Patent ID: 6486774
Filing Date: 2002-11-26
Classification: B60Q

Abstract:
A vehicular deceleration warning light system for warning vehicles behind a first vehicle of impending deceleration of the first vehicle, the first vehicle having a power circuit and an accelerator pedal having a front and back surfaces, a peripheral edge extending between said front and back surfaces, wherein the pedal is operationally coupled to a motor, said system comprising:an accelerator pedal pressure sensor for detecting removal of a driver's foot pressure from the accelerator pedal, said sensor comprising; a housing having a top wall and a bottom wall, a peripheral wall extending between said top and bottom walls, said peripheral wall being coupled to said top and bottom walls, a lower surface of said bottom wall being mountable on said front surface of said accelerator pedal, said housing comprising a generally flexible material; a first plate being mounted in said housing adjacent to said bottom wall, said first plate having an upper surface and a lower surface, said first plate comprising a substantially rigid material; a second plate being mounted in said housing adjacent to said top wall, said second plate having a first end and a second end, a top surface and a bottom surface, said second plate having a pair of holes formed therein, said second plate having a pair of wells extending therein, each of said wells being positioned generally adjacent to one of said ends of said second plate, a bottom portion of each of said wells having one of said holes extending therethrough, said second plate comprising a substantially rigid material; a pair of rods, each of said rods being positioned between said first and second plates, each of said rods being orientated generally perpendicular to said first plate, each of said rods being attached to said upper surface of said first plate, each of said rods having a free end, each of said free ends being movably positioned in one of said holes of said second plate; a biasing means for biasing said second plate away from said first plate, said biasing means being positioned on one of said rods and positioned between said first and second plates, said biasing means comprising a coiled spring extending about one of said rods; a switch for activating and deactivating said system, said switch being positionable between an open and a closed position, wherein said open position is produced when pressure from a driver's foot is applied against said housing causing said second plate to move toward said first plate, wherein said closed position is produced when pressure from a driver's foot is removed from said housing causing said biasing means to move said second plate away from said first plate, said switch comprising: a pair of electrical contacts, each of said electrical contacts being positioned in said housing, each of said electrical contacts having a first portion and a second portion, a third portion being coupled to and extending between said first and second portions, said first portion of a first one of said electrical contacts being mounted on an upper surface of said first plate and a second one of said electrical contacts being mounted on a lower surface of said second plate, said first portion of each of said contacts being orientated generally parallel to each another, said second portion of each of said contacts being orientated generally parallel to each other, each of said second portions being adapted to selectively abut against each other, wherein said second portions are separated in said open condition of said switch and abutted together in said closed condition of said switch; a processor for determining when said switch is closed, said processor being connectable to a cruise control system, having a cruise control switch, of the first vehicle disabling said vehicular deceleration warning light system if the cruise control switch is in an ON position, said processor being electrically connected to said power circuit; a signaling means for visually warning the following vehicle of the impending deceleration of the first vehicle, said signaling means comprising; a casing having a back wall, a peripheral wall being coupled to and extending away from said back wall of said casing such that an open front is defined, said casing being mountable in a rear window of the first vehicle, said casing comprising a substantially rigid material; a light bulb being removably positioned in said casing and electrically coupled to said processor; a translucent lens being removably coupled to said casing such that said translucent lens covers said open front of said casing, said translucent lens having a front surface and a back surface, said back surface having a plurality of grooves extending therein, each of said grooves radiating outwardly from a center to form a star pattern, said lens cover comprising a substantially rigid material; wherein said signaling means is illuminated when a driver removes pressure from the accelerator pedal and causes the switch to close.