Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 022~119~ 1998-10-22
PA~
ATTORNEY DOCKET NO: 0 8 215 / 210 0 01
CENTER-MOUNTED AUXILIARY DRIVING LAMP
Backqround
The invention is related to a center-mounted
auxiliary driving lamp.
Conventional auxiliary driving lamps, such as fog
lamps, provide illumination of the road that assists the
vehicle operator at night or in fog. The assistance
prov1ded is in addition to the illumination provided by
standard headlights. In general, the auxiliary driving
lamps may be mounted in pairs, with one on either side of
the underside of the front bumper.
SummarY
In one general aspect, the invention features an
auxiliary driving lamp assembly configured to be mounted at
the center of the front bumper of a motorized vehicle. The
lamp assembly includes a lamp unit configured to produce
light and a lens positioned to produce a beam of light from
the light of the lamp unit and direct the beam to a position
in front of the vehicle to provide illumination for use by a
driver of the motorized vehicle.
Embodiments may include one or more of the following
features. For example, the assembly may include a license
plate holder that is integrally formed with the assembly.
The lamp unit may include a reflector, with the reflector
being positioned so that, when a license plate is installed
in the holder, the reflector is positioned directly behind
the license plate. The reflector may be oriented to direct
light in a direction substantially parallel to the lens and
a mirror may be used to reflect the light through the lens.
The position of the mirror may be adjustable to permit
adjustment of the angle of the beam of light produced by the
lens.
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The reflector also may be configured to make the --
angle between the reflector and license plate holder
adjustable so as to vary the direction of the beam of light
produced by the lens. The reflector may be located directly
below the front bumper of the vehicle.
The license plate holder may include a housing
having a first opening for displaying the license plate and
a second opening in which the lens is located. Combining
the llght and license plate holder assemblies provides the
considerable advantage of permitting the light to be mounted
on the vehicle using pre-existing license plate holder
mounting holes. This promises to ease installation
substantially.
The light assembly may be mounted to the center of
the front bumper of a motorized vehicle by a mounting
structure. The mounting structure may be bendable to permit
the orientation of the light assembly to be changed.
Other features and advantages will be apparent from
the following description, including the drawings, and from
the claims.
Brief Description of the Drawinqs
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a license plate
holder/lamp assembly.
Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the
assembly of Fig. 1.
Fig. 3A is a front view of the assembly of Fig. 1
mounted at the center of a motor vehicle's front bumper.
Figs. 3B and 3C are side views of the assembly of
Fig. 1 mounted on a motor vehicle's front bumper.
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of another embodiment
of a license plate holder/lamp assembly.
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Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the components of
the assembly of Fig. 4.
Fig. 6 is side view of the assembly of Fig. 4.
Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a center-mounted,
auxiliary driving lamp assembly.
Figs. 8A-8F are front, rear, top, bottom and side
views of the assembly of Fig. 7.
Fig. 9A is a front view of the assembly of Fig. 7
mounted at the center of a motor vehicle's front bumper.
Fig. 9B is a side view of the assembly of Fig. 7
with the light beam directed at the road near the front of
the vehicle.
Detailed Description
Referring to Fig. 1, a center-mounted, auxiliary
driving lamp may be provided by a combination license plate
holder/lamp assembly 100. The assembly 100 includes a dual
beam reflector 105 having a pair of top openings 110 into
which lamps may be secured. Light from the lamps is
directed through a lens 115. An adjustment screw 120 may be
used to adjust an angle of the light beam produced by the
lens relative to horizontal.
The assembly 100 includes a frame 125 having a lower
opening 130 and an upper opening 135. The lens 115 is
positioned in the lower opening 130. The upper opening 135
permits display of a license plate and includes slots 140
for use in mounting the license plate and the assembly to
the front bumper of a vehicle.
Fig. 2 illustrates the components of assembly 100.
Lens 115 is combined with a mirror 205, adjustment screw
120, and dual beam reflector 105 to form a light assembly,
with the mirror 205 being pivotally mounted within the light
assembly. Adjustment screw 120 passes through a slot 220 in
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mirror 205 and a slot 225 in lens 115. As adjustment screw
120 iS turned, mirror 205 pivots about the axis formed
between a pair of cylindrical tabs 210, which fit into a
pair of side walls 215 of lens 115. A resistance mechanism,
such as a spring, biases the mirror against the screw.
Dual beam reflector 105 has a pair of side walls 230
that mate against side walls 215 of lens 115. With mirror
205 in position against side walls 215, the diagonal edges
of side walls 230 are pressed against the diagonal edges of
side walls 215 and adhesive is applied to the common edge
between reflector 105 and lens 115. After reflector 105 iS
securely attached to lens 115, lens 115 iS inserted into
lower opening 130. Lens 115 iS held partially in place in
lower opening 130 by the engagement of a frame edge 245 with
a lens edge 250.
Assembly 100 is mounted to the front bumper of a
motor vehicle by passing mounti~g screws through slots 140,
upper license plate mounting holes 280, a pair of upper
mounting holes 235 on a mounting plate 240 and into a pair
20 of license plate holes at the center of the front bumper.
As the mounting screws are tightened, they secure lens 115
and reflector 105 in position by pressing mounting plate 240
against reflector 105. A pair of side walls 270 of mounting
plate 240 engage the inside edge of a pair of side walls 275
25 of frame 125.
A light bulb 255 fits into each top opening 110 of
reflector 105. Electrical wiring 260 runs from light bulbs
255 to a switch 265 by passing between mounting plate 240
and frame 125. Switch 265 may be activated remotely or may
be positioned in the passenger compartment of a vehicle to
permit the light bulbs 255 to be turned on and off.
Frame 125 and mounting plate 240 may be made, for
example, of metal, such as stamped steel or die cast zinc.
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Frame 125 and mounting plate 240 also may be made of a rigid
plastic.
Referring to Fig. 3A, assembly 100 is mounted at the
center of the front bumper to direct light at the road and
5 space in front of the vehicle to assist the driver in
navigating at night or in fog. The individual light bulbs
255 each direct a beam of light at mirror 205, which, in
turn, reflects the light through lens 115 at the angle
determined by adjusting screw 120.
Referring to Fig. 3B, the light can be aimed at the
road and space near the front of the vehicle by pivoting
mirror 205. To pivot mirror 205, screw 120 iS turned in one
direction to aim the light near the vehicle or, as
illustrated in Fig. 3C, in the other direction to aim the
light at the road further ahead of the vehicle.
Referring to Fig. 4, in another embodiment, a
center-mounted, auxiliary drivi~g lamp may be provided by a
combination license plate holder/lamp assembly 400. The
assembly 400 includes a frame 405, a lens 410 located in
20 lower space 415, an upper space 420 for positioning a
license plate, four mounting holes 425, and a pair of side
tabs 435 with elongated slots for placing pivoting screws
440.
Fig. 5 illustrates the components of assembly 400.
25 Dual beam reflector 500 has a pair of openings 505 for two
light bulbs 255. Reflector 500 also has a lower lip S10, an
upper lip 515, and flat edge 520. Lens 410 fits against
edge 520, between lips 510 and 515. An adhesive placed on
flat edge 520 secures lens 410 to reflector 500. Lens 410
has a beveled edge that permits the lens to pivot within
space 415.
Reflector 500 also has a pair of side tabs 525 with
a pair of holes 530 for placing pivoting screws 440. To
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mount reflector 500 to frame 405, a pivoting screw 440 is --
passed through each elongated slot 535 and hole 530. To
mount assembly 400 with a license plate 200, four mounting
screws are passed through mounting holes 425, license plate
holes 280, and into the license plate mounting holes on the
vehicle's front bumper.
A light bulb 255 fits into each opening 505 of
reflector 500. Electrical wiring 260 runs from light bulbs
255 to a switch 265. Switch 265 may be activated remotely
or may be positioned in the passenger compartment of a
vehicle to permit operation of the lights 255.
Frame 405 may be made, for example, of metal, such
as stamped steel or die cast zinc, or of a rigid plastic.
Referring also to Fig. 6, reflector 500 can be aimed
down at the road in front of the vehicle. To aim reflector
500, pivot screws 440 are loosened, reflector 500 positioned
at an angle to horizontal by lifting up or pushing down
screws 440 in elongated slot 535, and screws 440 are
retightened. Beveled edge 550 eases the pivoting movement
of lens 415 within space 410. The assembly is mounted on a
vehicle in the same manner as is illustrated in Figs. 3A-3C.
Referring to Figs. 7 and 8A-8F, in another
embodiment, a center-mounted auxiliary driving lamp assembly
800 may include a dual beam reflector 805, a lens 810, and a
pair of mounting tabs 815 with slots through which mounting
screws pass. Light bulbs 255 fit into a pair of openings
820. Electrical wiring 260 runs from light bulbs 255 to a
switch 265. Switch 265 may be activated remotely or may be
positioned in the passenger compartment of a vehicle to
permit operation of the light bulbs 255.
Assembly 800 mounts onto a front bumper by passing
mounting screws through the slots in mounting tabs 815 and
into a pair of license plate mounting holes at the center of
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the front bumper. Mounting tabs 815 can be placed between
the license plate and bumper or on the outside of the
license plate.
As illustrated in Fig. 9A, assembly 800 is mounted
at the center of the front bumper of a motor vehicle. A~
illustrated in Fig. 9B, reflector 805 is positioned beneath
the front bumper of a motor vehicle.
Other embodiments are within the scope of the
following claims. For example, the position of the light
beam provided by assembly 800 may be made adjustable through
use of bendable mounting brackets, internal movable
reflectors, or other well known techniques.
What is claimed is:
