Patent Publication Number: US-2005135108-A1

Title: Adaptive universal drop light hanger system

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      Not Applicable  
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
      Not Applicable  
     REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISK APPENDIX  
      Not Applicable  
     BACKGROUND  
      1. Field of Invention  
      This invention relates to drop lights and more particularly to an apparatus for securely hanging a drop light in a stable manner from an object at any desired orientation.  
      2. Description of Prior Art  
      Drop lights are conventionally used to illuminate otherwise difficult to light work areas. Commonly used to light the underside of a car or engine compartment, drop lights represent portable light for hard to reach areas. These drop lights are equipped with a fastening device, usually a rigid hook, to hang the drop light from a suitable object in proximity to the work area. Drop lights consist of an electric light, either fluorescent or a traditional filament bulb, protected by a shield and cage and mounted to a handle. Power is supplied from an extension cord and routed through the handle or housing to light the bulb.  
      Finding a suitable structure to hang a drop light from is a significant problem. Drop lights very frequently fall from the object they have been hanged from. Often, the object which the drop light has been hanged from does not adequately lend itself to support with respect to the geometry of fastening device, or hook. Furthermore, if a suitable object is available it may not be in the correct location or orientation to illuminate the desired area. Often times an individual is left with an unstable mounting and poorly lit work area with a drop light directing light into their eyes. An insecure mounting often exists when the hook does not sufficiently loop around the mounting object. Under these conditions the drop light is not hooked to its mounting object but rather balanced on it. When a drop light is insecurely mounted it subsequently falls, resulting in failure of the bulb. Special light bulbs are sold, known as rough service bulbs, which are usually required for drop lights due to the very common occurrence of dropping a drop light.  
      It is imperative that a drop light be securely fastened and oriented in such a manner as to illuminate the work area to an acceptable degree while shielding the eyes of the user. The common fastening system, a rigid hook falls short due to its inability to grasp many objects, lack of stability, and its fixed orientation. It would therefore be highly desirable for a drop light to consist of a hanging system which affords the user as much freedom of choice with respect to mounting objects as possible. Providing the user both stable, convenient and adequately located mounting opportunities.  
      In an attempt to alleviate these problems several prior art inventions have been equipped with apparatus and schemes to provide adjustable hooks. For example U.S. Pat. No. 5,713,658 to Stranagan provides a rotatable hook and mount which attaches to and holds a fluorescent drop light at a desired angle. To adjust the hook, a threaded nut is loosened allowing the user to orient the hook to one of several slots on the mount. Once the desired location is reached the nut can be retighten securing the light. However, this approach relies on the availability of an acceptable feature within range of the work area to secure the hook to and requires significant apparatus and effort to adjust orientation.  
      U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,412 awarded to Ciallella discloses a hook assembly and a magnet that are alternatively selectable. A removable and replaceable cap is provided that contains a hook. When the magnet is used to hang the drop light, the cap is removed and the magnet is employed. In order to use the hook, the removable cap must be replaced and the drop light can be hung from the hook. Although, this disclosure attempts to address the fundamental problem of finding suitable mounting surfaces it does not sufficiently do so. Magnets require flat, rigid, and magnetic surfaces to adequately support weight. These conditions rarely exist in a sufficient manner as to facilitate the support of a drop light, under the conditions in which they are used. Often, magnetic surfaces are not flat or are not within an acceptable range of the work area. Furthermore, a surface that would be in proximity to the work area may not be magnetic at all. The implementation of the hook has all the shortcomings as described above and in this application, a removable hook could be lost leaving only the magnet for support.  
      U.S. Pat. No. 4,305,120 to Lacinski provides a means for a rotatable hook positioned at the top of a drop light. This hook can be rotated by means of a complicated apparatus integrated to the support structure of the hook. U.S. Pat. No. 5,568,968 to Jaramillo provides a hook apparatus integrated with a magnet. This system is connected to the drop light by a sliding track allowing for orientation adjustment of the hook and magnet. These disclosures provide means to adjust the orientation of the hook, or magnet, by relatively complicated means involving several components and mechanisms. However they still fail to address the overriding problem of obtaining a suitable mounting object and providing a stable fastening device.  
      None of the above inventions taken either singly or in combination tend to solve the overriding problem of suitably supporting a drop light in proximity to a work area with the desired illumination effect from any available mounting object. All of the above mentioned applications fall short of the objective in one or all of the following conditions: 
          (a) An ideal mounting surface is required for the invention to function.     (b) A suitable object for securing a rigid hook is required, with fixed geometry, a rigid hook cannot afford mounting support if the mounting object is not ideal.     (c) A substantial amount of apparatus or mechanism is required in order to adjust and secure the hook for mounting.     (d) A substantial amount of effort is required, by the user in order to adjust the mounting feature.     (e) A mounting object that meets the limited parameters as to function well with a rigid hook, or magnetic type hanging system needs to be found within proximity to the work area.     (f) Materials required for construction may require the uses of relatively dense materials, such as steel, resulting in a heavy and bulky design making the task of hanging a droop light more difficult.        

     SUMMARY  
      The present invention provides an improved, convenient, simple, cheap and light weight hanger system for securing a drop light. The improvement is that a drop light can be attached to a wider range of objects at any desired orientation in a stable and secure manner. Objects, which would have previously been found unacceptable for suspension of drop light, can now easily be utilized.  
     OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES  
      Accordingly several objects and advantages of the present invention are: 
          (a) to provide a hanger which can positively grasp, and subsequently, hang a drop light from objects that would previously be found insufficient or inadequate;     (b) to enable the suspension of a drop light at any desired angle as to provide adequate light to illuminate a work area;     (c) to improve upon the stability afforded to a drop light when mounted to objects for the purposes of positioning, placing, or hanging;     (d) to achieve the object of this invention in an extremely simple, light weight, and efficient manner without the complicated apparatus and mechanics of previous art;        

      Further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing drawings and description. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
      The invention will be better understood with respect to the above objects as well as objects other than those explicitly detailed above after a study of the following description.  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the present invention integrated with a drop light;  
       FIG. 2  is an enlarged view of the embodiment of the invention shown in  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 3  is an enlarged view of an individual component of the embodiment of the invention along with an illustration of its deflected shape during the transient insertion over a mounting object;  
       FIG. 4  is an enlarged view of an individual component of the embodiment of the invention along with an illustration of its deflected shape during the transient removal from a mounting object. 
    
    
     REFERENCE NUMERALS IN DRAWINGS  
     
       
         
           
               
               
             
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
                 10 hanger system 
               
               
                   
                 12 individual flexible hangers 
               
               
                   
                 14 drop light housing 
               
               
                   
                 16 drop light 
               
               
                   
                 18 light bulb 
               
               
                   
                 20 protective cage 
               
               
                   
                 22 light shield 
               
               
                   
                 24 handle 
               
               
                   
                 26 power cord 
               
               
                   
                 28 deflected hanger during installation 
               
               
                   
                 30 deflected hanger during removal 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION  
      Referring now to  FIG. 1 , the hanger apparatus of the present invention is illustrated generally as hanger system  10 . Hanger system  10  consists of a plurality of individual flexible hangers  12 . One end of hanger system  10  is fixedly secured to housing  14  of drop light  16 . Housing  14  consists of a light shield  22  connected to a protective cage  20 . Housing  14  works in combination with shield  22  and cage  20  in order to direct light and protect light bulb  18 , respectively. Housing  14  is connected to handle  24 , which provides a grasping surface for the user. Power cord  26  is connected to handle  24  in order to provide power for bulb  18 .  
      Referring now to  FIG. 2 , hanger system  10  of the present invention, consists of a plurality of individual flexible hangers  12  each connected at one end to housing  14 . Each individual flexible hanger  12  is mounted to housing  14  of drop light  16 . Each flexible hanger  12  has a similar shape, which can be described as a hook.  
      Operation— FIGS. 3, 4   
      Referring now to  FIG. 3 , individual flexible hanger  12  is shown in two states of operation. Deflected hanger  28  illustrates the form flexible hanger  12  would take during the transient application of drop light  16  over a mounting object. As drop light  16  is grasped by handle  24  and guided towards a mounting object, hanger system  10  engages the mounting object. As force is applied to hanger system  10 , through housing  14  and handle  24 , each flexible hanger  12  deflects accommodating the mounting object&#39;s geometry, approximating the shape of deflected hanger  28 . Deflected hanger  28  is schematic in nature and its actual geometry would be dependent on the geometry the mounting object it is being forced over. Hanger system  10  is meant to function as a system of elements, each individual deflected hanger  28  complying to and accommodating any geometry. As hanger system  10  is further engages the mounting object an equilibrium is reached where each deflected hanger  28  snaps back to its preferred geometry, hanger  12 . Depending on the geometry of the mount object some hangers will snap fully back into their preferred shape, hanger  12 , and others will remain in deflected shape  28 . It is this state of hanger system  10 , achieved after passing over a mounting object, that effects the overall objective of the present invention, providing an improved mounting system for supporting drop light  16 . Once again, it should be noted that it is the plurality of individual hangers  12 , encompassing hanger system  10 , which work together and allow drop light  16  to be hanged from a very diverse range of mounting objects. In addition since hanger system  10  consists of a plurality of flexible hangers  12 , drop light  16  can be suspended from an object at any angle, as the symmetric nature of hanger system  10  has no preferential orientation.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 4 , in order to remove drop light  16  from a mounting object, flexible hangers  12  deflect into the approximate geometry of deflected hanger  30 . Operating in the converse as described in the above installation, drop light  16  is pulled away from a mounting object. While drop light  16  is being removed and hanger system  10  disengages the mounting object, each individual flexible hanger  12  deflects to the approximate shape of deflected hanger  30 . The geometry of deflected hanger  30  allows hanger system  10  to pass over the mounting object. The force required to remove drop light  16  is greater than the total weight of drop light  16  and its power cord  26 . As hanger system  10  passes over the mounting object the plurality of deflected hangers  30  spring back to the preferred embodiment geometry of individual flexible hanger  12 . It is the flexibility and adaptive nature that allow hanger system  10  to support drop light  16  from a greater variety of mounting objects and with greater adaptability than prior art.  
      It will occur to those skilled in the art that many modifications and variations of hanger system  10  may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Some of these will be discussed.  
      It would be possible to mount hanger system  10  to a location on drop light  16  other than the top, increasing the possibilities for orientation of drop light  16 . It would also be possible to provide a means to remove and relocate hanger system  10  to several locations on drop light  16 , further increasing the potential for orientation. Also the number, spacing, precise geometry, flexibility and strength of flexible hangers  12  with respect to their integration with hanger system  10  could be varied in order to optimize the griping capability of the hanger system  10 . It would also be possible to integrate hanger system  10  into variations of the form of drop light  16 , such as a fluorescent type drop light. Combination of hanger system  10  with any of the prior art inventions would also be possible. It would also be possible to integrate hanger system  10  into a wide variety of objects or articles whereby the overall object of hanger system  10  would benefit such an object.  
      Advantages  
      From the description above a number of advantages for the invention disclosed herein can become evident. This invention provides an improved hanger system for drop lights, which is superior to previous art in the following areas; 
          (a) It consists of a plurality of flexible hangers which act as a system with the capability of adapting to any geometry and supporting a drop light.     (b) It permits the suspension of a drop light from a far greater variety of objects and with greater stability thereby improving an individuals ability to position a drop light and illuminate a work area.     (c) It allows for a drop light to be oriented at any angle with respect to the object from which it is being suspended.     (d) It is exceedingly simple consisting of no moving parts and can be easily manufactured and assembled at minimal increase in cost over the whole drop light itself.     (e) It can be manufactured from light weight materials, such as plastic, which hold a weight advantage over previous art.     (f) It offers a means for securing objects to irregularly shaped surfaces such as those often found in work areas.        

      Although the description above contains many specifics these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention. The specific make-up and shape of the hanger system could be varied as to optimize performance. Examples given above and depicted in the accompanying figures illustrate flexible hangers as following the general shape of a hook. It may be discovered through empirical means that a slightly different shape performs best. The hanger system described herein could be integrated to a wide variety of objects whereby they would benefit from its application.  
      Thus the scope of this invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than be the examples given.