The present invention is directed to a flashlight of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,495. The flashlight disclosed therein is a hand-held flashlight having an outer casing made of flexible plastic which allows for the squeezing thereof by a hand, in order to establish a closed electric circuit between a battery mounted within the plastic casing and a miniature light bulb, to thereby actuate the miniature light bulb simply by squeezing the outer plastic casing thereof. The closed circuit is achieved by a plurality of flexible metallic fingers formed by an inner metal casing surrounding a battery, which battery has its outer, insulating cover absent, to thereby expose its metallic core about which metallic core are circumscribed the metallic fingers of the inner metal casing. At the end of the inner metal casing, remote from the flexible metallic fingers, the inner metal casing threadingly and removably mounts the threaded metallic cap or contact of the miniature light bulb, such that the anode of the battery housed in the inner metal casing abuts up against the metallic cap of the bulb, so that when the outer plastic casing is squeezed, a return path is provided to complete the electrical circuit and, thus, illuminate the bulb. However, since the inner metal casing housing the battery is of relatively unusual configuration, it has proven relatively difficult and costly to manufacture.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds