High-mounted stoplight for motor vehicle

• US 4,893,220 A
• Filed: 12/22/1988
• Issued: 01/09/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/1987
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: CAMCAR Intellectual Properties, LLC
• Original Assignee: Koito Manufacturing Company Limited
• Inventors: Kakidaira, Susumu
• Primary Examiner(s): Lazarus, Ira S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cole, Richard R.
• Application Number:
  US07/288,171
• Time in Patent Office: 383 Days
• Field of Search: 362/61, 362/80, 362/80.1, 362/351, 362/359, 362/802, 340/457.3, 340/479, 340/485, 340/482
• 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

A shade 17 surrounding the lens 20 of a centered "high mount" vehicle stoplight has an extension 17aat its upper end which blocks light diffused/dispersed by the lens and reflected inwardly by the rear window 1 to prevent such light from reaching the driver'"'"'s eyes via the rearview mirror. The extension is sufficiently long to block light running substantially parallel to the lens and striking the window at a maximum angle Θ, whereby it will inherently also block the remaining light striking the window at a smaller angle.

Claims

1. A high-mounted stoplight (10) for a motor vehicle, comprising:

a lens (20) attached to an open front of a body (12) of said stoplight, a light source (13) provided in said body behind the lens;

said lens and said open front of the body being located at the center of the width of said vehicle inside a rear window thereof and spaced from said window, and a shade (17) surrounding the lens, said shade having a top edge portion (17a) extending upwardly and inwardly in a direction substantially parallel to the rear window a sufficient distance to block light (L) emitted from said light source, transmitted from a foremost lower point (P₁ ;

P₄) of said lens, past a foremost upper point (P₂ ;

P₅) of the shade on a vertical central longitudinal section of said stoplight, and reflected by said window toward the front of said vehicle, thus preventing such light from reaching a driver'"'"'s eyes via a rearview mirror.

2. A stoplight according to claim 1, wherein said light transmitted from a foremost lower point of said lens past a foremost upper point of the shade is diffused and/or dispersed by the lens, and is transmitted in a direction substantially parallel to said lens.