Illumination – Door knob or keyhole illuminator
Reexamination Certificate
2002-11-27
2004-05-04
O'Shea, Sandra (Department: 2875)
Illumination
Door knob or keyhole illuminator
C362S253000, C362S311040, C362S295000, C362S802000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06729740
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a nightlight for use in connection with a door knob. The door knob nightlight has particular utility in connection with providing an illuminated door knob to permit easier ingress to and egress from a room during the hours of darkness.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Night lights have long been useful for providing small amounts of illumination so individuals can safely traverse the inner areas of a house at night. Conventional nightlights are plugged into a wall socket and provide illumination to a restricted area around the wall plug. Since an individual moving around a house at night typically must pass through at least one door, a device which lights the doorknob for easy location would be beneficial in reducing stubbed toes and bruised shins experienced when an individual bumps into a door in the dark.
Many times home owners and small children are awakened during stormy weather at night. Power outages often accompany this type of weather, causing the house to be plunged into an impenetrable darkness. Typically, homeowners rely on candles, lanterns, or flashlights for illumination during power failures. One problem with these types of emergency illumination is that they are not easily located in the dark. Most homeowners keep matches and flashlights out of reach of children to prevent their use as toys; however, this makes these items hard to locate when the lights go out during a power failure. Additionally, candles can not safely be left burning after the occupants of a house are asleep, and flashlight batteries are quickly drained if the flashlight is activated for an extended amount of time. Therefore, a device that could safely and reliably provide illumination during an AC power outage would be beneficial to many homeowners.
While night lights are useful for providing small amounts of illumination during the dark hours, some individuals prefer to sleep in a room that is completely dark. Night lights can make it difficult for such individuals to fall asleep; however, these same individuals still benefit from the illumination provided by a night light should they awaken in the middle of the night. Additionally, operating battery powered night lights for the entire night can quickly drain the batteries and leave them useless in an emergency situation. Thus, a night light device that illuminates only upon detection of motion in the room would be beneficial to many homeowners.
The use of illuminated door knobs is known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,777,570 to Glen Littles discloses an illuminated doorknob lock that consists of a translucent knob that receives the elongated stem of a doorknob lock set and contains one or more incandescent bulbs. The energy source would be provided by either a battery pack or the electrical wiring of the building provided for the doorbell circuit. However, the Littles '570 device requires the modification of the door through the addition of a battery pack and wiring for a DC power source or the addition of wiring from an AC power source in the house. Additionally, the Littles '570 device makes no provision for illuminating the light source upon detection of motion and requires either that the light source be continuously illuminated or that the individual press a button to provide illumination as he attempts to unlock the door. Continuous illumination of the light source can cause rapid drainage of a DC power source and can waste electricity from an AC source, while requiring the individual to press a button for illumination requires the user to find the door knob in the dark and does not guarantee that the light will be illuminated long enough for the user to find the proper key and successfully insert it into the lock.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,132,057 to Christine Janet Williams discloses a night light for illuminating door knobs that comprises a horseshoe shaped acrylic prism that fits over a standard sized door knob and then resides upon the back plate of the door knob. The prism is lit by two LED devices and is powered by small batteries. However, the Williams '057 patent does not provide a means for providing illumination when motion is detected. Instead, the Williams '057 device is activated by a manual switch, requiring the user to turn the device on at night and off in the morning. Should the user forget to turn the switch on at night, he would be faced with a darkened room when he awakes in the middle of the night, and should he forget to turn the device off in the morning, he might be faced with run down batteries. Moreover, if the user is disturbed by illumination when he is trying to sleep, the manual operation of the Williams '057 device would render it unsuitable for his needs. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 322,550 to Deborah Evans discloses the ornamental design for a combination door knob cover and night light that consists of a switch that illuminates an EXIT banner located on the door knob. However, the Evans '550 patent does not indicate the type of power or light source to be used with the door knob. An AC power source would require modification to the door, while a higher wattage light source could lead to heating of the door knob and possible bums to an individual grasping the door knob. Additionally, the switch provided by the Evans '550 patent requires manual intervention of an individual to illuminate or extinguish the light source in the door knob cover. Should an individual fail to illuminate the light prior to darkness, he would be forced to stumble in the dark until the door knob and switch were located. Furthermore, failure to extinguish the light source by manually moving the switch to the OFF position would result in the drainage of a DC battery source.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,398,175 to Todd D. Pea discloses an illuminated door knob lock that consists of a door knob, a door locking set with a DC light source placed adjacent to the keyhole, and a removable DC power source. However, the Pea '175 patent does not provide a mechanism for illuminating the light source when motion is detected; instead this device requires the user to push on the door knob to activate the light. Thus, an individual is forced to stumble in the dark until the door and the door knob are located. Furthermore, while the Pea '175 device uses a door knob under spring pressure to automatically turn the light source off, there is no guarantee that an individual can find the proper key, insert it into the locking mechanism, and unlock the door before the light source is extinguished.
Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 6,023,224 to Daniel Vincent Meyvis discloses a door frame with integrated keyless entry system that includes a pre-assembled door and door frame unit having an electric light, a motion detector, a radiant energy receiver, and an electromechanically actuated latch all disposed on and built into the door frame. However, the Meyvis '224 patent requires the purchase of a specialized door and door frame, which could be cost prohibitive for most homeowners. Additionally, the Meyvis '224 device is not portable to other rooms, requiring permanent installation in one door frame.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,955,075 to Joseph Susedik discloses a doorknob illuminating device that utilizes a Lucite rod illuminated by a light source. The Lucite rod, in turn, illuminates a Lucite rose ring which illuminates the area around the keyhole. However, the Susedik '075 patent requires either the purchase of a new door containing a light source or the permanent modification of an existing door or door frame with the addition of a light source near the doorknob area. Additionally, the Susedik '075 patent does not provide a means for detecting motion and illuminating the doorknob as a result; thus the Susedik '075 device would remain illuminated until manually turned off, leading to wasted energy and possible interference with an individual's sleep patterns. Finally, the Susedik '075 device is not porta
Alavi Ali
O'Shea Sandra
LandOfFree
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