Patent Publication Number: US-11649959-B2

Title: Lighted wedge tool

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application is a 371 national stage filing of International Application No. PCT/US2020/014660, filed Jan. 22, 2020, which claims the benefit of the priority of U.S. provisional application No. 62/795,494, filed Jan. 22, 2019, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a tool for illuminating the interior of a vehicle door or other restricted space to facilitate repairs. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The first step used by a locksmith or technician in the process of opening a locked car door, for example, in cases where the driver may have misplaced the key, involves separating the window glass from the door seal to create a space sufficient for insertion of a conventional locksmith&#39;s probing tool. The door seal, or “wiper”, is a rubber or rubber-like strip of material on either side of the car window at the top of the door. The wiper prevents water from entering the door while the window is rolled up, and as the window is rolled down, wipes water droplets from the surface of the glass. Tools have been developed to separate the wiper from the window, to facilitate insertion of tools designed to release the door lock. Such tools are generally known as wedges, with a blade end, which is used to initiate separation between the wiper and the window. and a tapered, progressively increasing thickness. As the wedge is further inserted, the thickness of the wedge increases the separation between the wiper and window, allowing access for unlocking tools. A sample locksmith wedge is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,364,289 of Cook. 
     In the field of vehicle body repair, particularly for paintless dent repair (PDR), the need exists for accessing the interior of a vehicle door panel or in other restricted spaces or in concealed areas to perform various repairs. Window wedge-like tools of various sizes and designs have been used by PDR technicians to gain access to the inside of vehicle doors and panels for quite some time. However, unlike the needs of a locksmith, who can typically probe around within the panel cavity with a bar to find the locking mechanism without the need to visualize the cavity&#39;s interior, a PDR technician cannot simply feel around to find the target repair site for properly positioning a door hook or other PDR door tool. Rather, he or she actually needs to see into the cavity, which means illumination is required. Currently, there are few solutions offered for lighting during PDR work, most of which are planar assemblies of LED strips that can be positioned within restricted work areas using suction cups, but are too large for insertion into narrow spaces such as inside a vehicle door. Accordingly, the need remains for a lighting solution for this specialized work. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY 
     In an exemplary embodiment, a lighted wedge tool includes a wedge body having a shape generally similar to that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,364,289, modified to include a hollow cavity for retaining a light module. The light module includes a light source and optics, a battery compartment, an on/off switch, and appropriate supporting circuitry. In some embodiments, the light source is a light emitting diode (LED), incandescent or halogen bulb, diode laser, or a combination light source and optical fiber. The optics may include a lens for focusing, shaping, or spreading a beam of light emitted by the light source. The battery may be a small battery such as AA or AAA, lithium button batteries, or other compact battery packs, which may optionally be rechargeable. In one embodiment, the end of the wedge may be formed from a transparent or translucent material that acts as a light diffuser to spread the light from all surfaces of the tip. In another embodiment, the LED, or an end of an optical fiber or fiber bundle, may be slightly recessed in the tip of the wedge to protect the optics while providing a point source of light that can be spread with a lens such as a fish-eye or other beam-spreading optics. In other embodiments, one or more lenses may be located on one or both sides of the wedge, to emit light sideways, transverse to the longitudinal axis of the wedge. 
     In one aspect of the invention, a wedge tool includes an elongated body having a cavity disposed within a proximal portion thereof, the body having two sides and two tapered, curved profile defining force-applying surfaces with a blade formed at a distal end of a distal portion of the body; at least one a light emitter configured to emit light from the distal portion; and a power source disposed within the cavity for providing power to the light emitter. In one embodiment, the distal portion is formed from a light diffusing material, wherein the at least one light emitter is disposed within the light diffusing material to emit light from surfaces of the light diffusing material. In another embodiment, the light emitter is an optical fiber extending through the distal portion of the body, where the optical fiber communicates light to an opening at the distal end. This embodiment may further include multiple LEDs disposed within each side of the body. 
     The at least one light emitter may be multiple LEDs disposed within each side of the body. In some embodiments, at least a portion of one of the force-applying surfaces may have a plurality of transverse ribs formed therein. The light emitter may be formed from polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), polycarbonate (PC) or similar translucent plastic or polymer, while the proximal portion of the body may be formed any appropriate rigid, minimally compressible material, which may be wood, metal, plastic or polymer. In some embodiments, the body material may be acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) or similar thermoplastic polymer, or Nylon. 
     In another aspect of the invention, a window wedge tool includes an elongated body having a cavity disposed within a proximal portion thereof, the body having two vertical sides intersecting two force-applying surfaces having a tapered, curved profile to define a blade formed at a distal end of a distal portion of the body; at least one a light emitter configured to emit light from the distal portion; and a power source disposed within the cavity for providing power to the light emitter. In one embodiment, the distal portion is formed from a light diffusing material, wherein the at least one light emitter is disposed within the light diffusing material to emit light from surfaces of the light diffusing material. In another embodiment, the light emitter is an optical fiber extending through the distal portion of the body, where the optical fiber communicates light to an opening at the distal end. This embodiment may further include multiple LEDs disposed within each side of the body. 
     The at least one light emitter may be multiple LEDs disposed within each side of the body. In some embodiments, at least a portion of one of the force-applying surfaces may have a plurality of transverse ribs formed therein. The light emitter may be formed from polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), polycarbonate (PC) or similar translucent plastic or polymer, while, in some embodiments, the proximal portion of the body may be formed from acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) or similar thermoplastic polymer, or Nylon. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a lighted wedge tool. 
         FIG.  2    is a perspective view of another embodiment of a lighted wedge tool. 
         FIG.  3    is a perspective view of still another embodiment of a lighted wedge tool with a ribbed surface and LEDs disposed along the sides of the wedge body. 
         FIG.  4    is a perspective view of another embodiment of a lighted wedge tool with a diffusing lens. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION 
     As shown in  FIGS.  1 - 4   , the inventive wedge light generally includes a tapered body that is at least partially hollow, a lens located near the narrow end of the body, and a light module that is fully or partially retained within the body. In most embodiments, the body has a wide curve or parabolic profile that extends the length of the body to facilitate handling and insertion. 
     Referring to  FIG.  1   , a first embodiment of the inventive wedge light  100  includes an elongated hollow body  103  with an interior cavity  101  dimensioned for receiving a battery-powered pen light  106  with a light-emitter  104 , e.g., one or more LEDS, incandescent bulbs, halogen bulbs, or other light emitter, at one end and a switch  108  at its other end. Pen lights of this type are widely available commercially and may be powered by a common AA or AAA battery, or any of a variety of button cell batteries, including alkaline, lithium, silver oxide, etc. The cavity  101  may be openable via a door, slide, or plate, in a side or at the proximal end of the body that allows the entire pen light to be accessed, either for removal/insertion of the entire light, or for battery removal/replacement. The pen light may be permanently/semi-permanently retained within the interior cavity  101 , or the cavity may be simply configured to temporarily retain a separate pen light that can be slid into and out of the cavity when needed. The switch  108 , which may be a push-button latching switch, a toggle switch, slide switch, or other conventional on-off switch, is accessible on the outside of the distal end of the body  103 . Where a separable pen light is used, the switch  108  may be the switch on the light itself rather than a dedicated switch attached to the end of the body. The body  103  may be formed from any of a number of rigid materials, including wood, metal, or hard plastics or polymers. In some embodiments, the material may be injection-molded or machined acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) or similar thermoplastic polymer, or Nylon, e.g., Nylon 6 or Nylon 66, similar polyamides, or other durable, non-compressible, high strength material. The body should be smooth, without sharp edges or protrusions that could scratch the window, wiper, or other surface. 
     Attached to the distal end of body  103  is a lens  102 , which can be either co-molded or mechanically attached to the body  103  using fasteners, adhesive, or a combination thereof. The lens  102  tapers at its distal end down to a blade end  105 , which has sufficient rigidity to initiate the separation between the two objects to be separated. The lens  102  continues the parabolic profile of the body, with a tight joint between the body and lens to provide a uniform surface for contacting the window and wiper. In the embodiment shown in  FIG.  1   , the lens  102  is formed from a material that is translucent or transparent for light transmission. In a preferred embodiment, the lens material acts as a diffuser, so that light from light-emitter  104  is diffused throughout the lens to be emitted from all surfaces of the lens. Lens  102  may be formed from polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) or polycarbonate (PC), or similar light-transmissive hard plastic or polymer. 
     An alternative embodiment of the wedge light  200  is shown in  FIG.  2   . The body  203  is formed as a continuous wedge from the proximal end, where switch  208  is located, to the distal blade end. A window or small opening  204  in the blade end provides support for the end of an optical fiber  205  that is connected at its other end to a light emitter of light source  206 , so that light is transmitted from the light source through the fiber and projected from the window  204 . The end of the fiber  205  may be flat or may be formed as a convex lens to expand the beam of the projected light. The fiber end may be at least partially recessed within the window to protect against damage during use. Optionally, wedge light  200  may also include separate light emitters  214  on either side of the body, where the emitter  214  is recessed within, or at least flush with, the side surfaces of the body to protect against damage. Emitters  214  may be an LED module connected by a wire  207  to LED driver circuitry and a battery within light source  206 , or may be connected via an additional optical fiber to the light emitter of light source  206 . Optional lens may be provided for the side emitters  214  to expand the beam of projected light. 
     A third embodiment of the inventive wedge light  300  is shown in  FIG.  3   . In this embodiment, body  303  has a partially ribbed upper surface  313  along a portion of its length. The ribbed surface facilitates handling of the tool. On each side of the body are disposed a plurality of light emitters arranged in a line running lengthwise. In  FIG.  3   , three LEDs  304  are shown, however more or fewer light emitters may be provided to project light from the sides of the body  303 . The LEDs  304  are preferably flush or slight recessed from the outer surface of the body to reduce the risk of damage to the LEDs as the tool is inserted and retracted. Each light emitter  304  is connected via wiring  309  to LED driver circuitry on printed circuit board  311  which is connected to battery  312 . As in the previously described embodiments, a switch  308  is provided to activate the light. Although not shown, the distal, blade end of wedge light body may include a lens and light emitter, also powered by the driver circuitry and battery. 
       FIG.  4    illustrates a variation on the embodiment of  FIG.  1   . As shown wedge light  400  includes a ribbed upper surface  413  on body  403 , attached to a relatively elongated lens portion  402  formed from a translucent or transparent diffusing material that will emit light from all surfaces of the lens. As in the preceding embodiments, the light and power sources are retained within a cavity in body  403 . 
     Exemplary dimensions for the inventive wedge light are on the order of 10-20 cm in length, about 0.75-2 cm in width, and 1.5 to 3 cm in depth. These dimensions are provided as an example only. It will be readily apparent to those in the art that different sizes of the wedge light may be designed for different applications. While in most embodiments, LEDs are described, it will be apparent to those in the art, that different or additional light sources may be employed for equal or enhanced utility. For example, different color LEDs may be used to facilitate visualization in certain situations. In another example, a low power laser pointer may be added to an LED or other light emitter to facilitate fine positioning at the work target. 
     Although several exemplary implementations of the invention have been described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and alternative embodiments of the invention may be made, including different combinations of features of the various exemplary embodiments. The foregoing disclosure contemplates all such modifications and alterations of the features, and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention or to preclude coverage of obvious modifications or equivalent embodiments. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is intended to be limited only by the following claims.