Patent Abstract:
A remote-control portable utility equipment mounting apparatus system especially for illumination system. It provides the user the ability to control the direction of the utility equipment such as utility light from a distance away. The remote-control portable utility equipment mounting apparatus provides polar rotational movement both horizontally and vertically. The rotational movement is controlled by remote controlling device as the input instructional device by the user. This remote controller can be wireless remote controller or non-wireless remote controller. After the portable utility equipment mounting apparatus receives the signals, it generates electrical functions to drive the designated motors to move the equipment mounting stage subassembly direction to the preferred direction. Power saving, fine-tuning and variable speed control are some of the basic features of this utility equipment mounting stage. Both remote controller and wireless remote controller are equipped with electronic signal connector for receiving inputs from external equipment like computers and programmable controllers. As a result, this apparatus is suitable to be used for mounting of different utility equipment such as antennas, surveillance equipment etc. This apparatus is equipped with magnetic latch for simple and easy vehicle roof mounting. It is weather resistance and good for outdoor application. Furthermore, with the present of the mechanical seal between the stator subassembly and the rotor subassembly, foreign matters cannot enter into the inside chamber of the system and the contaminants generated by the motors and gears cannot get to the outside ambient either. This feature promotes this utility equipment mounting apparatus to be cleanroom compatible.

Full Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates generally to portable utility equipment mounting equipment, and more particularly to wirelessly remote control vehicle roof utility illumination mounting device. This present invention is rain resistance.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Minivans and Sport Utility Vehicles are very popular these days. Families use these vehicles to go camping and sometimes move belongings from place to place after dark. However, the utility lights available are awkward to use. It is ideal if the driver can search around the surroundings when driving in a dark off road area. It will be perfect if there is an utility light that is portable with pan and tilt functions, and easy to be installed to the roof of the vehicles; especially if it has a wirelessly remote-controllable capability with weather protection feature.  
           [0003]    Thus there is a need for an utility illumination system to provide the driver to control the illuminating direction from a remote distance. This utility illumination system should simulate a person&#39;s hand such that it can rotate back and forth horizontally and tilt up and down vertically. This will allow the user to illuminate the area or search around the surrounding.  
           [0004]    Further, there is also a need for a wirelessly controllable utility stand apparatus with pan and tilt functions for mounting other available equipment like antennas and surveillance devices. In addition, this device has to be low cost, portable, easy to operate, light weight and rugged.  
           [0005]    The present invention provides such an utility equipment mounting system.  
         CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
         [0006]    Field of Search  
           [0007]    Intern&#39;l Class: B60 Q 1/00; H04Q 1/00; H03K 17/00; H02K 37/00, 10  
           [0008]    US Class 362/84, 227, 257; 367/117; 388/825; 343/882, 715, 766; 42/94, 111 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   U.S. Patent Documents                                    5769526A   Aug. 16, 1995   Shaffer   362/80                This patent is a manually adjustable utility light with a                mechanical clamp; and the invention has nothing to do with the           wireless technology.                5266738   Nov. 30, 1993   MacVoy   174/45R                This patent is not remote control system.                5335149   Aug. 2, 1994   Evans   362/477                This patent is not remote control system.                5479181   Dec. 26, 1995   Simpson   343/882                This patent is not remote control system.                5410327   Apr. 25, 1995   Shakum   343/765                This patent is not remote control system.                5402135   Mar. 28, 1995   DeMarre   343/715                This patent is not remote control system.                5945945   Aug. 31, 1999   Wagner   342/359                This is satellite dish antenna tracking method with                feedback from satellite.                6222504   Apr. 24, 2001   Oby   343/892                This patent is not remote control system.                6195060   Feb. 27, 2001   Spano   343/766                This patent is with different mechanisms and no tilt                function and not wireless remote-control.                5491919   Feb. 20, 1996   Rather    42/94                      
 
           [0009]    U.S. Patent Documents  5769526 A Aug. 16, 1995 Shaffer  362 / 80  This patent is a manually adjustable utility light with a mechanical clamp; and the invention has nothing to do with the wireless technology.  5266738  Nov 30 ,  1993  MacVoy  174 / 45 R This patent is not remote control system.  5335149  Aug 2 ,  1994  Evans  362 / 477  This patent is not remote control system.  5479181  Dec. 26, 1995 Simpson  343 / 882  This patent is not remote control system.  5410327  Apr. 25, 1995 Shakum  343 / 765  This patent is not remote control system.  5402135  March 28 ,  1995  DeMarre  343 / 715  This patent is not remote control system.  5945945  Aug 31 ,  1999  Wagner  342 / 359  This is satellite dish antenna tracking method with feedback from satellite.  6222504  Apr. 24, 2001 Oby  343 / 892  This patent is not remote control system.  6195060  Feb. 27, 2001 Spano  343 / 766  This patent is with different mechanisms and no tilt function and not wireless remote-control.  5491919  Feb. 20, 1996 Rather  42 / 94   
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0010]    A remote control utility equipment mounting device with pan and tilt functions system for mounting of vehicle utility equipment is portable, light weight and rain resistance. It includes a main system, a device controller and a wireless device controller.  
           [0011]    The device controller includes electronic components and program, which receives input signals, generates signal functions and transmits the signal functions to the main system via electrical or optical cable.  
           [0012]    The wireless device controller, which is setup to work with the above device controller, includes electronic components and program. It receives input signals, generates signal functions and transmits the signal functions to the main system wirelessly.  
           [0013]    The main system includes mechanical hardware to provide horizontal polar movement and vertical polar movement and a mounting stage. It also includes electronic components and firmware program, which receives signal functions from the wireless device controller wirelessly or the device controller; and provides electrical driving functions to control the mechanical hardware into precision fine rotational movement of the main system. The main system has power saving features.  
           [0014]    This device is equipped with magnetic latch hold down feature for easy installation on to the sheet metal roof of a vehicle.  
           [0015]    This device is suitable for providing mounting means for general equipment such as utility lights, antennas and surveillance equipment, which require directional control.  
           [0016]    Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description in which the preferred embodiments have been set forth in detail, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0017]    [0017]FIG. 1 is the front plan view of the remote-control utility equipment mounting system includes a wireless handheld device controller, a main system and a remote controller.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 2 is the cross section view of the main system assembly taken along the line  1 - 1  of FIG. 1. It depicts a portion of the utility equipment stage subassembly, a portion of the vertical polar motion mechanical driver system, a portion of the rotor core subassembly, a portion of the PCBA, the battery, a portion of the horizontal polar motion mechanical driver system, a portion of the base subassembly, a portion of the electrical signal feed through connection from the control cable to the utility equipment stage subassembly, a portion of the magnetic latch hold down mechanism and the seal according to the present invention.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 3 is the isolated view of FIG. 2 of the vertical polar motion mechanical driver system depicting a portion of the utility equipment stage subassembly, a portion of the pivot shaft, a portion of the vertical motion worm gear, the worm, a portion of the rotor core, a portion of the bearing, washers, preload spring, torque coupler, the motor, limit switches and mounting screw according to the present invention.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 4 is the exposed front view of the horizontal polar motion mechanical driver system depicting a portion of the rotor core, a portion of the stator base subassembly, the motor, torque coupler, the bearing, the washers, preload spring, the worm, the worm gear and a portion of the pivot shaft according to the present invention.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 5 is the top plan view taken along  2 - 2  of FIG. 4 of the horizontal polar motion mechanical driver system.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 6 is the exposed view of Detail  1  of FIG. 2 depicting a portion of the top cover, a portion of the base subassembly, a portion of the mechanical seal, portions of the rotor core, a portion of the contact retainer, a portion of the conductor wire, spring loaded conductor pin, conductor pads, conductor leads, wires, a portion of the control cable, encapsulation and a portion of the cushion footpad according to the present invention.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 7 is the exposed view of Detail  2  of FIG. 2 depicting a portion of the top cover, a portion of the stator base subassembly, a portion of the mechanical seal, portions of the magnets, a portion of the magnetic flux retainer and a portion of the cushion footpad according to the present invention.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 8 is the bottom plan view of the main system depicting the magnets, mounting holes, guide hole, control cable, encapsulation and mounting screws according to the present invention.  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 9 is the front plan view of the main system with an utility lamp mounted on it. It depicts the main system, an utility lamp, portion of the mounting flange and screws according to the present invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0026]    [0026]FIG. 1 is the front view of the overall system of the remote-control utility equipment mounting apparatus, which includes a wireless handheld device controller  3 , a main system  1  and a remote controller  2 , according to the present invention.  
         [0027]    The stator base  4  is the stationary reference of the main system  1 . The rotor subassembly  10  rotates relatively to stator base  4  through the rotational axis. The horizontal rotational motion is driven by the horizontal motion motor-driver-subassembly  27 , which is supported by the rotor subassembly  10  and has the capability to rotate in either clockwise or counterclockwise direction infinitely which is defined as without any angular limitation.  
         [0028]    The vertical rotational tilt motion is driven by the vertical tilt motion motor-driver-subassembly  19 , which is supported by the rotor subassembly  10 . The mounting stage  14  is supported by the vertical tilt motion motor-driver-subassembly  19 . The utility equipment  5  is mounted to mounting stage  14  by fastener  9  securing to mounting hole  15 . The fastener  9  can be screw, rivet, or any other fastener that can facilitate the assembly function. As a result the utility equipment  5  can tilt and rotate relatively to the stator base  4 .  
         [0029]    Both the vertical tilt motion motor-driver-subassembly  19  and the horizontal motion motor-driver-subassembly  27  are connected electrically to the main PCBA  12  and are all mounted to the rotor subassembly  10 .  
         [0030]    The elastic boot cover  16  is secured to the top cover  11  of the rotor subassembly  10  by fastener  13 . The bracket  17  clamps the flange  18  of the elastic boot cover  16  evenly to the rotor top cover  11  and provides watertight seal against foreign matters. At least one fastener  13 , which can be screw, rivet, or any other fastener that can facilitate the assembly function, is used to facilitate the assembly. Foreign matters include dust, rain, fluid and contamination.  
         [0031]    The mechanical seal  21 , which is mounted between the vertical wall  25  of the stator base  4  and the internal wall  20  of the rotor top cover  11  (shown at cutout  26 ), provides a seal against foreign matters.  
         [0032]    The magnet  30  and magnet  31  are magnetically linked together by the flux retainer  32 . The other open ends of the magnet  30  and magnet  31  are to be used to hold down the stator base  4  to a magnetic permeable surface as the magnetic latch  7 . The flux retainer  32  minimizes the magnetic flux leakage from the ends of the magnets.  
         [0033]    The cushion footpad  29 , which is adhered to the bottom of the stator base  4  provides a gasket layer between the bottom surface of the stator base  4  and the surface which the stator base  4  is mounted on. It also provides a cushion to withstand any minor irregularity of the resting surfaces. Mounting hole  24  is provided for fastener mounting of the stator base  4  permanently to a surface.  
         [0034]    The signal cable  34  of the remote controller  2  merges with the power supply cable  33  and becomes the control cable  23 . This control cable  23  is connected via the spring loaded contact mechanism  79  to the main PCBA  12  of the main unit  1 . The switches  36 ,  37 ,  38 ,  39 ,  40 ,  41 ,  42  and  43  are connected to the PCBA  35 , which consists of electronic components, programmable components and programs. As any one of these switches is activated, electrical signals will be sent to the PCBA  35 , which in turn will generate an encoded signal  6  and then send this encoded signal  6  to the main PCBA  12  of the main unit  1  via the control cable  23 . The PCBA  12  will then decode the signal  6  and generate the correlated electrical functions to drive the designated mechanism.  
         [0035]    The electronic signal connector  55  is connected to the PCBA  35 . It provides connections for external equipment such as computer to provide input signals to the PCBA  35  directly. Then PCBA  35  will generate an encoded signal  6  and then send this encoded signal  6  to the main PCBA  12  of the main unit  1  via the control cable  23 . The PCBA  12  will then decode the signal  6  and generate the correlated electrical functions to drive the designated mechanism.  
         [0036]    The wireless remote controller  3  includes switches  44 ,  45 ,  46 ,  47 ,  50 ,  51 ,  52  and  53 , which are connected to PCBA  49 . PCBA  49 , which consists of electronic components, programmable components and programs, will detect input signals from the above switches; then generates corresponding encoded signal  48 , which can be radio frequency signal or IR (infrared) signal, and then emits the signal  48  out wirelessly. The main PCBA  12  is also equipped with signal receiver and decoder for either radio frequency signal or IR (infrared) signal matching with PCBA  49  respectively. The main PCBA  12 , which consists of electronic components, programmable components and programs, will detect and decode the signal  48  and then generate the electronic driving functions to drive the designated mechanism.  
         [0037]    The electronic signal connector  56  is connected to the PCBA  49 . It provides connections for external equipment such as computer to provide input signals to the PCBA  49  directly. Then the PCBA  49  will generate corresponding encoded signal  48 , which can be radio frequency signal or IR (infrared) signal, and then emits the signal  48  out wirelessly. The main PCBA  12  is also equipped with signal receiver and decoder for either radio frequency signal or IR (infrared) signal matching with PCBA  49  respectively. The main PCBA  12 , which consists of electronic components, programmable components and programs, will detect and decode the signal  48  and then generate the electronic driving functions to drive the designated mechanism.  
         [0038]    The switches of the wireless remote controller  3  are correlated to the switches of the remote controller  2  as the following table:  
         [0039]    Switch  44  correlated to switch  39  to rotate the mounting stage  14  clockwise  
         [0040]    Switch  45  correlated to switch  40  to jog the mounting stage  14  clockwise  
         [0041]    Switch  46  correlated to switch  43  to rotate the mounting stage  14  counterclockwise  
         [0042]    Switch  47  correlated to switch  42  to jog the mounting stage  14  counterclockwise  
         [0043]    Switch  50  correlated to switch  36  to tilt the mounting stage  14  upward  
         [0044]    Switch  51  correlated to switch  37  to tilt the mounting stage  14  downward  
         [0045]    Switch  52  correlated to switch  41  and is dedicated for special function signal  22   
         [0046]    Switch  53  correlated to switch  38  and is dedicated for special function signal  22   
         [0047]    In operation, when either switch  44  or switch  39  is activated, either signal  6  or signal  48  will be generated and sent to PCBA  12 , which in turn will generate the corresponding electrical function to drive the mounting stage  14  to rotate clockwise. By the same token, all the switches of the remote controller  2  can perform the same controlling functions as the switches of the wireless remote controller  3 . Both remote controller  2  and wireless remote controller  3  are independent controlling units and either controller can function with or without the other controller.  
         [0048]    In practice, it is user&#39;s choice to determine which particular switch of the remote controller  2  is to be correlated to which particular switch of the wireless remote controller  3  and for controlling what particular function. In the same token, the special function signal  22  is to be determined by the user. Eight switches are shown in each controller; however, it is user&#39;s decision to determine the exact number of switches to be used for motion control and special function signal  22 .  
         [0049]    [0049]FIG. 2 is the cross section view of FIG. 1 taken along  1 - 1  of the main system  1 , according to present invention. The stator base  4  is the base support of the complete system. The bottom layer of the stator base  4  is the cushion footpad  29  which is made of elastic material like natural rubber and silicon rubber base material. The surface of this cushion footpad  29  is textured for increased friction when the main unit  1  is resting freely on a surface. The main unit  1  can be secured by using the magnetic latch  7  to adhere to a magnetic permeable surface by magnetic force. This provides an easy process of installing and uninstalling of the main unit  1 . The magnetic latch  7  system is exposed (Detail  2 ) in FIG. 7. At least one set of magnetic latch  7  system is used to facilitate the assembly. The main unit  1  can also be mounted permanently by fastener fastening to mounting hole  24 . The fastener can be screw, rivet or any other fastener, which can facilitate the assembly function and at least one fastener is used to facilitate the assembly.  
         [0050]    The stator base  4  is assembled to the worm gear  100  by fastener  95 , which can be screw, rivet or any other fastener, which can facilitate the assembly function and at least one fastener is used to facilitate the assembly. The rotor core  80  is mounted to the worm gear  100  by means of the pivot shaft  97 , which is locked in place by the washer  98  and the OD retainer  96 . The pivot shaft  97  is part of the rotor core  80  by assembly, casting, molding or welding. The material choice for the rotor core  80  and the pivot shaft  97  can be hard plastic, graphite or metal. Phosphorus bronze and stainless steel are the best material choice for the pivot shaft  97 . The rotor core  80  rotates through the center axis of the pivot shaft  97 . The ID of the center hole of the worm gear  100  is slightly larger than the OD of the pivot shaft  97  and serves as the bearing surface  99  mating to the OD of the pivot shaft  97 . The worm gear can be made of hard plastic, graphite or metal. Phosphorus bronze and stainless steel are the best material choice for this worm gear  100 . Gear lubricant, grease or Teflon coating is applied to the bearing surface  99  and the OD of the pivot shaft  97  to minimize friction.  
         [0051]    The horizontal motion motor-driver subassembly  27  is mounted to the rotor core  80  and provides the rotational direction to the rotor core  80 . As a result the rotor core  80  rotates relatively to the stator base  4 .  
         [0052]    The mechanical seal  21  is mounted between the external wall  25  of the stator base  4  and the internal wall  20  of the top cover  11 . This mechanical seal  21  can be lip seal, O-ring, water-tight seal, air-tight seal, ferrofluid seal and other seals that can facilitate the sealing function. The mechanical seal  21  stops foreign matters from entering into the inside chamber of the main system  1 .  
         [0053]    The horizontal motion motor-driver subassembly  27  and the vertical motion motor-driver subassembly  19  are electrically connected to the PCBA  12  by wire harness  101  and wire harness  82  respectively. The main PCBA  12  is mounted onto the rotor core  80  by fastener  102 . The main PCBA  12  is consisted of electronic components, programmable component, signal receiver, decoder and firmware which will receive wireless signals  48  and encoded signal  6  and then transfer them into electronic signal to drive the horizontal motion motor-driver subassembly  27  and the vertical motion motor-driver subassembly  19  respectively. The vertical motion motor-driver assembly  19  is supported by the rotor core  80 .  
         [0054]    The worm gear  77  rotates against the center axis of the pivot shaft  143 . The ID of the center hole of the worm gear  77  is slightly larger than the OD of the pivot shaft  143  and serves as the bearing surface  54  mating to the OD of the pivot shaft  143 . This pivot shaft  143  is made of metal and stainless steel is the best choice. The worm gear  77  can be made of hard plastic like ABS or metal. Phosphorus bronze and stainless steel are the best material choice for this worm gear  77 . Gear lubricant, grease or Teflon coating is applied to the bearing surface  54  and the OD of the pivot shaft  143  to minimize friction.  
         [0055]    The top cover II is mounted to the rotor core  80  by at least one fastener. The inner vertical wall  20  of top cover II covers over the lips of the seal  21  and is illustrated in Detail  2  of FIG. 7. The battery holder  105  of the top cover  11  supports the rechargeable battery  106 . The battery  106  is connected to the PCBA  12  by the battery cable  104 . This battery  106  provides power to the system when live electrical power supply is interrupted or discontinued. The PCBA  12  is equipped with components to charge up the rechargeable battery  106  when live AC or DC power supply is provided to the main system  1 .  
         [0056]    The live AC or DC power is supplied to the main system  1  by the control cable  23  through wire  93 ,  92  and  91  which is connected to the circular conductor pad  86 ,  87  and  88  through the conductor lead  94 ,  89  and  90 . The conductor housing  84  of the spring loaded contact mechanism  79  is mounted to the rotor core  80  by fastener  81 . The spring loaded contact conductor  85  of the spring loaded contact mechanism  79  is connected to the PCBA  12  through the wire  83  and is always in contact with circular conductor pad  86 . Exact detail is illustrated in Detail  1  of FIG. 6. One set of spring loaded contact mechanism  79  is shown in FIG. 2; however, in practice, every circular conductor pad  86  (same as  87  and  88 ) requires one set of spring loaded contact mechanism  79  and connection to the PCBA  12  by wire  83 . In practice, it is user&#39;s choice to determine the requirement of number of wire  93  (same as  91  and  92 ), conductor lead  94  (same as  89  and  90 ), circular conductor pad  86  (same as  87  and  88 ) sets and spring loaded contact mechanism  79  to be used in the system. Furthermore, it is user&#39;s choice to determine the function of each of the above conductor mechanism to be used as power supply, ground or signal transmission.  
         [0057]    Conductor lead  74  and conductor lead  75  are mounted to the mounting stage  14  and is connected to the PCBA  12  by conductor wire  73  and wire  76 . Two sets of this conductor lead and conductor wire are shown in FIG. 2; and the exact quantity is to be determined by the user. This conductor lead  74  and conductor lead  75  can be used as providing power supply, grounding or signal transmission to the utility equipment  5 , which is to be mounted onto the mounting stage  14 .  
         [0058]    The elastic boot cover  16  is assembled to the mounting stage  14  with its edge  72  sealed against foreign matter from entering into the inside chamber. The assembly can be manufactured by molding, clamping, adhesive or other assembly means to facilitate the assembly. The bottom flange of the elastic boot cover  16  is mounted to the top cover  11  by clamping bracket  17  and fastener  13 . The fastener  13  can be screw, rivet or any other fastener, which can facilitate the assembly function and at least one fastener is used to facilitate the assembly.  
         [0059]    [0059]FIG. 3 is the isolated view of FIG. 2 of the vertical rotational motion power transmission system. The motor  126  is mounted to the rotor core  80  by fastener  128  to motor support arm  127 . The worm shaft  137  is assembled to the ID of the mechanical bearing  136 . The OD of the mechanical bearing  136  is assembled to the bearing support  135 . The mechanical bearing  136  can be plastic bearing, precision bushing, journal bearing, ball bearing or other bearing type mechanism to facilitate the bearing function. It is located in place by the washer  134 , spring washer  133 , washer  132  and OD retainer  131 . The end of the worm shaft  137  is attached to torque coupler  130 . The other end of the torque coupler  130  is connected to the motor shaft  129 . The torque coupler  130  transmits the motor power to the worm  139  and can tolerate any axial misalignment between the axis of the motor  126  and the axis of the worm  139 . This torque coupler  130  can be bellow coupling, flexible shaft coupling or other coupling type mechanism to facilitate the above function.  
         [0060]    The mounting stage  14  is assembled to the worm gear  77  by fastener  121 , which can be screw, rivet or any other fastener that can facilitate the assembly function and at least one fastener is used to facilitate the assembly. The mounting surface  145  and mounting hole  15  are provided for supporting the installation of the utility equipment.  
         [0061]    The worm  139  rotates at the same rate as the motor  126  and the worm gear  77  will pivot to the next tooth for every rotation of the worm  139 . As results, the mounting stage  14  pivots referencing to the pivot shaft  143  whenever the motor  126  rotates. In practice worm gear system provides two advantages to the invention. Firstly, it prevents gear slippage and in turn the electronic system does not have to provide motor holding current to keep the mounting stage  14  to lock in the prefer tilted angular position. This is an unique power saving feature of this invention. Secondly, it provides a very high gear ratio such that a very low output torque motor  126  will be able to tilt the mounting stage  14 .  
         [0062]    The clockwise limit switch  142  and the counterclockwise limit switch  123  are mounted to the bracket  122 , which is supported by the support frame  138  of the rotor core  80 . Both switches are electrically connected to the PCBA  12 .  
         [0063]    The left edge  141  of the worm gear  77  will touch and activate the clockwise limit switch  142  as the motor  126  keeps driving the worm gear  77  in pivoting in the clockwise movement direction. The clockwise limit switch  142 , which is connected to PCBA  12 , will send an electrical signal to the PCBA  12 . The PCBA  12  is preprogrammed to stop the motor  126  to keep rotating any further in the clockwise direction.  
         [0064]    The right edge  124  of the worm gear  77  will touch and activate the counterclockwise limit switch  123  as the motor  126  keeps driving the worm gear  77  in pivoting in the counterclockwise movement direction. The counterclockwise limit switch  123 , which is connected to PCBA  12 , will send an electrical signal to the PCBA  12 . The PCBA  12  is preprogrammed to stop the motor  126  to keep rotating any further in the counterclockwise direction. The amount of allowable tilt angle of the mounting stage  14  is defined as the angle of rotation between the activation of the clockwise limit switch  142  by the left edge  141  of the worm gear  77  and the activation of the counter clockwise limit switch  123  by the right edge  124  of the worm gear  77 . A  70 -degree allowable tilt angle is shown in FIG. 3.  
         [0065]    As switch  36  or switch  37  of the remote controller  2  receives an input signal from the operator, the remote controller  2  will emit the encoded signal  6 . The main PCBA  12  of the main system  1  will decode the signal  6  and provide an electrical function to the motor  126 . As a result, the mounting stage  14  will tilt relatively to the stator base  4  accordingly.  
         [0066]    As switch  50  or switch  51  of the wireless remote controller  3  receives an input signal from the operator, the wireless remote controller  3  will emit the encoded wireless signal  48 . The main PCBA  12  of the main system  1  will detect and decode the signal  48 ; and provide an electrical function to the motor  126 . As a result, the mounting stage  14  will tilt relatively to the stator base  4  accordingly.  
         [0067]    [0067]FIG. 4 is the front view with a portion of the stator wall  25  cutout to show the mechanism inside. This figure illustrates the worm gear driven horizontal polar motion mechanism  27 . The motor  153  is mounted to the rotor core  80  by fastener  151  to motor support arm  152 . The worm shaft  163  is assembled to the ID of the mechanical bearing  162 . The OD of the mechanical bearing  162  is assembled to the bearing support  161  of the rotor core  80 . The mechanical bearing  162  can be plastic bearing, precision bushing, journal bearing, ball bearing or other bearing type mechanism to facilitate the bearing function. It is located in place by the washer  160 , spring washer  159 , washer  158  and OD retainer  157 . The end of the worm shaft  163  is attached to torque coupler  150 . The other end of the torque coupler  150  is connected to the motor shaft  154  as shown in FIG. 4. The torque coupler  150  transmits the motor power to the worm  164  and can tolerate any axial misalignment between the axis of the motor  153  and the axis of the worm  164 . This torque coupler  150  can be bellow coupling, flexible shaft coupling or other coupling type mechanism to facilitate the above function.  
         [0068]    [0068]FIG. 5 is the top section view of FIG. 4 along  2 - 2 . The worm gear  165  is mounted to the stator base  4  at the mounting holes  146  by at least one fastener  95 , which can be screw, rivet or other mounting mechanisms to facilitate the assembly. As the result, the worm gear  165  is the fixed and is the stationary base of the horizontal rotational movement.  
         [0069]    The worm  164  rotates at the same rate as the motor  153  and the worm gear  165  will pivot to the next tooth for every rotation of the worm  164 . In the assembly the worm  164  and the worm gear  165  with the same pitch value are precisely mated to each other. The rotor core  80  and all the components assembled to the rotor core  80  rotate around the worm gear  165  referencing to the center axis of the pivot shaft  97  whenever the motor  153  rotates. In practice, worm gear system provides two advantages to the invention. Firstly, it prevents gear slippage and in turn the electronic system does not have to provide motor holding current to keep the main system  1  to lock in position. This is an unique power saving feature of this invention. Secondly, it provides a very high gear ratio such that a very low output torque motor  153  will be able to rotate the main system  1 .  
         [0070]    As shown in FIG. 5, this system of rotor core  80  with all the components assembled to it can rotate relatively to the stator base  4  in either clockwise or counterclockwise direction without angular limitation.  
         [0071]    As switch  39 , switch  40 , switch  43  or switch  42  of the remote controller  2  receives a signal from the operator, the remote controller  2  will emit the encoded signal  6 . The main PCBA  12  of the main system  1  will decode the signal  6  and provide an electrical function to the motor  153 . As a result, the mounting stage  14  will rotate relatively to the stator base  4  accordingly.  
         [0072]    As switch  44 , switch  45 , switch  46  or switch  47  of the wireless remote controller  3  receives a signal from the operator, the wireless remote controller  3  will emit the encoded wireless signal  48 . The main PCBA  12  of the main system  1  will detect and decode the signal  48 ; and provide an electrical function to the motor  153 . As a result, the mounting stage  14  will rotate relatively to the stator base  4  accordingly.  
         [0073]    Each conductor pad  86 ,  87  and  88  is a round shape metal conductor attached to the top of the stator base  4  and are concentric to the axis of the shaft  97  and their surfaces lie on the plane perpendicular to the axis of the shaft  97 . These conductors can be metallic traces of a PCB or metal rings, which can facilitate the function of a conductor. The mechanic of the conductor connection is illustrated in Detail  1  (FIG. 6).  
         [0074]    [0074]FIG. 6 is the Detail  1  view of the section portion of FIG. 2 illustrating the electrical conduction mechanism from the signal cable  23  to the wire  83  connecting to the PCBA  12 .  
         [0075]    The wire  93 , wire  92  and wire  91  of the control cable  23  is connected to the circular conductor pad  86 , circular conductor pad  87 , and circular conductor pad  88  through the conductor lead  94 , conductor lead  89  and conductor lead  90  respectively. The conductor housing  84  of the spring loaded contact mechanism  79  is mounted to the rotor core  80  by fastener  81 . The guide channel  176  of the conductor housing  84  provides a physical confinement for the spring loaded contact conductor  85  such that its contacting tip can only extend or contract vertically and cannot move or bend sideways. This feature allows the contacting tip of the spring loaded contact conductor  85  to be in contact with the circular conductor pad  86  all the time even when the distance between the conductor housing  84  and the circular conductor pad  86  changes due to components tolerance. The other end of the spring loaded contact conductor  85  is connected to the wire  83  by soldering or other bonding means to facilitate a perfect electrical connection  177 . In results that there is always uninterrupted electrical connection between the wire  93  of the control cable  23  and wire  83  which leads to the PCBA  12 .  
         [0076]    One set of spring loaded contact mechanism  79  is shown in the illustration; however, in practice, every circular conductor pad  86  (same as  87  and  88 ) requires one set of spring loaded contact mechanism  79  and connection to the PCBA  12  by wire  83 . In the same token, wire  91  and wire  92 , which have the same quality as the wire  93  are connected to the PCBA  12  with uninterrupted electrical connection.  
         [0077]    In practice, it is user&#39;s choice to determine the requirement of number of wire  93 , conductor lead  94 , circular conductor pad  86  sets and spring loaded contact mechanism  79  to be used in the system. Furthermore, it is user&#39;s choice to determine the function of each of the above conductor mechanism to be used as power supply, ground or signal transmission.  
         [0078]    The exposed end of the control cable  23 , the wires  93 ,  92 ,  91  and the conductor leads  94 ,  89 ,  90  are encapsulated by encapsulation resin  57 . Advantageously, after the resin has set and cured, all the openings for the leads to feed through are watertight and all components are protected by the encapsulation resin against water and most mild chemicals.  
         [0079]    [0079]FIG. 7 is the Detail  2  view of the section portion of FIG. 2 illustrating the magnetic latch  7  of the stator base  4  and the sealing mechanic of the mechanical seal  21 .  
         [0080]    The mechanical seal  21 , is assembled to the external surface of the vertical wall  25  of the stator base  4 . The assembly can be by adhesive, clamping, heat staking, fastener or other assembly method that can facilitate the assembly to keep the mechanical seal  21  in place. This mechanical seal  21  is made of elastic material like rubber, silicon rubber, Teflon, Viton, nylon, polyester or any other material that can facilitate the sealing action. The lip  175  is a protruded section of the mechanical seal  21 . It is designed to be a lip seal against the internal wall  20  of the top cover  11 . This lip  175  seals off dust, rain and foreign matters from the ambient. In the illustration,  3  lip  21  protrusions are shown; however it is user&#39;s choice to determine the number of lips  3  to be used. The OD of the external surface of the vertical wall  25  of the stator base  4  is concentric to the internal wall  20  of the top cover  11  in main system  1 . In results, the mechanical seal  21  is concentric to the internal wall  20  of the top cover  11  in the main system  1 . During the operation the lip  175  is always exerting a positive pressure against the internal wall  20  of the top cover  11  whether the top cover  11  is rotating against the stator base  4  or not. In practice, the mechanical seal  21  can be O ring, lip seal or any other seal that can facilitate the sealing function against dust, fluid and foreign matters for the main system  1 .  
         [0081]    The magnetic latch  7  is consisted of the magnet  30 , magnet  31 , the flux retainer  32  and the surrounding non-magnetic permeable material  70  of the stator base  4 . The S pole of the magnet  30  is in contact with the flux retainer  32 , which is made of a magnetic permeable material. The N pole  173  of the magnet  30  is even with the bottom surface of the cushion footpad  29 . The N pole  173  of the magnet  30  is exposed and will adhere to any magnetic permeable material. The N pole of the magnet  31  is in contact with the flux retainer  32 . The S pole  174  of the magnet  31  is even with the bottom surface of the cushion footpad  29 . The S pole  174  of the magnet  31  is exposed and will adhere to any magnetic permeable material. The magnet  30 , magnet  31  and the flux retainer  32  are surrounded by the non-magnetic permeable material  70  in the stator base  4 . The stator base  4  can be made of non-magnetic permeable material  70  or this non-magnetic permeable material  70  is locally implanted into the stator base  4  to support the magnetic latch function.  
         [0082]    As the stator base  4  is rested on top of a magnetic permeable surface such as the sheet metal steel top of a car. The magnetic force from the N pole  173  of the magnet  30  and the S pole  174  of the magnet  31  will attract to the steel top of the car as the magnetic latching function. The metal top becomes the local flux retainer of the magnetic circuit. This system provides the maximum magnetic strength with the minimum magnetic flux leakage to the ambient. The magnet  30  and magnet  31  can be made of metal, rubber, ceramic or any other type of magnet with magnetic properties.  
         [0083]    The cushion footpad  29  is adhered to the bottom of the stator base  4  provides a gasket layer between the bottom surface of the stator base  4  and the surface which the stator base  4  is mounted on. It also provides a cushion to withstand any minor irregularity of the resting surfaces. This cushion footpad  29  is made of soft material like rubber, silicon rubber or any other padding material, which can provide the said functions as the cushion footpad  29 .  
         [0084]    [0084]FIG. 8 is the bottom view of the stator base  4  of the main system  1 . At least one mounting hole  24  is provided for the user to have a choice to mount the main system to a surface by fastener. As shown in the figure,  6  mounting holes  24  are provided. One {fraction (1/4)}-20 UNC internal threaded hole  180  is provided for generic tripod mounting. One guide hole  179  for generic tripod mounting orientation is provided. The N pole  173  and the S pole  174  of the magnetic latch  7  are exposed for mounting by magnetic force. In practice, it is user&#39;s choice to define the bolt patent of the S pole  174  and the N pole  173 , the number of occurrences and the bolt circle diameters.  6  sets of magnetic latches are shown in the illustration. The cushion footpad  29  covers all the rest of the contact surface of the stator base  4  except the S pole  174  and the N pole  173  of the magnetic latches and the mounting holes  24 . The surface of the cushion footpad  29  is textured for maximum friction against sliding and slippage when the main system  1  is placed onto any surface.  
         [0085]    [0085]FIG. 9 is the front view of the main system  1  with an utility lamp  181  mounted to the mounting stage  14  illustrating the usage of the invention. The flange  187  of the utility lamp  181  is mounted to the top surface  145  of the mounting stage  14  by fastener  185 . Gasket  186  is placed between the flange  187  and the mounting stage  14  to seal off foreign matters. The support section  188  supports the light module  182  of the utility lamp  181 . The cutout  189  of the support section  188  exposes the inside wire connections of the utility lamp  181 . The positive lead wire  183  of the lamp  181  is connected to the conductor lead  74  and the negative lead wire  184  is connected to the conductor lead  75 . The utility lamp  181  will light up whenever power is supplied to the conductor lead  74  and conductor lead  75 .  
         [0086]    The following is an example of functional illustration of “How to use” this invention with the initial condition setup for a remote-control utility equipment mounting apparatus with an utility lamp mounted on:  
         [0087]    Firstly, electrical power is supplied to the power cable  33  and setting the functions of the switches as following:  
         [0088]    Switch  44  correlated to switch  39  to rotate the mounting stage  14  clockwise  
         [0089]    Switch  45  correlated to switch  40  to jog the mounting stage  14  clockwise  
         [0090]    Switch  46  correlated to switch  43  to rotate the mounting stage  14  counterclockwise  
         [0091]    Switch  47  correlated to switch  42  to jog the mounting stage  14  counterclockwise  
         [0092]    Switch  50  correlated to switch  36  to tilt the mounting stage  14  upward  
         [0093]    Switch  51  correlated to switch  37  to tilt the mounting stage  14  downward  
         [0094]    Switch  52  correlated to switch  41  and is dedicated for blinking lamp on and off  
         [0095]    Switch  53  correlated to switch  38  and is dedicated for lamp on and off  
         [0096]    The utility lamp  181  is mounted to the main system as in FIG. 9.  
         [0097]    The main system  1  is mounted to the sheet metal roof of a car by the magnetic latches.  
         [0098]    After completion of the above initial setup, the user can remotely control the utility lamp with pan and tilt functions by the remote controller or the wireless remote controller. The user can turn the utility lamp  181  on or off by switch  52  or switch  41 ; and can let the utility lamp  181  to blink or stop by switch  53  or switch  38 .  
         [0099]    This design provides an easy operation for mounting and dismounting the whole system onto the sheet metal roof of a vehicle as well as the remote-controllability of the pan and tilt functions of this illumination system.  
         [0100]    It will be appreciated that the sizes and shapes and dispositions of various main system, wireless remote controller and non-wireless remote controller can be varied, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Similarly, the size and location of mounting holes, housing, elastic boot cover, magnetic latches, material protrusions and the like may be varied. While the sealing of the inner spaces has been described with respect to use of gaskets, adhesive or seal, other sealing mechanisms may instead (or in addition) be used. While the remote control utility equipment mounting apparatus has been described with respect to application with utility lamp, the described system may be applied to other utility equipment, including without limitation to supply mounting for antenna, surveillance equipment, infrared sighting equipment, rifles, boating equipment and radar equipment.  
         [0101]    Modifications and variations may be made to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the subject and spirit of the invention as defined by the following claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 1