GB2308433A

GB2308433A - A lighting device associated with a support means

Info

Publication number: GB2308433A
Application number: GB9526384A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Yiu Kwong Albert Wan
Original assignee: FEE TAT HOLDINGS HK Ltd
Current assignee: FEE TAT HOLDINGS HK Ltd
Priority date: 1995-12-22
Filing date: 1995-12-22
Publication date: 1997-06-25
Also published as: GB9526384D0

Abstract

A lighting device comprising a body for housing a light bulb or tube, and a support member releasably engaged with the body, wherein the support member, when disengaged from the body, is adapted to be wholly received within a recess of the body. In another embodiment the lighting device also comprises a handle movable between a first position in which it is wholly received within the body and a second position in which it extends above the top of the body.

Description

A Lighting Device This invention relates to a lighting device and, in particular, an electric lighting device.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a lighting device which is suitable for both indoor and outdoor use.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lighting device comprising a body member for housing a light bulb or tube, and a support member releasably engaged with the body member, wherein the support member, when disengaged from the body member, is adapted to be wholly received within a recess of the body member.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lighting device comprising a body member for housing a light bulb or tube, and at least one handle member movable between a first position in which it is substantially wholly received within the body member and a second position in which at least part of it extends outside the body member.

The invention will now be described by way of an example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a lighting device according to the present invention; Fig. 1A shows an enlarged partial sectional view of the part circled in Fig. 1; Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of the base portion of the lighting device shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 2A shows an exploded view of the base portion shown in Fig. 2; Figs. 3A - 3D show partial views of the back of the lighting device shown in Fig. 1 showing storage of the base portion; Fig. 3E shows a back perspective view of the lighting device shown in Fig. 1 with the base portion stored at the back thereof; Fig. 4 shows a side view of the lighting device shown in Fig. 1 with the screen and body portion separated; Fig. 5 shows a side view of the assembled lighting device shown in Fig. 4; Figs.SA - SB show the engagement of the screen and the body portion of the lighting device shown in Fig. 1; Figs. 6A - 6E show the movement of a handle of the lighting device shown in Fig.

Fig. 7 shows the construction of the handle unit shown in Figs. 6A - 6E; Figs. 7A - 7F show further features of the handle unit shown in Fig. 7; Fig. 8 shows the back of the lighting device shown in Fig. 1 with the base portion disengaged from the body; and Fig. 9 shows the lighting device shown in Fig. 1 hung onto a vertical surface, e.g.

a wall.

Fig. 1 shows a lighting device according to the present invention generally designated as 10. The lighting device 10 includes a transparent or translucent front screen 12 engaged to a body portion 14, and a fluorescent light tube 16. On one side of the body portion 14 are a number of buttons/knobs 18 for controlling the operation of the fluorescent light tube 16 and/or other functions. For example, the lighting device 10 may include a radio (not shown) operable by one or more of the buttons/knobs 18.

The lighting device 10 also includes a socket 20 which may be connected to an outside a.c. source. The socket 20 is electrically connected to an internal transformer (not shown) via an electric wire 22. From the top of the lighting device 10 extends a first handle 24, the construction and movement of which will be further discussed below.

Releasably secured to the bottom of the lighting device 10 is a base portion 26. The base portion 26 includes a threaded part 28 sized to threadedly engage with a nut 30 in the body portion 14 of the lighting device 10. The body portion 14 also contains a cavity 32 for housing one or more dry cells (not shown) for operating the lighting device 10.

The structure of the base portion 26 is more clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 2A. As can be seen in these figures, the base portion 26 comprises a bolt member 34 with the threaded part 28, and three leg members 36a 36b and 36c, each including a cylindrical part 38a, 38b and 38c. Each cylindrical part 38a, 38b and 38c is provided with a central hole 40a 40b and 40c sized to receive therethrough the threaded part 28 of the bolt 34. The bolt 34 also includes a circular recess 42 for receiving the lower end of a respective arcuate side wall 44a 44b and 44c of each of the leg members 36a, 36b and 36c.In the position as shown in Fig. 2, the leg members 36a, 36b and 36c are rotatable about the longitudinal axis of the bolt 34 without any change in their relative position to one another. When the base portion 26 is firmly secured to the body portion 14, due to the force acted by the bolt 34 upon the leg members 36a 36b and 36c there can effectively be no rotational movement of the leg members 36a 36b and 36e relative to the body portion 14 or the bolt 34, such that the body portion 14 is supportable by the base portion 26.

Turning to Figs. 3A to 3E, the bolt 34 and leg members 36a, 36b and 36c can be stored in a compartment 46 at the back 48 of the body portion 14. A lid 50 is pivotally movable to close or open the compartment 46. Adjacent to the compartment 46 is a pivotally movable second handle 52. This second handle 52 may be held by a user such that the lighting device 10 can be held horizontally with the back 48 facing upward.

As shown in Fig. 4, the front screen 12 may be disengaged from the body portion 14.

As more clearly shown in Figs. 5, 5A and SB, the longitudinal ends of the front screen 12 are tapered outward downwardly to conform generally with the shape of the longitudinal ends of the body portion 14. At each end of the body portion 14 is a switch 54 which is slidable within a short tunnel 56 and biassed outwardly by a spring 58. By reason of the biassing action of the spring 58, the switch 54 normally rests in the outermost position. When the front screen 12 is to be engaged with the body portion 14, the switch 54 will be forced to move into the tunnel 56. The switch 54 will resume its outermost position when it is received within and engage an aperture 60 of the front screen 12, as shown in Fig. SB, whereby the engagement between the front screen 12 and the body portion 14 is secured. The switch 54 may be depressed inwardly, e.g. by a finger of a user, to allow the front screen 12 to be removed from the body portion 14.

Figs. 6A to 6E show the manner of movement and construction of the first handle 24 referred to above. As shown in Fig. 6A, the first handle 24 is received within a gap 62 in the body portion 14. The gap 62 is open both on the top and one side of the body portion 14. The first handle 24 may be pulled out in the direction shown by the arrow in Fig. 6A, then upwardly (as shown by the arrow in Fig. 6B). When the first handle 24 assumes the position shown in Fig. 6C, it may rotate by 90 (in the direction as shown by the arrow in Fig. 6C) to occupy the position shown in solid lines in Fig. 6D, in which the first handle 24 extends above the top of body portion 14. As indicated in Fig. 6D, the first handle 24 may be rotated about a vertical axis to assume the position indicated by the dotted lines therein.

Figs. 7 to 7E show in greater details the construction of the first handle 24. As shown in Fig. 7, the gap 62 is provided by the assembly of two frames 64a and 64b which may be secured to each other by a number of screws 66. The first handle 24 is secured by a rivet 68 to a square prism 70 via a hollow cube 72. The prism 70 is hollow on both ends with a partially open wall 74 near one end thereof (see Fig. 7B).

Received within a hole 76 of the prism 70 is a spring 78 which, when it is in its neutral position, is longer than the length of the interior space 80 of the cube 72, such that the cube 72 is normally held away from the wall 74. The tail of the rivet 68 is secured to another side of the wall 74 via an intermediate washer 82, e.g., by punching.

As can be seen more clearly in Fig. 7C, integrally formed with the first handle 24 is a short cylinder 82 which is receivable and rotatable within the hole 76. The outer surface of the cube 72 and that of the cylinder 82 are so contoured that they match each other whenever the cylinder 82 is rotated relative to the cube 72 by a predetermined degree, e.g. 45". When the cylinder 82, and thus the first handle 24, is rotated relative to the cube 72 (and thus the prism 70), the cube 72 is forced to move towards the wall 74 until the first handle 24 is moved by the predetermined 45 , at which time the cube 72 is moved back to its normal position due to the biassing action of the spring 78.

On both sides of the prism 70 is a movement guide 84 for guiding the movement of the prism 70 within the confines of the frames 64a and 64b. As shown in Fig. 7D, the frame 64a is provided with a lug 86 which may loosely engage a step portion 88 of the movement guide 84. Although not shown in the drawings, the frame 64b also includes a similar lug which is engageable with a corresponding movement guide on the other side of the prism 70. Such an arrangement helps retaining the first handle in the position shown in Fig. 6A. A similar arrangement is provided near the top sides of the gap 62 in which a lug member 90 is provided on each of the frames 64a and 64b to engage the movement guides 84 (see Fig. 7F) when the first handle 24 is occupies the position shown in Fig. 6D. This ensures that the first handle 24 will not fall back into the gap 62 on its own if it is left in the position shown by the solid line in Fig. 6D.

Fig. 8 shows that the back of the lighting device 10 includes two openings 92 into which heads of nails (not shown) attached to a vertical surface, e.g. a wall 94 as shown in Fig. 10, may be received and to thereby hang the lighting device onto the wall 94.

It should be noted that the above only illustrates an embodiment of the present invention and it is possible to further revise or modify this embodiment without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Claims

CLAIMS:-

1. A lighting device comprising a body member for housing a light bulb or tube, and a support member releasably engaged with the body member, wherein the support member, when disengaged from the body member, is adapted to be wholly received within a recess of the body member.

2. A lighting device according to Claim 1 wherein the support member comprises a plurality of leg members.

3. A lighting device according to Claim 2 wherein the support member further comprises an engagement member with which the leg members are releasably engageable.

4. A lighting device according to any of the preceding claims wherein the support member is threadedly engaged with the body member.

5. A lighting device according to any of the preceding claims wherein the recess is closable by a pivotable cover member.

6. A lighting device according to any of the preceding claims further comprising a handle member pivotally attached to the back of the body member.

7. A lighting device according to Claim 6 wherein the back of the body member comprises at least one engagement opening for releasably engaging the lighting device to a substantially vertical surface.

8. A lighting device comprising a body member for housing a light bulb or tube, and at least one handle member movable between a first position in which it is substantially wholly received within the body member and a second position in which at least part of it extends outside the body member.

9. A lighting device according to Claim 8 wherein at least part of the handle member extends outside a longitudinal end of the body member, when it is in the second position.

10. A lighting device according to Claim 9 wherein the handle member, when in the second position, is rotatable about an axis substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the body member.

11. A lighting device according to Claim 8, 9 or 10 further comprising a second handle member pivotally attached to the back of the body member.

12. A lighting device according to Claim 8, 9, 10 or 11 wherein the back of the body member comprises at least one engagement opening for releasably engaging the lighting device to a substantially vertical surface.

13. A lighting device substantially as herein described and with reference to the accompanying drawings.