Settable multi-level flashlight

1. A flashlight, comprising:

a cylindrical housing having a longitudinal axis and front and rear ends;

a bezel adjoining the front end of the housing, the bezel comprising a light emitting element, the bezel being rotatable about the longitudinal axis over a limited range of rotation, where rotation of the bezel in a first direction moves the bezel away from the housing along the longitudinal axis and rotation of the bezel in an opposite second direction moves the bezel toward the housing along the longitudinal axis;

a rear button assembly adjoining the rear end of the housing, the rear button assembly comprising a rear button that operates by being depressed in a direction of the longitudinal axis;

circuitry that is configured to allow the light emitting element to cycle through a plurality of available alternative light settings if the bezel is rotated in the first direction, and to allow a user to select a desired alternative light setting from among the plurality of available alternative light settings before the bezel is rotated back in the second direction; and

when the bezel has been rotated back in the second direction, the circuitry causes the light emitting element to emit a steady bright light if the rear button is single-depressed, and causes the light emitting element to emit at the desired alternative light setting if the rear button is double-depressed;

wherein the plurality of available alternative light settings and configuration of the circuitry are predetermined by dedicated hardware and are not user-reprogrammable.

2. The flashlight of claim 1 , wherein the light emitting element automatically cycles through the plurality of available alternative light settings if the bezel is rotated in the first direction.

3. The flashlight of claim 1 , wherein the light emitting element cycles through the plurality of available alternative light settings after further user action if the bezel is also rotated in the first direction.

4. The flashlight of claim 1 , wherein the light emitting element automatically cycles through the plurality of available alternative light settings if the bezel is rotated in the first direction and the rear button is maintained in a depressed state.

5. The flashlight of claim 1 , wherein the light emitting element automatically cycles through the plurality of available alternative light settings if the bezel is rotated in the first direction and the rear button is depressed and released.

6. The flashlight of claim 1 , wherein the circuitry causes the desired alternative light setting to be selected if the rear button is maintained in a depressed state while the light emitting element is cycling through the plurality of available alternative light settings, and the rear button is released when the light emitting element is emitting at the desired alternative light setting.

7. The flashlight of claim 1 , wherein the circuitry causes the desired alternative light setting to be selected if the light emitting element is cycling through the plurality of available alternative light settings, and the rear button is depressed and released when the light emitting element is emitting at the desired alternative light setting.

8. The flashlight of claim 1 , further comprising:

an alternative light setting selection button that is exposed at the first end of the housing when the bezel is rotated in the first direction; and

wherein the circuitry causes the desired alternative light setting to advance sequentially to a next one of the plurality of available alternative light settings each time the alternative light setting selection button is depressed and released before the bezel is rotated back in the second direction.

9. The flashlight of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of available alternative light settings comprises a strobe light and a plurality of steady lights having different respective levels of brightness.

10. The flashlight of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of available alternative light settings comprises a plurality of lights of different respective colors.

11. The flashlight of claim 1 , wherein

at least a portion of the rear button assembly is rotatable about the longitudinal axis between first, second and third settings;

when the rear button assembly is in the first setting, the circuitry causes the light emitting element to continue to emit the steady bright light or at the desired alternative light setting after the rear button is depressed and released until the rear button is depressed and released a second time;

when the rear button assembly is in the second setting, the rear button cannot be depressed far enough for the circuitry to cause the light emitting element to emit any light; and

when the rear button assembly is in the third setting, the circuitry causes the light emitting element to emit the steady bright light or at the desired alternative light setting only as long as the rear button is maintained in a depressed state.

12. The flashlight of claim 1 , wherein a distal end of the bezel is tapered.

13. The flashlight of claim 1 , wherein a distal end of the rear button assembly is tapered.

14. The flashlight of claim 1 , the housing comprising an outer gripping surface that comprises a spiral groove.

15. The flashlight of claim 1 , further comprising a clip that is appended to an outer surface of the housing for releasable attachment of the flashlight to the user's person.

16. The flashlight of claim 1 , wherein the light emitting element comprises at least one light emitting diode.

17. The flashlight of claim 1 , wherein

the housing comprises a battery chamber; and

the rear button assembly adjoins the rear end of the housing by threading engagement, and a battery can be inserted into or removed from the battery chamber when the rear button assembly is disengaged from the rear end of the housing.

18. The flashlight of claim 1 , further comprising:

a universal serial bus (USB) input port that is exposed at the first end of the housing when the bezel is rotated in the first direction;

wherein the housing comprises a battery chamber into which a rechargeable battery can be inserted; and

wherein the circuitry causes the battery to be recharged when power is supplied through the USB input port.

19. The flashlight of claim 18 , further comprising a charging status indicator.