Illumination – Revolving
Reexamination Certificate
1997-10-17
2001-02-06
O'Shea, Sandra (Department: 2875)
Illumination
Revolving
C362S487000, C362S493000, C362S545000, C362S800000, C340S471000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06183100
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to warning lamps, more particularly to a light emitting diode (LED) warning lamp, and, even more particularly, to an LED warning lamp for a vehicle which emits light in a 360° arc.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) publishes many new, revised, and reaffirmed standards each year in three categories, including Ground Vehicle Standards (J-Reports). Information on these standards is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.sae.org.
Two of these SAE standards are relevant to this invention. SAE J1318 pertains to gaseous discharge warning lamps for authorized emergency, maintenance, and service vehicles. The standard defines a 360° warning lamp as a lamp that projects a light in a horizontal 360° arc. The lamp appears to project a regularly repeating pattern of flashes to an observer positioned at a fixed location. The function of a 360° warning lamp is to inform other highway users to stop, to yield right-of-way, or to indicate the existence of a hazardous situation.
The J1318 standard defines three different classes of warning lamps, (Classes 1, 2 and 3), and specifies different photometric requirements for each class. Reprinted herebelow are the photometric requirements, for a Class 3 warning lamp as recited in Tables 3 and 7, respectively, of J1318. (All candela-second measurements are to be made by sensors placed at least 18 meters from the source.)
SAE STANDARD J1318
TABLE 3
PHOTOMETRIC REQUIREMENTS CLASS 3
360 DEG GASEOUS DISCHARGE WARNING LAMPS
Minimum Flash Energy Requirements
Zone Totals (Candela-Seconds)
Flash Energy - Candela Seconds
Test Point
Signal
Zone
Degree
White
Yellow
Red
Blue
#1
5 U-V*
2.5 U-V
H-V
40
20
10
5
2.5 D-V
5 D-V
*“U”, “D”, “H”, and “V” refer to “Up”, “Down”, “Horizontal” and “Vertical”, respectively; and the numerical prefix refers to the degrees of inclination of the lamp (e.g., 5U-V” indicates the lamp is tilted 5° upwardly relative to the vertical plane).
TABLE 7
PHOTOMETRIC DESIGN GUIDELINES
360 DEG GASEOUS DISCHARGE WARNING LAMPS
Minimum Design Flash Energy Guidelines
Class 3 Warning Lamps
Test
Flash Energy - Candela-Seconds
Point
Signal
Degree
White
Yellow
Red
Blue
5 U-V
2
1
0.5
0.25
2.5 U-V
9
4.5
2
1
H-V
18
9
5
2.5
2.5 D-V
9
4.5
2
1
5 D-V
2
1
0.5
0.25
SAE J845 is written specifically for 360° warning lamps of any light source. This standard restates the requirements for 360° lamps from J1318, but also provides standards for rotating signal devices, oscillating signal devices, and flashing signal devices. The devices are classified according to intended use. Reprinted herebelow are the photometric requirements for a Class 3 warning lamp, as recited in Tables 3 and 6, respectively, of J845:
SAE STANDARD J845
TABLE 3
PHOTOMETRIC REQUIREMENTS-CLASS 3 WARNING LAMPS
Minimum
Minimum
Minimum
Minimum
Flash
Flash
Flash
Flash
Energy
Energy
Energy
Energy
Candela
Test
Candela
Candela
Candela
Seconds
Points
Seconds
Seconds
Seconds
Signal
Zone
Degrees
White
Yellow
Red
Blue
1
5 U-V
2.1/2 U-V
H-V
40
20
10
10
2.1/2 D-V
5 D-V
TABLE 6
PHOTOMETRIC DESIGN GUIDELINES-CLASS 3 WARNING
LAMPS
Minimum
Minimum
Minimum
Minimum
Flash
Flash
Flash
Flash
Energy
Energy
Energy
Energy
Candela
Test
Candela
Candela
Candela
Seconds
Points
Seconds
Seconds
Seconds
Signal
Zone
Degrees
White
Yellow
Red
Blue
1
5 U-V
4.5
2
1
1
2.1/2 U-V
22.5
11.5
6
6
H-V
48
22.5
11
11
2.1/2 D-V
22.5
11.5
6
6
3 D-V
4.5
2
1
1
Both SAE Standards J1318 and J845 are incorporated herein by reference.
Heretofore, lamps which meet J1318 requirements have generally been gas discharge lamps (e.g., Xenon lamps). Lamps which meet J845 requirements have traditionally been gas discharge or incandescent lamps, although the standard is not so limited. Xenon lamps are disadvantageous in that they require high operating voltage, are susceptible to vibration, and have limited life spans. Incandescent lamps suffer from similar disadvantages. Also heretofore, no one has been able to satisfy the SAE requirements with a lamp which uses light emitting diodes.
What is needed, then, is a light assembly comprising LEDs which meets the requirements of SAE J1318 and J845.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is a light emitting diode lamp for a vehicle which meets the photometric requirements of Society of Automotive Engineers Standards J1318 and J845. The lamp comprises a housing, a printed circuit board secured within the housing, a plurality of light emitting diodes mounted to the printed circuit board and operatively arranged to produce light in a substantially 360° arc surrounding the housing in a horizontal plane.
Various embodiments of the invention are disclosed, and all meet selected SAE standards.
A primary object of the invention is to provide a light emitting diode warning lamp which meets SAE standards.
A secondary object of the invention is to provide a warning lamp which is more vibration resistant and less prone to failure than either incandescent or gas discharge lamps.
Another object of the invention is to provide a light emitting diode warning lamp which is more efficient to operate than either an incandescent or a gas discharge lamp.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, the drawings, and the claims.
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patent: 5361190 (1994-11-01), Roberts et al.
patent: 5517388 (1996-05-01), Hutchisson
patent: 5528474 (1996-06-01), Rodney et al.
patent: 5642933 (1997-07-01), Hitora
patent: 5806965 (1998-09-01), Deese
patent: 5838247 (1998-11-01), Bladowski
patent: 5890794 (1999-04-01), Abtahi et al.
Pond Gregory
Roller Philip C.
Sniegocki Paul G.
Suckow Chris Allen
Negron Ismael
O'Shea Sandra
The Bilicki Law Firm P.C.
Truck-Lite Co., Inc.
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