Hitch-Mounted Auxiliary Light Enclosure for Mud-Proof Attachment
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing auxiliary lighting solutions for vehicles, particularly trucks, are difficult to install without physical alterations, often requiring bolt cuts or insecure mounting methods that can lead to rust and exposure to mud and debris, compromising both installation ease and durability.
Innovation Solution
A sturdy auxiliary light assembly with a hitch tab that fits within the existing hitch receiver without alteration, featuring an elongated enclosure with cutouts for encapsulating lights, a mounting tab, and a saddle-shaped assembly with wing posts for secure attachment, ensuring protection from the elements and aesthetic appeal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If auxiliary lighting is installed by physically altering the vehicle (bolts or holes in bumper or hitch), then the lighting can be securely attached, but the vehicle value decreases and rust forms along uncoated holes and cut sections
Solution Approach 1:
The auxiliary lighting assembly is nested within the existing hitch receiver opening without requiring any physical alteration to the vehicle. The hitch tab fits inside the receiver tube, allowing the lighting assembly to be housed within the existing structure, thus avoiding cuts and holes that would compromise the vehicle's value and corrosion resistance while maintaining secure attachment
Solution Approach 2:
The hitch tab acts as an intermediary component that mediates between the auxiliary lighting assembly and the hitch receiver. It provides a secure mounting interface within the receiver opening without requiring modification to either the lighting assembly or the vehicle's hitch, thereby maintaining vehicle integrity while enabling secure lighting attachment
2Reliability
If alternative mounting options are used that do not physically alter the vehicle, then the vehicle value and corrosion resistance are preserved, but the lighting attachment becomes insecure and aesthetically unpleasing
Solution Approach 1:
The hitch tab is designed to fit within the existing hitch receiver opening, nesting the lighting assembly within the vehicle's existing structure. This provides secure attachment through proper mechanical engagement while maintaining the vehicle's original appearance and avoiding insecure dangling configurations
Solution Approach 2:
The hitch tab is specifically dimensioned and shaped to match the local geometry of the hitch receiver opening, providing optimized mechanical engagement at the attachment interface. This localized customization ensures secure attachment without requiring global modifications to the vehicle structure
3Ease of manufacture
If other devices are used that do not encapsulate the lighting, then the installation is simpler, but the lighting becomes vulnerable to mud and debris from daily driving
Solution Approach 1:
The enclosure acts as a protective shell that encapsulates the auxiliary lighting assembly, shielding it from mud, debris, and other environmental contaminants encountered during daily driving. The enclosure maintains a streamlined profile that does not significantly increase complexity while providing comprehensive protection
4Object-affected harmful factors
If an enclosure is added to encapsulate the lighting, then protection from mud and debris is provided, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The enclosure is merged with the hitch tab and mounting structure into a single integrated assembly. This combination provides protection from environmental contaminants while avoiding the complexity of separate enclosure and mounting components, as the structural elements serve dual functions of attachment and protection
Data Source
AI summary
A method, device, and system embodying an auxiliary light assembly for providing auxiliary rear lighting for vehicles having standard hitches. The auxiliary light assembly may include an enclosure adapted to operatively associate with, by way of a hitch tab, the hitch receiver of a standard hitch so that the auxiliary light assembly can be attached to the vehicle without altering the vehicle. Adjacent to the hitch tab a mounting tab may be provided along the exterior of the main body of the auxiliary light assembly. The enclosure encapsulates one or more lighting units, thereby protecting them from debris and mud as well as forming a secure connection between the one or more lighting units and the standard hitch.