The present invention generally relates to step assemblies of a vehicle, and more particularly, to step assemblies capable of illuminating.
Vehicles having high clearance often feature step assemblies to assist a user in reaching various areas. A step assembly is provided herein for assisting a user in accessing a truck bed and includes a box step that is capable of illuminating to provide functional lighting as well as impart a stylistic element to the vehicle.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a step assembly of a vehicle is provided. The step assembly includes a box step having a release button that illuminates and a drive mechanism configured to move the step pad from a stowed position to a deployed position when the release button is pressed.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a step assembly of a vehicle is provided. The step assembly includes a box step having a release button that luminesces in response to excitation light and a drive mechanism configured to move the step pad from a stowed position to a deployed position when the release button is pressed.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a step assembly of a vehicle is provided. The step assembly includes a box step having a release button that luminesces in response to excitation light and continues to luminesce for a period of time after the excitation light ceases to be provided. A drive mechanism is configured to move the step pad from a stowed position to a deployed position when the release button is pressed.
These and other aspects, objects, and features of the present invention will be understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art upon studying the following specification, claims, and appended drawings.
In the drawings:
As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein. However, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to a detailed design and some schematics may be exaggerated or minimized to show function overview. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention.
As used herein, the term “and/or,” when used in a list of two or more items, means that any one of the listed items can be employed by itself, or any combination of two or more of the listed items can be employed. For example, if a composition is described as containing components A, B, and/or C, the composition can contain A alone; B alone; C alone; A and B in combination; A and C in combination; B and C in combination; or A, B, and C in combination.
Referring to
In the depicted embodiment, the step assembly 10 is generally shown disposed between a retractable running board 22 and a truck bed 24 of the vehicle 12. By virtue of its placement on the vehicle 12, a user may more easily access areas of the truck bed 24 that are directly behind a cabin 26 of the vehicle 12 without having to climb into the truck bed 24 from a ground level. This is accomplished by deploying the box step 14 to the deployed position and stepping on a step pad 28 of the box step 14 to gain additional clearance into the truck bed 24. The step pad 28 is generally planar and defines a top surface of the box step 14. The step pad 28 may include one or more longitudinal grooves 30 therein to provide traction for a user standing thereon.
According to one embodiment, the box step 14 may be deployed from the stowed position by pressing a release button 32 provided centrally on an outer side 34 of the box step 14 that is distal to the vehicle 12. Given its proximity to the ground level, a user may use his or her foot to press the release button 32. In doing so, the arms 18, 20 may become unlatched, thereby causing the box step 14 to move to the deployed position. To return the box step 14 to the stowed position, the user may use his or her foot to push the box step 14 toward the vehicle 12 until the arms 18, 20 become latched to secure the box step 14 in the stowed position. For example, the user may use his or her foot to push against points 36 or 38 on the outer side 34 of the box step 14 in order to return the box step 14 to the stowed position. In such a configuration, the arms 18, 20 may be biased to the deployed position when unlatched to ensure that the box step 14 is sufficiently stable for a user standing thereon. As such, a requisite amount of force may be needed to return the step box 14 to the stowed position. Accordingly, it should be apparent that the drive mechanism 16 may be entirely mechanical in nature such that movement of the arms 18, 20 is restricted until the arms 18, 20 become unlatched by pressing the release button 32. However, it is contemplated that the drive mechanism 16 may be electromechanical in nature such that the pressing of the release button 32 causes an actuator (e.g., a motor) to move the arms accordingly. The actuator may also be responsible for returning the box step 14 to the stowed position. Thus, it is to be understood that the above-described means of actuating the arms 18, 20 are exemplary in purpose and those skilled in the art will recognize a multitude of ways in which to deploy and return the box step 14 once the release button 32 is pressed. In assembly, the box step 14 may be primarily constructed from metal or a metal alloy (e.g., steel). The step pad 28 may be constructed from a black ultraviolet (UV) stable plastic. The release button 32 may be molded from a polymer such as an impact modified UV stable polycarbonate.
Referring to
As defined herein, long-persistence phosphors are generally able to store excitation light and release light gradually, for a period of several minutes or hours, once the excitation light ceases to be provided. The decay time may be defined as the time between the end of excitation and the moment when the light intensity of the release button 32 drops below a minimum visibility of 0.32 mcd/m2. A visibility of 0.32 mcd/m2 is roughly 100 times the sensitivity of the dark-adapted human eye, which corresponds to a base level of illumination commonly used by persons of ordinary skill in the art. Based on the availability of excitation light, it may be possible for the release button 32 to luminesce at or above an intensity of 0.32 mcd/m2 after being exposed to the excitation light for a period of 30 minutes, after which the long-persistent phosphors 44 will glow intensely for one or more hours and continue to emit a perceptible glow for upwards of 24 hours or more.
The long-persistence phosphors 44 may correspond to alkaline earth aluminates and silicates, for example doped di-silicates, or any other compound that is capable of emitting light for a period of time once excitation light is no longer present. The long-persistence phosphors 44 may be doped with one or more ions, which may correspond to rare earth elements, for example, Eu2+, Tb3+ and/or Dy3. According to one embodiment, the long-persistence phosphors 44 may range from 10% to about 15% and the release button 32 may also include variable amounts of stabilizing and performance-enhancing additives based on the weight of the formulation.
In operation, the long-persistence phosphors 44 may be formulated to convert sunlight 40 (i.e., UV light) into visible light found in a conventional RGB color scale, including white light. Additionally or alternatively, the long-persistence phosphors 44 may be formulated to convert various colored light supplied by LED(s) 42 into visible light. Thus, it is to be understood that any long-persistence phosphor known in the art may be utilized without departing from the teachings provided herein. Moreover, it is contemplated that other phosphors, which do not necessarily exhibit long-persistence qualities, may also be utilized without departing from the teachings provided herein.
Additional information regarding the production of long-persistence photoluminescent structures is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,163,201 to Agrawal et al., entitled “HIGH-INTENSITY, PERSISTENT PHOTOLUMINESCENT FORMULATIONS AND OBJECTS, AND METHODS FOR CREATING THE SAME,” issued Apr. 24, 2012; U.S. Pat. No. 6,953,536 to Yen et al., entitled “LONG PERSISTENT PHOSPHORS AND PERSISTENT ENERGY TRANSFER TECHNIQUE,” issued Oct. 11, 2005; U.S. Pat. No. 6,117,362 to Yen et al., entitled “LONG-PERSISTENCE BLUE PHOSPHORS,” issued Sep. 12, 2000; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,952,341 to Kingsley et al., entitled “LOW RARE EARTH MINERAL PHOTOLUMINESCENT COMPOSITIONS AND STRUCTURES FOR GENERATING LONG-PERSISTENCE LUMINESCENCE,” issued Feb. 10, 2015, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
For the purposes of describing and defining the present teachings, it is noted that the terms “substantially” and “approximately” are utilized herein to represent the inherent degree of uncertainty that may be attributed to any quantitative comparison, value, measurement, or other representation. The term “substantially” and “approximately” are also utilized herein to represent the degree by which a quantitative representation may vary from a stated reference without resulting in a change in the basic function of the subject matter at issue.
It is to be understood that variations and modifications can be made on the aforementioned structure without departing from the concepts of the present invention, and further it is to be understood that such concepts are intended to be covered by the following claims unless these claims by their language expressly state otherwise.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
5655826 | Kouno et al. | Aug 1997 | A |
5709453 | Krent et al. | Jan 1998 | A |
6367940 | Parker et al. | Apr 2002 | B1 |
6375864 | Phillips et al. | Apr 2002 | B1 |
6604834 | Kalana | Aug 2003 | B2 |
6729738 | Fuwausa et al. | May 2004 | B2 |
6773129 | Anderson, Jr. et al. | Aug 2004 | B2 |
6851840 | Ramamurthy et al. | Feb 2005 | B2 |
6871986 | Yamanaka et al. | Mar 2005 | B2 |
6990922 | Ichikawa et al. | Jan 2006 | B2 |
7213923 | Liu et al. | May 2007 | B2 |
7264366 | Hulse | Sep 2007 | B2 |
7264367 | Hulse | Sep 2007 | B2 |
7441914 | Palmer et al. | Oct 2008 | B2 |
7745818 | Sofue et al. | Jun 2010 | B2 |
7753541 | Chen et al. | Jul 2010 | B2 |
7834548 | Jousse et al. | Nov 2010 | B2 |
7862220 | Cannon et al. | Jan 2011 | B2 |
7987030 | Flores et al. | Jul 2011 | B2 |
8016465 | Egerer et al. | Sep 2011 | B2 |
8071988 | Lee et al. | Dec 2011 | B2 |
8203260 | Li et al. | Jun 2012 | B2 |
8286378 | Martin et al. | Oct 2012 | B2 |
8408766 | Wilson et al. | Apr 2013 | B2 |
8421811 | Odland et al. | Apr 2013 | B2 |
8466438 | Lambert et al. | Jun 2013 | B2 |
8519362 | Labrot et al. | Aug 2013 | B2 |
8606430 | Seder et al. | Dec 2013 | B2 |
8624716 | Englander | Jan 2014 | B2 |
8631598 | Li et al. | Jan 2014 | B2 |
8683722 | Cowan | Apr 2014 | B1 |
8724054 | Jones | May 2014 | B2 |
8773012 | Ryu et al. | Jul 2014 | B2 |
9315145 | Salter | Apr 2016 | B2 |
20020159741 | Graves et al. | Oct 2002 | A1 |
20020163792 | Formoso | Nov 2002 | A1 |
20030179548 | Becker et al. | Sep 2003 | A1 |
20040213088 | Fuwausa | Oct 2004 | A1 |
20060087826 | Anderson, Jr. | Apr 2006 | A1 |
20060214386 | Watson | Sep 2006 | A1 |
20060267308 | Decker, Jr. et al. | Nov 2006 | A1 |
20070032319 | Tufte | Feb 2007 | A1 |
20070069497 | Watson | Mar 2007 | A1 |
20070176389 | VanBelle | Aug 2007 | A1 |
20070278760 | VanBelle | Dec 2007 | A1 |
20070285938 | Palmer et al. | Dec 2007 | A1 |
20090219730 | Syfert et al. | Sep 2009 | A1 |
20090251920 | Kino et al. | Oct 2009 | A1 |
20120001406 | Paxton et al. | Jan 2012 | A1 |
20120280528 | Dellock et al. | Nov 2012 | A1 |
20130130674 | De Wind | May 2013 | A1 |
20130335994 | Mulder et al. | Dec 2013 | A1 |
20140266666 | Habibi | Sep 2014 | A1 |
20140373898 | Rogers et al. | Dec 2014 | A1 |
20150046027 | Sura et al. | Feb 2015 | A1 |
20150291086 | Salter et al. | Oct 2015 | A1 |
20160016506 | Collins et al. | Jan 2016 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
101337492 | Jan 2009 | CN |
201169230 | Feb 2009 | CN |
201193011 | Feb 2009 | CN |
29708699 | Jul 1997 | DE |
10319396 | Nov 2004 | DE |
1793261 | Jun 2007 | EP |
2778209 | Sep 2014 | EP |
2000159011 | Jun 2000 | JP |
2007238063 | Sep 2007 | JP |
2006047306 | May 2006 | WO |
2014068440 | May 2014 | WO |