Night light having directional light output

• US 20050018426A1
• Filed: 07/21/2003
• Published: 01/27/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/21/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: American Tack & Hardware Company Incorporated (Jackson Deerfield Manufacturing Corp.)
• Original Assignee: American Tack & Hardware Company Incorporated (Jackson Deerfield Manufacturing Corp.)
• Inventors: Dickie, Robert G.
• Granted Patent: US 6,905,231 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 362/287
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 8/035 by means of plugging into a wall outlet, e.g. night light
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2115/10 Light-emitting diodes [LED]

Abstract

A directional night light has a front face and a rear face, a source of illumination within the interior of said housing, and an adjustment actuator such as a wheel. At least a portion of the front face is translucent. The light source may be an incandescent bulb, an LED lamp, an LED panel, an electroluminescent panel, an OLED panel, and combinations thereof. The light source is mounted within the housing so as to be rotatable about an axis through an arc of 30° to 150° by actuation of the adjustment actuator, which has a portion extending forwardly beyond the front face. In another embodiment, a directional night light has a bezel mounted front face with a louvered element behind the front face through which light will pass and be directed at an angle away from the front face.

Claims

1. A night light comprising a housing having a front face and a rear face, an electrically powered source of illumination within the interior of said housing located between said front and rear faces, and an adjustment actuator;

wherein said rear face is substantially planar and has electrical blades extending rearwardly therefrom for placement into an electrical socket;

wherein at least a portion of said front face is translucent;

wherein said source of illumination is chosen from the group consisting of an incandescent bulb together with a reflector whereby light from said incandescent bulb is directed away from said reflector, at least one LED lamp, an LED panel, an electroluminescent panel, an OLED panel, and combinations thereof; and

wherein said source of illumination is mounted within said housing so as to be rotatable about an axis of rotation through an arc of 30°

to 150°

by actuation of said adjustment actuator which is mounted within said housing on the axis of rotation of said source of illumination with a portion of said adjustment actuator extending forwardly beyond said front face.

2. The night light of claim 1, wherein said source of illumination is an incandescent lamp;

and said reflector surrounds said lamp to an extent of at least 180°

.

3. The night light of claim 2, wherein said incandescent lamp is elongated and is horizontally mounted, so that rotation of said source of illumination sweeps a vertically directed arc.

4. The night light of claim 1, wherein said source of illumination is at least one LED lamp having a forwardly directed beam of light, mounted so that rotation thereof sweeps a vertically directed arc.

5. The night light of claim 1, wherein said source of illumination is one of the group consisting of an electroluminescent panel, an LED panel, and an OLED panel, having a forwardly directed illumination horizontally mounted so that rotation thereof sweeps a vertically directed arc.

6. The night light of claim 1, wherein all of said front face is translucent.

7. The night light of claim 1, wherein said source of illumination is mounted near the bottom of said housing, wherein said arc that is swept by rotation thereof is in the range of 30°

to 60°

, and wherein the light from said source of illumination is directed generally downwardly.

8. The night light of claim 1, wherein said adjustment actuator is chosen from the group consisting of an adjustmetn wheel, an adjustment lever, and an adjustment slider.

9. The night light of claim 1, wherein the portion of said adjustment wheel that extends beyond said front face has a peripheral arc in the range of 90°

to 180°

.

10. The night light of claim 2, wherein said housing has bottom and top surfaces, and said least one vent opening is formed in each said bottom and top surfaces so as to permit convection air flow through said housing.

11. The night light of claim 10, wherein the interior of said housing has discrete bottom, front, and top chambers, and has openings between said bottom and top chambers and said front chamber, whereby convection flow through said housing is through said bottom vent opening, through said bottom chamber, through said front chamber, through said top chamber, and from said top vent opening.

12. A night light comprising a housing having a front face and a rear face, an electrically powered source of illumination within the interior of said housing located between said front and rear faces, and a louvered element located behind said front face;

wherein said electrically powered source of illumination is an incandescent bulb;

wherein said rear face is substantially planar and has electrical blades extending rearwardly therefrom for placement into an electrical socket;

wherein said front face is substantially planar and is translucent, and is subtended by a rearwardly and outwardly sloping side wall, so that said front face and said side wall together form a front chamber within which said source of illumination is mounted;

wherein a rear chamber housing is formed forwardly of said rear face and behind a mounting face which defines the rearmost extent of said front chamber, and wherein said source of illumination is mounted on said mounting face;

wherein said night light has a substantially circular configuration, and wherein the rearmost ends of said rearwardly and outwardly sloping side wall are rotatably mounted to the exterior of said rear chamber housing; and

wherein said louvered element is mounted so as to be rotatable with said front face and said circularly configured rearwardly and outwardly sloping side wall so that light emanating from said source of illumination and passing said louvered element and through said translucent front face is directed away from said front face at an angle thereto.

13. The night light of claim 12, wherein said louvered element comprises a plurality of louvers in fixed relationship one to another.

14. The night light of claim 12, wherein said louvered element comprises a plurality of louvers that are integrally molded together with said front face.

15. The night light of claim 12, wherein said louvered element comprises a plurality of louvers which are molded from an opaque or reflective material and are mounted behind an integrally with said front face so as to be rotatable therewith.

16. The night light of claim 12, wherein said rear chamber housing has discrete bottom and top chambers, and has vent openings between said bottom and top chambers and said front chamber;

and

wherein said rear chamber housing has bottom and top surface regions and at least one vent opening that is formed in each of said bottom and top surface regions so as to permit convection air flow through said night light through said bottom vent opening, through said bottom chamber, through said front chamber, through said top chamber, and from said top vent opening.