Remote control lighting unit

The invention is an illuminating device for television remote control. The device has a small support base for attachment to the underside of remote control units and at least one bendable arm that is offset from the center of the remote unit. The arm supports a lighting apparatus at the top of the arm. The device may be battery powered and the bendable arm provides for a variety of positions for the lighting means.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The invention relates to the field of remote control apparatus and, in 
particular, to a source of illumination that may be attached to the remote 
control unit. At least one bendable arm supports the lighting source in a 
plurality of positions without interfering with the IR light being emitted 
at the front of the remote control unit. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
While there are bendable arms known in the prior art, none that applicant 
is aware of use a bendable support arm(s) to support an illuminating means 
for a remote control unit. The use of such an arm offset from the 
centerline of the remote unit allows the support arm to hold the light 
over the remote unit without interfering with the beam of IR light being 
emitted at the front of the unit. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The invention is lighting device for illuminating the top portion of a 
remote control unit when the television room is dark. The lighting device 
has a relatively small base so that it may be attached to the underside of 
the remote unit. At least one bendable arm supports a lighting means from 
a point above the top surface of the remote unit. Usually, the arm would 
protrude out from under the front of the remote unit and is attached to a 
point that is offset from the centerline of the remote unit so that the 
arm(s) do not interfere with the IR light being emitted from the front of 
the remote unit. 
It is an object of the invention to provide a flexible support arm for the 
lighting source of a remote control unit. 
Another object of the invention is to provide a supporting means for a 
source of illumination for a remote control unit that will not interfere 
with the IR light being emitted at the front of the remote control unit. 
Yet another objective is to provide a double necked support shaft for a 
remote control illuminating means so that the illuminating means may be 
supported at both sides without interfering with the IR light being 
emitted by the remote unit. 
Another objective is to provide a flexible support arm for a remote control 
unit that may be placed in a number of positions. 
Other objectives of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in 
the art once the invention has been shown and described.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
The apparatus is a lighting device for illuminating the top surface of 
remote control unit. The device finds usage when the television room is 
not well lit, for instance: at night. The top surface of the remote has a 
set of controls on it and it is helpful to be able to see these. The 
device is, preferably, battery powered and may come with a push button or 
push lever device to illuminate the remote control unit as needed. 
The device has a small base 1 preferably about 21/2" by 1" so that it may 
be attached to the underside of the relatively small remote control unit, 
see FIG. 1 (remote control unit pictured as 3 in FIG. 4). Any sort of 
attaching means may be used to attach the support base to the underside of 
the remote unit. Double sided adhesive tape 15 being preferred. The 
support base should contain battery(s) 6 for powering the lighting source. 
It is thought that triple A sized batteries would be preferred in view of 
the small size of the support base. 
Bendable support arm(s) 8 are in connection with the front of the support 
base and should protrude out from under the front of the remote control 
unit, see FIG. 5. At least one support arm is needed and any support arms 
that are used must be offset from the centerline of the remote unit so as 
not to interfere with the IR light being emitted from the front of the 
remote unit. If two arms are used, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 they should 
both be offset from the centerline of the remote and preferably are each 
on one side of the centerline as shown. 
The support arms support the illuminating means 12 which is, preferably, 
powered by batteries stored in the support base. 
Preferably there would be two support arms, one on either side of the 
illuminating means so that the support arm will not interfere with the 
infrared (IR) light being emitted from the front of the remote control 
unit, see FIG. 4. 
It is preferred that the bendable support arm for the lighting means should 
be made of a ribbed rubber with a wire inside it for support. Other 
supports could also be used provided that they are able to be bent into a 
conformation that will allow the light source to illuminate the top of the 
remote unit. The arms should also be able to be shaped into different 
conformations. The wire 10 from the batteries to the lighting source may 
also run through the bendable arm as well as the support wires. As the arm 
is bendable, it can be shaped into different positions to illuminate the 
remote properly. It is also possible that the wire which serves as the 
support wire may also be used as the conducting wire. 
The lighting source at the top of the support arms may be of any type, such 
as incandescent bulb, fluorescent bulb, halogen, etc. It is preferred that 
a minibulb be used in conjunction with a reflector behind it to properly 
illuminate the remote. It is preferred that the switch 2 for the lighting 
means be of a push button type, that is, it only powers the light when it 
is pushed on, when it is released the light goes off. This should save on 
the life of the batteries. Of course, other switches may be used for 
activating the light without varying from the spirit of the invention.