High=set automobile brake light, doubling as boot light

The invention relates to signaling lights for motor vehicles, in particular to raised additional signaling lights located at the rear of vehicles.

In order to improve safety, in particular in the case of movement in tight file, motor vehicles are equipped with an additional signal light located at a higher level than the lights usually arranged in the lower part of the bodywork. This additional light serves, essentially, as a brake indication reminder.

It is known practice to arrange such a type of light inside the vehicle, just behind the lower part of the rear window or in the immediate vicinity thereof, that is to say above the rear trunk.

In addition, motor vehicles generally include a device for lighting said trunk, most often consisting of a lamp placed in the interior space thereof and controlled by a switch when the shutter is opened. closing.

This boot lighting device is therefore independent of the power supply circuit for the signaling lights located at the rear of the vehicle. It requires a lamp and additional wiring.

The object of the invention is to avoid these drawbacks by proposing an arrangement of an additional signaling light allowing the latter, in addition to its main function, to illuminate the internal space of the rear trunk of the vehicle.

To do this, the invention relates to an arrangement of a motor vehicle signaling light, in particular of an additional braking indicator, of the type comprising a housing containing at least one lighting lamp and a transparent wall through which is directed its light beam in the direction of the rear of the vehicle, said housing being mounted adjacent to the rear window of said vehicle and to the rear trunk closed by a shutter.

According to the invention, the base of the box has an opening, placing the interior of said box and the box in communication and in front of which debates a partition composed of an opaque zone and a transparent and / or translucent zone, said partition. being movable in rotation with the trunk flap, so that the opening of the box is masked by its opaque zone, in the closed position of the trunk flap, and by its transparent zone, when the flap is in the open position, to reflect the light beam from the headlight bulb into the interior of the boot.

According to additional characteristics or variants of the invention:

S The transparent fire wall is mounted in the boot flap.

V As a variant, the transparent wall coincides with the rear window of the vehicle.

V The movable partition is integral and / or formed with the transparent wall of the light.

S As a variant, the movable partition is integral with the boot flap.

Each of the opaque and transparent zones of the movable partition 25 has a width at least equal to the width of the opening in the base of the housing.

S The internal edge of the opening is folded back to come into contact with the partition.

S The free edge of the movable partition is raised towards the base of the housing.

S The light is electrically connected to the output of a switch, controlled by the trunk opening, which has two input terminals connected to the positive terminal of the vehicle power source, one via from the brake pedal switch and the other directly.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will become apparent on reading the detailed description which follows, for the understanding of which reference is made to the appended drawings, in which:

♦ Figure 1 is a rear partial longitudinal sectional view, trunk closed, of a motor vehicle comprising a signal light according to the present invention.

♦ Figure 2 is a view identical to the previous one, the trunk of the vehicle being open.

♦ Figure 3 is a view on a larger scale of the circled part A of figure 1.

♦ Figure 4 is a view on a larger scale of the circled part B of Figure 2.

♦ Figure 5 is a diagram of the electric control circuit of a fire according to the invention.

Referring to the figures, we see a signal light 10 arranged below the rear window 12 of a motor vehicle. This light is arranged symmetrically with respect to the plane of symmetry passing through the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, behind the body panel 14 forming the closing flap of the trunk 16 of the vehicle.

It is oriented so as to emit a parallel beam of light in the direction of the rear, that is to say, in the direction of a transparent or translucent wall 18 fixed in the wall of the shutter 14.

The light 10 comprises a housing 20 on the rear wall 22 of which is mounted at least one lamp 26. It is provided with a tab 28 by means of which it is fixed to a vertical wall 30 of the box 16.

The light 10 is thus arranged below the rear panel 32 which delimits, upwards, the interior space of the rear trunk 16 of the vehicle and, consequently, in the interior space of said trunk. -This is delimited, moreover, outwardly, by the beltline 34 on which bears its closing flap 14.

The transparent wall 18 through which the luminous flux of the signal light 10 is diffused, is extended, transversely to the axis of the vehicle, by a partition 36. This partition is integral with the lower part of the wall 18 and extends into direction of the box 20, and therefore of the interior of the box so as to extend below and beyond said box.

The partition 36 is composed of two zones, an opaque zone 38, adjacent to the transparent wall 18 of the light, followed by a transparent or translucent zone 40.

As can be seen clearly in FIG. 3, the base 23 of the housing 20, adjacent to the partition 36, has an opening 42 of width d which puts, in a way, the interior of the housing in communication with the interior of the safe. . When the shutter is in the closed position, the opaque zone 38 of the partition 36 is located below the opening 42 and its width is at least equal to the width d thereof, so as to constitute a mask which obscures said opening completely towards the interior of the trunk. Thus, the luminous flux is returned only in the direction of the transparent wall 18.

Preferably, the inner edge 44 of the opening 42 is folded back to come into contact with the partition 36, so as to prevent light leaks. Likewise, said partition 36 ends with a raised edge 46 directed towards the base 23.

On the other hand, a switch 48 triggered by the opening of the shutter 14 is placed in the electrical circuit for controlling the brake signal lights (FIG. 5).

This circuit comprises a switch 50, controlled by the movements of the brake pedal, which connects the positive terminal of the battery to the brake signal lights 52, 54, respectively right and left, as well as to one of the terminals d 'entry 48_To switch 48. The output of this switch is connected to the additional brake signal light 10 and it has a second input terminal 48b connected directly to the positive terminal of the battery.

The mechanism operates as will be explained below. When the boot flap 14 is closed (Figures 1 and 3), the switch 48 is in the position shown in solid lines in Figure 5. Contact is established between the additional brake signal light 10 and the brake switch 50 , via terminal 48_To switch. In this way, when said switch 50 is actuated, the light 10 comes on, at the same time as the right 52 and left 54 ​​brake lights. The box 20, completed by the mask 38, returns its luminous flux towards the transparent wall. 18. The light 10 therefore plays the classic role of a brake booster.

When the safe is opened, the flap 14 passes into the position shown in FIG. 2. The partition 36, integral with the transparent wall 18, is therefore movable in rotation with the safe flap. It is driven in the movement of said shutter, relative to the housing 20 which, for its part, remains fixed. Consequently, its transparent rear zone 40 gradually faces the opening 42 (FIGS. 2 and 4). At the end of the travel of the shutter, the raised edge 46 of the partition abuts against the edge 44 of the housing so as to close the latter again.

At the same time, the switch 48 goes into its position, shown in phantom in FIG. 5, in which contact is made between its output, connected to the light 10, and its input 48b connected directly to the positive terminal of the battery. In this way, the light 10, and only it, is activated and its luminous flux is sent, through the transparent zone 40 of the movable partition 36, towards the interior of the safe.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiment described and illustrated.

Thus, for example, the movable partition 36, instead of being secured to the transparent wall of the traffic light, could be secured to the boot flap. In this case, the transparent wall 18 can remain fixed during the movement of the shutter. It can be formed, for example, by part of the rear window.