Abstract:
A snapped together portable lamp assembly may be formed with a deformable reflector. Cutouts in the reflector form a resiliently flexible web that enables axially flexing to initiate a spring operated electrical switch. A covering lens may transmit the initiating force to turn the lamp on or off. The structure is compact, easily operated with a single touch and inexpensive to make.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The invention relates to electric lamps and particularly to portable electric lamps. More particularly the invention is concerned with portable LED lamp assemblies.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Related Art including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98  
         [0004]     It is common for vehicles to have interior dome lamps to illuminate the vehicle interior. Sometimes the amount of light or the orientation of light is inappropriate for the use desired. For example the rear area may receive an insufficient amount of light, or the item to be illuminated may need to be illuminated close up for proper viewing. It can also be desirable to have an interior lamp on while at the same time not interfering with the driver&#39;s vision. It can be equally desirable to have a lamp that is detachable for use outside the vehicle, and at the same time one that is compact, easily turned on and variably attached in the vehicle interior. Ordinary flashlights are bulky, and can be difficult for a driver to operate while driving. Ordinary flashlights depend on batteries for long operating lives, but long operating life makes them bulky and less easy to position in a vehicle. Ordinary flashlights are also not generally attachable to a vehicle interior for fixed positioning if that is desired. There is then a need for a detachable vehicle interior lamp that is easily turned on, and has a long life.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     A portable LED lamp assembly may be made from a case including a base. The case encloses a power source; at lease one LED light source; and a spring driven electric switch. The light source is mechanically supported by the case to face axially toward a field to be illuminated. The switch is supported on the base, and oriented to be operated by forced contact at a switch contact between an on position and an off position by motion in the opposed axial direction. The power source, at least one LED light source and switch are electrically coupled together as a switched circuit. The lamp includes a reflector having a first contact point anchored to the case and a second contact point abutting the switch point. The reflector is resiliently deformable intermediate the first contact point and the second contact point. The reflector further includes a formed passage sized and positioned to admit the LED light source there in. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0006]      FIG. 1  shows a front perspective view of a portable LED lamp with a lens.  
         [0007]      FIG. 2  shows a front perspective view of a back plate.  
         [0008]      FIG. 3  shows a cross sectional view of a face ring.  
         [0009]      FIG. 4  shows a front perspective view of a reflector.  
         [0010]      FIG. 5  shows a side view of a portable lamp.  
         [0011]      FIG. 6  shows an exploded view of the back plate, batteries, cover plate and screws.  
         [0012]      FIG. 7  shows an alternative back plate.  
         [0013]      FIG. 8  shows a doubled sided adhesive mounting tape. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0014]      FIG. 1  shows a front perspective view of a portable lamp  10  looking through the cover lens. The portable lamp assembly  10  may be formed from a case, batteries  14 , LED light sources  16 , a switch  18 , a reflector  20  and a cover lens  22 .  
         [0015]     The preferred case has the general form of a cylinder with a diameter greater than the axial height. The case may be conveniently formed from subsections such as a back plate  24  and a face ring  38 .  
         [0016]      FIG. 2  shows a front perspective view of a back plate  24 . The back plate  24  may be formed from stamped sheet metal, molded plastic or other material. The preferred back plate  24  is made from a non-conductive plastic with molded bosses and retainers to conveniently receive, hold and align the batteries  14 , light sources  16 , switch  18 , reflector  20 , and face ring  38 . In the preferred embodiment there are three sets of battery brackets  26  including three pairs of corresponding conductive spring clips  28  to contact the battery terminals (one set is identified). The battery brackets  26  may be molded tubular recesses formed on the back side of the back plate  24  to cradle the correspondingly tubular batteries, and enable the batteries to be easily replaced through a rear access. The battery bracket  26  may be molded with open ends or slots to enable the conductive spring clips  28  to be positioned adjacent and to contact the battery end terminals. Similarly, the three LED light sources  16  (one is identified) are held in three sets of lamp brackets  30  (one set is identified). The switch  18  is held by a of pair posts defining a centrally located switch bracket  32 . There are three peripherally located support posts  34  (one is identified) formed to couple with the periphery of the reflector  20 . The preferred post  34  includes a ball or pin top  36  that may be snapped into a hole  56  formed in the reflector  20 . The rear side of the back plate  24  (not shown) may be further formed with a variety of convenient attachment mechanisms as are know in the art, for example an exposable glue face, a Velcro face, a rocking pivot, a spring clip, a stiff loop to clip to a vehicle visor, a magnet or any other convenient structure adapted to be attached at convenient places in a vehicle. The preferred back attachment is a cover plate  100  with three holes for screwed attachment into the back plate  24 . The cover plate  100  may be exteriorly faced with a double-sided adhesive tape  104 , enabling the LED lamp to be stuck to any available surface.  
         [0017]      FIG. 3  shows a cross sectional view of a face ring  38 . The preferred face ring  38  is stamped from sheet metal or molded from plastic to have a cylindrical sidewall  40 . The preferred cylindrical sidewall  40  has a rolled shoulder  42  that leads to a front side  44  formed with a central opening  46  that is preferably circular. The central opening  46  faces along an axis  48  to a field to be illuminated. The back plate  24  and the face ring  38  may be formed with a compressible fitting  50  to be snap together as a user openable coupling, if necessary.  
         [0018]     The back plate  24  and face ring  38  assembly, define an enclosed volume and a circular opening  46  leading to the enclosed volume. Enclosed in the volume is a battery power source; for example three triple A batteries held adjacent the back plate  24  by formed battery brackets  26 , and spring clips  28 . The spring clips  28  are coupled by wires as part of the operating circuit  54 .  
         [0019]     One or more LED light sources  16  are mounted in lamp brackets  30  formed on the back plate  24 . The LED light sources  16  are mechanically supported by the back plate  24  to face axially through the circular face ring opening  46  toward the field to be illuminated. In the preferred embodiment three LED light sources  16  are located equilaterally around the axis  48 . The LED light sources  16  may be electrically coupled by wires in the circuit with the batteries  14  and switch  18  to form circuit  54 .  
         [0020]     The switch  18  is located in the switch bracket  32  preferably located centrally to face the circular face ring opening  46 . The spring tension operated electric switch  18  is mounted on one side to the back plate  24 , while an opposite side of the switch  18  provides a switch contact  52  that faces axially forward, and is within the axially projected area of the face ring opening  46 , and preferably in the center of the axially projected area of the face ring opening  46 . The switch  18  is then operated axially between an on position and an off position by forced contact at the switch contact  52  in the opposed axial direction. The battery power source  14 , the LED light sources  16  and the switch  18  are electrically coupled together as a switched circuit  54 . Additional circuitry features may be included as are known in the art of portable light sources, such as high and low illumination levels, signaling, flashing, alternative colors, and so on.  
         [0021]      FIG. 4  shows a front perspective view of a reflector  20 . The reflector  20  is formed from a resiliently flexible sheet material, and is sized and shaped to span at least the circular opening  46 . The preferred reflector  20  has a plurality of coupling points  56  formed on a periphery ring  58  of the reflector  20  that are coupled to the back plate  24 . The preferred mounting is formed between the extended support posts  34  with the respective coupling ball or pin tops  36  that then snap fit in holes forming coupling points  56  formed in the peripheral ring  58 . The reflector  20  is then removably attached to the back plate  24  along the periphery ring  58 . The reflector  20  also includes a reflector contact  60  located to abut directly or indirectly the front switch contact  52 . For example, when the switch contact  52  is centrally positioned, the reflector contact  60  may also be centrally located. The reflector  20  includes for each of the respective LED light sources  16  a corresponding through passage  62  to admit passage of at least the light emitting portion of the respective LED  16 , which may be the emitting end of a light guide or lens forming a portion of an LED module. Similarly, the reflector  20  is preferably formed with wall portions adjacent the respective through passage  62  providing a respective optically reflective surface  64  positioned to receive light emitted from the LED light source  16  positioned in the respective through passage  62  and reflect that light to the field to be illuminated. The electrical connections, heat sinking and other non-light emitting portions of the LED need not be exposed to the reflective surface  64  or in the defined passage  62 , but may remain on the back side of the reflector  20 . The reflector  20  further includes a plurality of cutouts  66  positioned radially intermediate the coupling points  56  and the reflector contact  60 . In the preferred embodiment three cutouts  66  extend along a common circle leaving only three small resiliently flexible bridges  68  connecting the peripheral ring  58  and the central region with the reflector contact  60 , the through passages  62  and the reflector surfaces  64 . This forms a resilient and flexible web whereby the reflector  20  may be axially and resiliently deformed intermediate the coupling points  56  and the reflector contact  60 . The reflector  20  may then be axially deformed repeatedly to axially press against the switch contact  52  and activate switch  18  transitions between the off position and the on position. The preferred reflector  20  further includes a lens coupling  70 ; for example a circular wall or a circular crevice formed radially interior to the cutouts  66  so the rigid lens  22  does not inhibit the axial deformation of the reflector  20 .  
         [0022]      FIG. 5  shows a side view of a portable lamp  10  with the lens  22  in place. Coupled to the reflector  20  is preferably a light transmissive lens  22 . The lens  22  spans axial projection of the least the LED light sources  16  and the respective reflective surfaces  64 . For example a circular lens  22  with a peripheral edge may be circumferentially snap mounted against a corresponding circular wall or into a circular crevice (lens coupling  70 ) formed on the reflector  20 .  
         [0023]      FIG. 6  shows an exploded view of the back plate  24 , and batteries  14  enclosed by a cover plate  100 . Positioned on the back of the cover plate  100  is double sided adhesive tape  102  that enables the LED lamp to be mounted on any convenient surface. The back plate  24  may be coupled to the cover plate  100  by three screws  104 .  
         [0024]      FIG. 7  shows an alternative back plate  106 . The alternative back plate  106  is formed with three projecting mounds  108  each of which is positioned adjacent an outer edge of the back plate, and equally angularly around the outer edge of the back plate  106 . The mounds  108  stand up from the surrounding area of the backside of the case. The preferred mounds  108  are spherical sections with circular perimeters along the surrounding flat surface of the back plate. The mounds  108  have diameters of about one third the diameter of the backplate, and have center heights from the surrounding flat surface of about 0.25 millimeters. The mounds in one instance enable the portable lamp to be rocked back and forth with respect to a flat mounting surface, thereby freeing it from its position. In a second instance the mounds  108  allow the lamp to be nestled against projections and crevices with respect in an irregular mounting surface.  
         [0025]      FIG. 8  shows an alternative double-sided adhesive tape  110 . The alternative doubled sided adhesive tape  110  is stuck to the rear surface of the back plate. The double sided adhesive tape  110  covers substantially all of the rear side of the back plate  106 , but may be notched  112  adjacent the screw holes for access to the screws. The double-sided adhesive tape  110  may also include a tab  114  for removing the double-sided adhesive tape  110 .  
         [0026]     While there have been shown and described what are at present considered to be the preferred embodiments of the invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made herein without departing from the scope of the invention defined by the appended claims.