US2456680A - Flashlight - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 21, 1948. H. E. CROFT FLASHLIGHT Filed Nov. 14, 1946 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 21, 1948 UNITED snares PATENT OFFICE FLASHLIGHT Harry E. Croft, Chicago, Ill.

Application November 14, 1946, Serial No. 709,890

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to improvements in flashlights.

Heretofore, portable or hand flashlights have usually been provided with a casing wherein one or more batteries were housed and included a switch, secured to the casing for turning the bulb n and off. To provide such a casing added greatly to the cost of manufacture. If the batteries leaked or swelled for any reason while they were in the casing, it was usually impossible to remove them therefrom without doing serious or irreparable damage to the entire flashlight or parts thereof. It was to overcome these and other obvious defects that the present invention was conceived.

The main object of this invention is to provide a flashlight having all the characteristics of a conventional flashlight but wherein the conventional battery casing or housing and switch is entirely eliminated.

Other objects of this invention are to provide a device of this character having a bulb supporting cap which is adapted to fit over the upper portion of a battery and be retained thereon; to provide a device of this character having a bulb supporting cap which is readily mountable or removable from the upper portion of a battery; to provide a device of this character having a bulb supporting cap rotatably mounted on the upper end of a battery; to provide a device of this character having a bulb supporting cap adapted to electrically contact the negative side of a battery or casing at the will of the user; to provide a device of this character having a bulb adapted to electrically contact the positive terminal of a battery; and to provide a device of this character which is durable, simple and efficient in operation and relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

An illustrative embodiment of this invention is shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view thereof taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the battery.

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4: but showing the lamp supporting cap rotated out of contact with the exposed metal portion of the battery.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the lamp carrying cap.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the Dreferred embodiment of the present invention, as illustrated in the drawings, comprises the usual cylindrically shaped dry cell or battery i having the usual central electrode or positive terminal 2 and the usual metal casing 3 which is constructed from a suitable conducting material such as zinc or the like, and which serves as a container for the conventional electrolytic paste, central electrode 2 and depolarizing material. The casing 3 is provided with a cylindrically shaped insulator shell 4, preferably formed of waxed paper, or any other suitable insulating material, is adapted to fit snugly over and cover the entire side walls of the casing 3 and is rigidly secured thereto in any suitable manner such as by gluing or the like.

An outer wrapper 5 is placed over the insulator 4 so as to substantially cover the rear two-thirds of the insulator 4 whereby the upper end forms a shoulder 5'. The forward end of the insulator 4 is cut away as at 6 as is clearly illustrated in Fig. 3, whereby to leave a portion of the casing 3 exposed, the purpose of which will hereinafter be described.

It is to be understood that the cutaway portion 6 may be formed in any suitable manner such as by cutting away a portion of the insulator with a tool or knife or may be removed by the fingers if the desired area has been previously perforated or which may be formed during the manufacturing process when the insulator 4 is stamped out.

The removable lamp-supporting cap comprises a thin hollow cylindrical shell or body '1 constructed from a rigid conducting material, such as tin, brass or the like. The rear end 1 thereof is arranged to fit over the forward end of the battery I and insulator 4 and abut against the seat 5. It is understood that the lower end 1 of the cap is held on the forward end of the battery I by friction. A tapered reflector B of the same material as the body 1 is integrally secured within the forward end of the body I in any suitable manner, and has a lamp or bulb-receiving socket 9 also formed of a conducting material, positioned axially in the cap and integrally secured to and extending through the bottom end of the taper reflector 8. The socket 9 is preferably formed as a continuation of the rear end of the reflector 8 and provided with suitable threads.

The lamp, or bulb H3, preferably of the focusing type, is adapted to be threaded into and seat in the socket 9, so that the contact point l0 thereof extends free of and beyond the socket 9 and is in alinement with and continuously abuts against the positive terminal 2 of the battery I. The major portion of the lamp body is encased 3 in and protected by the reflector 8 as clearly illustrated in Fig. 2.

A resilient contact member of lug H is formed by stamping or pressing a portion of the body I inwardly at a point adjacent the rear end '5" thereof. The contact l I extends inwardly into the interior of the body 1 for a distance substantially equal to or slightly more than the thickness of the insulator 4 (see Fig. 4) whereby to firmly contact the exposed area of thebattery I formed by the cutaway portion 6. It will 'now be apparent that a complete electrical circuit has been made and the bulb is energized.

When the lamp I0 is energized in the heretofore described manner, it can be die-energized by rotating the body 7 in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction until the.contact.-finger II is moved wholly onto the insulator 4 (see Fig, 5) whereby the electrical circuit is broken. 'The slightly rounded ends ll formed when the contact H is stamped in the body 7 permits ;the contact H :to ride freely-over theedges ofthe cutout portion 6 of the insulator d when the cap or sleeve 7 is rotated. w

As the lamp suppolfting .cap is removable, it will be clear that it may be;:seatedon aznew battery as often as is necessary. It will also be apparent that because of the simplicity of .construction the relative cost of producing the device-of this invention as compared with the cost of the usual :fiashlight, :is extremely nominal, whereby when .either the bulb or the battery is burned out or used up, the =-entire unit may be discarded and a complete new one purchased for a fewcents.

Although but one specific embodiment of this invention is herein :shown and described, it is to be understood that numerous details 'may 'be altered or omitted without departing from the spirit of the invention as described by the following claim.

I claim:

A device of the character described comprising a dry-cell battery having an outer wall, a con trally positioned positive terminal and a cylindrical insulator frictionally secured to said battery, a cutaway portion formed in the forward end of said insulator whereby to expose a portion of said battery wall, in combination with a cylindrical bulb carrying cap, a reflector integrally secured in and to one end of said cap, a bulb socket integrally formed on the inner end of said reflector, a bulb in said socket having a single contact, said contact adapted to continuously abut against said positive terminal, said cap being removably and rotatably frictionally mounted on a portion of the upper end of said battery, and an inwardly extending resilient contact lying in a plane transverse to the axis of said cap and formed by pressing inwardly a portion of theiwa'll of said cap whereby the axial marginal edges 0f the pressedin po-rtion'are connected tozthebody of the cap and the transversemarginal edgeseare severed from-the body of said cap.

HARRY E. :CROFT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the fde of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,093,287 Neif Apr, 14, 1-914 1,112,624 Keogh 1O,c't.a6, r1914 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 543,725 'Great Britain Mar. :10, 11-942

Images