Field

[001] The present disclosure relates to lighting apparatus, and more particularly to portable lights and night lights. Background

[002] Lighting apparatus have always been used as sources of illumination since the 19 ^th century and are increasingly used also for other purposes such as decoration, signaling, signing and attraction. With the advance in lighting technology, lighting sources have been developed from incandescent bulbs to include gas discharge lights and LED lights.

[003] As lighting apparatus nowadays are for more than utilitarian purposes, it would be beneficial to have more sophisticated and useful lighting apparatus.

Description of Figures

[004] The disclosure will be described by way of non-limiting examples with reference to the accompanying Figures, in which:-

Figure 1 is a front perspective view of a lighting apparatus comprising a light emitting assembly and a light source holder,

Figure 1 A is a front elevation view of the lighting apparatus of Figure 1 ,

Figure 1 B is a cross-sectional view of the lighting apparatus of Figure 1 taken along line A-A of Figure 1 A,

Figure 2 is a front perspective view of the light source holder of Figure 1 ,

Figure 2A is a bottom perspective view of the light source holder of Figure 1 , Figure 3 is a top first perspective view of the light emitting assembly of Figure 1 from one side,

Figure 3A is a side view of the light emitting assembly of Figure 1 ,

Figure 3B is a bottom elevation view of the light emitting assembly of Figure 1 , Figure 3C is a bottom perspective view of the light emitting assembly of Figure 1 and from another side and with the power plug in the retracted position,

Figure 3D is a bottom perspective view of the light emitting assembly of Figure 3 with the power plug in the extended position,

Figure 4 is a schematic circuit diagram of the light emitting assembly of Figure 1 , Figure 5 is a perspective view of the lighting apparatus of Figure 1 with the light emitting assembly in an alternate configuration, and

Figure 6 shows another example of a light source holder.

Description of Examples

[005] A lighting apparatus is disclosed herein. An example lighting apparatus comprises a lighting assembly and a light source holder, wherein the lighting assembly comprises a base portion and a light emitting portion and the light source holder comprises a hollow housing and a light source receptacle on the hollow housing to hold the lighting assembly; and wherein the light source receptacle is to hold the lighting assembly in a first configuration such that the light emitting portion of the lighting assembly protrudes outside the hollow housing. The hollow housing provides a lightweight support to the lighting assembly (as an example of a light source) and a light source receptacle on the hollow housing provides a simple support to hold a light source for decorative and/or utilitarian purposes. A lighting apparatus comprising a hollow housing and a light source receptacle formed on the hollow housing means the lighting apparatus can be used as a portable lighting apparatus as well as a standup lighting apparatus. [006] In an example, a receptacle aperture is defined on the hollow housing to form the light source receptacle, the receptacle aperture being surrounded by a receptacle border; and wherein the lighting assembly is to insert into the light source receptacle aperture and to be releasably held by friction or resilience of the receptacle border during use. The light source receptacle facilitates insertion of the light source into and removal of the light source from the light source holder without the use of tools. In addition, it also means that the lighting apparatus can be used as a desktop lamp when the light source is held by a light source holder and a mobile light source when the light source is detached from the light source holder. Of course, the lighting apparatus can be a mobile or portable light source when the light source is battery powered and the light source is portable.

[007] In one example, the light source receptacle is to hold the lighting assembly in a second configuration in which the light emitting portion of the lighting assembly is received inside the hollow housing, the second configuration being in alternative to the first configuration. The first and second configuration means that the lighting apparatus can be used as a localized light source such as a torch or a night light with localized illumination in the first configuration, or a lantern or a night light with diffused illumination in the second configuration.

[008] In an example, a flange projects radially from the receptacle border, and the flange is retracted from the outer surface of the hollow housing to limit the depth of movement of the lighting assembly into the hollow portion of the hollow housing.

[009] In an example, the receptacle border is to hold the lighting assembly by resilience upon insertion of the lighting assembly into the light source receptacle.

[0010] In an example, the lighting assembly comprises a base portion, a lighting portion mounted on one side of the base portion, and a power plug mounted on the other, opposite, side of the base portion for connection to mains supply; wherein the lighting portion comprises a rechargeable battery, a driver circuit operable by the rechargeable battery to drive a light source, a light sensor for detecting ambient light conditions and to operate the driver circuit when detected ambient light is below a threshold, and a battery charging circuit connected to the power plug for charging the rechargeable battery; and wherein the power plug is configurable between an extended position for connection with a mains power socket and a retracted position when the power plug is retracted into the base portion to facilitate upright standing of the light emitting assembly on the base portion such that the lighting assembly is facing upward.

[001 1 ] The base portion may comprise an integrally moulded plug receptacle for receiving a power plug and for supporting the night light to stand in an upright manner when the power plug in the retractable position.

[0012] The power plug may be pivotally movable about a hinge between the extended and retracted positions, and the hinge forms a part of the plug receptacle.

[0013] A lighting apparatus 100 depicted in Figures 1 , 1 A and 1 B comprises a light source 120 and a light source holder 140 for holding the light emitting assembly 120.

[0014] The light source holder 140 includes a main body 144 and a light source receptacle 146 which is formed on the main body. The main body is integrally formed of a translucent material to define a hollow compartment which is surrounded by a translucent housing. Examples of such translucent materials include soft plastics, synthetic rubber and silicone rubber. The main body can be coloured to provide enhanced aesthetic quality even in the absence of illumination or uncloured or plain such that the overall colour of the main body when viewed from outside is determined by the colour of the light source. The hollowing housing of the main body comprises a head portion, a base portion and a trunk portion interconnecting the head and base portions. The main body is supported on the base portion and the light source is elevated above the base portion.

[0015] The light source receptacle 146 is formed on the main housing to hold the light source 146 in a releasable manner. An aperture is formed on the main body to define a receptacle aperture for receiving the light source 120. The receptacle aperture is defined by a border portion on the main body which surrounds the aperture and extends axially into the cavity defined by the hollow housing. A radially extending projection is formed on the border portion at a level retracted from the outer surface of the main body. The radial direction herein is with reference to the receptacle aperture and is orthogonal to an axial direction of the receptacle aperture. This projection extends in a direction orthogonal or substantially orthogonal to the axial direction of the receptacle aperture and around the border portion to define a circumferential flange on the border portion to limit the maximum axial advancement of the light source 120 into the cavity of the hollow housing. The dimension of the border portion is designed to receive the light source in a closely-fitted manner such that the body of the light source will be friction held by the border portion, whether by friction only or by friction in combination with resilience urge of the border portion, when the light source is inserted into the main body. When it is desirous to change the configuration of the lighting apparatus, a user can simply remove the light source from the main body, reverse the light source and then re-insert the light source into the receptacle. To enhance frictional grip with resilience urge, the main body, or at least the border portion, may be formed of a resilient material such as rubber or silicone or plastics materials.

[0016] The base portion provides a distributed base to support the main body of the light source holder in an upright manner when resting on a leveled surface. The light source receptacle 146 is provided to receive and releasably hold the light source 120 in place. In particular, the light source receptacle 146 is adapted such that an end portion of the light source carrying the light emitting portion will protrude into the hollow compartment when the light source is in the second configuration and the light emitting portion will protrude outside the main body when in the first configuration, the first and second configurations being alternative configurations.

[0017] In the example of Figures 2 and 2A, the main body is formed as an upstanding figure in the form of a cartoonish duckling, the receptacle is formed on the trunk portion and the axis of the receptacle aperture coincides with that of the axis of symmetry of the main body, the light emitting portion of the light source protrudes outside of the main housing in a first configuration and is received inside the cavity of the hollow compartment when in a second configuration. [0018] As shown in Figure 2, the border portion of the light source receptacle 146 for receiving a rim portion of a light emitting assembly (as an example of a light source, especially a portable light source that is detachable from the main body to operate as a mobile light source) is defined on a front portion of the main body intermediate the top and base portions. The border has a circular outline which defines an aperture complementary to the rim portion of the light emitting assembly such that when an end portion of the light emitting assembly is inserted onto the light source receptacle, a middle portion of the light emitting assembly, which is intermediate the cover and base portion of the light emitting assembly, will be held by the light source receptacle by friction and/or resilience.

[0019] The light emitting assembly 120 depicted in Figures 3 to 3D comprises a plastic housing which defines an insulating base 122 moulded of hard plastics, such as polycarbonate. A lighting assembly 124 is mounted on one side (or the upper side) of the insulating base and a power plug 126 for connecting the light emitting assembly to mains supply is mounted on the other (or the lower side) of the insulating base 122. This light emitting assembly is a night light comprising a light sensor and an actuator to operate the lighting assembly to emit night when the luminous level detected by the light sensor falls below a threshold.

[0020] A switch 128 is mounted on a lateral side of the base to allow a user to turn on, turn off, and set the night light into an 'AUTO' mode. The power plug 126 comprises a pair of retractable legs which is pivotally moveable between an extended configuration for connection with mains supply and a retracted configuration for storage or for use with the holder. The pair of legs is pivotally mounted on the base and is moveable about a hinge axis which is parallel to the surface of the base on which the lighting assembly is mounted. The pair of legs is spring urged to move to the retracted configuration when it is moved out of the extended configuration. A latching mechanism is provided to latch the pair of legs once the legs are moved into the extended configuration with each elongate leg being orthogonal or substantially orthogonal to the hinge axis. A plug receptacle is formed on the base to receive the pair of legs when retracted. The plug receptacle is configured such that the pair of legs of the power plug is stored inside the base so that the night light module can stand on the insulating base when the legs are retracted and stored inside the light source receptacle.

[0021 ] A translucent cover is also mounted on the upper side of the insulating base to cover the lighting emitting assembly. The lighting emitting assembly comprises a LED as an example of a light source, a drive circuit for driving the light source, an ambient light sensor for detecting ambient lighting conditions, a rechargeable battery for driving the light bulb via the driving circuit, a rectifier circuit for rectifying the mains power supply to a direct current supply suitable for charging the rechargeable battery. As depicted in the circuit diagram of Figure 4, the alternate current (AC) input terminals ACL, ACN of corresponds to two legs of the power plug and are connected to the input front of a rectifier integrated circuit (IC) MB6S. Input terminal ACL is connected to pin 2 of the rectifier IC via a filter circuit comprising a first resistor R1 connected in parallel with a first capacitor C1 , while Input terminal ACN is connected to pin 3 of the rectifier IC via a second resistor R2. The positive (pin 1 ) and negative (pin 4) DC output terminals of the rectifier IC are connected across a ripple filtering capacitor C2 and the DC output is then used to charge a 3.6 volt rated rechargeable battery. Outputs of the battery (BAT) are connected to a group of light emitting diodes (LED) connected in parallel, and the group of light emitting diodes is operated by an LED driver IC. The group of LED comprises a red LED, a green LED and a blue LED to form a light of different colors. Operation of the lighting assembly in the AUTO mode is controlled by a photo-coupler which controls a transistor switch Q2 to turn on or off battery power supply to the group of LED and the LED driver IC.

[0022] An LED lamp is used as a light source due to its high power efficiency and its low operating voltage. The ambient light sensor comprises a light sensor which is used to provide a trigger signal to switch on the drive circuit when the ambient light falls below a threshold luminous level. The rechargeable battery is a lithium battery. The drive circuit can be set to operate in three modes. A first mode is the ON' mode under which the night light will be turned on irrespective of the ambient luminous level. A second mode is the 'AUTO' mode under which the night light will be turned on when the ambient luminous level drops below a threshold level. A third mode is the 'OFF' mode under which the night light is turned off and no luminance will be emitted by the lighting assembly.

[0023] To prepare the light emitting assembly for use, a user will retrieve the power plug from the base portion of the light emitting assembly and extend the power plug into the extended position such that the legs of the power plug are vertical or substantially vertical. The user will then plug the light emitting assembly into mains supply for charging the rechargeable battery, to store the power plug inside the base portion of the light emitting assembly after charging, and the light emitting assembly will be ready for use. [0024] In use, a user will insert the light emitting assembly into the light source receptacle with its lighting assembly projecting inside the compartment. To operate the light emitting assembly, a user will turn the switch on the side of the light emitting assembly to the ON' or the 'AUTO' position. When the LED is turned on, light generated by the LED will be diffused by the main body of the light source holder and causing the main body to glow in the dark. Accordingly, the lighting apparatus comprising the main body and the light emitting assembly will form a diffused night light.

[0025] In an alternative way of use as depicted in Figure 5, a user will insert an end portion of the night light comprising the power plug into the hollow compartment of the light emitting assembly such that the lighting assembly will be facing outwardly of the main body. Similarly, the middle portion of the light emitting assembly will be held and maintained in place by the light source receptacle. When the LED is tuned on, the lighting apparatus comprising the main body and the light emitting assembly will operate as a flash light, with the lighting assembly operating as the flash light.

[0026] In yet another way of use, the night light assembly is inserted into the light source holder such that the lighting assembly is facing outwardly while a portion of the light assembly proximal the base portion is inside the hollow compartment. When use in this way, the lighting apparatus comprising the main body and the light emitting assembly will operate as a flash light as well as a diffused night light, with the lighting assembly operating as the flash light and the main body also glowing. [0027] The night holder 240 depicted in Figure 6 is a variation of the light source holder of Figure 3 but formed into the shape of a cartoonish frog, with a hollow compartment enclosed by translucent body of the cartoonish frog.

[0028] While the above disclosure has been made with reference to the above examples, it should be understood that the examples only serve to illustrate the subject matter of disclosure and does not mean to limit or restrict scope of the subject matter. For example, while the main body of the light source holder is formed into a cartoonized duckling and a dice, the main body can be formed into any other standing shapes without loss of generality.