Abstract:
A warning light is integrated with a fixed position, externally mounted rear-view mirror, the warning light having a housing which forms an aerodynamically contoured extension of the mirror. A light head is received by the housing such that, when the housing is engaged by the rear-view mirror, the light head assembly means generally faces towards the front of the vehicle.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to warning light systems and, more particularly, to warning light assemblies for external installation on vehicles, especially emergency vehicles and other public service vehicles. Accordingly, the general objects of the present invention are to provide novel and improved apparatus of such character. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Lighting systems for mounting on the exterior of police and other public service vehicles have long been known in the art. The most popular form of exterior lighting for emergency vehicles is the light bar. A typical light bar assembly, as exemplified by the disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 4,620,268, has a plurality of lights arranged on a beam which spans, but is spaced slightly above, the roof of a vehicle and which may be clamped to the vehicle rain gutters. Light bars are desirable because of their ability to provide a wide variety of highly visible light radiation patterns. However, regardless of whether a light bar is energized, its relatively large size and location on the roof of the vehicle makes it rather conspicuous. Thus, in circumstances where emergency vehicles, such as police cars, need to be inconspicuous, the use of light bars is generally undesirable. 
     With the increased concern for highway safety of recent years, both state and local police departments have increasingly relied on the use of &#34;unmarked&#34; police cruisers to improve the efficiency of law enforcement efforts. Such &#34;unmarked&#34; police cruisers need warning lights which are as inconspicuous as possible until energized and, when energized, produce a highly visible display. As discussed herein, a highly visible display is one which produces wide angle illumination and, particularly, illumination having a pattern which will minimize the possibility of a collision at an intersection. 
     The warning lights used on &#34;unmarked&#34; police cars have previously taken a variety of forms. These lights have included the &#34;portable&#34; rotating beacon or strobe light, which will typically be transported within the interior of the vehicle at least until use is required, lights mounted behind the front grille of a vehicle and special headlight/taillight assemblies which may include flash tubes. While these prior art inconspicuous lights have all found acceptance in the law enforcement community, the users thereof have expressed a desire for enhanced visibility at large angles relative to the direction of vehicle travel. Thus, there exists a need for an emergency vehicle light configuration which is both (1) relatively inconspicuous when the lights are not illuminated; and (2) highly conspicuous after the lights have been illuminated, particularly from the side of the vehicle on which installed. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a novel and improved warning light assemblies for external mounting on a vehicle. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a warning light assembly consists of a light head, with a wide angle radiation pattern, which is configured for integration into a rear-view mirror assembly of the type which is permanently mounted on the exterior of the side of a vehicle. In most applications, the present invention can be incorporated into a rear-view mirror assembly simply by (1) removing the color coordinating trim from the forwardly facing side of the housing of a rear-view mirror assembly; (2) mounting the light head assembly to the housing of the rear-view assembly; and (3) supplying electricity to the light head. When the warning light assembly is integrated with an exterior mirror as described above, the emitted light will be projected forwardly with respect to the vehicle and use of the mirror contained within the existing rear-view mirror assembly is uninhibited. In the typical installation, a pair of warning lights in accordance with the invention will be mounted to the external rear-view mirrors on both sides of the vehicle. Thus, the present invention provides emergency warning lights which are highly conspicuous when illuminated, but are discreetly incorporated into rear-view mirror assemblies for concealing the identity of the emergency vehicles when not illuminated. 
     In accordance with the present invention, the novel light head assembly includes a housing contoured so as to define an aerodynamically shaped extension of a vehicle side mirror housing. Typically, external rear-view mirrors are mounted on or adjacent to the leading edges of the front doors of the vehicle at window height. Since this location places the warning lights approximately at the eye level of other drivers, light projected from the light head assembly is readily visible by other drivers. Furthermore, the conspicuity of a warning light in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention is enhanced through the use of an intense, wide angle light source as the light head. Finally, the pairing of the warning light assemblies of the invention results in a composite light dispersion pattern which covers a wide area in front of and on both sides of the vehicle. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The present invention may be better understood and its various objects and advantages will become obvious to those skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying drawings wherein like numerals represent like elements in the several figures and in which: 
     FIG. 1 is perspective view of a warning light/mirror assembly in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a top view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view, taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 2 of the apparatus of FIGS. 1 and 2; and 
     FIG. 4 is a representation of the light dispersion pattern created through use of a pair of the light assemblies of FIGS. 1-3. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     In FIGS. 1 and 2, a warning light assembly in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention is indicated generally at 7. Assembly 7 comprises a light head 14 with an associated housing 10, i.e., a warning light subassembly. The warning light subassembly is integrated with a rear-view mirror subassembly which is indicated generally at 5. Mirror subassembly 5 will customarily be fixedly mounted on a vehicle via a mirror support arm 6. Light head 14 may, for example, comprise a miniaturized version of the wide angle strobe light disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,866,329. Head 14 is, in the disclosed embodiment, affixed to the leading end of housing 10, i.e., the end of the housing which faces in the direction of forward travel of the vehicle on which assembly 7 is mounted, by mounting screws 11. Housing 10 is generally convex and contoured to form an aerodynamically configured forward extension of the casing 21 (see FIG. 3) of rear-view mirror subassembly 5. As best shown in FIG. 3, the trailing end of housing 10 smoothly merges with the periphery of mirror casing in the boundary region thereof which is adjacent the largest cross-sectional area of the casing, i.e., near the rearwardly facing edge 21&#39; of the casing. Preferably, housing 10 has a texture and color which is generally consistent with the removable trim member, i.e., a cover or cap, of rear-view mirror subassembly 5 which housing 10 replaces, While FIG. 1 shows a single light head 14 mounted on the front side of housing 10, a plurality of light heads similar to light head 14 may be mounted on a single housing 10. Optionally, the reflector potion of light head 14 can be integrally formed with housing 10. 
     Referring to FIG. 3, light head 14 includes a reflector 15, a lens 12 and a light source 18. Also as shown in FIG. 3, housing 10 is concave and thus defines a space 19 into the light head projects, which. While light source 18 is preferably a linear flash tube, any type of light emitter known in the art and capable of generating light of sufficient intensity could be employed. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the light pattern produced by head 14 will primarily be a function of the optical properties of reflector 15 and lens 12. 
     FIG. 3 also shows details of the rear-view mirror subassembly 5. Rear-view mirror subassembly 5 has a mirror 27 which is supported by a mirror adjusting mechanism 30 which, in turn, is fixedly mounted to a concave mirror casing 21. A decorative cap or cover (not shown), when the vehicle is manufactured, is customarily provided on the side of housing 21 which faces in the forward direction of travel of the vehicle on which the assembly 7 is mounted. This cap will be color coordinated with the vehicle body and will be snapped into place and retained by spring-type plastic arms which engage apertures 22 in casing 21. Accordingly, the cap is removable. The housing 10 is designed to also snap in place, as a direct replacement for the cap, and is thus provided with leaf spring latches 23, two of which are shown, which have apertures for engaging sides of the apertures 22 in mirror casing 21. 
     A rear-view mirror subassembly 5 will typically be mounted on each side of a vehicle such that, when integrated therewith, the warning light assemblies 7 generally face in the forward direction and the rear-view mirrors 27 generally face rearwardly. 
     FIG. 4 represents a light dispersion pattern which is typical of that provided by the disclosed embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, a vehicle, indicated generally at 50, has warning light assemblies 7 and 7&#39; mounted on the opposite lateral vehicle sides 52, 54. The light head assemblies integrated with the mirror subassemblies of warning lights 7 and 7&#39; generally face in the same direction as the front 59 of vehicle 50. The angle of divergence of the light beams provided by the light heads 14 of warning light assemblies 7 and 7&#39; will be the same and will be selected, by adjusting the configuration of the lens and reflector of each head, so that the light head of assembly 7 produces light pattern 57 while the light head of assembly 7&#39; produces partially overlapping light pattern 58. 
     While a preferred embodiment has been illustrated and described in detail, it should be readily appreciated that many modifications and changes are within the skill of those of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to cover any and all of such modifications which fall within the scope and spirit of the invention and are not limited to the embodiment expressly described above.