This disclosure relates to a flashlight and, more particularly, to a multi-purpose, fishing lure shaped, portable flashlight adapted for a variety of activities, including fishing.
Portable light products are critical for outdoor, low-light (e.g. pre-dawn or dusk) and/or nighttime activities. Portable light products such as flashlights typically do not include accessories that are useful during outdoor activities, such as fishing. When people are using conventional light products, e.g., a flashlight, while fishing they must carry separate tools that are costly, require additional storage space and may get lost. For example, while fishing, a person may need a line cutter or a bottle opener in addition to the flashlight. Accordingly, there is an unmet need for a portable flashlight that includes various accessories, such as a line cutter and a bottle opener, while having a form factor that is easy to carry and store without taking up excess space while participating in a variety of activities, including fishing.
A portable flashlight light is disclosed herein that is configured to be mounted in multiple configurations (e.g., hanging via an attachment mechanism, hand-held, or temporarily resting on or against a support surface), has multiple illumination states (e.g., “On”, “Off”, “high brightness”, “low brightness: or “Flashing”), and allows a user to control illumination of the light using multiple different methods (e.g., manual, remote, or in response to a sensor).
The flashlight light also contains a bottle opener, a line cutter, or other accessories that may be utilized while participating in an outdoor activity, such as fishing. The flashlight may contain an internal power source that is configured to supply electrical current to the lighting element. A switch may be disposed on the body of the flashlight and configured to change the operational mode of the lighting element. The body of the flashlight may be configured with an elongated main body, which is in the shape of a fish or a lure.
Other features and advantages of the disclosure will be apparent from the following specification taken in conjunction with the following drawings.
The drawing figures depict one or more implementations in accord with the present teachings, by way of example only, not by way of limitation. In the figures, like reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements.
While this disclosure includes a number of details and embodiments in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail particular embodiments with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the disclosed methods and systems, and is not intended to limit the broad aspects of the disclosed concepts to the embodiments illustrated.
The front body 22 has a substantially cylindrical shape and includes a first extent or a head portion 24, eyes 30, the bottle opener 14 and retaining ring 56. The first extent or head portion 24 may be configured to look like a fish head or lure head, while the remaining portion or second extent 31 is configured to look like a portion of a fish body or lure body. This is accomplished by forming a triangle shape in the rear extent 72 of the head portion 24, while a front extent 74 of the head portion 24 contains an angled or sloped leading edge 76. The rear extent 31 of the head portion 24 is defined by a boundary line 77. As shown in the Figures, the boundary line 77 can have an angled segment 77a proximate the eye feature 100. Best show in connection with
The bottle opener 14 includes an aperture 15 formed through an extent of the head portion 24, wherein the aperture 15 is defined by an irregular edge periphery 15a. The irregular aperture periphery 15a is configured to allow a user to place a protrusion 25 of the head portion 24 under a first extent of a bottle cap when a second extent of a bottle cap is placed within the aperture 15. Once the protrusion 25 of the head portion 24 is placed under the bottle cap, a user can apply an upwardly-directed force on the body of the 20 of the flashlight 10, primarily on the rear body portion 26. This upwardly directed force causes the protrusion 25 to apply a prying force on the first extent of the bottle cap that is directed upwardly and away from the bottle, which in turn allows for the removal of the bottle cap from the upper lip of the bottle.
The eyes 30 are positioned within the head portion 24 of the front body 22 and are designed to make the flashlight 10 look like a fishing lure or a fish. The eyes 30 may have two parts, wherein a first part 100 may be configured to look like the pupil of a fish eye and the second part 102 may be configured to look like the iris or sclera of a fish eye. The eyes 30 may be separate components from the head portion 24, as shown in
The retaining ring 56 is a projection that extends inward from the inner surface 70 of the head portion 24. The retaining ring 56 is positioned rearward from the bottle opener 14. The retaining ring 56 is configured to retain the lens 42 adjacent to the reflector 52 and within the flashlight 10. The ring 56 is also configured to help prevent water from entering into the flashlight 10.
The rear body 26 includes a streamlined tail segment 28, a recess or slot 78, a line cutter 16, and an attachment mechanism 12. In particular, a first extent of the rear body is cylindrical and the second extent or tail segment 28 is cone shaped. The cone shaped tail 28 contains the recess 78 that receives the line cutter 16. The recess 78 allows the line cutter 16 to be recessed within an outer surface 80 of the rear body 26, which helps ensure that the line cutter 16 stays sharp as it helps prevent the line cutter 16 from coming into accidental contact with other objects. The line cutter 16 includes an element with a sharpened edge or a blade 84 that is releasably attached to the tail 28 of the rear body 26 by an elongated coupler 82. The blade is configured such that it can cut a fishing line when a user places the blade 84 in contact with the fishing line and moves the blade 84 back and forth. Once the blade 84 becomes dull, a user can replace the blade 84 by: (i) unscrewing the elongated coupler 82 from the rear body 26, (ii) removing the blade 84 from the recess 78, (iii) placing a replacement blade 84 within the recess 78, and (iv) by screwing the elongated coupler 82 to the rear body 26.
The attachment mechanism 12 includes a ring 86 and a carabiner 90. The carabiner 90 includes a retainer 88, which is coupled to the carabiner 90 and forms the closure mechanism of the carabiner 90. The ring 86 is configured to couple the carabiner 90 to the rear body 26. This configuration allows the carabiner 90 to be positioned in various positions relative to the rear body 26. Specifically, this configuration allows for angular movement of the rear body 26 in comparison with the carabiner 90, but limits the rotational movement of the rear body 26 in comparison with the carabiner 90. In other embodiments, different coupling means may be utilized to couple the carabiner 90 to the rear body 26, such as a coupling means that allows for both angular and rotational movement. In even other embodiments, the attachment mechanism 12 may be a different attachment mechanism, such as a hook, eyelet or loop, a chain, a clip, a D ring, or any other known attachment mechanism.
Referring to
The emitter assembly 46 is positioned adjacent to the lighting element PCB 50 and rearward from the lens 42. The emitter assembly 46 is composed of between 1 and 30 individual emitters 48, preferably between 3 and 25 individual emitters 48, and most preferably between 4 and 8 individual emitters 48. Every individual emitter 48, which is a part of the emitter assembly 46, is configured to illuminate when power is applied to the emitter assembly 46 by the lighting element PCB 50. The emitter assembly 46 may produce between 0 and 3000 lumen, preferably between 0 and 1000, and most preferably between 0 and 300. It should be understood that in other embodiments every individual emitter 48 contained within the emitter assembly 46 may not be configured to illuminate when power is applied to the emitter assembly 46. For example, a user may be able to select the desired individual emitters 48 that the user wants illuminated, while keeping other individual emitters 48 unilluminated, which can vary the brightness of the emitted light.
The emitter assembly 46 may be a Chip on Board (“COB”) LED or surface-mount device LED. If the emitter assembly 46 is a COB LED, then the emitter assembly 46 contains multiple individual light emitters 48. Each of these individual light emitters 48 is covered by the lens 42, which acts as a first or primary optic. In this configuration, there is no secondary optic, as the individual light emitters 48 do not have individual optics. In other embodiments, a secondary optic may be included within the flashlight 10. For example, if a standard LED is selected as the emitter, the flashlight 10 may have a secondary optic. In this configuration, the primary optic for the standard LED is the optic that surrounds the LED, while the secondary optic is the lens 42. This secondary optic may be configured to protect the standard LEDs from the surrounding environment and protect the user from contacting the hot outer surface of the primary optics after the LEDs. In other embodiments, the lens 42 may also be omitted. In this configuration, there is no primary optic and no secondary optic. It should be understood that different types of emitter assemblies 46 may be utilized, such as: (i) a standard LED, (ii) organic LED, (iii) induction light panel, (iv) silicon quantum dot phosphor (SiQD-phosphor), or (v) surface-mount device LED. In addition, different color emitters 48 (e.g., red, green, blue) may be contained within the emitter assembly 46.
The flashlight 10 includes a reflector 52 that is positioned rearward of the lens 42. The bottom 58 of the reflector 52 has a hole 60 therethrough that is configured to receive the emitter assembly 46. This reflector 52 helps focus the emitted light from the emitter assembly 46 in a specific direction to achieve the desired light distribution and pattern. It should be understood that the reflector 52 is configured to reflect substantially all of the light that is emitted by the emitter assembly 46 through the lens 42. In some embodiments, the relative position of the emitter assembly 46 and the reflector 52 or the shape of the reflector 52 may be altered by the user to change the light distribution pattern. For example, a use may rotate the head portion 24 in relation to the remaining part of the body 20, which causes that interior surface of the reflector to alter the shape of the interior surface. This alteration in the shape of the interior surface causes the light that is emitted from the emitter assembly 46 to have a narrower beam diameter. In other words, this rotation may cause the beam to become more focused. In other embodiments, the flashlight 10 may not have a reflector 52 and instead that emitter assembly 46 may be positioned closer to the lens 42.
The switch 44 of the flashlight 10 enables the user to alter the operational mode of the flashlight 10. This is done by altering the current that can pass from the power source 40 to flow to the emitter assembly 46 to illuminate or turn “On” the flashlight 10. In one embodiment, the switch 44 is a push button switch that the user depresses and releases to change the operational mode of the flashlight 10. For example, the user: (i) may depress the button one time to turn “On” the lighting element 45, (ii) may depress the button two times to turn “Off” the lighting element 45, or (iii) may depress the button three times to place the lighting element 45 in an SOS or flashing mode. It is to be understood that the mode switch 44 can be positioned within the front body portion 22 or the rear body portion 26. In particular, the mode switch 44 may be placed within: (i) the end of the second substantially cone shaped extent 28 of the rear body portion 26, (ii) the side wall of the second substantially cone shaped extent 28 of the rear body portion 26, (iii) the side wall of the first substantially cylindrical extent 23 of the rear body portion 26, (iv) the side wall of the second extent 31 of the front body portion 22, or (v) the side wall of the first extent 24 of the front body portion 22, as shown in
The power source 40 is configured to be positioned within a receiver 38 formed within the body 20. The power source 40 provides electrical power to the flashlight 10. In particular, the power source 40 may be a combination of removable non-rechargeable batteries disposed within a battery cartridge. Preferably, the battery cartridge holds three AAA non-rechargeable batteries. It should be understood that different configurations of the battery cartridge may be implemented. For example, the battery cartridge may be able to: (i) hold additional batteries, such as 12 or 15 total batteries, (ii) fewer batteries, such as 1-9 total batteries, (iii) larger batteries, such as C or D sized batteries, or (iv) smaller batteries, such as AAAA or AAA sized batteries. Preferably, the battery cartridge has a length that extends along the longitudinal axis A-A, shown in
The power source 40 can be configured such that it allows the power source 40 to supply power to the flashlight regardless of which direction the power source 40 is inserted into the receiver 38. An exemplary description of such a power source configuration is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/110,406, which is incorporated herein by reference. It should be understood that instead of being a combination of removable non-rechargeable batteries disposed within a battery cartridge, the power source 40 may be a removable non-rechargeable battery, a removable rechargeable battery, a combination of removable rechargeable batteries, a combination of removable rechargeable batteries disposed within a battery cartridge, a non-removable rechargeable battery, a combination of non-removable rechargeable batteries disposed within a battery cartridge, a DC power supply that is configured to connect to a 12 volt car battery, a DC power supply that is configured to connect to a 110 volt alternative current outlet, or any other type of power supply that is known to a person of skill in the art.
In some embodiments, the flashlight 10 may be waterproof (e.g., ip67 or ip68) and design to float in water. In other embodiments, the fighting flashlight 10 may be configured to have an internal compartment 200, which may be located in the rear body 26. This compartment 200 may allow the user to store items (e.g., keys, money, medicine or other accessories) in a dry location. In another embodiment, an extent of the body 20 may have a magnet contained therein to allow the flashlight 10 to magnetically couple to a magnetic surface. For example, the head portion 24 may be formed from a material that is magnetic.
In another embodiment, the flashlight 10 may include a secondary emitter assembly 150 that extends horizontally along the body 20 of the flashlight 10. This secondary emitter assembly 150 may be positioned such that it is substantially perpendicular to the lens 42. For example, the secondary emitter assembly 150 may be positioned on the opposite side of the bottle opener 14 and may extend substantially between points E and G, which are shown in
In another embodiment, the flashlight 10 may have a rechargeable battery, and there may be a USB receptacle that is disposed on the exterior of the body 20. This would allow the user to charge and discharge the power source 40 using a USB cable. For example, the user could charge their cellular phone from the flashlight 10 without removing the power source 40 from the receptacle 38. In a further embodiment, the flashlight 10 may include an emergency position indicating radio beacon (e.g., EPIRB, SART, or AIS-SART). The radio beacon may operate at the 406 MHz frequency and may aid search and rescue operations, such as COSPAS-SARSAT, in finding the user. In an even further embodiment, the flashlight 10 may include a speaker and a wireless module (e.g., a module that is compatible with Bluetooth, NFC, Felica, WiFi, Zigbee, RFID, cellular, WiMAX, ISM, or any combination of these technologies) to enable a user to play music from the flashlight 10. In another embodiment, the flashlight 10 may include an ultraviolet light that is designed to attract and kill bugs. Other embodiments or combinations of the above embodiments are contemplated by this disclosure.
The flashlight 10 enables numerous benefits over prior lighting systems. Unlike a lighting system, the present disclosure provides for a system that synergistically and advantageously combines accessories that are useful for the user in a compact and portable configuration. While the foregoing has described what are considered to be the best mode and/or other examples, it is understood that various modifications may be made therein and that the subject matter disclosed herein may be implemented in various forms and examples, and that the teachings may be applied in numerous applications, only some of which have been described herein. It is intended by the following claims to claim any and all applications, modifications and variations that fall within the true scope of the present teachings. Other implementations are also contemplated.
While some implementations have been illustrated and described, numerous modifications come to mind without significantly departing from the spirit of the disclosure; and the scope of protection is only limited by the scope of the accompanying claims. For example, the overall shape of the flashlight 10 may be altered to be any one of the following shapes a triangular prism, a rectangular prism, a cube, a pentagonal prism, a hexagonal prism, octagonal prism, sphere, a cone, a tetrahedron, a cuboid, a dodecahedron, a icosahedron, a torus, a octahedron, a ellipsoid, or any other similar shape.
The flashlight 10 may have various lengths. For example, the first length that extends between A and B, shown in
The front portion 22 may be combined with the rear portion 26 to form a single body that houses a power source 40. In this configuration, the power source 40 is a rechargeable battery that is not intended to be removed from the body 20. The body 20 may be formed from: (i) metal, such as aluminum or steel, (ii) a polymer material, such as plastic, (iii) a magnetic material, (iv) a material that floats in water, or (v) a combination of the prior material. The lens 42 may be made from a polymer material, such as plastic, and may be transparent, partially transparent, or colored.
The flashlight 10 may be colored a single color (e.g., white) except for: (i) eyes 30, (ii) switch 44, (iii) head portion 24 of the front body 22, (iv) an extent of the line cutter 16, and (v) the attachment mechanism 12. In particular, the attachment mechanism 12 and the extent of the line cutter 16 may have a silver color, while the head portion 24 of the front body 22 and the switch 44 may have a red color. The outer surface of the flashlight 10 may include indicia, such as the manufacturer of the flashlight 10 or may be personalized to include a person's name or information.
Headings and subheadings, if any, are used for convenience only and are not limiting. The word exemplary is used to mean serving as an example or illustration. To the extent that the term includes, have, or the like is used, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term comprise as comprise is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim. Relational terms such as first and second and the like may be used to distinguish one entity or action from another without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions.
Phrases such as an aspect, the aspect, another aspect, some aspects, one or more aspects, an implementation, the implementation, another implementation, some implementations, one or more implementations, an embodiment, the embodiment, another embodiment, some embodiments, one or more embodiments, a configuration, the configuration, another configuration, some configurations, one or more configurations, the subject technology, the disclosure, the present disclosure, other variations thereof and alike are for convenience and do not imply that a disclosure relating to such phrase(s) is essential to the subject technology or that such disclosure applies to all configurations of the subject technology. A disclosure relating to such phrase(s) may apply to all configurations, or one or more configurations. A disclosure relating to such phrase(s) may provide one or more examples. A phrase such as an aspect or some aspects may refer to one or more aspects and vice versa, and this applies similarly to other foregoing phrases.
Numerous modifications to the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the foregoing description. Preferred embodiments of this disclosure are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the disclosure. It should be understood that the illustrated embodiments are exemplary only, and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the disclosure.
This application is a continuation of U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 17/121,317, filed Dec. 14, 2020, which is a continuation of U.S. Utility Pat. No. 10,865,949, filed Oct. 8, 2019, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Design Pat. No. D903,914, filed Oct. 8, 2018, and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62,742,692, filed on Oct. 8, 2018, all of which are incorporated in their entirety herein by reference and made a part hereof.
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