WO2013152152A1

WO2013152152A1 - System of stackable lighted housings

Info

Publication number: WO2013152152A1
Application number: PCT/US2013/035205
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kevin J. REILLY
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2012-04-04
Filing date: 2013-04-04
Publication date: 2013-10-10
Anticipated expiration: 2014-10-04

Description

SYSTEM OF STACKABLE LIGHTED HOUSINGS

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to lighting systems and, more particularly, to systems of stackable lighted housings.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Various portable lighting systems are known in the prior art which operate on battery or other stored electrical power. Portable electrically powered lighting is extremely useful in various applications from emergency services to construction and building maintenance to recreational activities, such as camping.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A system of stackable lighted housings is provided herein which includes a base charger configured to transmit electrical energy, and, a plurality of stackable housings. Each housing includes an arrangement for storing electrical energy, an arrangement for generating light, at least one coupling for electrically coupling to the base charger to provide electrical energy to the electrical energy storage arrangement, and at least one contact for electrically coupling to the coupling of an adjacent housing. With this invention, a plurality of the housings may be stacked upon the base charger with the couplings of upper stacked housings being electrically coupled with the contacts of lower stacked housings such that electrical energy is transmitted to each of the housings from the base charger with the housings in a stacked configuration. Advantageously, with the subject invention, each housing may be independently, and simultaneously, charged, and then removed for use as a light source. This allows for a plurality of housings to be used simultaneously in different applications These and other features of the invention will be better understood through a study of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 shows a system of stackable lighted housings formed in accordance with the subject invention;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 of Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a charger useable with the system of the subject invention; and,

Figure 4 is a top plan view of lighted housing formed in accordance with the subject invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

With reference to the Figures, a system 10 is provided herein which generally includes a base charger 12 configured to transmit electrical energy, and a plurality of stackable housings 14. As described further below, the system 10 allows for the housings 14 to be each independently, and simultaneously, charged and operated.

With reference to Figure 3, the base charger 12 may be formed in accordance with any known configuration. By way of non- limiting example, the base charger 12 includes at least one charger contact 16. The charger contact 16 may be of any known design which permits a releasable electrical connection with a coupling of one of the housings 14. In addition, the base charger 12 may include a wire 18 configured to electrically connect the base charger 12 to an electrical contact, e.g. to accept standard electricity (e.g., 110/120 VAC, 220 VAC). Alternatively, the wire 18 may be configured to connect to an automobile lighter or other electrical source. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, other sources of electrical energy may be used in place of, or as a supplement to, electrical energy provided from an electrical contact. For example, the base charger 12 may be provided with stored electrical energy in the form of batteries or other storage cells. The base charger 12 may also be provided with cells for converting solar power into electrical energy. These various sources of electrical energy may be used in various combinations. In addition, the base charger 12 may include one or more transformers 20 for adjusting the voltage of the electrical energy from its source to an acceptable level useable with the housings 14.

Further, optionally, the housings 14 may include a port (e.g, USB port) or other jack 15 to receive an electrical or other connection. This port 15 may allow for not only transmission of electrical energy to the housings 14 but also connection to a computing device, a communication network, a computer network (e.g, the Internet), and so forth.

It is preferred that the housings 14 be stackable atop the base charger 12. To facilitate such stacking, it is preferred that upper surface 22 of the base charger 12 be formed at least partially planar to define a resting surface for one of the housings 14. It is preferred that the upper surface 22 be formed to engage one of the housings 14 in general face-to-face engagement to provide stable support therefor. The base charger 12 and/or the housings 14 may be configured to couple when adjacent but not necessarily in a stacked arrangement.

It is preferred that each of the housings 14 includes a body 26 in which is contained one or more sources of light 28 and one or more electrical storage elements 30. Preferably, the body 26 is disc-shaped having opposing generally flat top and bottom 32, 34 with a generally arcuate side wall 36 extending therebetween. The body 26 is preferably of robust construction to allow for use in various applications, including in military, emergency and recreational settings. Preferably, the body 26 is formed of a thermoplastic which is light transmissive (the body 26 may be formed to be transparent or translucent). The body 26 may be formed wholly or partially clear and/or colored (e.g., with colored plastic). Various colors may be utilized, e.g., for different applications, such as red, orange, white, and so forth, in various shades, including fluorescent. Preferably, the top and bottom 32, 34 are both generally flat and parallel to each other.

The body 26 may be also formed with and/or of photoluminescent material (e.g., phosphorescent material) so as to glow, particularly in low light or dark conditions.

Each of the housings 14 further includes at least one coupling 38 configured to releasably electrically couple with the charger contact 16, and at least one contact 40 configured to releasably electrically couple to the contact 40 of another housing 14.

Preferably, the coupling 38 is located in the bottom 34 while the contact 40 is located in the top 32. The charger contact 16, the couplings 38 and the contacts 40 may be provided with magnetic elements to enhance the coupling between coupled elements. Other arrangements, such as mechanical connections, may be also used.

With reference to Figure 2, the coupling 38 is configured to accept electrical energy conveyed from the charger contact 16 when coupled thereto. The coupling 38 is electrically connected to the electrical storage element 30 so that electrical energy may be conveyed thereto and stored therein. In addition, the coupling 38 is electrically coupled to the contact 40 so that electrical energy may be transmitted thereto to be received by an adjacent housing 14. As best shown in Figure 2, the coupling 38 of an adjacent housing 14 may be electrically coupled to the contact 40 of the housing 14 so as to accept electrical energy conveyed therefrom. This allows for simultaneous charging of the electrical storage elements 30 in all of the housings 14 which are electrically coupled together.

With respect to each of the housings 14, one or more electrical circuits is defined therein so that the electrical energy stored in a respective electrical storage element 30 may be selectively conducted to the one or more sources of light 28 as needed. To allow for selective control, it is preferred that one or more switches 42 be provided for each of the housings 14. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, any known configuration may be used for the switch 42. In this manner, actuation of the one or more sources of light 28 may be controlled for each individual housing 14.

The one or more sources of light 28 may be in any form of an individual or a plurality of light generating elements, including, but not limited to, incandescent bulbs, halogen bulbs, fluorescent lamps, LED's (light emitting diodes), and so forth. The one or more sources of light 28 may be arranged in various patterns, as will be recognized by those skilled in the art. For example, the one or more sources of light 28 may be six spaced-apart LED's.

One or more controllers 29 may be provided for each of the housings 14 which controls the one or more sources of light 28. For example, the controllers 29 may control the intensity of the light, e.g., by varying the intensity, even turning off all or a portion of the one or more sources of light 28, so as to extend the useable life of the housings 14 between chargings. Also, intermittent usage and/or variation in intensity may be used to re-charge the photoluminescence of the body 26, e.g., if such is photoluminescent, thus allowing for the "glow" characteristic to be used in combination with reduced energy consumption to extend useable life.

The controllers 29 may include light intensity controls (e.g., to vary light intensity (e.g., variable resistors, potentiometers), switches (e.g., to selectively control one or more light sources 28), and/or timers. The timers may be used to set a time-dependent usage pattern. Optionally, the one or more light sources 28 may be provided with different levels of light intensity which may be user-controlled (e.g., low, medium, high). The switches 42 may be configured to allow user selection of the different levels of light intensity (e.g., push button switch which allows for on/off control and different power levels depending on the number of depressions of the push button). An interface may be provided to allow programming and/or control of the controllers 29 (e.g., keyboard, wireless connection and so forth).

With reference to Figure 1, a plurality of the housings 14 may be put into a stacked arrangement atop the base charger 12 to allow for simultaneous charging of each of the housings 14. To provide additional stability to the housings 14 in the stacked arrangement, additional coupling elements such as magnets, clips and other cooperating elements may be utilized (e.g., cooperating elements between adjacent stacked elements 14 may couple together (such as cooperating magnets)). For use, one or more of the housings 14 may be removed from the stack and placed at a location as needed. The one or more light sources 28 may be actuated to illuminate the respective housings 14 and provide light. Preferably, the housings 14 are each formed to be of relative dimensions conducive to be manually handled and transported as needed. This allows for portability.

The housings 14 may be formed of various sizes. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, different sized housings may be formed to be coupled together. This allows for a system to be provided with housings 14 of varying characteristics, such as light intensity. For example, different sized housings 14 may be provided together with the different housings being capable of generating different levels of light intensity (e.g., a larger housing may be provided which generates more lumens than a smaller housing). This may be achieved by allocating the appropriate number of the one or more light sources 28.

It is also possible to configure the contacts 40 to couple to a specific configuration of the charger contact 16. This allows for only specific housings 14 to be used with a particular base charger 12. This can be useful where the housings 14 have different electrical requirements. For example, the base charger 12 may be provided with the transformer 20 that is useable with certain of the housings 14. A unique coupling combination between the housings 14 and the base charger 12 provides a fail-safe that the housings 14 are coupled to the correct base charger 12. Different coupling combinations may be used to accommodate different electrical requirements.

As an additional feature, one or more of the housings 14 may be provided with a source of electrical energy 44 as a back-up or supplement to the electrical storage element 30. For example, one or more cells 46 for converting solar power into electrical energy may be provided on the body 26 and/or the body 26 may be configured to receive, and be coupled to, one or more batteries 48. The batteries 48 may be one-time use batteries or rechargeable batteries.

The housings 14 may be also configured to act as electrical energy sources for external applications, such as charging a cellular phone or other device. The port 15 may be utilized to accept a wire through which electrical energy may be drawn from the electrical storage element 30, the one or more cells 46, and/or the batteries 48. The one or more cells 46 allows for electrical energy consumption from a relatively continuous source. In addition, electrical energy may be drawn from the base charger 12 with the housing 14 coupled thereto via the port 15.

The housings 14 may be constructed and assembled to satisfy different specifications, depending on application. For example, the housings 14 may be formed to be more robust for military and emergency applications. For outdoor use, all wiring and electrical components may be prepared water-resistant/water-proofed. By varying the construction according to the desired applications, cost of the system 10 may be better managed.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A system of stackable lighted housings, said system comprising:

a base charger configured to transmit electrical energy; and,

a plurality of stackable housings, each said housing including electrical storage means, light generating means, at least one coupling for electrically coupling to said base charger to accept electrical energy transmitted from said base charger and to convey said electrical energy to said electrical storage means, and at least one contact for electrically coupling to the coupling of an adjacent housing,

wherein, a plurality of said housings being stackable upon said base charger with said couplings of upper stacked housings being electrically coupled with said contacts of lower stacked housings such that electrical energy is transmitted to each said housing from said base charger with said housings in a stacked configuration.

2. A system as in claim 1 , wherein each said housing includes a body.

3. A system as in claim 2, wherein said body is disc-shaped.

4. A system as in claim 2, wherein said body comprises photoluminescent material.

5. A system as in claim 1 , wherein each said housing includes at least one controller configured to control respective said light generating means.

6. A system as in claim 5, wherein said at least one controller is configured to control light intensity.

7. A system as in claim 5, wherein said at least one controller is configured to control on/off actuation of said light generating means.

8. A system as in claim 5, wherein said at least one controller includes a timer.