Patent Application
20090122562
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a lamp and, more particularly, to a clipping lamp for clipping a flat panel display.
2. Related Prior Art
Personal computers such as desktop computers and laptop computers are common these days. A laptop computer is equipped with a flat panel display and, more particularly, a liquid crystal display. A user can use a laptop computer everywhere he or she goes. It is however difficult to have appropriate illumination while consuming a little energy everywhere. To have appropriate illumination, there must be an appropriate lamp located in an appropriate position.
The present invention is therefore intended to obviate or at least alleviate the problems encountered in prior art.
It is the primary objective of the present invention to provide a clipping lamp for clipping a flat panel display of a computer.
To achieve the foregoing objective, the clipping lamp includes a clip for clipping a flat object, a shell pivotally connected to the clip, at least one illuminating element supported on the shell, a reeling unit disposed in the shell, a wire connected to the illuminating elements and wound on the reeling unit and a plug connected to the wire.
Other objectives, advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description referring to the attached drawings.
The present invention will be described via the detailed illustration of the preferred embodiment referring to the drawings.
Referring to
The clip 10 includes two jaws 11. Each of the jaws 11 includes two legs 13 between which a space 12 is defined. An ear 14 is formed on a middle portion of each of the legs 13. A soft pad 15 is disposed in a recess 18 defined in each of the legs 13. Each of the legs 13 includes an indent 16 for receiving an end of a spring 17. The springs 17 keep the clip 10 in a closed position.
The shell 20 includes two halves 21. Each of the halves 21 includes a cutout 22. The cutouts 22 together form an opening when the halves 21 are joined together. Two rings 23 are sandwiched between the halves 21 so that the former and the latter can only be rotated together. Two pins 24 are inserted through the ears 14 and the rings 23, thus pivotally connecting the shell 20 to the clip 10. Each of the pins 24 includes two arms 243 separated from each other by a slit 240 defined therein. Each of the arms 243 is formed with a flange 241. The slit 240 allows the arms 243 to move towards each other so that each of the pins 24 can easily be inserted through the related ear 14 and the ring 23. Then, the arms 243 expand so that the flanges 241 hook the related ring 23.
The illuminating elements 26 are preferably light-emitting diodes connected to a circuit board 25 located between the halves 21. One of the halves 21 includes a plurality of apertures 29 through which the illuminating elements 26 are observable. A lens 27 is attached to the shell 20, over the illuminating elements 26. Thus, light emitted from the illuminating elements 26 is scattered by the lens 27.
One of the halves 21 includes an axle 28 formed thereon and another aperture 36 defined therein.
The reeling unit 30 includes a reel 31, ratchets 32, coil spring 33, restraint 34, a button 38 and a helical spring 39. The reel 31 is rotationally mounted on the axle 28. The ratchets 32 are formed on the reel 31. The coil spring 33 includes an end connected to the reel 31 and another end connected to the axle 28. The button 38 is movably disposed in the shell 20, with only one end exposed from the aperture 36 so that the button 38 can be pushed. The restraint 34 is formed on the button 38. The restraint 34 is used for engagement with the ratchets 32, thus preventing the rotation of the reel 31 in only one of two directions, i.e., avoiding the reeling in of the wire 45, but allowing the reeling out of the wire 45. The helical spring 39 is mounted on the axle 28. The helical spring 39 is compressed between the button 38 and one of the halves 21. The helical spring 39 retains the restraint 34 in engagement with the ratchets 32.
The wire 45 is connected to a plug 40. The wire 45 is wound on the reel 31. The plug 40 can be moved into and out of the shell 20 through the opening consisting of the cutouts 22 of the halves 21 of the shell 20. The plug 40 is a USB plug.
Referring to
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Being light-emitting diodes, the illuminating elements 26 can provide adequate illumination while consuming a little energy. The clip 10 clips the flat panel display so that the illuminating elements 26 emit light onto the flat panel display. Therefore, appropriate illumination is provided.
The present invention has been described via the detailed illustration of the preferred embodiment. Those skilled in the art can derive variations from the preferred embodiment without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the preferred embodiment shall not limit the scope of the present invention defined in the claims.
