US1386474A - Flashlight - Google Patents

Description

J. VINCE,

FLASHLIGHT APPLICATION FILED IIINEze. 1920.

Patented Aug. 2, 1921.

M//T/VESSES ATTORNEYS JOSEPH VINCE, OF BROOKLYN, 'NEWA YORK.

FLASHLIGHT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 2, 1921.

Application ltiled June 26, 1920. Serial No. 392,138.

To all 'whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, JOSEPH VINCE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, borou h of Brookl n, 1n the county of Kings and tate of New ork, have invented a new and Improved Flashlight, of which the following is a description.

My invention relates to portable electric l lights ofthe type generally termed flashlights and particularly relates to a flashlight in which conductor means is provided, associated with the battery and independent of the shell to be insertible and removable with the battery, as distinguished from a conductor strip on the shell at the interior and which is likely to be damaged by removal of the battery especially when the latter freezes to the shell. having the conductor means on the battery as referred to instead of on the shell .forms the subject of an application for patent, Serial Number 324,431, filed by me, September 18, 1919, now Patent No. 1,347,423, dated July 20, 1920.

The present invention involves the conductor means associated with the battery as referred to, together with means operable from the exterior ofthe shell at a side thereof for moving the battery forwardly and thus controlling the circuit through the medium of said conductor means.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, it being understood that the drawings are merely illustrative of a practical example of the invention.

Figure l is a sectional side elevation of a flashlight embodying my invention, my improved circuit-forming attachment being shown in elevation and the covering of the battery being partly broken away;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the conductor device completing the circuit through the battery and lamp showing said device in its preferred form.

In the illustrated example of the yinvention, A indicates a battery which ma be of any approved form and composed o .one or more cells, A1 indicating theusual paper or like insulating wrapper on the battery; and a the front contact of the battery. The letter B indicates the shell usually employed in flashlights of the indicated character for inclosing the batte A and carrying at its front end the electric lamprdesignated gem A flashlight erally by the letter C as well as a bottom cap D, the threaded fiange of which engages a threaded external band af on shell B.

The shell B employed in carrying out my lnvent'ion may be of the conventional form and dimensions except'th'at the usual conductor and contact elements on said shell with the usual coacting switch'to close the circuit are omitted in carrying out my invention. The lamp C shown is of known form having the usual contact c to engage the opposed front battery contact a, c indicating the usual neck of the lamp; c2 the reflector; c the lens; and c4 the usual threaded retaining ring for said lens and arranged to engage the threaded band c5 fixed to the shell at the forward end.

In form shown and in my application above mentioned means is provided tending to force the battery A rearwardly to separate the contacts a, c for breaking the circuit? For the purpose use preferably is made of a spring and preferably and advantageously, saidpspring 1s a compression spring 10 coiled about the lamp neck c and bearing at its frontend against the reflector c2 and bearing at its inner end against the front of the battery A. Said spring 10 is utilized in the form of my invention shown in Figs. Vl and.

2 as part of the means for completing the circuit at the outside between the lamp reflector and the rear end of the battery, for which purpose said spring may, as shown, be formed integral with an elongated conductor strip 11 lying close to the battery A outside of the paper wrapper A4 of the batter between the same and theshell B.

vn order to complete the circuit throu h the rear end of the battery, I provide suitable means associated with the conductor strip 11 and interposed between the usual rear cap D or equivalent construction and theback of the battery. Advantageously, said means may consist of a lateral arm l2 on strip 11.

The features referred to in the foregoing except the illustrated form of the conductor strip 11 are substantiallythe same as disclosed in my above-named application. VIn accordance with my present invention I provide for making or breaking the circuit by means oA erable from4 the exterior of the shell an extending through the same at a side thereof, for which purpose in the form shown in Figs.- 1 and 2, said strip 11 has formed thereon or secured thereto a member 13 projecting laterally outward through a longitudinal slotb in shell B, to be thereby operated by shifting it forward or back in the slot b by the thumb or lin er of the hand holding the flashlight, there y making the light a one-hand flashlight. The forward movement of the circuit closing control member 13 acts to carry forward the conductor strip 11 and the latter b its lateral arm 12 will carry with it the attery and effect engagement of the opposed contacts a, c. Upon the forward pressure on the member 13 being relieved the spring .10 will cause a separation of contacts a, c, thus breaking the circuit. In order to hold the circuit-con trolling member 13 in the forward position with the circuit closed, I provide for restraining the same against rearward movement by the spring 10, a simple means avail able for the purpose consisting of a short branch slot Z2 complementary to the slot b and extendingr laterally, thereby producing an L-shaped or bayonet slot so that the turning of the member 13 laterally into the branch slot maintains a closed circuit. The conductor strip 11 may have any suitable cross section but advantageously, in practice it is madev flat to occupy the minimum space between the battery and the shell. In practice, also, the conductor stri with more or less of the elements 10 and 12 1s shellacked or otherwise insulated to prevent the possibility of short-circuiting by the wearing of the wrapper A at the front end or the wearing of the insulation a of said battery. The lines 11, 11b indicate the terminals of the insulation on the strip in the illustrated example. The usual space between the battery and the shell B- in known makes is provided to accommodate the usual contact strips on the shell B which provides ample space for my described conductor strips.

In practice, the making of the conductor means as a single unit enables the attachment to be readily applied to the battery A before inserting said battery in the shell. Thus, the unit formed by the members 10, 11, and 12, constitutes conductor means additional to the battery and lamp for completing the circuit at the exterior of the lamp and battery since the front end of the spring 10 engagesA the metallic reflector c2, while the member 12 has contact with the metal of the battery at the back. Thus, the circuit from the contact c of the lamp is through the filament to the neck c and the refiector c,

' spring 10, conductor strip 11 and member 12,y to the battery at the back or at another point rearward of the front contact aand through the battery to the contact a to be completed through the contact c whenever the contacts a, c, are in engagement. Thus,

there is a circuit formed including the lamp and battery and rmanently complete except for the breaklng thereof by the separa tion of the contacts a, c.

For removing the battery, after the cap D is removed, lateral pressure is applied tothe member 13 in a manner to torsionally stress the strip 11 and spring 10 until the said member passes through the slot Z) and its lateral branch b to lie at the interior of the casing to permit the strip 11 to'slide rearwardly in the shell with the battery. Also, with the removal of the cap D the member 13 may be moved in the slot in the rear or lower end thereof, thereby disposing the rear terminal 12 below the shell B. The strip 11 may then be flexed bodily to an extent to displace the member 12 from the rear of the battery, ermitting the battery to be moved rearwar ly relatively to the strip 11 until the front end of the battery is somewhat rearward of or below the member 13 whereupon the said member may be pressed inwardly to flex the strip 1l and dispose the member 13 at the interior of the shell to slide rearwardly with the battery.

I would state in conclusion that while the illustrated example constitutes a practical embodiment of' my invention, I do not limit myself strictly to the mechanical details herein illustrated, since manifestly thesame can be considerably varied without Vdeparture from the spirit of thev invention as de- `fined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. A light of the class described including a shell, a. lamp' thereon, a battery removably inclosed by said shell, said lamp resenting a contact opposed to one pole o the battery, conductor means on said batter externally thereof and independent ofy the shell to be removable with the battery, and means on said conductor strip and operable from the exterior of said shell and adapted [to function through the medium of said conductor means for making and breaking the circuit.

2. A light of the class described including a shell, a lamp thereon, a battery removably inclosed by said shell, said lamp presenting a contact opposed to one pole of the battery, conductor means on said battery externally thereof and having means to hold it to the battery independent of the shell to be removable with the batte said conductor means extending lengthwise of the batter and making contact at its rear end with t e other pole of the battery, and means extending through said shell at a side thereof for controlling the circuit through thev medium of said conductor means.

3. A light of the class described including' a shell, a lamp thereon, a battery removably inclosed by said'shell, said lamp resenting a contact opposed to one pole o lthe batone pole of the battery,

exterior of the shell tofunction for controlling the circuit through lthe medium of said conductor means.

4. A light of the class described including a shell, a lamp thereon, a battery removably inclosed by said shell, said lamp presenting a contact opposed to one pole of the battery, conductor means on said battery externally thereof and having means to hold it to the battery as well as normally operable means thereon, said shell presenting a transverse slot for said operable means.

5. A light of the class described includ- A ing a shell, a lam at the front end thereof', a battery removably inclosed by said shell, said lamp presenting a contact opposed to one pole of the batte a conductor strip extending along said battery and having means 'to hold 1t to said battery and make contact with the rear pole of the battery, the front end of said strip being adapted for electrical connection with the exterior of' the lamp, and means operable from the exterior of the shell and adapted to function through the medium of said conductor means for controlling the electric circuit.

6. A light of the class described including a shell, a lamp at the front end thereof, a battery removably inclosed by said shell, said lamp presenting a contact opposed to a conductor strip extending along said battery externally thereof and having means to hold it on the battery; and presenting a member at its rear end extending laterally inward to make contact with`the rear pole of the battery, the front end of said strip being adapted for electrical connection with the exterior of the lamp, and means extending laterally through said shell at a side thereof adjacent to saidstrip and manually operable for functioning through the medium of said strip to control the circuit.

7. A light of the class described including a shell, a lamp thereon, a battery removably inclosed bysaid shell, said lamp presenting a contact opposed to one pole of the battery, conductor means on said battery externally thereof and independent of the shell to be removable with the battery, said strip engaging the rear battery pole and means extending through said shell at a side thereof between the front battery and the rear end thereo and operable from the exterior of the shell to function for controlling the circuit throu h the medium of said conductor means, said shell having a -slot presentin members disposed respectively longitudin ly and transversely of the shell in which sald operable means is movable.

8. A light of the class described includin a shell, a lam at the front end thereof, a battery remova ly inclosed by said shell, said lamp resenting 'a contact opposed to one pole o the battery, and a conductor strip on said battery extending longitudinally thereof to be removable with the battery, said strip having a member thereon between the ends and extending laterally outward through the shell to be accessible at the exterior of the shell for operation in 'controlling the circuit through the medium of said strip, there being a member on said strip at its rear end to make contact with the rear pole of the battery.

9. As a new article of manufacture, a conductor strip for use in flashlights, said strip adapted to range longitudinally of a battery, for electrically connecting the exterior of a flashlight lamp with the rear end of the battery, said strip having a member at the rear end to engage the battery and having a member thereon between the ends of the strip and extending laterally outward therefrom to project through the shell of the flashlight for moving said strip to shift the battery toward the lamp.

JOSEPH VINCE.

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