Vehicle interior light control system

• US 4,403,172 A
• Filed: 01/26/1981
• Issued: 09/06/1983
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/1980
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kokusan Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Kokusan Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Sasaki, Ichiro, Namazue, Hirotoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Dixon, Harold A.
• Application Number:
  US06/228,566
• Time in Patent Office: 953 Days
• Field of Search: 315/77, 315/84, 315/360, 362/74
• US Class Current: 315/77
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 3/80 Circuits; Control arrangements for dashboards B60Q3/16; for mass transit vehicles B60Q3/47

Abstract

A motor vehicle interior light control system wherein actuation of outside door handle does not cause the interior light to illuminate, but the interior light is illuminated for a predetermined period such as 10-50 seconds only after full return of the door handle from its once actuated position to its normal position, said operation control being accomplished by a CR-timer and a multi-stage transistor amplifier in combination.

Claims

1. A vehicle light control system, comprising

an outside door handle for manually opening and closing the vehicle door,

a door handle switch operable by said door handle operation in accordance with normal position of said door handle and operated position thereof,

timer circuit responsive to said door handle switch being closed in its operated position of said door handle

means for turning on the vehicle light for a predetermined time period defined by said timer circuit upon the door handle switch being returned to be off in its normal position of said door handle.

2. The vehicle light control system of claim 1 wherein the vehicle light comprises an interior passenger compartment lamp.

3. In a vehicle having a door movable between a closed and an open position and a door opening mechanism operable to latch and unlatch the door and further having an electrical power source and a lighting system of the type including an interior passenger compartment lamp, the improvement comprising:

switch means operable by said door opening mechanism into first and second operating modes in accordance with normal position of said door opening mechanism and operated position thereof respectively,

timer circuit responsive to said switch means being in its second operating mode,

means for energizing the interior lamp for a predetermined time period defined by said timer circuit upon said switch means being returned to its first operating mode.

4. The improved vehicle interior lighting system of claim 3 wherein said timer circuit comprises a CR-timer, and said energizing means comprises multi-stage transistor amplifier.