Abstract:
A convenience light for illuminating small interior spaces of enclosures, such as furniture, chests, jewelry boxes and the like, has a battery powered LED lamp. A mechanical or magnetic switch device is used to automatically turn on and off the LED by opening and closing the movable member (drawer, door, etc.) of the enclosure. The low power consumption LED provides lengthy continuous use of the light with a tiny watch battery. The LED and watch battery allow the housing to have a small form factor for discrete placement in the enclosure at various positions. In variations forms, the device can include a reflective surface at the exterior of the housing adjacent the lamp and a mechanism to articulate the lamp to direct the light in a specific direction.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims benefit to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/572,399, filed May 19, 2004. 
     
    
     STATEMENT OF FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
       [0002]     Not applicable.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     1. Technical Field  
         [0004]     The present invention relates to lighting devices, and in particular to convenience lights for illuminating interior spaces in furniture, cabinets, chests, lockboxes and other such enclosures.  
         [0005]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0006]     Various lighting devices have been devised to illuminate the small interior spaces of file cabinets, desk drawers, tool chests, jewelry boxes and the like. Many of these devices automatically turn on the light as the enclosure is opened and then turn off the light when the enclosure is closed. U.S. Pat. No. 5,246,285, for example, discloses such a light in which a cam switch is engaged or disengaged with the contacting surface of the enclosure to control operation of the light. Other switching mechanisms include a magnetic switch, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,095 for lighting a doorway, a spring-biased mechanical switch, as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,442,478, a ball accelerometer piezoelectric switch, as in U.S. Pat. No. 6,060,835, and a photoconductive sensor switch, as in U.S. Pat. No. 6,203,167. Timing circuits can also be used to turn off the light and provide a predetermined duration of illumination, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,245,285.  
         [0007]     Some of these devices use large components, such as incandescent lamps and size AA (Alkaline or Nickel-Cadmium) batteries, such that the devices are rather large and thus occupy storage space or are not readily positionable adjacent a pull-out drawer and the associated opening. Others require complex electronics or switching mechanisms. Thus, a more compact and simplified lighting device is desired.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     The present invention provides a convenience light having a battery powered LED lamp for illuminating small interior spaces of enclosures. A mechanical or magnetic switch device is used to automatically turn on and off the LED by opening and closing the movable member (drawer, door, etc.) of the enclosure. The low power consumption LED provides lengthy continuous use of the light with a tiny watch battery. The LED and watch battery allow the housing to have a small form factor for discrete placement in the enclosure at various positions. In variations forms, the device can include a reflective surface at the exterior of the housing adjacent the lamp and a mechanism to articulate the lamp for directional control of the illumination.  
         [0009]     The advantages of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description and drawings. What follows is a preferred embodiment of the present invention. To assess the full scope of the invention the claims should be looked to as the preferred embodiment is not intended as the only embodiment within the scope of the invention. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a convenience light of the present invention shown attached to a drawer in partial perspective;  
         [0011]      FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the convenience light;  
         [0012]      FIG. 3  is a top interior view thereof;  
         [0013]      FIG. 4  is partial side sectional view showing the drawer in a closed position and the convenience light with an LED not illuminated;  
         [0014]      FIG. 5  is a similar view but showing the drawer in an open position and the convenience light with the LED illuminated;  
         [0015]      FIG. 6  is bottom exterior view of the convenience light;  
         [0016]      FIG. 7  illustrates another embodiment of the convenience light having a mechanism for articulating the lamp; and  
         [0017]      FIG. 8  illustrates yet another embodiment of the convenience light having a spring biased operating member. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0018]     Referring to  FIGS. 1-3  and  6 , one preferred embodiment of the convenience light of the present invention is referred to generally by reference number  10 . The convenience light  10  has a housing  12  primarily containing a lamp  14 , a battery  16  and a switch  18 . Associated electrical circuitry, as known in the art, may also be included as well as mounts and retainers for such components.  
         [0019]     The housing  12  is preferably of plastic construction in a D-shape with a straight spine and a curved rear side and of approximate overall dimensions of 1¼″×1″×¼″. The housing  12  can be formed in two pieces and suitably sealed at the seam, for example by adhesive or sonic welding. As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 6 , the lower face  20  of the housing  12  has a dished area  22 , which is an opening for the lamp  14  to project out from the housing  12 . A reflective surface  24 , either a reflector body or a reflective coating, is disposed in the dished area  22  to direct light from the lamp  14  out from the lower face  20  of the housing  12 . The top or back face of the housing  12  can have a removable or hinged access panel (not shown), located to access the battery  16 , thereby allowing it to be replaced should it become depleted.  
         [0020]     The lamp  14  is preferably a 3.6 volt, 20 mA white LED, providing bright while light with low power consumption. The battery  16  is preferably a 3 volt, 950 mA flat disk lithium battery, of the type used in small electronics and watches. This combination of LED lamp and watch battery is expected to give more than 24 hours, and more closely 45 hours, of continuous use. When used in a typical drawer application in which the light is turned on for a few seconds intermittently, the device should give several years of operation without maintenance or replacement of either the lamp or battery. The switch  16  is preferably a Reed switch, of known construction, which typically includes ferromagnetic contact blades, hermetically sealed in a glass envelope filled with an inert gas. The switch  16  is operated by an externally generated magnetic field, either from a coil or permanent magnet  26 , which causes movement of a contact to either complete or break the electrical path between the LED and the battery. The magnet  26  can be an adhesive backed magnetic strip, attached to the back side of the drawer front, as shown. Or, as shown in  FIGS. 1, 2 , and  4 - 6 , the magnet  26  can be mounted in a sleeve-like holder  28  that either mounts directly to the drawer or to an appliqué  29 . The applique  29  is preferably conformable to contours of the drawer surface common in antique furnishings on one side and generally flat at the other side to which the magnet holder  28  attaches. Double-sided adhesive or other suitable mounting methods can be used to affix the magnet holder  28  and the applique  29 .  
         [0021]      FIGS. 4 and 5  illustrate one application for the convenience light  10  of the present invention in which it is used to illuminate the interior of a pull out drawer  30  in a piece of furniture  32 , such as a desk or beside stand. While shown in the drawings for illuminating a drawer, it should be understood that the convenience light  10  of the present invention can be used to illuminate the interior of any enclosure having a movable section. Thus, without limiting its use, other example enclosures include cabinets, chests, cupboards, jewelry and tool boxes, safes or other lockboxes, automobile compartments, and other such enclosures have a movable drawer, door, lid or cover.  
         [0022]     The convenience light  10  can be mounted to the interior of the furniture  32  above the drawer  30  along its straight spine or along its upper face (as shown) using a suitable fastener member  34 , such as double sided adhesive or Velcro®, for example. In this location, the light does not occupy any of the usable space in the drawer of the furniture. The convenience light  10  is positioned so that the Reed switch  18  is adjacent to, preferably slightly spaced from, the magnet  26 . The Reed switch  18  is configured to be normally closed. When the drawer  30  is closed as in  FIG. 4 , the field from the magnet  26  opens the Reed switch  18  so that the lamp  14  is disconnected from the battery  16  and in an “off” state. When the drawer  30  is opened, as shown in  FIG. 5 , the Reed switch  18  is no longer affected by the magnetic field such that it returns to its normally closed position, thereby connecting the lamp  14  to the battery  16  and turning it “on”. In this way, the light automatically turns on when the drawer  30  is opened and shuts off when the drawer  30  is closed.  
         [0023]     As mentioned, the electrical circuitry is not shown in the drawings as it is within the routine skill of designers of the electrical arts. If desired, timing circuitry can be included to turn off the lamp after a prescribed period of time in order to prevent the battery from draining if the drawer was left open for an extended time. A photo sensor could also be included, for example, to prevent the lamp from turning on when the drawer was opened and there was adequate ambient light to illuminate the inside of the drawer.  
         [0024]      FIG. 7  illustrates another embodiment of the convenience light  10 A. Like the previous embodiment, this version includes a housing  12 A, a lamp  14 A, a battery  16 A and a switch  18 A. However, here, the lamp  14 A is designed to be articulated relative to the housing  12  so that the light can be directed to a specific location inside the enclosure. Specifically, the lamp  14 A is mounted to a curved pivot block  40  with its convex, preferably low friction (e.g., Teflon®), outer surface mated with the concave recess of a lamp cradle  42  mounted to the housing  12 A. A link assembly  44  includes link  46  connected to the pivot block  40  and lever  48  pivotally mounted in the housing  12 A and projected to its exterior so that it can be manipulated when mounted inside the enclosure. Pivoting the lever  48  in turn pivots the lamp  14 A by pivoting the pivot block  40  within the cradle  42 . Because the mating surfaces of the pivot block  40  and cradle  42  are generally spherical, the lamp  14 A can be pivoted through a range of angular positions. It should be noted that the lamp could be pivoted directly with a finger or thumb without using the link assembly  44 .  
         [0025]      FIG. 8  illustrates another embodiment of the convenience light  10 B. Here, the housing  12 B, lamp  14 B and battery  16 B are generally the same, but the switch  18 B is a mechanical contact type switch of unique design and the housing is mounted to the interior front wall of the movable section (e.g., drawer). In particular, the switch  18 B includes a tube  50  containing a spring  52  and capturing a ball  54  between the spring  52  and a narrowed, open outer end of the tube  50 , which extends outside the housing  12 B. A threaded thumb screw  56  at the other end of the tube  50  depresses the spring  52  to adjust the extension of the tube  50 , and thereby provide fine tuning of the switch setting for different applications without having to readjust the mounting position of the housing  12 B. When the ball  54 , which rotates in the tube  50 , contacts a surface of the enclosure or the movable section (as when opening a drawer), it depresses the tube  50  slightly into the housing  12 B and so that contact  60  closes the circuit between the lamp  14 B and battery  16 B to turn on the lamp  14 B. When the ball  54  is free of the enclosure surface (as when the drawer is closed), the contact  60  moves to open the circuit and turn off the lamp  14 B.  
         [0026]     It should be appreciated that merely preferred embodiments of the invention have been described above. However, many modifications and variations to the preferred embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, which will be within the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the invention should not be limited to the described embodiment. To ascertain the full scope of the invention, the following claims should be referenced.