Vehicular lighting fixture with non-directional dispersion of light
First Claim
1. A motor vehicle having a rearwardly facing exterior surface, said vehicle comprising:
- a housing having a light transmissive screen presented in a rearwardly facing direction;
a primary visible light source producing a preponderance of visible light disposed in said housing for projecting visible light along a path toward said light transmissive screen;
phosphor-coated indicia disposed on a non-opaque support surface in said housing and positioned in said light path so that visible light projected by said primary visible light source passes through both said phosphor-coated indicia and said non-opaque support surface on its path toward said light transmissive screen;
a secondary ultraviolet light source producing a preponderance of UV light within said housing and selectively energized for projecting UV light onto said phosphor-coated indicia to produce a visually interesting display through said light transmissive screen to viewers positioned rearwardly of said vehicle;
wherein said phosphor-coated indicia is transparent and substantially invisible in the non-energized state so as to be practically undetectable to an outside observer; and
wherein said vehicle includes a rear window, said light transmissive screen being visible through said rear window and said primary visible light source being operable with a brake light system.
11 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A CHMSL (16) or other lighting system feature of an automobile (10) includes a feature for presenting personal expressions in the form of words or symbols but is automatically deactivated when the regular vehicle lighting system is in use. The personal expression is fixed in a tangible medium by way of phosphor-coated indicia (34) placed within a UV impervious housing (18). A secondary UV light source (36) selectively energizes the phosphor-coated indicia (34) so that the irradiated material glows and is visible through a light transmissive screen (20). The light transmissive screen (20) is provided with a UV blocking agent so that harmful UV rays do not escape the housing (18). The phosphor-coated indicia (34) can be mounted on a removable transparent plate (30), on light dispersion optics (24, 26), or on the inner face of the light transmissive screen (20). A control circuit (42″) manages the primary light source (22) and the secondary UV light source (36) so that only one of the light sources can be energized at any one time.
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. A motor vehicle having a rearwardly facing exterior surface, said vehicle comprising:
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a housing having a light transmissive screen presented in a rearwardly facing direction; a primary visible light source producing a preponderance of visible light disposed in said housing for projecting visible light along a path toward said light transmissive screen; phosphor-coated indicia disposed on a non-opaque support surface in said housing and positioned in said light path so that visible light projected by said primary visible light source passes through both said phosphor-coated indicia and said non-opaque support surface on its path toward said light transmissive screen; a secondary ultraviolet light source producing a preponderance of UV light within said housing and selectively energized for projecting UV light onto said phosphor-coated indicia to produce a visually interesting display through said light transmissive screen to viewers positioned rearwardly of said vehicle; wherein said phosphor-coated indicia is transparent and substantially invisible in the non-energized state so as to be practically undetectable to an outside observer; and
wherein said vehicle includes a rear window, said light transmissive screen being visible through said rear window and said primary visible light source being operable with a brake light system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification