Electrical appliance powered by self-contained rechargeable battery

Claim 1

An electrical applicance powered solely by means of a rechargeable battery, said appliance having a housing within which the battery is disposed, and means mounted on the housing to charge the battery from a cigarette lighter receptacle of a vehicle, said last named means comprising a plug member on the housing and receivable in the cigarette lighter receptacle of the vehicle, and contact means on the plug member for establishing a battery-charging electrical connection between the battery and the electrical circuit of the vehicle when the plug member is inserted into the receptacle, said receptacle has side walls and a bottom wall, a contact on its said side walls and a contact on said bottom wall, the housing of the flashlight being formed at least in part as a metallic sleeve, said sleeve comprising at least one outward projecting member which is in contact with a pole of the battery of the flashlight and frictionally engages said side wall of the receptacle, the plug member of the flashlight having a contact on the outer, free end thereof adapted for engagement with an electrical connection on the contact on the bottom wall of the cigarette lighter receptacle, and an electrical light receiving socket having an electrically conducting base and a parabolic-hollow reflector body surrounding the lightbulb-receiving socket, said body being rotatably mounted on the housing, and comprising an electrical switch interposed between the battery and the lightbulb, said switch having a part which is selectively turned to on and off positions by the rotation of the reflector body with respect to the housing of the flashlight, said lightbulb-receiving socket has an electrically conducting base, and the electrical switch includes an inner metal shell connected to the electrically conducting sleeve of the housing of the flashlight, at least one contact connected to such sleeve, said contact being in the form of a leaf spring, and an electrically insulating cam connected to the reflector body of the flashlight so as to rotate therewith, said cam engaging said contact so as selectively to permit the inner end of the contact to engage the electrically conducting base of the lightbulb receiving socket whereby to energize the lightbulb, and to bend the contact point away from engagement with said contact of the light bulb receiving socket whereby to deenergize the lightbulb.