Penlight having low magnetic susceptibility
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A flashlight, which comprises:
- a) a housing;
b) a lamp;
c) a battery housed inside the housing to electrically energize the lamp, wherein the battery has a first terminal and a second, opposite polarity terminal;
d) a first electrically conductive path connecting between the first terminal and the lamp; and
e) a second electrically conductive path connecting between the second terminal and the lamp, wherein when at least one of the first and second electrically conductive paths is open, the lamp is in an unenergized state and wherein when the at least one open conductive path is closed, the first and second electrically conductive paths are completed to thereby energize the lamp, and wherein at least one of the first and second electrically conductive paths comprise at least a first spring intermediate either a first and a second electrically conductive rods or a first and a second electrically conductive sleeves extending between the lamp and one of the first and second terminals of the battery.
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Abstract
A penlight constructed of materials including metal components having very low magnetic susceptibilities is described. The battery powering the penlight lamp is a lithium battery also constructed of materials having low magnetic susceptibilities. The penlight is particularly useful in the vicinity of the strong magnetic field of an MRI scanner.
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Citations
40 Claims
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1. A flashlight, which comprises:
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a) a housing; b) a lamp; c) a battery housed inside the housing to electrically energize the lamp, wherein the battery has a first terminal and a second, opposite polarity terminal; d) a first electrically conductive path connecting between the first terminal and the lamp; and e) a second electrically conductive path connecting between the second terminal and the lamp, wherein when at least one of the first and second electrically conductive paths is open, the lamp is in an unenergized state and wherein when the at least one open conductive path is closed, the first and second electrically conductive paths are completed to thereby energize the lamp, and wherein at least one of the first and second electrically conductive paths comprise at least a first spring intermediate either a first and a second electrically conductive rods or a first and a second electrically conductive sleeves extending between the lamp and one of the first and second terminals of the battery. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A flashlight, which comprises:
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a) a housing; b) a lamp; c) a battery housed inside the housing to electrically energize the lamp, wherein the battery has a first terminal and a second, opposite polarity terminal; d) a first electrically conductive path connecting between the first terminal and the lamp; and e) a second electrically conductive path connecting between the second terminal and the lamp, wherein when at least one of the first and second electrically conductive paths is open, the lamp is in an unenergized state and wherein when the at least one open conductive path is closed, the first and second electrically conductive paths are completed to thereby energize the lamp, and wherein at least one of the first and second electrically conductive paths comprise at least a first spring intermediate either a first and second electrically conductive rods or a first and second electrically conductive sleeves extending between the lamp and one of the first and second terminals of the battery, wherein the battery is an alkali metal battery sealed inside of an austenitic stainless steel casing having a magnetic susceptibility of about 6,700×
106 or less and wherein the internal electrical battery components, the housing, the first and second electrically conductive paths and the lamp have magnetic susceptibilities at least as low as that of austenitic stainless steel. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method for assembling a flashlight, comprising the steps of:
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a) providing a housing; b) housing a lamp inside the housing as a light source; c) providing a battery inside the housing to electrically energize the lamp, wherein the battery has a first terminal and a second, opposite polarity terminal; d) providing a first electrically conductive path connecting between the first terminal and the lamp; and e) providing a second electrically conductive path connecting between the second terminal and the lamp, wherein when at least one of the first and second electrically conductive paths is open, the lamp is in an unenergized state and wherein when the at least one open conductive path is closed, the first and second electrically conductive paths are completed to thereby energize the lamp, and wherein at least one of the first and second electrically conductive paths comprise at least a first spring intermediate either a first and second electrically conductive rods or a first and second electrically conductive sleeves extending between the lamp and one of the first and second terminals of the battery. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A method for assembling a flashlight, comprising the steps of:
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a) providing a housing; b) housing a lamp inside the housing as a light source; c) providing a battery housed inside the housing to electrically energize the lamp, wherein the battery has a first terminal and a second, opposite polarity terminal; d) providing a first electrically conductive path connecting between the first terminal and the lamp; and e) providing a second electrically conductive path connecting between the second terminal and the lamp, wherein when at least one of the first and second electrically conductive paths is open, the lamp is in an unenergized state and wherein when the at least one open conductive path is closed, the first and second electrically conductive paths are completed to thereby energize the lamp, and wherein at least one of the first and second electrically conductive paths comprise at least a first spring intermediate either a first and second electrically conductive rods or a first and second electrically conductive sleeves extending between the lamp and one of the first and second terminals of the battery, wherein the battery is an alkali metal battery sealed inside of an austenitic stainless steel casing having a magnetic susceptibility of about 6,700×
106 or less and wherein the internal electrical battery components, the housing, the first and second electrically conductive paths and the lamp have magnetic susceptibilities at least as low as that of austenitic stainless steel. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 40)
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39. The method of 34 including providing at least an external portion of at least one of the first and the second electrically conductive paths comprised of beryllium copper plated with a material selected from the group consisting of chrome, titanium nitride and parylene, and mixtures thereof.
Specification