Abstract:
A portable flashlight or lantern has a main body for housing a primary source of electrical power, such as batteries and a light bulb operationally connected to the batteries. A secondary housing is detachably secured on the main body for holding a spare set of batteries without electrically connecting the spare batteries to the light bulb. When the primary batteries are exhausted, the user disengages a coupler that holds the secondary housing and the main body together, removes the spare batteries and substitutes them for the old batteries.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to hand-held tools and, more particularly, to a portable illumination device such as a lantern, flashlight and the like. 
     Portable illumination devices are widely used by people in a variety of industries; in the homes, while camping and for numerous other activities. Flashlights in particular are extensively used as convenient small-sized devices that can be secured on a belt of a worker or stored in a toolbox, back pack, etc. The small size of portable lanterns and flashlights makes them ideal for use in remote places where municipal electrical power is not available, or where an electrical cable is impractical. Flashlights and lanterns are manufactured in a variety of sizes; they may have plastic or metal housings; different power light bulbs and lenses. 
     Most of the portable illumination devices operate on rechargeable or disposable batteries that are positioned in the housing to provide a power source for a single light bulb mounted behind a lens. The batteries have a relatively short life; they need to be regularly changed if the flashlight is used on a regular basis. Conventional flashlights may use two or more AA size batters, C size batteries, etc. When the battery life expires, the battery has to be either recharged, if it is a rechargeable battery, or has to be thrown away and new batteries installed. Oftentimes, the user finds him in a location where spare batteries are not available. Once the battery stops operating, the flashlight becomes useless. If the user did not provide for a supply of fresh batteries, he finds himself “in the dark” unable to continue with the tasks he set out to do. 
     The present invention contemplates elimination of drawbacks associated with the prior art and provision of a flashlight with a holder for spare batteries to be used with flashlights, lanterns, and other portable illumination devices. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a flashlight and similar illumination device with a holder for spare batteries. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a holder for spare batteries that can be easily secured on conventional flashlight housings. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to provide an attachment for a conventional flashlight for housing spare batteries that is easy to use and inexpensive to manufacture. 
     These and other objects of the present invention are achieved through a provision of a flashlight that has a housing for retaining a primary power source and an illumination members, such as a light bulb, electrically connected to the primary power source. A secondary housing is detachably secured on the main housing; the secondary housing retaining a secondary, substitute power source for placing in the primary housing after the primary power source has expired. The secondary housing is secured co-extensively with the primary housing, serving as an elongated handle for the primary housing. 
     The secondary housing is positioned in a telescopic engagement with a closed end of the primary housing, the end that does not carry the illumination member. A threaded coupler is engaged with the secondary housing and covers the area of connection between the secondary housing and the primary housing. 
     When the primary power source, such as batteries in the main housing, are used up, the user disengages the coupler from the secondary housing, takes out the spare batteries and places them in the primary housing. The used-up batteries may be then stored in the secondary housing when an opportunity presents itself for recharging the batteries or disposing them in an environmentally safe manner. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Reference will now be made to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by like numerals, and wherein 
     FIG. 1 is a side view of the flashlight with a holder for extra batteries in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the flashlight in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional, exploded view of the extra battery holder in accordance with the present invention; and 
     FIG. 4 is a detail perspective view of a coupler for use with the device of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Turning now to the drawings in more detail, numeral  10  designates a flashlight having a first end portion  12 , a second end portion  14 , and a switch  16  for activating the flashlight. The first end portion  12  is a hollow cylindrical portion having a lens  16  covering the open-end portion  12 . A light bulb  18  is mounted under the lens  16  for providing illumination in a desired location. 
     A switch  17  activates the electrical circuit (not shown) connecting the light bulb  18  to primary power source, or batteries (not shown) positioned in the main housing  20  of the flashlight  10 . The flashlight  10  can be of any conventional design, with a switch  17  moving up and down along the longitudinal axis of the body  20  for closing the electrical circuit and establishing the connection between the light bulb  18  and the power source, which can be batteries, located in the body  20 . 
     The lower portion  14  of the housing  20  fits into an upper portion  22  of the holder  24 . The portion  22  is provided with external threads  26  in the uppermost portion thereof. A threaded coupler  28  secures the secondary housing, or holder  24  to the main body, or housing  20 . As can be better seen in FIG. 4, the coupler  28  is provided with internal threads  30  in the lower portion thereof. 
     The coupler  28  is provided with an inwardly extending flange  32 ; the flange  32  has an opening  34  of a diameter slightly greater than an external diameter of the second portion  14  of the housing  20 . When the coupler  28  is positioned on the holder  24 , the flange  32  frictionally contacts the exterior wall of the housing body  20 . The coupler  28  covers the area of the telescopic connection of the holder  24  and the main body  20 , securely attaching the holder  24  to the main body  20 . 
     The exterior surface of the coupler  28  has with a plurality of outwardly extending cross ridges  36  to allow gripping of the coupler  28  and rotation thereof. A pair of tabs  38  and  40  are unitary connected to the coupler ring and extend outwardly to further facilitate gripping of the coupler  28  and rotation thereof when connecting the holder  24  to the flashlight body  20 . When the holder  24  and the main body  20  are connected, the holder  24  serves as an extension of the body  20 , extending the handle of the flashlight or lantern, as the case may be. The longitudinal axis of the holder  24  and the main body  20  are generally co-axial, which allows to conveniently distribute the weight of the extra batteries retained n the holder  24 . 
     As can be seen in FIG. 3, the holder  24  is a hollow housing having an inner chamber  44  extending from the top  22  to the bottom wall  46  thereof. The chamber  44  is configured to receive two or more spare batteries  48  and  50  that can be positioned end-to-end within the chamber  44 . The batteries  48  and  50 , while retained in the holder  24  are not operationally connected to the light bulb  18 . 
     A compression ring  52  is provided for engagement with the interior of the coupler  28  when the holder  24  is secured to the flashlight body  20 . The compressing ring  52  fits against the flange  32  and, being made from a flexible, resilient material, slightly compresses, allowing to tighten the coupler  28  about the body  20  and the portion  22  of the holder  24 . The ring  52  allows sealing of the interior of the holder  24  and preventing moisture from penetrating into the cavity  44 . 
     The lower portion  14  of the body  20  has no threads. Through provision of the coupler  28 , with a compression ring  52 , the user is able to secure the holder  24  on the body  20  without any modifications to the standard housing of the conventional flashlight. 
     The holder  24  forms an independent compartment not electrically connected to the main circuitry within the flashlight body  20 . The batteries  48  and  50  are kept in a weatherproof environment. No drain of power from the batteries  48  and  50  occurs while they are positioned in the cavity  44 . At the same time, the spare batteries are available for use when the main batteries within the body  20  expire. The bottom wall  46  of the holder  24  has a securing ring  56  to allow suspending of the flashlight  10  with the holder  24  attached thereto, from a nail or a belt carried by the user. 
     In operation, the user places spare batteries  48  and  50  into the cavity  44  and moves the holder  44  into a telescopic engagement with the lower portion  14  of the body  20 . The hollow portion  22  of the holder  24  has an internal diameter slightly greater than the exterior wall diameter of the portion  14  of the body  20 . The user then slides the coupler  28  from the lower portion  46  of the holder  24  upward until it reaches the area of connection between the portion  14  of the main body  20  and the portion  22  of the holder  24 . The user then rotates the coupler  28  engaging the threads  26  on the portion  24  with the threads of the coupler  28 . The compression ring  52  is slightly compressed against the flange  32 . The holder  24  is now securely connected to the body  20 . 
     When the spare batteries  48  and  50  are needed, the user reverses the rotation of the coupler  28  to disengage the coupler  28  from the threads  26  on the holder  24 . The coupler  28  slides downwardly, allowing the user to slightly pull on the holder  24  and disengage it from the telescopic connection around the portion  14  of the body  20 . The user then turns the holder  24  upside down, allowing the batteries  48  and  50  to slide out of the cavity  44  and substitutes the batteries for the batteries removed from the body  20 . The old batteries can be placed within the holder  24  to be later recharged or disposed of in an environmentally safe manner. 
     The holder  24 , the coupler  28  are made from durable lightweight, non-corrosive material, such as strong plastic, capable of withstanding impact of the holder with metal or other solid objects. The moisture-proof environment of the cavity  44  allows the batteries  48  and  50  to be retained in a moisture-free, protected environment until the batteries  48  and  50  are needed. If the holder  24  becomes cracked or damaged, it can be easily replaced with a similar holder without disposing of the more expensive flashlight body  20 . The holder  24  provides for easy modification of a conventional flashlight, ensuring longer utility of the flashlight. The holder  24  can be configured to fit other portable illumination devices, such as lanterns operated on batteries by suitably modifying the holder body and having it configured to a different shape of the main housing. 
     Many other changes and modifications can be made in the design of the present invention without departing from the spirit thereof. I therefore pray that my rights to the present invention be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.