Vehicle room floor illuminating apparatus

• US 5,149,186 A
• Filed: 06/15/1990
• Issued: 09/22/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/1989
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Matsuno, Yoshio, Choji, Shinichiro, Ito, Kazuhiko, Shigeta, Teruaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Husar, Stephen F.
• Application Number:
  US07/538,332
• Time in Patent Office: 830 Days
• Field of Search: 362/61, 362/80, 362/74, 362/75, 362/153, 362/131, 362/276, 362/802, 315/77, 315/156, 315/157, 315/158, 315/159
• US Class Current: 362/464
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2500/30 Arrangements for illuminating different zones in the vehicle, e.g. front/rear, different seats
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 3/74 for overall compartment lighting; for overall compartment lighting in combination with specific lighting, e.g. room lamps with reading lamps general lighting mounted on specific fittings B60Q3/20; general lighting for mass transit vehicles B60Q3/43
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 3/80 Circuits; Control arrangements for dashboards B60Q3/16; for mass transit vehicles B60Q3/47
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 362/802 Position or condition responsive switch

Abstract

At least one first foot lamp is disposed on the lower surface of the instrument panel at a height roughly the same as that of the front seat cushion so as to illuminate a front floor before the front seat and a middle floor under the front seat. Further, at least one second foot lamp is disposed on the rearmost and downmost position of the front seat cushion, so as to further illuminate the middle floor under the front seat and a rear floor before the rear seat. Since the vehicle room floor is illuminated brighter than that of the upper room space, the passengers'"'"' eyes usually see the vehicle floor the farthest away from the passenger'"'"'s eyes. Therefore, they feel that the vehicle is broad and roomy and can easily pick up an object on the floor.

Claims

1. A vehicle floor illuminating apparatus provided with at least one front seat arranged in a vehicle room, comprising:

(a) power supplying means;

(b) at least one first foot lamp means connected to said power supplying means, for illuminating only a selected lower room space roughly below a seat cushion of the front seat in the vehicle room, said first foot lamp means being mounted in a first foot lamp range A, range A being defined by imaginary lines between uppermost and lowermost forward ends of the front seat cushion in height and between a lower surface of an instrument panel and a frontmost end of the front seat cushion in length, when seen from the side of the vehicle; and

(c) a second foot lamp mounted in the first foot lamp range A, for illuminating a front floor before the front seat and a middle floor under the front seat.

2. The vehicle room floor illuminating apparatus of claim 1, wherein said second foot lamp is mounted at a frontmost, lowermost position of the front seat cushion.

3. A vehicle floor illuminating apparatus provided with at least one front seat arranged in a vehicle room, comprising:

(a) power supplying means;

(b) at least one first foot lamp means connected to said power supplying means, for illuminating only a selected lower room space roughly located below a seat cushion of the front seat in the vehicle room;

(c) at least one second foot lamp means also connected to said power supplying means, for illuminating a room space located under the front seat cushion and a lower space located roughly below a seat cushion of a rear seat in the vehicle room, said second foot lamp means being mounted in a second foot lamp range B, range B being defined by imaginary lines between a lowermost position of the rear seat and a rear floor in height and between a rearmost end of the front seat cushion and a frontmost end of the rear seat cushion in length, when seen from the side of the vehicle; and

(d) a third foot lamp mounted in the second foot lamp range B, for illuminating a middle floor located under the front seat cushion and a rear floor before the rear seat cushion.

4. The vehicle room floor illuminating apparatus of claim 3, wherein said third foot lamp is mounted near a front, lower end of the rear cushion.

5. A vehicle floor illuminating apparatus provided with at least one front seat arranged in a vehicle room, comprising:

(a) power supplying means;

(b) at least one first foot lamp means connected to said power supplying means, for illuminating only a selected lower room space roughly below a seat cushion of the front seat in the vehicle room;

(c) optical sensor means for detecting the external brightness outside of the vehicle; and

(d) control means responsive to said optical sensor means and connected between said power supplying means and said lamp means, for adjusting the brightness of said foot lamp means on the basis of the detected external brightness in such a way that the brightness of said lamp mans increases with increasing external brightness and decreases with deceasing external brightness.

6. The vehicle floor illuminating apparatus of claim 5, wherein said control means controls the brightness of said foot lamp means by providing a plurality of different brightnesses selected according to the external brightness detected from the vehicle.

7. The vehicle floor illuminating apparatus of claim 5, wherein said control means further adjusts the brightness of at least one second lamp means for illuminating a room space under the front seat cushion and further illuminates a lower space below a rear seat cushion, the luminous intensity on the front floor being about three times greater than that on the rear floor within the vehicle room.