(54) REPLACEMENT ILLUMINATION DEVICE FOR A MINIATURE FLASHLIGHT BULB
(75) Inventors: Anthony Catalano, Boulder, CO (US);
Daniel Harrison, Nederland, CO (US)
(73) Assignee: Technology Assessment Group, Inc.,
Boulder, CO (US)
( * ) Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days.
(21) Appl.No.: 11/831,791
(22) Filed: Jul. 31, 2007
(65) Prior Publication Data
US 2008/0019123 Al Jan. 24, 2008
Related U.S. Application Data
(63) Continuation of application No. 11/026,796, filed on Dec. 31, 2004, now Pat. No. 7,300,173, which is a continuation-in-part of application No. 10/820,930, filed on Apr. 8, 2004, now Pat. No. 7,318,661.
(51) Int. CI.
F21L 4/04 (2006.01)
(52) U.S. CI 362/202; 362/208; 362/800
(58) Field of Classification Search 362/157,
362/184, 194-195, 196-199, 200-208, 253,
362/800
See application file for complete search history. (56) References Cited
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
Disclosed is a method and apparatus for providing a solid state light emitter and driving circuitry integrated into a component module that will retrofit common incandescent light bulb applications. The disclosed embodiment is directed to the retrofitting of small flashlights using miniature bulbs, such as the Mini Maglite®. Because the emitter and driving circuitry cannot readily fit within the envelope of the bulb being replaced, the volume occupied by the module needs to be acquired from within the flashlight's interior, such as from part of the volume occupied by the reflector. In that case, the invention includes a replacement reflector supplied with the module. The invention provides that no original functionality of the flashlight is sacrificed. Consideration is also given to the conduction of heat from the light emitter and module.
6 Claims, 4 Drawing Sheets
Replace an incandescent light source in an incandescent flashlight with at least one solid state light source and a cooperating printed circuit board such that the at least one solid state light source is located within an area circumscribed by a light reflecting surface and the cooperating printed circuit board is located within an overall envelope of the flashlight.
Replace a light reflector arrangement of the incandescent flashlight with a smaller light reflector arrangement within a light reflector housing, where the steps of replacing the incandescent light source and reflector arrangement are carried out without changing the dimensions of the overall envelope of the flashlight.
