Egg light

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6485162
  • Patent Number
    6,485,162
  • Date Filed
    Tuesday, January 16, 2001
    24 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, November 26, 2002
    22 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Tso; Laura K.
    Agents
    • Goldberg; Richard M.
Abstract
A light with a lamp and a reflector, includes a reflector formed by one surface of a kitchen utensil and having a reflector surface, and at least one lamp incorporated in at least one egg-shaped body which is transparent or translucent and which is fixed to the kitchen utensil in front of the reflector surface.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




The invention relates to a light with a lamp and a reflector.




In numerous lights the lamp is disposed in front of a reflector which ensures that the light radiated from the amp is oriented primarily in a certain direction. In most cases, reflectors are made from thin sheets of aluminum, steel or stainless steel, which may be chrome-plated. These sheets are fixed by some suitable means to or in the light's stand, housing or frame. Hence a relatively large number of components are always required to construct a light with its housing, the reflector and the lamp.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




This invention is based on the task of providing a particularly simple light construction equipped with both a reflector and a lamp.




In a light of the above type, this task is solved in that the reflector is formed by one surface of a kitchen appliance, and in that at least one lamp is incorporated in at least one egg-shaped transparent or translucent body which is fixed to the kitchen appliance in front of the reflector surface.




The term ‘kitchen appliance’ as used in this invention does not refer to the usual fitted kitchen appliances such as ovens, dishwashers or microwave ovens, for which this tern is occasionally used. The invention relates far more to manual work utensils of the kind used in commonplace kitchen tasks.




Numerous kitchen utensils of this type are made from metals and, for aesthetic and hygienic reasons, have a smooth, e.g. chrome-plated or polished surface. This is the case for e.g. manual utensils such as ladles, skimmers, straining spoons, sieves or similar. In certain instances these utensils also have a bowl-shaped curved surface which is particularly suitable for use as a reflector surface. According to the invention, a lamp incorporated in a body in the shape of an egg is fixed in front of surfaces such as these.




The power supply line can run in some concealed place, e.g. along the back of the handle of a kitchen utensil, or can possibly also be ran inside a hollow handle, insofar as This is available.




The light consisting of the kitchen utensil and the lamp can e.g. be fixed to a supporting plate, thereby forming a lighting element in an original design that is particularly suitable for use in kitchens.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




Preferred examples of embodiments of the invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the enclosed drawings, in which





FIG. 1

is a perspective view of a light according to the invention;





FIG. 2

is a similar view of a second embodiment of the invention;





FIG. 3

shows a third embodiment of the invention.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION




The light shown in

FIG. 1

consists of a straining spoon


10


with a round, sieve-like perforated head


12


that is curved to form a shallow bowl and a stem


14


, at the end of which there is a handle


16


.




At the outer end of handle


16


there is a hole


18


by which straining spoon


10


can be hung from a hook.




In front of the bowl-shaped head


12


there is an egg-shaped body


20


, as shown in the drawing, which is made e.g. from transparent or translucent glass. A lamp


22


, possibly in the form of a low-voltage filament lamp or a light emitting diode, is incorporated inside this body


20


by some appropriate means.




The wiring required to operate lamp


22


can be run through the holes in straining spoon


10


to the back of head


12


and then along stem


14


to a power source. Body


20


is fixed in front of head


12


by some suitable unillustrated means, as shown in the drawing.




In the embodiment of

FIG. 2

the base


24


of sieve


26


forms a reflector which radiates part of the light to the observer whilst allowing the remainder to pass out the back Through the meshed structure of base


24


. The base of the sieve is retained by a ring


28


to which a handle


30


is attached on one side, while on the opposite side there is a support stirrup


32


which is required e.g. to rest the sieve on top of a pan.




On base


24


of the sieve there are two egg-shaped bodies


34


,


36


, which are made from e.g. glass or plastic and may be transparent or translucent. Lamps


38


,


40


, e.g. in the form of light emitting diodes, are inserted inside these egg-shaped bodies


34


,


36


, as already described in connection with the fist embodiment.




The embodiment of

FIG. 3

also uses a sieve


26


as the base. This sieve


26


is composed of the same components as already described in connection with

FIG. 2

, for which the same reference numerals are also used here, so that no repeat description is necessary.




In this case three egg-shaped bodies


42


,


44


,


46


are provided on the base of the sieve. Here too, lumps


48


,


50


,


52


are incorporated inside the egg-shaped bodies just as in the previous embodiments.



Claims
  • 1. A light with a lamp and a reflector, comprising:a reflector formed by one surface of a kitchen utensil and having a reflector surface, and at least one lamp incorporated in at least one egg-shaped body which is transparent and which is fixed to the kitchen utensil in front of the reflector surface.
  • 2. The light of claim 1, wherein the kitchen utensil is a straining spoon.
  • 3. The light of claim 1, wherein the kitchen utensil is a sieve.
  • 4. The light of claim 1, wherein the at least one lamp is a light emitting diode.
  • 5. The light of claim 1, wherein the at least one lamp is a low-voltage filament lamp.
  • 6. A light with a lamp and a reflector, comprising:a reflector formed by one surface of a kitchen utensil and having a reflector surface, and at least one lamp incorporated in at least one egg-shaped body which is translucent and which is fixed to the kitchen utensil in front of the reflector surface.
  • 7. The light of claim 6, wherein the kitchen utensil is a straining spoon.
  • 8. The light of claim 6, wherein the kitchen utensil is a sieve.
  • 9. The light of claim 6, wherein the at least one lamp is a light emitting diode.
  • 10. The light of claim 6, wherein the at least one lamp is a low-voltage filament lamp.
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
200 00 885 U Jan 2000 DE
US Referenced Citations (7)
Number Name Date Kind
2815439 Plubell Dec 1957 A
D217383 Benedetto Apr 1970 S
5138535 Aragon, Jr. Aug 1992 A
D360478 Freund Jul 1995 S
5545069 Glynn et al. Aug 1996 A
5743782 Glynn et al. Apr 1998 A
5822088 Danno et al. Oct 1998 A