Abstract:
A lighting system for use with an emergency vehicle comprising at least one lighting bar mounted to an exterior surface of the emergency vehicle, the lighting bar comprises a plurality of lighting elements operable to emit light, the at least one lighting bar operable to be placed in a first substantially horizontal lowered position and a second substantially vertical raised position, and a controller electrically coupled to the at least one lighting bar and configured to receive user input and controllably place the at least one lighting bar in one of a raised and lowered positions in response to the user input.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This non-provisional patent application claims the benefit of provisional patent application No. 61/591,373 filed on Jan. 27, 2012, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     FIELD 
       [0002]    The present disclosure primarily relates to an improved warning and scene lighting system for an emergency vehicle. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Emergency vehicles such as police cars, fire trucks, and ambulance vehicles generally use warning signal lights capable of producing bright multi-colored light in flashing or rotating patterns. The primary purpose of the warning light is to greatly increase the visibility of the emergency vehicles that are often required to travel at high speed to a site requiring emergency services. 
         [0004]    Certain emergency vehicles may be further equipped with scene lighting primarily configured to provide sufficient illumination to enable emergency personnel to safely move about and work in a darkened environment. 
         [0005]    Recent improvements in light emitting diode (LED) technology enabled the generation of high intensity light in various colors, while having the benefits of energy efficiency and compact assembly. These advantages in the LED technology have prompted the incorporation of LEDs in warning and scene lighting for emergency vehicles. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    A lighting system for use with an emergency vehicle comprises at least one lighting bar mounted to an exterior surface of the emergency vehicle, the lighting bar comprises a plurality of lighting elements operable to emit light, the at least one lighting bar operable to be placed in a first substantially horizontal lowered position and a second substantially vertical raised position, and a controller electrically coupled to the at least one lighting bar and configured to receive user input and controllably place the at least one lighting bar in one of a raised and lowered positions in response to the user input. 
         [0007]    A lighting system mounted on an emergency vehicle comprises at least two lighting bars mounted to a roof of the emergency vehicle, the lighting bars each comprises a plurality of lighting elements operable to emit high-intensity light, the at least two lighting bars having two operating positions, a traveling position and an on-site position, and a controller electrically coupled to the at least two lighting bars and configured to receive user input and controllably selectably place one or more of the lighting bars in one of a raised and lowered positions in response to the user input. 
         [0008]    An emergency lighting system comprises at least two lighting bars mounted to a horizontally-mounted base, the lighting bars each comprises a plurality of lighting elements operable to emit high-intensity light, the at least two lighting bars having two operating positions, a first substantially lowered position and a second substantially raised position, and a controller electrically coupled to the at least two lighting bars and configured to receive user input and controllably selectably place one or more of the lighting bars in one of a raised and lowered positions in response to the user input. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is a simplified side view of an exemplary vehicle equipped with an exemplary embodiment of a warning and scene lighting system according to the present disclosure; 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a simplified top view of an exemplary vehicle equipped with an exemplary embodiment of a warning and scene lighting system according to the present disclosure; 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a simplified top view of another exemplary vehicle equipped with an exemplary embodiment of a warning and scene lighting system according to the present disclosure; 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is a simplified front view of the exemplary vehicle equipped with an exemplary embodiment of a warning and scene lighting system according to the present disclosure; 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  is a more detailed side view of the exemplary vehicle equipped with an exemplary embodiment of a warning and scene lighting system according to the present disclosure; and 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  is a simplified schematic diagram of an embodiment of the warning and scene lighting system according to the present disclosure. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0015]      FIGS. 1 and 2  are simplified side and top views, respectively, of an exemplary vehicle  10  equipped with an exemplary embodiment of a warning and scene lighting system  12  according to the present disclosure. The warning and scene lighting system  12  comprises one or more lighting bars  14  and  16  that incorporate both warning lighting elements and illuminating scene lighting elements, such as LED technology and other efficient lighting technology. The lighting bars  14  and  16  may be pivotally coupled to a base  18  that is securely affixed to the roof  20  of the emergency vehicle  10 . The lighting bars may operate in multiple positions, for example, in a substantially horizontal position in parallel to the roof  20  of the vehicle, and in a substantially vertical position perpendicular to the roof  20  of the vehicle. The lights in the lighting bars  14  and  16  may provide warning and scene lighting in both positions, however, the first and substantially horizontal position may be designated as the “traveling” position primarily for when the vehicle is moving, and the second and substantially vertical position may be designated as the “on-site” position to be taken when the vehicle has arrived at the site of the emergency, such as a building or house fire, crime scene, accident, traffic stop, medical emergency, etc. The lighting bars  14  and  16  may be controllably lowered and raised simultaneously or independently. The positioning of the lighting bars  14  and  16  may be remotely controlled from inside the vehicle, and the lighting bars may be raised and lowered using any suitable actuation technology, such as pneumatic, electric motors, hydraulic systems, etc. The actuation mechanism may be housed inside the base  18 . The remote control may employ wireless or wired communication of control messages and commands. 
         [0016]    The lighting bars  14  and  16  are preferably oriented such that in either the raised or lowered position, the warning and scene lighting is directed outwardly to either sides of the vehicle  10 . The lighting elements therein may be mounted or configured with lenses and/or reflectors to direct and focus the illumination to shine in a predetermined desired angle, such as toward the front or back of the vehicle, and downwardly toward the ground (generally below eye-level). The scene lighting preferably includes a focus beam that can be remotely operated to pivot and/or pan to illuminate a target area. The warning lighting elements are preferably equipped with mechanism that animate the emitted light, such as rotation and/or flashing. Additionally or alternatively, the lighting bars themselves may be controlled to pivot or orient to guide the light emitted from the warning and/or scene lighting elements toward a general direction. The control system for controlling the lighting bars may incorporate a “home” configuration that is the default configuration when the lighting bars  14  and  16  are initially raised to the “on-site” position. The lighting bars may further be oriented in a second “home” configuration in the “traveling” position. 
         [0017]      FIGS. 3 and 4  are simplified top and side views, respectively, of another exemplary vehicle  30  equipped with an exemplary embodiment of a warning and scene lighting system  32  according to the present disclosure. The lighting system  32  includes one or more lighting bars  34  and  36  that fold over a base  38  while in the traveling and generally horizontal position. As shown in  FIG. 4 , the lighting bars  34  and  36  may be raised into the on-site position after the vehicle has arrived at the site of the emergency. In the raised position, the lighting bars  34  and  36  may be oriented, simultaneously or independently, to shine the light in a particular direction to illuminate one or more selected target areas. Alternatively, as described above, one or more lighting elements in the lighting bars may be focused, oriented, or otherwise configured to shine the light in a certain desired position, using remote-control. 
         [0018]    While in the traveling (i.e., lowered or horizontal) position, the lighting bars  34  and  36  may be remotely controlled to be pivoted or otherwise oriented to provide warning lighting forward and rearward of the vehicle, for example. 
         [0019]      FIG. 5  is a more detailed side view of the exemplary embodiment of the warning and scene lighting system  32  according to the present disclosure. As shown, one or more lighting bars  34  and  36  are coupled to the base  38  that is securely affixed to the emergency vehicle  30 . Hinged connectors  40  and  42  or similar coupling may be employed to attach the lighting bars  34  and  36  to the base  38  to facilitate the lowering and raising of the light bars. A plurality of lenses  44  and  46  may be employed to direct, disperse, focus, and/or intensify the illumination emitted from the warning and scene light elements. For example, the lighting bars  34  and  36  may incorporate lens  44  mounted over warning lighting elements, and lens  46  mounted over scene lighting elements. The warning lighting elements typically emit multi-colored (e.g., in blue, white, amber, and red combinations) bright intensity light that may be programmed to alternately turn on and off in a flashing sequence. The lens  46  may be designed to direct light emitted from the scene lighting elements to achieve a desirable beam spread vertically and horizontally. For example, it may be desirable to direct the scene lighting so that the vertical sides of the emergency vehicle are illuminated, as well as the ground on which the vehicle is parked and the surrounding scene. Further, it may be desirable that the scene lighting achieves a certain angle of beam spread above the horizontal. The warning lighting elements and scene lighting elements may operate independently, for example, the lighting bars may be controlled to emit warning lighting only, scene lighting only, and combined warning and scene lighting simultaneously. 
         [0020]      FIG. 6  is a simplified schematic diagram of an embodiment of an electronic circuit  50  of the warning and scene lighting system  12  ad  32  according to the present disclosure. A matrix of light emitting diodes (LEDs)  52  arranged and mounted on a front side  54  of a printed circuit board  56  in a predetermined pattern. The printed circuit board  56  is securely fastened within a housing by conventional means. The plurality of LEDs  52  may be arranged in two separate portions  58  and  59 , where the first portion LEDs  58  are operable to emit bright intensity light in a first color, and second portion LEDs  59  are operable to emit bright intensity light in a second color different from the first color, for example. A microcontroller  60  is electrically coupled to the LEDs on the printed circuit board  56  and is configured or programmed to control their operation. The microcontroller  60  is further electrically coupled to a power source and a user interface device  62  mounted in other parts of the vehicle. The user interface device  62  may be mounted in the dash of the vehicle in the form of a number of switches, knobs, joysticks, a touch panel, a keyboard, and a number of other suitable options. Other electrical or electronic components and circuitry may be mounted on the circuit board as needed. 
         [0021]    As described above, lenses, reflectors, and other optical devices may be used to direct, intensify, focus, and disperse the emitted light as desired. The circuitry  50  is preferably hermetically sealed within the housing to protect the circuit components from the elements. 
         [0022]    Further notice should be given regarding the actual implementation of the system in that certain changes and modifications to the described system, though not described explicitly or in detail, are contemplated herein. For example, the microcontroller may be implemented using one or more CPU, processors, and/or micro-controller circuits. Further, it is understood that a CPU is typically in operation with its attendant circuitry and software, such as memory, interfaces, drivers, etc. as known in the art. Additionally, although not shown explicitly, the system includes memory that may be implemented using one or more data storage elements of a variety of types now known or later developed. Similarly, the system may employ wireless communication that may be achieved using any technology and protocol suitable for the firefighting application. Although wireless communication is the general way information may be conveyed, the communication between the microcontroller and any controlled component and sensor may be achieved by wired and/or wireless means. 
         [0023]    Although the exemplary views provided herein depict the lighting system mounted on a sedan-type police vehicle, the lighting system may be employed for use with all forms of vehicles, such as police and security vehicles, firefighting vehicles, ambulances, search and rescue vehicles, utility trucks, etc. Alternatively, the lighting systems may be used for non-vehicle applications as well, such as on the roof of a building, wall, or other structures. 
         [0024]    Although the present disclosure describes and illustrates the warning and scene lighting system as having particular predetermined traveling and on-site positions, these are provided as exemplary implementations. The on-site or raised and traveling or lowered positions may be modified or adapted to different applications as necessary. For example, there may be some applications where the on-site position of the lighting bars is preferably substantially horizontal, and the traveling position is preferably substantially vertical. 
         [0025]    The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel are set forth below with particularity in the appended claims. However, modifications, variations, and changes to the exemplary embodiments described above will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the system and method described herein thus encompasses such modifications, variations, and changes and are not limited to the specific embodiments described herein.