Adjustable auxiliary vehicle light

• US 4,654,757 A
• Filed: 10/29/1985
• Issued: 03/31/1987
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/1985
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Design Technology And Irrigation, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Design Technology And Irrigation, Ltd.
• Inventors: Birkhauser, Robert R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuchlinski, Jr., William A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cox, D. M.
• Application Number:
  US06/792,337
• Time in Patent Office: 518 Days
• Field of Search: 362/61, 362/285, 362/294, 362/311, 362/218, 362/373, 362/269, 362/387, 362/371, 362/285, 362/282, 362/285, 362/277, 362/269, 362/80, 362/78, 340/69, 340/70, 340/71, 340/87, 340/97, 340/74, 340/122, 340/127
• US Class Current: 362/503
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/302 mounted in the vicinity, e.g. in the middle, of a rear window

Abstract

An adjustable signal light which is attachable to the rear window of a vehicle. The signal light has a bracket with a frame that may be secured to the inside surface of the vehicle rear window by adhesive means, and a pair of spaced side fins which extend from opposed sides of the frame. A lamp housing is rotatably mounted between the bracket side fins and defines a lamp chamber open generally toward the frame opening at a desired angle thereto. A lamp is mounted within the chamber and electrical means connect the lamp to the electrical system of the vehicle. A lens is secured to the housing to enclose the lamp in the lamp housing and refract light from the lamp through the frame opening. A removeable cover is engaged on the bracket to enclose the lamp housing and secure the bracket side fins in locking engagement with the lamp housing to prevent rotation of the lamp housing during use. The cover and lamp housing are removeable from the bracket to permit service of the lamp and electrical components without detaching the bracket from the vehicle window. The lamp housing peripheral wall has an opening in which a metal heat sink is mounted, and a circuit board with logic circuit may be mounted within the housing in proximity to the heat sink. The heat sink conducts heat from the lamp and the logic circuit components within the housing out of the housing. Ventilation openings in the upper and lower portions of the cover permit the flow of air past the housing to remove heat from the signal light.

Claims

1. An adjustable auxiliary signal light which is attachable to the window of a vehicle comprising:

(a) a bracket including a frame with a frame cpening having a face, a first side fin which extends from the frame on one side of the frame opening, and a second fin which extends from the frame on the other side of the frame opening, wherein the side fins are resiliently secured on the bracket such that the side fins may be forced laterally apart and will snap back toward each other upon release;

(b) a housing including a first side wall, a second side wall, and an arcuate wall member extending between the side walls to define a lamp chamber which is open in a direction perpendicular to the side walls, the housing side walls being engageable by and between the bracket side fins in adjustable relation with the lamp chamber open generally toward the frame opening at a desired angle thereto, wherein the means for adjustably mounting the housing within the bracket includes interlocking male and female members positioned on the exterior surface of the housing side walls and the interior surface of the bracket fins such that the male locking members will be received by the female locking members to hold the housing in adjustably selected positions in the bracket when the bracket side fins are released to engage the housing side walls; and

wherein the female members include a first receptacle affixed to one of a first side wall and a first bracket side fin engaged therewith, and a second receptacle affixed to one of a second side wall and a second bracket side fin engaged therewith, each receptacle having a generally flat base with a center and a plurality of teeth raised above the base, radiating from the center in spaced relation, and separated by radial channels, the two receptable bases being generally planar and parallel and the two centers teing axially aligned such that the bases are generally perpendicular to a straight line passing through the two centers; and

wherein the male members include a first plate fixed to the interior of the other of the first side wall and first bracket fin and a second plate fixed to the other of the second side side wall and second bracket side fin, each plate having a central point laterally aligned with the centers of the receptable bottoms and at least one tab sized such that it is snugly received within a selected channel of the adjacent receptacle thereby holding the housing in a first selected position within the bracket, and the channels and tabs also sized such that when the fins are laterally drawn away from the side walls, the housing is selectively rotated about an axis between the centers and the fins are released, the tabs will also be snugly received within the channels with the housing held in another selected position within the brackets;

(c) a lamp mounted within the lamp chamber and reans for electrically connecting the lamp to the electrical system of a vehicle;

(d) a lens secured to the housing to substantially enclose the lamp within the lamp chamber, and refract light from the lamp through the frame opening; and

(e) means for securing the frame face to the inside surface of a vehicle window.

2. The adjustable auxiliary signal light of claim 1 wherein the receptacle bases are circular;

wherein the channels are straight, of uniform dimensions, and are centered on the base centers; and

wherein the tabs have dimensions generally equal to those of the channels to permit close engagement of the tabs within the channels.

3. The adjustable auxiliary signal light of claim 1 wherein each receptacle has a rim which surrounds its base and extends exteriorally therefrom to restrain the tabs.

4. The adjustable auxiliary signal light of claim 3 wherein the rims extend a selected axial distance beyond the outermost extremity of the teeth;

wherein the height of the tab is generally equal to the height of the teeth; and

wherein the plates have edges designed to fit snugly within the rims exteriorally from the teeth.

5. The adjustable auxiliary signal light of claim 3 wherein the interior surface of the rim and the edges of the plates are sloped.

6. The adjustable signal light of claim 1 wherein the receptacles are molded in a unitary manner with the housing.

7. The adjustable signal light of claim 1 wherein the housing, the bracket, the plates, the receptacles and the lens are molded from resilient plastic.

8. The adjustable signal light of claim 1 wherein the housing has a plane of substantial symmetry passing from face to rear through the receptacle centers such that the housing may be inverted within the bracket with the first side wall adjacent to the second fin and the second side wall adjacent to the first fin.

9. The adjustable signal light of claim 1 wherein a heat conductive metal heat sink is mounted on the housing arcuate wall member, and wherein a circuit board with at least one heat producing electrical component is mounted in the housing adjacent to the heat sink with the heat producing component connected in heat conductive relation to the heat sink whereby substantially all of the electronic components of the signal light are contained within the housing.

10. The adjustable signal light of claim 9 wherein the housing is removeable from the frame by resilient manipulation of the frame side fins without detachment of the frame from a vehicle window to permit the lens, lamp and electrical components to be disassembled, repaired and replaced, and reassembled at a location outside the vehicle.

11. The adjustable signal light of claim 9 wherein a casing is positioned around the housing and removeably secured to the bracket to protect the housing and electrical components, the casing having a plurality of vents to permit air circulation around the housing.

12. The adjustable auxiliary signal light of claim 1 wherein the adhesive means for securing the frame to the window includes an adhesive member which is secured to the frame face and is adapted to adhesively bind to the window of a vehicle.

13. An adjustable auxiliary signal light which is attachable to the window of a vehicle comprising:

(a) a bracket including a frame with a frame opening having a face, a first side fin which extends from the frame on one side of the frame opening, and a second fin which extends from the frame on the other side of the frame opening;

(b) a housing including a first side wall, a second side wall, and an arcuate wall member extending between the side walls to define a lamp chamber which is open in a direction perpendicular to the side walls, the housing side walls being engageable by and between the bracket side fins in adjustable relation with the lamp chamber open generally toward the frame opening at a desired angle thereto;

(c) a lamp mounted within the lamp chamber and means for electrically connecting the lamp to the electrical system of a vehicle;

(d) a lens secured to the housing to substantially enclose the lamp within the lamp chamber, and refract light from the lamp through the frame opening;

(e) means for securing the frame face to the inside surface of a vehicle window.

(f) a casing positioned around the housing and removeably secured to the bracket so as to substantially lock the bracket side fins in engagement with the housing side walls and protect the housing against accidental readjustment within the bracket.

14. The adjustable auxiliary signal light of claim 13 wherein the side fins are resiliently secured on the bracket such that the side fins may be forced laterally apart and will snap back toward each other upon release;

and wherein the means for adjustably mounting the housing within the bracket includes interlocking male and female members positioned on the exterior surface of the housing side walls and the interior surface of the bracket fins, such that the male locking members will be received by the female locking members to hold the housing in adjustably selected positions in the bracket when the bracket side fins are released to engage the housing side walls.

15. The adjustable signal light of claim 13 wherein the bracket frame has a top ledge and a bottom ledge, and wherein the casing has resilient locking means for engaging the bracket top ledge and bottom ledge and securing the casing on the bracket in removeable relation.

16. The adjustable signal light of claim 13 wherein the casing, the housing, and the bracket are molded from resilient plastic.

17. The adjustable signal light of claim 13 wherein the casing has bottom holes and rear vents to provide air circulation around the housing arcuate wall member.

18. An adjustable auxiliary signal light adapted to be attached to the window of a vehicle, comprising:

(a) a housing including a first side wall, a second side wall generally parallel to the first side wall, and an arcuate wall member extending between the side walls to define an interiorally positioned lamp chamber which is open in a direction perpendicular to the side walls, said housing containing substantially all the electronic components of the signal light;

(b) a lamp mounted within the lamp chamber and adapted to connect to the electrical system of the vehicle;

(c) a translucent lens secured to the housing to substantially enclose the lamp within the lamp chamber;

(d) a bracket including a frame with a frame opening, a first side fin which extends from the frame on one side of the frame opening, and a second fin which extends from the frame on the other side of the frame opening and substantially parallel to the first side fin, said side fins being resiliently secured on the bracket such that the side fins may be forced laterally apart and will snap back toward each other upon release;

(e) means for removeably mounting the housing in adjustably selected position within the bracket by engagement of the side walls by the bracket fins, such that the lamp and substantially all the electronic components may be assembled, disassembled and repaired with convenience at a location outside the vehicle;

(f) means for securing the frame to the window of a vehicle.

19. The adjustable signal light of claim 18 further including a casing positioned around the housing and removeably secured to the bracket so as to substantially lock the bracket side fins in engagement with the housing side walls and protect the housing against accidental readjustment within the bracket.

20. An adjustable auxiliary signal light adapted to be attached to the window of a vehicle, comprising:

(a) a molded housing of synthetic plastic including a first side wall, a second side wall generally parallel to the first side wall, and an arcuate wall member extending between the side walls to define an interiorally positioned lamp chamber which is open in a direction perpendicular to the side walls;

(b) a lamp mounted within the lamp chamber and adapted to connect to the electrical system of the vehicle;

(c) a first receptacle molded in unitary manner into the exterior of the first side wall and a second receptacle molded in unitary manner into the exterior of the second side wall, each receptacle having a generally flat circular base with a center and a plurality of uniform teeth exteriorally raised above the base, radiating from the center in uniformly spaced relation to define channels therebetween, each receptacle having a rim which surrounds the base and extends exteriorally therefrom a selected distance beyond the outermost extremity of the teeth, the two receptacle bases being generally planar and parallel to the side walls and the two centers being axially aligned such that the bases are generally perpendicular to a straight line passing through the two centers;

(d) a molded bracket of synthetic plastic including a frame with a frame opening, a first side fin which extends rearward of the frame on one side of the frame opening, and a second side fin which extends rearward of the frame on the other side of the frame opening and substantially parallel to the first side fin, said side fins being resiliently secured on the bracket such that the side fins may be forced laterally apart and will snap back toward each other upon release;

(e) a first plate fixed to the interior of the first side fin and a second plate fixed to the interior of the second side fin, each plate having a central point which may be laterally aligned with the centers of the receptacle bottoms when the housing is positioned within the bracket, and at least one tab having dimensions generally equal to the radial channels of the side wall receptacles such that it may be snugly received within a channel of the adjacent receptacle thereby holding the housing in a first selected position within the bracket, and such that when the fins are laterally forced away from the side walls, the housing is selectively rotated about an axis between the centers and the fins are released, the tab will be snugly received within a channel with the housing held in another selected position within the brackets, and each plate also having an edge designed to fit snugly within the rims exteriorally from the teeth;

(f) a translucent lens of tinted synthetic plastic secured to the housing to substantially enclose the lamp within the lamp chamber, the lens being positioned to refract light from the lamp through the frame opening;

(g) a molded casing of synthetic plastic positioned around the housing and removeably secured to the bracket so as to protect the housing against accidental readjustment; and

(h) an adhesive member secured to the frame and adapted to adhesively engage the window of the vehicle to support the signal light thereon.