Abstract:
A lighted grab handle particularly adapted for use at entry doorways on a large vehicle. The handle has a chamber in one end at an interior facing surface and which contains a recessed light socket. In use, light splashes on the vehicle wall on which the grab handle is mounted, making the handle easier to see in the dark.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a lighted grab handle, adapted for use at entry doorways on large vehicles, particularly wheeled housing units including house trailers, travel trailers and motor homes. 
     2. Prior Art 
     Entry doorways on large vehicles, particularly wheeled housing units including house trailers, travel trailers and motor homes, tend to be raised one or more steps above the ground. To help a person step up from the ground and through the entry doorway, a grab handle is often fixed on the vehicle outside wall next to the doorway. Typically, the person opens the door with one hand, grasps the grab handle with the other hand and pulls one&#39;s self up and through the doorway. 
     Prior grab handles of this type have occasionally been illuminated, to be more easily found in the dark. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3 789 210 illustrates a prior lighted grab handle. Same is a large unit to be recessed in a wall and having a central handle and illuminated windows on either side of the handle. 
     However, this prior art unit is large, bulky and hard to install. A large mounting surface area is required to accommodate the unit. Further, the windows on either side of the handle are fragile and thus easily marred or broken. 
     Another type of lighted grab handle known to the present Applicant is an illuminated acrylic tube used as a light pipe. However, this device is rather fragile and can be broken. It is easily marred and thus may look worn after a rather short time. Also, sunlight and changing temperatures will tend to damage the material of the handle after prolonged exposure. 
     The present invention is intended to overcome the aforementioned problems in the prior art lighted handles. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a lighted handle suitable for mounting on an outside wall of a vehicle, particularly near an entry door, in which a light bulb is contained in the handle itself, in which the light bulb lights up the wall area behind the handle, in which the entry door and handle are thus more visible, and in which the user is helped in finding the entry door and in achieving entrance into the vehicle. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a side view of a lighted grab handle embodying the invention, partially broken to show a fastening means and a light source receiving chamber; 
     FIG. 2 is a top view of the handle of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is an end view of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the light source receiving chamber in the top end portion of the handle of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially on the line 5--5 of FIG. 4; 
     FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially on the line 6--6 of FIG. 1, with the gasket removed; and 
     FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a circuit usable with the apparatus of FIG. 1. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     A lighted grab handle 100 (FIGS. 1-7) is mountable on the outside wall W of a vehicle. 
     The handle 100, embodying the invention, comprises a rigid member 1 of generally bent configuration, including bottom and top end portions 2, 3 mountable on the wall W in laterally spaced relation from each other and joined by a central portion 7. The rigid member 1 is preferably of cast aluminum. It may also be of other materials, e.g., of metal or plastic materials of sufficient strength to support the user. The space between the end portions 2, 3 and between the central portion 7 and the wall W is sufficient to allow comfortable insertion of a human hand therein for gripping at the central portion 7. The length of the grab handle 100 is preferably in the range of 6 to 12 inches. The width of the grab handle is preferably in the range of 3/4 to 2 inches. The handle 100 must be long and wide enough to provide a good grip to the user. The rigid member 1 is preferably a one-piece member having a shallow, generally C-shaped or bow-shaped curvature. 
     The end portions 2, 3 have mounting faces 8, 9, respectively, opposable to the mounting surface of the wall W. The mounting faces 8, 9 are here each recessed at 108 in a shallow manner for filling with a gasket 109 somewhat thicker than the depth of the recess. The gasket 109 eliminates the need for sealing or caulking material. The mounting faces 8, 9 of the end portions 2, 3 of the rigid member 1 are substantially coplanar. The handle end portions 2, 3 contact the wall W through the gaskets 109. The grab handle 100 has an external surface 10 for facing away from the outside wall W of the vehicle and an interior surface 11 for facing toward the vehicle wall W. 
     The end portions 2, 3 are thicker (see FIG. 1) than the central portion 7. The external surface 10 of the rigid member 1 is preferably convexly curved and the interior surface 11 is preferably concave, with a radius which is substantially less than the radius of the external surface 10 minus the thickness of the member central portion 7. The end portions 2, 3 preferably flare out away from the central portion 7. 
     One of the end portions 3 of the rigid member 1 contains a chamber 12. The chamber 2 includes a passage 13 opening through the mounting face 9 of the top end portion 3 of the rigid member 1. The passage 13 extends at an angle to the corresponding top mounting face 9 and is angled toward the opposed bottom end portion 2. The passage 13 has its length axis parallel to a tangent to either of the curved interior and exterior surfaces 11, 10. The chamber 12 also includes a recess 14 opening through the interior facing surface of the top end portion 3. The recess 14 faces toward the bottom end portion 2 and into the space bounded by the central portion 7 of the rigid member 1 and the vehicle wall W on which the handle 100 is mounted. The recess 14 has an end wall 114 through which partially opens the passage 13. The axis of the recess 14 may be substantially parallel to the mounting face 9. The passage 13 axis is angled to the recess 14 axis. 
     A lamp socket 15 is inserted snugly but releasably into the open end of the passage 13 and opens toward the recess 14. A bulb 16 releasably occupies the socket 15 and extends into the recess 14. The passage 13 and recess 14 are somewhat misaligned, so that a step 17 (FIG. 4) blocks the socket 15 against movement into the recess 14. 
     The light socket 15 is preferably conventional and can accommodate a small, low wattage light bulb 16. The light bulb 16 is small enough to be substantially contained by the recess 14. The bulb 16 here extends slightly beyond the recess 14 for convenient gripping by the user to facilitate replacement. The socket 15 is held axially in place within the passage 13 by end abutting the adjacent gasket 109. When in place, the socket and bulb are not in view by a user standing in front of the grab handle 100. The bulb 16 is located in such a manner that light emitted from the bulb 16 shines out through the recess 14 into the space between the central portion 7 of the member 1 and the vehicle wall W on which the handle 100 is mounted. Light from the light bulb, directly and by reflection from the interior facing wall of the recess 14, splashes on the vehicle wall W behind the grab handle 100. All that is seen is the splash of light emanating from behind the handle when the power is turned on. The splash of light extends laterally beyond the sides of the handle along the wall W. In this manner, the user can see the handle 100 at night by the light reflected from the wall W. This assists the user in gaining safe entry or exit into or out of a vehicle. 
     Here the external surface 10 of the rigid member 1 contains several parallel grooves 30 which frictionally assist in preventing the user&#39;s hand from slipping. 
     FIG. 7 shows an example of a circuit which may be used in conjunction with the grab handle 100. As shown, an electric power source 21 is connected in series loop with a switch 22 and the lamp socket 16 of the grab handle 100. The connection to the light socket is via insulated electrical wires 23 shown in FIG. 4. The lamp 16 can be turned on and turned off by a manual switch 22 at the convenience of the user. The switch 22 can also be controlled automatically, as by a conventional light sensor or timer. The power source 21 may be, for example, the vehicle&#39;s storage battery. 
     The grab handle 100 is mounted on the wall W of a vehicle by any convenient mounting means such as the screws 18 here shown, nut and bolt connectors or other suitable means of sufficient strength to hold the weight of the user. The end portions 2, 3 each have a mounting hole 19 extending substantially perpendicular to their mounting faces 8, 9. The screws 18 are each inserted through a respective hole 19 in the respective end portion 2, 3 of the rigid member 1, and through a suitable hole 111 in the respective gasket 109, into the vehicle wall W. Each gasket 109 also has a hole 131 therethrough for passage of the wires 23 therethrough and then through a hole 13 in the wall W. Heads 20 of the screws 18 are exposed through the exterior surface 10 of the member 1 for access by a tightening or loosening tool (not shown). The screw hole 19 and light socket passage 13 here extend through the interior facing mounting surface 108 relatively close together. 
     Replacement of the bulb 16 in the socket 15 is done by dismounting the rigid member 1 from a wall W on which it is installed, removing the gasket 109, pulling the socket 15 out of the passage 13 and away from the recess 14, replacing the bulb 16 in the socket 15 and then reversing the above described removal steps. 
     OPERATION 
     In operation, the grab handle is mounted with screws or other fastening means on an outside wall of a vehicle near an entry door and connected to a power source via the circuitry as seen in FIG. 7. When the power source is turned on, the light bulb contained in the handle itself illuminates the area of the wall directly behind the handle. This illumination makes the handle easily visible to an approaching user in the darkness. It leads the user directly to the entry and the handle. The handle aids the user in stepping up into a vehicle. The user simply grabs the lighted handle to pull himself up a step and into a vehicle. 
     Although a particular preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed in detail for illustrative purposes, it will be recognized that variations or modifications of the disclosed apparatus, including the rearrangement of parts, lie within the scope of the present invention.