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Rescue Light 3 in 1
Imagine a flashlight, very simple in design about the shape of a camera film container, maybe 25-40% larger in all dimensions. Now this canister would have a flip-top lid that is transparent plastic, with a ring around the opening so you don’t lose this clear plastic lid. Inside is a 1-meter cord of very small, bright LED lights (about 50-70 of them). When the string of lights is coiled up inside the canister, it is wrapped around an inner cone. This inner cone would be the size of three AAA batteries stacked together.
The inner cone would be accessible from the back end of the canister (opposite the clear plastic opening), and that is where the simple push-button on/off “clickey” rubber button is located. I’m thinking there would be a raised rim around the clickey button so you could stand it on its butt-end so it worked as a candle light also, and the inside of the canister would be painted chrome to reflect as much light as possible.
It would have 3 modes.
Mode1: A very simple, high efficiency, low power, long lasting, lightweight flashlight you just push the on/off clickey button for its usual flashlight uses.
Mode2: A very handy, hanging string of lights that produces a wide, diffuse light useful for all those “under-tarp” activities where hands-free illumination is important. Such as cooking, reading, and finding the spilled contents of that 1 lb M&M;’s bag.
Mode3: The clincher Our Mode 3 is to open up the canister, and start swinging this thing in a large 1-2 meter circle above your head, as the lights will be spaced evenly (im thinking every 1-2cm) we will be making a massive glowing DISK of light that will be very visible to rescuers!
It could be programmed to read something like HELP when this rescue mode is selected with the clickey switch, or even programmable with promotional names (ALPKIT.COM, or POLARIS). And cool to demonstrate in a darkened room for potential sales reps. and product dealers! This simple torch can be VERY easily produced, very inexpensively and therefore the savings can be passed along to make a cool bit of kit available at the great prices ALPKIT is known for.
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I am a lightweight backpacker, conservation biologist, and like making my own gear.
Comments
Cool idea. I like the idea of using it as a sort of beam light in a tent or similar. Another thought, down the centre of the ‘tube pot thing’, you could have a core of some sort of prizm like stuff, with clever engineering it could focus the light from all around to concentrate it down the length of this and out the end, so you would make mroe efficient use of all the little bulbs inside, as lots of them will be burning but the light going nowhere.
Smeg, getting all the little LED’s to put their light out the front when its used as a flashlight was a concern of mine. I think your idea of focusing the light through use of a “prism” is what i was trying to do by painting the inside of the canister chrome. But definitely spending some time on engineering the inside edges would help to increase the throw from all these little lights out the front. An actual “prism” to do the job might take a lot of engineering,...and sadly im not an engineer. Thanks for the post
Seems like a wicked idea, but I can’t help but thinkn that it would be very dificult to strike a good balance between light intensity and battery life, if you could I’d definetley get one. The best idea I’ve seen here.
Rem
Thanks Rem,
I’ve done a bit of research on this light idea and have some experience working with LEDs, and there are a few common tricks that can be employed to increase the battery life (some not so common ones I’ve come across also). Obviously reducing the number of LEDs, and having the LEDs flash VERY rapidly (faster than can be seen) improves the battery time. But more importantly weekly there are advances in LED technology that increase efficiency, and improve light quality, integrating these new advances will make for a sweet little light. I also have some new ideas for options that just might work out, and am looking forward to unveiling them in the second part of this design challenge, look out for the stealthy headlamp version.
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Great inovation, Derek. Just be careful that no other grabs this idea from you. By the way, I like your use of the word “clicky” ...