LIGHTEG APPARATUSThis invention relates to lighting apparatus.
Lighting apparatus in the form of such as hand-held, battery-powered torches, have been known for long years, and whilst hand torches have proved to be extremely useftil, they have the difficulty that when being used to illuminate such as a page to be read, or a pad on which notes are to be written, it is not easy to turn pages or write notes whilst holding the torch.
To enable a handsfree use of torches, they are known to be clipped to clothing or to be hat-mounted, such that they can be shone on a required object to leave the hands free. In the particular circumstance of reading books/magazines and writing notes, clipping a torch to clothing is inconvenient and not conducive to the light from the torch playing on the page of the book or notepad. This has led to the production of portable lights dedicated to the illuminating of pages of books or magazines, but which have no other usage, and to have different portable lights, each to serve a different dedicated purpose is inconvenient and unnecessarily expensive.
The object of the present invention is to provide a portable light able to overcome the above disadvantages.
According to the present invention, lighting apparatus comprises a lower body part, clip means on the lower body part, an upper body part, hinge means between the upper and lower body parts, and at least one bulb strategically located on the upper body part. Preferably there is a means of holding the upper body part in line with the lower body part when the portable light is to serve as a conventional torch. Thus, either the lower body part or the upper body part may serve as a battery housing, and the upper body part as a bulb holder. Equally a connection to mains or to another external form of power may be provided.When in a book light or writing pad mode, the lower body part can be clipped to such as a book cover or pad and the upper body part hinged about the lower body part to a degree to enable light from at least one bulb on the upper body part to be directed at a page to be read or written on. This leaves both hands free to hold the book or the pad and to turn the pages of the book, or write, as required.
Desirably the hinge is a friction hinge whereby to allow the upper body part to be held at a required angular disposition in relation to the lower body part.
When not being used as a book light, the upper body part is hinged to a position in alignment with the lower body part, and secured to the body part in that condition. The securing means may be additional clip means to detachably attach the upper body part to the lower body part, or in the alternative, an outer cover means may be provided into which the body parts can be slid, and to hold them in alignment. When in this condition, the whole unit can function as a conventional torch.
Advantageously, the upper body part may have two bulbs, both of which may be on the same face oftheupper body part, one to serve as a book or pad light and one to serve as a torch light.
Alternatively, three bulbs may be provided on one face, two to serve as book lights and one to serve as a torch light. A still further possibility is that one or more bulbs can be provided on one face of the upper body part, to serve as a book or pad light(s), and at least one bulb provided on the opposite face of the upper or the lower body part to serve as a torch light.
Such constructions are ideally suited to illuminating such as gas, water, or electricity metres that may be located in position of poor ambient light, and when the metre can be illuminated and read, and the readings written on the illuminated pad with relative ease.
To enable the separate switching on of the bulbs to serve as book lights and torch lights, separate switches may be provided conveniently located on the upper body part, or a single, multi-contact switch may be employed.
One embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings in which: Figure 1 is a front elevation of a portable light in accordance with the invention;Figure 2 is a rear elevation ofthe portable light of Figure 1; andFigure 3 is a side elevation of the portable light of Figure 1 in an operative position.
In the drawings a portable light 1 is formed by upper and lower housing members 2, 3 secured together by a transverse friction hinge 4. On the front face of the upper housing 2 are a required number of lenses 5 for bulbs located in the upper housing, and on the rear face is a further lense 6 for a further bulb within the upper housing. It will however be understood that the further lense and the bulb could be provided on the rear face of the lower housing member. Also on the rear face of the upper housing is a switch 7, preferably a multi-position switch as will be explained in more detail below. Located on the front face of the lower housing is a clip means 8.
For simplicity of electrical connection, the upper housing member 2 may also serve as a battery housing, and when the lower housing member 3 serves as a support member. However if required the lower housing member 3 could serve as a battery housing, with an appropriate electrical connection for batteries located therein to the bulbs located in the upper housing member 2.
By way of example the upper housing member 2 is shown to have three lenses 5, such that by suitable selection via the switch 7, one or a combination of the respective bulbs can be lit to provide a variety of light intensities, and the bulb associated with the lense to the rear of the upper housing member can be separately lit, or lit in combination with one or other of the bulbs associated with the lenses 5.
The lighting device portable light of the invention has a number of available functions.
When disposed as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, one or a combination of the bulbs of the lenses 5 can be lit, the light held in the hand by the housing 3, and when it can serve the purpose of a relatively conventional torch. Equally and again when hand held, the bulb of the lense 6 can be illuminated by the selective use of the switch 7, and when again the lighting device can serve as a conventional torch.
As is illustrated in Figure 3, the upper housing member 2 can be brought to a require angular orientation with respect to the housing member 3, and held in that required position by the friction hinge 4. The portable light can be attached to a book by the clip means 8, and the housing member 2 pivoted in relation to the housing member 3 to enable light emitted by one or more of the lenses 5 to shine down a page of the book to hence facilitate the reading of the book in dark conditions whilst leaving both hands free to hold the book and turn the pages.
Equally useflil is the ability of the portable light to be clipped by the clip means 8 to such as a clip board on which is secured writing paper, forms or the like. Thus with the portable light so secured to a clip board and the upper housing member 2 so positioned as to shine light across writing material on the board and with one or other of the bulbs associated with the lenses S illuminated in addition to the bulb associated with the lense 6, an operative can take the portable light and clip board to a dark area such as for example where a gas or electric metre may be located, and when light from the lense 6 can illuminate the metre and enable it to be read whilst at the same time light from the lenses 5 illuminates writing material on the clip board to enable the readings to be written down.