Abstract:
A rechargeable flashlight and charging assembly are provided in which the charger has a receptacle for vertically receiving a flashlight therein. The charger further has a second receptacle for holding an auxiliary battery, and a latch for securely holding the auxiliary battery in the second receptacle. The flashlight is formed to removably contain a battery assembly. A pivotal cover member of the flashlight provides access to the battery compartment and has a pair of conductors situated therein for connection to charging contacts within the charging receptacle.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Rechargeable flashlights are known in which a flashlight containing a rechargeable battery is configured to connect with a battery charger for charging the battery while it remains in the flashlight. Such flashlights are particularly desirable for emergency workers who must depend upon having a readily available source of light at remote locations. Although such flashlights are normally stored in a charging assembly, the battery may become discharged through repeated or extended use if there has not been enough time to fully recharge the battery between uses. In such a situation, it is necessary to return the flashlight to the charger for sufficient time to recharge. During this recharging time, the flashlight is unavailable for use. Thus it would be desirable to provide a rechargeable flashlight system in which an auxiliary battery is maintained in a charged condition so that the discharged battery may be removed from the flashlight and replaced by the auxiliary battery. 
     It would further be desirable for the auxiliary battery charger to be integrated with the flashlight charger so that the flashlight, the flashlight charger, and the auxiliary battery charger are maintained at a single location. Since many emergency crews already possess rechargeable flashlights, it would be desirable to provide an auxiliary battery assembly capable of being attached to an existing rechargeable flashlight system to provide for the ability to replace a discharged battery in such an existing rechargeable flashlight system. 
     Flashlights employed by emergency workers are often maintained aboard vehicles, and are used in hazardous locations. It is essential for a rechargeable flashlight system to hold the flashlight securely, and for the flashlight to be watertight and mechanically reliable. 
     SUMMARY 
     In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a rechargeable flashlight system which provides a flashlight having a rechargeable battery assembly, a flashlight charger for receiving the flashlight and charging the battery within the flashlight, and an auxiliary battery charger configured to be integrated with the flashlight charger for holding, charging, and maintaining the charge of an auxiliary battery assembly compatible with the flashlight. 
     The flashlight comprises a body having a central cavity for holding a rechargeable battery. The lower end of the body is closed by a cover member which opens to permit removal of the body. A pair of conductors extends through the cover member for contact with the flashlight charger, which recharges the battery when the flashlight is positioned in a receptacle in the flashlight charger. The lower end of the body is flared to mate with upward and inwardly extending walls of the receptacle by abutment, to securely hold the flashlight in the receptacle during charging. 
     An auxilliary battery charger is attached to the flashlight charger. The auxilliary battery charger is formed to provide a receptacle for receiving an auxilliary rechargeable battery. A latch mechanism connected with the auxilliary battery charger holds the auxiliary battery securely in the receptacle during charging. 
     The rechargeable battery comprises a case for holding rechargeable cells. Contacts are provided through the upper end of the case to provide contact with connectors positioned in the upper end of the interior of the body cavity. Contacts are also provided at the lower end of the case to connect with the rear cover member conductors of the flashlight when positioned therein, or with charging contacts positioned in the receptacle of the auxiliary battery charger. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a rechargeable flashlight system; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the rechargeable flashlight system of FIG. 1, from the reverse perspective; 
     FIGS. 3A and 3B are respective front and side elevational views of the flashlight of the rechargeable flashlight system of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the flashlight of the rechargeable flashlight system of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a bottom cover member of the flashlight; 
     FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the bottom cover member of the flashlight; 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a flashlight charger and an auxiliary batter charger of the rechargeable flashlight system of FIG. 1, shown in a disassembled condition; 
     FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the flashlight charger and the auxiliary battery charger of FIG. 7 shown from the reverse perspective; 
     FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view of the auxiliary battery charger; and 
     FIG. 10 is a partial cutaway view of the flashlight showing a battery assembly positioned therein in cross section. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring now to FIG. 1 there is shown a flashlight  10 , a flashlight charger  12 , and an auxiliary battery charger  14  holding an auxiliary battery  16  in an assembled configuration. Each of these components is described separately below. 
     The flashlight  10  is shown separated from the charger  12  in FIGS. 3A and 3B. The flashlight comprises a head assembly  18  and a body  19  having a central cavity therein for receiving a battery assembly. In the head assembly  18 , a light bulb  20  is positioned at the center of a reflector  22  which is held in a reflector housing  23 . The reflector is positioned at an angle, preferably a right angle, to the central axis of the flashlight. A clip  13  is pivotally connected to the rear of the flashlight. A spring  15  is positioned between the body of the flashlight and the upper end of the clip, so that the lower end of the clip  13  is urged toward the body. The clip  13  and the angled configuration of the flashlight allows the flashlight to be attached to an article of clothing of the user, such that light is projected in the forward direction when the flashlight is worn by the user. A switch  24  is located on the head assembly  24  and is internally connected between the bulb  20  and a battery assembly to selectively connect the bulb with the battery assembly. 
     The bottom portion of the body  19  of the flashlight  10  comprises a flared portion which provides a lip or rim extending outwardly about the bottom of the body  19  of the flashlight  10 . As shown in FIG. 4, the bottom end of the flashlight  10  is closed by a bottom cover member  27 . The bottom cover member  27  is attached to the body  19  by a hinge  28  at one side of the bottom cover member. The cover member  27  is held to the body  19  at the other side thereof by a releasable clip  30  which is pivotally held by the cover member  27  to latch onto a latch member  32  formed on the lower portion of the body  19  of the flashlight. 
     The cover member  27  has a pair of conductors  34   a  and  34   b  which extend through the cover member  27 , as shown in FIG. 5, to provide exterior charging contacts on the external surface thereof and to conduct electricity to a pair or rear charging contacts located on the battery assembly. The cover member  27  also has a vent hole  36  formed therein for venting gas from an internal check valve member  38  positioned in cover member  27 . The valve member  38  is formed of a flexible material and is configured to have a central boss which is compressively held in a hole  37  formed through the interior surface of the cover member  27 . The valve member has a widened concave skirt about one end of the boss which is pressed flush against the top end of a vent cavity formed in the cover member. As best seen in FIG. 6, several slits  41  are formed adjacent to the hold  37  to provide a pathway for gas within the flashlight body to flow through the cover member  27  toward the skirt of the valve member. The concave skirt is flexible to allow gas to exit the flashlight body, but provides a seal against gas entering the flashlight body. 
     The cover member further has an outer rim  44  and sealing surface  44  which extends into the flashlight body when the cover is in the closed position. A groove is formed around the periphery of the sealing surface, and an O-ring  40  is situated in the groove to provide a fluid tight seal between the cover member and the rear opening of the body of the flashlight. As can be seen in FIG. 2, when the flashlight is closed, the clip  30  swings upwardly from the cover member  27  to latch with a projection  50  formed at the lower end of the flashlight body. The O-ring is compressed to form a fluid-tight seal between the cover member  27  and the flashlight body when the clip  30  is engaged onto the latching projection  50 . 
     The flashlight charger  12  is shown separated from the flashlight in FIG.  7 . The flashlight charger  12  comprises a body for housing charging circuitry, such as a transformer and a rectifier for converting AC to DC current in applications where such conversion is desired. The upper wall portion  60  of the charger  12  extends upwardly and inwardly to mate with the flared contour of the lower end of the flashlight, and forms a receptacle  62  for laterally receiving the lower end of the flashlight. The bottom surface of the receptacle  62  has a pair of spring-loaded contacts, such as contact  64  shown in FIG. 7, which extend upwardly through the bottom surface of the receptacle to connect with the conductors extending through the bottom cover member of the flashlight. The bottom surface of the receptacle  62  has a lateral extent larger than the bottom surface of the flashlight, and has a spring-loaded latch member  66  extending upwardly at the flashlight-receiving side of the receptacle  62 . As the flashlight is laterally inserted into the receptacle  62 , the latch member  66  is depressed by the bottom of the flashlight as it slides over the latch member  66  into the receptacle. When the flashlight is fully inserted into the receptacle, the latch member  66  is again pushed upwardly by a spring mounting within the charger  12  in order to secure the flashlight into the receptacle  62 , as can be seen in FIG.  2 . In order to remove the flashlight from the receptacle, the latch member  66  is depressed by the user to permit the bottom of the flashlight to slide over the latch member and out of the receptacle. 
     Referring again to FIG. 7, the auxiliary battery charger  14  is shown separated from the flashlight charger  12 . The auxiliary battery charger  14  has a mating surface  70  which is configured to conform with a rear surface of the flashlight charger  12 . To attach the auxiliary battery charger  14  to the flashlight charger  12 , a pair of openings  72  are formed in the rear surface of the flashlight charger  12  to receive a pair of engaging members  74  connected to the mating surface  70  of the auxiliary battery charger  14 . Prior to mechanical engagement of the auxiliary battery charger  14  and the flashlight charger  12 , charging circuitry within the auxiliary battery charger  14  is connected in parallel with the charging circuitry of the flashlight charger  12  by a pair of wires (not shown) which pass from the auxiliary battery charger  14  into an existing connector via  76  in the rear of the flashlight charger. The projections  74  are then inserted into the holes  72 , and the mating surface of the auxiliary charger may be further secured to the flashlight charger by adhesive. An electrical connector  78  is seated within the rear end of the auxiliary battery charger  14  to provide electrical connection to an external source of electricity, such as AC line current or a vehicular DC electrical system. It will be appreciated that the flashlight charger and the auxiliary battery charger may be connected together as shown or, in alternative embodiments, may be manufactured as an integrated unit. 
     The auxiliary battery charger  14  is shown in cross section in FIG. 9. A latch member  80  is mounted in one side of the charger  14  by a pivot  83 . A spring  84  is positioned between an interior surface of the charger  14  and the upper end  81  of the latch member  80 . The upper end  81  of the latch member  80  extends to the exterior of the charger  14 . The lower end of the latch member  81  has an engaging projection  82  formed thereon and extending into the receptacle for engagement with compatible notch formed in the battery assembly and discussed below. Pressing upon the upper end  81  of the latch member  80  compresses the spring and moves the engaging projection  82  out of the receptacle in order to permit removal of the battery assembly from the receptacle. 
     The battery assembly  82  is shown in FIG. 10 positioned within the flashlight  10 . The battery assembly comprises a case  84  having an upper portion  84  and a lower portion  86  which are joined together to house several rechargeable cells  88   a-d . A notch  85  is formed in the lower portion  86  of the case  84  for engagement with the latching member of the auxiliary battery charger when the battery assembly is inserted into the auxiliary battery charger. The rechargeable cells  88   a-d  are preferably cylindrical cells, which are arranged in respective series pairs  88   a-b  and  88   c-d . The series pairs are physically positioned adjacent to each other within the case  84  in parallel, and are each wrapped respective insulating paperboard jackets  90   a  and  90   b  which are secured to each other by an adhesive  92 . A conductor strip  94  is connected to the respective lower ends of the series pairs  88   a-b  and  88   c-d  to connect all of the cells together in electrical series such that respective negative and positive contacts  96   a  and  96   b  are positioned at the upper end of the battery assembly  82 . Openings  98   a  and  98   b  are formed in the upper end of the case  82  to allow electrical contact between the contacts  96   a  and  96   b  and respective spring conductors  100   a  and  100   b , which are connected to the head assembly of the flashlight and which conduct electrical current to the bulb  20 . 
     The lower portion  86  of the case has a circuit board  102  positioned therein. A pair of springs  104   a  and  104   b  are electrically connected to the circuit board  102  and extend outward from the bottom of the battery assembly  82  for engagement with the conductors positioned in the cover member of the flashlight. It will be appreciated that, in the assembled condition, the battery assembly  82  is thus insulated from physical shock due to its positioning between springs  100   a-b  of the flashlight at the upper end of the battery assembly, and springs  104   a-b  of the battery assembly at the lower end thereof. A pair of conductors  105   a  and  105   b  are electrically connected with the springs  100   a  and  100   b  via the circuit board  102 . The conductors  105   a  and  105   b  extend within the case  82  to respective connection points at the negative and positive contacts  96   a  and  96   b  of the series-connected cells  88   a-d  so that electrical current is conducted to the cells when the flashlight  10  is positioned in the flashlight charger  12 . When the battery assembly is removed from the flashlight and inserted into the auxiliary battery charger, the springs  100   a  and  100   b  connect to a pair of contacts provided in the receptacle of the auxiliary battery charger in order to conduct electrical current from the auxiliary battery charger to the rechargeable cells.