Flashlight and recharging system therefor

Abstract

A guide plate on the head of the flashlight provides an alignment feature which aligns a pair of flashlight charging contacts with a pair of terminals in charging unit for releasably holding the flashlight in its charging receptacle. The flashlight is held within the charging receptacle in a consistent orientation, so that the flashlight switch may be easily found when the flashlight is grasped. The charging receptacle grips the head portion of the flashlight with a pair of spring-loaded jaws. A battery assembly is provided which presents both positive and negative terminals at the forward end of the battery unit. Connections are made from the forward end of the battery to an interconnection module within the flashlight head assembly.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to a rechargeable flashlight and recharging unit. More specifically, the invention relates to a compact recharging unit having an alignment feature and a rechargeable flashlight which employs a custom battery assembly and a recharging fixture.BACKGROUNDMetal flashlights, such as machined aluminum flashlights, are commonly finished, such as by surface anodization or bright dipping, to protect the surface of the flashlight and to impart an aesthetic quality to the flashlight. The body of such flashlights commonly includes a threaded tail cap for providing access to the battery compartment and which also serves as a battery terminal contact. Since the body of such flashlights usually provides part of the electrical circuit between the batteries and the light bulb, it is necessary for such electrically and physically mating surfaces as the body and the tail cap to be machined subsequent to surface finishing, such as anodizing, so that ...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Machining the mating surfaces of the flashlight after surface finishing increases the cost of fabricating the flashlight due to the expense of a further machining step after anodizing and occasional damage to the finished surface of the flashlight during such further machining.

However, flashlights are often needed when it is dark in the vicinity of the flashlight in the charger unit.

It is recognized that a flashlight that is tightly held within a recharging unit in order to withstand vibration may be difficult to remove from the charging unit.

This latter problem is increased if the flashlight is of compact size.

Images