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US 10,883,695 B2Granted
Modular flexible light bar
AssigneeFederal Signal Corporation
InventorsDuane P. Belitz, Tim Skertich, Jr., Robert A. Czajkowski, Paul M. Gergets, Jeffery M. Loftus
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Light bars, and lighting systems and vehicles that include light bars. The light bars include a plurality of light emitting modules coupled together at flexible joints to allow a single light bar to be affixed to surfaces of varying curvatures, such as an interior window surface of a vehicle. The size of the light bar is easily customizable due to its modular nature. In some examples, a controller or other electronic element is adapted to detect a number and/or configuration of modules in a given light bar.
Claims18
A light bar having a relaxed configuration and a flexed configuration and comprising:
- a plurality of modules, each of the modules including:
- a housing defining an interior bay, the housing including a front wall and a rear wall connected to the front wall at an acute angle;
- and
- at least one light emitter connected to a forward facing rear interior surface of the rear wall, the at least one light emitter positioned to emit light that is visible through the front wall;
- and
- one or more resiliently flexible couplers, each of the one or more resiliently flexible couplers including a pair of spaced apart strips forming a hinge, the spaced apart strips coupling a pair of adjacent modules of the plurality of modules, with an exterior, forward facing front surface of the front wall of each of the plurality of modules being an affixation surface adapted to be affixed to a curved surface when the light bar is in the flexed configuration.
3 more elements
A vehicle comprising:
- a curved surface;
- and
- a light bar, the light bar having a relaxed configuration and a flexed configuration and including:
- a plurality of modules, each of the modules including a housing defining an interior bay, the housing including a front wall, and a rear wall connected to the front wall at an acute angle, the rear wall supporting at least one light emitter positioned to emit light that propagates through a light propagation face of the front wall, the light propagation face coinciding with an affixation surface of the module;
- and
- one or more resiliently flexible couplers, each of the one or more flexibly resilient couplers including a pair of spaced apart strips forming a hinge, the spaced apart strips coupling a pair of adjacent modules of the plurality of modules,
- wherein the light bar is in the flexed configuration and all of the plurality of modules are directly affixed to the curved surface at their affixation surfaces.
4 more elements
A system comprising:
- a light bar having a relaxed configuration and a flexed configuration and including:
- a plurality of modules, each of the modules including a housing defining an interior bay, the housing including a front wall and a rear wall connected to the front wall at an acute angle and at least one light emitter connected to a forward facing rear interior surface of the rear wall, the at least one light emitter positioned to emit light that is visible through the front wall;
- and
- one or more resiliently flexible couplers, each of the one or more resiliently flexible couplers including a pair of spaced apart strips forming a hinge, the spaced apart strips coupling a pair of adjacent modules of the plurality of modules, each of the plurality of modules being adapted to be directly affixed at a forward facing front affixation surface of the front wall of each module to a curved surface when the light bar is in the flexed configuration;
- a controller operatively linked to the light bar and adapted to control a light emission pattern of the light emitters of the plurality of modules based in part on a detected number of the plurality of modules;
- a non-volatile, non-transitory storage;
- and
- a processor, the processor adapted to execute computer readable instructions stored on the storage, the executed instructions causing the controller to provide light emission control signals to the plurality of modules to control the light emission pattern of the light emitters of the plurality of modules.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.