Granted Patent B2

US 12,435,864 · App. 18/639,260 · Granted Oct 7, 2025

Inventors: Bradley T. Dubs (Grand Rapids, MI); Jason D. Hallack (Zeeland, MI); Justin D. Jansen (Hudsonville, MI); Ted D. Reeves (Hamilton, MI)

Assignee: GENTEX CORPORATION

F21V21/049F21S8/026F21V21/15F21V23/0478

Abstract

Claims (39)

1. A lighting assembly, comprising:

an upper mount and a lower mount coupled with the upper mount;

a central shaft coupled between the upper and lower mounts configured to rotate the lower mount relative to the upper mount;

a printed circuit board with a proximity sensor, the printed circuit board defining a central aperture and the central shaft extends through the central aperture; and

an actuator ring disposed around and rotatable with the central shaft, wherein the proximity sensor is configured to detect a position of the actuator ring to indicate a position of the lower mount relative to the upper mount.

2. The lighting assembly of claim 1 , wherein the actuator ring includes an engagement feature that engages with at least one mechanical stop extending from at least one of the upper mount and the lower mount to limit rotation of the actuator ring during the rotation of the lower mount.

3. The lighting assembly of claim 2 , wherein the at least one mechanical stop includes a first mechanical stop extending from the upper mount and a second mechanical stop extending from the lower mount, wherein the engagement feature includes a pair of side surfaces configured to engage with the first and second mechanical stops.

4. The lighting assembly of claim 3 , wherein the actuator ring includes a proximity tab extending from the engagement feature that is detectable by the proximity sensor at the first mechanical stop and the second mechanical stop.

5. The lighting assembly of claim 1 , wherein the actuator ring includes a proximity tab that is detectable by the proximity sensor.

6. The lighting assembly of claim 1 , wherein the printed circuit board is operably coupled to a pan motor that rotates the central shaft by a wire harness, the wire harness extending at least partially through the central shaft to the printed circuit board.

7. The lighting assembly of claim 1 , wherein a light module is coupled to the lower mount and includes a tilt gear and a drive gear configured to tilt the light module relative to the lower mount.

8. A lighting assembly, comprising:

an upper mount and a lower mount coupled and configured to rotate relative to the upper mount;

at least one indicator flange operably coupled to one of the lower mount and the upper mount;

a printed circuit board operably coupled to a different one of the lower mount and the upper mount than the at least one indicator flange and including a plurality of sensors, the plurality of sensors selectively engaged with the at least one indicator flange during relative rotation; and

a controller operably coupled to the printed circuit board and configured to determine a position of the lower mount relative to the upper mount based on the selective engagement between the at least one indicator flange and the plurality of sensors.

9. The lighting assembly of claim 8 , wherein the upper mount includes a pan gear and the lower mount includes a first drive gear that, together, form a first gearing assembly configured to rotate the lower mount relative to the upper mount.

10. The lighting assembly of claim 9 , further including a light module coupled to the lower mount and includes a tilt gear and a second drive gear configured to tilt the light module relative to the lower mount.

11. The lighting assembly of claim 10 , further including an imaging device configured to capture images.

12. The lighting assembly of claim 11 , wherein the controller is further configured to:

adjust the position of the light module based on the images.

13. The lighting assembly of claim 8 , wherein the at least one indicator flange includes a plurality of indicator flanges.

14. The lighting assembly of claim 13 , wherein the plurality of indicator flanges includes a home indicator flange, and wherein the plurality of sensors includes at least one home sensor configured to detect the home indicator flange.

15. The lighting assembly of claim 14 , wherein the at least one home sensor includes a first home sensor and a second home sensor.

16. The lighting assembly of claim 14 , wherein the controller is further configured to:

determine a full rotation has been completed by the lower mount relative to the upper mount by detecting the home indicator flange by the at least one home sensor.

17. The lighting assembly of claim 8 , wherein the at least one indicator flange is located on the upper mount and the printed circuit board is located on the lower mount.

18. A lighting assembly, comprising:

an upper mount and a lower mount coupled and configured to rotate relative to the upper mount with a first drive gear;

a light module coupled to the lower mount including a second drive gear configured to tilt the light module relative to the lower mount;

at least one sensor coupled to the lower mount and configured to detect a position of the lower mount relative to the upper mount; and

a controller operably coupled to the at least one sensor, the first drive gear, and the second drive gear, the controller is configured to:

rotate the lower mount and the light module via the first drive gear;

tilt the light module via the second drive gear; and

determine the position of the lower mount relative to the upper mount via the at least one sensor.

19. The lighting assembly of claim 18 , wherein the first drive gear and the second drive gear are located in the lower mount.

20. The lighting assembly of claim 18 , further comprising:

a central shaft coupled between the upper and lower mounts configured to rotate the lower mount relative to the upper mount via the first drive gear; and

a printed circuit board with the at least one sensor, the printed circuit board defining a central aperture and the central shaft extends through the central aperture.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (3)

References Cited (400)