US Patent 9975473 Motor vehicle roof rail with integrated light system

A roof rail is disposed on a motor vehicle and furnished with an integrated light system. The light system has at least one light source and one or more batteries that are part of the system arranged in or on a cover of the roof rail. The battery powered light system enables the light system to be operated independently of any connection to the onboard power supply of the motor vehicle, and it is then no longer necessary to provide an electrical connection between the light system and the onboard power supply or the motor vehicle electronics. A computer program, when executed on a light system controller, is configured to detect a position of a vehicle door and switch the at least one light source of the light system on and off.