Abstract:
An integrated warning light assembly for an automotive vehicle includes a front half having a parabolic reflecting surface with an orifice therethrough, and a rear half having a light source attached thereto and a plurality of electrical contact terminals molded therein, where the front half is adapted to interchangeably receive the rear half in snap fit fashion and where the light source extends through the orifice.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION  
         [0001]    This invention relates to automotive vehicle warning lights, and more specifically, to an integrated warning light assembly having a parabolic reflecting surface and a snap fit design.  
           [0002]    Automotive vehicle advanced restraint systems incorporate a number of features that supplement standard safety belt systems. One such feature is the system&#39;s ability to automatically disable the passenger-side airbag during certain vehicle operating conditions. The operative status of the passenger-side airbag is preferably communicated to the vehicle occupant via an instrument panel warning light.  
           [0003]    Conventional warning light assemblies combine a light source disposed within a housing and a window with warning graphics printed thereon, typically referred to as a graphics plane. The graphics plane is positioned intermediate the light source and the vehicle occupant. Typically, the graphics plane is positioned substantially flush with the instrument panel surface, and the housing and light source are hidden from view. When it is desired to communicate information disposed on the graphics plane to the vehicle occupant, current is passed through the light source thereby illuminating the graphics plane.  
           [0004]    Conventional warning light assemblies have many sub-components, making the assembly process complex and time consuming. Furthermore, typical assemblies do not allow for sub-component interchangeability. For example, if it is desired to add a light intensity controlling resistor package or change the type of light source, the entire assembly has to be replaced, which is cost ineffective. It would be most beneficial and cost effective to have a permanently attached piece and an interchangeable piece that could be substituted if such changes were desired. It is therefore desired to have a vehicle warning light that is easy to assemble, sub-component integrated, and adapted for sub-component interchangeability.  
         SUMMARY OF INVENTION  
         [0005]    It is an object of the present invention to provide an integrated warning light assembly that overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art.  
           [0006]    The present invention advantageously provides for an automotive vehicle an integrated warning light assembly having a front half with a parabolic reflecting surface and an orifice therethrough, and a rear half with a light source attached thereto and a plurality of electrical contact terminals molded therein, where the front half is adapted to receive the rear half in snap fit fashion and where the light source extends through the orifice.  
           [0007]    According to a feature of the present invention, the rear half may be interchanged with other rear halves without having to replace or change the front half, thereby saving on part cost. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
       [0008]    These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an automotive vehicle integrated warning light assembly according to the present invention;  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the automotive vehicle integrated warning light assembly according to the present invention;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 3 is a top, cut-away view of an integrated warning light assembly according to the present invention;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 4 is an exploded, perspective view of an integrated warning light assembly according to the present invention; and  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 5 is a perspective, cut-away view of an alternative embodiment of a rear half of the integrated warning light assembly according to the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0014]    Referring to FIG. 1, an integrated warning light assembly  10  for an automotive vehicle advanced restraint system is illustrated. The warning light assembly  10  is a two piece snap fit design including a front half  12  and a rear half  14 . The warning light assembly  10  is adapted to be attached to a vehicle instrument panel. A pair of wing-like mounting tabs  18  project outwardly and substantially perpendicularly from a pair of opposing sidewalls  16 . Each mounting tab  18  has a hole  19  therethrough that is adapted to receive a conventional fastener, such as a screw, in order to facilitate mounting the integrated warning light assembly  10  to the instrument panel. In an alternative embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, a pair of steel spring tabs  22  are attached to a pair of opposing sidewalls  16 . Mounting guidewalls  24 , projecting perpendicularly from the sidewalls  16 , are disposed, in parallel, on either side of each spring tab  22 . The spring tabs  22  and corresponding mounting guidewalls  24  cooperate to facilitate mounting the integrated warning light assembly  10  to the instrument panel in snap fit fashion if so desired. The front half  12  is molded with two options for mounting onto the vehicle instrument panel, although other mounting options may be employed without departing from the scope of the present invention.  
         [0015]    As shown in FIG. 1, the front half  12  has four sidewalls  16  that form a substantially box like shape. Each sidewall  16  has a front edge  17  and a rear edge  20 . Projecting inwardly from the sidewalls  16  and rearwardly from the front edges  17  is a parabolic reflector  25 , as shown in FIG. 3. The parabolic reflector  25  has a predetermined focal point and an orifice  26  adapted to receive a light source  27  therethrough. The light source  27  may be a conventional incandescent light, a light emitting diode or LED, or the like and is positioned at the focal point of the reflector  25 . A translucent graphics plane  23  is disposed on the front edges  17  of the front half  12 . The window  23  has graphics disposed thereon that are visible to the vehicle occupant when the light source  27  is illuminated. The graphics for the advanced restraint system may relate to whether the passenger-side airbag has been disabled, or any other desired information without departing from the scope of the present invention. Projecting from a pair of opposing rear edges  20  in coplanar fashion are a pair of mounting flanges  28 , each having a notch  30  for attaching the front to the rear half,  12  and  14  respectively, as shown in FIG. 4. The front half  12  is a polymeric, preferably polycarbonate, injection molded unit having a reflective finish added to the reflector  25  after the molding process.  
         [0016]    As shown in FIG. 4, the box-like rear half  14  carries the light source  27  and has an electronics package  32  integrated therein. A light socket  34  receives the light source  27 , and a pair of integrated terminals  40  service the electronics package  32 . As shown in FIG. 5, an alternative embodiment of the rear half  14  has three integrated terminals  42 . The third terminal may be used to service a resistor electronics package for controlling light intensity during various exterior ambient light conditions, for example. The rear half  14  further has parallel assembly guidewalls  36  with a ramp  38  therebetween, projecting from opposite sides thereof. The assembly guidewalls  36  and ramps  38  facilitate snap fitting the rear half  14  to the front half  12 . More specifically, the rear half  14  is snapped into the front half  12  by aligning each pair of assembly guidewalls  36  of the rear half  14  with a corresponding mounting flange  28  of the front half  12 . The assembly guidewalls  36  insure that the notches  30  of the mounting flanges  28  are properly aligned with the ramps  38 . The rear half  14  is slid along the mounting flanges  28  via the assembly guidewalls  36 , until the mounting flanges  28  engage the ramps  38 . Continuing to slide the rear half  14  in such a manner will cause the flanges  28  to flex outwardly until the ramps  38  snap into the notches  30  and the flanges  28  are thereby returned to their pre-flexed position. The rear half  14  is a polymeric, preferably polycarbonate, injection molded structure with integrated terminals  40  molded therein.  
         [0017]    The snap fit design not only allows for ease of assembly of the warning light  10 , but also for feature interchangeability without having to replace the entire warning light assembly  10 . For example, the type of light source or the number of electric terminals may be altered by simply interchanging a rear half  14  with the desired feature into the existing front half  12 . This sort of part interchangeability advantageously saves on part cost as the front half  12  is universal regardless of the type of rear half  14 . An additional connector (not shown) snaps into the rear half  14  and powers the unit when in the vehicle.  
         [0018]    While only certain embodiments of the warning light of the present invention have been described, others may be possible without departing from the scope of the following claims.