Swing-away taillight assembly

Claim 2

A taillight assembly for use in a vehicle cap comprising a housing movably mounted to the vehicle cap door and having a pair of lights including a brake light and a viewing light; said housing being adjustable to one position where the brake light when said cap door is closed shines rearwardly from the vehicle and said viewing light faces upwardly toward the ceiling and not forwardly of the vehicle; said housing being adjustable to said second position when the cap door is closed in which said second position the viewing light faces rearwardly of said cap door and projects light forwardly of said vehicle into the interior of said cap.

Claim 3

The taillight assembly of claim 1 in which said housing is movably attachable to a rear door of the vehicle, such that in said first position when said door is open said viewing light is oriented to illuminate the open doorway of the vehicle, and in said second position when said door is open said viewing light is oriented to illuminate an area outside of the vehicle.

Claim 4

The taillight assembly of claim 2 in which said housing in said second position is positioned upwardly of its position in said first position, whereby a greater vertical head space is thereby provided for loading an item into the vehicle through the rear door.

Claim 5

The taillight assembly of claim 2 in which said movable attachment of the housing to the door includes a mounting structure fixedly attachable to the rear door of the vehicle, and in which said housing is releasably locked alternatively into said positions through a detent locking mechanism operably acting between said mounting structure and said housing.

Claim 6

The taillight assembly of claim 4 in which said detent locking mechanism includes a spring biased peg movably attached to one of said housing and said mounting structure, and a pair of depressions, adapted to receive said peg when aligned therewith, formed in the other of said housing and said mounting structure.

Claim 7

The taillight assembly of claim 5 further including at least one mounting flange, fixed to said mounting structure, having a pair of orthogonal portions each with an aperture therethrough, whereby said taillight assembly is adapted to mount to either type of two conventional rear doors of a pickup truck cover.

Claim 8

The taillight assembly of claim 5 further including a light module releasably attached to said housing and having a pair of light bulbs which are received within said housing such that one said bulb acts as the brake light and the other said bulb acts as the viewing light.

Claim 9

The taillight assembly of claim 7 in which said housing further includes a hollow shell divided along its midsection by an interior wall into two separate pockets and a pair of openings in said housing, wherein one said opening provides access to one of said pockets and said other opening provides access to the other of said pockets, wherein said light module releasably attaches to said housing such that said one light bulb is passed through one opening and into one said pocket to form said brake light and said other light bulb is passed through said other opening and into said other pocket to form said viewing light.

Claim 10

The taillight assembly of claim 1 in which the housing is mounted to the vehicle cap door by at least one mounting flange having a pair of orthogonal portions each with an aperture therethrough, whereby said taillight assembly is adapted to mount to either type of two conventional rear doors of a pickup truck cover.

Claim 11

The taillight assembly of claim 1 further including a light module, releasably attached to said housing, having a pair of light bulbs which are received within said housing such that one said bulb acts as the brake light and the other said bulb acts as the viewing light.

Claim 12

The taillight assembly of claim 10 in which said housing further includes a hollow shell divided along its midsection by an interior wall into two separate pockets and a pair of openings in said housing, wherein one said opening provides access to one of said pockets and said other opening provides access to one other of said pockets, wherein said light module releasably attaches to said housing such that said one light bulb is passed through one opening and into one said pocket to form said brake light and said other light bulb is passed through said other opening and into said other pocket to form said viewing light.

Claim 13

A taillight assembly for use in a vehicle comprising a housing movably mounted to the vehicle and having a pair of lights including a brake light and a viewing light, said brake light being positionable to shine rearwardly from the vehicle and said viewing light being positionable into multiple orientations to thereby provide adjustable illumination of different areas; means for pivotally coupling said housing to a rear door of the vehicle, whereby said housing is positionable into first and second positions relative to the rear door wherein when the rear door is open said first position orients said viewing light to illuminate the open doorway of the vehicle and said second position orients said viewing light to illuminate an area outside the vehicle; and wherein when the rear door is closed said first position orients said brake light to shine rearwardly from the vehicle whereby it may be viewed from behind the vehicle when actuated and said second position orients said viewing light to illuminate the interior of the vehicle; said movable attachment of the housing to the door including a mounting structure fixedly attachable to the rear door of the vehicle, and in which said housing is releasably locked alternatively into said positions through a detent locking mechanism operably acting between said mounting structure and said housing; said detent locking mechanism including a spring biased peg movably attached to one of said housing and said mounting structure, and a pair of depressions, adapted to receive said peg when aligned therewith, formed in the other of said housing and said mounting structure; a light module releasably attached to said housing and having a pair of light bulbs which are received within said housing such that one said bulb acts as the brake light and the other said bulb acts as the viewing light; said light module further including a plurality of resilient contact members operably coupled to said light bulbs and said housing further includes a plurality of notches having complementary contact elements positioned therein, said light module being releasably attached to said housing by said contact members which are received within said notches and resiliently biased against said contact elements in a gripping relation.

Claim 14

A taillight assembly for use in a vehicle comprising a housing movably mounted to the vehicle and having a pair of lights including a brake light and a viewing light, said brake light being positionable to shine rearwardly from the vehicle and said viewing light being positionable into multiple orientations to thereby provide adjustable illumination of different areas; means for pivotally coupling said housing to a rear door of the vehicle, whereby said housing is positionable into first and second positions relative to the rear door wherein when the rear door is open said first position orients said viewing light to illuminate the open doorway of the vehicle and said second position orients said viewing light to illuminate an area outside the vehicle; and wherein when the rear door is closed said first position orients said brake light to shine rearwardly from the vehicle whereby it may be viewed from behind the vehicle when actuated and said second position orients said viewing light to illuminate the interior of the vehicle; said movable attachment of the housing to the door including a mounting structure fixedly attachable to the rear door of the vehicle, and in which said housing is releasably locked alternatively into said positions through a detent locking mechanism operably acting between said mounting structure and said housing; said detent locking mechanism including a spring biased peg movably attached to one of said housing and said mounting structure, and a pair of depressions, adapted to receive said peg when aligned therewith, formed in the other of said housing and said mounting structure; a light module releasably attached to said housing and having a pair of light bulbs which are received within said housing such that one said bulb acts as the brake light and the other said bulb acts as the viewing light; said light module further including a plurality of resilient contact members operably coupled to said light bulbs and said housing further includes a plurality of notches having complementary contact elements positioned therein, said light module being releasably attached to said housing by said contact members which are received within said notches and resiliently biased against said contact elements in a gripping relation.

Claim 15

A taillight assembly for use in a vehicle comprising a housing movably mounted to the vehicle and having a pair of lights including a brake light and a viewing light, said brake light being positionable to shine rearwardly from the vehicle and said viewing light being positionable into multiple orientations to thereby provide adjustable illumination of different areas; a light module, releasably attached to said housing, having a pair of light bulbs which are received within said housing such that one said bulb acts as the brake light and the other said bulb acts as the viewing light; said housing further including a hollow shell divided along its midsection by an interior wall into two separate pockets and a pair of openings in said housing, wherein one said opening provides access to one of said pockets and said other opening provides access to the other of said pockets, wherein said light module releasably attaches to said housing such that said one light bulb is passed through one opening and into one said pocket to form said brake light and said other light bulb is passed through said other opening and into said other pocket to form said viewing light; said light module further including a plurality of resilient contact members operably coupled to said light bulbs and said housing further including a plurality of notches having complementary contact elements positioned therein, said light module being releasably attached to said housing by said contact members which are received within said notches and resiliently biased against said contact elements in a gripping relation.

Claim 16

A taillight assembly for use in a vehicle comprising a housing movably mounted to the vehicle and having a pair of lights including a brake light and a viewing light, said brake light being positionable to shine rearwardly from the vehicle and said viewing light being positionable into multiple orientations to thereby provide adjustable illumination of different areas; a light module, releasably attached to said housing, having a pair of light bulbs which are received within said housing such that one said bulb acts as the brake light and the other said bulb acts as the viewing light; said housing further including a hollow shell divided along its midsection by an interior wall into two separate pockets and a pair of openings in said housing, wherein one said opening provides access to one of said pockets and said other opening provides access to the other of said pockets, wherein said light module releasably attaches to said housing such that said one light bulb is passed through one opening and into one said pocket to form said brake light and said other light bulb is passed through said other opening and into said other pocket to form said viewing light; said light module further including a plurality of resilient contact members operably coupled to said light bulbs and said housing further including a plurality of notches having complementary contact elements positioned therein, said light module being releasably attached to said housing by said contact members which are received within said notches and resiliently biased against said contact elements in a gripping relation.

Claim 17

A light assembly comprising: a housing including a hollow shell divided by an interior wall into two separate pockets, each said pocket having along one side thereof a non-opaque lens adapted for permitting the passage of light therethrough, said housing further including a pair of openings wherein one said opening provides access to one of said pockets and said other opening provides access to the other of said pockets, and electrical contact elements positioned in each opening; and a light module having a pair of light bulbs and a plurality of electrical contact members operably coupled to said light bulbs, said light module being releasably attached to said housing such that one of said light bulbs is passed through one of said openings and into one of said pockets to form a first light and the other of said light bulbs is passed through the other of said openings and into the other of said pockets to form a second light, and such that said contact members engage said contact elements to form an electrical connection facilitating actuation of said light bulbs, whereby either or both of said light bulbs may be easily replaced by simply removing said light module from said assembly; said electrical contact members being resilient and providing an outwardly biasing force against said contact elements to thereby releasably hold said light module to said housing, whereby either or both of said light bulbs may be quickly and easily replaced without the use of tools.

Claim 18

A light assembly comprising: a housing including a hollow shell divided by an interior wall into two separate pockets, each said pocket having along one side thereof a non-opaque lens adapted for permitting the passage of light therethrough, said housing further including a pair of openings wherein one said opening provides access to one of said pockets and said other opening provides access to the other of said pockets, and electrical contact elements positioned in each opening; and a light module having a pair of light bulbs and a plurality of electrical contact members operably coupled to said light bulbs, said light module being releasably attached to said housing such that one of said light bulbs is passed through one of said openings and into one of said pockets to form a first light and the other of said light bulbs is passed through the other of said openings and into the other of said pockets to form a second light, and such that said contact members engage said contact elements to form an electrical connection facilitating actuation of said light bulbs, whereby either or both of said light bulbs may be easily replaced by simply removing said light module from said assembly; said electrical contact members being resilient and providing an outwardly biasing force against said contact elements to thereby releasably hold said light module to said housing, whereby either or both of said light bulbs may be quickly and easily replaced without the use of tools.

Claim 19

The light assembly of claim 14 in which the contact members have a substantially hook-like configuration which includes resilient outer legs adapted to engage and releasably grip said contact elements, resilient inner legs adapted to engage and releasably hold said light bulbs, and an intermediate bight portion fixed to a base of said light module.

Claim 20

The light assembly of claim 14 in which said housing further includes a plurality of notches along the periphery of said openings, wherein said electrical contact elements are positioned within said notches, and wherein said contact members are received within said notches for engagement with said contact elements, whereby said notches function to restrict the lateral movement of said contact members and thereby maintain said light module in a proper orientation on said housing.