Abstract:
An impact-warning and prevention device in the shape of a license plate holder is disclosed, where some strong LED lights will be activated to shine focused light at the driver in the aft vehicle, so that the aft driver gets sufficient warning for slowing down or keeping a safer distance, if the aft vehicle is coming too close to the vehicle equipped with device of present application.

Description:
FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates generally to an improved design and construction of an impact-warning and prevention device; particularly, it is made into a license plate holder for mounting to the rear portion of a vehicle, so that, when activated, some high-intensity LED light would shine towards the aft-vehicle that is coming too close. 
         [0002]    Although there are existing audible alert systems used in various types of motor vehicles to alert pedestrians, bicyclists, etc. that a vehicle is backing up, there is no impact-warning system that is designed to warn or alert the car coming from behind and thus produces an effective warning signal (such as strong lighting) to the driver in the aft vehicle. In the case of cars cruising at higher speed, the driver in the aft vehicle may get dull to the sense of speed (due to the nature of cruising at high speed) and oftentimes does not have sufficient time to slow down and avoid impacting the front vehicle, if the front vehicle starts to slow down while there is no immediate warning to the driver in the aft vehicle. 
         [0003]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,851,813 to Gottlieb (“Gottlieb 813”) discloses a combination back-up light and sound-emitting device for an automotive vehicle including a housing having a base at one end and a socket at the other end. A light bulb is mounted in the socket of the housing and a sound-emitting device is also mounted in the housing. Gottlieb 813 does not have the desired “warning to the aft driver”, as discussed herein. 
         [0004]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,720,868 issued to Flick taught a back-up warning system that includes a license plate holder, a proximity sensor and external audible indicator. The control circuitry of the system is connected to the vehicle&#39;s control system, so that when the reverse gear in the transmission is selected, the warning system is activated. Even though the warning detecting is implemented in a license plate holder, similar to the device of present invention, the is no teaching of any sort to create warning signal to the vehicle driving behind a car equipped with the warning device of present invention. 
         [0005]    U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,797,673; 4,864,298; and 5,028,920 (issued to Dombrowski) disclose a driver-alerting device that employed the Doppler radar technology to produce audible signal, when objects coming within range are detected. Connection can be made to the driver&#39;s compartment and instrumentation panel to also cause other warning lights to go on. 
         [0006]    Dombrowski patents similarly lacked the feature of producing a warning signal light to the driver of the aft vehicle. 
         [0007]    On the market, as well as in any prior art patents, there is simply no such warning device that creates an “alert signal” to the driver in the aft vehicle, especially where the visibility is reduced/limited (such as foggy weather) or where there is common dull sense of speed/distance. 
         [0008]    The motion-sensing unit used in present application is a known art in the field, which consists of the radio wave transmitting and receiving control circuitry for creating the electronic trigger within the set range. Such technology is available and needs no disclosure or recitation herein and forms no part of the protected invention, except to the extent that it is incorporated and adapted to the implementation herein. 
     
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate the preferred embodiments of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
           [0010]    A brief description of the drawings is as follows: 
           [0011]      FIG. 1  shows the assembled view of present invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  shows the back side of the license plate holder of present invention. 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  shows a mode of operation for the license plate holder of present invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  shows the preferred vertical (up-down) angle of the LED lights. 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  shows the preferred horizontal fanning angle of the motion sensing detecting. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0016]    A license plate holder  10  is made to be in a generally rectangular shape, which is a slightly larger concentric shape of a normal license plate issued by state Department of Motor Vehicles, or similar governing agencies in many jurisdictions. 
         [0017]    A generally smaller concentric opening is provided in the center area. A motion sensor  12  is built to the lower center portion of the first side, aka front side, of the holder  10 . 
         [0018]    Although said motion sensor  12  can be located anywhere on the first side of the holder  10 , the lower center position will be the preferred location, providing a balanced sensing/detecting in most situations. 
         [0019]    Said motion sensor unit  12  can also be located in the top center position on the first side of said holder  10 . 
         [0020]    A plurality of high-intensity narrow-focus LED lights  15  are built into the rectangular circumference around the first side of said holder  10 . These LED lights  15  are controlled by the motion sensor unit  12  (having internal control circuitry) to sense and detect the motion/approaching by the vehicles from behind the car mounted with the impact-warning plate holder  10  of present invention. 
         [0021]    Said motion sensing unit  12  will have an effective sensing range of 20 feet, with adjustable shorter ranges to be set by individual users. That way, when an aft vehicle comes too close within the set range, (the default 20 feet, for example), the control circuitry would activate the LED lights  15  and shine towards the driver of the aft vehicle, resulting in timely warning to the driver in the aft vehicle and reduces the chance of impact from the aft vehicle to the vehicle equipped with the warning device of present application. Should different sensor technology be adopted, the nominal sensing distance will be changed, according to specific implementation. For example, more powerful and longer-range sensing unit  12  that covers 30 feet or longer can be used, as chosen by users. 
         [0022]    This warning effect works best in the situation where drivers&#39; sense of speed and distance become dull due to sustained cruising at high speed. With the warning light having been activated, the driver in the aft vehicle will be in a better position to react and apply brake, slow down, than otherwise the case where the dull sense of speed and distance results in longer reaction time and more likely to have an accident. 
         [0023]    The sensor unit  12  will have a preferred sensing angle of 30 degrees, in terms of horizontal fanning angle, so that, during drive time, vehicles on the two sides are less likely to trigger the LED being lit up to warn the aft-vehicles. The sensing angle on said sensor unit  12  can be adjusted, so that, depending on user preference, said sensor unit  12 &#39;s sensing angle may be set to cover wider angles. Although this may have more “false alarm” reporting (especially in cases where the cars behind are coming up from the two lanes on the left and right sides), causing the LED lights  15  go lit up, in crowded driving condition, this does provide more warning to the cars behind. 
         [0024]    Said plurality of LED lights  15  will have a preferred vertical (up-down) fanning angle of 10 degrees, so that the shining/warning will be more effective due to the fact that the lights are focused at the vertical range where the aft vehicle&#39;s driver&#39;s eye levels are normally located. 
         [0025]    Vehicles that are more than 150 feet behind the car equipped with warning device of present application will generally perceive no adverse effect, or the sense of warning, due to the 10-degree range setting for the up-down fanning angle. To these drivers, the LEG lights will be a very faint light that is no different from other random lights that occur in normal driving. The angle setting works the best for vehicles coming within the distance between 150 feet to 20 feet. 
         [0026]    Depending on specific implementation, the vertical fanning angle may be made to cover more than 10 degrees. 
         [0027]    A battery power source  20  will be built to the second side, aka the back side, of said holder  10 . The battery power  20  will be generally a 12-volt system that is commercially available on the market. Specific implementations of present invention can vary the voltage and amp-power spec depending on other factors, such as the number of the LED lights used. 
         [0028]    Alternatively, a connecter wire bundle  21  will be provided to the second side of said holder  10 , so that the motion sensing unit  12  and the LED lights  15  will be powered by the electrical system of the vehicle, via connecting to the tail light and brake control signal wires that are commonly found on many trailer wiring connectors. 
         [0029]    To increase the effectiveness of the shining/warning, and for added security in foggy weather, the LED lights  15  can be made up of different colors, such as a thin color covering on the outside. Also, the control circuitry inside said motion sensing unit  12  may be programmed to produce fast-flashing effect, enhancing the visual impact to the driver in the aft vehicle. 
         [0030]    For installation and operation of the impact-warning device of present invention, a user will mount the holder  10  over a licensing plate at the rear end of a vehicle. 
         [0031]    The user can optionally connect the wire bundle  21  to the trailer wiring connector that comes with the vehicle, or use the battery power  20 , to provide power to the motion sensing unit  12 , which in turn control when to activate the high-intensity LED lights  15 . 
         [0032]    Within the set distance range (default of 30 feet) and the fanning angle of 30 degrees, if an aft vehicle is detected, the LEDT lights  15  will shine towards the driver in the aft vehicle, thus producing the warning signal to the driver, alerting him/her that the he/she should slow down the vehicle, keep a safe distance, to avoid hitting the read end of front vehicle. 
         [0033]    The available technology in the motion-sensing unit  12  bears no disclosure herein. The power consumption of the motion-sensing unit  12  is minimal and thus would not drain a lot of the battery power  20 , during normal usage pattern. The LED lights  15  are similarly a type of components that use very little amount of power, at time of activation by the motion-sensing unit  12 . Thus there is practical application of a battery-powered warning device of present invention in the case of a battery power source  20 . 
         [0034]    When the optional connector bundle  21  is used, there is unlimited power to the device described herein.