VEHICLE WARNING LIGHTING SYSTEM
An emergency light system for an emergency vehicle. The light system can have a low profile configuration for improved aesthetics and aerodynamics. Further the light system can be configured to allow for customization of the individual emergency lights and/or easy access to the individual emergency lights.
This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/608,322, filed Jan. 29, 2015, entitled “VEHICLE WARNING LIGHTING SYSTEM,” which is a divisional of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/074,443, filed Nov. 7, 2013, entitled “VEHICLE WARNING LIGHTING SYSTEM,” which claims priority benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/818,734, filed May 2, 2013, entitled “FRONT WARNING LIGHT SYSTEM,” the entire disclosures of all applications are incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates generally to emergency vehicles. In particular, the invention concerns a roof mounted emergency light system for use on emergency vehicles.
BACKGROUNDRoof mounted emergency light systems have been used on emergency vehicles for years to enhance the safety of the operators of the emergency vehicle, as well as the safety of the general public encountering emergency vehicles. Over the years many advances have been made in roof mounted emergency light systems to make the lights more visible. However, many conventional roof mounted emergency light systems are rather bulky and not are aesthetically pleasing. In addition, many conventional roof mounted emergency light systems are not aerodynamic and, therefore, significantly reduced the fuel efficiency of the emergency vehicle.
In addition, although different emergency vehicles may have vastly different requirements for roof mounted emergency lighting, conventional roof mounted emergency light systems (e.g., “light bars”) are generally only available in a single pre-configured light design. Further, many conventional roof mounted emergency light systems make it difficult or impossible to reconfigure and/or replace the individual emergency lights.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a more aesthetically pleasing and aerodynamic roof mounted emergency light system that can be customized with various light configurations and provides easy access to individual lights for reconfiguration and/or replacement of individual emergency lights.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a roof-mounted emergency light system for an emergency vehicle. The emergency light system includes a base and a lens assembly. The base is configured for attachment to a roof of the emergency vehicle and the lens assembly is coupled to the base. The base includes an inner light supporting region comprising a plurality of generally upright emergency light supporting surfaces. The base presents a generally upwardly facing lens supporting surface extending around at least a portion of the light supporting region. The lens assembly presents a generally downwardly facing attachment surface having a shape that substantially conforms to the shape of the lens supporting surface.
In another embodiment, there is provided a roof-mounted emergency light system for an emergency vehicle having a roof with a sloped portion. The emergency light system includes a base, a plurality of emergency lights, and a lens assembly. The base is configured for attachment to the sloped portion of the roof. The base includes an inner light supporting region comprising a plurality of emergency light supporting surfaces to which the emergency lights are coupled. The lens assembly is coupled to the base and covers the inner light supporting region. The lens assembly includes one or more lenses through which light from the emergency lights can pass. The emergency light system has a maximum depth (Dmax) and a maximum height (Hmax), where the ratio of Dmax to Hmax is at least 1.5:1. The emergency light system has a maximum width (Wmax). The ratio of Wmax to Dmax is at least 1.25:1 and not more than 4:1. The base is configured to cover at least 4 square feet of the roof and the lenses cooperatively present a total outer surface area of at least 2 square feet.
In yet another embodiment, there is provided an emergency vehicle that includes a cab having a roof with a sloped portion, emergency service equipment located behind the cab, and an emergency light system coupled to the sloped portion of the roof. The sloped portion of the roof slopes a vertical distance of at least 6 inches over a horizontal distance of 12 inches. The emergency light system has a maximum depth (Dmax) and a maximum height (Hmax), where the ratio of Dmax to Hmax is at least 1.25:1.
The following detailed description of the invention references the accompanying drawings that illustrate specific embodiments in which the invention can be practiced. The embodiments are intended to describe aspects of the invention in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. Other embodiments can be utilized and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense. The scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
In this description, references to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, or “embodiments” mean that the feature or features being referred to are included in at least one embodiment of the invention. Separate references to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, or “embodiments” in this description do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment and are also not mutually exclusive unless so stated and/or except as will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the description. For example, a feature, structure, act, etc. described in one embodiment may also be included in other embodiments, but is not necessarily included. Thus, the present invention can include a variety of combinations and/or integrations of the embodiments described herein.
The emergency vehicle 10 shown in
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The emergency light system 20 can also include one or more locking mechanisms 40 (
When the lens assembly 26 is in the open position, as shown in
In certain embodiments the emergency light system 20 can have a relatively low profile. As depicted in
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Although the invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment illustrated in the attached drawing figures, it is noted that equivalents may be employed and substitutions made herein without departing from the scope of the invention. Having thus described various embodiments of the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent includes the following:
Claims
1. A roof-mounted emergency light system for an emergency vehicle having a roof with a sloped portion, said emergency light system comprising:
- a base configured for attachment to the sloped portion of the roof;
- a lens coupled to said base,
- wherein said emergency light system includes an interior region for supporting one or more emergency lights, with said interior region defined between said base and said lens,
- wherein said lens is hingedly connected to said base such that said lens can be shifted between a closed position and an open position, wherein in the open position said interior region of said emergency light system is accessible for accessing said one or more emergency lights.
2. The emergency light system of claim 1, wherein said emergency light system includes a front edge and a rear edge, and wherein said lens is hingedly connected to said base via a hinge positioned adjacent to said rear edge of said emergency light system.
3. The emergency light system of claim 2, wherein said emergency light system includes a locking mechanism positioned adjacent to said front edge of said emergency light system, wherein said locking mechanism is operable to selectively lock said lens in the closed position and to release said lens to the open position.
4. The emergency light system of claim 3, wherein said locking mechanism comprises one or more mechanical fasteners.
5. The emergency light system of claim 1, wherein said emergency light system presents a central front edge point (A), a central rear edge point (B), and a central peak point (C), wherein an obtuse interior angle (Θ) is defined between references lines extending from C to A and C to B, wherein Θ is at least 110 degrees and not more than 150 degrees.
6. The emergency light system of claim 5, wherein a first acute interior angle (α) is defined between references lines extending from A to C and A to B, wherein α is at least 15 degrees and not more than 60 degrees, wherein a second acute interior angle (β) is defined between references lines extending from B to C and B to A, wherein β is at least 15 degrees and not more than 60 degrees.
7. The emergency light system of claim 5, wherein the external radius of curvature (Rp) of said emergency light system at said central peak point (C) is at least 4 inches.
8. The emergency light system of claim 1, wherein said emergency light system has a maximum depth (Dmax), a maximum height (Hmax), and a maximum width (Wmax), wherein the ratio of Dmax to Hmax is at least 2.5:1, wherein the ratio of Wmax to Dmax is at least 1.5:1 and not more than 2.5:1, wherein said base is configured to cover at least 8 square feet of said roof.
9. The emergency light system of claim 1, wherein said base presents a generally upwardly facing lens supporting surface extending around at least a portion of said light supporting region, wherein said lens presents a generally downwardly facing attachment surface having a shape that substantially conforms to the shape of said lens supporting surface, wherein said lens supporting surface extends entirely around said light supporting region of said base, further comprising a sealing gasket positioned between said lens supporting surface of said base and said attachment surface of said lens.
10. The emergency light system of claim 1, wherein said base includes emergency light supporting surfaces that are substantially flat and substantially vertical, wherein at least a portion of said emergency light supporting surfaces are at different elevations and/or face in different directions.
11. An emergency vehicle comprising:
- a cab having roof presenting a downwardly-sloped portion; and
- an emergency light system including— a base configured for attachment to the downwardly-sloped portion of said roof; a lens coupled to said base, wherein said emergency light system includes an interior region for supporting one or more emergency lights, with said interior region defined between said base and said lens, wherein said lens is hingedly connected to said base such that said lens can be shifted between a closed position and an open position, wherein in the open position said interior region of said emergency light system is accessible for accessing said one or more emergency lights.
12. The emergency vehicle of claim 11, wherein said sloped portion of said roof slopes a vertical distance of at least 8 inches and not more than 16 inches over a horizontal distance of 12 inches.
13. The emergency vehicle of claim 11, wherein said cab comprises a front windshield, wherein said sloped portion of said roof is located immediately above said front windshield.
14. The emergency vehicle of claim 11, wherein said emergency vehicle is an ambulance comprising a patient compartment and said emergency service equipment is medical equipment housed in said patient compartment.
15. The emergency vehicle of claim 11, wherein said emergency light system further comprises a hinge for hingedly coupling said base and said lens to one another, wherein said emergency light system further comprises one or more releasable locking mechanisms for selectively locking said lens in said closed position.
16. The emergency vehicle of claim 11, wherein said base is configured to cover at least 4 square feet of said roof.
17. The emergency vehicle of claim 11, wherein said emergency light system has a maximum depth (Dmax), a maximum height (Hmax), and a maximum width (Wmax), wherein the ratio of Dmax to Hmax is at least 2:1, and wherein the ratio of Wmax to Dmax is at least 1.25:1 and not more than 3:1.
18. The emergency vehicle of claim 11, wherein said emergency light system presents a central front edge point (A), a central rear edge point (B), and a central peak point (C), wherein an obtuse interior angle (Θ) is defined between references lines extending from C to A and C to B, wherein Θ is at least 100 degrees and not more than 170 degrees, wherein the external radius of curvature (Rp) of said emergency light system at said central peak point (C) is at least 2 inches.
19. A method for accessing one or more emergency lights included within an interior region of an emergency light system of an emergency vehicle, said method comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing the emergency light system, which includes a base configured for attachment to a sloped portion of a roof of the emergency vehicle and a lens hingedly coupled to the base;
- (b) unlocking the lens from the base;
- (c) shifting the lens away from the base to provide access to the interior region,
- wherein upon said shifting of step (c), the one or more emergency lights within the interior region are accessible.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the lens is hingedly coupled to the base via a hinge positioned adjacent to a rear edge of the emergency light system.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 25, 2016
Publication Date: Feb 16, 2017
Inventors: Mark Van Arnam (Boone, NC), Randy Hanson (Jefferson, NC), Adam Wilson (Mt. City, TN), Steve Dillard (West Jefferson, NC)
Application Number: 15/333,298