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US 6,170,967 B2Granted
Miniature lighting apparatus
OwnerScott Usher, Terrence C. Walshinventors
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A lamp unit having an electromechanical ball including first and second electrically-conductive hemispheres separated by an insulator region, the ball being pop-fit insertable and removable anywhere along a guide track apparatus providing first and second oppositely-disposed conductor strips, the lamp unit being rotatable with respect to the conductor strips to provide on-off switching. The lamp unit-track combination provides the multiple capabilities of aiming and on-off switching, as well as lamp insertion and removal, while eliminating conventional fixturing.
Claims34
Lighting apparatus comprising:
- a lamp unit receptacle means having first and second electrical conductor means mounted therein and spaced apart from each other;
- and
- lamp unit means for providing illumination, said lamp unit means being manually pluggable into and manually removable entirely out of said receptacle means said lamp unit means further having conductor means thereon rotatable within said receptacle means with respect to said first and second electrical conductor means while said lamp unit means is plugged into said receptacle means for alternately switching said illumination “on” and “off” in response to manual adjustment of a position of said lamp unit means with respect to said first and second conductor means.
Lighting apparatus comprising:
- an electromechanical spherical ball having first and second conductive portions separated by an insulator portion, said conductive portions each having an outer surface which is a section of a sphere;
- an electrically-activated lamp having first and second electrical interconnections to said first and second conductive portions, respectively;
- and
- a receptacle for receiving said electromechanical ball and having first and second conductors positioned therein to establish an electrical conductive path with said first and second conductive portions when said ball is in a first position with respect to said receptacle and to break said path when said ball is in a second position with respect to said receptacle.
1 more element
Lighting apparatus comprising:
- a lamp unit receptacle means having first and second electrical conductor means mounted therein and spaced apart from each other;
- lamp unit means for providing illumination and having a spherical end portion said end portion being pop-fit pluggable into and removable from said receptacle means and rotatable about a plurality of axes within said receptacle means with respect to said first and second electrical conductor means for alternately switching said illumination “on” and “off” by manual adjustment of a position of said lamp unit means with respect to said first and second conductor means.
A lamp unit comprising:
- an electrically-activated lamp having first and second electrical contacts;
- and
- a fixture for receiving said lamp, said fixture having a spherical-shaped portion including a nonconductive stripe dividing first and second conductive regions, each of said first and second conductive regions being a surface which is a section of a sphere, said fixture further including electrical interface means located in said fixture for pluggably receiving said lamp and establishing electrical contact between said first and second contacts and said first and second conductive regions.
A lamp unit comprising:
- electrically-activated lamp means for providing illumination in response to an electrical signal;
- and
- means integrally formed with said lamp means and including a spherically-shaped member having an axis and an insulator region separating first and second electrically-conductive regions, each of said conductive regions having a surface which is a section of a sphere for rotation of the spherically-shaped member about the axis to selectively connect the lamp means for receiving said electrical signal and supplying it to said lamp means to thereby activate said lamp means and for rotation of the spherically-shaped member so as to pivot the axis to selected positions for aiming the connected lamp unit.
For use in conjunction with a lamp unit having a first spherically-shaped electromechanical ball associated therewith, said first ball including first and second conductive spherical regions separated by an insulator region, the apparatus comprising:
- a second spherically-shaped electromechanical ball having first and second conductive regions separated by an insulator region;
- an arm depending from said second ball;
- a receptacle means for receiving and retaining said first ball attached to said arm;
- and
- conductor means in said receptacle means and said second ball and operative when said first ball is present in said receptacle means in a selected orientation with respect thereto for establishing an electrically conductive path between the first conductive region of said first ball and the first conductive region of said second ball and between the second conductive region of said first ball and the second conductive region of said second ball.
2 more elements
Lighting apparatus comprising:
- a lamp unit receptacle means having first and second electrical conductor means mounted therein and spaced apart from each other;
- lamp unit means for providing illumination, said lamp unit means being pluggable into and removable from said receptacle means and rotatable within said receptacle means with respect to said first and second conductor means for providing illumination and for alternately switching said illumination “on” and “off” in response to manual adjustment of a position of said lamp unit means with respect to said first and second conductor means;
- and
- wherein said receptacle lamp unit means further includes a channel means having first and second sides to which said first and second electrical conductor means are respectively attached and a bottom portion including means for pop-fit receiving one or more of said lamp unit means.
1 more element
Lighting apparatus comprising:
- a lamp unit receptacle means having first and second electrical conductor means mounted therein and spaced apart from each other;
- and
- lamp unit means for providing illumination, said lamp unit means being pluggable into and removable from said receptacle means and rotatable within said receptacle means with respect to said first and second conductor means for providing illumination and for alternately switching said illumination “on” and “off” in response to manual adjustment of a position of said lamp unit means with respect to said first and second conductor means, said lamp unit means further being rotatable within said receptacle means for aiming the illumination therefrom in a desired direction and wherein said aiming covers an arc of aimability and a 360-degree rotation of that arc.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.