US1320846A - Portable electric light - Google Patents

Description

I. T. DRUFVA.

PORTABLE ELECIRIC LIGHT.

APPLICATION FILED DEc.22. m2.

Patented Nov. 4, 191% $3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

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' 1,326,846. V Patented Nov. 4,1919.

JOHN T. IJRUFVA, 0F LONGMEADOW, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OFFICE.

T0 rrnrmr HYMAN a CO. INC., OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

PORTABLE ELECTRIC LIGHT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 4, 1919.

Application filed December 22, 1917. Serial No. 208,346.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, JOHN T. Dnm va, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Longmeadow, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Portable Electric Lights, of which the following is a specification.

The invention pertains more particularly to the character of electric flash lights to be held in the hand and lighted, as occasion may require, by the manual movement of a slide applied upon the exterior casing of a the device.

My invention resides more particularly in a novel arrangement and construction of parts, includingineans for completing the circuit between the lamp and battery, which obviate the accidental circuiting of the lamp by contact with metal articles, such as might arise when a flash light, otherwise constructed, is placed in a box of tools.

The flash light of my invention comprises an exterior casing, a plural cell battery therein, a thumb-piece or slide on the side of the cashig, means on the movement of said slide for completing the circuit between the lamp and battery, a metal sleeve applied upon the upper end of the casing and holding the lens and binding the same against the reflector, a lamp bulb of customary type held by the reflector and engaging the positive pole of the battery and a novel support within the outer end of the casing to receive the sleeve of the reflector an comprising a ring to set within the casing, an insulating disk held in said ring and serving to insulate the reflector from adjacent metal parts of the casin and a metal plate at the. bottom of said Insulating disk in electrical connection with t e sleeve of the reflector and afi'ording a surface to be engaged by a conductor to be placed in. circuit by the manual actuation of the slide on the exterior of the casing.

y invention is applicable to flash lights having metal casings, which in themselves serve is a conductor, and also to flash lights having fiber casings, this latter class of flash lights usually having conducting strips extending between the negative pole of the battery and the lamp and to be placed in circuit with each otherby the manual movement of a spring-switch connected wiQ a thumb-piece on the side of the casing.

The invention will be fully understood .ductors extending between from the detailed description hereinafter presented, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a central longitudinal section, with the wrapping-on the battery partly broken away, of a portable flash light embodying my invention, the casing of the flash light in this instance being of metal;

Fig. 2 is a detached top view of the support I arrange within the outer end of the casing to receive the of the reflector;

Fig. 3 is a central vertical section, on a larger scale, through the parts of the aforesaid support, the insulating disk and its immediate features being shown as separated from the encompassing ring and ready to be dropped thereinto;

Fig. 4 is a view corresponding with Fig. 1. but illustrating a flash light of the Miner type and having a fiber or insulating tubular casing;

Fig. 5 is a detached vertical section through the fiber casing and is presented to illustrate, more particularly, the circuit conthe ends of the casing and carried by said casing;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view through the up per portion of a flash light showing a modified construction of the support for the reflector, in this instance the support and reflector'being connected together so as to be handled as one piece;

Fig. 7 is a top view, on an enlarged scale, of a modified form of the support for the reflector, this suppprt being of the character I employ in very small flash lights;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view through the game, taken on the dotted line 8 -8, of

Fig. 9 is a vertical section through the upper portion of a flash light emb lying y invention, the cpnstruction shown in ig. 9ibeing one I employ in instances in which the battery and the outer casing may be disproportionate, pne to the other. in ion h, and

ig. 10 is a detached top view of the sup port, shown in Fig. 9,1 f

In the drawings, referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, 10 designates a ,tubular metal casing, 11 a. plural cell battery therein, 12 a wrap ping of insulating material on said battery, 3 a screw-rap of customary construction closing the lower end of said casing,

lower or sleeve-portion 14 a conuuctm sprin comprem between the negative p e of t e batter and the inner surface of said cap, 15 a s eeve screwed upon the outer end of said casing, 16 a customary lens held by said sleeve, 17 a reflector within the outer end of the casing 10 and out of electrical contact therewith, and 18 an elefitric bulb of known character having its terminal sleeve 19 screwed into the usual threaded sleeve 20 at the inner end of said reflector, the other terminal 21 of the lamp being held in engagement with the positive pole 22 of the battery by means of the spring 14. Near the outer end of the casin 10 said casing is enlar ed laterally, where y about in 'line with t e lower end of the reflector 17, an annular shoulder 23 is created, and upon this shoulder is seated a metal ring 24, shown on an enlarged scale in Fig. 3, comprising an upper annular portion 25 which engages the shoulder 23 with a snug fit, a lower annular ortion 26 which projects downwardly slightl y into the upper portion of the casing 10 below said shou er and a horizontal flange 27 which extends inwardly from the lower edges of said annular portion 26.

A disk 28 of insulating material and carrying a bottom plate or disk 29 of conductin material is seated within the ring 24 an reflector 17. The disk 28 an disk 29 are secured together by an eyelet 30 down into which the sleeve 20 of the reflector 17 projccts, and the said sleeve and eyelet are in electrical contact, the upper edge of the eyelet being against the lower portion of'the reflector surroundi 'its said sleeve. The metal disk 29 is sma ler than the insulating disk 28, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, an when the disk 28, withthe disk 29, is seated within the ring 24, the disk 29 is insulated from saidrlng by reason of the fact that its outer edge is separated or sets inwardly from the inner edge of the flange 27 of said ring. The disk 8 serves to support the disk 29 and being of insulating material, the disk 29 norma ly remains out of electrical connection with the ring 24 and also with the exterior casing 10. In assembling the parts the disk 28, carrying the disk 29, is seated within the ring 24- and therewith introduced through the upper end of the casing 10, the said ring becoming seated on the shoulder 23, as shown in Fig. 1. The reflector and lamp may then be applied to position, and thereafter the lens is secured against the upper edges of the reflector by meansvof the sleeve 15. The sleeve 15 serves 'to hold the lens 16 against the reflcctor and also to keep the reflector in constant electrical connection with the eyelet 30 ofithe support formed by the disks 28, 29, eyelet 30 and ring 24.

Upon one side of the Casing 1G is provided shown in Fig. 1,

therewith forms a support for thea slide 31 which is secured to an inner conducting strip 32 by means of eyelets 33, which enter slots formed in the casing 10 so that the slide 31 and strip 32 may have sliding movement imparted to them by the user of the flash light. In Fig. 1 I illustrate the slide 31 and strip 32 in their outer position. completing the circuit through the lamp and battery, the upper end of the stri 32 being bent inwardly so that when sai strip is moved to its outer position, the bent end, which 1 number 34, oi the strip, will pass into electrical contact with. the disk 29, which, as we have already explained, is, through the eyelet 30, in electrical connection with the sleeve of thereflector. The strip 32 is of thin brass, and when moved to 1ts outer position the bent end 34 thereof may be pressed with spring effect against the disk 29 and thereby assure positive electrical between said strip and said disk. When the slide 31 is moved downwardly from its position it will carry the strip 32 downwardly and break the connection be-- tween the upper end of the strip and the lower surface of the disk 29, thus breaking the circuit and extin ishing the light.

In Figs. 4 and 5 I 1 ustrate m invention as ap lied to a lamp of the 'ner ty e, and t erein 35 designates a fiber tubular casing, 36 a plural cell battery therein, 37'

a wrapping of insulating material on sai battery, 38 ascrew cap of customary con struction closing the lower end of said cas- 100 ing, 39 the customary conductin spring between the bare lower end of the attery and the inner surface of said cap, 40 a shell screwed upon the u per end of the casing 35 and bent inward y near the upper end of said easin to form an annular shoulder 41, 42 the re ector, 43 the lens, 44 a sleeve screwed uponthe shell 40 and engaging the lens 43 and holding the same down against the reflector 42, whose upper edge is s aced 110 from said shell, 45 the usual lam -bu b, 46

the sleeve terminal thereof, and 4 a sleeve formed at the lower portion of said reflector and into which said terminal 46 is screwed and which extends through the eyelet 48 of 115 the support formed by the insulalin disk 49 carr ing the metal disk 50. The wk 49 is within a metal ring 51 which is seated on the shoulder 41, and said disk 49, ring 51 and conducting disk-plate are identical 120 in construction with the reflector supporting members shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, and therefore do not require more specific description. The purpose of presenting Figs.

4 and 5 is to illustrate how the supporting 125 members, shown in Figs. 2 and 3, may be successfully employed in a Miner ty e of flash light having a fiber casing. The lower terminal 52 of the lamp is in contact will the pole 53 of the battery, as usual. 130

Within the casing 35 are two normally separated conductor strips 54, 55, thelower end of the strip 54 being in electrical connection with the negative pole of the battery, and the upper end of the strip 55 beinin electrical connection with the contact dis 50 carried by the insulating disk 49. The inner end of the strip 54 is in electrical connection with an escutcheon 56 secured upon the exterior of the casing 35, and the inner end of the strip 55 is secured to the casin 35 by an eyelet whose outer end is expos within said escutcheon; and partly within said escutcheon is arranged a switch 57 to be v manually operated from the exposed head thereof and which, when in one position, through the member 58 thereof, electrically connects the strip 55 with thees c utcheon, and therefore establishes electrical commu nication between the strip 55, escutcheon 56 and stri 54, for making the circuit. When the switch 57 is slid downwardly from the position in which it is shown in Fig. 4, the member 58 thereof leaves its electrical connection with the lower or inner end 'of the strip'55, and at that time thecircuit becomes broken andthe lampextinguished. In the position of the parts shown in Fig. 4 the circuit is completed through the lamp. In the construction shown in Fig. 1, there being a conducting casing 10, I employ the slide 32, for the purpose of making and breaking the circuit, while in the construction shown in Fig. 4 I employ the switch 57 to coin lets the circuit between the inner ends 0 the strips 55%, ,55, the upper end of the strip 55being in constant engagement with the conducting disk 50.

The construction shown injFig. 6 is iden- I tical with that illustrated in Fi 1, except that I flange the lower edge 0 the sleeve 20 of the reflector outwardly, as at 59, so as to fasten the supportin members 24, 28, 29, 30, to the reflector, an this construction is advantageous in that it permits the reflector and its said supporting members to be handled as on piece, and further this construction assu 'es the electrical connection of the reflector ,ith the conducting disk 29 at all times. The constrliction shown in Fig. 6 will, theref re, be understood without further expla ation.

In Figs. 7' a d 8 I illustrate a form of the reflector-suppo 1 means which is employed in very lamps, and therein 60 denotes the m tal ring, 61 the insulating disk, 62 the co dutting disk carried thereby and 63 the eye etiwhich connects the disks 61, 62 and serv s' receive the sleeve portion of the reflector The ring 60 is indented at its upper ed as at 64, to project over the edge of the dis 61 and thereby aid in retaining said disk 0 v a shoulder 65 formed within the rin 60 by n inwardly projecting annular bea ing, th shoulder 65 performing the porting 7 and 8 correspondiwith the reflector-supfeatures, shown in Figs. 1 to 3 inelusive. j p

In Figs. 9 and 10 I illustrate a flash light employing the essentialffeatures shown in Fig. 3 in the same tubularcagsing 10 shown in Fig. 1, and having the'sarne sleeve 15,

lens 16, reflector-17 and lamp-hulb 16 illustrated m Fig. 1, but the feflectonsupporting means shown in Fig. 9 are pda ted to 00- cupy a. sometimes unusual space eft between casing of the flash, light. The, essential feapures of the cons ruction shown in Figs.

the positive pole 22 of the battery and the j lower terminal 21 of the lam -bulb inin-" stances in which the length n the batteryand the length of the casing 10 may be dis proportionate to each other.-

In Figs. 9 andid the-reflector-support comprises the'metal rin 67, which corre spends with the ring own'in Figs. 1, B and 6, and engages a shoulder 23 on the casing 10, the insulating dial: cs'an metal disk 69, said disks 68, 69bingthe same as the disks represented in. Fig. 3. In the construction shown in Fig. 9 the disks 68, 69- are secured together by an eyelet 70, which is formedupon the upper end of a downwardly extending tube 71 into the upper end of which the lampsleeve 19 projects. Near its lower end the tube 71 has an inwardly bent beading 72 which creates a shoulder against which an insulating washer '73 abuts. The washer 78 encompasses a. contact cup 74 which engages the positive pole 22 of the battery and receives in its upper portion a vertically movablecap 75 containing a'ooiled spring 76,'the spring having a bearing on the lower end of the contact 74 and against the upper end of the cap 7 5 and operating to ressthe cap 75 against the ter- .minal 21 of t e lamp so a to form ahelectrical connection between said terminal and the positive pole of the batte The tube 71 and contact members 74, 7 76 are employed in cases in which the battery may be too short for thd casing 10, or thecasing 10 too long for the battery. The reflector supporting members, shown in Figs. 9 and 10, are the same as the reflector supporting features presented in the other of the drawings, but in addition to said features in this instance the tube 71 and anem'bers associated therewith are made use of, while the same features are not re uired'in a construction such as shown in ig. 1 .or in Fig. 6, because the casing and be telly therefllown are proportionate to eat: otheni In the upper edge of the cup construction shown in Figs. '9 an 0, the contact 74i nged inwardly and the lower edge of the cap is flanged outwardly, thereby forming stops which prevent the se oration of sai parts 74, 75. I also show t ring 67 as indented inwardly at 77, so as to aid in securing the fiber disk 68 and metal disk 69 in position within the ring 67.

The invention will be understood from the foregoing description without further special exp anation. The circuit is made through the lamp and battery by the movement of the slide 32 against the disk 29, the casing 10 being of conducting material and extending from the negative pole of the battery. In the construction shown in Figs. 4 and 5 the casing is of fiber,and hence t e circuit must be made and broken by means of the switch 57 and metal strips 54, 55.: In each instance the construction is such as to prevent the accidental lighting of the lamp, as by the, placing of the flash-light in a box of tools. The construction has been designed both for convenience of manufacture and to avoid the accidental lighting of the lamp. The construction is one convenient of manufacture, since the parts may be readily made and assembled and, when asscnr bled, perform their duties efficiently.

What I claim as mly invention and desire to secure by Lettersatent, is:

1. In a flash-light having a casing, reflector, lens, lamp bulb and battery, said casing having adjacent to its forward end a shoulderand said lens being secured over the reflector by an exterior ring, in combination, a supporting member for said reflector, comprising a metal ring ada ted to engage said shoulder, an insulating isk fitted within and supported by metal plate on the lower side of said disk, a metal eyelet connecting said disk and plate and receiving the lower tubular portion of said reflector, and means for connecting the negative'pole ofthe battery with said metal plate, one terminal of the lamp being in electrical connection with the positive pole of the battery, and said reflector at its upper edge being spaced from the surrounding metal parts of the flash-light.

2. In a flash-light having a casing, reflector, lens, lamp bulb and battery, said lens being secured over the reflector by an exterior ring, in combination, an insulating disk. supported in the forward end of the casing, a metal plate on the lower part of said disk,-a metal eyelet connecting said disk and plate and receiving the lower tubular portion of said reflector, means for connecting the negative pole of the battery with said metal plate, and a vertically yieldable contact carried by said disk and engaging one terminiref the lamp and being in electrical comiiection with the positive pole of the batterior ring,

receiving the lamp, in combinationi said ring, a

ter said reflector bemg supported by said dis and plate and at its upper edge spaced from the surrounding metal parts of the flash-light.

3. In a flash-l ht having a casing, reflector, lens, lamp being secured over member for said reflector supported 1n the forward end of the casing, metal ring, an insulating disk and supported by said the lower side of said disk connecting said disk and pl ing the fitted within doctor, and means for connecting the mega;

comprisingfa v 70 ulb and battery, said lens, the reflector by an excombination, a supporting;

ring, a metal plate on a metal eyelet-- ate and receive; lower tubular portion of said re-"Efl tive pole of the battery with said match,

plate, one terminal of the lamp being electrical connection with the positive poles of the battery, and said edge being s seed from the, metal parts 0 the flash-light.

4. In a flash light having a casin flector, lens, lamp bulb and battery, sai being secu over the reflector and. said, reflector having a depending tubuportion;

reflector at its upper surrounding porting member for said reflector supported' adjacent the forward end of the coding, domprising a metal ring, an insulating disk fitted within and supported by said ring, a

metal disk at the lower face of said insulatdisk and at its edges spaced from the mg conductive surfamas ofthe flash-light, and means for connecting the negative pole o the battery with saidmetal disk, one terminal of the lamp being in electrical connection with the positive pole of the battery and said reflector at its upper edge being spaced from the surrounding metal parts of the flash-light and at its lower tubular portion being extended through said disks and in electrical connection wit said metal disk.

5. In a flash-light having a cas'm reflector, lens, lamp bulb and battery, sai lens being secured flector having a receiving the lamp, in combination, a supporting member for said reflector supported adjacent the forward end ofthe cas' conii prising a metal ring, an insulatin 13]; ii ted within and supported by gel f we over the reflector and said redepending tubular e ring, n.

metal disk at the lower face of said insulatthe flash-light and at its lower tubular poring disk and tion being extended through said disks and flanged outwardly and being in electrical connection with said metal d1sk..

the negative pole of a 6. In a flash-1i ht having a. metal cas' reflector, lens, la ip bulb and battery, Qfii lens being secured over the reflector and said reflector at its upper edge being s need from the metelparts o the flash light and at its lower portion having a. depending tubular member receiving the lump, m com ination, a support for said: reflector adjacent the forward end of the cas' comprising a metal ring, an insulating 18k fitted within said ring, a. metal disk at the lower face of said insulatin disk and at its edges spaced from the con ipctive surfaces of the flash-1i ht means connecting the negative pole of t e attery with said casing, on

external slide on eaid casing, and an interior conductive strip with seid slide and having a. forward end adzsted to engage said metal disk when mov so to de one terminal of the lamp being in elec- 20 trical connection with the positive pole of the battery, and the tubular portion of said reflector being extended through said disks and in electrical connection with said metal disk.

Hampdenend State of Mass, this 20th day of December, A. D? 1917.

JOHN T. DRUFVA.

' Witn:

W. H. Bun, B. Dome.

- 2-5 Signed at Springfield, in the county of

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