This invention relates generally to a lantern. More particularly, the present invention relates to a collapsible, waterproof lantern.
Early conventional collapsible lanterns generally included a candle or wick, which provides a flame as a light source. A transparent globe surrounding the light source telescoped from a storage position to an operating position but the candle or wick did not. More recent conventional collapsible lanterns have replaced the candle/wick with a light bulb that is powered by batteries stored within the lantern. U.S. Pat. No. 5,768,949 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,030,094 disclose a collapsible lantern having a globe and cap telescopingly mounted to a base. A light bulb is mounted in the globe and is electrically connected to batteries that are mounted in the base. The relative movement between the globe/cap/light bulb assembly and the base/battery assembly requires an electrical path that is relatively complicated and expensive to manufacture.
Briefly stated, the invention in a preferred form is a telescopic lantern having an electrically powered lighting element for providing illumination. The lantern comprises a base assembly, a globe assembly and a light assembly. The base assembly includes a housing having an upper platform, with an opening, and a pair of electrical contacts. A power supply disposed within the base assembly is in electrical communication with the base assembly electrical contacts. The globe assembly is telescopically movable, relative to the base assembly, from a collapsed OFF position to an extended ON position. The light assembly includes a socket guide, a socket member, an actuating element, a socket support and a spring. The socket guide has an upper plate, having top and bottom faces and a central opening, and a pair of electrical contacts mounted on the upper plate top face. The socket member has a socket segment for receiving the base of the lighting element, an extension segment extending downward from the socket segment, through the opening of the socket guide upper plate, to a lower end portion, and a pair of electrical contacts for electrically connecting with the lighting element. The actuating element extends from a lower end portion, engaged with the socket guide upper plate top face, through the upper platform opening of the base assembly housing to an upper end. The socket support is fixedly mounted to the base assembly housing and has lower plate having a top face and an extension element extending upward from the lower plate top face to an upper end portion. The upper end portion of socket support extension element engages the lower end portion of the socket member extension segment to mount the socket member in a fixed position relative to the base assembly. The spring extends from an upper end, engaged with the bottom face of the socket guide upper plate, to a lower end, engaged with top face of the socket support lower plate. The lantern is turned on by extending the globe assembly from the OFF position to the on position by pulling the globe assembly away from the base assembly, the spring force of the light assembly spring urging the socket guide and the actuating element away from the socket support. The socket guide electrical contacts contact the socket member electrical contacts and the base assembly electrical contacts, establishing an electrical connection between the socket member and the power supply to energize the lighting element mounted in the socket member. The lantern is turned off by collapsing the globe assembly from the ON position to the OFF position by pushing the globe assembly toward the base assembly. The globe assembly engages the upper end of the actuating element, whereby the pushing force overcomes the spring force of the light assembly spring and the globe assembly urges the actuating element and socket guide toward the socket support. The socket guide electrical contacts lose contact with the socket member electrical contacts and the base assembly electrical contacts, breaking the electrical connection between the socket member and the power supply to de-energize the lighting element mounted in the socket member.
The base assembly housing also includes a substantially cylindrical guide member, coaxial with the upper platform opening, extending downwardly from the base assembly housing upper platform to a lower end portion. The socket support lower plate is fixedly mounted to the lower end portion of the base assembly housing guide member. The socket guide also includes at least one wing extending downwardly from the upper plate. The socket guide wing is received within a corresponding vertically extending slot of the guide member to prevent the socket support from rotating relative to the base assembly housing as the lantern is turned on and off.
The socket guide further includes a sleeve, coaxial with the upper plate opening, extending downwardly from the upper plate. An upper end portion of the light assembly spring is received within the socket guide sleeve.
The actuating element is a refractive sleeve surrounding the socket member and a lighting element having mounted in the socket member socket segment. The socket guide upper plate has a lip, coaxial with and adjacent to the upper plate opening, extending upwardly from the upper plate top face. The socket guide lip is received within the lower end portion of the refractive sleeve. Preferably, the lower end portion of the refractive sleeve is removably mounted to the socket guide lip by a bayonet joint.
The present invention may be better understood and its numerous objects and advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
With reference to the drawings wherein like numerals represent like parts throughout the several figures, a lantern in accordance with the present invention is generally designated by the numeral 10. The lantern 10 includes a base assembly 12, a globe assembly 14 that is telescopically movable relative to the base assembly 12, and a light assembly 16.
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Power for the light bulb 38 is supplied by batteries (not shown), preferably conventional D cell batteries, which extend axially between the light assembly 16 and the inner housing skirt 26. Battery electrical contacts 44, 46 mounted on the lower face 34 of the inner housing upper platform 28 and the upper face 48 of the bottom member 20 fix the batteries in place and electrically connect the batteries to form a single power supply. The power supply is electrically connected to power supply electrical contacts 50, 50′ mounted on the lower face 34 of the inner housing upper platform 28 by battery electrical contacts 44, 46. The power supply electrical contacts 50, 50′ are contacted by the light assembly 16 to provide power to the light bulb 38, as explained in detail below. The bottom member 20 may be temporarily removed to replace the batteries.
The globe assembly 14 includes a globe 54, a decorative shade 56, a top cover 58, and a handle 60. The globe 54 includes a cap 62 and a cylindrical side wall 64 that has upper, middle and lower portions. The top cover 58 is mounted to the globe cap 62. The middle and lower portions 66, 68 of the side wall 64 are axially movable within the annular space 30 between the inner and outer housings 22, 18. The globe assembly 14 may be extended/telescoped to the on position (
The globe assembly 14 is vented by an opening 72 in the top cover 58 to allow air to enter the globe 54 as the globe assembly 14 is extended to the on position and to allow air to exit the globe 54 as the globe assembly 14 is inserted to the off position. It should be appreciated that the waterproof seal between the globe and base assemblies 14, 12 would make it extremely difficult to move the globe assembly 14 relative to the base assembly 12 in the absence of such a vent. A plug 74 is inserted into the opening/vent 72 after the globe assembly 14 is completely extended or inserted to seal the vent 72, making the lantern 10 completely waterproof. A connecting ring 76 is threadably mounted on the outside surface of the upper portion of the base outer housing 18 and engages a rim 78 positioned intermediate the middle and lower portions 66, 68 of the globe side wall 64 when the globe assembly 14 is extended to the on position to prevent the lower portion 68 of the globe side wall 64 from being withdrawn from the base annular space 30.
The light assembly 16 includes a refractive sleeve 36, a socket member 80, a socket support 82 and a socket guide 84. With reference to
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To turn a lantern 10 off and place it out of service, the plug 74 is removed from the vent 72, the base bottom member 20 is placed on a surface and the handle 60 is grasped by hand (or alternatively the handle 60 and base assembly 12 are grasped by hand), and the globe assembly 14 is inserted to the off position by pushing the globe side wall middle portion 66 into the base annular space 30. Movement of the globe assembly 14 is resisted by a retarding force exerted by the contact of the O-ring seal 70 with the base outer housing 18 and the globe side walls 64 until the refractive sleeve upper end 176 contacts the globe cap 62. At that point, the pushing force exerted on the globe assembly 14 must additionally overcome the spring force of compression spring 168 as the globe assembly 14 urges the refractive sleeve 36 and socket guide 84 toward the socket support 82. As the globe assembly 14 is further pushed toward the off position and the socket guide 84 is pushed toward the socket support 82, the socket guide spring elements 110, 110′ initially elastically return to an extended condition and then loose contact with the socket member electrical contacts 148, 148′, breaking the electrical connection between the light bulb 38 and the power supply. When the globe assembly 14 has been completely pushed to the off position (
To place the lantern 10 in use, the plug 74 is removed from the vent 72, the handle 60 and base assembly 12 are grasped by hand, and the globe assembly 14 is extended to the on position by pulling the globe side wall middle portion 66 out of the base annular space 30. Initially, the spring force of compression spring 168 aids the pulling force in overcoming the retarding force applied by the O-ring seal 70, urging the socket guide 84 and refractive sleeve 36 away from the socket support 82. As the socket guide 84 approaches the socket member socket segment 138, the socket guide spring elements 110, 110′ will come into contact with the socket member electrical contacts 148, 148′, establishing an electrical connection between the light bulb 38 and the power supply. As the globe assembly 14 is pulled to the point where the refractive sleeve upper end 176 loses contact with the globe cap 62, the socket guide spring elements 110, 110′ are elastically flexed toward the socket guide upper plate 86, ensuring that good electrical contact between the socket guide spring elements 110, 110′ and the socket member electrical contacts 148, 148′ is maintained. After the refractive sleeve upper end 176 loses contact with the globe cap 62, the pulling force is not aided by the spring force of compression spring 168 in overcoming the O-ring retarding force. When the globe assembly 14 has been completely extended to the on position (
It should be appreciated that as the lantern 10 is placed in use or out of service, the light bulb 38 remains in a fixed position relative to the base assembly 12 while the refractive sleeve 36 and the socket guide 84 move axially up or down, respectively, relative to the base assembly 12. Such construction allows the use of a relatively simple switch device to make and break the electrical connection between the light bulb 38 and the power source. Specifically, simple mechanical contact between the socket member electrical contacts 148, 148′ and the socket guide spring elements 110, 110′ is sufficient to make the electrical connection between the light bulb 38 and the power supply and removing the mechanical contact between the socket member electrical contacts 148, 148′ and the socket guide spring elements 110, 110′ is sufficient to break the electrical connection between the light bulb 38 and the power supply.
While preferred embodiments have been shown and described, various modifications and substitutions may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the present invention has been described by way of illustration and not limitation.