Illumination – Light source and modifier – Condition responsive
Reexamination Certificate
1998-04-07
2001-04-17
O'Shea, Sandra (Department: 2875)
Illumination
Light source and modifier
Condition responsive
C362S276000, C362S802000, C362S395000, C362S394000, C362S021000, C362S376000, C362S377000, C362S378000, C362S294000, C362S264000, C362S414000, C362S804000, C362S380000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06217195
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lamp generally and, more particularly, to an improved floor lamp having safety features to prevent risk of fire and injury to persons.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Presently available standing floor lamps and, more particularly, lamps commonly referred to as “torchiere” halogen floor lamps, are known to produce a significant amount of heat from the 300 watt halogen light bulbs used therein. The heat of these light bulbs is a potential fire hazard as well as a burn hazard to persons coming in contact with the top portion or shade of the torchiere lamp or the halogen bulb itself.
Generally, manufacturers of these types of lamps provide warnings to the consumers with respect to potential fire and injury hazards which may be caused by extremely hot halogen lamps. Such warnings may include a tag attached to the power supply cord or a label attached to the inside of the shade near the halogen bulb to warn consumers of the potential burn hazard when changing a halogen bulb. To date, no manufacturer of torchiere style lamps provides any sort of built-in safety feature to protect the consumer from risk of fire or injury due to burns. Accordingly, the present invention is directed to providing safety features for the halogen torchiere style lamps to provide protection to the consumer against risk of fire and injury.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a lamp which includes safety features to prevent potential fire hazards.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a lamp having means for preventing a person from contacting the halogen bulb and risking possible injury due to burning and to prevent objects from coming in contact with the halogen bulb to prevent potential fire hazards.
It is yet a further object of the invention to provide a lamp having a thermostatic control which is responsive to ambient temperature in the cavity of a shade of an operating lamp which terminates power to the lamp upon air temperature within the shade reaching a predetermined temperature.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a lamp having a thermostatic safety feature in which the thermostat will not reset until power to the lamp is terminated for a period of time.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a safety switch which will terminate power to the lamp upon an object being placed within the open end of the shade.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a lamp having a sensor for terminating power to the lamp should an object be detected as being placed over the lamp by the sensor.
In accordance with one form of the present invention, an electric lamp includes a base for supporting the lamp and a stem portion having a first end coupled to the base and the second end coupled to a light bulb socket. The electric lamp further includes an electrical circuit for providing power to the light bulb socket, the circuit including an on/off switch and a thermostatic switch serially connected to the light bulb socket. The thermostatic switch is responsive to ambient air temperature such that, upon reaching a predetermined value, power to the light bulb socket is terminated or shut off. Preferably, the thermostatic switch includes a means for maintaining the switch in an open circuit position until power to the lamp is turned off for a period of time to allow the thermostatic switch to reset thereby permitting normal operation of the lamp. The means for maintaining the thermostatic switch may be in the form of a resistive heating element. When the thermostatic switch opens in response to ambient air temperature reaching the predetermined value, current is directed to the resistive heating element which maintains the ambient air temperature in the vicinity of the thermostatic switch above the predetermined value thereby preventing the thermostatic switch from resetting. Only upon termination of power to the lamp, e.g., turning the on/off switch to the off position or unplugging the lamp, will the thermostatic switch be allowed to cool down and reset.
Although the thermostatic switch and resistive heating element may each take many forms, the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a thermostatic switch which is a bimetallic switch and a ceramic resistive heating element.
In order to provide a margin of safety with respect to fire hazards and potential personal injury, the predetermined temperature at which the thermostatic switch opens the electrical circuit is about 65° C. Furthermore, the thermostatic switch is preferably mounted in close proximity to the light bulb socket to sense the ambient air temperature in the hottest region of the lighting fixture.
Although the present invention may be used with any type of lamp, the safety features of the present invention are particularly useful with respect to halogen torchiere floor lamps. Such lamps use high intensity halogen bulbs, usually 300 watts. These lamps create significant heat and potential fire and personal injury hazards. These types of lamps usually include a bowl-shaped shade provided at the second end of the stem. To direct light in an upward direction, the shade includes positioned therein a reflector. Such lamps also include a dimmer means for controlling the intensity of illumination provided by the lamp.
The present invention also discloses a halogen torchiere floor lamp including a base for supporting the lamp, an elongated hollow stem having a first end coupled to the base and a shade coupled to the second end, a light socket positioned within the shade for receiving a halogen bulb and an electrical circuit means for providing power to the lamp. The halogen floor lamp further includes a protective guard mounted within an interior portion of the shade. The protective guard is positioned over at least a portion of the halogen bulb mounted within the light socket thereby obstructing access to the light socket and bulb with minimal obstruction of light. The protective guard is preferably a convex-shaped wire, but it is envisioned that the protective guard may take many different forms. The halogen floor lamp may also include a reflector located in a bottom portion of the shade and wherein the protective guard is mounted to opposite edges of the reflector.
The present invention also discloses an electrical circuit including a detector for sensing when an object is placed within the shade of the lamp and generates a signal in response thereto. The electrical circuit further includes a switching device for terminating power to the lamp in response to the signal generated by the detector. In a preferred embodiment, the detector is a phototransistor which energizes a relay coil upon detection of an object within and/or over a portion of the lamp shade. The changing state of the relay terminates power to the dimmer control module or the power supply to the lamp socket to shut the lamp off. Alternatively, the detector may be a safety switch having an actuator. Upon an object being placed within the lamp shade and in contact with the switch actuator, power to the lamp socket is terminated until the object is removed.
A preferred form of the standing floor lamp, as well as other embodiments, objects, features and advantages of this invention, will be apparent from the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments thereof, which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5733038 (1998-03-01), Wang
patent: 5863111 (1999-01-01), Turner et al.
patent: 5902037 (1999-05-01), Turner et al.
patent: 6039462 (2000-03-01), Turner et al.
Gariepy Michael A.
Turner Thomas M.
Hoffmann & Baron , LLP
Marino Francis E.
O'Shea Sandra
The Holmes Group, Inc.
Ton Anabel M.
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