Signal lamps

Abstract

A signal lamp for emitting flashing signals at a desired rate. A parabolic reflector extends about the axis of the lamp with a space discharge tube at the center of the reflector having means for electrical discharge at a desired pulse rate.

Parent Case Text

This application is a continuation in part of Ser. No. 24220, filed Mar. 31, 1970, now abandoned, which is a division of Ser. No. 616,108, filed Feb. 14, 1967, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,504,339.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to improvements in Signal Lamps and, more particularly, to lamps that are adapted for use for warning and for indicating signals as, for example, on emergency vehicles and for signalling the presence of obstacles, either moving or fixed, such as traffic lane changes, areas for road repair crews, and areas where maintenance crews are working.

Signal lamps for fixed or moving objects have also frequently employed incandescent lamps supplied with current from a battery. Due to the power demands of such lamps and for the operation of the circuit making and breaking mechanism thereof, an excess of current has been required which exhausts the available battery strength in a short time.

One object of this invention is to overcome these objections to signal lamps used heretofore by providing a more readily visible signal which will be observed at greater distances for emergency and signalling purposes.

Another object of the invention is to simplify and improve the construction of signal devices to enable these to be built sturdily at low coat for effecting the desired degree of illumination and with the desired flashing action.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the invention include a head unit supporting the space discharge tube and reflector and a base or second unit which may or may not be integral with the head unit and which supports the pulse or control means for intermittently energizing the space discharge tube to effect flashing signals when applied to an emergency vehicle or for signalling the presence of obstacles, either moving or fixed.

The head unit is preferably self-contained and independent of the base unit so as to be removed therefrom or with respect to each other. Provision should be made for electrically connecting these together so as to transmit the desired current from the pulse mechanism in the base unit to the space discharge tube in the head unit.

The reflector may be parabolic or of other shape, according to the type of lamp used, and may be arranged with the tube in proper relation to direct light onto the surface or surfaces of the body or transmitted therethrough.

The base unit encloses the means for intermittently energizing the space discharge tube so as to operate the tube in a flashing signal action, such as may be desirable for indicating a fixed or stationary obstruction.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation, partly in section and partly diagrammatic, showing the head unit of one form of signal lamp;

FIG. 2 is a similar view, showing the base unit thereof;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view, showing the control circuit for the space discharge tube;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view, partly in section, of a form of lamp;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a modified form of lamp;

FIG. 6 is a vertical section therethrough, with parts in elevation; and

FIG. 7 is a side elevation of one of the spring latches.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

I have shown in the drawings a form of signal lamp adapted particularly for signalling fixed or movable obstructions as, for example, a street or road obstruction.

As shown in FIG. 4, this form of lamp has a flat base 40 with an upstanding tubular body or housing 41, which may also be conical, either made in one integral piece with the base 40 or separable therefrom, as desired. The housing 41 should be of a suitable transparent or translucent plastic material and is shown in FIG. 4 as being conical, with a part broken away to illustrate the assembly therein. Any other desired shape may be substituted for the tubular or conical shape shown, so long as the plastic body will be so shaped that the light rays from the light source will illuminate the inner surface, whereby this portion will be readily visible because of the translucense of the plastic body. The shape of the body may be cylindrical, conical, pyramidial or of other polygonal shape, as desired. The housing 41 encloses a head unit 42 and a base unit 43 suitably secured therein and may contain a rechargeable battery, either as a part of the base unit 43 or otherwise mounted in the base support 40.

The head unit 42 includes a container, generally indicated at 44, upon which is mounted a parabolic or other reflector 45, the inner surface of which is reflecting and surrounds a space discharge tube 46 mounted on the container 44 substantially at the focus of the parabolic reflecting surface 45. The space discharge tube 46 may be of the character having a suitable or desirable gas filling, such as xenon, krypton, etc. End portions of the tube enclose the electrodes for space discharge in the gas of the tube. The tube is electrically connected with a pulse and rectifier assembly 47 mounted in the container 44.

The parabolic reflector 45 has its axis directed vertically, when the flat base 40 is sitting on the ground. All light rays from the lamp 46 are directed upwardly to and through the walls of the upper portion of the conical body 41, thereby lighting the upper portion of the cone. The lamp 46 may be provided with suitable detachable connections for replacement in the usual way.

The base unit 43 encloses the storage capacitors 48 and transformer 49 and associated parts of the pulse generating circuit. Rechargeable batteries may be included in the unit 43, for supplying current to the lamp 46. These are connected to the pulse and rectifier assembly 47 in the head unit 42 through a suitable cable or other electrical connection 50. Detachable connections may be used between the units 42 and 43, as indicated at 51 in FIG. 3.

The electric circuit for flashing the warning lamp 46 is illustrated more in detail in FIG. 3 as one embodiment that may be used for the purpose so as to operate the pulse circuit at the proper and desired rate of discharge. This particular circuit may be varied, however, as found desirable according to the rate and time of discharge needed for the purpose.

The components indicated at 57' in FIG. 3 can be installed readily in a module that may be plugged into the lamp in an octal socket, for example. Since the tolerances, as well as the values of the components indicated at 57' determine the flashing frequency, this module becomes a simple, rapid means to change the flashing rate.

While the lamp herein described has many uses, one of its principal uses is for emergency warning lights in stationary positions using a battery as a power source. This lamp would replace the presently used incandescent warning lamp. It would have a very low battery consumption, with a high light intensity of the xenon lamp as compared to an incandescent lamp. At the same time, there is a material reduction in maintenance cost due to the elimination of motor problems and the changing of lamps. The life of a xenon lamps is several times as long as that of an incandescent lamp. It requires no moving parts since it functions as a result of solid state components.

The xenon lamp is made to flash at intervals in the reflector, which may be made to direct light upwardly in the body. The light is transmitted through the body, which is either transparent or translucent.

Not only is the lamp capable of use inside a plastic traffic cone, but also as a signal lamp barricades and in many other emergency conditions. I have discovered that when the lamp was used within such plastic bodies, the flash decayed slower because the plastic had a tendency to retain the light.

Another form of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 5 to 7, showing a conical body portion removable from the flat base, with means for detachably retaining the conical body on the base. The body is made of transparent or translucent plastic material similar to the body 41 described above.

The base is in the form of a flat plate 60. The conical body 61 is separate from the base plate 60 and has a hollow, flat base section 62, molded with an inner upturned lip 63, spaced from an adjacent shoulder 64 on the body 61. The lip 63 and shoulder 64 extend circumferentially around the conical body 61 about the open lower end thereof.

Mounted on the base plate 60 are the rechargeable batteries 64, the weight of which helps to stabilize the lamp holding the base flat on the ground.

A bracket 66 is also supported upon the base plate 60 and supports the electrical unit 67 which contains the electric circuit and pulse generator which may be in the form described above and illustrated in FIG. 3 or of suitable construction. Supported upon the electrical unit 67 is a parabolic reflector 68 within which a lamp 69 is mounted. This parabolic reflector is disposed approximately midway of the length of the conical body 61 with the focal axis of the reflector 68 vertical when the base 60 is sitting flat upon the ground or upon a horizontal surface.

The lamp 69 is located on the focal axis of the reflector 68. Thus, light will be directed to and through the upper portion of the conical body 61 above the reflector. The lamp 69 may be substantially of the character described above in connection with the lamp 46, being space discharge lamp in a gaseous atmosphere as referred in connection therewith.

The lamp 69, rechargeable batteries 65 and the electronic components 67 are all mounted on the base plate 60 itself as a unit, but this unit must be removable for two reasons: (1) in handling the present cones it is more convenient if they are stacked eight, 10 or more high in the service truck so they cover a minimum of space on the truck floor, but to be able to stack them, the electrical unit 67 on the base must first be removed and (2) the batteries 65 must be recharged daily, but to do this the cone must be removed to expose the charging connector which will be the male portion of a plug connector.

I have tried several methods of detachably connecting the cone 61 with the base plate 60 in order to permit of separation and removal of the cone for the purposes described above. Most of these have proven entirely unsuitable and impractical because of the difficulty of removing the base unit and because in some instances they required an accurate positioning of the cone with respect to the base, which is time consuming and tedious.

Frequently, these signal lights are used in substantial numbers and an operator must be able to place the cones or remove them very speedily as the service truck moves along from one cone location to the next, such for example as when marking traffic lanes. Even if they are used only to mark a maintenance crew location, this would be difficult when the operator must be carefully trained to properly use the connecting means.

Finally, I have discovered that the result can be accomplished by means of a plurality of snap latches illustrated at 70 in FIGS. 6 and 7. It is preferred that three such snap latches be used, spaced at 120.degree. apart around the circumference of the base of the cone 61. These would constitute simple means of securely connecting the cone with the base merely by the operation of dropping the cone over the spring latches which would serve also to effect self-centering of the cone relative to the base.

Each of the latches 70 is preferably formed of spring steel or other suitable material, with an upright supporting leg 71 having an offset foot 72 secured as by welding, for example, to the base plate 60. The supporting leg 71 is bent back upon itself with a latching leg 73 turned outward to form a lug 74 and then back to form a V-shape and with an upturned end 75 welded to the latching leg 73 at the back face thereof. The portion 74 is V-shaped, with the sides spaced apart substantially to engage in the slot 76 formed between the upturned lip 63 and the shoulder 64, thus locking the cone 61 on the base plate 60. However, the connection is provided through sloping surfaces that will yield to substantial axial pressure applied to the cone 61 to separate it from the base plate 60.

The operator then would press the cone 61 downward, causing the latches 70 to spring inward as the cone is lowered until finally the outwardly facing lugs 74 on the latches would snap into a groove 76 around the inside of the base of the cone. The cone could then be lifted up and moved around with the base, being in a sense, an integral part of the cone.

The base plate 60 is a few inches longer than the width of the base 62 on the cone 61 so that when the base unit is in place in the cone, the ends of the plate are visibly extending beyond the cone base. To remove the base unit from the cone, the operator must only step on the two ends of the base plate and firmly pull upward on the cone, causing the latches 70 to snap out of the groove 76, thereby releasing the base unit from the cone. The base units may also be stacked one upon the other, perhaps three or four units high by placing the base plate of a unit on the upper ends of the spring latches of the next lower unit in the stack.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in certain embodiments, it is recognized that other variations and changes may be made therein without departing from the invention set forth in the claims.

Claims

I claim:

1. A signal lamp comprising a relatively flat base having downturned outer edges adapted to be seated on a supporting surface, an elongated tubular body supported at one end on the flat base with the periphery thereof spaced inwardly from the downturned outer edges and extending upwardly from said flat base, said tubular body being constructed of light transmitting material, a head unit mounted in the body intermediate the length thereof and having a source of illumination, a power unit supported upon the flat base and having the head unit mounted thereon, said power unit being operatively connected with the source of illumination of the head unit for illuminating the tubular body along the length thereof, the body being conical with the larger end on the base and wherein the flat base extends outwardly appreciably beyond the periphery of the conical body, said tubular body being stabilized in position by the flat base and the power unit thereon.

2. A signal lamp according to claim 1, wherein the power means includes pulse generating means for electrically and intermittently energizing the source of illumination.

3. A signal lamp according to claim 1, wherein the head unit has the source of illumination directed onto the inner surface of the translucent tubular portion to illuminate said translucent portion.

4. A signal lamp comprising a relatively flat base having downturned outer edges adapted to be seated on a supporting surface, an elongated tubular body supported at one end on the flat base with the periphery thereof spaced inwardly from the downturned outer edges and extending upwardly from said flat base, said tubular body being constructed of light transmitting material, a head unit mounted in the body intermediate the length thereof and having a source of illumination, a power unit supported upon the flat base and having the head unit mounted thereon, said power unit being operatively connected with the source of illumination of the head unit for illuminating the tubular body along the length thereof, the body having a tubular portion of translucent material, and the source of illumination being directed to the inner surface of said translucent portion said tubular body being stabilized in position by the flat base and power unit thereon.

5. A signal lamp comprising a base member adapted to be seated on a surface, an elongated tubular body seated at one end on the base member, illuminating means enclosed within the tubular body, said body being detachable from the base member for exposing the illuminating means, and a plurality of latches each carried by the base member and extending axially of the base toward the body and then turned back upon itself lengthwise of the body and forming a bow spring and with means on the free end of the back turned portion in latch engagement with the body for detachably holding the body in place on the base member.

6. A signal lamp according to claim 5, wherein the body has shoulders therein engaged by the latches.

7. A signal lamp according to claim 5, wherein the body is conical and has an enlarged rim portion at the base thereof with a slot in the rim portion engaged by the latches.

8. A signal lamp according to claim 5, wherein the body has shoulder portions, and the latches have means for wedging engagement with the shoulder portions for frictional engagement and release of the connection between the body and the base member.