The present invention relates to a portable battery operated lamp. More particularly, the present invention relates to a portable lamp having means for automatically energizing the lamp and for recharging the batteries without the need for special interlocking mechanical fittings and regardless of the angular orientation of the lamp about a fixed axis.
It is known in the art to energize a portable lamp by means of one or more batteries and to automatically de-energize the lamp when it is placed on a base at a specific angular orientation about an axis perpendicular to the base. Usually, the lamp is removably secured to the base by means of interlocking mechanical components. For example, the lamp and the base are specially fitted so that a mechanical switch can be actuated upon the interconnection of the lamp and base.
It is also known that batteries used for driving emergency lamps and the like may be recharged by means of a transformer/rectifier circuit,
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds