US3388244A - Keyhole area illumination means - Google Patents

Description

June 11, 1968 .1. H. CASTOE 3,388,244

KEYHOLE AREA ILLUMINATION MEANS Filed Aug. 51, 1965 firmeA/s g United States Patent 3,388,244 KEYHOLE AREA ILLUMINATION MEANS John H. Castoe, 6718 Shady Grove St., Tujunga, Calif. 91042 Filed Aug. 31, 1965, Ser. No. 484,067 4 Claims. (Cl. 240-213) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A keyhole area illumination device for motor vehicle doors operable by pushing the latch releasing button of the locking mechanism only and characterized by the addition of components to the existing locking mechanism and by the absence of the substitution of parts for the locking mechanism.

This invention relates to locks and keys and more particularly to a lock associated keyhole area illuminating means operable as a prior incident to key insertion to effect illumination of the keyhole area with resultant facilitation of the insertion of the key.

Motor vehicles are often parked at night on streets and in parking areas in which suitable lighting is either absent or so poor as to make it difiicult to locate the doorlock keyhole.

With these considerations in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide a keyhole area illumination means which is normally inoperative but which is rendered momentarily effective by suitable manipulation of an element of the lock mechanism other than the key operated means thereof to provide sufiicient illumination so that the key can be readily inserted in the keyhole.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the above character which is capable of being applied to existing vehicle door locking devices.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a device in which the objectives of the invention are realized in practice, which is simple in construction and capable of economical manufacture, which is readily installed and which is effective for its intended purpose.

With the foregoing objects in view, together with such additional objects and advantages as may subsequently appear, the invention resides in the parts, and in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts described, by way of example, in the following specification of certain presently preferred embodiments of the invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings which form a part of said specification and in which drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the lock area of a motor vehicle door showing the exposed portion of one embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged scale sectional view taken on the line 22 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a further enlarged, medial sectional view of the light bulb holding and shielding means taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on the plane of the line 4-4 of FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the light bulb mounting means, securing means therefor and the light operating switch, and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged scale, top plan view of the demountable light bulb holding means as viewed on the plane of the line 6-6 of FIG. 1.

Referring first to FIGS. 1-6, the first embodiment of the invention is shown as applied to the door A of an automotive vehicle having an exterior operating handle B and an associated door latch operating, thumb actuated button C together with the bezel mounted exterior portion D of the key operated lock E including a keyhole F disposed below the handle. The door is hollow and contains latch 3,383,244 Patented June 11, 1968 "ice operating mechanism generally indicated at G and including a lever arm H which is pivotally mounted for rocking movement about pivot means I and is biased by a spring I to normally move in a clockwise direction to the extent permitted by means presently to be described and which is moved counterclockwise by a plunger K attached to the button C. The lock mechanism E actuates other devices L which serve to lock the pivot means I against movement of the pivot means and the door latch or to disable said devices to permit the free manual operation of the latch by the button C. The foregoing is representative of the usual form of automobile door locking mechanism and, except for a minor modification to be presently described, forms no part of the first embodiment of the present invention.

The first embodiment of the invention includes a light bulb and housing component 1 and an operating switch component 2. The light bulb housing comprises a hollow, cylindrical member 3 having a closed outer end portion 4 here shown as presenting an end surface of shallow conical configuration. Adjacent to said outer end portion is a body portion of lesser diameter than said head portion which is interrupted by a peripheral groove 5 dividing said body portion into a narrow outer portion 6 adjacent to the portion 4 and a wider inner portion 7. The member 3 is closely fitted into a hole 8 formed in the outer wall of the automobile door above the exposed end D of the lock E and a spring metal bifurcated clip 9 having similarly laterally bowed leg elements 10, 1t] spaced from each other a distance only slightly greater than the diameter of the groove 5 is insertable in and removable from the groove 5 through an opening 5 formed in the adjacent end wall A of the door as shown in FIG. 6, said clip reacting by the ends of said bowed leg elements engaging the inner face of the outer wall of the door at opposite sides of the lamp housing and the portions of the leg elements between said points of engagement with the door surface engaging the shoulder formed by the juncture of the side wall of the groove 5 with the inner portion 7 of the body, the extent of bowing of the clip legs being sutiiciently greater than the width of the groove 5 to cause the legs to be resiliently deformed to a more nearly straight configuration when engaged with said groove and thus serving to seat the housing 3 firmly in the hole 8.

The inner end of the housing terminates in a relatively thin annular end wall portion 11 adapted to be fricti-onally engaged by the inner diameter of a resilient wall '12 on a light bulb socket 13 carrying a removable light bulb 14 disposed in the hollow interior of the housing 3 and one side of the head or outer portion 4 is provided with a narrow slot 15 through which light from the bulb emerges. Since the housing is disposed above the exposed end D of the lock, it is installed with the slot 15 disposed at the under side thereof so that emitted light will be directed toward the said exposed end of the lock and make the keyhole readily observable. The socket and bulb here shown are standard articles of commerce and the end of the housing member 3 is machined to accommodate a socket of this character. The particular bulb and socket here shown are of the bayonet lock type but, if desired, a suitable screw type socket and bulb could of course be used with suitable adaptation of the inner end of the housing 3.

The socket 13 here shown includes electric leads 16 and 17. The lead 16 is connected with the electric system of the vehicle by appropriate connection to electrically operated devices within the door such as the power operated window regulating devices or to the ungrounded or hot side of the door operated courtesy light switch through conductor means such as are employed to conduct operating current to door contained devices. The lead 17 extends from the light to the terminal =18 of the normally open switch component 2 mounted on and conductively connected to the lever arm H. The switch includes a reciprocable plunger element 19 spring biased outwardly away from the switch body, said plunger normally engaging an abutment 20 formed by the portion of the car door handle B which projects to the inner side of the door. The switch is a standard switch normally employed on automobile doors for operation of the courtesy" light and when the plunger is moved inwardly against the spring bias of the switch, the switch points are disengaged. When the plunger 19 is allowed to move outwardly sufliciently to close the switch contacts as by causing counterclockwise movement of the arm H by inward pressure on the pushbutton C, the circuit will be completed through the lamp and illuminate the keyhole area. Upon release of the button C, the switch will be automatically opened.

The device is simple and except for the lamp housing is formed from existing standard off the shelf components. Installation on existing vehicles requires only the cutting of an appropriate hole in the door material drilling a switch receiving hole in the pushbutton operated lever arm component of the door lock and the formation of the opening 5' in the end wall of the door. For those vehicles not having electrically actuated devices within the door, the same devices presently employed to conduct current to such devices may be employed to conduct current into the interior of the door for actuation of the light of the present invention.

It will be evident that upon approaching any car in a darkened area, the actuation of the latch operating button of the door will momentarily illuminate the keyhole area to facilitate insertion of the key to unlock the car.

Accordingly, while the foregoing specification has disclosed certain presently preferred embodiments of the invention, it will be understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to the precise details of construction thus disclosed by way of example and it will be understood, further, that the invention includes as well all such changes and modifications in the parts and in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts as shall come within the purview of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The combination with a lock for a motor vehicle door having both a spring biased latch and manually operable means for releasing said latch against the spring bias thereof and a key operated locking and unlocking means including a member having a keyhole, of keyhole area illumination means; said illumination means comprising: a light bulb socket mounted in and extending through the door adjacent to the keyhole member of the lock, a light bulb mounted in said socket, means in said socket operative to direct emitted light to illuminate the area surrounding the keyhole, electrical circuit means connecting said light bulb to a source of electrical energy, a switch in said circuit means mounted on a movable component of the manually operable latch releasing means and including means normally intending to close said switch, the spring bias switch being insufiicient to overcome the spring bias of and resultantly normally of said latch releasing means and, maintaining said switch open, and devices interposed between said switch and the spring biased latch operating means of the lock operative incident to latch releasing movement of said spring biased means to overcome the bias of said latch releasing means to permit the spring bias of said switch to close said switch with resultant illumination of the keyhole area by said light bulb.

2. An automobile door keyhole area illumination means as claimed in claim 1 in which said switch is mounted on a lever arm component of the door latch and is normally maintained in open position by the spring bias of the door latch releasing means.

3. A keyhole area illumination means as claimed in claim .1 in which said socket means is detachably mounted onlthe door to afford access for replacement of said light bu b.

4. An automobile door keyhole area illumination means as claimed in claim 3 in which said socket means serves as the mounting means for said light bulb and is removably secured to the automobile door by releasable devices disposed on an inner surface of the door.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,029,002 1/1936 Smiley 240-213 2,767,303 10/ 1956 Romney et al. 24O-2.l'3 3,162,374 12/1964 Skokut 240-213 3,270,191 8/1966 Hilliard 2402.l3 3,280,321 10/4966 Overesch 240-2.13

NORTON 'ANSHER, Primary Examiner. C. C. LOGAN, Assistant Examiner.

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