Patent Publication Number: US-2005117343-A1

Title: Night light

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to night lights. More particularly, it relates to a night light that includes a battery back up and also doubles at a room light in the event of a power failure.  
      2. Description of the Prior Art  
      Night lights are generally used to provide a small amount of light in an area around an outlet and have many applications. Some exemplary applications are: 1) use in a hallway to provide some light for late night users of the hallway without requiring the use of a larger hallway light; 2) use in a child&#39;s bedroom to ease children&#39;s fear of the dark.  
      Night lights are plugged into a power outlet in the vicinity of where light is desired. However, in times of blackouts or power failures, these night lights fail. Thus, there is a need for a night light that has a power failure backup system, in addition to providing more light at times of power failure than when used as a night light.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      In accordance with one embodiment, the night light includes a light source, a power supply and a reflector. During a “night” mode of operation, the reflector is positioned so as to receive and reflect light from the light source downward from the night light housing. In a second “power failure” mode of operation, a controller connects an internal battery to the light source and illuminates the same. The reflector is moved to a second operating position so as to receive and reflect the light from the lights source upward into the surrounding area.  
      In other embodiments, a light sensor is incorporated into the housing and a manual on/off switch is provided.  
      According to yet other embodiments, a first “night” light source and a second “power failure” light source is provided. During operation, when “night” mode is being used the first light source is illuminated and the second light source is deactivated. The position of the reflector determines the amount and direction of the light reflection from the first and/or second light sources. When a power failure is detected, the controller switches to battery power and illuminates the second “power failure” light. In this mode, the reflector is positioned to reflect light upward and into the area around and above the night light.  
      Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely for purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended claims. It should be further understood that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale and that, unless otherwise indicated, they are merely intended to conceptually illustrate the structures and procedures described herein.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      In the drawings wherein like reference numerals denote similar components throughout the views:  
       FIG. 1  is a side view of the night light according to a first embodiment of the invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram of the night light as depicted in  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 3  is a side view of the night light according to a second embodiment of the invention;  
       FIG. 4  is a side view of the night light according to the second embodiment of the invention;  
       FIG. 5  is a block diagram of the night light according to the second embodiment of the invention;  
       FIG. 6  is a side view of the night light according to a third embodiment of the invention;  
       FIG. 7  is a side view of the night light according to the third embodiment of the invention;  
       FIG. 8  is a block diagram of the night light according to the third embodiment of the invention;  
       FIG. 9  is a side view of the night light according to a fourth embodiment of the invention; and  
       FIG. 10  is a block diagram of the night light according to the fourth embodiment of the invention.  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       FIGS. 1 and 2  show the night light  10  according to a first embodiment of the invention. As shown, the night light  10  includes a housing  12 , a plug  14 , a light source  16  and a reflective shield  18  having a reflective surface  20 . During operation, light source  16  directs light upward toward reflector  18  which received and reflects and disperses the received light downward into the area surrounding the night light.  
      A manual power switch  32  is provided to enable the manual turning on and off of the night light as desired. Power switch  32  may also function as an on/off switch when the night light is operating with the battery power supply  28 . Night light  10  may also include a light sensor  24  for detecting the lack of light (darkness) and providing an automatic mode where night light  10  turns on when a predetermined level of darkness (i.e., lack of light) is detected by the light sensor  24 . Light sensor  24  can be any suitable known photodetector.  
      An additional switch  34  disposed on the housing  12  is a manual power override and allows the user to manually disconnect the AC power supply and connect the battery back up  28  (discussed below). The manual override switch  34  can be used to turn the night light into a battery operated device for whatever application the user desires. The manual override switch  34  may be included of each of the embodiments disclosed herein.  
       FIG. 2  shows the internal workings of the night light  10  according to the invention. As shown, a controller  26  is connected to the switch  32 , the plug  14 , the light source  16  and a battery  28 . In addition, when a light sensor  24  is implemented, it too is connected to controller  26 . During operation, controller  26  provides power to light source  16  when AC power is provided through plug  14 .  
      Night light  10  may also include as secondary light source  17  that is directed upward with respect to housing  12 . The secondary light source  17  is connected to an internal battery  28  and is activated in the event a power failure occurs or the user actuates the manual override switch  34 . When the power provided to night light  10  via plug  14  fails, controller  26  senses this condition and activates secondary light source  17  to provide light to the surrounding area of night light  10 .  
       FIGS. 3-5  show a second embodiment of the night light  10  according to the invention. Night light  10  generally includes a housing  12  of any suitable shape, a power plug  14  and a light source  16 . Housing  12  includes a reflector  18  that is pivotally mounted  22  to the housing. Reflector  18  is preferably opaque and does not allow light transmission there through. The inside side  20  of reflector  18  includes any suitable known reflective material adapted to receive and reflect light generated from light source  16 .  
      The light source  16  and  40  ( FIGS. 6-8 ) can be any suitable known light source, such as, for example, incandescent, light emitting diode (LED), surface mount diode (SMD), etc. Those of ordinary skill will recognize that the principles and concepts disclosed by the invention can be implemented using various different light sources.  
      Night light  10  may also include a light sensor  24 , an internal controller  26  and a battery power supply  28 . Light sensor  24  detects the presence of light and can automatically turn on light source  16  through controller  26 . A manual switch  32  can override the light sensor  24  and enables the manual switching on and off of the night light.  
      In accordance with one embodiment, a battery  28  is provided and connected to controller  28  and light source  16 . Battery  28  can be any suitable known battery, including rechargeable type batteries. According to one mode of operation, when the power provided to night light  10  via plug  14  fails, controller  26  switches to battery  28  and light source  16  is illuminated by the battery. In this “power failure” mode, reflector  18  is moved to a second operable position (shown in  FIG. 4 ) where the light emanating from light source  16  is reflected upward into the area surrounding the night light  10 .  
      Reflector  18  is pivotally mounted  22  to housing  12  and in one mode can me a manually movable reflector. That is, the user is required to move reflector  18  to accommodate the various operating modes. In another embodiment, reflector  18  is mechanically connected to the housing and controller  26  moves reflector  18  into the “night” or “power failure” operating positions automatically. The mechanics of moving reflector  18  can be implemented using small gears and/or motors that are electronically connected to and controlled by controller  26 . Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that other forms of mechanical implementation may be used without departing from the spirit of the invention.  
       FIG. 3  shows reflector  18  in a first operable position for “night” time applications. As shown, reflector  18  is pivoted upward such that the light emanating from light source  16  is substantially reflected downward with respect to the housing  12 . In this manner, the night light  10  functions to provide a reduced amount of light to the area surrounding the outlet within which night light  10  is plugged into. Those of ordinary skill will recognize that the size and shape of reflector  18  may be varied without departing from the spirit of the present invention.  
       FIG. 4  shows night light  10  in a second operable position for power failure situations. In this “power failure” mode, reflector  18  is pivoted downward with respect to the housing  12  such that light emanating from light source  16  is reflected upward into the area surrounding the night light  10 . In another embodiment, the surface  30  of housing  
       FIG. 5  shows a representative block diagram of the connections of light sensor  24 , controller  26 , battery  28 , light source  16  and power switch  32 . Other connections or variations thereof may also be implemented to provide the end result of the invention.  
       FIGS. 6-8  show the night light  10  according to a second embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, night light  10  includes a first “night” light source  16  and a second “power failure” light source  40 . During normal “night” light application mode, lights source  16  is illuminated and reflector  18  is positioned to reflect the light received downward, similar to the “night” mode described with respect to the embodiment of  FIG. 1 .  
      In “power failure” mode, controller  26  activates battery supply  28  and second light source  40  is illuminated, while light source  16  has been deactivated as a result of the power failure. In this mode, reflector  18  is moved to the position shown in  FIG. 5  so as to receive and reflect light emanating from light source  40 .  
      As described above, the position of reflector  18  may be manually or automatically controlled in order to provide the various operating modes of the night light  10  according to the invention. As shown in  FIG. 7 , housing  30  can further include a reflective surface to facilitate the reflection of light upward in the “power failure” mode of operation.  
       FIGS. 9 and 10  show another embodiment of night light  90  according to the invention. In this embodiment, light source  16  is a low voltage type light source, such as, for example a light emitting diode (LED) or surface mount diode (SMD) or any other known low voltage light source. The battery  28  is provided and connected to controller  26  to provide power to the light source  16  when AC power fails at the AC power connector  14 . Since the light source  16  is designed to be a low voltage light source, battery  28  can provide power to the same for a significantly longer time than other incandescent or higher voltage light sources.  
      As described with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, a light sensor  24  may be included and connected to the controller  26  in order to detect the lack of light and illuminate the light source when automatic activation is chosen by the user. In addition, the controller  26  includes a power sensor or other power detection means for determining the presence of AC power from the AC power connector  14 .  
      While there have been shown, described and pointed out fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood that various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form and details of the methods described and devices illustrated, and in their operation, may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, it is expressly intended that all combinations of those elements and/or method steps which perform substantially the same function in substantially the same way to achieve the same results are within the scope of the invention. Moreover, it should be recognized that structures and/or elements and/or method steps shown and/or described in connection with any disclosed form or embodiment of the invention may be incorporated in any other disclosed, described or suggested form or embodiment as a general matter of design choice. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.