Patent Abstract:
A light apparatus attachable to the head of a person to emit light generally along the line of sight of the person. The light apparatus includes a housing cavity in which are contained a light bulb and a pair of batteries on opposite sides thereof and connected thereto. At least a portion of the housing is composed of elastomeric material having a rear concave surface shaped for conforming to a person&#39;s forehead to allow elastomeric conformity of the rear surface to the person&#39;s forehead. The light bulb and a lens are disposed for directing light forwardly of the housing and generally along the line of sight of the person. A plurality of legs on at least one side of the housing provide support for setting the light apparatus down.

Full Description:
[0001]    The present invention relates generally to lights or lamps, i.e., illuminating apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to lights which are attachable to a person&#39;s head to free the person&#39;s hands for the work at hand.  
           [0002]    A number of attempts have been made to provide a light attachable to a person&#39;s head. Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 3,683,168 to Tatje discloses illuminating spectacles having a light bulb with batteries on opposite sides of the bulb. Undesirably, the spectacles and their placement on a person&#39;s head are not able to suitably support the weight of the lamp components.  
           [0003]    U.S. Pat. No. 3,912,919 to Eriksson discloses a head lamp comprising a bulb and batteries (one mounted on either side of a glow lamp holder) mounted in a casing, and a strap is extractable from the lid interior to be extended about a person&#39;s head so that the light is disposed centrally of the person&#39;s forehead. Undesirably, this lamp fixture is unstable on the person&#39;s forehead and places undue stress at the center of the person&#39;s forehead. In addition, this lamp is undesirably difficult to position for proper aim and to maintain in the adjusted position.  
           [0004]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,853,241 to Sharrah et al discloses a flashlight having a head portion in which the light bulb is received and a pair of arms in which batteries are received and which diverge from the head portion for mounting of the head portion on the forehead of a user by means of an elastic strap. The arms are provided with resilient removable cover members to provide a resilient head mounting surface. See also U.S. Pat. No. 4,916,596 to Sharrah et al, which discloses an earlier version. This flashlight undesirably is difficult to position and to maintain the position for proper aim in view of the rigid arms.  
           [0005]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,420 to Van Der Bel discloses a head light system which includes a housing mounted on the front surface of a head cap  11 . A fiber optic light conduit introduces light from a remote light source to the housing. The housing is mounted on the front surface of a head cap. The rear surface of the housing, which is the surface which is next to the forehead, is concave. The provision of a remote fiber optic light source is undesirably not suitable for the general utility purposes of the present invention.  
           [0006]    Also see U.S. Pat. No. 5,898,472 to Oshikawa, which discloses a strap winding mechanism and reel for head wear.  
           [0007]    The heretofore problem with mounting of traditional sources of light such as incandescent bulbs is addressed in the third paragraph of the Van Der Bel patent as follows:  
           [0008]    Traditional sources of light, however, such as incandescent bulbs, do not lend themselves well to positioning at approximately between the surgeon&#39;s eyes. Such traditional light sources had the problem that, if they were large enough to provide sufficient light, they were too bulky and obscured the surgeon&#39;s vision. Furthermore, they were frequently heavy and they also generated a great deal of heat . . .  
           [0009]    It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a traditional light source (i.e., a light bulb and batteries) which may be easily and comfortably worn on a person&#39;s head and easily positioned for proper aim to free the user&#39;s hands when working in darkened conditions.  
           [0010]    In order to provide such a head light, in accordance with the present invention, a housing for the light bulb and batteries has at least a portion composed of elastomeric material having a rear concave surface shaped for conforming to a person&#39;s forehead to allow elastomeric conformity of the rear surface to the person&#39;s forehead.  
           [0011]    The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent in the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein the same reference numerals denote the same or similar parts throughout the several views. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 is a perspective view from forwardly thereof of a head-mountable light in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 2 is a perspective view thereof from forwardly thereof.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 3 is a side view thereof shown mounted to a person&#39;s head.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 4 is a front elevation view thereof.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 5 is a right side elevation view thereof, with a strap broken away.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 6 is a left side elevation view thereof, with the strap broken away.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 7 is a section view taken along lines  7 - 7  of FIG. 4, with the strap broken away.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 8 is a detail partial section view along the left side thereof.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 9 is a view similar to that of FIG. 8 illustrating removal of a housing member for replacement of a battery.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 10 is a perspective view thereof shown standing on its left side.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 11 is a partial elevational view taken along lines  11 - 11  of FIG. 10. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0023]    Referring to the FIGS., there is shown generally at  20  a light or lamp which emits light, illustrated at  18 , and which is mountable to the head  22  of a person, as illustrated in FIG. 3, by means of a strap  24  or other suitable attachment means which encircles the head  22 . If desired, the strap  24  may be of a retractable type or with a winding mechanism and reel, such as disclosed in the aforesaid U.S. Pat. No. 5,898,472, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.  
         [0024]    The light includes a housing  26  having a forward surface  28  and a rear surface  30 . The housing  26  comprises sheet material  32  composed of rigid plastic or other suitable material, preferably non-conductive to accommodate the circuitry hereinafter described, rigidly forming a forward wall  34 , a top wall  36 , a bottom wall  38 , a right side wall  40 , and a left side wall  42 . The front wall is formed by member  44 , which will be described in greater detail hereinafter. These walls define a cavity, illustrated at  46 , in which various light components, as described hereinafter, are contained or housed.  
         [0025]    The front wall  34  has a generally rectangular (or otherwise suitably shaped) opening, illustrated at  48 , therein. The wall  34  has an inwardly offset lip or flange  50  along one edge, i.e., as shown, the edge corresponding to the right side of the opening  48 , and a generally rectangular rigid member  51  is mounted in the opening  48  so that an edge thereof rests on the lip  50  so that the forward surface of the member  51  is flush with the forward surface of the front wall  26 . The opposite edge of the member  51  has an inwardly offset lip or flange  54  which nests under the respective front wall edge, and the member  51  is suitably attached to the lip  50  such as by a pair of screws  56 . The member has a generally rectangular opening, illustrated at  53 , therein. A conventional reflector/bulb holder  58  including a suitable conventional lens  52 , composed for example of plastic, is suitably positioned in the cavity  46  in back of the opening  53  (to be generally flush with the front wall) to allow passage of light  18  through the opening  53 , the edges of the lens  52  being suitably mounted to the edges of the member  51  (inwardly of lip  54 ) by means such as, for example, an adhesive. A conventional flashlight-type bulb  60  is suitably mounted centrally of the reflector  58  such as by a threaded portion  62  which is threadedly received in reflector aperture  64 . A pair of suitable flashlight-type batteries  66  are received within the cavity  46  on opposite sides of the bulb  60 . The batteries  66  may, for example, be no. 950 size D type.  
         [0026]    The side walls  40  and  42  extend rearwardly for a short distance beyond the cavity  46 , and a generally cylindrical  9  or otherwise suitably shaped) cut-out  71  is provided in each side wall  40  and  42 , the cut-out extending through the rear edge of the respective side wall and spaced from each of the other edges thereof to provide an opening through which the respective battery  66  can be inserted and removed, as seen in FIG. 9. Suitable springs, illustrated at  79 , are desirably attached to the inner surface of the respective door to apply pressure to the batteries  66  respectively so that the batteries are secured against shaking when in the cavity  46 . The opening  71  is closed by a door or closure plate  73  which has an inwardly offset forward lip or flange  75  to be received inwardly of the corresponding edge portion  77  of the respective wall  40  and  42  so that the outer surface of the door  73  is flush with the outer surface of the respective wall  40  and  42 , as seen in FIG. 8. A forward end portion of a rigid plate  72  is received inwardly of the respective door  73 , and the plate  72  is secured to (embedded in) member  44  as hereinafter discussed. Each door  73  is suitably attached to the respective plate  72  by a finger screw  74  received in an aperture  70  in a rear edge portion of the door  73  and threadedly received in a threaded aperture  76  in a forward edge portion of the plate  72 . The plate  72  extends rearwardly beyond the respective side wall and terminates short of the respective rearward-most surface  78  of the member  44  so that the member  44  extends rearwardly beyond the respective plate  72 . The lateral walls  80  of the member  44  are flush with respect to the doors  73  and the side walls  40  and  42  respectively whereby the plates  72  are partially embedded in the material of the member  44  to provide a secure position thereof for secure attachment of the doors  73 . Each plate  72  has an enlarged rearward end portion  82  which extends laterally outwardly from the member  44 , the enlarged portion  82  having suitable structure for receiving an end of the strap for adjustably attaching the light  20  to the person&#39;s head  22 , in accordance with principles commonly known to those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains.  
         [0027]    A suitable conventional on-off switch  84  is suitably mounted so that it is suitably secured to one of the plates  72  (i.e., as shown, the right plate), in accordance with principles commonly known to those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains. One side of the switch  84  is electrically connected to the bulb  60  by line  86 . The bulb is also electrically connected to the negative terminal of one of the batteries  66  by line  88 . The positive terminal of that battery  66  is electrically connected to the negative terminal of the other battery  66  by line  90  whereby the batteries are connected in the circuit in series. Finally, the positive terminal of this other battery  66  is electrically connected to the switch  84  by line  92  thereby completing the circuit for supplying electricity to the bulb  60  for lighting by turning the switch  84  on. It should however be understood that the circuitry may be embodied otherwise. For example, the circuitry may alternatively be of a type which includes a ground to the housing sheet material  32 , which accordingly is a conductive material.  
         [0028]    In order to accurately and easily and comfortably mount the light assembly  20  to the user&#39;s forehead so that the light  18  is aimed in the direction of sight, in accordance with the present invention, the housing member  44  is composed of an elastomeric material such as, for example, foam rubber, which has suitable softness to comfortably conform to the person&#39;s forehead. The elastomeric material is suitably molded about the rigid plates  72  as illustrated in FIG. 7 to hold the plates  72  securely in place and so that the plates provide a secure means of attachment of the member  44 . The molded elastomeric material may extend forwardly beyond the rigid plates  72  a distance of, for example, about ½ inch. The member  44  has a symmetrical concave rearward surface  94  for engaging the typical forehead of the user  22 , as illustrated in FIG. 3. For example, for a typical adult, the concave surface  94  may have a width of about 6 inches and a depth of about 2 inches. The light assembly  20  may be provided in more than one size of the concave surface  94 . The overall width of the light apparatus  20  may, for example, be about 6¾ inches, the lens width may, for example, be about 4 inches, and the overall light apparatus depth (front to back) may, for example, be about 3½ inches. The above dimensions are for exemplary purposes only and not for purposes of limitation.  
         [0029]    In order to provide a stand, i.e., a means for setting the light assembly  20  down without damage to the lens or switch, while allowing access to the switch, feet members or legs  96  are suitably attached to the side of the housing  26  which does not contain the switch. Thus, the feet  96  are shown on the left side wall  42 . Feet  96  may be composed of hard rubber other suitable material adhesively or otherwise suitably attached to the side wall  42 . For example, 4 such feet  96  may be provided at the four corners respectively of the side wall  42 , as shown in FIG. 6.  
         [0030]    Thus, the light assembly  20  may be easily and quickly mounted on a person&#39;s head  22  by receiving the forehead in the symmetrical concave surface  94 , which accordingly properly centers the light  20  to aim in the direction in which the user sees, and adjusting the straps  24  as necessary. The elastomeric material of the member  44  allows a snug and comfortable fit when the straps are suitably tightened as necessary.  
         [0031]    It should be understood that, while the present invention has been described in detail herein, the invention can be embodied otherwise without departing from the principles thereof, and such other embodiments are meant to come within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 5