US3688259A - Traffic signals having annular colored illuminated tube around each signal lens - Google Patents

Traffic signals having annular colored illuminated tube around each signal lens Download PDF

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Publication number
US3688259A
US3688259A US118132A US3688259DA US3688259A US 3688259 A US3688259 A US 3688259A US 118132 A US118132 A US 118132A US 3688259D A US3688259D A US 3688259DA US 3688259 A US3688259 A US 3688259A
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lens
box
tube
color
traffic signals
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Expired - Lifetime
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US118132A
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English (en)
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Marcel Rebillt
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G08—SIGNALLING
    • G08G—TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS
    • G08G1/00—Traffic control systems for road vehicles
    • G08G1/09—Arrangements for giving variable traffic instructions
    • G08G1/095—Traffic lights
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F21—LIGHTING
    • F21W—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES F21K, F21L, F21S and F21V, RELATING TO USES OR APPLICATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMS
    • F21W2111/00—Use or application of lighting devices or systems for signalling, marking or indicating, not provided for in codes F21W2102/00 – F21W2107/00
    • F21W2111/02—Use or application of lighting devices or systems for signalling, marking or indicating, not provided for in codes F21W2102/00 – F21W2107/00 for roads, paths or the like

Definitions

  • ABSTRACT A traffic light has superposed red, yellow and green lenses, each of which is surrounded by an annular illuminated tube that glows in a color that contrasts with the color of the lens, e.g., white.
  • the present invention relates to trafiic lights, more particularly of the type that are relatively fixed and emplaced along streets, particularly at the intersections thereof, to signal and/or control vehicular traffic.
  • Such fixed traffic lights are usually of the type having a disc-shaped lens surmounted by a shield which pro- 1 tects them to some extent from weather and shields them during the day from ambient light.
  • warning lights suffer from the same disadvantages as the traffic lights themselves: if they are not illuminated, then they tend to be invisible at night; but if on the other hand they are illuminated, then they suffer from the disadvantages listed above.
  • traflic lights are rendered more visible by conjoining them with a second light of a contrasting color or white, preferably by surrounding them with an annulus of this contrastingly colored light.
  • Another object of the present invention is the provision of traffic lights which will be relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture and that can be installed, maintained, operated and repaired with a maximum of facility and a minimum of expense.
  • FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a single-light trafiic light according to the present invention
  • FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but showing a threelight traffic light according to the present invention.
  • FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing the yellow light illuminated in a continuous or flashing manner as a caution signal.
  • FIG. 1 a traffic light generally indicated at 1 and detachably secured by conventional straps 3 to a supporting pole 5 by which it is elevated relative to the street it borders.
  • Light 1 comprises the conventional box 7 the front of which is closed by a lens 9 which may for example be red as a stop signal, yellow as a caution signal, or green as a go signal.
  • a conventional visor 11 extends forwardly from box 7 above, lens 9, to shield lens 9 from the elements and to increase the visibility of lens 9 when lighted.
  • Traffic light 1 is thus fixed in position, although it will be understood that the term fixed” as used herein includes traffic lights that are suspended from wires or otherwise resiliently mounted.
  • annular transparent or translucent glass tube 13 in the form of neon tubing or the like, having a rare gas or the like inside which, when connected in electrical circuit, will glow with a light whose color depends on the nature of the gas in the tube.
  • annular tubes are well known in the lighting art and need not be further described.
  • FIG. 2 shows a conventional three-lens traffic light 1', comprised by a vertically elongated box 7', the red lens 15 being at the top, the yellow lens 17 being in the middle, and the green lens 19 being at the bottom.
  • Tubes 13 surround each of the lenses 15, 17 and 19 and are of contrasting colors or white. As before, the tubes 13 may be simultaneously illuminated, or continuously illuminated, or illuminated only with their associated lens, or in a flashing manner, or according to the same or a different timed cycle as their associated lens.
  • FIG. 3 shows the same structure as in FIG. 2, with the yellow or middle lens illuminated as a caution light, continuously or in a flashing manner, the red and the green lenses being dark.
  • the tube 13 associated with lens 17 is illuminated and the tubes 13 associated with the lenses 15 and 19 may also be illuminated if desired.
  • a fixed traffic light comprising a box and three superposed lenses on the front of the box, the top lens being red, the middle lens being yellow, and the bottom lens being green, an illuminable annular tube surrounding each lens, said tube when illuminable glowing with a color different from the color of the lens it surrounds, and means detachably securing said box to a fixed support.
  • Patent No. 3,688,259 Dated August 29, 1972 Inventor(s) Marcel Rebillet C It is certified that error appears in the abbve-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Non-Portable Lighting Devices Or Systems Thereof (AREA)
US118132A 1970-02-25 1971-02-23 Traffic signals having annular colored illuminated tube around each signal lens Expired - Lifetime US3688259A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
FR7006682A FR2042072A5 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1970-02-25 1970-02-25

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US3688259A true US3688259A (en) 1972-08-29

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US118132A Expired - Lifetime US3688259A (en) 1970-02-25 1971-02-23 Traffic signals having annular colored illuminated tube around each signal lens

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US (1) US3688259A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
BE (1) BE763025A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
CH (1) CH526825A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
DE (1) DE2107711A1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
FR (1) FR2042072A5 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)

Cited By (11)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3895345A (en) * 1973-08-02 1975-07-15 Belmar Electronics Corp Traffic signal apparatus
US4839647A (en) * 1988-02-08 1989-06-13 Patterson R Gordon Illuminated traffic signal for color blind persons
US4858082A (en) * 1988-05-03 1989-08-15 Walter Hayward Emergency light system
US5408232A (en) * 1993-03-25 1995-04-18 Industrial Technology Research Institute Traffic signal device with interchangeable lamps
US5775801A (en) * 1996-01-26 1998-07-07 Mccain Traffic Supply, Inc. Neon traffic signal
FR2783592A1 (fr) * 1998-09-18 2000-03-24 Michel Lahire Feux de signalisation routiere ou autre adaptes pour daltoniens
US6155694A (en) * 1998-04-16 2000-12-05 Whelen Engineering Company, Inc. Composite warning light with emission pattern matching
GB2376126A (en) * 2001-06-02 2002-12-04 Edmund Campbell D Olier Lees Traffic control signals
WO2003088180A1 (en) * 2002-04-08 2003-10-23 Madanat Azmie K Traffic signal electric lamp assembly
US20050088319A1 (en) * 2000-07-25 2005-04-28 Madanat Azmie K. Traffic signal electric lamp assembly
US12104757B1 (en) * 2024-04-04 2024-10-01 Joseph Patin Busby Traffic signaling system

Families Citing this family (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2222606A1 (en) * 1973-03-19 1974-10-18 Silec Liaisons Elec Long-range signal light for roadway - has intense pinpoint source with luminescent device opposite aperture
DE3139849A1 (de) * 1981-10-07 1983-04-21 Licentia Patent-Verwaltungs-Gmbh, 6000 Frankfurt Elektrische signalanordnung
DE19752016A1 (de) * 1997-11-24 1998-09-24 Wilfried Moselt Lichtsignalanlage zur Erhöhung der Sicherheit im Straßenverkehr
DE20019147U1 (de) 2000-11-10 2001-02-22 Boldt, Paul, 42657 Solingen Lichtzeichenanlage, insbesondere Verkehrsampel

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US1311662A (en) * 1919-07-29 mckeever
US2190035A (en) * 1938-01-12 1940-02-13 Arthur M Loungway Traffic signal

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US1311662A (en) * 1919-07-29 mckeever
US2190035A (en) * 1938-01-12 1940-02-13 Arthur M Loungway Traffic signal

Cited By (12)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3895345A (en) * 1973-08-02 1975-07-15 Belmar Electronics Corp Traffic signal apparatus
US4839647A (en) * 1988-02-08 1989-06-13 Patterson R Gordon Illuminated traffic signal for color blind persons
US4858082A (en) * 1988-05-03 1989-08-15 Walter Hayward Emergency light system
US5408232A (en) * 1993-03-25 1995-04-18 Industrial Technology Research Institute Traffic signal device with interchangeable lamps
US5775801A (en) * 1996-01-26 1998-07-07 Mccain Traffic Supply, Inc. Neon traffic signal
US6155694A (en) * 1998-04-16 2000-12-05 Whelen Engineering Company, Inc. Composite warning light with emission pattern matching
FR2783592A1 (fr) * 1998-09-18 2000-03-24 Michel Lahire Feux de signalisation routiere ou autre adaptes pour daltoniens
EP1001209A1 (fr) * 1998-09-18 2000-05-17 Michel Lahire Feux de signalisation routière ou autre adaptés pour daltoniens
US20050088319A1 (en) * 2000-07-25 2005-04-28 Madanat Azmie K. Traffic signal electric lamp assembly
GB2376126A (en) * 2001-06-02 2002-12-04 Edmund Campbell D Olier Lees Traffic control signals
WO2003088180A1 (en) * 2002-04-08 2003-10-23 Madanat Azmie K Traffic signal electric lamp assembly
US12104757B1 (en) * 2024-04-04 2024-10-01 Joseph Patin Busby Traffic signaling system

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE2107711A1 (de) 1972-08-31
BE763025A (fr) 1971-07-16
CH526825A (fr) 1972-08-15
FR2042072A5 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1971-02-05

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