System for detecting the failure of a filament lamp

• US 4,668,946 A
• Filed: 01/08/1986
• Issued: 05/26/1987
• Est. Priority Date: 01/08/1986
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ford Motor Company
• Original Assignee: Ford Motor Company
• Inventors: Piatkowski, Philip Jr., Volk, Jack R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Rowland, James L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): NOT, DEFINED
• Application Number:
  US06/817,223
• Time in Patent Office: 503 Days
• Field of Search: 340/641, 340/642, 340/643, 340/52 F, 340/73, 340/79, 340/80, 340/52 R, 315/82, 315/83, 315/130, 361/87, 361/93, 307/10 LS, 307/131
• US Class Current: 340/641
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 11/005 for lighting devices, e.g. indicating if lamps are burning or not

Abstract

A filament lamp outage indicator system in which the actuation of an on/off switch to its on position is sensed to enable a logic circuit in the event a current flow increase is not inductively detected in a conductor in series with the switch and a corresponding filament lamp.

Claims

1. A system for detecting the failure of an filament lamp in a circuit to be energized when a source of DC energy is applied across said lamp circuit which includes a switch having selectable opened and closed states connected between said lamp and one pole of said DC source and a single conductor in series with said switch and said lamp, comprising:

transformer means having defined primary and secondary windings and a toroidal core surrounding said conductor, wherein said conductor defines said primary winding of said transformer means;

sensor means for detecting when said switch is selectably changed from its opened state to its closed state;

pulse forming means connected to said secondary winding to provide an electrical pulse of a predetermined value and duration whenever DC current initially flows in said conductor; and

logic means connected to both said pulse forming means and said sensor means for producing a failure signal when said switch is selectively changed from its opened state to its closed state and said pulse forming means fails to then provide an electrical pulse output.

2. A system as in claim 1, wherein said lamp contains a filament with one end connected to the positive pole of said DC source and the other end connected to said conductor.

3. A system as in claim 2, wherein said sensor means includes a diode and a voltage dropping resistor, said diode has its cathode connected to said switch and its anode connected to said dropping resistor and the other side of said dropping resistor is connected to the positive pole of said DC voltage source.

4. A system as in claim 3, wherein said logic means connection to said sensor means is made at the junction between said diode anode and said dropping resistor.

5. A system as in claim 1, wherein said toroidal core surrounds a portion of said conductor and said secondary winding is formed as a plurality of turns around a portion of said toroidal core.

6. A system for sensing and indicating an open condition in a series electrical circuit load extending between a source of DC electrical energy and an actuable switching device upon the application of said electrical energy to said load when said actuable switching device changes from an open to a closed condition, comprising:

a toroid core transformer means with defined primary and secondary windings wherein said primary winding is an electrical conductor portion of said series circuit extending through said toroid core and said secondary winding is a coil having a plurality of turns around a portion of said core;

logic means connected to said secondary winding of said transformer means and to said series circuit for providing an output signal upon the closing of said actuable switching device and the contemporaneous failure of current to flow in said circuit;

indicator means connected to said logic means for receiving the output of said logic means and provide a humanly discernible indication whenever said output signal is present;

means between said secondary winding and said logic means for forming an electrical pulse of a predetermined voltage value and duration when said current is caused to initially flow in said primary winding; and

means connected between said actuable switching device and said logic means for detecting the actuation of said switching device from an open to a closed condition and providing an electrical voltage level output to said logic means corresponding to said actuable switching device being in its open or closed condition.