Illumination – Self powered lamp – Cylindrical flashlight casing
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-07
2001-10-02
Husar, Stephen (Department: 2875)
Illumination
Self powered lamp
Cylindrical flashlight casing
C362S116000, C200S060000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06296371
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flashlight, more particularly to a flashlight with a tail cap switch assembly that is simple in construction, and that can be mass-produced at a reduced cost.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional flashlight mainly includes a head cap, a barrel having a front end coupled threadedly with the head cap, a bulb holder disposed inside the barrel, and a tail cap coupled threadedly with a rear end of the barrel. The barrel is rotatable relative to the head cap so as to control on/off operations of the flashlight. The tail cap is also rotatable to control the on/off operations of the flashlight due to arrangement of a tail cap switch assembly disposed in the tail cap. A conventional tail cap switch assembly has one end connected electrically to a spring that abuts against a battery unit disposed in the barrel, and an opposite end projecting from an open rear portion of the tail cap to form an operating portion. When the tail cap is rotated to translate forwardly relative to the barrel, electrical connection is established between the barrel and the battery unit, which will be broken by rotating the tail cap to result in rearward translation. In addition, when the operating portion is pressed, temporary electrical connection is established, and is interrupted upon release of the pressure applied on the operating portion. With reference to
FIGS. 1 and 2
, a conventional tail cap switch assembly
1
is shown to include a push button cap
11
that is formed from metal, and that has a conductive annular flange
12
at an intermediate section thereof such that, when the push button cap
11
is disposed in a tail cap member
2
, the annular flange
12
is retained by a radial inward flange
21
of the tail cap member
2
, and is prevented from slipping through an open rear portion of the tail cap member
2
. The outer surface of the push button cap
11
is coated with an insulation material
13
to prevent electrical contact between the push button cap
11
and the surrounding wall of a barrel
3
. A coil spring
8
has one end disposed on the push button cap
11
, and an opposite end abutting against a battery unit
5
disposed in the barrel
3
for establishing electrical connection between the battery unit
5
and the push button cap
11
. The push button cap
11
further has an operating portion projecting through the open rear portion of the tail cap member
2
.
However, the above-described construction is deficient in the following aspects:
1. Since the push button cap
11
is a solid block of metal, it requires laborious machining. Hence, mass production thereof is difficult.
2. As the push button cap
11
has to be coated with an insulation material
13
in order to prevent electrical contact with the surrounding wall of the barrel
3
, the manufacturing process is complicated and costly.
3. Since the entire push button cap
11
is utilized as an electrical conductive element, material costs are relatively high.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide a flashlight with a tail cap switch assembly that is simple in construction, and that can be mass-produced at a reduced cost.
Accordingly, a flashlight of the present invention includes a conductive barrel, a tubular tail cap member, and a tail cap switch assembly. The conductive barrel is adapted to receive a battery unit therein, and has an externally threaded rear end portion with a contact end face. The tubular tail cap member is sleeved on the rear end portion of the barrel, and is formed with an internal screw thread for coupling threadedly therewith. The tail cap member has an open rear portion formed with a radial inward annular flange that is spaced apart from the contact end face in an axial direction relative to the tail cap member. The tail cap switch assembly includes a push button cap and a conductive contact member. The push button cap is made from an insulator material, and has a contact support portion disposed in the tail cap member between the annular flange and the contact end face. A cap engaging portion extends rearwardly from the contact support portion and in the axial direction through the annular flange, and is in sliding engagement with the annular flange. An operating portion is formed on a rear end of the cap engaging portion, and is accessible from the open rear portion of the tail cap member. The conductive contact member is disposed on the contact support portion, and is adapted to connect electrically with the battery unit. The operating portion is operable so as to move the push button cap in the axial direction to move the contact member to contact the contact end face so that electrical connection can be established between the barrel and the battery unit.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4939628 (1990-07-01), Wang
patent: 5008784 (1991-04-01), Wang
Husar Stephen
Merchant & Gould P.C.
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