GB1561172A

GB1561172A - Warning light with a fixing device

Info

Publication number: GB1561172A
Application number: GB7944/78A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
Current assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
Priority date: 1977-04-22
Filing date: 1978-02-28
Publication date: 1980-02-13
Also published as: BE866268A; FR2388203A1; NL7804313A; FR2388203B1; SE7804524L; IT7822140A0; DE2717898B2; IT1096052B; AT374419B; SE439280B; DE2717898C3; ATA282678A; DE2717898A1

Description

(54) A WARNING LIGHT WITH A FIXING DEVICE (71) We, ROBERT BOSCH GmbH, a German company of 50 Postfach, Stuttgart, Germany., do hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: The present invention is concerned with warning lights of the type which emit a rotatable light beam in use.

Warning lights of this type (known as rotating indicator lights) are commonly mounted on a support, such as the roof of a vehicle, for warning purposes.

It is often desirable, and sometimes mandatory, that warning lights of the above type are mounted on the roof of a vehicle in such a way that the light beam emitted in use is horizontal or parallel to a road surface on which the vehicle is present. This is usually ensured by providing rubber wedge rings which are inserted beneath the light mounting.

Because of the considerable variations in inclination and/or curvature of the roofs of different vehicles, and even of different parts of the same vehicle roof, it is necessary to stock a wide variety of such wedge rings at the factory or workshop where the lights are to be fitted to vehicles. Even then, it is difficult to ensure complete compensation for inclination and/or unevenness of the support.

We have now developed an improved warning light which does not require such rubber wedges for level mounting on a support.

According to the invention, there is provided a warning light which comprises a reflector which is rotatably drivable by an electric motor and is mounted for rotation in a transparent housing, the housing being mounted on a base adapted to be fixed to a support, in which the base includes an arrangement for selectively adjusting the inclination of the lower surface of the base relative to its upper surface so as to compensate for supports having surfaces of varying inclination and/or curvature when the lower surface of the base is on such a surface.

It is particularly preferred that the base comprises two parts; an upper part which is fixed with respect to the optical parts (the reflector and the transparent housing) and a lower part which is pivotally connected to the upper part and is adapted to be fixed to the support. With such a base, only the lower part of the lamp is pivotted to compensate for the inclination or curvature of the support on mounting the lamp thereto.

A simple and sure way of effecting such pivotal connection between upper and lower parts of the base is by means of three adjustable threaded bolts.

It is particularly preferred that the upper part and the lower part of the base are covered by a sleeve of elastically deformable material, such as a rubber. Such a sleeve is preferably wedge-shaped (as described in more detail hereinafter), and preferably has a flange sealingly engaged between a lower edge of the transparent housing and the upper part of the base.

In order that the invention may be more fully understood, an embodiment thereof will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a longitudinal (vertical) section of a warning light according to the invention; and Figure 2 is a plan view of the base of the light shown in Figure 1, with its transparent housing removed. (The section along the line I-I in Figure 2 corresponds to the section of the base as shown in Figure 1).

Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a warning light having a transparent housing 10, which is generally blue or yellow, mounted on a base 12. A reflector 11 is mounted within the housing 10 for rotation about an incandescent lamp (not shown) and is coupled to an electric motor 13 by a worm gear comprising a worm 14 on the drive shaft of the motor and a ring of teeth 15 on the mounting for the reflector 11. A warning light having such a worm gear connecting the electric motor to the reflector is described and claimed in our Patent Application 7760/78 (Serial No. 1561171).

The mounting for the reflector 11 comprises a member 17 having an integral downwardly-extending sleeve which fits over a tubular part 16 in engagement therewith so as to form a kind of friction coupling. The teeth 15 are provided on tubular part 16.

The base 12 has an upper part 19 to which is pivotally connected a lower part 20, these parts 19 and 20 being surrounded by a rubber sleeve 22. The upper part 19 (which may be of metal or plastics, for example) is fixed in location and serves to hold the optical parts, the electric motor and the gearing, as well as any interference suppression means and terminal strips.

The lower part 20 is connected to the upper part 19 by three adjustable threaded bolts 21 and may be screwed to the roof of a vehicle by means of three bolts (not shown).

The upper part 19 together with the optical parts may then be adjusted so as to be absolutely horizontal with respect to the plane of the carriageway on which the vehicle is located with the aid of three threaded bolts 21.

The gap between the two parts 19 and 20 is covered by means of the rubber sleeve 22.

This sleeve is made wedge-shaped with an acute wedge of angle of, for example, 3.5 .

In this manner, the deformation of the sleeve which occurs during adjustment can be minimised by rotating to such an extent that the fit to the inclination of the support is optimal. Moreover, the wedge angle a is preferably half as large as the maximal required adjustment angle p of the warning light (which should therefore be 7" in the above example). Thus, with a roof inclination of, for example, 0 , the sleeve need only be deformed by an angle of 3.5 ; with a roof inclination of 3.5 no deformation of the sleeve occurs when it is rotated appropriately; and with a roof inclination of 7 , the sleeve need only be deformed by an angle of 3.fo.

At its upper end, the sleeve 22 has a flange 23 which projects between the lower edge 24 of the housing 10 and the upper part 19 and thus also undertakes a sealing function between the base and the housing.

The construction of the described warning light in accordance with the invention permits an accurate mounting of the warning light with only an insignificant increase in manufacturing costs compared with a rigid base, without the need for separate compensating means between the support and the light. Thus, apart from the technical improvement a considerable saving in material and installation time can be achieved and the warning light can be delivered to every user ready for installation.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A warning light which comprises a reflector which is rotatably drivable by an electric motor and is mounted for rotation in a transparent housing, the housing being mounted on a base adapted to be. fixed to a support, in which the base includes an arrangement for selectively adjusting the inclination of the lower surface of the base relative to its upper surface so as to compensate for supports having surfaces of varying inclination and/or curvature when the lower surface of the base is on such a surface.

2. A warning light according to claim 1, in which the base comprises an upper part which is fixed with respect to the reflector and housing; and a lower part which is pivotally connected to the upper part and is adapted to be fixed to the support.

3. A warning light according to claim 2, in which the upper part is pivotally connected to the lower part by means of three adjustable threaded bolts.

4. A warning light according to claim 2 or 3, in which the upper part and the lower part are both covered by a sleeve of elastically deformable material.

5. A warning light according to claim 4, in which the sleeve has a flange sealingly engaged between a lower edge of the transparent housing and the upper part of the base.

6. A warning light according to claim 4 or 5, in which the sleeve is wedge-shaped.

7. A warning light according to claim 1, substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. mounted within the housing 10 for rotation about an incandescent lamp (not shown) and is coupled to an electric motor 13 by a worm gear comprising a worm 14 on the drive shaft of the motor and a ring of teeth 15 on the mounting for the reflector 11. A warning light having such a worm gear connecting the electric motor to the reflector is described and claimed in our Patent Application 7760/78 (Serial No. 1561171). The mounting for the reflector 11 comprises a member 17 having an integral downwardly-extending sleeve which fits over a tubular part 16 in engagement therewith so as to form a kind of friction coupling. The teeth 15 are provided on tubular part 16. The base 12 has an upper part 19 to which is pivotally connected a lower part 20, these parts 19 and 20 being surrounded by a rubber sleeve 22. The upper part 19 (which may be of metal or plastics, for example) is fixed in location and serves to hold the optical parts, the electric motor and the gearing, as well as any interference suppression means and terminal strips. The lower part 20 is connected to the upper part 19 by three adjustable threaded bolts 21 and may be screwed to the roof of a vehicle by means of three bolts (not shown). The upper part 19 together with the optical parts may then be adjusted so as to be absolutely horizontal with respect to the plane of the carriageway on which the vehicle is located with the aid of three threaded bolts 21. The gap between the two parts 19 and 20 is covered by means of the rubber sleeve 22. This sleeve is made wedge-shaped with an acute wedge of angle of, for example, 3.5 . In this manner, the deformation of the sleeve which occurs during adjustment can be minimised by rotating to such an extent that the fit to the inclination of the support is optimal. Moreover, the wedge angle a is preferably half as large as the maximal required adjustment angle p of the warning light (which should therefore be 7" in the above example). Thus, with a roof inclination of, for example, 0 , the sleeve need only be deformed by an angle of 3.5 ; with a roof inclination of 3.5 no deformation of the sleeve occurs when it is rotated appropriately; and with a roof inclination of 7 , the sleeve need only be deformed by an angle of 3.fo. At its upper end, the sleeve 22 has a flange 23 which projects between the lower edge 24 of the housing 10 and the upper part 19 and thus also undertakes a sealing function between the base and the housing. The construction of the described warning light in accordance with the invention permits an accurate mounting of the warning light with only an insignificant increase in manufacturing costs compared with a rigid base, without the need for separate compensating means between the support and the light. Thus, apart from the technical improvement a considerable saving in material and installation time can be achieved and the warning light can be delivered to every user ready for installation. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A warning light which comprises a reflector which is rotatably drivable by an electric motor and is mounted for rotation in a transparent housing, the housing being mounted on a base adapted to be. fixed to a support, in which the base includes an arrangement for selectively adjusting the inclination of the lower surface of the base relative to its upper surface so as to compensate for supports having surfaces of varying inclination and/or curvature when the lower surface of the base is on such a surface.