Abstract:
The invention relates to a lighting device including a power supply housing, a lighting head including at least one light source, and a connection arm having an elongated shape. The arm includes a first end connected to the housing and a second end connected to the head in order to mechanically connect the housing and the head, the latter being mobile relative to the housing between a first position in which the head is in the vicinity of and/or connected to the power supply housing, and at least a second position in which the head is remote and/or disconnected from the housing. The length of the arm is shorter than or equal to the largest dimension of the power supply housing.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. The Present Invention 
     The present invention relates to a portable lighting device comprising a power supply housing; a lighting head having at least one light source; a linking arm having an elongate shape; the arm having a first end which is connected to the supply housing and a second end which is connected to the lighting head in order mechanically to link the supply housing and the lighting head, the lighting head being movable relative to the supply housing between a first position, in which the lighting head is close to and/or integral with the supply housing, and at least one second position, in which the lighting head is remote from and/or not integral with the supply housing. 
     2. State of the Prior Art 
     It is known from patent EP-B1-0 528 501 to use a flashlight comprising a power supply housing, an elongate extension, of which one end is connected to the housing and the other carries a lighting head, and energy transfer means carried by the extension and designed to connect the power supply housing to the lighting head. The extension can easily be flexed by hand and is able to retain a given shape indefinitely, so that the power supply housing and the lighting head can each be positioned and oriented independently of one another. The housing comprises a peripheral groove on which the extension is wound in order to obtain compact storage. A holding member integral with the housing allows the lighting head to be held in the immediate vicinity of and integral with the supply housing. 
     However, that flashlight is not suitable for use in confined spaces such as, for example, a motor vehicle engine or a substructure of such a motor vehicle. A flashlight according to the prior art does not have either compactness or stability for effective use in the most difficult places to access. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The technical problem to be solved is that of improving the versatility of the portable lighting device in order to allow it to be used in various configurations while ensuring that the lighting device is compact and stable. 
     To that end, the invention relates to a portable lighting device of the above-mentioned type, characterised in that the length of the arm is less than or equal to the largest dimension of the supply housing. 
     According to other features:
         the first end of the arm is articulated relative to the supply housing according to a first axis of rotation (Y-Y);   the second end of the arm is articulated relative to the lighting head according to a second axis of rotation (Z′-Z′);   the second axis of rotation (Z′-Z′) is substantially perpendicular to the first axis of rotation (Y-Y);   at least one of the ends of the arm is articulated solely for rotation about the respective axis of rotation (Y-Y, Z′-Z′);   the arm is rigid;   the arm is flexible, in particular can be manipulated by hand and is able to retain a given shape indefinitely;   the housing comprises a recess suitable for accommodating at least part of the lighting head when the lighting head is in the first position;   the housing further comprises a groove which extends according to a longitudinal axis (Z-Z) centered in the median plane (IV-IV) of the housing and which is suitable for accommodating at least part of the arm when the lighting head is arranged in said first position relative to the supply housing;   the housing ( 12 ) has a generally parallelepipedal shape suitable for defining a stable base which is to be placed on an outside surface.       

     According to another aspect, the object of the invention is to improve the mounting of the lighting head. That problem is solved in that, in a portable lighting device of the type mentioned above, the lighting head comprises a protective cover, a body and an optical element, the latter being mounted at a distance from the light source and in abutment on support means integral with the body under the force of resilient means integral with the cover. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention and its advantages will be better understood upon reading the description which follows, which is given solely by way of example and with reference to the accompanying figures, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a front face of the portable lighting device according to the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a rear face of the portable lighting device according to the invention; 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of the portable lighting device according to the invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a cutaway view according to a median plane IV-IV of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 5  is an enlarged view of detail V of  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a rear view, partially cut away, of the portable lighting device according to the invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a front view of the portable lighting device according to the invention mounted on a charging base; 
         FIG. 8  is a side view of the portable lighting device according to the invention mounted on the charging base; 
         FIG. 9  is a cutaway view according to line IX-IX of  FIG. 7 ; 
         FIG. 10  is a view in transverse section according to line X-X of  FIG. 6 ; 
         FIG. 11  is a view in transverse section according to line XI-XI of  FIG. 6 ; 
         FIG. 12  is a view, in diagrammatic form, of the use of a portable lighting device according to the invention; and 
         FIG. 13  is a view, in diagrammatic form, of a variant of the use of a portable lighting device according to the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       FIGS. 1 and 2  show a portable lighting device  10  comprising a power supply housing  12  of generally parallelepipedal shape. A front shell  13  and a rear shell  14  delimit the supply housing  12 . 
     The portable lighting device also comprises a lighting head  16  which is rotatably mounted at one end of an arm  18  ( FIG. 2 ). The latter is itself mounted to be rotatable relative to the supply housing  12  and links the supply housing  12  to the lighting head  16 . 
     A holding member  20  retains the lighting head  16  in a recess  22  which has a shape substantially complementary to that of the lighting head and is provided in the supply housing  12 . 
     The arm  18  has a first end  24  which is connected to the supply housing by a bent connecting piece  26 , and a second end  27  which is connected to the lighting head by a straight connecting piece  28 . The linking arm  18  is made of a flexible material which can be manipulated by hand and is able to retain a given shape indefinitely. By way of variation, it is made of a rigid material. The arm  18  is hollow so that electrical conductors (not shown) for transferring energy from the power supply housing  12  to a light source  30  ( FIG. 3 ) arranged in the lighting head  16  are able to pass through on the inside. 
     A button  32  ( FIG. 2 ) is provided on the rear shell  14  in order to illuminate and extinguish the device  10 . 
     As is shown in  FIG. 3 , the front and rear shells  13  and  14  are hollow and, once fitted together, define an inside space envelope which forms the supply housing  12 . The inside space envelope contains at least one cell or battery  34 , in particular a battery of the rechargeable type, and an electric circuit board  36  on which there is mounted at least one switch  38  with which the device  10  can be turned on and off. The inside space envelope is also adapted to receive a connector  40  allowing the rechargeable battery  34  to be recharged. 
     Accordingly, the supply housing  12  equipped with its electronics and its battery has, in a compact space, a weight that is very much greater than that of the other components of the lighting device  10 . 
     In addition to the light source  30  in the form of at least one high-power light-emitting diode, the lighting head  16  has a body  42  on which the or each diode is mounted. The body  42  is intended to dissipate, by conduction, the heat emitted by the diode. A collimating lens  44  is arranged in front of the light-emitting diode  30  in the light propagation direction. A cover  46 , made of elastomeric material, for protecting the lighting head  16  is fixed to the body  42  and holds the lens  44  in place, as will be described hereinbelow. 
     The lighting head  16  is movable relative to the supply housing  12  between:
         a first position, in which the lighting head is in the immediate vicinity of or integral with the supply housing  12 , as is shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  4  by solid lines, and   at least one second position, in which the lighting head  16  is remote from or not integral with the supply housing  12 , as is shown by dot-and-dash lines in  FIG. 4 .       

     To that end, the arm  18  is pivotably articulated relative to the supply housing  12  in the region of the bent connecting piece  26  according to a first axis of rotation Y-Y ( FIG. 3 ). 
     Also to that end, the lighting head  16  is pivotably articulated relative to the arm  18  in the region of the straight connecting piece  28  according to a second axis of rotation Z′-Z′, which is substantially perpendicular to the first axis of rotation Y-Y when the arm is substantially straight. 
     The angle of rotation about the first axis of rotation Y-Y and the angle of rotation about the second axis of rotation Z′-Z′ are substantially greater than or equal to 270°. 
     The rear shell  14  has a longitudinal groove  50  which is arranged substantially in the median plane IV-IV ( FIG. 2 ) of the housing  12  and extends according to a longitudinal axis Z-Z ( FIGS. 2 and 3 ), which axis is substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation Y-Y of the bent connecting piece  26 . The groove  50  is suitable for receiving at least part of the arm  18  and the connecting pieces  26  and  28  when the working head  16  is in the first position relative to the supply housing  12 . Accordingly, at least part of the arm  18  is accommodated in the groove  50 . 
     The length of the arm  18  is less than or equal to the largest dimension of the supply housing  12 . Such a dimension of the arm  18 , combined with the degree of freedom of the lighting head  16  relative to the arm  18 , and of the arm  18  relative to the supply housing  12 , allows the portable lighting device according to the invention to have improved characteristics of compactness and use. 
     The size of the arm  18  means that the position of the center of gravity of the device can be kept close to that of the housing, whatever the position of the lighting head  16 , and the stability of the lighting device  10  can thus be improved. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , the heat-dissipating body  42  of the lighting head  16  is made of a lightweight, heat-conducting alloy, for example aluminium alloy. It has a bore  52  of circular transverse cross-section in its rear and bottom portion, in which the straight connecting piece  28  is mounted by a form fit. 
     A fixing element  54 , such as a screw integral with the body  42 , engages in a circular groove  56  provided on the outer periphery of the straight connecting piece  28 . 
     Accordingly, while ensuring the degree of freedom of rotation of the lighting head  16  relative to the arm  18  about the axis Z′-Z′, the fixing element  54  stops any axial movement of the lighting head  16  relative to the arm  18  according to the axis Z′-Z′. 
     A braking element  58 , such as an O-ring, mounted in a circular groove  60  provided on the outer periphery of the straight connecting piece  28  allows the rotary movement of the lighting head  16  relative to the arm  18  to be braked. 
     The high-power light-emitting diode  30 , which is of hemispherical shape, is fixed by a suitable means, such as adhesive bonding, to a suitable support  62  of peripheral form integral with the heat-dissipating body  42 . 
     The collimating lens  44 , which is of circular shape, has a hemispherical recess  45  which receives the diode  30  with play in all directions. The lens additionally abuts columns  63  ( FIG. 3 ) integral with the body  42 . Each column has a shoulder  63 A for centering of the lens. Resilient protuberances  64  are integral with the elastomeric cover  46 . They project in the direction towards the lens  44  from a protective plate  66  made of transparent or translucent plastics material, over which the protective cover  46  is moulded. The shape and dimensions of the protuberances  64  are such that they hold the lens  44  in its position resting on the columns  63  owing to slight compression of the elastomeric material. Fitting of the assembly constituted by the cover  46  and the plate  66  to the body  42  is effected by resilient interlocking. To that end, a circular rib  68  integral with the plate  66  engages with a complementary groove  69  integral with the body  42 . 
     When the lighting head  16  is mounted, the resilient protuberances  64  are compressed slightly in order to take up the functional play and enable the lens  44  to be held in a stable position in the head  16  without additional fixing. Mounting is thus simple. Impacts transmitted from the cover  46  to the light source are attenuated by the presence of the elastomeric protuberances and by the play between the diode  30  and the recess  45  in the lens. 
     In the device according to the invention, the materials used to produce the lighting head  16 , the arm  18  and the connecting pieces  26  and  28  are such that the weight of the assembly is very much lower than that of the supply housing  12  equipped with its electronics and its battery. 
     Accordingly, with the housing  12  serving as a base to be placed on a support surface, the lighting device  10  is kept stable while permitting orientation of the lighting head  16  according to at least two degrees of freedom. 
     As is shown in  FIG. 4 , in which the intermediate portion of the arm  18  has been cut away for the purpose of clarity of the drawings, the rear shell  14  has, at the bottom of a longitudinal groove  50 , two receivers  70  which are axially remote from one another and are equipped with a through-bore  71 . 
     The shell  13  has, on the inside, two projections  72  which are axially remote from one another and are each equipped with a blind bore. Once the front and rear shells  13  and  14  have been fitted together, each receiver  70  is located opposite a projection  72 . Screws  74  are provided for fixing the shells  13  and  14  to one another, the screw head resting in the receivers  70  while the threaded portion is screwed into the projection  72 . 
     Resilient lugs  74  ( FIG. 3 ) are arranged on the front shell  13  in the region of the interface with the rear shell  14  in order to complete the fixing of the shells  13  and  14  at the periphery of the housing  12  by a snap fit. 
     As is shown in  FIGS. 3 and 6 , the interior part of the front shell  13  comprises a positioning lug  76  equipped with a concave circular rib  77  defining two ends  78 . 
     When the bent connecting piece  26  is fitted onto the positioning lug  76 , the circular groove  56  of the bent connecting piece  26  engages with the rib  77  of the lug  76  in order to stop any axial movement of the bent connecting piece  26  according to the axis Y-Y while permitting a degree of freedom about that axis of rotation Y-Y. 
     As above for the straight connecting piece  28 , the bent connecting piece  26  has a second groove  60  in which there is arranged an O-ring  58 , the purpose of which is to brake the rotary movement of the arm  18  by friction against an inside surface of the housing  12 . 
     As is shown in  FIGS. 10 and 11 , the housing  12  has a transverse cross-section of oblong shape equipped with a central narrow portion comprising the groove  50 . The arm  18 , once it has been accommodated at least partially in the groove  50 , is contained in the outside space envelope of the housing  12 . The shape of the transverse cross-section accordingly improves both the compactness and the stability of the device  10 . 
     The shells  13  and  14  are preferably made of coated plastics material. Accordingly, each shell comprises a rigid inside part  80  over which there is moulded, externally, a flexible part  82  made of elastomer. 
     The on/off button  32  is advantageously derived from the overmoulded part  82  of flexible elastomeric material in order to improve the tightness of the portable lighting device. In the region of the button  32  ( FIG. 10 ), the rigid part of the rear shell has an opening  84  in which there engages, internally, a protuberance  86  of the overmoulded part  82  which is to actuate the switch  38  arranged on an electric circuit board  36 . The travel of the button  32  is defined by the deformation of the membrane  88  connecting the periphery of the button  32  to the remainder of the elastomeric part  82  of the rear shell  14 . 
     The rear shell  14  has at its base an internal lateral passage  90 . This allows the bent connecting piece  26  to be inserted into an opening  92  provided opposite the passage  90 . 
     The portion of the bent connecting piece  26  that extends according to the first axis of rotation Y-Y is accordingly disposed in the space envelope of the housing  12 . That portion of the bent connecting piece  26  does not have an element projecting from the housing  12 , which improves the compactness of the portable lighting device  10 . 
     The front and rear shells  13  and  14  comprise passages  94  and  96 , respectively, which open at the respective front and rear faces of the housing  12  and as a continuation of one another when the shells are fitted together. In that manner, a recess  97  is freed for the passage of the arm  18  and of the bent connecting piece  26  on rotation thereof about the first axis of rotation Y-Y. 
       FIGS. 7 and 8  show, in an advantageous manner, the means by which the portable lighting device  10  according to the invention is recharged. The housing  12  has a lower face  98  from which there is accessible, from outside the housing  12 , the electrical connection socket  40  for recharging the battery. 
     A base  100  comprises a recess  102  delimited by a bottom  104  suitable for receiving the lower portion  98  of the housing  12 . 
     A plug  106  of a connector plug  108  passes through an opening  110  provided in the bottom  104  of the base  100 . The plug  106  is complementary to the socket  40  and is of the jack type. The connector  108  is advantageously removably mounted on the base  100 . 
     To that end, a lug  112  derived from the base has a generally V-shaped opening  114  which receives a lateral prolongation  116  integral with the connector  108 . Accordingly, recharging of the rechargeable battery  34  can be carried out in two different ways. A first method consists in using, as seen hereinbefore, the base  100  equipped with the connector  108  provided with the plug  106 . The second method consists in plugging the plug  106  of the connector  108  directly into the socket  40  without using the base  100 . 
       FIGS. 7 to 13  show how the portable lighting device  10  according to the invention is fixed and/or hung. 
     The housing  12  is equipped with a C-shaped holding member  20  which is integral with the housing  12  and is to hold the lighting head  16  in a fixed position in the immediate vicinity of the housing  12 . The holding member  20  is mounted on the housing  12 . It is connected thereto by one end and has at its other end a gripping member  120 , such as a non-slip pad made of elastomeric material, the gripping member being intended to fixedly engage the supply housing  12  relative to an external support  122  ( FIG. 12 ) when the lighting head  16  is in the second position remote from or not integral with the supply housing  12 . 
     Advantageously, the holding member  20  surrounds the outer periphery  124  of the lighting head  16  at least partially ( FIG. 7 ) and protects it from impacts when the head  16  is in the first position close to or integral with the supply housing  12 . 
     The holding member  20  comprises an element  126  which is movable relative to the housing  12 . That element is a hook of curved shape and has one end  128  which is pivotably articulated relative to the supply housing  12  and a free end on which the pad  120  is arranged. 
       FIG. 9  shows the transverse cross-section of the hook  126  in the region of the pivot. The hook  126  is mounted in a cap formed by wings  132  and  134  of the shells  13  and  14 , respectively, pivotably mounted about a pin  130 , the ends of which are embedded in the wings. 
     A biasing means  136 , in the form of a hairpin spring, biases the hook  126  and tends to bring the free end  120  of the hook  126  and the supply housing  12  together. The helical portion  137  of the hairpin spring  136  is wound coaxially on the pin  130  and inside the C shape of the hook  126 . The free ends  138  and  140  ( FIG. 7 ) of the hairpin spring  136  rest, respectively, on an inner surface  141  of the hook  126  and on a bottom surface  142  of the cap constituted by the wings  132  and  134 . 
     The pivoting end  128  of the hook  126  is extended beyond the pin  130  by an operating trigger  150  integral with the hook  126 . This arrangement facilitates activation of the movement of the hook  126  by application of a force to the trigger  150  according to arrow F shown in  FIG. 7  and against the spring  136 . Pressure on the trigger  150  tends to introduce the trigger  150  towards the inside of the housing  12  and moves the free end  120  of the hook  126  away from the supply housing  12  so that the hook  126  no longer surrounds the lighting head  16 . The lighting head  16  can thus easily be disengaged from the recess  22  in the housing  12  by rotation of the arm  18  about the axis Y-Y. 
     Because the hook  126  has a curved shape, the concavity of which faces the supply housing, it is possible, by operating the trigger  150 , to position a flat external support  122  ( FIG. 12 ) between the hook  126  and the housing  12  and thus hold the housing  12  in a fixed position on the flat support  122  by squeezing, owing to the presence of the spring  136 . 
     It is also possible to use the hook  126  as a hanging element in the conventional manner. To that end, the trigger  150  is operated against the spring  136 , and the hook  126  is positioned around an external rod  123  ( FIG. 13 ) of small transverse cross-section. The lighting head  16  is then not necessarily remote from the housing  12 , it being possible for the rod to be wedged between the lighting head  16  and the hook  126 . 
     In the description just given, the recess  22  for receiving the lighting head  16  surrounds and protects part of the head from any impacts. However, the recess  22  is not essential for carrying out the invention. 
     By virtue of the invention, the portable lighting device is versatile in use and is compact. The ratios of weight and dimensions between the various components of the device are such that its stability is improved whatever the use configuration. Moreover, the lighting device according to the invention can be hung in various ways.