US3368067A - Clock radio lamp combination - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 6, 1968 H. PAXINOS I CLOCK RADIO LAMP COMBINATION Filed Sept. 29, 1965 INVENTOR WITNESSES Hercules Paxlnos M/ fv 4 ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,368,067 CLOCK RADIO LAMP COMBINATION Hercules Paxinos, Highland Park, N.J., assignor to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Sept. 29, 1965, Ser. No. 491,267 4 Claims. (Cl. 2402) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present disclosure relates to a clock-radio-lamp combination wherein a common base structure is provided whereon a high intensity lamp, including a thermally insulating cover for the lamp, is pivotally mounted. The lamp includes a telescoping assembly so that the lamp may be placed in various positions. The clock mechanism and radio circuitry are incorporated into the structure, with the clock, radio and lamp being energized from a common electrical energy source.

The present invention relates to an electrical device for household use, and more particularly to an electrical device for household use providing multiple functions.

Among the necessary or desired items likely to be found on a desk or night table is a lamp, a radio and a clock. Due to the limited area available for these and other items, it becomes a problem to space and use all these items conveniently. Moreover, the radio, clock and lamp usually require separate electrical cords which add further inconvenience. Clock-radio combinations have been on the market for some time, but do not completely solve the problem that a separate lamp for reading or illumination must still be separately provided.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved household device performing multiple functions.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a household device including a radio receiver, an illumination source, and a clock mechanism.

It is a further object to provide a new and improved lamp-radio-clock combination.

Broadly the above cited objects are accomplished by providing in combination a housing structure including a radio receiver therein, with a high intensity lamp assembly being mounted on the housing assembly. The lamp advantageously is of the high intensity variety having a relatively high light output and a relatively small size. The lamp assembly is mounted to the housing in such a manner that the light is movable in three dimensions. As an additional feature a clock mechanism may be mounted on the housing structure to provide the additional time keeping and alarm functions. A common electrical input is provided to energize the lamp assembly, radio and clock mechanism as desired.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent when considered in View of the following specification and drawing, in which:

The single figure is a sectorial diagram of the device in the present invention.

Referring to the figure, a housing structure including a radio cabinet 2 is shown having a top wall 4, a side wall 6, a sloping front wall 8 and a front edge wall 10. The housing structure of the radio cabinet is completed by walls oppositely disposed to those shown in the figure. Within the radio cabinet is placed radio receiver circuitry, which may be of any standard circuit design as is well known in the art. A volume control dial 12 is disposed within the top portion of the front wall 8 of the radio cabinet 2 and functions as an on-off and a loudness control for the radio. Also included in the wall 8 is a tuning 3,368,067 Patented Feb. 6, 1968 dial 14 which is operative to tune the radio to various stations, with station frequency appearing on an indicator dial 16 that fits in a window in the front wall 8. The speaker for the radio, not shown, is disposed behind the lower portion of front wall 8 which may have a portion thereof fabricated of a fenestrated material. The housing structure may be constructed of plastic or other suitable material.

A clock housing 18 is integrally secured to the top wall 4 of the radio cabinet 2. A clock mechanism, which may be of standard electric clock design as is well known in the art, is disposed within the clock housing 18. If desired, the radio cabinet 2 and the clock housing 18 may be formed of one housing structure, with a. separate cavity being provided for the radio receiver circuit and a separate cavity for the clock mechanism.

The electrical circuitry of the radio and the clock mechanism are interconnected so that they may provide the well known clock-radio functions of, for example, turning on the radio of a buzzer when a predetermined time is reached. Control knobs 20 and 22 are provided for the clock mechanism. Control knob 20 may, for example, control whether the radio is to be turned on at a specific time or an alarm buzzer is to be sounded. The control knob 22 may control turning off the radio or alarm, and it may also reset the alarm or radio to be turned on at a later time interval. These functions are well known in the clock-radio design and will not be further described herein. A face cover 24 is fitted over the front of the clock housing 18 and comprising a transparent material to display the hands and the numerical indices of the clock mechanism. The control knobs 20 and 22 fit through the cover 24 so that the user may control the operation of the clock.

Secured integrally to the top wall 4 is a ball joint 26. A telescoping arm member 28, including three sections 30, 32 and 34, has the section 30 attached to the ball joint 26. The arm member 28 may thus move universally in a three dimensional manner with respect to the top wall 4. The telescoping arm member 28 comprises a hollow tubular structure which may be of a square or oval crosssection and fabricated from stainless steel or chromium plate stock for example. The section 32 fits within the section 30 in a telescoping manner, while the connection 34 fits into the section 32 likewise in a telescopic manner. The sections 32 and 34 may be extended from within the sections 30 and 32, respectively, in order to extend the telescoping arm member 28 to its maximum length.

A cover member 36 is provided having a securing mem ber 38 attached to the outside thereof. The securing portion 38 and the section 34 of the telescoping arm 28 are secured together through a fastener 40 so that the cover member 36 may thus pivot about the fastener 40 to adjust the cover member to a desired angle with respect to the telescoping arm member 28.

Disposed within the cover member 36 is a light bulb 42, which may, for example, be of the miniature high intensity type such as a Westinghouse Electric Corporation No. 40Sl1N, operative at volts, 4() watts. This type of high intensity bulb does not require a voltage reducing transformer but is operated at line voltages. The light bulb 42 is screwed into an electrical socket 44 which may be of standard design. The socket 44 is secured within the cover member 36 by a suitable bracket member 45.

The cover member 36 comprises a thermally insulating material such as nylon and is shown to have a cup-like shape which surrounds the light bulb 42 and acts as a shade for the bulb. The thermally insulating material of the cover member protects a user from the heat dissipated from the light bulb 42 when in operation. The shade for the bulb could also be formed with a metallic inner liner to beam the light from the bulb and also reduce the amount of heat impinging on the outer nylon member.

In order to supply electrical energy to the light bulb 42, a pair of wires 46 are passed from the housing structure 2, through the hollow center portions of the sections 30, 32 and 34 of the arm member 28, around the securing portion 38 of the cover portion 36 and into the cover portion 3a to the electrical socket 44. The wires 46 are suitably insulated from the telescoping arm member 28. A sufficient length of wire is provided to permit the telescoping sections 32 and 34 to reach their full extension away from the housing structure. Suitable space is provided within the housing structure radio cabinet 2 in order to accommodate the excess wire whenever the telescoping sections 32 and 34 are in their withdrawn condition as shown. An electrical cord 48 is provided and has connected at one end thereof a male plug 50 which may be connected to a suitable source of electrical energy available locally. The other end of the cord 48 is inserted into the housing structure 2 and suitably connected to supply energizing energy for the radio circuitry, the clock mechanism and the lamp assembly. A light switch 52 is provided on the top portion of wall 8 of the radio cabinet 2 in order to turn on and off the light bulb 42.

The structure as described thus may be advantageously used on a night stand or a desk in order to provide the functions afforded by a radio, clock and light. The lamp assembly may be conveniently moved to various angles and extension positions due to the ball junction 26 and the telescoping arm 28. The angle of the light bulb 42 may be easily adjusted through the pivoting action about the fastener 46. Also it should be noted that only a single cord 48 is required to provide the multiple functions which are each energized selectively thereby. As can also be seen by the drawings, the radio cabinet 2 has a relatively low, flat silhouette which aids in providing the necessary weight distribution so that the light assembly may be easily adjusted to its various positions without tipping over the entire structure. The usage of the high intensity type of light, which is relatively small and compact and emits a relatively large amount of concentrated white light, moreover, makes the device as shown highly desirable for bedside and desk use.

Although the present invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it should be understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and a combination arrangement of parts and elements may be resorted to without departing from the scope and the spirit of the present invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In combination: a housing structure including a radio receiver therein; a lamp assembly including a high intensity bulb; a cover member disposed about said lamp assembly to shield said high intensity bulb; an arm member including a plurality of sections which engage each other in a telescoping relationship, one end of said arm member secured to said cover member in a pivotal manner so that said cover member and light assembly may be pivoted with respect to said arm member; a connector disposed on said housing structure and being connected to the other end of said arm member to provide universal movement of said arm member about said connector; and energizing means for supplying electrical energy to said radio receiver and said high intensity bulb.

2. In combination: a housing structure including a radio receiver and a clock mechanism therein, said housing structure having a top wall; a lamp assembly including a high intensity bulb; a thermally insulating cover member disposed about said lamp assembly to insulate against heat from said high intensity bulb; an arm member including a plurality of sections which engage each other in a telescoping relationship, one end of said arm member secured to said cover member in a pivotal manner so that said cover member and light assembly may be pivoted with respect to said arm member; a ball joint connector connected to said top wall and being connected to the other end of said arm member to provide universal movement of said arm member about said connector; and energizing means for supplying electrical energy to said radio receiver, said high intensity bulb and said clock mechanism.

3. In combination: a housing structure having two cavities, a radio receiver disposed within one of said cavities and a clock mechanism disposed in the other of said cavities, said housing structure having a top wall; a lamp assembly including a high intensity bulb; a cover member disposed about said lamp assembly to shield said high intensity bulb; an arm member including a plurality of sections which engage each other in a telescoping relationship, one end of said arm member secured to said cover member in a pivotal manner so that said cover member and light assembly may be pivoted with respect to said arm member, a ball joint connector mounted on said top wall and being connected to the other end of said arm member to provide universal movement of said arm member about said connector; and energizing means for supplying electrical energy to said radio receiver, said high intensity bulb and said clock mechanism.

4. In combination: a radio cabinet including a radio receiver therein, said radio cabinet having a top wall; a lamp assembly including a high intensity bulb; a thermally insulating cover member disposed about said lamp assembly to insulate against heat from said high intensity bulb; an arm member including a plurality of sections which engage each other in a telescoping relationship, one end of said ami member secured to said cover member in a pivotal manner so that said cover member and light assembly may be pivoted with respect to said arm member; a ball joint connector mounted on the top wall of said radio cabinet and being connected to the other end of said arm member to provide universal movement of said arm member about said connector; a clock cabinet including a clock mechanism therein, said clock member integrally connected to the top wall of said radio cabinet; and energizing means for supplying electrical energy to said radio receiver, said high intensity bulb and said clock mechanism.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,636,211 7/ 1927 Bramming. 1,663,635 3/1928 Loughridge et al. 240-2 XR 2,252,395 8/1941 Cohen 2408.1 XR 2,512,775 6/1950 Parissi 240-2 XR 3,310,673 3/1967 Fletcher 2408l NORTON ANSI-IER, Primary Examiner.

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