GB2295640A

GB2295640A - Suction cup clamp

Info

Publication number: GB2295640A
Application number: GB9424485A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Raymond Leslie Weldon
Original assignee: VISION ALERT AUTOMOTIVE Ltd
Current assignee: VISION ALERT AUTOMOTIVE Ltd
Priority date: 1994-12-03
Filing date: 1994-12-03
Publication date: 1996-06-05
Also published as: GB9424485D0

Abstract

An attachment means for securing an article to a support surface comprises in combination a suction pad 4 which is attached to and movable relative to a plate 6 to which a base member of the article is secured, the pad being attached to the plate by means 8 protruding upwardly through the plate and being engaged by a cranked lever 14, movement of the lever relative to the protruding means causing movement of the pad relative to the plate. The article may be a warning lamp assembly secured to the plate by bolts. <IMAGE>

Description

ATTACHMENT MEANS This invention relates to attachment means particularly, but not exclusively, for use in attaching a lighting device to a motor or like vehicle.

It has previously been proposed to provide an attachment means incorporating a suction pad which is operable by means of a lever protruding from the device in order to secure the attachment means and hence the lighting device, to a receiving vehicle. To secure the lighting device to the attachment means, it was necessary to locate spigots or studs on the base of the lighting device in holes or bores in a top surface of the attachment means and then to secure the lighting device by means of bolts. Such operations are very labour intensive and this proposal is also very costly in materials resulting in a high cost finished lighting device. In addition, the finished lighting device, particularly the base portion thereof, is not aesthetically pleasing.

The present invention seeks to provide an improved form of attachment means which will be less costly both in terms of materials used in its production and in the labour used to assemble the means, in that there will be fewer parts to assemble, and which will be aesthetically more pleasing than prior proposals.

According to the present invention there is provided an attachment means for securing an article to a support surface comprising in combination a suction pad which is attached to and movable relative to a plate to which a base member of the lighting device may be secured, said pad being attached to said plate by means protruding upwardly through said plate and being engaged by a cranked lever, movement of said lever relative to said protruding means causing movement of said pad relative to said plate.

Preferably, said upwardly projecting means will comprise a pair of upstanding lugs which will be rigidly secured to said pad and which will extend through a cut-out in said plate, said lugs each having a through-slot therein through which passes said cranked lever.

Said cranked lever, when the base member of the lighting device is secured to said plate, will preferably protrude through said base member and will preferably be operable by means of a key locatable in a key-hole in the vicinity of the end of said cranked lever.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood, an embodiment thereof will now be described, by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a plan view of the attachment means according to the invention; Figure 2 is a front view on Figure 1; and Figure 3 shows a lighting device in the form of a beacon incorporating the attachment means of Figures 1 and 2.

Referring to the drawings, and firstly to Figures 1 and 2, an attachment means, indicated generally by reference numeral 2, comprises a suction pad 4 and a dished plate 6 which sits on the wall 4A of said suction pad. Upstanding from the suction pad 4 is a pair of lugs 8 each of which has a through-slot therein, and upstanding from the plate 6 is a pair of lugs 10 which are each provided with a through-slot, not shown.

As will be seen, the plate 6 is provided with a centrally located cut-out or aperture 12 through which may project the lugs 8 of the suction pad 4.

Passing through the lugs 8 of the suction pad 4 and through the lugs 10 of the plate 6 is a cranked lever 14, an outboard end 14A thereof being provided with a key-hole 16. It will be seen that the opposite end of the cranked lever 14 is inboard of the periphery of the plate 6 and will, when the lighting device is secured to the attach ment means, also lie inboard of the lighting device itself.

The plate 6 is provided with a plurality of holes 18 through which may be passed bolts to secure a lighting device to the attachment means as will be hereinafter explained.

Referring now to Figure 3, the attachment means 2 is shown in relation to a lighting device indicated generally by reference numeral 20. The lighting device is secured to the attachment means by means of bolts 24 passing through the holes 18 in the plate and being engaged by nuts 26 located in recesses in a skirt portion 22 of the lighting device 20, one of said recesses being indicated by reference numeral 22A.

It is not thought necessary here to describe the lighting device in detail, since the lighting device is described fully in our co-pending patent application.

In use, and with the lighting device and attachment means secured together as shown in Figure 3, the complete unit is sited on a vehicle (not shown), and in order to secure the unit to the vehicle, the cranked lever 14 is engaged by the key and rotated relative to the lugs 8 and 18 which, due to the shape of the lever 14 causes upward movement of the lugs 8 and hence the suction pad 4 so as to create a vacuum between the pad and the vehicle. Thus the unit is firmly and rigidly secured to the vehicle, and cannot be removed therefrom except be use of the key.

With an attachment means in accordance with the invention, 'the means is simple and quicker to assemble in that there are fewer parts to assemble, and this results in a less costly product. Specifically, the invention utilises the the base or skirt portion of the lighting device as the housing for the attachment means such that the majority of the attachment means is located within the base or skirt portion, thereby reducing the overall height of the finished product. In addition, when the attachment means is secured to the lighting device, the finished unit is aesthetically more pleasing than previous units.

Finally, it will be appreciated that the attachment means may be secured to other forms of lighting devices for attachment to vehicles, and indeed to other items where such items are to be secured to a support structure.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. An attachment means for securing an article to a support surface comprising in combination a suction pad which is attached to and movable relative to a plate to which a base member of the said article may be secured, said pad being attached to said plate by means protruding upwardly through said plate and being engaged by a cranked lever, movement of said lever relative to said protruding means causing movement of said pad relative to the said plate.

2. Attachmnent means in accordance with Claim 1, wherein said upwardly projecting means comprises a pair of upstanding lugs which are rigidly secured to said pad and which extend through a cut-out in said plate.

3. Attachment means in accordance with Claim 2, wherein said lugs each has a through-slot therein through which passes said cranked lever.

4. Attachment means in accordance with any of Claims 1 to 3, wherein said cranked lever, when the base member of said article is secured to said plate, protrudes through said base ecr and il; b movable by means of a key locatable in a key-hole in the vicinity of an end of said cranked lever.

5. Attachment means in accordance with Claim 4, wherein said end of said cranked lever lies outboard of the periphery of said plate, the opposite end of said cranked lever lying inboard of said periphery.

6. Attachment means in accordance with any of Claims 1 to 5, wherein said plate is dished.

7. Attachment means in accordance with any of Claims 1 to 6, wherein said article is secured to said attachment means by means of bolts.

8. Attachment means in accordance with any of the preceding Claims, wherein said article is a lighting device.

9. Attachment means constructed and adapted to operate substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.