US2834872A

US2834872A - Portable illuminable mirror

Info

Publication number: US2834872A
Application number: US640015A
Authority: US
Inventors: Theodore Van Esley
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1957-02-13
Filing date: 1957-02-13
Publication date: 1958-05-13
Anticipated expiration: 1975-05-13

Description

May 13, 195s TL VAN E sLEY PORTABLE ILLUMINABLE MIRROR Filed Feb. 13, 1957 'ff /6 /7 22M /7 [6 28 32 /22 1I. l t f /23 22/1, /2

Fig 2 l/ l /3 .3026 Fig 2 5i b /54 52 laf- 1 ,38

l -l|ll 54 4644564 /2 7' /zeodo're Van E s/ey INVENToR.

UnitedStates Patent C PORTABLE ILLUMIN ABLE MIRROR Theodore Van Esley, Detroit, Mich. Application February 13, 1957, Serial No. 640,015

2 Claims. (Cl. 24.0-4.2)

The present invention relates to a portable pocket-size accessory for individual or personal use and has reference in particular to a self-contained illuminable portable mirror and which, in addition, may serve the purposes of a flashlight.

Illuminable vanity pocket and purse mirrors are not, asis well-known, new. Many and varied styles, types and forms have been devised and appropriated for use by others working in this eld of endeavor. Therefore, it is common practice to utilize a flashlight bulb or lamp, dry cell batteries and a switch-controlled circuit in a casing or the like in a manner to project a beam of light upon the person and to thus enable her to see her image in a reflecting mirror.

An object in the matter at hand is to contribute to and advance this art and to do so by way of a structurally and functionally distinct adaption in which it is believed that the manufacturing needs and repair requirements and economies of manufacturers will be met but, what is more important, the needs of users of such accessories will be ellectually met.

Looking toward these accomplishments a self-contained portable pocket-size construction is used. Briefly, this comprises a box-like case having an open front and embodying non-transparent bottom, top, back and side walls defining a compartment, said bottom and side walls having aligned horizontal and vertical grooves situated adjacent and parallel with said open front, said top wall having a fixed rearward half-portion and a forward half-portion, the latter being hingedly mounted on the rearward half-portion and providing a lid, the upper ends of the vertical grooves opening through the upper end portions of the side walls and being covered by the lid when the lid is closed, a mirror slidingly and removably fitted and retained in said grooves and covering in part said open front, a glass panel coplanar with and complemental to said mirror, said panel being slidingly and removably keyed in upper portions of said vertical grooves and being held against displacement by said lid, and a source of illumination operatively mounted in said compartment and including tlashlight batteries and a miniature lamp, the latter supported in cooperating alignment with said glass panel.

The concept also features a tilted or inclined reflector which is mounted in the upper or top portion of the compartment and which has an opening which is lined or bushed with a collar. The collar serves to frictionally mount the base of the lamp or bulb and renders the latter accessible for replacement by simply opening the lid and lifting out the frosted glass panel.

Other objectives, features and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing, wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the views:

Fig. l is a perspective View of the complete and portable 2 and'illuminable mirror construction in accordance with the instant invention.

Fig. 2 is a view on a slightly enlarged scale which may be thought of as a central vertical section of Fig. l looking in the direction from right to left.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the plane of the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective View.

Referringnow to the drawings and particularly to Fig. 4 the casing or box-like case is denoted by the numeral 6 andcomprises bottom wall 8, vertical side walls 10 and back wall 12. The top wall is sectional and comprises a fixed rearward half section 14 and a forward half section 16 hinged at 17 to the section 14, suitable arcuate springs 20 being mounted and used to normally force the forward or lid section 16 to its closed position.

As best seen in Fig. 4 the mirror 13 is removably and slidably keyed in the cooperating horizontal and

vertical grooves

19 and 21 respectively. These grooves are situated adjacent to the open front and in fact parallel therewith. Moreover the upper ends of the vertical grooves open through the upper edge portion of the vertical walls 10 to allow the mirror to be slipped in and keyed in place or lifted and removed, as the case may be. The upper portion of the grooves 21 also serveto accommodate an insertable and removable window which is preferably a frosted glass panel 22 and whose lower edge 23 rests atop the upper edge 24 of the mirror. The glass panel and mirror are coplanar and the upper edge of the panel is llush with the upper edges of the side walls 10 and is held against displacement by the portions of the spring biased hingedly mounted lid 16, in an obvious manner. The numeral 26 designates a rectangular fixedly mounted retlector which is suspended between the interior surfaces of the side walls 10 and which is slanted so that it inclines forwardly and downwardly. It will be noticed that this rellector is directly behind the frosted panel. Also and as best shown in Fig. 2 it has a centrally disposed hole therein to accommodate a flanged bushing or collar 2S which serves to friction-tit and retain the insertable and removable flashlight bulb or lamp 30. That is to say, the smooth portion of the screw base 32 of the bulb is tted and held in place as shown. In fact, the base goes through and beyond the hole where it is in engagement with a contact element 34 suitably mounted in the cornpartment.

There is a substantially U-shaped bracket 36 provided and screwed in place as shown in the drawings and this has upper and laterally directed

end portions

38 and 40 provided with appropriate Contact 42 engaging the respective end portions of the insertable and removable dry cell or battery 44. Additional spring clips 46 are attached to the bracket to retain the dry cells removably in place. The batteries, contacts and other components of the circuit are appropriately wired together in the manner shown. This permits the use of a switch button 48 mounted in a suitable frame 50 cooperating with a plate 52 having terminals 54 to which the wires are connected, all as brought out in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The idea here is to provide suitable flashlight means in the compartment of the case and to have it appropriately controlled by a handy switch. It seems sufficient to cover this as flashlight means with batteries bracketed' in place and suitably wired together and having a controlling switch. However, novelty is thought to reside in the supporting on the miniature flashlight bulb or lamp in the bushed hole at the center of the slanted reflector 26.

By opening up the lid and removing the frosted panel 22 access may be had to the bulb to either insert or remove it as the case may be. By using a frosted window panel or glass instead of a clear window the light beam from the bulb is distributed and a more satisfactory operation is had. Not only thisbut undesirable light glare is reduced to a minimum.

The specific components herein disclosedconstitute a combination and arrangement of lcooperating parts which, conjointly considered, contribute to theiproduction of a highly practical compact and convenient mirror with a source of illumination and reflection for night use and for equally etlicient use during the day.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. An illuminable self-contained portable pocket-size mirror comprising a box-like case having an open front and embodying non-transparent bottom, top, back and side walls dening a compartment, said bottom and side walls having aligned horizontal and vertical grooves situated adjacent and parallel with said open front, said top Wall having a xed rearward half-portion and -a forward half-portion, the latter being hingedly mounted on the rearward half-portion and providing a lid, the upper ends of the vertical grooves opening through the upper end portions of the side Walls and being covered by the lid when the lid is closed, a mirror slidingly and removably fitted and retained in said grooves and covering in part said open front, a glass panel coplanar with and complemental to said mirror, said panel being slidingly and removably keyed in upper portions of said vertical grooves and being held against displacement by said lid, and a source of illumination operatively mounted in said compartment and including ilashlight batteries and a miniature lamp, the latter supported in cooperating alignment with said glass panel, said glass panel being situated at the top portion of said compartment and being frosted, and a reector mounted in the top portion of said compartment directly behind said panel and said lamp 4l being removably supported by said reflector, said reector being inclined andthus slanted forwardly and downwardly and provided centrally with a hole which is bushed by a collar, the base of said lamp being frictiontted into said collar and thus supported in its operating position, said lid being spring-biased and normally held in its closed position, the lower edge of said panel resting atop the upper edge of the mirror and the upper edge of said panel being iiush with the upper edges of said side Walls.

2. In a structure of the class described, an open front case, bracket and clip means mounted therein to accommodatingly support insertable and removable batteries, the top wall of said case embodying a spring biased normally closed manually openable and closable lid, an oblique angled reector spanning the upper portion of the compartment and supported between the upper portions of the side wall of the case and provided with a central hole having a collar lining the sam-e, a contact element mounted in the compartment in alignment with the hole in said reflector, and a miniature flashlight bulb having a base portion removably fitted and frictionally held in said collar, said base portion being projected through and beyond the collar to engage said contact, the interior surfaces of said side walls have vertical grooves providing keyways, a mirror slidably and removably held in portions of the keyways, and an insertable and removable frosted glass panel removably seated in the upper portion of the keyways and registering with said reector and having its upper edge ush with the upper edges of the side walls and held against displacement by portions of the lid overlying the portions of the grooves opening through said upper edges.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,123,319 Thompson July 12, 1938 2,255,312 Dawson Sept. 9, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS 464,671 Italy 1951