The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 02, 2001
Filed:
Oct. 15, 1999
Kevin L. Parsons, Appleton, WI (US);
W. Clay Reeves, Dallas, TX (US);
Armament Systems and Procedures, Inc., Appleton, WI (US);
Abstract
A rechargeable flashlight, having a head end and a tail end, has an incandescent bulb disposed to direct its illumination out of the head end and has a switch accessible at the tail end. The flashlight houses an assembly of rechargeable batteries and a voltage converter that steps up the voltage provided by the rechargeable batteries and powers the incandescent bulb with the stepped-up voltage when the switch is in the “ON” position. When the switch is in the “OFF” position, the rechargeable batteries may be recharged while they are inside of the flashlight, via positive and negative contact rings disposed coaxially about the switch in the tail end of the flashlight. A recharger is positioned to provide current through the positive and negative contact rings for recharging the batteries inside the flashlight when protrusions carried on the recharger housing snap into a circumferential groove provided in the flashlight housing. The positive contact ring is electrically connected to the positive terminal of the rechargeable battery assembly via a diode that becomes forward biased during the recharge process. The diode serves to prevent current from flowing through the voltage converter or through the incandescent bulb during the recharge process.