This invention relates generally to flashlight attachments, and more particularly, to a device that can transform an ordinary hand-held tubular flashlight into a hand-free flashlight.
Flashlights are a common and often necessary tool for many individuals in a variety of work or personal situations. Many flashlights comprise a generally tubular shape for enclosing batteries, with a light source on one end and a battery compartment cap on the other (referred to here as “tubular flashlights”). These flashlights are usually made from a variety of solid materials such as metals or plastics.
Tubular flashlights are designed to be hand-held. Tubular flashlights inherently force the user to hold the flashlight in one hand in order to use it. As a direct result, the user only has one hand left to perform a task. And by having to hold the flashlight, a user's hand is now subject to fatigue over time. This can be a problem for first responders, military and rescue personnel who would benefit greatly from the ability to use both hands while simultaneously holding a flashlight.
The present invention is designed to overcome such deficiencies.
The present invention is a device for enabling hands-free use of a flashlight.
Aspects of the device comprise an elongated hollow body configured to connect to the body of a flashlight. The elongated body preferably comprises two open distal ends and an open apex portion. Aspects of the device also include a bottom section connected to a bottom length of the elongated hollow body, the bottom section comprising a plurality of holes oriented perpendicular to the elongated hollow body. The holes allow a user to hold the flashlight in a hands-free manner.
The accompanying drawings illustrate complete preferred embodiments of the present invention according to the best modes presently devised for the practical application of the principles thereof, and in which:
Example embodiments of the disclosure now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which example embodiments are shown. The concepts discussed herein may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the example embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope to those of ordinary skill in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements but not necessarily the same or identical elements throughout.
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It is preferred to make the elongated body portion 100 rigid, but flexible rubber-type material or similar substance which would allow the elongated hollow body to grip a flashlight, yet removable by hand. It is preferred to make the elongated body portion out of graphene plastic but those in the art could use other materials having similar material properties. The important characteristic are that the material be flexible enough to press a tubular flashlight into the open top while being rigid enough to hold the flashlight from falling out. Those in the art will recognize that many combinations of materials, sizes and rigidity could work with flashlights of varying sizes, including different lengths and diameters of the flashlight.
Those in the art will recognize that the elongated hollow body should be configured to the cross-sectional shape of the flashlight to be gripped. Thus, the elongated hollow body should be circular in shape for a circular flashlight, oval-shaped for an oval flashlight and square shaped for a square flashlight. Alternate embodiments of this elongated body 100 could have forms other than u-shaped, so long as there is a half-portion of the elongated body to grip the flashlight, especially flashlights that might have a different shape than the standard tube form.
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The preferred embodiment of this solid body part 200 should be a rubber-type flexible composite or similar like the flashlight grip 100. It is preferred to make the elongated body portion out of graphene plastic but many other similar materials can be used. Referring to
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Preferably, this would allow the axis of the flashlight grip 100 to rest on the dorsal portion of the hand between the knuckles on the proximal phalanx of the fingers. This allows the person to utilize their fingers with more dexterity since gripping the flashlight is now alleviated. It is preferred the flashlight should rest on the top of the hand. But alternately, the light can be placed in the palm if necessary by inverting the position of the flashlight holding devise 10 from the top of the fingers, to the palm when placing the fingers of the user through the plurality of holes 300.