TITLE: VEHICLE SAFETY LIGHTDESCRIPTIONThe invention relates to vehicle safety lights, that is to say lights intended to indicate the presence, in conditions of bad visibility, of vehicles to which they are attached, and more particularly to lights intended to be attached to the sides of road vehicles.
It is known to provide the sides of long road vehicles such as lorry trailers with so-called repeater lights (i.e. safety lights) which show a white light to the front of the vehicle and a red light to the rear of the vehicle. However, the repeater lights do not necessarily give a clear warning of the presence of the vehicle when viewed from the side. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle safety light which can be attached to a vehicle to provide a clear indication from the vehicle's side of its presence. The safety light of the present invention is particularly, but not exclusively, intended for fitment to motor cycles and mopeds which hitherto have had relatively poor side visibility.
According to the invention, there is provided a vehicle safety light comprising an elongate base plate adapted to be secured to a vehicle side, a plurality of electric lamps mounted in a linear array on the base plate over a substantial part of the length thereof, an elongate transparent lens cover mounted on the base plate to enclose the lamps, and means for attaching the base plate to a vehicle.
The lens cover and/or lamps are preferably of an amber colour to differentiate from the red and white lights normally used at the front and back of a vehicle.
The cover is preferably semi-circular in cross-section. It may be streamlined (i.e. tapered) at each end.
Preferably, the lamps (which may very suitably be so-called festoon lamps) have longitudinal axes arranged in alignment.
It is desirable that the light is emitted in a form which is distinctive from that of other lights on vehicles to avoid confusion, e.g. with trafficators.
Thus, the lamps and the lens cover may be arranged so that they present a narrow strip of light of the required length, e.g. around 150 to 225 mm in the case of units intended for fitment to motor cycles. However, it is preferred to arrange the lamps so that they present a plurality of distinguishable light sources to an observer (i.e. the strip of light is of varying intensity along its length).
Preferably, the base plate and cover are flexible, facilitating the securing of the safety light to different contours on the sides of vehicles. The base plate may be arranged to be secured to a suitable surface of the vehicle either with the aid of screws or bolts or by means of an adhesive. If desired one end of the lens cover may be coloured red and the other end coloured white to indicate respectively the rear and front of the vehicle to which the safety light is attached.
Thus, for example, a pair of the safety lights may be secured to a motor cycle, one on each side, and fixed, say, to the fuel tank or to the frame or fairing in a substantially horizontal position. Alternatively the lights may be fitted in an inclined position or may be fitted substantially vertically.
The invention further provides a road vehicle to at least one side (and desirably to each side) of which is secured (preferably in a substantially horizontal position) a vehicle safety light as hereinbefore defined.
Preferably the safety lights are wired into the lighting circuit of the vehicle so that the safety lights operate when the ordinary front and rear lights of the vehicle are activated. The safety lights of this invention are, as hereinbefore indicated, not intended exclusively for motor cycles and may also be used, for example, on four, and more, wheeled vehicles such as long trailers, to indicate the presence of the vehicle to other road users approaching the vehicle from the side.
The following is a description, by way of example, of embodiments of the invention, reference being made to the accompanying schematic drawings, in which:Figure 1 is a cross-sectional side view of a first embodiment of safety light, andFigure 2 is a plan view of the safety light ofFigure 1.
The safety light comprises an elongate base plate 10 with tapered ends 11. An elongate transparent lens cover 12 of semi-circular cross-section is secured to the base plate 10 by screws 13, the heads of which abut the bottoms of recesses in the cover 12 and the lower ends of which are threaded and engage in threaded holes in the base plate 10. The cover 12 is amber in colour and encloses a plurality of electric lamps 14 of the so-called festoon type secured with longitudinal axes in alignment in spring contacts of lampholders 15 mounted on the base plate 10. The contacts are electrically connected by wiring 16. The safety light may be secured to the side of a vehicle by screws passing through mounting holes 17 in the base plate 10 or by self adhesive tape 18 on the underside of the base plate.
Preferably, the base plate 10 and cover 12 are sufficiently flexible to accommodate to different contours on the outside of road vehicles. The lamps 14, because of their spacing, present a plurality of distinguishable light sources to an observer.
A rubber seal is preferably provided on the base plate between the base plate and the cover. The lampholders 15 may be mounted on a carrier plate 19 which is secured to the base plate by rivets 20. Many detailed variations of the construction of the safety light are therefore possible.
The invention thus provides a simple and effective means of improving the visibility in profile of road vehicles, and especially motor cycles, as an aid to road safety.