Abstract:
An illuminating caution light apparatus that combines a nightstick, a flashlight, and a baton, is constituted by a handle. The handle contains a circuit control board, an illuminating component, and a battery chamber therein. A light-guiding member, consists of a plurality of strings of optical fiber, and an end part of with an end seat is located at a front end of the handle and is provided with an LED illuminating component capable of guiding a light onto the strings of optical fiber to serve as an illuminating baton. The flashlight illuminating member includes a lamp holder located inside a connection ring and locked at a rear end of the handle. The baton can be latched at a center of top end of an illuminating foot stand to form into a tripod of caution light that illuminates when a vehicle is malfunctioning.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     (a) Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to an illuminating caution light apparatus that combines a nightstick, a flashlight, and a baton, and more particularly to a transparent rod that can direct a bright and uniform light, that is provided with a robust structure to serve as a defensive nightstick, that is provided with an illuminating member at a bottom end thereof to serve as a flashlight for illuminating, and that can be formed into a stand of emergency caution light to illuminate for warning, upon being assembled with a tripod which is put upright.  
         [0003]     (b) Description of the Prior Art  
         [0004]     A baton is very commonly used in a current living environment; it is needed when a policeman is on duty, or a guard or an engineer is conducting traffic, and is especially a necessary apparatus in a night not having a good vision. However, there are a variety of batons in the market, mostly with a design including a handle, an interior of which is provided with a set of batteries, and an outer edge of which is installed with a control switch connected to an interior circuit control device, wherein the batteries can provide a necessary power and the control switch can manipulate an on/off state of light source. In addition, a bottom cap is locked at a tail end of the handle, and a hollow light pipe is assembled at a front end of the handle, wherein the hollow light pipe is provided with a plurality of illuminating components, such as LED (Light Emitting Diode) lights or lamp bulbs, and light refracting plates, which are assembled with the circuit controller, and light from the illuminating components is refracted by the light refracting plates and transmitted through the hollow light pipe for illuminating. Accordingly, the structure of this kind of baton can generate a bright alerting effect. However, as the hollow light pipe is installed with many illuminating components, the power consumed in usage will be larger; therefore, a frequent replacement of the batteries is required. Moreover, as a large quantity of illuminating components, such as the LED lights or the lamp bulbs, is used, a probability of failure is increased correspondingly, which results in a more frequent replacement and an increase of maintenance cost.  
         [0005]     In the design of aforementioned conventional baton, the light pipe is a hollow thin-shell tube made by a light-transmitting material. As it cannot sustain with an impact of external force, the outer shell can be frequently ruptured and damaged due to an unexpected collision. Therefore, the baton cannot certainly serve as a defensive nightstick. On the other hand, when a controlling staff is on duty at night, he or she may often need to inspect an identification of specific person; however, as all the conventional batons cannot provide a sufficient illumination for this purpose, the controlling staff will need to carry another flashlight to provide the illumination, which will cause an inconvenience in performing the duty.  
         [0006]     In addition, a conventional caution sign to be used when a vehicle is malfunctioning, is mostly a triangular light-reflecting stand composed of a plurality of flat pieces, which is very easy to be fallen, tilted over, or drifted away due to a passing-by of another vehicle in a high speed, and is easy to hurt people by drifting away. On the other hand, the conventional caution sign for vehicle malfunctioning, can be only identified from a front side without being able to be easily aware of within a 360-degree of viewing angle, and cannot either illuminate actively, except to use a reflection effect resulting from an illumination of a coming vehicle, which is not perfect.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     Accordingly, the primary object of the present invention is to provide an illuminating caution light apparatus that combines a nightstick, a flashlight, and a baton, which is provided with a robust rod structure, is able to sustain with an impact from external force without being easily damaged, and is provided with an illuminating structure at a rear end thereof, so as to have a dual function of both serving as a nightstick and a flashlight.  
         [0008]     Another primary object of the present invention is to provide an illuminating caution light apparatus that combines a nightstick, a flashlight, and a baton, wherein an illuminating baton can be assembled with a foot stand, to form into an emergency illuminating caution light under an emergency condition.  
         [0009]     Accordingly, the present invention is primarily composed of a handle, an interior of which is installed with an inner sleeve having a circuit control board, and an outer edge of which is installed with two control buttons. An illuminating component and a battery chamber are located at two ends of the inner sleeve respectively, a conductive spring is located inside the battery chamber, and the illuminating component and the conductive spring are electronically connected to the circuit control board. Two longitudinal slots in an opposite direction are installed at two sides of an outer rim of the inner sleeve, and are respectively provided with a spring switch and a power cord which are connected to the circuit control board. A battery seat is installed inside the battery chamber to provide a power source. A light-guiding member is a transparent cylinder, an interior of which is emplaced with a plurality of strings of optical fiber, and an end of which is sheathed with an end seat and a plurality of O-rings, and is sheathed to an engaging member and locked to a front end of the handle. An illuminating member includes a lamp holder which is located inside a connection ring, is provided with a conductive plate at a bottom thereof and a sheath ring at an end thereof, and is locked to a lamp shade having a lens, with the other end thereof being locked at an rear end of the handle, such that contact points on the conductive plate can be connected to the battery seat and the spring switch, thereby enabling the baton to have a robust rod structure and an illuminating equipment to achieve a dual effect of serving as a nightstick and a flashlight. In the mean time, the illuminating baton of present invention can be latched and assembled with a foot stand, enabling the entire structure to become a caution light which can illuminate in an emergency condition.  
         [0010]     To enable a further understanding of the said objectives and the technological methods of the invention herein, the brief description of the drawings below is followed by the detailed description of the preferred embodiments. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]      FIG. 1  shows an exploded view of the present invention.  
         [0012]      FIG. 2  shows a perspective view of an appearance of the present invention.  
         [0013]      FIG. 3  shows a longitudinal cutaway view of the present invention.  
         [0014]      FIG. 4  shows a horizontal cutaway view of a transparent cylinder of the present invention.  
         [0015]      FIG. 5  shows an exploded view of an illuminating member of the present invention.  
         [0016]      FIG. 6  shows a schematic view of an example of using the present invention as a baton and a nightstick.  
         [0017]      FIG. 7  shows a local exploded view of a foot stand of the present invention.  
         [0018]      FIG. 8  shows a cutaway view of a foot stand of the present invention.  
         [0019]      FIG. 9  shows a schematic view of rotating a foot stand of the present invention.  
         [0020]      FIG. 10  shows an exploded view of a rod of a foot stand of the present invention.  
         [0021]      FIG. 11  shows a perspective view of a foot stand of the present invention.  
         [0022]      FIG. 12  shows a horizontal cutaway view of a transparent cylinder of another embodient of the present invention.  
         [0023]      FIG. 13  shows an exploded view of a foot stand of another embodient of the present invention.  
         [0024]      FIG. 14  shows a schematic view of a foot stand of an embodient of  FIG. 13  of the present invention.  
         [0025]      FIG. 15  shows an exploded view of a foot stand of yet another embodient of the present invention.  
         [0026]      FIG. 16  shows a schematic view of a foot stand of an embodient of  FIG. 15  of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0027]     Referring to FIGS.  1  to  4 , a baton  1  of the present invention comprises a handle  10 , a light-guiding member  20 , an engaging member  30 , an inner sleeve  40 , and an illuminating member  50 .  
         [0028]     The handle  10  is a hollow cylinder, an interior of which is provided with a chamber  11  filled with the inner sleeve  40 , an outer rim of which is provided with two holes  12  installed with control buttons  13 , and outer rims of two ends of which are installed with male threads  14 ,  15  respectively. A bottom of the male thread  14  at the front end of handle  10  is provided with a ring of groove  16 , an interior of which is sheathed with a ring of water-proof gasket  17 .  
         [0029]     The light-guiding member  20  is a solid transparent cylinder  21  which can be made by an acryl material, and is emplaced with a plurality of strings of optical fiber (referring to  FIG. 4 ). An end of the transparent cylinder  21  is sheathed with an end seat  23 , a front end and an outer rim of which are sheathed with at least one O-ring  24 , respectively (as shown in  FIG. 3 ).  
         [0030]     A top surface of the engaging member  30  is provided with a through-hole  31 , an inner rim of bottom end of which is formed with an female thread  32  (as shown in  FIG. 3 ), such that the female thread  32  can be screwed with the male thread  14  of handle  10 , correspondingly.  
         [0031]     An interior of the inner sleeve  40  is installed with a circuit control board  41  on which is provided with two switches  42  corresponding to the control buttons  13  of handle  10 . An end of the inner sleeve  40  is provided with an illuminating component  43  (LED light), whereas the other end is provided with a battery chamber  44  which contains a conductive spring  45  (as shown in  FIG. 3 ). The illuminating component  43  (LED light) and the conductive spring  45  are electronically connected to the circuit control board  41 , and two sides of an outer rim of the inner sleeve  40  are installed with longitudinal slots  401 ,  402  which are respectively provided with a spring switch  46  and a power cord  47  to be connected to the circuit control board  41 . An interior of the battery chamber  44  is installed with a battery seat  48  which is provided with a plurality of batteries  49  for providing a power source.  
         [0032]     The illuminating member  50  is composed of a lamp holder  51 , a connection ring  52 , a sheath ring  53 , a lens  54 , and a lamp shade  55 . A bottom surface of the lamp holder  51  is installed with a conductive plate  511  on which is provided with two contact points a, b. The contact point a is electronically conducted with a first electrode  512  of the lamp holder  51 , and the contact point b is electronically conducted with a second electrode  513  of the lamp holder  51  (as shown in  FIG. 3 ). The lamp holder  51  is installed inside the connection ring  52 , and the first electrode  512  of lamp holder  51  is also electronically conducted with the connection ring  52 . An outer rim of the connection ring  52  at the lamp holder  51  end is provided with a male thread  521 , whereas an inner rim at the other end is provided with a female thread  522 , such that the female thread  522  can be screwed with the male thread  15  at a rear end of the handle  10 , correspondingly. An outer rim of the sheath ring  53  is installed with a projection piece  531  on which is provided with a through-hole  532 . The sheath ring  53  is sheathed at the female thread  521  end of the connection ring  52 , the lens  54  is installed inside the lamp shade  55 , and an female thread  551  is formed at an inner rim of the lamp shade  55 , and is screwed with the male thread  521  of connection ring  52 .  
         [0033]     Referring to  FIG. 1, 3 , and  5 , upon assembling, the inner sleeve  40  is sheathed into the chamber  11  with the switches  42  corresponding to the control buttons  13  of handle  10 , the power cord  47  is conducted with the handle  10 , and the spring switch  46  of inner sleeve  40  is protruded at a rear surface of the handle  10  (as shown in  FIG. 5 ). The light-guiding member  20  is sheathed into the through-hole  31  of engaging member  30 , the end seat  23  is stuck to an outer rim at a tail end of the solid transparent cylinder  21 , and each O-ring  24  is filled in a front end and an outer rim of the end seat  23 , such that the end seat  23  is latched to an inner surface of the engaging member  30 . Next, the engaging member  30  is screwed on the male thread  14  at a front end of the handle  10 , the connection ring  52  of illuminating member  50  is screwed on the male thread  15  at a rear end of the handle  10 , the contact point a on the conductive plate  511  inside the illuminating member  50  is conducted with a projection point c at a center of the battery seat  48 , and the contact point b is also conducted with the spring switch  46 , so as to constitute the baton  1  which can serve as a nightstick and a flashlight.  
         [0034]     Referring to  FIG. 2  and  6 , an interior of the through-hole  532  of the sheath ring  53  is transfixed with a rope  533  which can be wrapped around a user&#39;s wrist to avoid a falling off when the baton  1  is used as the defensive nightstick.  
         [0035]     Referring to FIGS.  7  to  10 , a top end of a foot stand  2  is provided with a pivot seat  60 , an interior of which is installed with a pivot hole  61 , and outer rims of which are protruded with three pivot ears  62 . Three pivot shafts  63  are located below the pivot ears  62  respectively, and a top part of each of three rods  70  is provided with a connector  71  having a shaft hole  72  at a top end thereof to be latched with the pivot shaft  63  of pivot seat  60 , correspondingly. In addition, a top surface of the connector  71  is provided with an abutting surface  73  and a limiting block  74 , and a lower end of each connector  71  is assembled with a short section of transparent plastic rod  75 . Moreover, a lower end of the transparent plastic rod  75  is assembled with an illuminating foot rod  76  (as shown in  FIG. 10 ), so as to constitute the foot stand  2  (as shown in  FIG. 11 ). Referring to  FIG. 10  and  11 , upper ends of the three rods  70  of foot stand  2  of present invention are provided with the transparent plastic rods  75 , and lower ends are provided with the illuminating foot rods  76 , whereas a single opening at a top end of each foot rod  76  is formed with a graded slot  761 . After a water-proof O-ring  77  is sheathed on a graded part at a bottom end of the transparent plastic rod  75 , the transparent plastic rod  75  is latched into the graded slot  761 . An illuminating component  762  (LED light), a conductive metal plate  763 , a battery  764 , and an end cap  765  are located inside the illuminating foot rod  76 . After the end cap  765  is tightly screwed, whether the internal illuminating component  762  is illuminating can be controlled, and a light source can be illuminating through the transparent plastic rod  75 , after emitting the light. When using the present invention, each rod  70  is opened outward such that the abutting surface  73  of connector  72  is abutted on a bottom surface of the pivot ear  62  (as shown in  FIG. 9 ), and the limiting block  74  is stopped at an outer rim of the pivot ear  62  to firmly set up the foot stand  2  on a ground. Following that, the baton  1  of present invention is inserted into the pivot hole  61  for fixing; thereby enabling an assembly of the baton  1  and the foot stand  2  to serve as a stand of caution light to be used when a vehicle is malfunctioning.  
         [0036]     Referring to  FIG. 12 , the light-guiding member  20  of present invention is a thick-wall hollow transparent cylinder  25  which can be made by a PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) plastic material, with a thicker inner wall being emplaced with a plurality of strings of optical fiber  22 , an end part being sheathed with the end seat  23 , and a front end being provided with a slot hole  26  such that a cap  27  can be latched into the slot hole  26  to prevent a rain from flowing into the hollow transparent cylinder  25 . As the hollow transparent cylinder  25  is made by the PVC plastic material, it is provided with a better endurance to an impact.  
         [0037]     Referring to  FIG. 13  and  14 , the upper ends of rods  70  of foot stand  2  of present invention are provided with the transparent plastic rods  75 , and the lower ends are provided with the illuminating foot rods  76 , whereas a double opening at a top end of each foot rod  76  is formed with the graded slot  761  at one opening, and a graded slot  766  at the other opening. Another illuminating component  767  (LED light) can be installed on a circuit board at a rear side of the graded slot  766 . Therefore, after a water-proof O-ring  77  is sheathed on a graded part at a bottom end of transparent plastic rod  75   a , the transparent plastic rod  75   a  is latched into the graded slot  767 . Referring to  FIG. 14 , when using this embodient of present invention, each rod  70  is opened outward, such that the transparent plastic rod  75   a  can be connected to the illuminating foot rods  76   a  at two side, thereby enabling an assembly of the baton  1  and the foot stand  2  to form into an illuminating triangular rack along a specific direction to serve as a stand of caution light to be used when a vehicle is malfunctioning.  
         [0038]     Referring to  FIG. 15  and  16 , the rod  70  of foot stand  2  of present invention is provided with a transversal plastic rod  75   b , two ends of which are installed with clipping heads  75   c , and an outer surface of which is installed with a light reflecting plate or is coated with a light reflecting material, such that the clipping heads  75   c  at two ends are latched on the transparent plastic rod  75   c  of rod  70 , after each rod  70  is opened outward, thereby enabling an assembly of the baton  1  and the foot stand  2  to form into a triangular rack which can illuminate and is provided with a reflecting effect after being illuminated by a vehicle, along a specific direction, to serve as a stand of caution light to be used when a vehicle is malfunctioning.  
         [0039]     It is of course to be understood that the embodiments described herein is merely illustrative of the principles of the invention and that a wide variety of modifications thereto may be effected by persons skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.