Steering Arm Light Bracket for Rotating Illumination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Most vehicles lack aftermarket solutions that allow standard lights to turn with the wheels, leading to nighttime visibility issues.
Innovation Solution
A bracket designed to mount a light to a steering arm on an axle, featuring various forms such as a Z-shaped bracket, mounting perch integrated into the steering arm, or a weld-on plate, enabling the light to rotate with the steering wheel.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If standard lights are used in vehicles, then the vehicle structure remains simple and cost-effective, but nighttime visibility is insufficient when wheels turn
Solution Approach 1:
The light mounting system is segmented into separate functional components: a bracket body, a bracket orifice for light attachment, and a steering arm interface. This segmentation allows the lighting function to be added independently without redesigning the entire vehicle structure, thereby improving nighttime visibility while maintaining overall system simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The bracket acts as an intermediary component between the steering arm and the light pod. It provides a mounting interface that couples the light to the rotating steering arm, enabling the light to turn with the wheels. This intermediary solution adds visibility functionality without requiring complex integration into the vehicle's existing lighting system.
2Illumination intensity
If lights are mounted to turn with wheels, then nighttime visibility is enhanced, but the mounting structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The bracket is designed with multi-functionality to reduce structural complexity. The same bracket body provides both the steering arm mounting interface and the light pod attachment point through its orifice. This universal design allows a single component to fulfill multiple functions, enhancing visibility without proportionally increasing structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of integrating the light directly into the steering arm or creating a complex mechanical coupling system, the invention inverts the approach by using a simple bracket with an orifice that accommodates the light pod fastener. This inverted design simplifies the mounting structure while achieving the desired light rotation with the wheels.
3Ease of operation
If a bracket is designed to accommodate light pod fastener, then light mounting becomes easier, but the bracket design requires precise dimensional matching
Solution Approach 1:
The bracket orifice is designed with specific dimensional parameters that match the light pod fastener. By carefully controlling the orifice dimensions (diameter, position, tolerance), the design achieves easy light mounting through straightforward fastener insertion while maintaining the necessary manufacturing precision only in the critical orifice area, not throughout the entire bracket.
Solution Approach 2:
The bracket exhibits local quality by concentrating precision requirements specifically at the bracket orifice location where it interfaces with the light pod fastener. The rest of the bracket structure can be manufactured with standard tolerances. This localized precision approach enables easy light mounting without requiring high precision across the entire bracket, balancing ease of operation with manufacturability.
Data Source
AI summary
A light mount for mounting a light to a steering arm on an axle may include a bracket designed to attach to the steering arm; and a bracket orifice extending through a portion of the bracket, the bracket orifice sized to accommodate a light pod fastener extending from a light pod, wherein the bracket and, thus, the light pod rotate with rotation of the steering arm. The bracket may have various forms and may be a Z-shaped bracket, a mounting perch integrated into the structure of a steering arm, or a mounting plate designed to be attached to an existing steering arm.