Warning light controller

This application claims the benefit of Taiwanese Utility Patent Application No. 109215078 and Taiwanese Invention Patent Application No. 109139942, entitled Controller for Warning Light, which were filed on Nov. 16, 2020, and are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.

As is well known in the art, vehicles have many different types of lights such as headlights, auxiliary lights, tail lights, turn signals, stop lights, and hazard lights mounted at different positions. These safety lights, which often emit lights of different colors, not only increase the visibility of the vehicle but also light the roadway for the driver while driving in the dark or at night.

Nevertheless, many vehicle operators need additional lights to counteract poor weather such as heavy rain or fog and for additional safety on work and commercial vehicles. Many vehicle operators mount additional various types of warning lights for warning and signaling purposes on the vehicles to attract the attention of road users. In many instances, these warning lights have multiple lighting patterns that can be displayed for different users. These additional warning lights are generally controlled by a controller within the vehicle, such as a simple controller or a screen. However, the controllers known in the art generally do not allow an operator to immediately know if the warning light is displaying the requested pattern. Furthermore, they may be inconvenient to use, especially while the vehicle is in motion. In many instances, the controller can only be installed in a certain position inside the vehicle and this position may not be optimal for the user.

Thus there is room for improvement in warning light controllers.

The present disclosure relates to improved controllers for warning lights. Advantageously, the controller has a light emitting element that can be synchronized with the mode of a light emitting element on the warning light. According to one aspect, the controller comprises a controller housing, a light emitting element, and a control unit. In one embodiment, the controller is operably connected to the warning light via wiring. In another aspect, the controller is operable connected to one or more warning lights wirelessly. The warning light is responsive to a signal from the controller to display a certain lighting mode. In many instances, this lighting mode will also be displayed by the light emitting element of the controller. This allows the vehicle operator to easily view the lighting mode of the warning light by viewing the controller.

In many embodiments, the light emitting element on the controller can be turned on or off independently of the warning light. The light emitting element on the controller can also be instructed to automatically turn off.

A method of controlling a warning light is also contemplated.

A specialized controller for vehicle warning lights is disclosed. The controller includes a light emitting element on a controller housing, wherein the light emitting element provides light emission which mimics the lighting of vehicle warning lights. Thus, vehicle users can control the vehicle warning lights while easily being able to confirm vehicle warning light use based on the light emitting element of the controller.

Referring to, a warning lightand a controllerare disclosed. Warning lighthas a housingand a light emitting elementand is adapted to be placed on the outside of a vehicle. These types of lights are well known in the art and not meant to be limiting. An example is the Pro LED SLP1030, sold by Pro Trucking Products. Although these warning lights can come in different configurations, one configuration is bar shaped. These warning lights are commonly capable of numerous flash patterns, for example 19 or 20 or more different patterns. In the warning light shown in, each half of the light is capable of lighting separately. Warning lights, such as the one referenced above, have control units built into the light itself, allowing the light to be controlled by a simple electrical switch attached to a power supply. There are also lights known in the art that do not have their own control unit but are dependent upon a control unit in a controller. Controllers may have their own control unit or it may be a signal receiver from a controller in the light. The disclosed controller contemplates both.

In, controllercomprises a housing, a light emitting elementfitted on the housing, a control unit, and at least one control button. In the disclosed embodiment of, control unitincludes three control buttons, i.e.,,. In most embodiments, housingand light emitting elementhave the same shape and style as housingand light emitting element. However, this is not required and housingmay be any shape that works with the rest of the disclosure. For example, housingmay be rectangular or square. In one embodiment, such as the embodiment of, controllerand warning lightare connected by wires. In the embodiment of, controllerand warning lightare wirelessly connected through a wireless transmitterand wireless receiver. In this embodiment, controllermay not have an independent control unit and may be controlled completely by the control unit (not shown) in warning light. As is understood, in this situation synchronization of the light emitting elements is not required as controlleris a signal receiver. This embodiment has functionality to send a signal to controllerto display a different light pattern than what is being displayed on warning light. In most embodiments, light emitting elementsandare LED lights. However, the type of light emitting element is not meant to be limiting. Any appropriate light emitting element, as well as any color of light emitting element, can be used. For example, several different types of LED lights such as SMD LED, COB LED, Dip LED, OLED, RGB LED, CMYK LED, and QLED are contemplated.

Controllercontrols the light pattern of warning lightas is generally known in the art. In one embodiment, controlleracts simply as an electrical switch. Warning lightis connected to a power supply (not shown) through controller. Controllerhas three control buttons,,in the embodiment disclosed in. However, it is to be understood that the order and number of buttons is not meant to be limiting as long as the buttons allow controllerto be used as an electrical switch for warning light. In the embodiment of, control buttonis this electrical switch and turns the entire system, i.e. the controller and the warning light, on or off. Control buttoncontrols the pattern changes of warning lightand controller. In this embodiment, controllerhas its own embedded control unitand can be controlled independently of warning light. For example, in the wired embodiment of, controllercan be detached from warning lightbut remain attached to the power supply (not shown). Controllercan also be battery powered, such with one or more internal batteries.

Control buttoncan be held for a predetermined period of time, i.e. 10 seconds, to synchronize the light emitting elements of warning lightand controller. In most instances, control buttonis pressed multiple times to cycle through the available warning light patterns. Control buttonturns off light emitting elementof controller. In some embodiments, controlleris programmed to turn off light emitting elementautomatically or manually after a preset period of time. This can reduce power consumption and avoid glare. Generally these control buttons can be used while the vehicle is in use.

With reference to, an operating instruction from controllerinstructs light emitting elementto match the mode of lighting elementon warning light. As stated above, in many cases, this operating instruction is depression of a control buttonon controllerfor a certain period of time, which can be about 5 seconds, about 10 seconds, about 15 seconds or the like. Then, when an operator instructs controllerto change warning lightto a different lighting mode by engaging control button, light emitting elementis switched to the same lighting mode. Different lighting modes for warning lights, such as flashing, left only, right only, etc., are known in the art and are not meant to be limiting. Any possible lighting mode that will work with controllerand warning lightis contemplated. After this instruction, even if the light emitting elementon controlleris turned off, when it is turned back on, it will continue to match the lighting mode of light emitting elementwithout requiring new synchronization. Warning light and controller may also optionally include indicator, which indicates if the entire system is on or off. In many cases, indicatoris a LED light.

In the disclosed embodiments, light emitting elementis disposed along the periphery of controller. For wireless controllers, light emitting elementmay be completely around the periphery of controller. For wired controllers, light emitting element may be around the periphery of controllerexcept for where the wiring goes into controller. This allows light emitting elementto send light out in all directions when on. The positioning of different light emitting elements on controllerare anticipated. For example, controllercould have two individual lights on each horizontal end of controller, which match the lighting pattern of warning light. Or light emitting elementis disposed around only the horizontal edges of controller.

Because the lighting pattern on the controller can match the lighting pattern of the warning light, the disclosed device allows a vehicle operator to easily and immediately determine if they have entered the intended pattern for the warning light. It does not require learning of the meaning of different controller lights, such as what has previously been known in the art. This is significantly safer than having the operator try to check the pattern on the warning light by checking the mirrors or looking out the window. It is also a convenient time saver for the operator as the controller can be placed anywhere in the vehicle interior that the operator prefers. Thereby the disclosed controller is more convenient to use.

A further embodiment is disclosed in. In this embodiment, controllercontrols a plurality of warning lights.

demonstrates an exemplary process of use of controller. Briefly, in stepvoltage is placed into the system. In most cases, this will be power coming from wiring from the vehicle. However, it is to be understood, that any power source, including one or more batteries within the system are contemplated. In step, warning light on/off electrical switch is activated. In the embodiments of the Figures, this switch is a control button. However, the electrical switch may be in any shape that allows the warning light on/off switch to be activated. For example, a physical switch may be used. Once warning light on/off switch has been activated, Step/Stepinstruct warning lightand controller, respectively to display a light emitting pattern. If an operator wishes for warning lightand controllerto be synchronous, mode switch is depressed for 10 seconds as is demonstrated in step. Following synchronization, control buttoncan be cycled through such that warning lightdisplays the desired pattern (Step). This pattern is then displayed on both warning lightand controller(Step). If an operator does not want controllerto emit light, the light to controllercan be turned off at any point in the process by turning control buttonoff (Step).

Controllercan be detachably or permanently attached in any position in the interior of a vehicle. For example, the controller can be detachably attached using hook and loop fastener. The configuration of light emitting elementdisclosed in the Figures is especially advantageous in this regard because it emits light in all directions. Therefore, attachment of most angles and positions allows an operator to determine the pattern of the warning light even if part of controlleris blocked from view.

Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the disclosed device in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details and the representative devices shown and described herein. Accordingly, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalent.