Illumination – Supports – Handle or bail
Reexamination Certificate
2002-11-01
2004-09-21
Sember, Thomas M. (Department: 2875)
Illumination
Supports
Handle or bail
C362S555000, C362S545000, C362S800000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06793382
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle lamp and more particularly to a vehicle lamp mounted preferably on the exterior of a vehicle.
2. Prior Art
Some vehicle lamps are installed on the exterior of a vehicle body. For example, a vehicle, which has a great height and accordingly requires a foot step for passengers to get in and out of the vehicle, such as an off-road vehicle or the like, uses a lamp for illuminating the tread surface of the foot step so that the tread surface is well visible in the dark.
A lamp on the exterior of a vehicle body as described above needs reliable waterproof characteristics; and for the lamp illuminating the foot step as described above, the lamp needs substantially uniformly illuminate the foot step over the entire length thereof.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a lamp that has excellent waterproofness and is capable of substantially uniformly illuminating over a certain area, thus satisfying the structural demands as described above.
The above object is accomplished by a unique structure for a vehicle lamp in which a light source is disposed at each end of a bar-shaped light conductor obtained by forming a transparent base material into a bar shape, and the bar-shaped light conductor emits light that is from the light source and enters the bar-shaped light conductor, wherein
a light-emitting diode is disposed as the light source in a closed container-like casing that has a transparent translucent portion at least in a portion of the casing so that the light-emitting diode is positioned so as to face the transparent translucent portion, and
an end surface of the bar-shaped light conductor is positioned so as to face the light-emitting diode with the translucent portion in between.
In the above structure, the light-emitting diode, which is the light source, is disposed inside the closed container-like casing and faces the end surface of the bar-shaped light conductor with the translucent portion that is part of the casing in between. Accordingly, the vehicle lamp has reliable waterproofness at a portion where the light source is disposed.
Furthermore, since the bar-shaped light conductor emits light for the entire length thereof, substantially uniform illumination over a certain length and area is accomplished.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4557494 (1985-12-01), Elwell
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patent: 5915830 (1999-06-01), Dickson et al.
patent: 6065852 (2000-05-01), Crumley
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patent: 6179454 (2001-01-01), Hoines
patent: 6190027 (2001-02-01), Lekson
patent: 6250785 (2001-06-01), Mallia et al.
patent: 6553629 (2003-04-01), Grady et al.
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Kazaoka Shigehiko
Shinji Katsuhisa
Koda & Androlia
Koito Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
Sawhney Hargobind S.
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