Patent ID: 7364320

Claim:
A handheld flashlight comprising: a head including a light source; first, second, and third legs connected to the head and constructed and arranged to form a flashlight handle; a spring arrangement, wherein at least two of the legs are pivotally movable between closed and open positions and spring-biased toward their open positions by the spring arrangement, wherein the first, second, and third legs are positioned to support the head in an elevated position when the at least two of the legs are in their open positions; and an operator-releasable lock that releasably locks the at least two of the legs in their closed positions against the spring bias thereof, wherein, when the at least two spring-biased legs are locked in their closed positions, the legs are relatively fixed with respect to one another against pivotal movement therebetween so as to form relatively fixed portions of the flashlight handle, the handle having an outer surface exposed to the user and suitable for being gripped when the legs are locked in their closed positions against the spring bias thereof.