 20 directly within carbon rod 16.
The battery is also provided with an expansion chamber 23, a
plastic seal 24 and seal supporting washer 25. In fabricating such
a battery, it is practical to further provide the battery with a
coating of duplex moisture-proof asphaltum board and an insulated
metal shell, respectively, to provide a sealed casing for the dry
cell.
In FIG. 3, a portable illumination device, is shown applied to a
gift package 124. Battery 10 is covered by a ribbon or flower 25
and is secured to package 24 by a layer of adhesive (not shown) on
the bottom surface of the battery.
FIG. 5 shows the portable illumination device of FIG. 3 in
disassembled condition. The base 20 of light bulb 11 extends
through a snaplock 26 provided at the center of flower or ribbon 25
and into bulb receiving means 12 provided in battery 10. Securement
to package 24 is provided by adhesive layer 29 which is affixed to
the bottom surface of battery 10. Alternatively, the portable
illumination device may be used on a decorative ornament 27 as
shown in FIG. 4. An outer cover 28 having an aperture through which
lamp 11 extends, is disposed over the top portion of ornament 27
and conceals battery 10.
In FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 are shown a second embodiment of the portable
illumination device previously described. The battery 10 shown in
FIG. 6 is of the same type as that shown and described in FIGS. 1
and 2. However, the battery shown in FIG. 6 is of a rectangular
shape, instead of being annular. The battery is provided with an
elongated shaped lamp 11a having a base consisting of a rectangular
collar 20a and a truncated oval-shaped base 20b. The base is
constructed from non-conductive material, such as plastic, or other
suitable material. The bulb is provided with external contact
terminals 30 and 31 which extend down through the glass portion of
the bulb and exit from the base at the bottom and at the side.
Battery 10 is provided with a rectangular-shaped carbon electrode
16a disposed substantially within the center of the battery.
Electrode 16a is also provided with a truncated oval-shaped recess
adapted to slidably receive base 20b of bulb 11a. When the bulb is
inserted into the recess, contact terminal 31 engages bottom zinc
surface 15 of the battery and contact terminal 30 engages the side
wall of the recess in electrode 16a. The bulb will thus be
energized. The recess of electrode 16a may be integrally formed
with the electrode as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, or the electrode may
be fitted, for example, with a flat metal socket. The only
requirement is that base 20b of bulb 11a may be received slidably
by the recess provided in carbon electrode 16a.
FIG. 9 illustrates the use of the portable illumination device of
FIG. 6, as a decorative ornament on a gift package. As in the
embodiments of FIGS. 3 and 4, battery 10 is disposed below the
decorative ornament. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, clown face
32 is disposed over battery 10 and lamp 11a serves as the nose of
the clown face. The illumination device is secured to package 33 in
the same manner as the embodiments of FIGS. 3 and 4, i.e., a layer
of adhesive material affixed to the bottom portion of the
battery.
While only a few embodiments of the present invention have been
shown and described, it will be obvious that many changes and
modifications may be made thereunto without departing from the
spirit and scope of the invention.
* * * * *