US-12618540-B2 - Customizable modular lighting safety system

US12618540B2US 12618540 B2US12618540 B2US 12618540B2US-12618540-B2

Abstract

The invention is a modular safety lighting system for use on vehicles, such as cars, emergency vehicles, law enforcement vehicles, trucks, and utility vehicles. The modular lighting system can be mounted on equipment that is mounted on a vehicle, such as the front of a snowplow, the top of a truck cab, a police car, etc.

Inventors

Kelly E Ward

Assignees

Kelly E Ward

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20250310

Claims (15)

1 . A safety lighting system capable of attachment to a frame of a vehicle, the system comprising: a module comprising: at least one light head, at least one electrical plug, a wiring assembly, a weatherproofing assembly, and a housing with an internal hollow chamber, wherein the housing enclosing portions of the at least one light head, the at least one electrical plug, the wiring assembly, and the weatherproofing assembly; and wherein the housing comprising a receptacle for supporting the at least one electrical plug; wherein the at least one electrical plug comprises a head segment, a sealing segment, and a locking segment for reversible locking engagement with the receptacle of the housing; and wherein the at least one electrical plug further comprises a column segment for supporting an internal cartridge heater and thermostat.
2 . The safety lighting system of claim 1 wherein the receptacle of the housing is formed in a rear portion of a load bearing rear wall of the housing; and an orifice with two opposing notches is formed within the receptacle.
3 . The safety lighting system of claim 1 wherein the locking segment of the at least one electrical plug has a shaft with two extending cam locks for locking engagement with an orifice having two opposing notches within the receptacle of the housing.
4 . The safety lighting system of claim 1 wherein the locking segment of the at least one electrical plug has a shaft with two extending cam locks for reversible locking engagement with the two opposing notches within the receptacle of the housing.
5 . The safety lighting system of claim 1 wherein the sealing segment of the at least one electrical plug has a pathway for supporting an o-ring seal for reversible sealing engagement with walls of the receptacle of the housing.
6 . The safety lighting system of claim 1 wherein the at least one electrical plug further comprises an outlet segment extending from the head segment, the outlet segment having a hollow with electrical pins for connecting with an electrical coupler.
7 . The safety lighting system of claim 1 wherein, upon installation the head segment abuts against an external portion of a wall of the housing, the sealing segment extending from the head segment and being positioned within the receptacle of the housing, and the locking segment extending from the sealing segment.
8 . The safety lighting system of claim 1 , wherein the housing have walls with a first thickness and load bearing walls with a second thickness, and the second thickness being greater than the first thickness.
9 . The safety lighting system of claim 1 , wherein a front of the housing has load bearing walls with an inset for supporting the at least one light head; wherein the inset having a pathway for supporting an o-ring seal for reversible sealing engagement with the load bearing walls of the inset of the housing.
10 . The safety lighting system of claim 1 , wherein a wall of the housing has external pockets and an integral projection, the integral projection extending into the chamber of the housing, supporting the external pockets, and blocking the pockets from extending into the chamber of the housing.
11 . The safety lighting system of claim 1 further comprising a mounting bracket for reversibly affixing the module to the frame of the vehicle.
12 . The safety lighting system of claim 11 wherein the mounting bracket for reversibly affixing the module to the frame of the vehicle having a mounting portion for mounting the module and an attachment portion for attachment to the frame.
13 . The safety lighting system of claim 11 wherein the at least one electrical plug is chosen from a group consisting of a blank plug, a connector plug, and a heat plug.
14 . The safety lighting system of claim 1 further comprising a controller capable of providing instructions for at least two safety or hazard light settings to the at least one light head.
15 . A customizable modular safety lighting system capable of plug-and-play attachment to a frame of a vehicle in an external environment with dust and water, the system comprising: a module comprising: at least one light head, at least one electrical plug, a wiring assembly, a weatherproofing assembly, and a housing with an internal hollow chamber, wherein the housing enclosing majority portions of the at least one light head, the at least one electrical plug, the wiring assembly, and the weatherproofing assembly; a controller capable of providing instructions for at least two safety or hazard light settings to the at least one light head; and a mounting bracket for reversibly affixing the module to the frame of the vehicle; and wherein the housing comprising an inset for supporting the at least one light head; wherein the housing comprising a receptacle for supporting the at least one electrical plug; wherein the at least one electrical plug is chosen from a group consisting of a blank plug, a connector plug, and a heat plug; wherein the at least one electrical plug comprises a head segment, a sealing segment, and a locking segment for reversible locking engagement with the receptacle of the housing; and wherein the weatherproofing assembly facilitates in sealing the internal hollow chamber from the external environment, preventing entry of dust or water into the internal hollow chamber.

Description

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims benefit of provisional application No. 63/566,908, filed on Mar. 19, 2024, design patent application Ser. No. 29/934,629 filed on Mar. 27, 2024, and design patent application Ser. No. 29/935,673 filed on Apr. 3, 2024, each of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to modular lighting, and particularly to modular lighting for safety purposes. 2. Description of the Prior Art U.S. Pat. No. 4,935,665, by Murata, discloses an apparatus for a light emitting diode lamp comprising an insulated metallic board. U.S. Pat. No. 10,551,546, by Fattal, discloses a head-tracking multi-view display and a system provide a plurality of views of a scene as a multi-view image. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Advantages and Differences of Invention Over Known Prior Art As described above, the prior art does provide headlights and attachable lights. Unfortunately, these prior art systems have many disadvantages. Some prior art systems have begun to address these difficulties. For example, for earlier or simple plows 14, the light from the vehicle's headlights 20 are blocked by the plow 14 during the normal course of operation of the plow 14 (lifting the plow). This drastically decreases visibility just when necessary for safe operation of the vehicle 10 and plow 14. FIG. 1 illustrates one attempt of the prior art to address this problem. As shown, many plow systems 14 will now come with a plow frame 16 which either provides plow lights 22 or allows other lights to be placed on the plow frame 16. Unfortunately, even these plow lights 22 lack full side light beam angles and simple safety features, such as strobing functions. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the headlights 20 provide a light beam 21. These additional lights 22 provide an additional light beam 23. However, as the intention of the additional lights 22 is to supplement the light due to the movement of the plow, the actual total light beam angle 25 is not changed. Indeed, most systems provide a total light beam angle of less than 90 degrees. Furthermore, these lights also lack the capability of serving as warning lights to pedestrians and other noncommercial vehicles. To address this, other users have tried to mount commercially available small strobe lights into appropriate position. This is generally met with further difficulties as when placing lighting on any vehicle, or other piece of equipment, it is difficult to make post manufacture modifications generally. This is further complicated by the difficulty in getting good beam spread due to current bracket designs and the geometry of the surface to be mounted to. Returning to the example of a snowplow, the problem is that strobe lights mounted on the grill become blocked as well. In some systems, the wiring harnesses are unforgivable specific to type which causes consistent dimming due to inconsistent connector types. There is no consistent control of the post manufacturer product modifications because the wiring harnesses cause shortages. Even then, with currently available light heads or lamps, post manufacturing mounting is a temporary solution at best. For example, with snowplows, the lamps are exposed to harsh weather and environmental conditions. With the constant exposure to rain, road salt, and kicked up road rocks, the lamps corrode or become loose after only short-term use. With the constant exposure to rain, road salt, and kicked up road rocks, the wire connections within the lamp also become corroded. By providing brackets that are specialized for unusual circumstances, the present invention overcomes many of these difficulties relating to placement and durability of mounting. By providing a weatherproof module, the present invention overcomes many of these difficulties relating to durability internally. By providing a specialized wiring harness and controller, the present invention overcomes further difficulties by avoiding compatibility installation difficulties. By providing each of these components in an integrated system, the present invention provides a plug and play system capable of addressing all of the stated disadvantages of the prior art. Objectives It is an object of the present invention to provide a plug and play modular lighting system for use on vehicles, such as cars, emergency vehicles, law enforcement vehicles, trucks, and utility vehicles. It is another object of the present invention to provide a modular lighting system that can be mounted on equipment that is mounted on a vehicle, such as the front of a snowplow, the top of a truck cab, a police car, etc. It is another object of the present invention to provide a modular lighting system that is comprised of individual lighting modules which are mounted on a mounting bracket. It is a further object of the present invention to provide different lighting arrangements of the modules using