Abstract:
A portable flashlight in which the illumination section is detachably connected to one end of a flexible arm, and the battery casing are detachably connected to the other end of the flexible arm, whereby the light may be brought in close proximity with objects to be inspected or worked upon but which are located as to require an angled or bent probe. The flexible arm permits the flashlight head to be stably mounted in an infinite number of positions. The intermediate flexible arm may be removed such that the battery casing and the illumination section may be directly connected together to provide a handheld flashlight capable of use in confined areas.

Description:
This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 29/037,403 now U.S. Pat. No. D375,811; and Ser. No. 29/038,454 filed on Apr. 11, 1995. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     a) Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to a portable flashlight and more particularly to a flashlight in which the light bulb and reflector are detachably connected to one end of a flexible arm, and the battery casing are detachably connected to the other end of the flexible arm, whereby the light may be brought in close proximity with objects to be inspected or worked upon but which are located as to require an angled or bent probe. The flexible arm permits the flashlight head to be stably mounted in an infinite number of positions. 
     b) Description of Related Art 
     Portable electric flashlights having a flexible intermediate neck to permit manual deformation of the light position are well known. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,495,550 to Visciano teaches a flexible flashlight capable of providing light at virtually any angle even in an environment in which the area to position a flashlight is extremely limited. A bellows is provided at one end of a main body housing batteries, and a lens is provided at the other end of the bellows. The bellows is made of a semi-rigid material so that once its curvature is formed it will remain fixed indefinitely until reformed by the user. 
     The prior art flexible flashlight arrangements, however, suffer from numerous drawbacks inherent in their design. Most notably, the prior art portable flashlights having a flexible neck are cumbersome and difficult to manipulate in small areas. In addition, the prior art flexible lights are design for limited use based on the predetermined light generating and emitting characteristics. 
     The need therefore exists for a flashlight possessing the characteristics of both the traditional handheld flashlight, and flashlights having a flexible neck portion. In addition, the need exists for a flexible flashlight having an interchangeable head portion and battery portion to provide a versatile arrangement adaptable to various environments. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is the object of the present invention to provide a flashlight possessing the characteristics of both the traditional handheld flashlight, and flashlights having a flexible neck portion. In addition, the present invention provides a flexible flashlight having an interchangeable head portion and battery portion to provide a versatile arrangement adaptable to various environments. 
    
    
     These and other objects of the present invention will be evident from the description provided below and by reference to the following drawings. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the flashlight of the present invention. 
     FIG. 1a is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of FIG. 1 with the connector between the intermediate section and each of the main body and light portion shown in a disconnected state. 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the present invention with a connector between the main body and the intermediate section shown in a disconnected state. 
     FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the preferred embodiment showing various internal elements of the flashlight. 
     FIG. 4a is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment in the form of a handheld flashlight with the intermediate section omitted. 
     FIG. 4b shows the flashlight of FIG. 4a with the light head in a pivoted state. 
     FIG. 5 illustrates an alternate embodiment of the invention whereby a secondary illumination device is provided on the main body portion. 
     FIG. 6 is a further alternate embodiment of the invention whereby main body portion is provided with an alternate power source and/or forming a rechargeable battery pack. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     With reference to FIG. 1, the flashlight of the present invention comprises a main body portion in the form of handheld member 10, which houses the batteries to provide electrical power for the flashlight in a conventional manner. The handheld member 10 is preferably formed with an ergonomic design suitable for grasping by a user&#39;s hand. 
     The main body portion 10 is provided with an access panel 12 for replacing the batteries 13 (see FIG. 3). The access panel may be in the form of a threaded end cap which is screwed to corresponding threads provided on the main body portion 10, or may simply slide-lock onto the main body portion in a conventional manner. 
     The invention may be turned on and off by sliding switch 14 which completes the circuit between the batteries and a light bulb provided in the light portion in a conventional manner. 
     A flexible intermediate member 20 is detachably connected to the main body portion 10 by way of a first connector 40. A pair of handle detach buttons 15 are further provided on the main body portion 10 to effect disconnection of the flexible intermediate member 20 from the main body portion 10. The specific design of the first connector 40 will be described in detail below. 
     Connected to the other end of the flexible intermediate member 20 through a second connector 50 is the light portion 30. In the same manner as provided on the main body portion 10, a pair of handle detach buttons 25 are provided on the flexible intermediate member 20 to effect disconnection of the flexible intermediate portion 20 from the light portion 30. 
     The light portion 30 primarily comprises a stationary member 31, pivoting lens head 32, a reflector 34, a lens 36 and a light bulb 37 (see FIG. 3). The bulb 37 is suitable received in a socket member (not shown) mounted within the pivoting lens head 32. Release button 38 releases the lens head 32 to enable pivoting movement with respect to the stationary member 31 which is attached to the flexible intermediate portion 20. It is further noted that a replacement bulb 37a may be stored in the lens head 32. 
     Turning now to FIGS. 1a and 2, the structure and function of the connectors 40, 50 will now be described. The connectors 40, 50 provide a reliable and inexpensive arrangement for enabling disassembly of the three primary parts: the main body portion 10, the flexible intermediate portion 20, and the flashlight head portion 30. With this arrangement, the main body portion 10 may be connected directly to the light portion 30 to provide a compact flashlight suitable for use in compact areas (see FIGS. 4a &amp; 4b). 
     The connector 40 provided at one end of the main body portion 10 consists of a cantilevered tab 16 which extends from a male end 24 of one of the main body portion 10 (FIG. 1) or the intermediate member 20 (FIG. 2). The cantilevered tab 16 comprises a projecting tang 16a which is received in an aperture or recess 17 provided on the other of the main body portion 10 (FIG. 2) or the intermediate member 20 (FIG. 1) to enable connection between the intermediate portion 20 and the main body portion 10. A user need only depress the button 15 to release the tab 16 from the recess 17 to thereby separate the intermediate member 20 from the main body portion 10. 
     A corresponding male/female connection 50 is provided at the other end of the flashlight 1, between the intermediate member 20 and the head portion 30, to enable separation of the members. As shown in FIG. 1, a button 25, which corresponds to button 15, controls the engagement and disengagement of the tab 26 from the head portion 30 to enable disengagement of the head portion 30 from the intermediate member 20. 
     Significant to the present invention is the inclusion of a male connector at one end and a female connector at the opposite end of the intermediate member 20. With this arrangement, upon disengagement of each member 10, 20, and 30, the head portion 30 may be engaged with the main body portion 10 to provide a handheld flashlight; the intermediate member 20 being omitted. The handheld flashlight comprised of the head portion 30 and the main body portion 10 is illustrated in FIGS. 4a and 4b. The configuration of FIG. 4 is disassembled in the same manner as discussed above whereby the buttons 15, 25 are depressed to dislodge the tabs 16, 26 from a corresponding recess 17, 27. Of course, the invention is not in any way limited to the connectors 40, 50 illustrated in the appended drawings, but may alternately comprise a threaded connection or other suitable arrangement which enables selective connection of the main body portion 10, intermediate member 20, and the lighted head 30. 
     It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that suitable conductors should be provided at each connector 40, 50 to enable the delivery of electrical power between each of the main body portion 10, intermediate member 20, and the lighted head portion 30. 
     In addition to the benefits of the novel light assembly discussed above wherein the flexible light arrangement may be disassembled and reconfigured to provide a handheld light as shown in FIGS. 4a, 4b, the present invention provides numerous additional advantages not present in the prior art. First, more than one intermediate member 20 may be successively linked together to provide a flexible intermediate section whose length may be selected by the user. Moreover, any number of head portions and battery portions may be interchangeably utilized to provide a versatile arrangement adaptable to various environments. For instance, a water-proof head section may be provided for aquatic use, a relatively larger head section may be attached to increase the illumination output, or an emergency light may be attached in emergency situations. Likewise, a rechargeable battery pack or a battery pack having a power cord may be installed for the main body portion. 
     FIG. 5 illustrates an alternate embodiment of the invention wherein the main body portion 10 comprises a battery housing with a secondary lighted end section 11 which is formed at the end of the main body portion 10 at an end opposite the first connector 40. 
     FIG. 6 illustrates a further alternate embodiment of the invention wherein rechargeable battery pack forms the main body portion 10 and/or a conventional power cord 10c is utilized as a means for conveying power for the power source. An adaptor connection 10b may be provided for power delivery or recharging. It is noted that such a rechargeable main body portion may be designed for insertion into a recharging pack as is well known in the art of rechargeable products. 
     As shown in FIG. 2, the present invention is particularly suited for mounting on a wall or the like by way of a wall bracket 60. 
     While the foregoing invention has been shown and described with reference to a number of preferred embodiments, it will be under by those possessing skill in the art that various changes and modification may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.