US-12623596-B2 - Personal vehicle safety beacon

Abstract

The present invention resides in a personal vehicle safety beacon. The safety beacon can be selectively attached to and extend from a window of a vehicle and be illuminated to alert nearby drivers of the hazard of the stopped vehicle or the need for assistance.

Inventors

• John Patrick O'Brien

Assignees

• John Patrick O'Brien

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20230622

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A personal vehicle safety beacon, comprising: a beacon support arm manually detachably connectable to an upper edge of a vertically movable window of a vehicle, wherein the beacon support arm includes a plurality of notches; and a warning signal housing pivotally attached to the beacon support arm, wherein the housing includes one or more air flow passages formed therethrough, wherein the warning signal housing includes a plurality of flashing chevrons disposed parallel to one another; and wherein the personal vehicle safety beacon is connected to the window of the vehicle, the warning signal housing extends outwardly from the window so that the flashing chevrons are disposed generally perpendicular to the window to face the direction of oncoming traffic.
2. 2 . The personal vehicle safety beacon of claim 1 , wherein the beacon support arm includes a notch for receiving the upper edge of the window therein.
3. 3 . The personal vehicle safety beacon of claim 1 , wherein the beacon support arm is movable from a retracted position at least partially within or adjacent to the warning signal housing to an extended position away from the warning signal housing.
4. 4 . The personal vehicle safety beacon of claim 1 , including a switch which automatically activates the flashing chevrons when the beacon support arm is in the extended position.
5. 5 . The personal vehicle safety beacon of claim 1 , wherein the flashing chevrons comprises an array of LEDs.
6. 6 . The personal vehicle safety beacon of claim 5 , wherein the array of LEDs comprises color LEDs or the array is disposed behind a color translucent lens or portion of the housing.
7. 7 . The personal vehicle safety beacon of claim 1 , wherein the flashing chevrons are arranged to form an arrow-like signal pointing away from the vehicle.
8. 8 . The personal vehicle safety beacon of claim 5 , including an electronic controller for illuminating the flashing chevrons in a predetermined sequence.
9. 9 . The personal vehicle safety beacon of claim 1 , including a source of power associated with the warning signal housing.
10. 10 . The personal vehicle safety beacon of claim 9 , wherein the source of power comprises a rechargeable battery disposed within the warning signal housing.
11. 11 . The personal vehicle safety beacon of claim 2 , wherein the beacon support arm has a plurality of notches of differing diameters to receive windows of different thicknesses.
12. 12 . The personal vehicle safety beacon of claim 1 , wherein the beacon support arm includes a fingerhold for holding the personal vehicle safety beacon for placement on the window.
13. 13 . The personal vehicle safety beacon of claim 1 , wherein the warning signal housing has a plurality of air flow passages formed therethrough to decrease wind resistance of the warning signal housing.
14. 14 . A personal vehicle safety beacon, comprising: a beacon support arm manually detachably connectable to an upper edge of a vertically movable window of a vehicle, wherein the beacon support arm includes a plurality of notches; a warning signal housing attached to the beacon support arm, wherein the housing includes one or more air flow passages formed therethrough, wherein the warning signal housing includes a plurality of flashing chevrons disposed parallel to one another, and wherein the flashing chevrons comprise one or more arrays of electrically illuminated LEDs; an electronic controller for illuminating the one or more LED arrays in a predetermined sequence; and a source of power associated with the warning signal housing for the one or more LED arrays; wherein the beacon support arm includes a notch for receiving the upper edge of the window therein; wherein the beacon support arm is pivotally attached to the warning signal housing and is movable from a retracted position at least partially within or adjacent to the warning signal housing to an extended position away from the warning signal housing; and wherein when the personal vehicle safety beacon is connected to the window of the vehicle, the warning signal housing extends outwardly from the window so that the flashing chevrons are disposed generally perpendicular to the window to face the direction of oncoming traffic.
15. 15 . The personal vehicle safety beacon of claim 14 , including a switch which automatically activates the electrically illuminated LEDs when the beacon support arm is in the extended position.
16. 16 . The personal vehicle safety beacon of claim 14 , wherein the array of LEDs comprises color LEDs or the array is disposed behind a color translucent lens or portion of the housing.
17. 17 . The personal vehicle safety beacon of claim 14 , wherein the array of LEDs is arranged to form an arrow-like signal pointing away from the vehicle.
18. 18 . The personal vehicle safety beacon of claim 14 , wherein the source of power comprises a rechargeable battery disposed within the warning signal housing.
19. 19 . The personal vehicle safety beacon of claim 14 , wherein the beacon support arm has a plurality of notches of differing diameters to receive windows of different thicknesses.
20. 20 . The personal vehicle safety beacon of claim 14 , wherein the beacon support arm includes a fingerhold for holding the personal vehicle safety beacon for placement on the window.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/355,474, filed on Jun. 24, 2022. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention generally relates to vehicle hazard warning lights. More particularly, the present invention relates to a personal vehicle safety beacon selectively extendable from a window of the vehicle to warn others that the vehicle is faulty or in other emergency situations. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Passenger cars and light trucks account for the majority of cars in the United States. All such passenger cars and truck vehicles are required to have rear brake lights which illuminate when the vehicle is slowing down or stopping. Moreover, since 1986 for passenger cars, and since 1994 for light trucks, the National Highway Permit Rules of the United States Highway Traffic Safety Agency (NHTSA), and corresponding regulations of several states, have required such vehicles to have a CHMSL rear stop lamp mounted as standard equipment at a central high place. The purpose of CHMSL rear stop lamps is to prevent a car or light truck from being crashed into by another vehicle by notifying that the preceding vehicle is braking or stopping. Such requirements were derived from a test conducted in 1983 by the NHTSA, showing that CHMSL rear stop lamps for taxis and corporate vehicles reduced rear-end collisions by approximately 35%. However, the NHTSA in 1989 found that those successful results using CHMSL rear stop lamps would only prevent rear-end collisions by approximately 4.3% for passenger cars and approximately 5.0% for light trucks. It was determined that drivers get used to CHMSL rear stop lamps over time, and thus the effectiveness of such a device seems to gradually decline. Serious danger can arise when a vehicle is severely damaged so that it can no longer be driven on or near congested roads or highways. To warn of this danger, all vehicles in the United States are required to have a four-way flasher system. With this system, the driver depresses the hazard light button, which automatically starts blinking two of the front direction lamps and the two rear direction lamps simultaneously. In some instances, drivers are allowed to use such flashing lights to alert other drivers who are approaching an emergency while approaching, overtaking, or passing through an accident or obstacle. Despite the emergence and long-term use of four-way flashing direction indicators and CHMSL rear stop lamps, rear-end collisions, particularly collisions with stopped or faulty vehicles, remain a serious problem in the United States. Accordingly, there is a continuing need for a vehicle hazard warning light for passenger cars and light trucks which provides added visible cautionary action in order to avoid the risk of rear-end and other collisions of such stopped cars. The present invention addresses these needs, and provides other related advantages. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention resides in a personal vehicle safety beacon. The personal safety beacon can be used by a vehicle owner as an additional hazard warning light which provides added visible cautionary action in order for others to clearly see the vehicle and avoid the risk of colliding with the vehicle or become aware of an emergency situation. The personal vehicle safety beacon of the present invention generally comprises a beacon support arm that is manually detachably connectible to an upper edge of a vertically movable window of a vehicle. A warning signal housing is attached to the beacon support arm. A warning signal, comprising at least one electrically illuminated light, is incorporated into the warning signal housing. The beacon support arm may include a notch for receiving an upper edge of the window therein. The beacon support arm may include a plurality of notches of differing diameters to receive windows of different thicknesses. The beacon support arm may include a fingerhold for holding the personal vehicle safety beacon for placement on the window. The beacon support arm may be pivotally attached to the warning signal housing, and movable from a retracted position at least partially within or adjacent to the warning signal housing to an extended position away from the warning signal housing. A switch may automatically activate the electrically illuminated light when the beacon support arm is in the extended position. A source of power may be associated with the warning signal housing. The source of power may comprise a rechargeable battery disposed within the warning signal housing. The electrically illuminated light may comprise an array of LEDs. The array of LEDs may comprise color LEDs or the array may be disposed behind a color translucent lens or portion of the housing. The array of LEDs may be arranged to form an arrow-like signal pointing away from the vehicle. An electronic controller may be used to illuminate the LED array in a predetermined sequence. The warning signal ho