Patent Publication Number: US-10766409-B2

Title: Vehicle light assembly having strobe light

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention generally relates to vehicle lighting, and more particularly relates to a vehicle brake or taillight assembly having a strobing light. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Motor vehicles are commonly equipped with taillight assemblies that include brake lights to alert drivers of trailing vehicles when the vehicle brakes are applied during a vehicle braking event. In addition, the taillight assemblies commonly house the vehicle brake lights along with taillights which are typically continuously turned on when the headlights are on, turn signal lights which blink, i.e., turn on and off at a low frequency, to indicate the vehicle may be turning left or right, and reverse lights that illuminate when the vehicle transmission is shifted into reverse gear. The brake lights are typically applied continuously for as long as the brakes are applied and usually illuminate at a higher intensity relative to the taillights. The enhanced intensity of the brake light is intended to provide a readily recognizable indication of braking for other vehicle drivers; however, some vehicle drivers may not always be alert or aware of the illuminated brake light in a timely fashion. It would be desirable to provide for a lighting assembly that enhances the ability to draw the attention of drivers of other vehicles. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to one aspect of the present invention, a vehicle light assembly is provided. The vehicle light assembly includes a housing having a light transmissive lens, a brake light located in the housing, a strobe light located in the housing and a controller activating the strobe light to strobe when the brake light is activated. 
     Embodiments of the first aspect of the invention can include any one or a combination of the following features:
         the vehicle light assembly includes a reverse light located in the housing, wherein the controller activates the strobe light when the reverse light is activated;   the vehicle light assembly includes a turn signal light located in the housing, wherein the controller activates the strobe light when the turn signal light is activated;   the controller activates the strobe light in a first color when the brake light is activated, activates the strobe light in a second color when the reverse light is activated, and activates the strobe light in a third color when the turn signal light is activated;   the strobe light comprises a RGB LED;   the strobe light comprises a light source operatively coupled to a light pipe;   the strobe light further comprises a reflector and the lens located on opposite sides of the light pipe;   the strobe light turns on and off at a frequency greater than 2 hertz;   the strobe light turns on and off at a frequency in the range of 3-20 hertz;   the strobe light turns on and off at a frequency in the range of 4-8 hertz; and   the strobe light turns on and off with a duty cycle in the range of about 1-50%.       

     According to another aspect of the present invention, a vehicle taillight assembly is provided. The vehicle taillight assembly includes a housing having a light transmissive lens, a brake light located in the housing, a strobe light located in the housing and comprising a light source illuminating light onto a light pipe, and a controller activating the strobe light to strobe when the brake light is activated. 
     Embodiments of the second aspect of the invention can include any one or a combination of the following features:
         the vehicle taillight assembly includes a reverse light located in the housing, wherein the controller activates the strobe light when the reverse light is activated;   the vehicle taillight assembly includes a turn signal light located in the housing, wherein the controller activates the strobe light when the turn signal light is activated;   the controller activates the strobe light in a first color when the brake light is activated, activates the strobe light in a second color when the reverse light is activated, and activates the strobe light in a third color when the turn signal light is activated;   the strobe light comprises a RGB LED;   the strobe light further comprises a reflector and the lens located on opposite sides of the light pipe;   the strobe light turns on and off at a frequency greater than 2 hertz;   the strobe light turns on and off at a frequency in the range of 3-20 hertz; and   the strobe light turns on and off at a frequency in the range of 4-8 hertz and a duty cycle of about 50%.       

     These and other aspects, objects, and features of the present invention will be understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art upon studying the following specification, claims, and appended drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In the drawings: 
         FIG. 1  is a rear perspective view of a motor vehicle having taillight assemblies equipped with strobe lights, according to one embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is an enlarged perspective view of one of the taillight assemblies shown in section II of  FIG. 1  further illustrating the strobe light; 
         FIG. 3  is a partial exploded view of the taillight assembly shown in  FIG. 2  with an outer lens exploded away to further illustrate the strobe light; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the exterior side of the strobe light as seen from the rear of the vehicle; 
         FIG. 4A  is an exploded view of the strobe light as shown in  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the strobe light as seen from the inside of the housing looking rearward; 
         FIG. 5A  is an exploded view of the strobe light shown in  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view taken through line VI-VI of  FIG. 5  further illustrating the strobe light in the taillight assembly; and 
         FIG. 7  is a block diagram further illustrating the vehicle light assembly and controls therefore. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , a motor vehicle  10  is generally illustrated having a pair of light assemblies illustrated as taillight assemblies  12  generally located on the tail or rear end of the vehicle  10  on opposite left and right sides. The vehicle  10  is shown as a passenger car having road wheels for traveling on a road; however, the vehicle  10  may include trucks, vans, SUVs, motorcycles, commercial vehicles and other vehicles that may employ one or more light assemblies and include one or more brake lights. In the embodiment shown, the taillight assembly  12  includes various lighting sources that are selectively illuminated to provide rear lighting, brake lighting, turn signal lighting and reverse lighting that can be selectively activated to be visible by drivers of other vehicles, such as trailing vehicles, as viewed from the rear side of the vehicle  10 . 
     The taillight assembly  12  is illustrated in  FIG. 2  in more detail. The taillight assembly  12  generally includes a housing  14  which fits within the body such as the left or right side rear quarter body panels of the vehicle  10 . The housing  14  defines a space within one compartment or a plurality of compartments for receiving lighting components and includes one or more light transmissive lenses that cover the lighting components in housing  14  and allows light to be illuminated through the one or more lenses such as lenses  15  and  16 . Located within the housing  14  are a plurality of lights including a brake light  20  that illuminates lighting when the vehicle brakes are activated or applied by the driver to warn drivers of other vehicles travelling behind the vehicle  10  of a braking event. Also located within the housing  14  is a taillight  26  that provides general lighting illumination rearward of the vehicle when the vehicle headlights are turned on. A reverse or backup light  22  is also included in the housing  14  and is illuminated when the vehicle transmission is engaged in the reverse gear to indicate the vehicle may be travelling rearward in reverse. Further located within the housing  14  is a turn signal light  24  which is repeatedly illuminated on and off in a blinking pattern at a low frequency, e.g., less than 2 hertz, when a corresponding vehicle turn signal is activated to indicate that the driver intends to turn the vehicle  10  to the left or to the right, depending on which side of the vehicle that the taillight assembly  12  is located. It should be appreciated that the reverse light  22  may illuminate white light at an intensity greater than the white light emitted by taillight  26 , the turn signal light may illuminate light of an amber color, and the brake light may illuminate light of a red color, according to one embodiment. 
     The vehicle light assembly  12  further includes a strobe light  30  that is located in the housing  14  and operable in conjunction with one or more of the brake light  20 , the turn signal light  24  and the reverse light  22  as described herein. In one embodiment, the strobe light  30  is activated when the brake light  20  is activated. In another embodiment, the strobe light  30  is activated when either the brake light  20  is activated or at least one of the reverse light  22  and turn signal light  24  is activated. The strobe light  30  is controllably actuated by a controller to illuminate a high intensity strobing light e.g., at an intensity greater than the lighting intensity of the brake light  20 , and more preferably at an intensity of about 2.5 times greater than the lighting intensity of the brake light  20 . The strobe light  30  repeatedly turns on and off very quickly at a frequency greater than 2 hertz to give a strobing light effect to draw the attention of drivers of other vehicles including drawing attention from their peripheral vision when the brake light  20  of the vehicle  10  is activated. The strobe light  30  is located near the brake light  20  generally within the housing  14  and is activated when the brake light  20  is activated to make the brake light more noticeable to thereby catch the attention of other drivers of other vehicles, particularly for drivers of trailing vehicles that may not otherwise readily recognize the illuminated brake light  20  turned on alone, such as a distracted driver. The strobe light  30  thereby provides for an eye-catching functionality to draw attention to the taillight assembly  12  so that illumination of the brake light  20  as well as the reverse light  22  and turn signal light  24  will be more readily recognized. 
     The strobe light  30  is further illustrated in  FIGS. 3-6 , according to one embodiment. The strobe light  30  is generally shown located within the housing  14  behind a clear or light transmissive lens  16 . In the embodiment shown, the strobe light  30  is configured to include a light pipe  38  that provides an elongated lighted output shown extending horizontally in the housing  14 . The strobe light  30  includes the light pipe  38  shown in the shape of a rod having a cylindrical body and first and second ends. A light source  32  is operatively coupled at one end of the light pipe  38  and is mounted on a printed circuit board  34 . The light pipe  38  receives strobing light illumination at one end from the light source  32  and distributes the light and diffuses it radially outward through the cylindrical wall of the light pipe  38 . The light source  32  thereby illuminates light into the end of the light pipe  38  which then transmits the light throughout the rod shaped body and illuminates light radially outward from the cylindrical surface. 
     The strobing light pipe  38  is positioned in front of a reflector body  36 . The reflector body  36  may include a semi-cylindrical body that wraps around a rear portion of the cylindrical body of the light pipe  38  and has a reflective surface on the concave inside surface. As such, light illumination exiting the rear side of the light pipe  38  is reflected forward from the reflector body  36 . 
     Disposed in front of the light pipe  38  is an inner optical lens  40  which captures the light emitted from the front side of the light pipe  38  and disperses or focuses the light in the forward direction. The inner optical lens  40  may extends within an opening  18  within the outer light transmissive lens  16 , according to one embodiment. According to another embodiment, the inner lens  40  may be disposed behind the outer light transmissive lens  16  which, in turn, allows light to be emitted through the outer lens  16 . The inner lens  40  may be configured with optical light transmission properties that collect and focus the light in a desired beam pattern. 
     The light source  32  may include one or more light-emitting diodes (LEDs). In one embodiment, the light source  32  may include a red-green-blue (RGB) LED that may illuminate light output in one of a plurality of selected colors. For example, the light source  32  may illuminate light in a first color, such as a red color, during activation of the brake light  20 , may illuminate light in a second color, such as an amber color, during activation of the turn signal light  24 , and may illuminate light in a third color, such as a white color, during activation of the reverse light  22 . It should be appreciated that the light source  32  may otherwise include a plurality of individual light sources each configured to generate a specific color light, according to another embodiment. 
     The housing  14  may be covered and sealed closed on the front side by one or more light transmissive lenses, such as outer lens  16 . In one embodiment, outer lens  16  covers substantially the entire first side of housing  14 . In another embodiment, multiple lenses may be located on the front of housing  14  and may cover separate compartments within housing  14 . For example, lens  16  may cover a compartment within housing  14  that contain the strobe light  30  and lens  15  may cover one or more compartments of housing  14  that contain one or more other lights, such as the brake light  20 , the turn signal light  24 , the taillight  26  and the reverse light  22 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 7 , the taillight assembly  12  and controls therefore are further illustrated, according to one embodiment. The light assembly  30  includes a controller  50  which is shown having a microprocessor  52  and memory  54 . It should be appreciated that the controller  50  may include other analog and/or digital control circuitry for processing inputs and generating outputs for controlling the lights including the strobe light  30 . The controller  50  is shown receiving input signals from each of a brake input  60 , turn signal input  62 , and reverse gear transmission input  64 . The controller  50  processes the inputs and generates outputs to control each of the brake light  30 , the reverse light  22  and the turn signal light  24  associated with each taillight assembly. The controller  50  further generates an output to control the strobe light  30  to generate a strobing light at a desired frequency greater than 2 hertz, such as 3 hertz or greater, according to one embodiment. According to another embodiment, the strobe light  30  operates at a frequency within the range of 3-20 hertz with a duty cycle in the range of 1-50%, and more preferably at a 50% duty cycle. In a more specific embodiment, the strobe light  30  operates at a frequency in the range of 4-8 hertz with a duty cycle of about 50%. 
     The strobe light  30  is controlled to illuminate a strobing first color light when the brake light is activated. The strobe light  30  is further controlled to illuminate a second color light when the reverse light  22  is activated. The strobe light  30  is further controlled to illuminate a third strobing light of a third color when the turn signal light  24  is illuminated. The first, second and third colors are different colors, according to one embodiment. 
     The taillight assembly  12  may also include a user strobe input  70  that allows a user, e.g., driver, to set a variable activation speed (i.e., frequency) of the strobe light  30  for a personal setting. The user strobe input  70  may also allow for adjustment of the flashing pattern, color and intensity of the strobe light  30 . The controller  50  may thereby adjust the speed, color, pattern and intensity of strobe light  30  based on the user inputs. 
     Accordingly, the vehicle taillight assembly  12  advantageously provides for a strobe light  30  commonly located within a housing  14  with a brake light  20  and is activated to generate a strobing light when the brake light  20  is activated and further when the turn signal light  24  is activated and further when the reverse light  22  is activated. The strobe light  30  is illuminated at a high intensity in a manner that is highly recognizable by people outside of the vehicle, such as drivers of other vehicles, such as trailing vehicles. The strobe light  30  thereby catches the attention of people including their direct and peripheral vision and thereby serves to alert people in other vehicles that a brake light is activated and/or a turn signal light or reverse gear light is activated. 
     It is to be understood that variations and modifications can be made on the aforementioned structure without departing from the concepts of the present invention, and further it is to be understood that such concepts are intended to be covered by the following claims unless these claims by their language expressly state otherwise.