US1845111A - Stop, backing, and tail light - Google Patents

Description

Rah-16, 1932. E. c. ALBRIGHT STOP, BACKING, AND TAIL LIGHT Filed Feb. 21, 1927 INVENTOR. EDWHRD C. flak/amt A TTORNEYS.

Patented Feb. 16, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EDWARD C. ALBRIGHT, F INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO INDIANA LAMP CORPORATION, OF CONNERSVILLE, INDIANA, A CORPORATION STOP, BACKING, AND TAIL LIGHT Application filed February 21, 1927. Serial No. 169,863.

, usual manner.

The object of the invention relates to a combination of the three functions of the lamp, i. e., as a tail light, a stop light and a backing light, wherein they are served from only two compartments and lamps.

One feature of the invention resides in the positioning of a clear glass lens for emitting light for backing purposes intermediate the stop and tail light lenses for permitting the same source of illumination to function as a backing light in conjunction with either the stop or tail light.

Another feature of the invention resides in the association of the lens for the backing light with the tail light lens and providing a double filament bulb having a filament of relatively high candle power and another filament of relatively low candle power, whereby the filament of relatively high candle power will provide illumination of high intensity for the backing light, whereas the filament of lesser candle power will provide a source of light sufficient for the tail light.

Other features reside in the arrangement and mounting of the lamp bulbs within the housing as well as the reflecting member and the contact members associated therewith, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth and described.

The full nature of the invention will be understood from the accompanying drawings and the following description and claim:

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of the lamp. Fig. 2 is a central vertical section therethrough. Fig. 3 is the same as Fig. 2, showing a modified form. Fig. 4 is the same as Fig. 2, showing a second modified form. Fig. 5 is a detail of the connecting.

plug for controlling the illumination of the structure shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

In the drawings there is shown a lamp casing 10 of the usual character to be secured to the rear of a vehicle, there being provided a door rim 11 secured thereto by the screws 12. The door rim is provided with three openings in which there is mounted a stop light lens 13, a backing-up lens 14 and a tail light lens 15. The lower part of the casing is provided with an opening in which there is mounted a clear glass lens 16 of the usual character for illuminating a license plate.

Mounted within the casing there is a lamp support and partition member 17 rigidly secured to the rear of the casing and extending toward the front thereof. The lower portion of said support has secured thereto a curved reflector 18 passing from the rear to the front and curved upwardly, as illustrated in Fig. 2. The reflector so arranged divides the lamp into a lower and upper compartment, the upper compartment having associated therewith the stop lens 13, while the lower compartment embraces the vertical fluted back-up lens 14 and the tail light lens 15.

Supported by the partition 17, so as to extend into the upper compartment, there is a lamp bulb 19 for illuminating the stop lens 13, and in the lowercompartment there is a double filament bulb 20 having an upper filament 21 of relatively high candle power, and a lower filament 22 of relatively low candle power.

In the rearwardly projecting socket 23 mounted on the rear surface of the casing, there is a connecting plug 24., said plug having an inwardly extending contact bar 25 engaging in the contact button of the lamp 19. Said plug is also provided with a pair of contact bars 26 which are bent U-shaped at their inner ends to engage respectively the two contact buttons of the lamp 20, which in turn are connected with the respective filaments 21 and 22, said contact bars being ar ranged as illustrated in Fig. 5.

As will be obvious from the foregoing, upon switching on the tail light switch of the vehicle, the low intensity filament 22 will be illuminated so that the tail light lens 15 will show the prescribed red light, while the backing-up lens 1 will be slightly but unnoticeably illuminated. Upon throwing the gears of the vehicle into rever e, electrical connection may be made in any suitable manner so as to illuminate the high intensity filament 21 which will give sufficient illumination to cause a reflection of the light rays therefrom to be projected by the reflector 18 through the backing-up lens 14. This will give a sufficiently white light in the rear of the vehicle to illuminate the area in which it is backing. \Vhile this greater illumination, added to that from the low intensity filament 22 will increase the light rays passing through the tail lens 15, it will in no way detract from the illumination had through the lens 14. The lamp 1!) will be illuminated in the usual manner by the operation of the brake or the clutch of the vehicle for giving a stop signal.

As illustrated in the modified form shown in Fig. 3, the specific reflector 18 is eliminated, the bracket 17 and the partition 18' being silvercd or polished to provide a refleeting surface. the remaining features and elements of the lamp being the same as above described with respect to Fig. 2.

In the modified form shown in Fig. 4, the casing 10 is provided with the stop lens 13 and the lenses 14 and 15 as above described.

In this structure the supporting bracket or partition 17" divides the lamp into two compartments, wherein the backing-up lens 14 is associated with the stop lens 13, while the tail light lens 15 is positioned alone in the lower con'ipartment. The lower compartment is provided with the lamp bulb 20 supported by :1 depending bracket member 21, and having contact with a single contact bar 26 for illuminating the tail light with low illumination in the usual manner. The lamp bulb 19 mounted in the upper compartment has a filament of relatively high candle power which will lluminate both the stop light lens and the backing-up lens simultaneously with a relatively bright light, which may be further augmented by the reflector 18. The bulb 19' is illuminated through the medium of the contact bar 25 when the operator puts the car into reverse, or operates the brake or clutch. Thus whether the car is stopping or backing, there will be sufficient illumination in the upper compartment to give a stop signal and at the same time give sufiicient illumination for backing purposes.

The invention claimed is:

In a combination back, stop and tail light the combination of acasing having an open face, a combined rim and lens construction for closing the same including three superposed lenses, a partition in the casing forming a pair of superposed compartments and terminating adjacent the open face substantially between the adjacentedges of the intermediate lens and an end lens, a bulb supported by the partition and positioned in one of the compartments at right angles to the axis of the casing another bulb supported by the partition and at an angle to the first bulb and in the other compartment, the two lenses included in the same compartment being illuminable by a single bulb, a contact construction for the bulbs including an insulation plug, a contact bar carried thereby and extending longitudinally thereof parallel to the casing axis thereof, for first mentioned bulb engagement, and a second contact bar carried by the plug and having its free end bent angularly of the other bar for second bulb engagement, the lower portion of the casing having an aperture therein for license plate illumination, and a lens for said aperture, the inclined bulb being directed toward the last mentioned lens.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto afiixed my signature.

EDWARD C. ALBRIGHT.

Images