Lamp for use with computers

Abstract

A lamp for use with a computer, including cell phones and pads, comprises a body having a slot formed along its length for engaging the computer, by slipping over the edge of the computer's screen. The lamp includes a translucent cylinder, rotatably supported on the lamp body and supporting a parallel string of LEDs. A portion of the cylinder has an opaque cover so that the direction and intensity of the light cast by the lamp may be adjusted by rotating the cylinder.

Claims

1. A lamp for illuminating a subject being photographed by a camera having an edge, comprising: a body member having an elongated open-ended slot adapted to fit over the edge of the camera so that the opposed interior edges of the slot engage opposed sides of the camera edge to support the lamp on the camera; an elongated light source having a pair of opposed ends and having a transparent cover, rotatably supported on the body member; and an electric power supply for the light source having terminals connected to the opposed ends of the light source.

2. The lamp of claim 1 wherein the camera is a component of a computer.

3. The lamp of claim 2 wherein the cover for the light source is cylindrical.

4. The lamp of claim 2 wherein the electric power supply is connected to the light source by rotatable couplings.

5. The lamp of claim 2 wherein the light source is supported on the body member parallel to said slot.

6. The lamp of claim 5 wherein the light source is supported on the body member so as to project orthogonally to the longitudinal extension of the slot to extend over the front of the computer.

7. The lamp of claim 1 wherein the elongated light source comprises a plurality of light emitting diodes.

8. The lamp of claim 7 wherein the light emitting diodes include diodes which are of differing wavelengths interspersing with one another.

9. The lamp of claim 3, further comprising an opaque shade covering a longitudinal section of the cylindrical light source cover so that rotation of the light source relative to the body member adjusts the illumination of the subject being photographed.

10. The lamp of claim 1 wherein the power supply for the light source has a plurality of power outputs selectable by a manually adjustable switch supported on the body member.

11. The lamp of claim 1 wherein the camera is digital and connectable to the Internet.

12. The lamp of claim 1 wherein the subject being photographed is a person holding a computer having the lamp supported thereon.

13. A lamp for illuminating a subject being photographed by a camera having an edge, comprising: a body member; an elongated light source having a pair of opposed ends and having a transparent cover, rotatably supported on the body member; and an electric power supply for the light source having terminals connected to the opposed ends of the light source.

14. The lamp of claim 13 wherein the cover for the light source is cylindrical.

15. The lamp of claim 13 wherein the electric power supply is connected to the light source by a rotatable coupling.

16. The lamp of claim 13 wherein the elongated light source comprises a plurality of light emitting diodes.

17. The lamp of claim 16 wherein the light emitting diodes include diodes which are of differing wavelengths interspersing with one another.

18. The lamp of claim 14, further comprising an opaque shade covering a longitudinal section of the cylindrical light source cover so that rotation of the light source relative to the body member adjusts the illumination of the subject being photographed.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Other objectives, advantages, and applications of the present application will be made apparent by the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment. The description makes reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0010] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a user holding a computer pad with the illumination lamp of the present invention attached to the top of the pad;

[0011] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the illumination lamp taken from the top right, with a section of the lamp body broken away to show one of the rotary connectors for the cylindrical illumination section;

[0012] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the illumination lamp from a side;

[0013] FIG. 4 is a front view of the illumination lamp of the present invention;

[0014] FIG. 5 is a top view of the illumination lamp of the present invention with the cylindrical section broken away to illustrate the LED string;

[0015] FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the illumination lamp of the present invention; and

[0016] FIG. 7 is an end view of the illumination lamp of the present invention from the side bearing the switch showing the slot in the lamp body engaging an edge of a computer screen.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] As illustrated in the figures, a preferred embodiment of the computer lamp, generally indicated at 10, may be secured to a computer taking the form of a pad 12, by sliding a slot, generally indicated by 14, formed on the bottom side of the lamp body 11, by extending edges 18 and 20 of a lamp body 24 over an edge 16 of the frame of the pad. Most computers, cell phones, computer pads, and the like have a similar display thickness and the flexibility of the sections 18 and 20 forming the slot 14 will allow it to be supported on a large majority of these computing devices.

[0018] The opposed interior surfaces of the slot 14 are covered by thin sections of resilient material 22 and 24, such as rubber or another elastic polymeric substance having similar properties of resiliency. The sections 18 and 20, forming the slot 14, project orthogonally to the main lamp member 26, so that when the slot is supported over a computer section like 16, the lamp 26 projects outwardly toward the viewer.

[0019] The lamp cylinder cover is formed of a translucent plastic which constitutes the illumination source. As shown in the broken away section of the cylindrical cover 26 in FIG. 5, the illumination source consists of a plurality of LEDs 28 connected in parallel across a pair of direct current power lines 30 and 32. The LEDs 28 may include units projecting different colors, such as white and light yellow, alternating with one another so as to provide a projection of a relatively pure white light.

[0020] As shown in the broken section on FIG. 4, the opposed ends of the cylinder 26 are supported by rotary connectors 34 which allow the cylinder 26 to rotate about its central axis and continue making contact with a power supply for the conductors 30 and 32. This rotatable connection may be of the type generally shown in class 439, subclass 121 of the U.S. classification system. The LEDs 28 may be powered by rechargeable batteries stored within a holder 36 on the back of the body member. The voltage level provided by the battery to the LEDs 28 may be switched between a relatively high voltage and a lower voltage by a switch 38 supported on the side of the body 24 as shown in FIG. 3. The batteries may be rechargeable through a USB port 40 which receives a USB male connector 42 connected to a power cord 40. The other end of the cord may be connected into a USB portion of the computer 12 or a 110 volt wall socket through an appropriate AC to DC power converter 46.

[0021] As shown in the figures, one side of the illumination cover 26 is coated with an opaque layer 48 which extends along one longitudinal side of the cylinder 26 to block light passing through that section. Thus, the user may rotate the section 26 about the rotatable end connections 34 to control the direction and relative intensity of the illumination of the lamp. The lamp thus may be used to illuminate the operator of the computer 50 as illustrated in FIG. 1 for purposes of taking “selfies” or for video conferencing or the like, or the keyboard or other parts of a computer which require illumination, or such as electronic books or videos.