WO2006053918A1

WO2006053918A1 - Lighting device

Info

Publication number: WO2006053918A1
Application number: PCT/ES2005/000605
Authority: WO
Inventors: Friedemann Hoffmann
Original assignee: Friedemann Hoffmann
Priority date: 2004-11-15
Filing date: 2005-11-10
Publication date: 2006-05-26

Abstract

The invention relates to a lighting device comprising: individual lamps (1) which are equipped with a translucent casing (11) housing rechargeable batteries (14), lighting elements (15) and an external push button or switch (18) which is used to turn on the lamp; one or more battery chargers (2, 41) which can be connected to an electrical transformer (3) or similar; and means for electrically connecting the lamps (1) to the charger (2, 41), comprising pairs of electrical contacts (22, 47, 12, 13) which project out from the casings (42, 21, 11) of the charger (2, 41) and the lamps (1) by a sufficient amount such as to enable direct physical contact. In addition, the charger (2, 41) and the lamps (1) include magnets (51, 23, 17) which, by means of magnetic attraction, maintain the lamps in the charge position.

Description

DESCRIPTION

LIGHTING DEVICE

Object of the invention

The present invention relates to a lighting device; of the type of those comprising: individual lamps that have a translucent housing in which rechargeable batteries are housed for the power supply of some lighting elements and an external switch for switching on or off, a pluggable battery charger to the electricity network by means of a transformer or the like and means for the electrical connection of one or more lamps, in charge position, with said charger.

Background of the invention. Currently, electric lamps that have an outer shell of translucent material are known in the market, in which rechargeable batteries are housed for the feeding of lighting elements, led type, micro bulbs or the like.

The switching on and off of the lamp is carried out by means of a switch accessible from the outside of the housing.

These lamps are supplied in some cases, especially when they are provided to provide fluctuating lighting, similar to that of a candle, together with a translucent container of suitable dimensions for the positioning of a lamp inside, so that from the outside it is You can observe the light produced by the lamp, but not the lamp.

To carry out the recharging of the batteries, specific chargers are used provided with, or connectable to, a transformer that can be connected to the power grid or to a suitable power supply.

These chargers allow the simultaneous connection of several lamps, so that they can be charged simultaneously.

To do this, together with the charger and a set of lamps, electric cables are provided, provided with some extreme plugs, which allow the connection of a first lamp to the charger, a second lamp to the first lamp and so on, so that all lamps are connected with each other and with the charger, forming an alignment and the batteries of these lamps being recharged simultaneously.

The use of the mentioned cables for the interconnection of the lamps with the charger constitutes an inconvenience since, being separable and independent elements, they are often lost or not located when the recharging of the batteries is to be carried out.

Another of the disadvantages of this type of lighting devices or assemblies is that neither the lamps nor the charger have adequate protection elements to signal the state of the charge of the batteries, and it may be the case that they are insufficiently charged or that they remain in charge for an excessive time, in which case overheating can occur, with the consequent risk of fire.

Another of the disadvantages of the lamps is that the outer housings are not waterproof, so they do not provide adequate protection to the electrical components housed therein; This entails a risk that the electrical components may suffer irreparable damage when the lamp is used outdoors, remaining exposed to rain or high humidity, or when a liquid is accidentally spilled on it.

Description of the invention

In order to solve the exposed problems, the lighting device object of the invention has been devised that, being composed of a charger and lamps, presents constructive peculiarities oriented to allow the electrical interconnection of one or more lamps with the charger, in a way direct, that is, without using electrical cables for its connection, also allowing simultaneous charging of several lamps using a single charger.

Another objective of the present invention is the incorporation, both in the lamps and in the charger of suitable protection means that allow an intelligent management of the battery charge, the automatic disconnection of the charger in certain situations that could result Dangerous for the device or for the user and the emission of light signals indicating that the batteries have reached the maximum charge or that the charger has automatically disconnected from the power supply.

For this, and in accordance with the invention, the means used in this device for the electrical interconnection of the lamps with the charger in a charging position, they are composed in the case of the charger by a pair of electrical contacts and, in the case of the lamps, by two pairs of electrical contacts, said pairs of contacts of the respective housings of the charger and of the lamps to a sufficient extent to allow their direct physical contact, so that it is not necessary to use external electrical cables for interconnection.

Both the charger and the lamps incorporate inside the respective housings magnets that establish their retention by magnetic attraction in a position that guarantees the physical contact of the respective pairs of electrical contacts.

As mentioned, each of the lamps has two pairs of contacts, said pairs of contacts being arranged in different planes and preferably in substantially opposite positions, so that a lamp can be connected electrically and simultaneously with two attached lamps , or with a lamp and the charger. This allows several lamps, connected in a row, to be interconnected simultaneously with a single charger.

Another of the particularities of the invention is that the pairs of electrical contacts of the charger and the lamps lack polarity, which allows the pairs of contacts belonging to two different elements (lamp-lamp, lamp-charger) to be connected in Either of the two possible positions without any risk of short circuit.

Each of the lamps incorporates a microcontroller responsible for carrying out the intelligent management of the battery charge. Said microcontroller activates the lighting elements of the lamp when the lamp's batteries reach full charge, providing the user with an indicative signal that the batteries are fully charged and that he can proceed to disconnect the charger and separate the lamps to Use them individually.

To separate the lamps, simply pull them in opposite directions and overcome the force of magnetic attraction provided by the magnets housed inside the respective housings.

The lamp housing is sealed, the output of the on and off switch being covered, and the switch itself, by a flexible cover or cover that also allows its manual operation and that guarantees a IP64 type protection. This tightness of the outer housing provides adequate protection to the internal components of the lamp, even when used outdoors.

The charger also incorporates a microcontroller that automatically disconnects the power supply in case of detecting an overload or short circuit in the output contacts or the continuous connection of the charger to the network for a preset time. In both cases the microcontroller provides active protection avoiding damage to the charger.

It is also provided that the charger has a signaling light element, led type or similar, which is activated by the microcontroller when it cuts the charger power for any of the reasons indicated above.

In this case, to return the charger to an operational state, simply disconnect it from the mains or power supply and reconnect it. A multiple charger is also provided that is advantageous in situations where the number of lamps that are handled is high, facilitating the independent charging of each lamp, and ensuring effective contact between the electric contacts of the charger and each of the lamps .

The multiple charger, specific for the simultaneous connection and recharge of a large number of lamps, allows to remove or position any of the lamps in the charger, without the need to move any other lamp.

For this, the multiple charger of this lighting device comprises a housing with a plurality of charging points, provided with the appropriate power supply means, susceptible to the connection and independent recharging of respective lamps.

Said power supply means are distributed circularly in the casing of the charger, each of them comprising a support plate that has electrical charging contacts frontally and in its back a housing for the magnet in charge of attracting the lamp to recharge to electrical contacts.

The casing of the magazine has a central elevation whose base is extended in an outgoing and surrounding tray for the arrangement of the lamps, the support plates of each loading point being located on the side walls of said central elevation. The housing is appropriate to allow placement, loading and lamp extraction independently and direct observation to determine if they are charged by the light signals they emit.

In addition, at each loading point there is a recess that allows the easy placement of the lamp in the charging position, the lamp being retained in said position by the magnetic attraction of the magnets located behind the contacts.

Faced with this recess, the housing has a housing window for the carrier support plate of the contacts. In this window it has guides for the sliding assembly of the respective support plate from the lower zone. In a preferred embodiment, the housing has in its upper part a configuration, for example in the form of protruding prominence, in correspondence with another complementary configuration, for example an inlet in its lower base, so that several loaders can be stacked easily and stable, thus facilitating the work of loading a large number of lamps. The power supply means of the charger comprise a control board housed inside the housing, this board being provided with a controller responsible for managing the operation of the charger. This board is connected by independent cables and connectors to the contacts of the charging points and to a single external connector for connection to an external power transformer.

To ensure effective physical and electrical contact between the contacts of the lamps and the charger, said contacts have conjugate studs or projections that establish specific physical contacts.

Description of the figures.

To complement the description that is being made and in order to facilitate the understanding of the characteristics of the invention, a set of drawings is attached to the present specification in which, for illustrative and non-limiting purposes, the following has been represented: - Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the charger with the corresponding transformer and one of the lamps.

- Figure 2 shows an elevation view of one of the lamps.

Figure 3 shows a perspective view of three lamps interconnected with each other and with the charger, in the charging position. Figure 4 an elevation view of one of the lamps sectioned by a vertical plane, the interior elements having been schematically represented.

Figure 5 shows an elevation view of the charger sectioned by a vertical plane and disconnected from the corresponding transformer.

Figure 6 shows a perspective view of the lighting device in which a multiple charger unit and several lamps separated from it can be observed.

Figure 7 shows an exploded view of! multiple charger - Figure 8 shows a detail of the coupling between the contacts of

The lamp and the support piece at the charging point.

Figure 9 shows a rear view of the support part of the contacts of the multiple charger.

Figure 10 shows a bottom perspective view of the multi loader.

Figure 10 shows an elevational view of several multiple loaders of the lighting device stacked for joint use.

Figure 11 shows a top plan view of the multiple charger and several lamps positioned thereon in the charging position.

Preferred embodiment of the invention

In the example of embodiment shown in the figures, the device of the invention comprises lamps (1) and a charger (2) connectable to a transformer (3) by means of a plug (31). The lamps (1) comprise a housing (11) of translucent material of

Ia that two pairs (12, 13) of contacts protrude externally that allow the electrical interconnection of the lamp (1) with two attached lamps, or with a lamp and with the charger (2).

The lamps (1) have inside the housing of: rechargeable batteries (14), lighting elements (15), a microcontroller (16) and magnets (17) that allow to keep attached, by magnetic attraction, successive lamps, guaranteeing the physical contact of the respective pairs (12, 13) of contacts, which will allow the simultaneous recharging of their batteries (14) by means of the charger (2). The microcontroller (16) performs an intelligent management of the battery charge (14), causing the lighting elements to be switched on when said batteries reach full charge.

The switching on and off of the lamp (1) is carried out by means of a switch (18) that emerges outside the housing (11) and is protected by a flexible cover (19) that guarantees the sealing of said housing.

In turn, the charger (2) has a housing (21) from which a pair of electrical contacts (22) emerge externally intended to physically contact one of the pairs (12, 13) of contacts of one of the lamps , when it is desired to charge the batteries (14).

To ensure the electrical interconnection of the charger (2) with one of the lamps (1), the charger (2) has, like the lamps (1), a magnet (23) that interacts with one of the magnets (17) of The attached lamp, making its magnetic attraction in a position in which the physical contact of the pair of contacts (22) of the charger with one of the pairs (12, 13) of contacts of the lamp in question is guaranteed.

As can be seen in Figure 3, the magnets (17 and 23) allow the charger (2) and successive lamps (1) to be attached to simultaneously perform the recharging of its batteries (14). The charger (2) has inside a microcontroller (24) that automatically disconnects the power supply when said charger has a predetermined time connected to the mains or when it detects the short-circuiting of the pair of contacts (22) output.

The charger (2) also has a light signaling element (25) that is activated by the microcontroller (24) when it has disconnected the power supply of the charger, said element (25) providing a visible signal that the charger is not is operational even if you are connected to

The network

To return the charger (2) to an operational state, simply disconnect it from the mains and reconnect it.

In an alternative embodiment, the lighting device comprises a multiple charger (41) connectable to the transformer (3) by means of a plug (31).

The charger (41) comprises a housing (42) with a plurality of power supply means configured at various charging points, these being charge points susceptible to reception and independent load of the respective lamp (1).

In a preferred embodiment, the housing (42) is formed by an upper body (43) and a lower cover (44), fixed by screws (45). The upper body (43) has a central elevation (61) whose base is extended in a tray (46) projecting and surrounding for the arrangement of the lamps (1). On the sides of said central elevation (61) the respective load points are provided externally provided with contacts (47) and on the tray (46) some recesses (48) for e! stable positioning of the lamps (1) during recharging.

The load contacts (47) are mounted frontally on support plates (49) that have in their rear area a housing (50) for the magnet (51) responsible for retaining the lamp (1) in the recharging position. These support plates (49) are respectively coupled in a series of windows (52) defined in the side walls of the central elevation (61) of the housing, each window (52) being provided with guides (53) for sliding coupling of said support plates (49) carrying the contacts (47).

The upper body (43) has a configuration (54), such as an outstanding prominence, complementary to a configuration (55), such as an inlet, present in the lower lid, said configurations (54, 55) being operatively capable of allowing stable stacking of successive loaders (41) arranged for operation.

The housing (42) comprises in its interior a control board (56) connected by cables (57) and independent connectors to the contacts (47) of the power supply means. Said plate (56) is in turn related by means of a cable (58) with a single external connection (59) for its connection of the plug (31) of the external power transformer (3). Said connector (59) is disposed at a point on the periphery of the tray (46) in a housing defined for this purpose in the confrontation zone of the upper body (43) and the lower cover (44). The contacts (12, 13, 47) of the lamps (1) and the charger (41) have conjugate studs (60) or protrusions respectively for an optimized mutual contact electrical conduction.

Once the nature of the invention has been sufficiently described, as well as a preferred embodiment, it is stated for the appropriate purposes that Materials, shape, size and arrangement of the described elements may be modified, provided that this does not imply an alteration of the essential characteristics of the invention that are claimed below.

Claims

1.- Lighting device; of the type comprising: individual lamps (1) that have a translucent housing (11) in which rechargeable batteries (14) are housed for the power supply of lighting elements (15) and a switch exterior (18) for on or off; a battery charger (2), connectable to the electricity network by means of a transformer (3) or similar and means for the electrical connection of one or more lamps (1), in a charging position, with said charger ( 2); characterized in that the means for the electrical connection of the lamps (1) with the charger (2) in a charging position, are made up of pairs of electrical contacts (22, 22) (12, 13) that protrude from the housings ( 21, 11) of the charger (2) and the lamps (1) to a sufficient extent to allow their direct physical contact, further characterized in that the charger (2) and the lamps (1) incorporate magnets (23, 17) that they establish, by magnetic attraction, their eventual retention in a position of physical and electrical contact of the respective pairs of electrical contacts (22, 12, 13).

2. Device, according to the preceding claim, characterized in that each of the lamps has two pairs of contacts (12, 13) arranged in substantially opposite positions to allow the simultaneous electrical connection of a lamp (1) with two attached lamps, or with a lamp and the charger (2) and, consequently, the simultaneous interconnection of a group of lamps (1) with the charger (2).

3. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the pairs of electrical contacts (22, 12, 13) of the charger (2) and of the lamps (1) lack polarity.

4. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the lamps

(1) incorporate a microcontroller (16) that performs the intelligent management of the battery charge (14) and activates the lighting means (15) of the lamp, providing a light signaling when the battery charge is completed ( 14).

5. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the charger (2) incorporates a microcontroller (24) that automatically disconnects the power supply in case of detecting an overload or short circuit in the output contacts (22) or detecting the continuous connection of the charger (2) to the network for a pre-established time.

6. Device according to claim 5, characterized in that the charger

(2) comprises a signaling light element (25) that is activated by the microcontroller (24) when it cuts the charger power.

7. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the magnets

(17 and 23) are housed inside the housings (11, 21) of the lamps (1) and the charger (2) respectively.

8. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that it has at least one multiple magazine (41) comprising: a hollow housing (42) composed of an upper body (43) and a lower closing cover (44), said said upper body (43) an outstanding tray (46) in which a plurality of recesses (48) are defined for the positioning of respective lamps (1) in recharging position and a central elevation (61) that is arranged laterally, correspondingly with the recesses (48), of respective charging points provided externally with contacts (47) intended to establish a physical and electrical contact with the contacts (12, 13) of the respective lamp (1) in the charging position, and internally a housing (50) for a temporary fixing magnet (51) of the respective lamp (1) in the charging position and - power supply means comprising a control plate (56) housed in the housing of the housings to (42) and connected by means of independent cables (57) to each of the contacts (47) and to a single external connector (59) for its connection, by means of a transformer (3), to a power supply network.

9. Device according to claim 8, characterized in that the upper body (43) and the lower cover (44) of the housing (42) have complementary configurations (54, 55) for the stable stacking of successive multiple loaders (41 ).

10. Device according to claim 8, characterized in that the housing

(42) comprises at each loading point a window (52) for housing a support plate (49) carrying the contacts (47) and having a housing (50) for the magnet (51) ) corresponding, said windows (52) presenting guides (53) for mounting the support plate (49).

11. Device according to claim 8, characterized in that the contacts

(12, 13, 47), of the lamp (1) and of the charger (41), have conjugate lugs (60) or protrusions for their optimized physical and electrical contact.