Illumination – Supported by vehicle structure – Housing
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-01
2001-04-17
Tso, Laura K. (Department: 2875)
Illumination
Supported by vehicle structure
Housing
C362S546000, C362S541000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06217203
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to tail lights used on boat trailers and recreational vehicles. More specifically, the present invention relates to resealable light capsules contained within the aforementioned tail lights.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Sealed light capsules have been used in connection with signaling lights, namely tail lights on boat trailers, to enable the tail light to be submerged in water during boat launching without damaging the tail light or its components. U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,121 discloses a tail light assembly for a boat trailer including a sealed capsule. As disclosed in that patent, the tail light includes an open-ended housing having a rear wall which is secured in a generally vertical manner to the boat trailer and a translucent lens that encloses the open end of the housing. Mounted within the housing is a sealed capsule consisting of a generally flat base which is secured to the rear wall of the housing and a dome-shaped cover or casing. A lighting mechanism including one or more light bulbs and sockets for the bulbs are located within the capsule and the peripheral edge of the casing is permanently secured or sealed to the base by ultrasonic welding.
As described in the aforementioned patent, the electrical conductors which are connected to the lighting mechanism within the capsule extend through an opening in the base and terminate in a well or depression formed in the rear surface of the base. Lead wires are attached to the conductors in the well through sleeve connectors and the entire well is filled with a thermosetting resin that upon curing hardens and forms a rigid seal around the electrical connections, as well as enclosing the opening in the base through which the conductors extend.
However, the use of the sealed light capsule, as described in the above patent, does have certain shortcomings. First, due to the permanent seal formed around the electrical connections, any time the light capsule fails for any reason, the lead wires must be disconnected from the vehicle's electrical system and the entire capsule removed and replaced. Disconnecting the lead wires from the electrical system of the vehicle can require considerable time and effort as the electrical system is normally located inside the vehicle or trailer. In some cases, disconnecting the lead wires can only be accomplished by removing the entire tail light assembly from the vehicle.
Furthermore, in situations where the light capsule becomes inoperable only due to the failure of a light bulb contained within the capsule, again, the entire capsule must be replaced. Because of the permanently sealed construction of the light capsule, there is no way to access the interior of the light capsule and remove only the defective light bulb for replacement without also breaking the casing and rendering the entire light capsule unusable.
Lastly, when applying the thermosetting resin to the plug well after connection of the lead wires to the conductors, the head pressure created by the weight of the resin placed in the well can cause some of the resin to leak through the conductor openings before the resin can cure. Any resin located within the capsule can create problems with the lighting mechanism by interfering with either the sockets containing the light bulbs or the electric circuit created by the conductors.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a tail light for a vehicle and in particular to a submersible tail light for a boat trailer and containing a sealed light capsule whose construction allows for the replacement of individual components within the capsule without having to dispose of the entire capsule.
The tail light of the invention includes a generally open-ended housing having a rear wall that is secured in vertical orientation to the boat trailer, or other vehicle, and a translucent lens that encloses the open end of the housing. Mounted within the housing is a sealed capsule that contains the lighting mechanism. The capsule is provided with a generally flat base which is removably secured to the rear wall of the housing and a generally dome-shaped transparent cover or casing, preferably formed of plastic material, is mounted in sealed relation to the base. The lighting mechanism which is enclosed within the casing includes a tail light bulb and a side marker bulb, both of which are mounted within sockets that are secured to the forward surface of the base.
As a feature of the invention, a latching mechanism is employed to removably secure the peripheral edge of the capsule casing to the base. The latching mechanism includes a flange that extends laterally around the bottom edge portion of the casing and is adapted to be engaged by a plurality of flexible locking clips that extend upwardly from, and are spaced around, the periphery of the base to thereby removably secure the casing on the base. When the casing is pressed into position on the base, the peripheral edge of the casing will flex the locking clips outwardly, enabling a locking stub that projects from each clip to engage the upper surface of the flange on the casing, to thereby hold the casing in place on the base. Each of the locking clips can be manually flexed outwardly to release the latching mechanism and enable the casing to be removed from the base.
To seal the peripheral edge of the casing to the base of the capsule, an O-ring seal is seated on a ledge or shoulder in a groove formed in the base and is adapted to engage the inner wall of the casing as the casing is placed on the base. The inner surface bordering the peripheral edge of the casing is designed to engage and compress the seal as the peripheral edge of the casing is inserted into the groove, thereby providing a positive seal between the casing and the base to prevent water or moisture from entering the capsule.
The invention also provides an improved construction for connecting the lighting mechanism contained within the capsule to the electrical system of the boat trailer. In this regard, the electrical conductors that are connected to the lighting mechanism in the capsule extend in sealed relation through an opening in the capsule base and the ends of the conductors are mounted in cup-shaped receptacles located in a well or depression in the rear surface of the base. The electrical system of the vehicle includes a plug having a series of prongs that are removably received in corresponding receptacles, thus completing the electrical circuit between the lighting mechanism in the capsule and the electrical system of the vehicle.
The invention provides a sealed light capsule having a casing that is selectively removably from the capsule base, thus allowing for easy replacement of the light bulb and other individual components contained within the capsule. Further, the casing of the capsule can be readily attached to the base by the latching mechanism without the need of any auxiliary fasteners, such as screws, or the like.
The invention also provides a waterproof seal between the peripheral edge of the casing and the base, thus preventing moisture or other foreign substances from entering the light capsule. As the O-ring seal is located in a groove in the base, the seal is accurately positioned relative to the casing and base, even though the base is located in a generally vertical position.
The invention also provides a convenient manner of connecting the electrical system of the boat trailer to the lighting mechanism of the tail light. The plug connected to the lead wires of the electrical system of the trailer can be conveniently connected and disconnected from the receptacles that are located in the base of the capsule.
REFERENCES:
patent: D. 413687 (1999-09-01), Darby
patent: D. 417298 (1999-11-01), Paffrath et al.
patent: 1070028 (1913-08-01), Fortmann
patent: 1125089 (1915-01-01), Godley
patent: 1279055 (1918-09-01), Wescott
patent: 1387846 (1921-08-01), Gabel
patent: 1413104 (1922-04-01), Day
patent: 1487827 (1924-03-01), Weiss
patent: 1513300 (1924-10-01), Vose
patent: 1538175 (1925-05-01), Deery
p
Paffrath Edgar C.
Rogers Thomas W.
Andrus Sceales, Starke & Sawall
Tso Laura K.
Wesbar Corporation
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