Title: Night light having directionally adjustable light output
Abstract: A directional night light has a front face and a rear face, a source of illumination within the interior of said housing, and an adjustment actuator such as a wheel. At least a portion of the front face is translucent. The light source may be an incandescent bulb, an LED lamp, an LED panel, an electroluminescent panel, an OLED panel, and combinations thereof. The light source is mounted within the housing so as to be rotatable about an axis through an arc of 30° to 150° by actuation of the adjustment actuator, which has a portion extending forwardly beyond the front face. In another embodiment, a directional night light has a bezel mounted front face with a louvered element behind the front face through which light will pass and be directed at an angle away from the front face.
Patent Number: 6,905,231 Issued on 06/14/2005 to Dickie
| Inventors:
|
Dickie; Robert G. (Newmarket, CA)
|
| Assignee:
|
Elumina Lighting Technologies Inc. (King City, CA)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
622543 |
| Filed:
|
July 21, 2003 |
| Current U.S. Class: |
362/271; 362/282; 362/285; 362/290; 362/372 |
| Intern'l Class: |
F21V 021/26 |
| Field of Search: |
362/271,282,285,290,372,145,3,16,18,20,84,95,147,227,235,247,249,250,257,269,277,279,296,306,800
|
References Cited [Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
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| 2539974 | Jan., 1951 | Riddell.
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| 3203126 | Aug., 1965 | Eilot.
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| 3443083 | May., 1969 | Curran.
| |
| 3706004 | Dec., 1972 | Schwartz.
| |
| 3801814 | Apr., 1974 | Arts.
| |
| 4344116 | Aug., 1982 | Martin.
| |
| D347288 | May., 1994 | Ham.
| |
| 5523932 | Jun., 1996 | Bogdanovs.
| |
| D425221 | May., 2000 | Burns.
| |
| D432688 | Oct., 2000 | Petterson.
| |
| 6140934 | Oct., 2000 | Lam.
| |
| 6200001 | Mar., 2001 | Tin Shun Victor.
| |
| 6276813 | Aug., 2001 | Victor.
| |
| 6390647 | May., 2002 | Shaefer.
| |
| 6527400 | Mar., 2003 | Dickie et al.
| |
| 6540376 | Apr., 2003 | Victor.
| |
| 6561677 | May., 2003 | Leen.
| |
| 6576852 | Jun., 2003 | Shu.
| |
| 6709126 | Mar., 2004 | Leen.
| |
| 2002/0141177 | Oct., 2002 | Stekelenburg.
| |
| 2003/0076680 | Apr., 2003 | Stekelenburg.
| |
| 2003/0086266 | May., 2003 | Leen.
| |
| Foreign Patent Documents |
| 0 056 104 | Jul., 1982 | EP.
| |
| 1 525 569 | Sep., 1978 | GB.
| |
| 07 156711 | Jun., 1996 | JP.
| |
| 09 282911 | Oct., 1997 | JP.
| |
Primary Examiner: Ward; John Anthony
Assistant Examiner: Negron; Ismael
Claims
1. A night light comprising:
a housing having front face and a substantially planar rear faces;
an electrically powered source of illumination disposed within the interior of
said housing and located between said front and rear faces;
an adjustment actuator which is mounted within said housing on an axis of rotation,
with a portion of said adjustment actuator extending forwardly beyond said front
face;
electrical blades extending rearwardly from the rear face for placement into
an electrical socket;
at least a portion of said front face being translucent;
said source of illumination being chosen from the group consisting of an incandescent
bulb a reflector for directing light generally forward, at least one LED lamp,
an LED panel, and an electroluminescent panel, and an OLED panel; and
wherein said source of illumination is mounted within said housing so as to be
rotatable about the axis of rotation through an arc of 30° to 150° by
actuation of said adjustment actuator.
2. The night light of claim 1, wherein said source of illumination is at least
one LED lamp having a forwardly directed beam of light, mounted so that rotation
thereof sweeps a vertically directed arc.
3. The night light of claim 1, wherein said source of illumination is one of
the group consisting of an electroluminescent panel, an LED panel, and an OLED
panel, having a forwardly directed illumination horizontally mounted so that rotation
thereof sweeps a vertically directed arc.
4. The night light of claim 1, wherein all of said front face is translucent.
5. The night light of claim 1, wherein said source of illumination is mounted
near the bottom of said housing, wherein said arc that is swept by rotation thereof
is in the range of 30° to 601, and wherein the light from said source of illumination
is directed generally downwardly.
6. The night light of claim 1, wherein said adjustment actuator is chosen from
the group consisting of an adjustment wheel, an adjustment lever, and an adjustment slider.
7. The night light of claim 1, wherein the portion of said adjustment wheel that
extends beyond said front face has a peripheral arc in the range of 90° to 180°.
8. The night light of claim 1, wherein said source of illumination is an incandescent
lamp; and said reflector surrounds said lamp to an extent of at least 180°.
9. The night light of claim 8, wherein said incandescent lamp is elongated and
is horizontally mounted, so that rotation of said source of illumination sweeps
a vertically directed arc.
10. The night light of claim 8, wherein said housing has bottom and top surfaces,
and said least one vent opening is formed in each said bottom and top surfaces
so as to permit convection air flow through said housing.
11. The night light of claim 10, wherein the interior of said housing has discrete
bottom, front, and top chambers, and has openings between said bottom and top chambers
and said front chamber, whereby convection flow through said housing is through
said bottom vent opening, through said bottom chamber, through said front chamber,
through said top chamber, and from said top vent opening.
12. A night light comprising a housing having a front face and a rear face, an
electrically powered source of illumination within the interior of said housing
located between said front and rear faces, and a louvered element located behind
said front face;
wherein said electrically powered source of illumination is an incandescent bulb;
wherein said rear face is substantially planar and has electrical blades extending
rearwardly therefrom for placement into an electrical socket;
wherein said front face is substantially planar and is translucent, and is subtended
by a rearwardly and outwardly sloping side wall, so that said front face and said
side wall together form a front chamber within which said source of illumination
is mounted;
wherein a rear chamber housing is formed forwardly of said rear face and behind
a mounting face which defines the rearmost extent of said front chamber, and wherein
said source of illumination is mounted on said mounting face;
wherein said night light has a substantially circular configuration, and wherein
the rearmost ends of said rearwardly and outwardly sloping side wall are rotatably
mounted to the exterior of said rear chamber housing; and
wherein said louvered element is mounted so as to be rotatable with said front
face and said circularly configured rearwardly and outwardly sloping side wall
so that light emanating from said source of illumination and passing said louvered
element and through said translucent front face is directed away from said front
face at an angle thereto.
13. The night light of claim 12, wherein said louvered element comprises a plurality
of louvers in fixed relationship one-to another.
14. The night light of claim 12, wherein said louvered element comprises a plurality
of louvers that are integrally molded together with said front face.
15. The night light of claim 12, wherein said louvered element comprises a plurality
of louvers which are molded from an opaque or reflective material and are mounted
behind an integrally with said front face so as to be rotatable therewith.
16. The night light of claim 12, wherein said rear chamber housing has discrete
bottom and top chambers, and has vent openings between said bottom and top chambers
and said front chamber; and
wherein said rear chamber housing has bottom and top surface regions and at least
one vent opening that is formed in each of said bottom and top surface regions
so as to permit convection air flow through said night light through said bottom
vent opening, through said bottom chamber, through said front chamber, through
said top chamber, and from said top vent opening.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to night lights, and particularly to night lights that
have directional light output whereby a particular region in the surroundings where
the night light is mounted may be illuminated while leaving other regions in the
surroundings where the night light is mounted without illumination.
1. Background of the Invention
Night lights have been known for many years, and many known night lights have
had a modicum of directionality of the light emanating therefrom. Typically, such
night lights comprise a small incandescent bulb having power output of perhaps
2 or 3 watts; and being equipped with a movable hood or shade. Incandescent bulbs
are omnidirectional, and thus if it is desired that light from such a bulb shall
not be directed in a particular direction, it is necessary to place a physical
barrier against light being radiated from the bulb in that direction.
More recently, the use of other illumination sources than incandescent bulbs
in night lights is known. Particularly, the use of electroluminescent panels is
known; and such panels may comprise LEDs and OLEDs. Other cool operating sources
of illumination may be such as LED lamps, which have very high efficiency and therefore
little or no heat output. However, typically light output from an LED lamp is not
omnidirectional, but rather light may be directed as a consequence of the lens
and other features of the construction of the LED lamp through an arc of as little
as 30° to perhaps as much as 150°.
The present inventor is quite unexpectedly discovered that contrary to prior
art devices, noted below, which control light in a rotational matter but do not
permit light fall downwardly so as to be almost directly below the night light,
a variety of structures may be employed which do permit illumination in the immediate
vicinity of the night light when mounted. That desirable criterion may be accomplished
such as by the use of a rotational reflector, the use of a rotational lens, or
the use of a rotational light source subassembly within the housing and structure
of the night light, all as discussed hereafter.
Moreover, the present inventor has provided night light assemblies which,
if they employ incandescent bulbs as their source of illumination, will run cool
as a consequence of convective air flow through the structure. Still further, such
air flow is convoluted or serpentine in nature, whereby the incandescent bulb is
protected from the entry of liquids and contact thereof with the incandescent bulb,
while permitting convective air flow and cooling of the bulb.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of electroluminescent or other solid state lighting sources is demonstrated,
for example, in Dickie et al U.S. Pat. No. 6,527,400.
Directional or swivel night lights are known from a series of related
United States Patents all issued to Au Yeung Tin Shun Victor. They include U.S.
Pat. No. 6,200,001; 6,276,813; and 6,540,376. Each of those patents has the same
disclosure, and each teaches a night light which plugs directly into an electrical
outlet and has a rotatable housing which swivels so as to direct light in a desired
direction. The light source is an incandescent bulb. The front face of the night
light is set at an angle to the horizontal axis of the night light when plugged
in, whereby a swivel action of the bezel mounted front lens housing results in
directional light output. However, due to the physical limitations of the front
lens housing, the directionality of the light appears to be limited to about ±30°
from the horizontal axis, in any direction.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,523,932 issued to Bogdanovs teaches a lighting fixture which
comprises an adjustable reflector which can be rotated about the horizontal axis,
and locked in any position, so that light from an incandescent bulb can be directed
in a direction radially outwardly from the horizontal axis.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a night
light which comprises a housing having a front face and a rear face, an electrically
powered source of illumination within the interior of the housing and located between
the front and rear faces, and an adjustment actuator.
The rear face is substantially planar, and has electrical blades which extend
rearwardly therefrom for placement into an electrical socket.
At least a portion of the front face is translucent.
The source of illumination may be chosen from the group which consists of an
incandescent bulb together with the reflector whereby light from the incandescent
bulb is directed away from the reflector, at least one LED lamp, an LED panel,
an electroluminescent panel, an OLED panel, and combinations thereof.
The source of illumination is mounted within the housing so that it is rotatable
about an axis of rotation through an arc of 30° to 150° by actuation
of the adjustment actuator which is mounted within the housing on the axis of rotation
of the source of illumination, with a portion of the adjustment actuator extending
forwardly beyond the front face of the housing.
In some instances, the source of illumination may be an incandescent lamp; and
in such instances, the reflector surrounds the lamp to an extent of at least 180°.
If so, the incandescent lamp is elongated and is horizontally mounted, so that
rotation of the source of illumination—the incandescent lamp together with
the reflector, or at least of the reflector—sweeps a vertically directed arc.
In another variation, the source of illumination may be at least one LED lamp
having a forwardly directed beam of light, so that rotation thereof sweeps a vertically
directed arc.
Otherwise, the source of illumination may also be an electroluminescent
panel, an LED panel, or an OLED panel, each having a forward the directed illumination
and which is horizontally mounted, so that rotation thereof sweeps a vertically
directed arc.
In some embodiments of the present invention, the entire front face may be translucent.
Typically, the source of illumination is mounted near the bottom of the
housing, and is structured so that rotation thereof through an arc which is in
the range of 30° to 60°, will be such that light from the source of illumination
is directed generally downwardly.
The adjustment actuator may be such as an adjustment wheel, and adjustment lever,
or an an adjustment slider.
When the adjustment actuator is an adjustment wheel, the portion of the adjustment
wheel which extends beyond the front face of the night light typically has a peripheral
arc which is in the range of 90° to 180°.
The housing may be such that it has bottom and top surfaces that have at least
one vent opening in each, so as to permit convection air flow through the housing.
If so, and particularly when the source of illumination is an incandescent bulb,
then the interior of the housing may have discrete bottom, front, and top chambers,
and has openings between the bottom and the top chambers, respectively, to the
front chamber. Thus, convection air flow through the housing is through the bottom
vent opening, through the bottom chamber, through the front chamber, through the
top chamber, and from the top vent opening.
Another embodiment of the present invention provides for a night light which
comprises a housing having a front face and a rear face, an electrically powered
source of illumination within the interior of the housing located between the front
and rear faces, and a louvered element which is located behind the front face.
The source of illumination, in this case, is an incandescent bulb.
The rear face is substantially planar and has electrical blades which extend
rearwardly therefrom for placement into an electrical socket.
The front face is substantially planar and is translucent, and is subtended by
a rearwardly and outwardly sloping side wall, so that the front face and the side
wall together form a front chamber within which the source of illumination is mounted.
A rear chamber housing is formed forwardly of rear face and behind a mounting
face
which defines the rearmost extent of the front chamber. The source of illumination
is mounted on the mounting face.
The night light has a substantially circular configuration, in this case, and
the rearmost ends of the rearwardly and outwardly sloping side wall are rotatably
mounted to the exterior of the rear chamber housing.
The louvered element is mounted so as to be rotatable with the front face and
the circularly configured rearwardly and outwardly sloping sidewall, so that light
emanating from the source of illumination and passing the louvered element and
through the translucent face is directed away from the front face at an angle thereto.
The louvered element typically comprises a plurality of louvers which are in
fixed relationship one to another.
The louvered element may also comprise a plurality of louvers that are integrally
molded together with the front face.
Alternatively, the louvered element may comprise a plurality of louvers
which are molded from an opaque or reflective material, and which are mounted behind
and integrally with the front face so as to be rotatable therewith.
Typically, the rear chamber housing has discrete bottom and top chambers,
and has vent openings between the bottom and top chambers and the front chamber.
The rear chamber housing also has bottom and top surface regions and at least
one vent opening in each of the bottom and top surface regions so as to permit
convection air flow through the night light from the bottom vent opening, through
the bottom chamber, through the front chamber, through the top chamber, and from
the top vent opening.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the present invention,
as to its structure, organization, use and method of operation, together with further
objectives and advantages thereof, will be better understood from the following
drawings in which a presently preferred embodiment of the invention will now be
illustrated by way of example. It is expressly understood, however, that the drawings
are for the purpose of illustration and description only and are not intended as
a definition of the limits of the invention. Embodiments of this invention will
now be described by way of example in association with the accompanying drawings
in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective front view of a first embodiment of night light in keeping
with the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective rear view of the embodiment of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a specific species of the embodiment of
FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 4, with a reflector having
been rotated downwardly;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a reflector and an adjustment wheel associated therewith;
FIG. 7 is a perspective front view of a second embodiment of night light in
keeping with the present invention;
FIG. 8 is a perspective rear view of the embodiment of FIG. 7;
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a specific species of the embodiment of
FIG. 7;
FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 9, with the source of illumination
having been rotated downwardly;
FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of another specific species of the embodiment
of FIG. 7;
FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 11, with the source of illumination
having been rotated downwardly;
FIG. 13 is a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 7;
FIG. 14 is a perspective front view of a third embodiment of night light in
keeping with the present invention;
FIG. 15 is a perspective rear view of the embodiment of FIG. 14;
FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 14;
FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 16, with the source of illumination
having been rotated downwardly;
FIG. 18 is a perspective view of the front face of the embodiment of FIG. 14; and
FIG. 19 is a side view of the front face shown in FIG. 18.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS:
The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the present invention,
as to its structure, organization, use and method of operation, together with further
objectives and advantages thereof, will be better understood from the following discussion.
The embodiments of FIGS. 1 to
13 provide various night lights which will
allow for an aimable or directional light emission from a night light placed in
a wall-mounted electrical receptacle, which is a typical manner in which night
lights are employed. Quite often the night light is placed in a hallway or the
like, by being inserted into a electric receptacle which is fairly near the floor,
such as about 30 or 40 cm above the floor. Such night lights are intended to provide
low level illumination along the passageway for easy traverse thereof at nighttime.
Other night lights might be placed in a wall-mounted receptacle above such as a
kitchen or bathroom counter, once again so as to provide low level illumination
in order that a person might locate the counter, something on the counter, or a
sink or basin mounted in the counter. In all events, it is usual that there may
be a desire for light emanating from the night light structure to be directed downwardly
or in some other direction other than upwardly, so as not to shine into the eyes
of someone traversing the passageway or entering the kitchen or bathroom during nighttime.
However, prior art night lights do not permit the nearly vertically downward
directionality of light emanating from the night light structure, as does the present
invention. Also, the present invention can take advantage of cool operating solid
state sources of illumination; while at the same time providing for convection
cooling of night light structures that may employ incandescent bulbs as the source
of illumination. Specific night light structures in keeping with the present invention
provide for convection cooling in such a manner that the possible contact of a
liquid with the incandescent bulb is precluded.
Turning first to FIGS. 1 to
6, a first embodiment of a night light
is shown that employs an incandescent bulb as the source of illumination, but which
can be adjusted so as to provide downwardly directed illumination so that the region
very near the wall where the night light is mounted, below the night light, can
be illuminated. The embodiment which is specifically illustrated in FIGS. 1 to
6 also provides for convection cooling of an incandescent light bulb and
of the night light structure per se, so as to thereby eliminate or substantially
preclude risk of injury by contact with a hot night light structure.
A night light
20, or features thereof, is shown in FIGS. 1 to
5;
and a specific feature of the night light
20 is shown in FIG.
6.
The night light
20 comprises a housing
22 which has a front face
24 and a rear face
26. An adjustment actuator
28—which
typically is an adjustment wheel—projects outwardly from the front face
24 at one side of the housing which is defined by the front and rear faces
24,
26.
The rear face
26 has a pair of electrical blades
30 projecting
therefrom, so that they may be placed into an electrical socket for activation
of the night light
20. Within the interior of the night light
20
there is an incandescent bulb
32 located, and it is typically mounted horizontally.
The incandescent bulb
32 is surrounded by a reflector
34 at least
to an extent of 180°, so that omnidirectional light emanating from the light
bulb
32 will be redirected forwardly from the reflector
34.
As seen in FIG. 6, the reflector
34 and the adjustment actuator
28
are mounted one to the other in such a manner that movement of the adjustment actuator
28, in the manner shown by arrow
36 in FIG. 3, will cause rotation
of the reflector
34 about a horizontal axis, as can be easily seen by reference
to FIGS. 4 and 5.
It will also be understood to those skilled in the art, that while typically
the
adjustment actuator
28 is a wheel, as illustrated, it could also be such
as a lever or slider which is mounted on the axis of rotation of the source of
illumination so as to serve the same purpose as described herein.
It will also be seen from FIGS. 4 and 5 that rotation of the reflector
34
will cause the light which emanates from the incandescent bulb
32 to sweep
through a vertically directed arc, as can be seen by comparing the lines
40,
42 which define the limits of the beam of light being directed by the reflector
34, as those lines are depicted in FIGS. 4 and 5, respectively. It will
also be seen from FIG. 5 that the line
40 suggests that the region in the
area immediately below the mounted night light
20 will be illuminated; and
thus, for example, if the night light
20 is mounted close to a floor than
the floor in the region close to the wall where the night light is mounted will
be illuminated.
Typically, at least a portion of the front face
24 is translucent.
However, the entire front face
24, or for that matter the entire structure
of the front face
24 and in the sidewalls
43 can be molded from a
translucent or semi-translucent plastics material. In any event, it will be understood
that at least that portion of the front face
24 which is in the lower region
thereof will be translucent so that light emanating from the source of illumination
will be seen at the exterior of the night light
20. Typically, the arc that
is swept by rotation of the reflector
34 through actuation of the adjustment
wheel
28, will be in the range of 30° to 60°.
It will also be noted that the portion of the adjustment wheel
28 which
extends beyond the front face
24 of the night light
20 will typically
have a peripheral arc that is visible from the exterior of the night light
20,
and which is in the range of from 90° to 180°.
It will also be understood that the source of illumination may not necessarily
be an incandescent bulb
32, but it may be a solid state source of illumination
such as one or more LED lamps, an LED panel, an OLED panel, other electroluminescent
panels, and the like. Such alternative sources of illumination are discussed in
greater detail hereafter, in association with the embodiment of night light in
keeping with the present invention as it is shown in FIGS. 7 to
13.
However, a typical configuration of night light
20 is one which does
employ an incandescent bulb; and if so, there is a necessity for the night light
to run cool, and therefore there is a necessity to provide for convection cooling
of the incandescent bulb
32. Accordingly, vent openings
44 and
46
may be provided in each of the bottom and top surfaces
48 and
50, respectively.
It will be seen from FIGS. 4 and 5 that the interior of the housing
22
has at least three chambers formed therein. They include a front chamber
54,
a bottom chamber
56, and a top chamber
58. It will be seen by following
arrows
60,
62,
64, and
66, that convection air flow
through the night light
20 follows the route through the least one bottom
vent opening
44, through chamber
56 into chamber
54, from
chamber
54 into chamber
58, and from chamber
58 through the
at least one top vent opening
46. It will also be understood that this convoluted
or serpentine flow of air precludes the likelihood of inadvertent liquid contact
with the incandescent bulb
32. Such a circumstance might occur, for example,
in the instance where the night light is mounted above a counter in a kitchen or
bathroom, and in the vicinity near a sink or basin, respectively.
Turning now to FIGS. 7 to
13, a further embodiment of a night light
in keeping with the present invention is shown at
80. Because a number of
the elements or features of the night light
80 are similar to or identical
with the same elements of the night light
20, the same reference numerals
are employed.
A pair of indents
82 are provided, which assist in the placing and removal
of the night light
80 into and from an electrical socket. The electrical
blades
30 may be mounted on a rotatable plate
84, so that the night
light
80 can be rotated through 180°—that is, 90° clockwise
and counterclockwise from the vertical—as shown by arrow
86. It will
be obvious that such a mounting arrangement can be provided for any night light
in keeping with present invention, particularly any of those that are illustrated
in any of FIGS. 1 to
13.
It will also be noted that there is a lower portion of the front face
24a
shown at
90, and at least that portion
90 if not the entirety
of the front face
24a of the night light
80 is translucent.
In any event, it will be seen that differing sources of illumination are illustrated
than have been previously described. For example, in each of FIGS. 9 and 10, at
least one LED lamp
92 is shown, having a forwardly directed beam of light
which is such as defined by lines
40a,
42a. Typically,
three such LED lamps
92 are employed. It will be easily understood that
the mounting of the source of illumination
92, an LED lamp or lamps, is
associated with the adjustment wheel
28a so that actuation of the
adjustment wheel
28a will cause rotation of the LED lamp or lamps
92 so that the beam defined by lines
40a,
42a sweeps
through an arc of at least 30°. Indeed, it can be understood that the arc
of the beam could be as much as 150°, but typically it would be less than 90°.
FIGS. 11 and 12 differ from FIGS. 9 and 10 in that the source of illumination
94 is a panel which might be an electroluminescent panel, and more particularly
an LED panel or an OLED panel, any of which have a forwardly directed illumination
as indicated by the lines
40b,
42b. Once again, the
panel source of illumination
94 is horizontally mounted so that rotation
thereof by actuation of the adjustment wheel
28a will sweep a vertically
directed arc which is typically in the range of 30° to 60°, but which
may be as much as 150°.
A differing embodiment then has been described above is shown in FIGS. 14 to
19.
Here, a directional night light is shown that has a substantially circular configuration
when viewed from the front, and where the front face and the side wall which subtends
the front face are bezel mounted so that light emanating from the front face may
be directed in a desired direction, as will now be described.
The night light
100 once again comprises a rear face
26 from which
electrical blades
30 project for placement into an electrical socket. In
this case, however, the night light
100 comprises a housing
102 which
has the rear face
26, a front face
104, an incandescent bulb
32,
and a louvered element
106 which is located behind the front face
104.
The front face
104 is substantially planar and translucent. It will be noted
that the front face
104 is subtended by a rearwardly and outwardly sloping
side wall
108. It will be understood from FIGS. 16 and 17 that the front
face
104 and the side wall
108 together form a front chamber
110
within which the source of illumination
32 is mounted.
There is a mounting face
114 which is formed forwardly of the rear face
26 and which defines a rear chamber that includes stationary discrete bottom
chambers
116 and
118, respectively, together with other unannotated
chamber or chambers which accommodate the electrical circuitry, the electrical
blades
30, etc., for the night light
100. It will be seen that the
lamp
32 is mounted on the mounting face
114.
The louvered element
106 is mounted so as to be rotatable with the front
face
104 and the circularly configured rearwardly sloping side wall
108,
so that light emanating from the source of illumination
32 passes through
the louvered element
106 and front face
104 and is directed away
from the front face
104 at an angle thereto, as illustrated by lines
120,
122 in FIG.
17.
Typically, the louvered element
106 comprises a plurality of discrete
louvers
123 that are in fixed relationship one to another. The louvered
element
106 may be integrally molded together with the front face
104.
Alternatively, the louvered element
106 may comprise a plurality of discrete
louvers
123 that are molded from an opaque or reflective material, and which
are mounted behind and integrally with the front face
104 so as to be rotatable therewith.
It has been noted that there are discrete chambers
116 and
118
formed
within the rear chamber housing. It will also be seen in each of FIGS. 14,
15,
and
17, that vent openings
130 and
132 may be formed in the
bottom and top surface regions of the rear chamber, respectively. Thus, it will
be understood that convection cooling of the interior of the night light
100
will be effected by airflow through the bottom vent opening
130, through
the bottom chamber
116 to the front chamber
110, from the front chamber
110 to top chamber
118, and then from the top vent opening
132,
all as seen by arrows
140,
142,
144,
146.
There have been described several embodiments of directional night lights,
whereby light emanating from the night light may be directed in any specific and
desired direction. Typically, such direction is downwardly, so that light from
the night light does not shine upwardly into the eyes of an observer. Various sources
of illumination have been discussed; and where the source of illumination is an
incandescent bulb, provision is made for convection cooling whereby the flow of
cooling air is serpentine. Moreover, the mounting of the incandescent bulb and
its relation to discrete chambers through which convection cooling air will flow
is such that inadvertent contact by a liquid to the incandescent bulb is precluded.
Other modifications and alterations may be used in the design and manufacture
of the apparatus of the present invention without departing from the spirit and
scope of the accompanying claims.
Throughout this specification and the claims which follow, unless the
context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", and variations such as "comprises"
or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer
or step or group of integers or steps but not to the exclusion of any other integer
or step or group of integers or steps.
Moreover, the word "substantially" when used with an adjective or adverb
is intended to enhance the scope of the particular characteristic; e.g., substantially
planar is intended to mean planar, nearly planar and/or exhibiting characteristics
associated with a planar element.
*
