Patent ID: 6902293

Claim:
A battery-operated lighting device for use with any one of a plurality of rechargeable battery packs, each battery pack having a pair of terminals and producing a respective, different battery voltage, said battery-operated lighting device comprising: a casing having first and second casing parts, a lighting unit including a light bulb located in said first casing part, said light bulb having a fixed operating voltage, a battery chamber having an internal part located within said second casing part and receiving a first portion of any of the battery packs, and an external part including an end-forming part having an opening extending into the internal part of said battery chamber, the end-forming part engaging a second portion of a battery pack of which the first portion is inserted into the internal part of said battery chamber, with the second portion of the battery pack protruding from the end-forming part of said battery chamber and from said casing as a weighted base for said battery-operated lighting device, a pair of electrical contacts located in the internal part of said battery chamber for making electrical connection with respective terminals of whichever of the battery packs is located in said battery chamber, and an electronic voltage regulating circuit within said casing and having an input and an output electrically connected to said electrical contacts and to said light bulb, respectively, said voltage regulating circuit regulating whatever battery voltage is supplied by whichever of the battery packs is located in said battery chamber and connected to said input of said voltage regulating circuit to substantially the fixed operating voltage of said light bulb at said output of said voltage regulating circuit, for operating said light bulb.