Rear deck warning light bar

• US 8,192,063 B2
• Filed: 09/29/2006
• Issued: 06/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: STAR SAFETY TECHNOLOGIES LLC
• Original Assignee: Star Headlight & Lantern Company Incorporated (Grote Industries Incorporated)
• Inventors: Neufeglise, Steven W.
• Primary Examiner(s): CARIASO, ALAN B
• Application Number:
  US11/540,465
• Publication Number:
  US 20080080203A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,076 Days
• Field of Search: 362/238, 362/239, 362/249.03, 362/249.07, 362/249.11, 362540-545, 362/648, 362/220, 362/503, 362/504, 362/523, 362529-532, 248/201, 248/214, 248/215, 248/287.1, 248/298.1, 248/295.11, 248/300, 248/316.8, 16/872, 16/874.R
• 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 1/52 for indicating emergencies

Abstract

An interior light bar adapted to be installed on the rear deck of a vehicle for projecting light out of the rear window. The light bar has a pair of projection units each having a housing and each slidably mounted on a rail which extends through the housings from an end thereof and along a rear, closed side. The units each contain light emitters which project the light out of the open side of the units. The units are assembled with a selected separation distance so that the ends through which the rail extends are essentially in contact or sufficiently spread apart to clear a brake light assembly on the rear deck or even further apart so as to provide a wide width of illumination out of the rear window from the light bar. The rail may be channel which provides a conduit for wiring from the light emitter units. Fasteners which connect the housings and the rail into an integrated assembly extend through the closed side of the housing. These fasteners may also connect to a slotted L bracket for providing height and lateral adjustability of the light bar toward and away from the window upon installation of the deck.

Claims

1. A light bar carried in a vehicle on a shelf adjacent a window of the vehicle to provide warning illumination through the window comprising a bar member on said shelf, a pair of light projection units into which said bar member extends, said units being slidably mounted on the bar member for movement toward and away from each other on said shelf to achieve separation by a selected separation distance, said bar member being disposed entirely internally within the unit, except for said selected separation distance.

2. The light bar according to claim 1 wherein said selected separation distance of said light projection units includes said units being essentially together to being spaced apart from each other.

3. The light bar according to claim 2 wherein said bar member is a rail extending through ends of said units which face each other, said units including housings having upper and lower walls and sides in which one of the sides is spaced opposite to another of the sides from which light projects, said one side being closed and said rail being in juxtaposition with said one of said sides.

4. The light bar according to claim 1 wherein said light projection units comprise at least one emitter unit in each of said projection units.

5. The light bar according to claim 4 wherein said emitter units are electrically powered to emit light and have wiring connected thereto, said bar member being a channel defining a conduit for said wiring.

6. The light bar according to claim 1 further comprising fasteners assembling said light projection units to said bar member with said units separated at said selected separation distance or essentially in contact with each other.

7. The light bar according to claim 1 further comprising one or more other light projection units slidably mounted on the bar member between said pair of light projection units.

8. A light bar comprising a bar member, a pair of light projection units into which said bar member extends, said units being slidably mounted on the bar member for movement toward and away from each other to achieve separation by a selected separation distance, said bar member being disposed entirely internally within the unit, except for said selected separation distance, wherein said separation of said light projection units includes said units being essentially together to being spaced apart from each other, wherein said bar member is a rail extending through ends of said units which face each other, said units including housings having upper and lower walls and sides in which one of the sides is spaced opposite to another of the sides from which light projects, said one side being closed and said rail being in juxtaposition with said one of said sides, and wherein said rail has a slotted side, fasteners connecting said slotted side of said rail to said closed one side of said light projection units to fix said units and said rail into an integrated assembly having said selected separation distance.

9. The light bar according to claim 8 wherein said fasteners include brackets on the outside of said closed sides of each of said projection units and screws extending through brackets and slots in said slotted side of said rail for clamping said rail to said closed sides to provide said integrated assembly.

10. A light bar comprising a bar member, a pair of light projection units into which said bar member extends, said units being slidably mounted on the bar member for movement toward and away from each other to achieve separation by a selected separation distance, said bar member being disposed entirely internally with the units except for said separation distance;

wherein said bar member is a rail extending through ends of said units which face each other, said units including housings having upper and lower walls and sides one of which side is spaced opposite to another side from which light projects, said one side being closed, and said rail being in juxtaposition with said one of said sides;

wherein said rail has a slotted side, fasteners connecting said slotted side of said rail to said closed one sides of said light projection units to fix said units and said rail into an integrated assembly having said selected separation distance;

wherein said fasteners include brackets on the outside of said closed sides of each of said projection units and screws extending through brackets and slots in said slotted side of said rail for clamping said rail to said closed sides to provide said integrated assembly; and

wherein said brackets are T shaped so as to define tongues, slotted L shaped brackets having shorter and longer legs with slots, said tongues being connected to said shorter legs via slots in said shorter legs, said units being adjustably connected via said slotted L shaped bracket to a support surface at selected height above said support surface along said slots in said shorter legs and along said support surface in a direction along said slots in said longer legs.

11. A warning light system for use inside a vehicle having a window and a shelf extending from said window into said vehicle, said system comprising a pair of housings each containing at least one light emitter unit which projects light out of open sides of said housings, said housings having closed sides opposite to said open sides and ends, a rail along which said housings are movable toward and away from each other, said rail extending into said housings and along said opposite sides thereof, fasteners connecting said housings to said rail with said housings in selected separation from being in contact with each other to being spaced apart by selected distances, said rail being disposed entirely internally of said housings except where the housings have said separation, and fasteners connecting said housing adjustably in height on said shelf and adjustable in spacing toward and away from said window.

12. The system according to claim 11 wherein said shelf is the rear deck of the passenger compartment of said vehicle, a brake light in a housing on said deck, said housings with said light emitters being separated by sufficient distance to clear said brake light housing and said rail being disposed behind said brake light housing in a direction away from said window.

13. The system according to claim 11 wherein said rail has a slot extending longitudinally thereof, said fasteners defining mechanisms clamping a side of said housing opposite to said open side and said rail to each other with said housings having said selected separation.

14. A warning light system for use inside a vehicle having a window and a shelf extending from said window into said vehicle, said system comprising a pair of housings each containing at least one light emitter unit which projects light out of open sides of said housings, said housings having closed sides opposite to said open sides and ends, a rail along which said housings are movable toward and away from each other, said rail extending into said housings and along said opposite sides thereof, fasteners connecting said housings to said rail with said housings in selected separation from being in contact with each other to being spaced apart by selected distances, said rail being disposed entirely internally of said housings except where the housings have said separation and fasteners connecting said housing adjustably in height on said shelf and adjustable in spacing toward and away from said window;

wherein said rail has a slot extending longitudinally thereof, said fasteners defining mechanisms clamping a side of said housing opposite to said open side and said rail to each other with said housings having said selected separation; and

wherein said mechanisms include T shaped brackets and slotted L-brackets having short sides fastened to a leg of said T brackets and disposed generally perpendicular to said rail, and said L-shaped brackets having a short side generally perpendicular to said shelf for adjustably connecting said housings and said rail to said deck at selected height above said shelf and said L-shaped brackets having a long side for connecting said housing at selected spacing from said window.

15. The system according to claim 14 wherein said housings have closed bases on which said light emitters in said housings are mounted, said long sides of said L-shaped brackets being disposed between said bases and said shelf.

16. A method for attaching light projection units of a vehicle warning light projecting apparatus disposed upon an internal surface of a vehicle adjacent a window through which light from said units projects and along a rail comprising the steps of:

locating said rail through an opening in each of the light projection units and entirely internally within said units except where said units are spaced from each other in the step of adjusting their position to obtain a selected separation of said units on said shelf;

adjusting the position of each of the light projection units along said rail in which said light projection units are capable of being adjacent to each other and to being spaced from each other to obtain the selected separation of said light projection units inside the vehicle; and

clamping each of the light projection units to said rail to maintain said position of each of the light projection units along said rail.

17. The method according to claim 16 further comprising the step of:

adjusting the height of the light projection units with respect to said surface when positioned with said desired separation.