NEW WHELEN ENGINEERING SPOTLIGHT PATENT REVIEW-WHAT IS COMING?

United States Patent 12181136 Date of Patent: December 31, 2024

Abstract A directionally manipulatable view enhancement apparatus including a fixed base, a rotatable support supported on the fixed base and rotatable about a pan axis, a yoke disposed on and pivotable with respect to the rotatable support about a tilt axis substantially perpendicular to the pan axis, a pan motor that rotates the rotatable support and yoke about the pan axis, a tilt motor that rotates the yoke about the tilt axis, and a first clutch between the rotatable support and the pan motor permitting the rotatable support to rotate relative to the fixed base independently of the pan motor or a second clutch between the yoke and the tilt motor allowing the yoke to rotate relative to the rotatable support independently of the tilt motor. The yoke retains an electrical component and the pan motor and tilt motor are in electrical communication with a controller remote from the fixed base.

Background/Summary
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS (1) This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/700,292, filed Mar. 21, 2022, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/237,226, filed Apr. 22, 2021 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 11,280,482 on Mar. 22, 2022, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/990,725, filed Aug. 11, 2020 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 11,168,874 on Nov. 9, 2021, which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/430,867, filed Jun. 4, 2019 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,775,029 on Sep. 15, 2020; which claims the benefit of priority U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/734,480 filed Sep. 21, 2018 expired, which claims the benefit of priority U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/680,701 filed Jun. 5, 2018 expired; all applications referenced are incorporated in their entireties herein for all purposes.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
(1) The invention relates to spotlights for vehicles and other applications, and more specifically to a systems and methods for controlling spotlights and spotlights and controllers employing the same.

BACKGROUND
(2) Many emergency vehicles are equipped with lights that project illumination in a fixed direction, for example, forward of the vehicle, or to the sides of the vehicle. For greatest effectiveness, it is helpful for the first responder to have a source of illumination, such as a spotlight that can be moved to direct light in a desired direction. To be effective, the spotlight must be movable over a wide range of trajectories about a horizontal axis and a vertical axis.

(3) In the past, police and other emergency vehicles have been equipped with spotlights that are directed by means of a mechanism that is installed through a hole in the “A” pillar, a structural member of the vehicle in front of the driver's door and at the left edge of the windshield. Another “A” pillar is located in front of the passenger door at the right edge of the windshield. In older model vehicles, the “A” pillar was a relatively large member formed from mild steel. The required hole was formed using a drill, and the effect on the structural integrity of the “A” pillar was not a large concern.

(4) FIGS. 1-3 represent the functionality of a prior art mechanical control for a spotlight 2. The mechanism to control the spotlight employs an L-shaped handle on the inside of the vehicle. Mechanical force is transmitted from the L-shaped handle mechanism to the spotlight 2 by two concentric shafts 3, 4 that pass through an opening in the “A” pillar. The outer shaft 3 is coupled to the entire handle mechanism, while the inner shaft 4 is coupled to the grip portion 5 only. Application of lateral forces to the grip 5 rotates the entire handle, outer shaft 3 and inner shaft 4, which moves the spotlight 2 over an arc 6 as shown in FIG. 1. The inner shaft 4 is coupled to the grip 5 and to the spotlight 2 by beveled gears so that rotation of the grip 5 about its own axis applies rotational force to the inner shaft 4 and rotates the spotlight 2 about an axis parallel with the grip axis.
Claims
1. A directionally manipulatable device, comprising: a housing having a hub, the hub defining a first control axis; a fixed base configured to mate with the housing, the housing rotatable 360 degrees relative to the fixed base about a second control axis perpendicular to the first control axis; a handle configured to engage the hub and pivot about the first control axis; and wherein the directionally manipulatable device detects a position of the housing relative to the fixed base and a position of the handle relative to the housing, generates a housing position signal based on the position of the housing relative to the fixed base and a handle position signal based on the position of the handle relative to the housing, receives the housing position signal and the handle position signal, and generates directionally manipulatable device control signals based on the housing position signal and the handle position signal.

2. The directionally manipulatable device of claim 1, further comprising: a controller PC board mounted to the housing, the controller PC board comprising a microcontroller configured to receive the housing position signal and the handle position signal.

3. The directionally manipulatable device of claim 2, further comprising: a housing sensor arranged to detect the position of the housing relative to the fixed base and generate the housing position signal.

4. The directionally manipulatable device of claim 3, further comprising: a handle sensor arranged to detect the position of the handle relative to the housing and generate the handle position signal.

5. The directionally manipulatable device of claim 4, wherein the housing sensor and the handle sensor are mounted to the controller PC board.

6. The directionally manipulatable device of claim 2, wherein the controller PC board rotates with the housing.

7. The directionally manipulatable device of claim 6, further comprising: a slip ring comprising a fixed part with a first plurality of conductors secured to the fixed base, and a moving part comprising a second plurality of conductors mounted to the controller PC board; and wherein the moving part and the second plurality of conductors rotate with the housing and controller PC board, with the slip ring maintaining electrical continuity between the first plurality of conductors and the second plurality of conductors during movement of the housing relative to the fixed base.

8. The directionally manipulatable device of claim 1, wherein a lip projects radially away from a periphery of the housing and a plurality of tongues project radially inwardly over the lip to prevent axial movement of the housing away from the fixed base while permitting rotation of the housing relative to the base.

9. The directionally manipulatable device of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises a lip and the fixed base comprises a plurality of tongues that mate with the lip to retain the housing to the fixed base.

10. The directionally manipulatable device of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises a circular lip and the fixed base comprises a plurality of tongues and arcuate wall segments that define a circle surrounding the lip, the tongues mate with the lip to retain the housing to the fixed base.

11. The directionally manipulatable device of claim 1, wherein the housing is generally circular, the handle and hub are arranged on a diameter dividing the housing into a front and a rear, the handle and housing being visually similar when viewed from the front or the rear, the controller comprising a visual indicator to distinguish the front of the housing from the rear of the housing.

12. The directionally manipulatable device of claim 11, wherein the visual indicator is a light pipe penetrating the housing to conduct light from one or more LEDs within the housing to an exterior of the housing.

13. The directionally manipulatable device of claim 1, further comprising: a frictional engagement of the handle on the housing and a frictional engagement of the housing relative to the base, wherein the frictional engagements maintain the handle and the housing in a user-selected position until forces are applied to the handle or the housing sufficient to overcome the frictional engagements.

14. The directionally manipulatable device of claim 1, wherein movement of the housing about the second control axis generates a directionally manipulatable device control signal corresponding to movement of a directionally manipulatable device about a directionally manipulatable device pan axis and movement of the handle about the first control axis generates a directionally manipulatable device control signal corresponding to movement of a directionally manipulatable device about a directionally manipulatable device tilt axis.

15. The directionally manipulatable device of claim 14, wherein the directionally manipulatable device control signals are generated according to a programmable transfer function, the transfer function determining the relationship between a control signal and a control assembly position corresponding to the housing position signal and the handle position signal.

16. A directionally manipulatable device, comprising: a housing having a first control axis; a fixed base configured to mate with the housing, the housing rotatable relative to the fixed base about a second control axis substantially perpendicular to the first control axis; a handle configured to engage the housing and pivot about the first control axis; and wherein the directionally manipulatable device detects a position of the housing relative to the fixed base and a position of the handle relative to the housing, generates a housing position signal based on the position of the housing relative to the fixed base and a handle position signal based on the position of the handle relative to the housing, receives the housing position signal and the handle position signal, and generates directionally manipulatable device control signals based on the housing position signal and the handle position signal.

17. The directionally manipulatable device of claim 16, wherein the directionally manipulatable device control signals are transmitted to the directionally manipulatable device via a wired or wireless connection.

18. The directionally manipulatable device of claim 17, wherein rotation of the handle about the first control axis rotates the directionally manipulatable device about a directionally manipulatable device tilt axis in a one-to-one correspondence, and rotation of the housing about the second control axis rotates the directionally manipulatable device about a directionally manipulatable device pan axis in a one-to-one correspondence.

19. The directionally manipulatable device of claim 16, wherein the housing is rotatable 360 degrees relative to the fixed base about the second control axis.

20. The directionally manipulatable device of claim 16, wherein the handle is pivotable at least 90 degrees about the first control axis.