Bicycle safety lighting generator-battery system

Claim 1

A bicycle safety lighting generator-battery system for a bicycle equipped with head and tail lights comprising, in combination: a. a battery mounted on a frame portion of the bicycle; b. a generator mounted on the bicycle adjacent to a wheel in a position to be driven by the wheel when the bicycle is in motion; and, c. circuit means including: full-wave rectifying means connected to said generator and having first and second output leads providing a d-c voltage which increases with increasing speed of the bicycle, said head and tail lights being connected across said output leads; a single diode in series with said battery to define a series circuit; d. an auxiliary circuit means connecting said series circuit across said output leads, the orientation of the diode being such that the battery voltage bucks the d-c generator voltage on the first output leads; e. auxiliary safety lights secured to front and rear portions of the bicycle and designed to emit light over 360* in azimuth, said auxiliary circuit means connecting said safety lights in parallel with each other and in series between said diode and first output lead, the electrical resistance of the headlight being substantially less than the electrical resistance of the auxiliary lights ; whereby when the bicycle is traveling above a given speed, the generated d-c voltage is greater than the battery voltage, said diode blocking the generated voltage from the battery, so that the battery is effectively automatically disconnected from the circuit, the generated voltage energizing the lighting means, whereby when said bicycle is traveling at a speed less than said given speed or is motionless, the battery voltage energizes said auxiliary lights through said diode and relatively low headlight resistance.