Force-diverting tail light guard

Abstract

A force-diverting tail light guard is disclosed for a vehicle having tail lights that project from the body of the vehicle with each tail light having a vehicle facing surface and a rear-facing surface joined by sides. The tail light guard has a base configured to be mounted against the body of the vehicle surrounding the tail light. The base may include a plate that at least partially covers the vehicle-facing surface of the tail light. A cage is configured to be mated to the base and at least partially covers at least the rear-facing surface of the tail light. The base and cage, when mated together around the tail light, at least partially surround the tail light. Attachment structures are disclosed for mounting the tail light guard to the body of the vehicle surrounding the tail light. The tail light guard is configured to divert external forces due to impact around the tail light and directly to the body of the vehicle to prevent impacts from breaking the tail light or rendering the tail light inoperable.

Claims

1. A force-diverting tail light guard for a vehicle having tail lights that project away from the body of the vehicle, each tail light having a vehicle-facing surface and a back surface joined by sides, the force-diverting tail light guard comprising: a base configured to be mounted against the body of the vehicle with at least part of the base extending around the vehicle-facing surface of the tail light; a cage configured to be mated to the base, the cage at least partially covering at least the back surface of the tail light when mated to the base; the base and the cage, when mated together, at least partially surrounding the tail light; and fastening means for mounting the force-diverting tail light guard to the body of the vehicle; the tail light guard being configured to divert external forces around the tail light and to transfer the diverted forces directly to the body of the vehicle to prevent the external forces from breaking the tail light or rendering the tail light inoperable.

2. A force-diverting tail light guard as claimed in claim 1 wherein the base further comprises a base plate configured to extend at least partially between the vehicle facing surface of the tail light and the vehicle body, the base plate having a base plate opening for accommodating wiring to the tail light.

3. A force-diverting tail light guard as claimed in claim 1 wherein the cage comprises a back cage opening to allow light from the back surface of the tail light to be seen and a side cage opening to allow light from at least one side of the tail light to be seen.

4. A force-diverting tail light guard as claimed in claim 3 further comprising first structures spanning the back cage opening and second structures spanning the side cage opening, the first and second structures being configured to deflect flying debris that might otherwise damage the tail light.

5. A force-diverting tail light guard as claimed in claim 4 wherein the first structures comprise bars and the second structures comprise bars.

6. A force-diverting tail light guard as claimed in claim 1 wherein the cage at least partially surrounds the sides of the tail light.

7. A force-diverting tail light guard as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a third structure on the base plate and a fourth structure on the cage, the third and fourth structures engaging to resist relative movement between the cage and the base when the cage and the base are mated together.

8. A force-diverting tail light guard as claimed in claim 7 wherein the third structure comprises a tongue on one of the base and the cage and the fourth structure comprises a tongue-receiving groove on the other one of the base and the cage.

9. A force-diverting tail light guard as claimed in claim 1 wherein the fastening means comprises screws.

10. A force-diverting tail light guard as claimed in claim 9 wherein at least some of the screws extend through the cage, through the tail light, through the base, and into the body of the vehicle.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a force-diverting tail light guard mounted to the back of a Jeep brand off-road vehicle surrounding and protecting a tail light.

(2) FIG. 2 is a perspective exploded view of the force-diverting tail light guard showing its clamshell mating components in relation to a tail light and the vehicle body.

(3) FIG. 3 is a perspective slightly exploded view of the force-diverting tail light guard illustrating better the clamshell mating relationship of the base and the cage.

(4) FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the force-diverting tail light showing the base and the cage completely mated as they are when surrounding a tail light.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(5) Reference will now be made in more detail to the drawing figures, wherein like parts are indicated by like reference numerals throughout the several views.

(6) FIG. 1 illustrates a force-diverting tail light guard 11 covering a tail light 12 on the rear left corner of a vehicle 13. The vehicle 13 may be a Jeep brand vehicle, another brand of off-road vehicle, or any vehicle having tail lights that mount to and project from the surface of the vehicle. The tail light guard 11, which preferably is made of rigid metal, includes a base 14 and a cage 16 that is mounted to the base 14 and extends rearwardly therefrom. The cage 16 is sized and configured to cover the back lens and sides of the tail light 12. Openings are formed in the cage to allow light from the tail light to be visible and, in this embodiment, spaced bars 18 span the openings forming a protective cage. While spaced bars are illustrated in this embodiment, this is, of course, not a limitation of the invention. It will be understood that any configuration of openings and structures that protect the tail light while allowing its light to be visible might be selected with substantially equivalent results.

(7) FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the force-diverting tail light guard showing better a preferred configuration of its components. The base 14 is configured with a base plate 20 having an opening 24 formed therein. The opening 24 may correspond in size and shape roughly to the size and shape of the opening 30 formed in the vehicle body. Both openings accommodate connectors and wiring (not shown) that attach the tail light 12 to the electrical system of the vehicle. A rim 23 projects from the base plate 20 around the peripheral edges of the base plate. In the illustrated embodiment, screw bosses 22 project rearwardly from the corner sections of the base plate. The screw bosses on the right in FIG. 2 have holes that align with the mounting holes 29 formed in the tail light 12. The screw bosses on the left in FIG. 2 are threaded or otherwise configured to receive mounting screws, as described in more detail below.

(8) The tail light 12 in this embodiment comprises a casing 26 for containing light bulbs, LED lights, or other light sources. The back surface of the tail light is defined by one or more lenses 27 that allow light from the light source to be visible when, for instance, a driver depresses the brake pedal or turns on the vehicle's lights. A side marker lens 27 is disposed on the outside-facing side of the tail light 12 to allow the vehicle to be seen from the side. In the illustrated embodiment, four mounting screw holes 29 are formed at respective corners of the tail light 12. Normally, these receive screws used to mount the tail light to the body of the vehicle 13 and/or to fasten sections of the tail light together. These same screw holes 29 are used with the present invention not only to mount the tail light 12 to the vehicle, but also to secure the base 14 and cage 16 of the tail light guard 11 together surrounding the tail light 12 and to secure the tail light guard to the vehicle.

(9) With continuing reference to FIG. 2, the cage 16 of the tail light guard is formed with bars 18 covering an opening 25 on the side-facing surface of the cage 16. Bars 21 cover an opening 19 in the rear-facing surface of the cage 16. The opening 25 allows light from the side marker lens 27 to be seen from the side of the vehicle 13. The opening 19 allows light from the tail light lens 27 to be seen from the rear of the vehicle. In the illustrated embodiment, four screws 31 are sized to extend through screw holes 35 in the corners of the cage 16 and through existing screw holes 29 in the tail light 12.

(10) The pair of screws on the right in FIG. 2 also extend through the holes of the screw bosses 22 on the right in base 14. These screws are threaded into the body of the vehicle to secure the tail light and tail light guard in place. The screws on the left in FIG. 2 thread directly into the left pair of screw bosses 22 of the base 14. With this configuration, the base 14 mounts to the vehicle with clips on the left (not visible) that clip beneath the edge of the opening 30 on the left and screws and the two screws 31 on the right in FIG. 2, which are threaded into the vehicle body. This process also mates the base 14 and cage 16 securely together with the cage surrounding the tail light 12.

(11) FIG. 3 illustrates a preferred configuration of the base 14 and cage 16 facilitating the mating of these components together in clamshell fashion. The base 14 and cage 16 are shown slightly separated as they appear when being brought together around a tail light. The base 14 in this embodiment is formed with an internal groove 34 that extends around the exposed edges of the rim 23. The cage 16 is formed with an internal tongue 33 that extends around the exposed edges of the cage. When the cage 16 and the base 14 are brought together as illustrated by the broken lines, the internal tongue 33 of the cage is received into the internal groove 34 of the base. In this way, the cage and base become very securely joined together so that they essentially become a monolithic structure and the cage 16 cannot slide or move relative to the base 14.

(12) FIG. 4 illustrates the unique way in which the force-diverting tail light guard of this invention protects the tail light in the event of an impact due to flying debris or a collision. More specifically, the tail light guard 11 may be subjected to an external force FE from an event such as a collision or flying debris. With prior art tail light guards, such a force is transferred directly to the structure of the tail light, often resulting in breakage of the tail light and/or rendering the tail light inoperative. In contrast, the tail light guard of this invention at least partially surrounds the tail light 12 at least on its exposed sides and the base rests directly on the body of the vehicle. In this way, the tail light is isolated from the tail light guard.

(13) In the illustrated embodiment, the base plate 20 (FIG. 2) of the base 14 partially underlies the vehicle-facing side of the tail light 12 so that all sides of the tail light structure are at least partially covered. Furthermore, the base plate 20 rests directly on the vehicle body and is interposed between the vehicle-facing side of the tail light 12 and the body of the vehicle. Alternatively, the base might simply rest on the body of the vehicle around the tail light structure without having a base plate that extends beneath the tail light structure. While the former is preferred, the latter is considered equivalent.

(14) With the tail light guard mounted to the vehicle surrounding the tail light as just described, the tail light becomes isolated from the guard and protected from damage by flying debris, impacts, or other forces from external events. More specifically, when an external force FE is imparted to the tail light guard 11, the force FE is spread out through the bars and structure of the guard. In this way, it is diverted from its location of origin outwardly to the sides of the cage 16 as illustrated at 38 in FIG. 4. The spread-out components F of the initial external force FE then transfer through the sides of the cage 16 to the base 14 through the clam-shell joint between the cage 16 and the base 14. As a result of the tongue-and-groove mating of the base 14 and cage 16 at this joint, the force components F are transferred efficiently to the base because the cage 16 is unable to slide or move with respect to the base and the two are essentially monolithic.

(15) From the base 14, the spread-out components F of the external force FE are transferred directly to the body of the vehicle 13 as indicated at F in FIG. 4. It can be seen, then, than no component of the external force FE is transferred to the tail light structure itself. Rather, the force components are diverted around the tail light and transferred directly into the vehicle. If flying debris or an impact is significant enough, the components F of the initial force FE may be sufficient to cause the metal of the vehicle to be deformed beneath the tail light guard. However, by efficiently diverting external forces around the tail light and to the vehicle, the tail light itself is protected and unlikely to be broken or rendered inoperative by the impact. The light continues to function and can be seen by others, thereby enhancing the safety of the vehicle especially in remote off-road environments.

(16) The invention has been described herein in terms of preferred embodiments and methodologies considered by the inventors to represent the best mode of carrying out the invention. However, a wide gamut of additions, deletions, and revisions to the illustrated embodiments may be made by skilled artisans within the scope of the invention. For example, the illustrated bars of the cage are considered effective, but any structure or structures that cover the openings of the cage and protect the tail light may be substituted with equivalent results. Such a structure might include, for example, a mesh or screen material or bars that form a pattern different from the bars of the exemplary embodiment described herein.

(17) The tongue-and-groove configuration that ensures secure clamshell joining of the base and the cage has been found effective, but other structures may be used to align the cage and base and prevent them from moving with respect to each other. For instance, internal tabs, peripheral spikes or detents, serrations, and matching irregularities in the base and cage as well as other structures may perform the same function and obtain the same result as the disclosed tongue-and-groove clamshell mating arrangement.

(18) The illustrated screw-mounting arrangement shown in the illustrated embodiment is particular to a vehicle in which tail lights are mounted from the outside with clips on one side and screws on the other. Tail lights can be mounted in many other ways such as, for example, from the inside of the vehicle body or exclusively with clips that snap together when the tail light is pressed into place. In such instances, the base and cage may be modified to accommodate a different mounting arrangement. For instance, if the tail lights of a particular vehicle mount from inside the vehicle body, then the base of the tail light guard might be modified to accept mounting fasteners from inside the body with the cage then being mounted directly to the base. Accordingly, the present invention is not limited to the mounting structures and mechanisms shown in the exemplary embodiments, but includes all adaptations for various taillight mounting arrangements from vehicle to vehicle. In some instances, it may be advantageous to mount the base directly to the body of the vehicle with adhesive, double-sided tape, or other mechanisms that do not include physical fasteners.

(19) These and other additions, deletions, and modifications, both subtle and gross, might well be made to the example embodiments described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, which is delineated only by the claims.