Taillight assembly

Abstract

A rotatable taillight assembly that allows the taillight to be repositioned to make hazard lights more visible to approaching traffic and/or repositioned to provide light to a rear cargo area or tailgate.

Claims

1. A taillight assembly for a vehicle having a rear cargo area, said taillight assembly comprising: a housing having a substantially L-shaped profile rear surface and a side surface wherein said rear surface faces rearwardly from the vehicle and said side surface is flush with a rear side surface of the vehicle when the housing is in a stowed position on the vehicle; said housing containing a light source for indicating braking, a light source for indicating a hazard, and a light source for indicating reverse; said housing being pivotally coupled to a frame for attachment to the rear of the vehicle; and said housing being pivotally coupled to the frame on an inside edge of the housing to allow the housing to be rotated from the stowed position into a partially open position wherein the rear surface and the side surface of the housing are both facing in a rearward direction or into a fully open position wherein the rear surface and the side surface of the housing are both facing toward a front of the vehicle to illuminate the rear cargo area.

2. The taillight assembly of claim 1 wherein: said housing is coupled to said frame via at least one pivot point.

3. The taillight assembly of claim 1 wherein: said housing is coupled to said frame via at least one hinge.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) In the following detailed description, reference will be made to the attached drawings in which:

(2) FIG. 1A is a rear perspective view of a vehicle having a taillight assembly of the present invention in a partially extended position to increase the visibility of the taillight assembly to approaching vehicles;

(3) FIG. 1B is a top view of a vehicle having a taillight assembly of the present invention in a partially extended position to increase the visibility of the taillight assembly to approaching vehicles;

(4) FIG. 2A is a top view of a vehicle having a taillight assembly of the present invention in a fully extended position to provide light to a rear cargo area of a vehicle;

(5) FIG. 2B is a side perspective view of a vehicle having a taillight assembly of the present invention in a fully extended position to provide light to a rear cargo area of a vehicle;

(6) FIG. 3 is a front view of a rear taillight assembly of the present invention having pivot points; and

(7) FIG. 4 is a front view of a rear taillight assembly of the present invention having pivot points.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(8) For purposes of describing the preferred embodiment, the terminology used in reference to the numbered accessories in the drawings is as follows: 1. taillight assembly, generally 2. vehicle 3. housing 4. light source 4A. brake light 4B. hazard light 4C. reverse light 5. rear fender 6. frame of taillight assembly 7. cargo area 8. rear surface of housing 9. side surface of housing 10. pivot point 10A. top pivot point 10B. bottom pivot point 11. top rear corner of housing 12. bottom rear corner of housing 13. inside edge of housing 14. hinge

(9) With general reference to FIG. 1a, a vehicle 2 having a taillight assembly 1 of the present invention in a partially extended position to increase the visibility of the tailgate assembly 1 and the vehicle 2 is illustrated. The structure of the taillight assembly 1 includes a housing 3, and light sources 4 including at least one brake light 4A, at least one hazard light 4B, and at least one reverse light 4C. The housing 3 is pivotally coupled to the rear fender 5 of the vehicle 2 and or to a frame 6 mounted to the rear fender 5, thereby allowing a user to swing the housing 3 from a stowed position inward toward a cargo area 7 of the vehicle 2, thereby allowing the light sources 4 to be directed toward the rear of the vehicle or toward the cargo area 7 of the vehicle 2, as illustrated in FIG. 2.

(10) The housing 3 may be locked in a stowed position for normal use while driving wherein a rear surface 8 of the taillight assembly 1 is facing rearwardly and a side surface 9 of the taillight assembly 1 being flush with the rear fender 5 of the vehicle 2.

(11) As illustrated in FIG. 3, pivot points 10 may be located on a top rear corner 11 and bottom rear corner 12 of the housing 3 to allow the housing 3 to be rotated from a stowed position into and into a partially extended position or fully extended position. As

(12) As illustrated in FIG. 4, an inside edge 13 of the housing 3 may be attached via one or more hinges 14 to make the housing 3 rotatable in relation to the vehicle 2.

(13) It is to be understood that while a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated, it is not to be limited to the specific form or arrangement of parts herein described and shown. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention and the invention is not to be considered limited to what is shown and described in the specification and drawings.