Multi-Bulb Flashlight Contest

CONTEST

Competed

Multi-Bulb Flashlight

Prior Art Search

INVENTION, PRODUCT DESIGN, OPTICS

Prize
$5,000

DEADLINE
This contest is closed.

Winner

Problem

We request previously undiscovered prior art including products, patents and especially non-patent literature which can help invalidate claims 38-41 of US patent RE40,027 (‘027) - “Flashlights and other battery-powered apparatus for holding and energizing transducers.” The patent describes a flashlight, light source, or similar device with a variety of features.

In particular we are interested in finding light sources with two lamps/bulbs pointing in the same general direction and sharing a single concave reflector, similar to that pictured in Fig. 1. One lamp/bulb should be at the focal point of the concave reflector (as in a normal single-source flashlight) and the second should protrude through the reflector’s surface.

UPDATE (1/25/2013): Note that we're looking for a source where the second bulb/lamp (NOT that at the focal point) has a refractive lens attached to the bulb itself (question 6). Refraction is a change in direction of light passing into a medium, so the lens attached to the second bulb should change the direction of of the light coming from that bulb.

Non-patent literature can include, for example: advertisements, product documentation, technical descriptions, items in a museum or personal collection, videos or photographs of a device with these features, etc. Submissions may be documents in English or in a foreign language published in any country before November 24, 1991, or evidence of devices used or sold publicly in the United States before November 24, 1991.

Fig. 1 -- Example light source (flashlight) cutaway

Fig. 2 -- Light source housing detail cutaway

If you are new, see patent and prior art basics and tips for Patexia's prior art contests, and refer to the submission notes below. The following questions will help you understand specifically what we are looking for in this study. To be eligible for the full prize, entries must satisfy all 11 questions. If no user responds to all 11 questions, entries responding to at least questions 1-5 will be considered for a partial reward.

Was the reference published in any country before November 24, 1991, or, if it is a device, was it in use or sold in the United States, before November 24, 1991 (clearly dated)?
Does it disclose an electric light source with two bulbs/lamps sharing a single reflector?
Is the first bulb/lamp at the focal point of the reflector?
Is the second bulb/lamp positioned to the side of the first bulb/lamp?
Does the second bulb/lamp protrude through the surface of the reflector (as in Fig. 2)?
Does this second bulb/lamp have a refractive lens attached?
Do the two bulbs/lamps point in a generally similar direction?
Does the light source have a battery?
Does the light source have a single switch to control the two bulbs/lamps where the switch illuminates either the first or the second bulb/lamp (or both) depending on its position?
Are the reflector and two bulbs/lamps contained within a moveable housing?
Is the moveable housing attached to the switching mechanism?

Have a question about this contest? Ask a Question

Questions

#	Question	Value
1	Was the reference published in any country before November 24, 1991, or, if it is a device, was it in use or sold in the United States, before November 24, 1991 (clearly dated)?	0
2	Does it disclose an electric light source with two bulbs/lamps sharing a single reflector?	0
3	Is the first bulb/lamp at the focal point of the reflector?	0
4	Is the second bulb/lamp positioned to the side of the first bulb/lamp?	0
5	Does the second bulb/lamp protrude through the surface of the reflector (as in Fig. 2)?	0
6	Does this second bulb/lamp have a refractive lens attached?	0
7	Do the two bulbs/lamps point in a generally similar direction?	0
8	Does the light source have a battery?	0
9	Does the light source have a single switch to control the two bulbs/lamps where the switch illuminates either the first or the second bulb/lamp (or both) depending on its position?	0
10	Are the reflector and two bulbs/lamps contained within a moveable housing?	0
11	Is the moveable housing attached to the switching mechanism?	0

Additional Notes

Submission notes

Submission deadline is February 12, 2013.
All work must be prepared by a single researcher.
Maximum of one entry per person allowed.
If you were referred, the referral prize ($500) will be paid to the referring user from the total prize pool of $5,000.
The contest winner will be the first user to successfully answer "yes" to all the questions above. If no winner is selected based on this criterion, the user who first answers the most questions beyond questions 1-5 will be selected for a partial reward.
Entries must be in English.
Please make sure to answer all the questions and clearly explain how the reference supports each question.
In case you are submitting foreign references, please provide a translation of key sections.
If your reference has already been submitted by another researcher before you or is among the known references, it will not be considered for the contest.
Please use "Ask a Question" to post general questions or feedback about the contest to the community.
For specific questions, you can contact us directly by email at contests@patexia.com.
All submissions are subject to Patexia's contest legal terms. Failure to follow these rules may lead to disqualification from the contest.

Known references

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FR 1271830 8/1961
FR 1430456 1/1966
FR 1430546 1/1966
FR 2372382 6/1987
GB 411218 6/1934
GB 555910 9/1943
GB 586357 3/1947
GB 752619 7/1956
AU 138873 4/1984

US Pat. No. 1214583 AUTOMOBILE LAMP
US Pat. No. 1226325 PROJECTING-LAMP
US Pat. No. 1448352 FLASH LIGHT
US Pat. No. 1559930 AUTOMOBILE HEADLIGHT
US Pat. No. 1889936 ELECTRIC FLASH LIGHT
US Pat. No. 1946059 FLASH LIGHT
US Pat. No. 4048631 PORTABLE VARIABLE INTENSITY SIGNALLING FLASHLIGHT
US Pat. No. 4293900 LUMINAIRE REFLECTOR
US Pat. No. 4302698 DUAL-FILAMENT HALOGEN INCANDESCENT LAMP, PARTICULARLY SEALED-BEAM, AUTOMOTIVE HEADLIGHT
US Pat. No. 4348715 LIGHTED TOOL HOLDER
US Pat. No. 4502103 LIGHT WITH MOUNT FOR PLURAL LAMP BULBS
US Pat. No. 4617619 REFLECTOR FOR MULTIPLE SOURCE LIGHTING FIXTURE
US Pat. No. 4713736 MULTIPLE COLOR LAMP
US Pat. No. 4755916 COMBINED FLOOD AND SPOT LIGHT
US Pat. No. 4788633 DEVICE WITH COMPOSITE REFLECTOR
US Pat. No. 4855647 FLASHLIGHT WITH SOFT TURN ON CONTROL
US Pat. No. 4949231 VARIABLE LIGHT BEAM FLASHLIGHT
US Pat. No. 4951180 LAMP REFLECTORS
US Pat. No. 5077644 REFLECTOR FOR HAND HELD FLASHLIGHT
US Pat. No. 5117341 MULTI-FUNCTION FLASHLIGHT
US Pat. No. 5161879 FLASHLIGHT FOR COVERT APPLICATIONS
US Pat. No. 5197798 LIGHTING APPARATUS
US Pat. No. 5280799 UMBRELLA WITH TWO-WAY FLASHLIGHT
US Pat. No. 5629105 FLASHLIGHTS AND OTHER BATTERY-POWERED APPARATUS FOR HOLDING AND ENERGIZING TRANSDUCERS
US Pat. No. 3825740 RECHARGEABLE FLASHLIGHT AND SUPPORT STAND THEREFOR
US Pat. No. 3944761 ROTARY SWITCH
US Pat. No. 7722209 FLASHLIGHT WITH SELECTABLE OUTPUT LEVEL SWITCHING
US Pat. No. 6877876 VARIABLE BEAM ILLUMINATION DEVICE
US Pat. No. 8096674 LIGHTING DEVICE WITH SELECTABLE OUTPUT LEVEL SWITCHING
US Pat. No. 6994449 FLASHLIGHT WITH SECUREMENT CAPABILITY
US Pat. No. 8148912 LIGHTING DEVICE WITH STAGGERED LIGHT SOURCES RESPONSIVE TO A SINGLE USER CONTROL
US Pat. No. 6249089 INTELLIGENT ELECTRICAL DEVICE COMPRISING MICROCHIP
US Pat. No. 6388390 FLASHLIGHT
US Pat. No. 3965320 PUSH BUTTON SWITCH
US Pat. No. 6181067 PORTABLE LIGHTING PRODUCT, A PORTABLE LIGHT PRODUCT CIRCUIT
AND A FUNCTIONING METHOD FOR A PORTABLE LIGHTING PRODUCT CIRCUIT
US Pat. No. 6585391 FLASHLIGHT AND FLASHLIGHT ELECTRICAL CONNECTORS
US Pat. No. 6386730 DUAL REFLECTOR, RECHARGEABLE, AND CRASH-SECURED FLASHLIGHTS
US Pat. No. 7344270 FLASHLIGHT WITH INCREMENTING BRIGHTNESS SELECTOR SWITCH
US Pat. No. 5642932 COMBAT-ORIENTED FLASHLIGHT
US Pat. No. 4905129 FLASHLIGHT WITH TAIL CAP SWITCH
US Pat. No. 5180050 PUSHBUTTON ROTARY SWITCH
US Pat. No. 2256641 ROTARY SWITCH
US Pat. No. 5091611 SWITCH FOR PORTABLE LIGHT SOURCE
US Pat. No. 4733337 MINIATURE FLASHLIGHT
US Pat. No. RE40125 BATTERY OPERATED APPLIANCE, FLASHLIGHT AND SWITCHING SYSTEMS
US Pat. No. 4907141 MINIATURE FLASHLIGHT

Contest Rules

Existing Architecture

All work must be original and prepared by a single author
Maximum of one entry per person allowed
Maximum length of 1,500 words
Entries must be in English
Ideas should be clearly expressed at a college-educated, non-expert level
All submissions are subject to Patexia's contest legal terms
Failure to follow these rules may lead to disqualification from the contest

CONTEST