Ring light

Abstract

A ring light is provided for rotary, spindle based machines such as mills and drills. The ring light is magnetically held to the machine about the spindle and may be moved along the spindle to any location thereon. The ring light may powered by a module containing batteries which may be replaceable or chargeable by a power supply or through induction. All three embodiments are disclosed. The construction is generally unitary with respect to the ring portion of the ring light and it may be constructed so that the power module is removable or as one piece with the ring portion.

Claims

1. A ring light comprising: a. a light mounting bracket in the shape of a flat ring having two flat sides; b. at least one means for producing light mounted on one of the flat sides of the ring; c. at least one magnet positioned on an opposite flat side of the ring while abutting an inner circumference of said ring; d. a power source; and e. circuitry connecting the power source and the means for producing light in an operable manner; wherein the ring light may be mounted about a rotary spindle of a machine and the magnets will hold the ring light against a frame of the machine while the spindle may be raised and lowered and further that the ring light may then be optionally raised and lowered along the spindle.

2. The ring light of claim 1, the means for producing light being a plurality of LED's.

3. The ring light of claim 2, the power source being at least one rechargeable battery.

4. The ring light of claim 3, the power source further comprising a charging port for direct connection to an electrical battery charging apparatus.

5. The ring light of claim 3, the power source further comprising at least one component of an induction charging system, remaining components of the induction charging system being so provided for charging the rechargeable battery.

6. The ring light of claim 1, the power source being at least one rechargeable battery.

7. The ring light of claim 6, the power source further comprising a charging port for direct connection to an electrical battery charging apparatus.

8. The ring light of claim 6, the power source further comprising at least one component of an induction charging system, remaining components of the induction charging system being so provided for charging the rechargeable battery.

9. A ring light comprising: a. a light mounting bracket in the shape of a flat ring having two flat sides; b. at least one means for producing light mounted on one of the flat sides of the ring; c. at least one magnet positioned on an opposite flat side of the ring; d. a power source; and e. circuitry connecting the power source and the means for producing light in an operable manner; wherein the ring light may be mounted about a rotary spindle of a machine and the magnets will hold the ring light circumferentially about said spindle and the ring light may also be raised and lowered along a length of said spindle.

10. The ring light of claim 9, the means for producing light being a plurality of LED's.

11. The ring light of claim 10, the power source being at least one rechargeable battery.

12. The ring light of claim 11, the power source further comprising a charging port for direct connection to an electrical battery charging apparatus.

13. The ring light of claim 11, the power source further comprising at least one component of an induction charging system, remaining components of the induction charging system being so provided for charging the rechargeable battery.

14. The ring light of claim 9, the power source being at least one rechargeable battery.

15. The ring light of claim 14, the power source further comprising a charging port for direct connection to an electrical battery charging apparatus.

16. The ring light of claim 14, the power source further comprising at least one component of an induction charging system, remaining components of the induction charging system being so provided for charging the rechargeable battery.

17. The ring light of claim 9, the magnets being situated such that they abut an inner circumference of the ring.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a ring light according to one embodiment of the present invention.

(2) FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the ring light of FIG. 1.

(3) FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the ring light of FIG. 1.

(4) FIG. 4 is a left elevation of the ring light of FIG. 1.

(5) FIG. 5 is a right elevation of the ring light of FIG. 1.

(6) FIG. 6 is a front elevation of the ring light of FIG. 1.

(7) FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the ring light of FIG. 3, taken along line A-A.

(8) FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the ring light of FIG. 3, taken along line B-B.

(9) FIG. 9 is perspective view an alternate embodiment of a ring light according to the present invention.

(10) FIG. 10 is a top plan view of the ring light of FIG. 9.

(11) FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the ring light of FIG. 10, taken along line C-C.

(12) FIG. 12 is a sectional view of the ring light of FIG. 10, taken along line D-D.

(13) FIG. 13 is a front elevation of a machine with the ring light of FIG. 9 installed.

(14) FIG. 14 is a sectional view of the machine of FIG. 13, taken along line E-E.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

(15) With reference now to the drawings, the preferred embodiment of the ring light is herein described. It should be noted that the articles a, an, and the, as used in this specification, include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise.

(16) With reference to FIG. 1, the ring light 10 features a flat, ring-shaped bracket, or lighting ring, 20 and a power module 30. The module 30 and lighting ring 20 may be fused together or may be made removable from each other. Both are within the purview of this invention. On the top side of the lighting ring are a plurality of magnets 22. These magnets 22 are positioned along the inner circumference of the lighting ring, even to the point of being exposed along their edges (FIG. 8). On the bottom side, shown in FIG. 2, the lighting ring 20 contains a plurality of LEDs 26 about the ring so as to generate an evenly distributed field of light for the user. Number and type of LEDs will be dependent upon the size of the ring light and other factors determined by the manufacturer. Generally speaking, the LEDs 26 are best mounted upon a board 28 shaped to fit the lighting ring 20. The lighting ring 20 is defined generally, and may take any suitable shape. The depicted shape is a ring with two opposing handles 24 with which to engage the light ring 10 for adjustment purposes. However, any suitable shape may be utilized.

(17) Power module 30 features a switch 32 (FIG. 5) and may feature a charging port 34 (FIG. 4). Charging port 34 may be for an AC, DC, USB, or any other power supply known or later developed. As can be seen in FIG. 6, power module 30 is slightly thicker than lighting ring 20 in order to accommodate its contained components; however, there is no requirement that this be so as components may become smaller in coming years or the lighting ring 20 may be made thicker. The power module contains at least one rechargeable battery 36 which stores power from the charging system and provides it for the LEDs 24. It should, of course, be understood that a regular, replaceable, battery may be used instead of a rechargeable battery and the charging port 34 may then be eliminated.

(18) In an alternate embodiment, an induction charging system is added to the power module 52, as shown in FIGS. 9-14. The lighting ring 20 is the same as the previous described embodiments. However, an induction port 54 is located in the power module 50. In this embodiment, at least one battery 56 may be utilized to store power. Induction port 54 is manufactured to interact with a charging unit 58 that may mounted on a machine 60 as shown in FIG. 13 or may be located elsewhere. The depicted embodiment features a female port in the power module 52 and a male interface with the charging unit. It is entirely conceivable to reverse this relationship or to simply make a charging dock for the ring light. A port 54 may also be unnecessary as induction will charge a battery merely in close proximity to the induction system. As such, the ring light, either with or without a port 54, may be readily manufactured for charging in a dock. For convenience, such a dock may be manufactured to mount on the machine 60 or be located in any convenient location.

(19) In use, shown in FIGS. 13-14, the ring light 50 is positioned about the spindle 62 of the machine 60. Spindle 62 may then be raised and lowered at will. The positioning of the magnets in the lighting ring create a stronger attraction vertical towards the surface of the machine frame than on the spindle 62. This keeps the ring light 50 on the frame, or, as shown in FIG. 14, magnet positioning will enable the ring light 50 to have a stronger attraction to the charging unit 68. This then keeps the ring light 50 well away from the chuck 64 and bit 66, and therefore more removed from flack ejected from the work piece. The ring light 50 may then be moved anywhere along the length L of spindle 62 as desired by the user. The ring light 50 is then held in place by the radial magnetic attraction with the spindle 62.

(20) As the ring light is magnetically attracted to the machine 60, or any ferrous surface, storage of the ring light on the machine 60 is possible using the currently depicted magnets 22. It is readily conceivable that additional magnets may be utilized for mounting purposes. Such magnets may be positioned about the outer circumference of the ring light and even on the hinged mounting foot 38 seen in the drawings at the base of the power module 30. It is not necessary that this mounting foot 38 be hinged; it merely adds additional secondary functionality as the ring light 10 may be used in lighting situations other than its primary purpose for illuminating the work area of a machine 60.

(21) Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, numerous modifications and variations can be made and still the result will come within the scope of the invention. No limitation with respect to the specific embodiments disclosed herein is intended or should be inferred.