Portable, Remote-Controlled Searchlight Apparatus

This invention relates to lighting apparatus; and more particularly relates to a novel and improved searchlight which can be removably mounted on a surface, such as, the roof of a motor vehicle and controlled from inside of the vehicle to undergo sweeping movement in both horizontal and vertical directions.

Searchlights of the type that can be mounted on motor vehicles, boats and other installations are in widespread use. Typically, the searchlights are so designed as to permit vertical or horizontal sweeping movement as well as to regulate the intensity or type of light beam. Representative of such apparatus are U.S. Pat. Nos. 29,266 to L. E. Hessemer et al. and 4,930,057 to J. L. Williams. In each, the searchlight apparatus is placed in a housing which has motor-driven gears to regulate horizontal and vertical sweeping movement of the searchlight, and an electrical cable extends from the housing into a remote-control box which can be placed inside of the vehicle to permit the vehicle operator to switch the light on and off as well as to activate and deactivate the drive motors. However, searchlights as disclosed in those patents require permanent mounting or attachment to the exterior of the vehicle and are readily susceptible to damage, for example, from low overhanging branches, vandalism and theft. Moreover, although searchlights are becoming increasingly popular for civilian use, the actual amount of time that they are in operation is limited, and it is therefore desirable that the searchlight can be removably mounted on the vehicle and stowed inside of the vehicle when not in use. Nevertheless, in removably mounting the searchlight on a surface, it is important that the searchlight be securely installed and that the searchlight be capable of traversing greater than 360.degree. since it will not always be aligned in the same orientation with respect to the car or vehicle each time that it is mounted.

Other representative patents are U.S. Patent Nos. 1,637,528 to J. E. Liebrich, No. 3,732,537 to W. D. Freemand, No. 4,157,531 to H. I. Mont, No. 4,722,030 to S. H. Bowden, No. 4,725,238 to B. A. Meyer, No. 4,987,522 to T. Miyano et al, No. 5,034,860 to G. A. Bryant et al, No. 5,070,434 to M. J. Suman et al and No. 5,217,291 to B. A. Meyer.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide for a novel and improved searchlight apparatus.

It is another object of the present invention to provide for a novel and improved searchlight apparatus which can be removably mounted on different surfaces and controlled in operation in a reliable and efficient manner.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide in a searchlight apparatus for a novel and improved mounting base for releasable attachment to different surfaces, including but not limited to the roof of a motor vehicle or a boat deck and be controlled from a location remote from the searchlight apparatus.

In accordance with the present invention, a searchlight apparatus has been devised wherein a lamp unit is mounted in a housing have a motor-driven vertical drive mechanism for tilting the lamp unit in a vertical direction and a motor-driven horizontal drive mechanism for rotating the lamp unit in a horizontal direction through at least 360.degree., the lamp housing including a base support unit and attaching means on the base support unit for releasably attaching the base support unit to a flat surface with the lamp unit being both rotatable and tiltable with respect to the base support unit. The vertical and horizontal drive mechanisms are remote-controlled so that, for example, the lamp housing may be removably positioned on the roof of a vehicle and controlled from inside of the vehicle while the vehicle is in operation.

In one form of the present invention, the attaching means includes a base plate with fasteners for connecting the plate flush with the roof or other surface, the base plate including a shoe with the base support unit inserted into the shoe and a removable stop retains the base support unit in the shoe against accidental displacement or removal. In another form of invention, the attaching means includes a rubber boot on the base support unit and means for drawing the boot into vacuum-tight engagement with the roof or other surface. Most desirably the boot is provided in both forms of the invention so that when the base unit is inserted into the shoe will both cushion any shocks and discourage shifting or movement of the lamp housing with respect to the shoe.

The above and other objects of the present invention will become more readily appreciated and understood from a consideration of the following detailed description of preferred and modified forms of the present invention when taken together with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a somewhat perspective view of a preferred form of invention mounted on the roof of a vehicle;

FIG. 2 is another enlarged perspective view of the preferred form of invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a preferred form of lamp housing in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4 is another cross-sectional view of the preferred form of lamp housing taken at right angles to that of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a somewhat perspective, exploded view of a portion of the horizontal drive mechanism employed in the lamp housing of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of one form of attaching device to a surface; and

FIG. 7 is a somewhat diagrammatic view of a switching circuit to control tilting and rotational movement of the lamp housing.

Referring in detail to the drawings, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 7, a preferred form of searchlight apparatus 10 is broadly comprised of a stream-lined, low profile, housing 12 and a lower base support unit 14 with releasable attachment means 16 on a bottom surface of the base support unit 14. The attachment means 16 serves to releasably mount the apparatus on a substantially flat surface, such as, a roof R of a motor vehicle or on a boat deck.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the upper housing 12 defines a forward enclosure 18 of generally rectangular configuration which slopes rearwardly into a smaller enclosure section 19 for drive motors 20 and 21. For the purpose of illustration but not limitation, one conventional type of drive motor is the Model NF 213G manufactured and sold by Johnson Motor Co. of Taipei, Taiwan and which can be employed as the reversible drive for each of the motors 20 and 21. The enclosure 18 includes a front vertical wall 22 which is recessed to receive a generally rectangular lamp socket 24 for insertion of a sealed, commercially available spotlight B. A cap 28 surrounds the entrance to the socket 24 and engages a flange F on the beam B in a conventional manner to retain the beam B in a secure position within the socket 24.

The socket 24 has a pair of aligned bearings 26 on opposite sides which are journaled in opposite sides of the housing 12 so that the socket is tiltable in a vertical direction about a common horizontal axis through the bearings 26 under the control of a vertical drive mechanism. The vertical drive mechanism includes a rack member 30 extending in a vertical direction along a convex wall 32 of the socket 24. One of the drive motors 20 is mounted on a vertical support plate 34 within the upper housing 12 and includes a pinion gear 35 on an output shaft, not shown, projecting from the motor drive 20 through the support wall 34 to intermeshingly engage the gear 30.

The base support unit 14 is in the form of a hollow, generally rectangular casing including outer peripheral, vertical walls 38 and a top horizontal wall 40 upon which is surmounted an annular gear 42, The gear 42 is provided with gear teeth 43, and an annular groove 44 is dispersed in outer surrounding relation to the gear 42. A radial stop 45 is in the form of an upstanding rib in the groove 44, and a series of bolt holes in the groove are aligned with bores in the top wall 40 to receive fasteners 48 in order to mount the gear 42 in fixed relation to the base support unit 14. In turn, a lower extension wall 46 of the lamp housing 12 surrounds the groove 44 and is provided with bosses 50. The drive motor 21 is mounted on a horizontal support plate 52 which is of semi-circular configuration and provided with spaced bolt holes 54 aligned with the bosses 50 on the inner wall of the lamp housing 12 to receive fasteners 56. A pinion 58 projects downwardly from an output shaft, not shown, on the drive motor 21 through an opening 59 in the support plate 52 for intermeshing engagement with the gear teeth 43. The support plate 52 is journaled with respect to the gear 42 and the top wall of the base, and the upper housing 12 includes a downwardly depending skirt 60 which encircles the upper end of the base 14.

When the pinion 58 is rotated by the drive motor 21, it will cause the entire upper housing 12 to rotate with respect to the base support unit 14. It is highly desirable that the upper housing 12 be free to rotate greater than 360.degree. with respect to the base support unit 14 and, to this end, a follower pin 64 includes an enlarged head 63 which projects downwardly from the upper housing through a circumferential slot 65 in the support plate 52 with the head 63 riding in the annular groove 44. When the drive motor 21 rotates the pinion 58 in one direction around the gear teeth 43, the pin 64 will move into engagement with the stop 45 but the upper housing 12 and attached support plate 52 will be free to continue rotating, since the slot 65 can continue its advancement until the pin 64 reaches the end of the slot 59. Conversely, when the pinion 58 is rotated in the opposite direction, the support plate 52 and upper housing 12 will be free to rotate through substantially 360.degree. until the pin 64 moves into engagement with the opposite side of the stop 45. Once again, however, the slot 65 will permit the support plate 52 and upper housing 12 to continue rotation with respect to the stop member 45 so that the upper housing 12 is free to rotate through greater than 360.degree. in either direction.

A handle in the form of a generally U-shaped bracket 66 has downwardly depending legs 67 and an upper hand grip portion 68. Lower ends of the legs 67 are provided with openings to receive the bearing mounts 69 on opposite sides of the housing 12.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 7, in order to control the drive motors 20 and 21, an electrical control box 72 includes an on/off switch 73 and four-way directional control switch 74 with electrical leads 75 and 76 extending from the control box through a cable 77 into the interior of the base support unit 14. The leads are selectively connected to the drive motors 20, 21 and to the beam B for the purpose of controlling the on/off position of the beam B and directional movement of the upper housing 12. One suitable form of four-way control switch 74 is that illustrated in FIG. 7 in which a power source as represented at 80 is connected into the circuit by plug-in socket 81 with manually controllable switches 82 and 83 connected across the drive motors 20 and 21, respectively. Each of the switches 82 and 83 includes contact arms which are movable under the manual control of the switch control button 74 on the control panel 72 to independently regulate the movement of each of motors 20 and 21. In a motor vehicle application, the plug-in socket 81 may be of a standard type which is connected into the cigar lighter on the automobile to provide the necessary power through the circuit.

In the preferred form of invention, the releasable attachment means 16 takes the form of a suction cup 84 of rubber or rubber-like material. The cup 84 is of generally rectangular configuration having upstanding grooves 85 along its outer peripheral walls which receive lower edges of the peripheral walls 38 of the base support unit 14. A crank 86 includes an intermediate offset portion 87 inserted through a control plate 88 which is anchored as at 89 in the center portion of the boot or suction cup 84. A control knob 90 is keyed to one end of the crank 86, as best seen from FIG. 3, so that manual rotation of the crank via the knob 90 will cause the eccentric or offset portion 87 to rotate upwardly from the position illustrated in FIG. 3, and in so doing will raise the central portion of the suction cup 84 thereby forming a vacuum between the suction cup and the surface with which it is engaged so as to releasably attach the entire assembly to the surface. The assembly or apparatus 10 is easily released by rotating the knob 90 to return the crank to its downwardly directed position thereby releasing the seal or vacuum-tight engagement and permitting the assembly to be removed.

The releasable attachment means 16 as described is merely one form of releasable attachment of the assembly; however, it is of particular utility in that it can also be used in combination with a more permanent form of attachment as illustrated in FIG. 6. Specifically, in FIG. 6, a shoe 92 of generally rectangular configuration includes a substantially flat base plate having a series of bolt holes 93 for permanent connection to a surface to which the searchlight apparatus 10 is to be attached. An upper shelf 94 extends around three sides of the base with an upper generally semi-circular surface portion 95 which defines an open slot or recess as designated at 96 into which the base support unit 14 can be inserted. Specifically, the shoe is dimensioned to provide a slot 96 slightly larger than the width and thickness of the attachment means 16 so as to snugly receive the base support unit 14. A stop element 98 is insertable into a correspondingly shaped opening 99 in the shoe 92 and has opposite ledges 100 movable into snap-fit engagement with correspondingly shaped grooves at opposite ends of the opening 99. The stop element 98 is spring-loaded by a coil spring 102 disposed on an upstanding pin 103 within the opening 99 so as to maintain the stop in snap-fit engagement as described. The stop will abut one edge or side of the base support unit 14 so as to prevent shifting or accidental removal of the searchlight apparatus 10 from the shoe. The releasable attachment means 16 is especially effective when used in combination with the shoe 92 in assuring a tight fit within the shoe and minimizing any shifting or displacement, for example, when the vehicle is in operation. The stop is easily released by depressing slightly and cocking in either direction until the ledges 100 clear the edges of the opening 99.

It will be evident from the foregoing that the shoe 92, as illustrated in FIG. 6, may in itself serve as the releasable attachment means without use of the vacuum cup 16. In this relation, the shoe 92 may be secured to a surface by clamping or a magnetic device instead of the more permanent form of fasteners described. On the other hand, the releasable attachment means 16 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 may be utilized either with or without the shoe 92 in releasably mounting the apparatus 10 on another surface, such as, the roof of a vehicle.

In use, it will be appreciated that the portable searchlight apparatus of the invention is readily conformable for use in a variety of applications. When employed with a motor vehicle, it can be easily attached to the roof by the operator from inside the vehicle simply by placing the base support 14 on the roof and actuating the control knob 90 to draw the suction cup 84 into firm engagement with the roof. The cable 77 extends downwardly through a side window of the car with the control box 72 attached by means of the plug 81 into the cigar lighter. In this way, the operator can control rotation and tilting of the searchlight from the interior of the vehicle. When the searchlight is not in use, it can be easily disengaged as described and stored in the vehicle or trunk of the vehicle. In those applications where it is not necessary or desirable to constantly install and store the searchlight, the more permanent form of attachment as shown in FIG. 6 can be utilized.

It is therefore to be understood that the above and other modifications and changes may be made in the forms of invention herein described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims and reasonable equivalents thereof.