Spare Tire LED Brake Light Ring for Universal Rim Visibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Off-road vehicles with larger spare tires often obscure traditional auxiliary brake lights, making them less visible and effective, and existing solutions require specific rim designs and rotational alignment, limiting their universality and visibility.
Innovation Solution
A disc-shaped auxiliary brake light with a ring of torch-red LEDs mounted behind the spare tire, featuring a depressed annular groove and elongated mounting holes to accommodate various lug patterns, ensuring universal compatibility and visibility regardless of rim design or orientation, with light portions shining through and reflecting off the rim for enhanced visibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If a traditional auxiliary brake light is mounted atop an arm above the spare tire, then it provides an auxiliary brake light function, but it becomes obscured by larger diameter spare tires and suspension modifications
Solution Approach 1:
The brake light is relocated from a vertical position above the spare tire to a horizontal position behind the spare tire, utilizing the depth dimension. This allows the light to be positioned through the rim openings without being blocked by the tire's outer diameter, resolving the obscuration problem while maintaining visibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting structure uses elongated slots that can accommodate various lug patterns and wheel configurations. The universal mounting holes and slot design allow the same brake light assembly to be installed on different spare tire sizes and rim designs without modification.
2Illumination intensity
If lights are mounted behind the spare tire aligned with rim openings, then visibility is improved, but the solution requires specific rim designs and rotational alignment
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting structure incorporates elongated slots and universal mounting holes that accommodate various lug patterns. This eliminates the need for precise rotational alignment with specific rim spoke patterns, making the solution universally applicable to different wheel designs.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting structure is divided into multiple mounting points with elongated slots, allowing flexible positioning. This segmentation enables the light to be mounted without requiring precise alignment with rim openings, simplifying installation across different wheel designs.
3Illumination intensity
If lights are mounted to shine directly through rim openings, then visibility is enhanced, but the rim becomes hard to see at night
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of uniformly shining light through all rim openings, the design allows light to pass through specific openings while other portions illuminate the area behind the tire. This creates local variation in light distribution, maintaining rim visibility in some areas while providing brake light visibility in others.
Solution Approach 2:
The disc-shaped support structure with its specific geometry acts as an intermediary that distributes light in multiple directions. It allows some light to pass through rim openings while redirecting other light to illuminate the area behind the tire, thus serving both visibility functions simultaneously.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a highly distinctive and attention-grabbing light display that silhouettes the rim, improving visibility and reducing the risk of rear-end collisions by being universally mountable and effective across different wheel designs and vehicle heights.
Implementation Method 1
A substantially continuous ring of torch-red lights, preferably in the form of side-by-side LEDs, is captured within the depressed race and the lights are oriented to project their light rearwardly.
Implementation Method 2
with light portions shining through and reflecting off the rim for enhanced visibility
Data Source
AI summary
An auxiliary spare tire brake light is provided for a vehicle having a spare tire with a rim that has spokes and openings and that is secured on lugs at the back of the vehicle. The auxiliary spare tire brake light includes a support disc having a central portion and a peripheral portion. An array of openings is formed in the central portion of the support disc and the openings are positioned to fit over the lugs at the back of the vehicle for positioning the support on the lugs behind the rim of the spare tire. An annular race extends around the peripheral portion of the support and a plurality of lights in the form of LEDs is disposed in the race. The LEDs are arrayed in a closely spaced substantially continuous array around the support to form a ring of LEDs. A wire and electrical connector electrically connect the plurality of LEDs to the brake circuitry of the vehicle so that the LEDs are illuminated when the vehicle's brake pedal is depressed, A first portion of the ring of LEDs align with and project light directly through the openings in the rim of the spare tire to be seen from behind as an indication that the vehicle is braking. A second portion of the ring of LEDs aligns behind the spokes and reflects off of the backs of the spokes to silhouette the rim against the glow of the reflected light.