Door with warning light

Abstract

The present invention detects the movements or the open/close status of a door. After detection it flashes warning lights for approaching people or vehicles. In the primary embodiment, the lighting elements are displaced at the edge of the door panel to clearly indicate the edges. In another embodiment, the lighting element is displaced in a door knob that can warn the people of the opening of the door.

Claims

1. A door with edge warning lighting comprising: a door panel; a plurality of lighting elements being displaced along the edge of the door panel; and a sensor being connected to the lighting elements for detecting the position of the door panel and controlling the lighting elements.

2. The door according to claim 1, wherein the lighting elements are LED lights.

3. The door according to claim 1, wherein the lighting elements flash when the sensor detects the door panel position change.

4. The door according to claim 1, further comprising a casing wherein the lighting elements are housed inside the casing.

5. The door according to claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises a contact switch.

6. The door according to claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises an accelerometer or a light detector.

7. The door according to claim 1, wherein the lighting elements' flashing patterns and colors are controlled by the sensor.

8. The casing according to claim 4, is made from shock absorption material as a door bumper.

9. A warning lighting strip comprising: a plurality of lighting elements; a casing for housing the plurality of lighting elements; and a sensor being connected to the plurality of lighting elements. wherein the sensor is configured to detect the movement of the casing or the position of the casing.

10. The warning lighting strip according to claim 9, furthering comprising: an adhesive material being applied inside the casing for attaching the warning lighting strip to a edge of a vehicle door,

11. The warning lighting strip according to claim 9, wherein the sensor is a contact switch.

12. The warning lighting strip according to claim 9, wherein the sensor is an accelerometer.

13. The warning lighting strip according to claim 9, wherein the lighting elements flash when the sensor detects movement of the casing.

14. A door knob assembly for alerting door movement, comprising: a first knob; a second knob being connected to the first knob; a sensor being displaced inside the door knob assembly; a plurality of lighting elements being fastened to the first knob; and a power source being connected to the lighting elements; Wherein the sensor controls the lighting elements.

15. The door knob assembly according to claim 14, wherein the lighting elements are lit when the sensor detects the second door knob being touched.

16. The door knob assembly according to claim 14, wherein the sensor is a contact switch that closes the lighting circuit when the second door knob is being twisted.

17. The door knob assembly according to claim 14, wherein the sensor comprises a touch sensor that detects the hand touching the second knob.

18. The door knob assembly according to claim 14, further comprising a sound device, wherein the sound device plays a warning sound when the second knob is touched or twisted.

19. The door knob assembly according to claim 14, wherein the power source is a battery.

20. The door knob assembly according to claim 14, wherein the lighting element is displaced on the surface of the first knob in such a way that the light is visible from all directions in front of the first knob.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0026] FIG. 1A depicts one embodiment that the lighting elements are encased in a strip shaped housing.

[0027] FIG. 1B depicts the lighting elements and casing being bonded or fastened to the edge of a vehicle door.

[0028] FIG. 1C depicts the front view of the lighting elements being installed on the vehicle door.

[0029] FIG. 1D depicts an embodiment which comprises a vehicle door with its edge being lined with lighting elements.

[0030] FIG. 1E depicts the explosive view of the vehicle door as shown in FIG. 1D.

[0031] FIG. 2 depicts a door knob assembly with a warning light which could inform people on the other side of the door that the door knob is touched or twisted.

[0032] FIG. 3 depicts the control circuit that could make the lighting elements flash when the switch is turned on.

[0033] FIG. 4A depicts a control circuit that could trigger the lighting element by touching one door knob.

[0034] FIG. 4B depicts another control circuit that could trigger the lighting element and sound alarm by touching one door knob.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0035] Definitions:

[0036] The following discussion is directed to various embodiments of the invention. Although one or more of these embodiments may be preferred, the embodiments disclosed should not be interpreted, or otherwise used, as limiting the scope of the disclosure, including the claims. In addition, one skilled in the art will understand that the following description has broad application, and the discussion of any embodiment is meant only to be exemplary of that embodiment, and not intended to intimate that the scope of the disclosure, including the claims, is limited to that embodiment.

[0037] FIG. 1A depicts the lighting elements encased in a strip shaped housing. 102 is a casing to house the lighting elements comprising 106A, 106B and 106C. The lighting elements are also connected via wires and a circuit board 108. 104A and 104B are the two edges of the casing 102, which are going to cling to the door edge. Adhesive may be applied to the inside of the casing 102 including edges 104A and 104B bending toward each other for strong bonding to the door edge. The cross section shape of casing 102 is like letter ‘U’. The casing 102 is often made with flexible materials such as plastic. The shape of the casing and the edges 104A and 104B could be made in such a way that both edges 104A and 104B are touching each other before being bonded to the edge of a vehicle door.

[0038] A contact switch 120 is fastened to the edge of the casing 102 via fastener 124. The button 122 is made with flexible material which could be depressed and turn on or off the circuit to light the lighting elements 106A through 106C. When installed on door edge, the button 122 would be depressed against door frame and turn on or off the switch 120.

[0039] This embodiment is useful for after market car doors that do not have warning light installed.

[0040] FIG. 1B depicts the lighting elements and casing being fastened or bonded to the edge of a vehicle door. The vehicle door 110 has a door handle 111. The lighting element 104A and its casing 102 are being bonded to the door edge 103. The bonding could be done by applying adhesives to the inside of the casing 102 and to the door edge 103.

[0041] 120 is the contact switch that can turn on or off the lighting circuit. The button 122 may be made with rubber or flexible plastic. When the door panel 110 is closed, 112 is depressed against the frame which turn on or off the lighting circuit.

[0042] 109 is the direction of viewing that is detailed in FIG. 1C.

[0043] FIG. 1C depicts the front view of the lighting elements being installed on the vehicle door, which is depicted in FIG. 1B.

[0044] From the direction 109 indicated in FIG. 1B, the vehicle edge 103 is bonded to the casing 102, which is mostly transparent for the light to go through, and the lighting elements 106A is visible through the casing 102.

[0045] If the casing 102 is also flexible with at least 1/32 inch (or 0.08 centimeters) thickness, then the casing 102 could also be used as door bumper that can absorb some of the shock from bumping into another adjacent object while the vehicle door is opened.

[0046] The contact switch 120 and its button 122 control the circuit and detect whether the door is shut or open.

[0047] FIG. 1D depicts an embodiment of a vehicle door with its edge being lined with lighting elements. 115 depicts an embodiment of the present invention. The vehicle door panel 112 has an edge 114 that is installed with lighting elements 116A and 116B. The touching or opening of the door handle 113 may trigger the lighting of the lighting elements 116.

[0048] Regardless of the door handle triggering mechanism, a contact switch 126 could also trigger the lighting of lighting elements 116. If the button 128 is depressed against door frame then the switch 126 is turned on or off which in turn triggers the lighting elements of 116

[0049] FIG. 1E depicts the explosive view of the vehicle door as shown in FIG. 1D. Door handle 113 and/or the contact switch 126 could control the door lighting elements 116A and 116B. The edge 114 could be a plastic casing that houses the lighting elements 116A and 116B. The edge 114 are fastened to the door panel 112's metal parts 128 via fastener 118A, 118B and 118C.

[0050] FIG. 2 depicts a door knob assembly with a warning light which could inform the people on the other side of the door that the door knob is touched or twisted.

[0051] The door knob assembly explosive view is shown in 200. Door panel 202 has a face bore 206 for the assembly to connect. The knob 204 is fastened to the door panel 202 in the direction of 220. In the middle of door knob 204 is a spindle 206, which normally controls the latch assembly (not shown here). The spindle 206 comes into contact with a contact switch 210. The twisting of door knob 204 causes the twisting of the spindle 206, which in turn controls the on or off of the contact switch 210. The contact switch is connected to a battery 212 and the lighting elements 216A and 216B. The lighting elements 216A and 216B are embedded inside the knob 214, which is fastened to the other parts in the direction indicated by 222.

[0052] The wire 218 connects to a speaker or buzzer 217, the contact switch 210, the battery 212, a control circuit and the lighting elements 216A and 216B. the speaker may play a distinct sound or music ring to give warning of the door opening.

[0053] FIG. 3 depicts the control circuit that could make the lighting elements flash when the switch is turned on. IC LM3909 controls the flashing of the LED light. FIG. 4A depicts a control circuit that could trigger the lighting element by touching one door knob.

[0054] The ‘touch across these contacts’ is where the door knob being touched or twisted. The LED light is installed on the other side of the door knob.

[0055] FIG. 4B depicts another control circuit that could trigger the lighting element and sound alarm by touching one door knob. The ‘touch plate’ is where the door knob is being touched or twisted. The LED light and the buzzer are installed on the other side of the door knob. IC 555 is for sensing and controlling the circuit.

[0056] These circuits could be applied to control all the lighting elements mentioned in the various embodiments.

[0057] It should be appreciated that all the circuits shown here could be replaced by many other circuits designs that carry out similar functions.

[0058] In all the figures mentioned above, the lighting elements could be LED lights. LED lights typically enjoy small form factor and low power consumption. In addition these lighting elements could be enhanced by adding reflective surfaces such as mirrors around them.

[0059] References to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “some embodiments,” “various embodiments”, or the like indicate that a particular element or characteristic is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. Although the phrases may appear in various places, the phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In conjunction with the present disclosure, those skilled in the art will be able to design and incorporate any one of the variety of mechanisms suitable for accomplishing the above described functionalities.

[0060] It is to be understood that the disclosure teaches just one example of the illustrative embodiment and that many variations of the invention can easily be devised by those skilled in the art after reading this disclosure and that the scope of then present invention is to be determined by the following claims.