Patent Application
20070253222
The present invention relates to a nightlight, and more particularly to a night light having a rotatable drum for displaying an illuminated image.
The present invention provides a nightlight which is adapted for receiving and displaying an image selected by the user. The nightlight is better able than known nightlights to satisfy the user's esthetic requirements.
A nightlight according to the invention may comprise a base; a lighting device on the base; and a power source in the base for the lighting device; an outer housing mounted on the base and surrounding the lighting device, having a window through which light can project from the lighting device; an image support within the outer housing for holding at least one image between the lighting device and the window, whereby the image is illuminated by the lighting device and visible through the window. The image support may be rotatably mounted within the outer housing, and capable of supporting a plurality of images and of being selectively rotated into a position for displaying a selected one of the images through the window. The image support may be a drum, which may for example be cylindrical or polygonal in its cross-section. The image support may be rotatable by a ring which is accessible by a user for manually rotating the drum. The image may be a pictorial image or may be formed by perforations formed in the image support. The image support may be transparent, translucent or opaque. The lighting device may comprise a light bulb or an LED and may have a light-spreading or diffusing arrangement associated with the lighting device.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments of the invention which refers to the accompanying drawings.
A second part of the nightlight includes an inner housing 5 which houses a light bulb 6 mounted on a lamp base 8. The inner housing 5 is generally half-cylindrical and has on its distal end a mounting part 7 which will be described further below.
The second part further includes an outer housing 10, shown in perspective view in
As best seen in
As seen in
The drum need not be cylindrical, but may for example be polygonal in cross-section.
The drum also need not be rotatable coaxially with the base as shown, but may be placed in any other orientation as desired. Further, the images need not be placed on a drum, but may for example be placed on a flat structure, such as a disk, arranged suitably on the base so as to face into the room.
As thus arranged, the lamp 6 illuminates the open window 13 in the outer housing 10. The cylindrical drum 20 in the outer housing 10 is manually rotatable by means of the knurled ring 21 past the window 13. The drum 20 is translucent or transparent and has at least one and preferably several images formed as a film 22 on the drum, such that rotation of the drum places an image in the window 13 which is illuminated by the lamp 6, whereby the image is visible through the window 13. The knurled ring 21 is connected with the drum 20 to rotate the drum inside the stationary outer housing 10.
The image need not be a photographic or pictorial image, but may for example be formed by perforations in the form of dots or a stencil-like pattern in an opaque or translucent film 22. In this case the image will be visible when looking at the nightlight and will also be projected outward into the surrounding room.
A second embodiment of the invention comprising a different lighting device is shown in
A third embodiment of the invention is shown in an exploded view in
A drum 44 for supporting images can be slid down concentrically over the inner housing 34 and is manually rotatable about the inner housing 34 via a ring 32. The ring 32 rests on a shoulder of the base 35.
An outer housing 31 in turn can be slid down concentrically over the drum 44. A top lid 45 fits into the top of the outer housing 31 and the top lid and the outer housing are held in fixed relation by a plurality of ridges 46 and grooves 47.
As shown in
Thus the outer housing 31 is secured in fixed relation to the inner housing 34, while the image-supporting drum 44 is disposed concentrically in between the outer and inner housings, and is manually rotatable via the externally-accessible ring 32.
A lens 33 covers a window 36 through which images on the drum 44 can be viewed.
Although the present invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments thereof, many other variations and modifications and other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the present invention is not limited by the specific disclosure herein.
