Combined cargo lamp and center high mounted stop lamp assembly for vehicles

• US 6,976,774 B2
• Filed: 08/26/2003
• Issued: 12/20/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: OSRAM Sylvania Inc. (Ams-Osram AG)
• Original Assignee: OSRAM Sylvania Inc. (Ams-Osram AG)
• Inventors: Reiss, Benoit
• Primary Examiner(s): Husar, Stephen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Han, Jason
• Application Number:
  US10/649,897
• Publication Number:
  US 20050047157A1
• Time in Patent Office: 847 Days
• Field of Search: 362/487, 362540-549, 362/485, 362/522, 340/479, 340/464, 340/468
• US Class Current: 362/541
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/302 mounted in the vicinity, e.g. in the middle, of a rear window
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 3/30 for compartments other than passenger or driving compartments, e.g. luggage or engine compartments
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 43/14 Light emitting diodes [LED]
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 43/26 Refractors, transparent cover plates, light guides or filters not provided in groups F21S43/235 - F21S43/255

Abstract

A combined assembly of a center high mounted stop lamp (CHMSL) assembly and a cargo lamp assembly for a vehicle including a housing having compartments including at least one compartment for housing a CHMSL component and having a stop lens. The housing further includes left and right compartments, respectively on opposite sides of the CHMSL compartment, each having a cargo light lens and a white LED for directing a beam of light to the respective cargo light lens. Each of the cargo lamp assemblies includes one of the cargo lenses and one of the LEDs, the LEDs each having an aperture for emitting the light beam in an arc of about 120° in horizontal and vertical planes, and each of the cargo lenses being adapted to reduce the light beam in a horizontal plane to about 60° and reducing the light beam in a vertical plane to about 60°.

Claims

1. A combined assembly of a center high mounted stop lamp (CHMSL) assembly and a cargo lamp assembly for a vehicle, the combined assembly comprising:

a housing for mounting on a rearwardly facing wall surface of a body portion of the vehicle proximate a top thereof and proximate a transverse center of the vehicle, said housing having compartments including at least one center compartment for housing CHMSL components and having a stop lamp lens, and including left and right compartments, respectively on opposite sides of the CHMSL compartment, each having a cargo light lens and a white light emitting diode (LED) for directing a beam of light to the respective cargo light lens;

each of said cargo lamp assemblies comprising one of the cargo lenses and one of the LEDs, the LEDs having an aperture for emitting the light beam in an arc of about 120°

in horizontal and vertical planes; and

each of said cargo lenses being adapted to reduce the light beam in the horizontal plane to about 60° and

reducing the light beam in the vertical plane to about 60°

.

2. The combined assembly in accordance with claim 1 wherein said lenses each reduce the beam in the horizontal plane to 30°

to the left of an axis of the beam and 30°

to the right of the axis of the beam, and configures the beam in the vertical plane to an upper boundary deflected downwardly 10°

relative to the horizontal plane and a lower boundary extending downwardly 70°

relative to the horizontal plane.

3. The combined assembly in accordance with claim 2 wherein in each of said cargo lamp assemblies the LED is positioned and said lens is configured such that the LED is disposed about halfway between said lens in the horizontal plane and a focal point of said lens.

4. The combined assembly in accordance with claim 2 wherein in each of said cargo lamp assemblies the LED is positioned and said lens is configured such that the LED is disposed at about a focal point of said lens in the vertical plane.

5. The combined assembly in accordance with claim 3 wherein in each of said cargo lamp assemblies the LED is positioned and said lens is configured such that the LED is disposed at about a focal point of said lens in the vertical plane.

6. The combined assembly in accordance with claim 2 wherein the stop lens is red and the cargo lenses are clear.

7. The combined assembly in accordance with claim 6 wherein said cargo lamp LEDs are each at least 18 lumen LEDs and the cargo lenses together emit at least about 20 candela.

8. The combined assembly in accordance with claim 1 wherein the stop lamp lens and the cargo lenses comprise a unitary structure.

9. The combined assembly in accordance with claim 8 wherein said unitary lens structure is a selected one of clear or partly clear and partly red.