Abstract:
The present invention is a connection light attached to an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for viewing wiring connections to the rear surface of the UPS and to nearby equipment. The connection light is operable under normal conditions as well as during a power failure. In some configurations, the connection light is extendible in three dimensions and can be pointed in any direction. The connection light may draw power directly from the UPS, or it may contain its own rechargeable battery. In some configurations, the light is detachable from the UPS.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates generally to uninterruptible power supply (UPS) units. More particularly, it relates to a connection light—a light built into a UPS to illuminate obscure regions around computer equipment, particularly during power failures.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Many computer systems are protected against electrical power failures by uninterruptible power supply (UPS) units. A UPS is a battery backup for the normal electrical system into which hardware devices, including a computer and peripheral devices (e.g., a monitor, network adapted storage, printer, or scanner) can be plugged. In addition to providing battery backup, a typical UPS will also contain electrical circuitry to suppress power surges.  
         [0003]     During a failure of house power (i.e., power from the public electrical grid accessed through building wall outlets), the UPS continues to provide power to the hardware plugged into it for a limited amount of time. The interval of backup service so provided allows users to take remedial steps to mitigate the outage.  
         [0004]     In larger systems, a UPS may allow operations to continue until an electrical generator is brought online; a more substantial UPS unit, may provide power for several hours. Henceforth throughout this document, the focus will be on small computer systems, such as ones that might be found in a home, a home office, or a small business. The present invention has applicability in some large system contexts, however, and our focus on small systems environments should not be regarded as a limitation of the invention.  
         [0005]     In the case of a small system, the UPS typically provides backup power for only a few minutes to permit orderly shutdown of the computer system. The UPS sounds an audible alarm to alert users that the level of power provided from the electric company through the wall outlet is below a specified level or is zero, and that the computer equipment is now relying for power, albeit temporarily, upon the UPS itself. If lucky enough to hear the alarm, users will typically save any open new or modified data files, dose all executing software applications, exit the operating system, and turn off the computer.  
         [0006]     In the event of an outage, it is not uncommon for a user to want to change how hardware components are connected electrically. The user might want to take advantage of the brief minutes of power available from the battery to complete a few outstanding tasks requiring some rearrangement of the wiring. For example, a printer might be plugged into a surge suppressor that is no longer functional due to the power failure. Being able to print a few sheets of paper by means of UPS power might satisfy a pressing user need. Perhaps in an emergency situation such as a severe storm, the user might want to charge a mobile phone with the limited power still available from the battery.  
         [0007]     A power outage is often followed by a number of power surges and drops as the electrical system attempts to come back online. During a thunderstorm, the power being out does not necessarily prevent lightening strikes from sending bursts of current through the electrical system. Rather than unnecessarily trust their valuable hardware and data (particularly information that has not yet been backed up) to surge suppressors (whether the UPS itself or external ones), some people prefer to disconnect selected critical devices from the power grid if given the opportunity.  
         [0008]     Despite the fact that newer models of many types of components (e.g., network router, keyboard, mouse, printer) are frequently wireless, a tangle of wires above, below, behind, and under the computer desk or table is still commonplace. During a power outage, there may be little or no light available to identify the desired wires and move connections around appropriately.  
         [0009]     An ordinary flashlight might be obtained with the idea of keeping it dose by the computer system for use, among other situations, in power outages. Despite best intentions of all concerned, however, when a flashlight is most needed, its batteries will often be dead, or it cannot be located at all.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0010]     The present invention is designed to address these problems by a novel modification to a UPS, the incorporation of a built-in “connection light,” providing illumination to the rear of the UPS, where one or more electrical components are plugged in for backup, and surrounding area. In one embodiment, the connection light has a fixed position on the rear face of the UPS unit, the illumination coming through a lens directing light downward along the back face of the UPS. In this embodiment, the connection light can be turned on or off by pressing its face inward toward the body of the UPS. In other embodiments, the connection light, while still attached to the UPS, is free to be moved and pointed in three dimensions, behaving essentially like a flashlight. In such embodiments, the light may be on a retractable cord; in others, on a bendable snake cable. Other embodiments are also possible.  
         [0011]     The connection light will continue to operate for some time during a power outage. Even during periods when electricity to the computer equipment is being supplied normally, proximity of the UPS to the computer system will allow the connection light to illuminate those dark and concealed places, such as below the desktop and behind the computer hardware, that are filled with electrical equipment wires critical to system operation. Because it is integrated into the UPS, a component characteristically heavy and cumbersome to move, the connection light cannot stray from where it is needed for its specific purpose of facilitating visibility and maintenance of the computer equipment. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]      FIG. 1  is a side view of a UPS showing an embodiment of the connection light attached to the back of the UPS in a fixed position.  
         [0013]      FIG. 2  is a side view cross section through the rear of the UPS showing an embodiment of the connection light having a self-retracting cable, in its rest configuration.  
         [0014]      FIG. 3  is a rear view of a UPS showing the self-retracting connection light from the previous figure in an extended configuration.  
         [0015]      FIG. 4  is a rear view of the UPS showing an embodiment of the invention, powered through a snake cable, in its rest configuration.  
         [0016]      FIG. 5  is a side view of the UPS corresponding to the previous figure.  
         [0017]      FIG. 6  is a rear view of the UPS showing a snake cable embodiment of the invention, in an extended configuration. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0018]      FIG. 1  is a side view of a UPS  100  unit illustrating one embodiment of a connection light  20 , in this case a connection light  120  having a fixed position within the back face of a UPS unit. The connection light  120  structure contains a lens  150  that directs light from a lamp  160  within the connection light  120  generally downward as indicated by the light ray arrows  180  shown. An aspect of the invention is how the lamp  160  is turned on and off. In the preferred embodiment, the connection light  120  is located on the rear face  110  proximately to the top of the UPS and is switched on or off simply by pressing it inward toward the body of the UPS. This arrangement allows a user to easily turn the connection light  120  on or off simply by feel, without the user having to crawl behind the UPS. In the event of a power outage, the lamp  160  can be configured to turn on automatically. The connection light  120  can be always be turned off manually, and optionally can be configured so that its lamp  160  turns off automatically after a previously specified period of time. Any of the embodiments discussed subsequently can have similar manual and automatic methods of being turned on and off.  
         [0019]      FIG. 2  is a side view of a UPS  100  unit depicting a cross-section through its rear face  110  (shown with a dashed line pattern), illustrating another embodiment of a UPS connection light  20 . The UPS unit describes a housing  240  or cavity in which the connection light  220  rests in its retracted position. A self-retracting cable  230  carries power from the UPS battery  190  (contained within the UPS and not shown) to the connection light  220 . Automatic retraction of the self-retracting cable  230  is implemented by a retractor  280  apparatus within the UPS  100 .  
         [0020]     In the preferred embodiment, the housing  240  is designed so that the lamp  160  is aimed at an angle below the horizontal in order to shine on wiring (not shown) on the floor below or behind the UPS  100 . The connection light  220  is turned off and on by simply pressing its lens  150 , generally toward the front of the UPS  100 ; that is, in the direction indicated by the arrow  270  shown in the figure.  
         [0021]      FIG. 3  is a rear view of the UPS  100  corresponding to the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2 . This figure illustrates the connection light  220  in an extended position. The flexible self-retracting cable  230  allows the lamp  160  to be pointed in any direction. Like a power cable for many household upright vacuum cleaners, pulling gently on the connection light  220  will allow the self-retracting cable  230  to extend from the rest configuration within the housing  240  (as shown in  FIG. 2 ), ultimately to the maximum length of the self-retracting cable  230 . Tugging sharply, or jerking the self-retracting cable  230 , generally perpendicular to the rear of the UPS will cause the retractor  280  located within the UPS  100  to pull the self-retracting cable  230  back into the UPS  100  until it again achieves its rest position within the housing cavity  240 .  
         [0022]     Another embodiment of the connection light  20  is shown in  FIG. 4 . In this case, the snake connection light  320  is connected electrically to the UPS  100  by a snake cable  330 , one that is bendable perpendicular to its axis but not compressible along its axis. Hence, we will refer to this embodiment as a snake connection light  320 . The snake cable  330  is sufficiently stiff that it will remain rigid unless pressure is applied to bend it. As with the self-retracting cable, power is carried through a wire enclosed within the snake cable  330  to the snake connection light  320 .  
         [0023]      FIG. 5  shows the embodiment of  FIG. 4  from the side of the UPS  100 . The snake connection light  320 , located at the end of the snake cable  330 , is attached to the rear of the UPS with an attachment device  340  such as a snap-in clamp, a magnet, or VELCRO fabric strips. However, because of the rigidity of the snake cable  330  in this embodiment, an attachment device  340  is actually optional.  FIG. 6  shows a snake connection light  320  in an extended configuration. The snake connection light  320  can be equipped with any of the numerous types of switches known in the art for turning electrical illumination on and off. Some examples are a twisting bezel, a sliding switch, and a rocker switch.  
         [0024]     An important aspect of the invention, independent of the cable and attachment configurations, is the power source for the connection light  20 . During non-outage periods, the lamp  160  within the connection light  20  will be powered indirectly from the house current, not depleting the UPS battery  190 . During an outage, there are two alternative power sources. First, the lamp  160  can draw power from the UPS battery  190 . Since the UPS battery  190  may only provide power for a very short time, however, a better approach is to include one or more rechargeable batteries  400  (not shown) within the body of the connection light  20 . These rechargeable batteries  400  will increase their charge up to a maximum level while normal power is available. During an outage, the connection light  20  could remain functional, relying for power upon its own batteries, for up to several hours of use, far longer than the time during which power is available from a small system UPS battery  190 . In fact, in an alternative embodiment utilizing rechargeable batteries, the connection light  20  can be integrated into a computer component other than a UPS  100 , such as a server computer tower, with efficacy equal to incorporating the connection light  20  into a UPS  100 .  
         [0025]     The present invention is not limited to all the above details, as modifications and variations may be made without departing from the intent or scope of the invention. Consequently, the invention should be limited only by the following claims and equivalent constructions.