Patent Application
20050047128
This invention relates to work lights, and is more particularly directed to halogen work lights incorporating a spare bulb in the housing.
Halogen work lights are widely used in a variety of settings such as construction sites, industrial plants, automotive and auto body repair shops, artist studios, photographic studios, and for home improvement projects. Compared to conventional light bulbs, halogen bulbs have a comparatively high operating temperature which tends to limit the bulb life. Halogen bulbs often burn out while in use on the job or during a project. When a bulb fails, it interrupts the project or job being performed. Usually the interruption stops the job or project until it can be replaced and work can continue. Thus, having a spare bulb in close proximity to the project is very desirable.
In the past, a major disadvantage of using halogen work lights has been the lack of an easily accessible spare halogen bulb. Most often, a burned out bulb requires a trip to the hardware store to find a replacement. Spare bulbs have been stored in vehicles, tool boxes, and other similar places, but these storage locations are often not readily available or accessible. Also, since these storage locations are not specifically tailored to store glass bulbs with delicate filaments inside, damage to the bulb may have taken place by the time the need arises for its use.
At least three configurations of spare bulb housings are known in the prior art. The first configuration stores the halogen bulb in the work light stand or supporting structure. For example, a spare bulb storage housing may be incorporated into a handle of the work light wherein the bulb in stored inside the handle and runs along the length of the handle. The second configuration is a work light with a spare bulb housing that is attached externally to the support. The third configuration has a tubular spare bulb housing that is attached to a crossbar on which a series of work lights are mounted.
All of the preceding spare bulb housing configurations position the spare bulb housing on the exterior of the light itself. Thus, the spare bulb housing being part of the light's exterior, and consequently the spare bulb itself, are prone to jostling, banging, and general abuse during transportation and use of the light in the field.
Further, some of the prior art designs have a spare bulb housing that protrudes from the frame, making the work light unwieldy or making the frame easy to catch on electrical wires or the surrounding environment. Lastly, the location of the spare bulb housing is sometimes inconveniently located for easy access the user.
Therefore, what is needed is a spare bulb holder that is conveniently accessible and is integrated within the work light to prevent the spare bulb from being easily damaged during use and transport. The present invention is designed to fulfill this and other needs.
The present invention directed to a work light frame, containing within the frame a spare bulb holder. The work light frame has a top, a bottom, a front, a back, and a channel-shape cross-section extending around the perimeter of the frame defining a central open area for a transparent or translucent lens.
The work light frame is preferably attached to the front of a work light that houses an electric halogen or like lamp by a connection means such as, a hinge, a pivot, an axle mechanism or other suitable pivoting device. The frame thus pivots away from the main housing of the electrical lamp to allow access to the burned out bulb.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the spare bulb housing is located in a cavity on the back of the work light frame. The cavity exploits the natural space formed as part of the channel-shape cross-section of the light frame. That is, the spare bulb housing is incorporated within the frame body creating an integrated storage compartment.
The integrated storage compartment is designed to accommodate a tubular-shaped bulb, and is preferably formed by a series of walls, a base and a cover. In one embodiment, the frame of the work light supplies a bowed outer wall for the compartment and the base. The cover is disposed over the cavity formed by the series of walls and is generally parallel to the base.
The cover may be fastened to the compartment by a hinge on one side while the opposite side of the cover may be attached to the one of the walls by a fastener, a plurality of clips, overhanging hooks or snaps, or any combination thereof. In another embodiment, the cover and the wall to which the cover is attached may contain recesses designed to accommodate a fastener. This fastener passes through both the cover and the wall, thus securing the cover over the spare bulb compartment. Alternatively, the fastener may pass through the exterior light frame, the cover and into a wall, thus securing the compartment and the cover to the frame.
The spare bulb is placed within the integrated storage compartment and may be secured by fitting the ends of the bulb into grooves or other means for retaining the bulb. The bulb preferably fits snugly within the grooves, thus minimizing jostling and decreasing the chance of damage when the work light is transported. Alternatively, the means for retaining the bulb may include clips, snaps, adhesives, rubber or plastic pinchers, compression fittings, or the like. Also, a gasket or similar type seal can be applied to the compartment cover and/or integrated into the storage compartment to further add protection for the bulb.
Other aspects, advantages, and novel features of the invention are described below or will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following specifications and drawings of illustrative embodiments.
As best seen in
Still in
To accommodate the compartment 5, the frame 1 shown in
The second wall 9 and the third wall 15 each has an optional indentation, slot, or groove 17 which is used to retain the ends of a spare bulb 31. The spare bulb 31 in this application is an incandescent halogen type that has a long, tubular glass center section with plastic or ceramic insulators and conductor leads at the two ends 34. Accordingly, the two ends 34 slide into the opposed grooves 17 inside the compartment 5. The spare bulb 31 preferably fits snugly within the grooves 17, thus minimizing jostling and decreasing the chance of damage when the work light is transported.
Alternatively, the means for retaining the bulb may include clips, snaps, adhesives, hooks, rubber or plastic pinchers, compression fittings, or the like. Of course, the means for retaining the bulb can be designed to hold more than one bulb. The interior of the compartment 5 may be lined with felt, rubber, plastic, Styrofoam, or similar soft material to further protect the spare bulb 31 from shock. In other alternative embodiments, the cover and/or the compartment is lined with a gasket or seal to further protect the bulb.
Clips 29 formed into the cover 25 may be used to hook onto the first wall 7. The cover 25 may be hinged at the bottom or hinged at the top. Alternatively, as seen in
In alternative embodiments, the cover can snap into place by means of protrusions, nubs, or a clip extending from the frame. A wire, cable, chain, or the like optionally joins the cover to the frame to prevent the cover from detaching or being misplaced.
The work light frame 1 is joined to the lamp housing 32 preferably at the bottom thereof by a rotatable means 41. In this embodiment, the rotatable means 41 refers to tabs 47 extending from the underside of the housing 37 that meet with tabs 49 extending toward the rear of frame 1. Interconnecting the tabs 47, 49 is a stud, bolt, rivet, pin, screw, or the like. Together the structures permit the frame 1 to pivot open and closed. Of course, other rotatable means are contemplated, including tabs with pivot pins that snap into receiving tabs with divots or grooves therein.
The work light frame 1 pivots open or closed around axis 51 (dashed line). Swinging open the frame 1 as shown in
The frame 1 circumscribes a transparent or translucent lens 19 made of plastic or glass. To protect the lens 19, the frame may optionally include a wire grille 53.
As seen in
The present invention therefore benefits from having the spare bulb compartment 5 conveniently located in the back of the frame 1. So as the user swings the frame 1 away from the housing 32 to access the burned-out bulb 52, the compartment 5 containing the spare bulb 31 is at his or her fingertips. The location of the compartment 5 at the top 11 of the frame 1 is advantageous since this is the farthest point away from the burned-out but still hot bulb, and the extra room in this area gives the user more space for glove-covered finger manipulation of the spare bulb. The user also does not need to reach under or around the housing 32 to access a spare bulb held in those areas, which housing 32 after typical use may be very hot and may burn the user's forearm or hand. Lastly, the compartment 5 is incorporated into the overall form of the frame 1 so that the frame 1 and housing 32 together have a sleek silhouette; there are no unwieldy protrusions to catch on wires or block light emission through the lens 19.
It is of course contemplated to locate the spare bulb compartment at other locations around the frame 1. Furthermore, the spare bulb compartment may contain more than one bulb of various shapes and sizes of the halogen type, neon, or normal incandescent.
While the present invention has been described with reference to halogen work lights, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that numerous variations, modifications, and alternative applications are possible. Accordingly, such variations, modifications, and alternative applications should be regarded as being within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
