ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR ADVANCED ACTIVATION OF AUTOMOTIVE BRAKE-LIGHTS AND ITS CONFIGURATION

Abstract: The aim of the present invention is to have the brake-lights of automotive vehicles in general activated as soon as the driver takes his foot off the accelerator. This set-up gives the driver of the vehicle following, a lead-time to react, not currently available. To implement this new configuration, the invention also introduces the use of "intelligent" or "live" command-pedals, that react instantly to the presence or absence of pressure exerted theron by the drivers foot. Furthermore, the new configuration introduces two additional road-safety features: parallel electric circuits to activate the vehicle's brake-lights, and automatically activated brake-lights for vehicles that are temporarily stopped in traffic.

Description: Electrical system for advanced activation o-f automotive brake-lights and its con-Figuration. The invention concerns the con-figuration of the electric circuit existing in all automotive vehicles, for the pur— pose of activating the brake-lights thereof. The brake-lights of automotive vehicles play an important role in overall road-safety, as their task is to alert the driver of the vehicle following, that the preceding ve¬ hicle is slowing down or coming to a halt. Ideally, the configuration of this circuit and its activating elements, should be such, that the driver of the vehicle following has sufficient time to react, thereby contributing to a smooth traffic flow. At the present time, the universally adopted method of ac¬ tivating the brake—lights of automotive vehicles in gener¬ al , is to use a "dumb" brake-pedal and to incorporate some¬ where along the hydraulic circuit that activates the bra¬ kes, a pressure—sensitive switch. This contact—switch will cause the brake-lights to glow, as soon as, but not before, pressure has been created in the hydraulic circuit, due to the driver's activation of the brake-pedal. The result of employing this classical confi uration is, that the vehi¬ cle's brake—lights will go on simultaneously with the actual functioning of the vehicle's brakes. Consequently, the driver of the vehicle immediately fol- lowing, is only made aware of the deceleration of the pre¬ ceding vehicle, once braking i already in progress. This forces him to apply a greater pressure to his brakes than the driver of the preceding vehicle and, in many instances, the second vehicle is actually unable to "catch— p" with the deceleration of the preceding vehicle. This, of course, results in the all too common rear—end collision, not only of the single variety, but also Df the chain or multiple variety, in such situations where road and climatic con— ditions are adverse and/or a higher speed is permitted on the road or highway. The last 35 years have witnessed drastic improvements in automotive braking technology, such as the power—assisted brake, the disk—brake and the Anti—lock Braking System, all of which have resulted in considerably reduced braking distances. Meanwhile, the electrical system activating the brake—lights, has remained essentially static, paralleled only by an unchanged human reaction—time. Therefore, it is the aim Df this invention to overcome the human handicap, through introduction of a new electrical con iguration, that will give drivers following another vehicle, up to two seconds of additional reaction— ime. Firstly, the invention as claimed, introduces the concept of activating the vehicle's brake—lights, as soon as the driver takes his foot off the accelerator—pedal. i"4ot only is the release cf the accelerator— edal the first motion towards stepping on the brake—pedal , but in actual fact, a release of the accelerato —pedal causes by itself a de¬ celeration of the vehicle, of which the driver of the ve— hiciε that follows, should be made aware of instantly. Secondly, the invention as claimed, introduces the concept of activating the vehicle's brake—lights through "live" or "intelligent" command-pedals, which either have pressure- sensitive contact-switches built into said pedals, or have such pressure-sensiti e switches or electronic sensors attached to said command—pedals. These pedals do provide an instant response to the absence or presence of the pressure exerted thereon by the driver's foot. To accomplish the aims of the present invention, we must distinguish between automotive vehicles equipped with auito atic transmissions and those with manual gear—boxes. Because the driver of a vehicle equipped with an automatic transmission has his right foot either on the acceierator- pedal or on the brake-pedal, such a vehicle would, "a priori", require only its accelerator-pedal to be of the "intelligent" variety, as it is the fundamental aim of the present invention, to have the brake-lights activated, as soon as the dri ver 'ε foot comes off the accelerator-pedal. Notwithstanding, a higher degree of reliability and hence, overall safety is achieved, by using concurrently also an "intelligent" brake—pedal , which activates the vehicle's brake—lights in parallel with the accelerator—pedal. In contrast tD this, the driver of a vehicle equipped with a manual gear—box , may take his right foot off the accel¬ erator—pedal, not only in order to initiate the braking process, but also in order to change gears- Consequentl , D prevent the emission Df a false or spurious braking signal, the manual gear—bo vehicle will also be equipped with "intelligent" clutch-pedal and "intelligent" brake- pedal". In this configuration, the driver takes his foot off the accelerator, and this would normally cause the bra¬ ke—lights to turn on, as intended. However, if his aim is to change gears, he has already placed his left foot on the clutch—pedal , which in this configuration incorporates a "defeat—switch" , that overrides and cancels the signal from the accelerator. Hence, during gear—changes the brake- lights are not activated at all, as usual. On the other hand, if the driver has to decelerate, his right foot leaves the accelerator—pedal , which instantly activates the brake—lights. His right foot now depresses the "intel¬ ligent" brake— edal , which then also activates the brake- lights in parallel with the accelerator-pedal. At this point, the driver may realise that he has to come to a halt, and therefore he also depresses the clutch— edal. This overrides and defeats the signal emanating from the accelerator— edal and, were it not for the parallel feed from the brake— edal , the brake—lights would go out. However, as these lights are also activated by the brake- pedal, which is being depressed, the vehicle's brake- lights will remain on, as required by universal traffic legislation. In addition, the new configuration has the advantage, that any automotive vehicle which is temporarily stopped in traffic or on the side of the road, but not parked, will automat cally have its brake-lights on, because the driver has taken his foot off the accelerator. This impro¬ ves other driver's awareness and hence road-safety. There are basically three ways of implementing the present invention, which vary in their degree of sophis- tication and consequent reliability. The most elementary set-up would consist in simply using conventional electric switches attached to the CDmmand- pedals of the vehicle. However, due tD wear and tear, dust and humidity, this technical solution would be of questionable reliability and require frequent checks and maintenance. In addition, due to the mechanical nature of conventional switches, a degree of "travel" is invol¬ ved which reduces the instant response aimed for by this invention. A second and more reliable design does involve the use of "live" or "intelligent" command—pedals, which incorporate a pressure—sensitive electric switch built into the pedal L itself. These pedals will provide the instant response required, as soon as the driver steps on or off the com¬ mand—pedal in question. In addition, such pedals being entirely sealed, are impervious to dust and humidity, thereby requiring no maintenance, apart from the flexible wiring leading to the vehicle's brake—lights. Finally, the "luxury" configuration employs electronic sensors, which relay the absence or the presence of pres¬ sure exerted by the driver's foot on the command—pedals, to the on— oard-computer, which then transmits the re¬ quired signal to the brake—lights. Obviously, this solu¬ tion pre—supposes the existence of such on—board—computer and therefore, is reserved for vehicles so equipped.

Claims: 1. The concept of activating the brake-lights of auto¬ motive vehicles in general, as soon as the driver releases the accelerator-pedal. 2. The use of "live" or "intelligent" command—pedals that contain or have attached thereto, electric con¬ tacts or electronic sensors, which react to the pres¬ sure exerted thereon by the driver's foot. 3. For automotive vehicles equipped with automatic trans¬ missions, the use of at least one "intelligent" accel¬ erator—pedal as per claim 2, which activates the brake- lights, but preferably, also an "intelligent" brake- pedal that activates the brake—lights of the vehicle, in parallel with the accelerator—pedal, thereby provid¬ ing for additional reliability and safety. 4. For automotive vehicles equipped with manual gear—boxes, the use of three "intelligent" command—pedals, <acceler— ator, brake and clutch) , of which the clutch-pedal acts to override and defeat the signal emanating from the accelerator-pedal , during the process of changing gears. 5. A configuration whereby a vehicle's brake—lights are automatically activated, when said vehicle is tempo¬ rarily stopped in traffic, but not parked. AMENDED CLAIMS [received by the International Bureau on 1 December 1992 (01.12.92)* new claims 6 and 7 added; original claims unchanged (2 pages)] 1. The concept of activating the brake— lights of auto¬ motive vehicles in general, as soon as the driver releases the accelerator — edal. 2. The use of "live" or "intelligent" command-pedals that contain or have attached thereto, electric con¬ tacts or electronic sensors, which react to the pres¬ sure exerted thereon by the driver's foot. 3. For automotive vehicles equipped with automatic trans¬ missions, the use of at least one "intelligent" accel¬ erator — edal as per claim 2, which activates the brake- lights, but preferably, also an "intelligent" brake- pedal that activates the brake— lights of the vehicle. in parallel with the accelerator — edal, thereby provid¬ ing for additional reliability and safety. 4. For automotive vehicles equipped with manual gear-boxes, the use Df three "intelligent" command— pedals, (accεier — ator, brake and clutch) , of which the clutch-pedal acts to override and defeat the signal emanating from the accelerator — pedal , during the process of changing gears. 5. A con iguration whereby a vehicle's brake-lights are automatically activated, when said vehicle is tempo¬ rarily stopped in traffic, but not parked. 6. The introduction and use of a small electronic device called "ABLA" (Advanced Brake-Light Activator) which can be fitted to all new automotive vehicles during their production run, as well as to most vehicles al¬ ready on the road. This device consists of a switch, controlled bv a micro— rocessor, which receives its impulses from two electronic sensors or micro—switches. Dne of these is connected to the accelerator, or to its linkage to the fuel control unit, or directly to said unit, and the other sensor or micro-switch is connected to the clutch pedal or to its linkage. ABLA causes the brake—lights to glow as soon as the accelerator returns to the "idle" position, except during gear changes, when its activation is cancelled by the signal emanating from the clutch-sensor. Once triggered by ABLA the brake- lights remain switched-on until the driver steps on the accelerator pedal again. This device can be installed in manual—transmission vehicles through 4 (four) wires and in automatic-transmission vehicles through 3 (three) wires only, in both cases without altering or interfer— ing with the conventional brake-light circuit and its standard switch, activated by hydraulic pressure. 7. The use of ABLA in conjunction with the "intelligent" or "live" command pedals as per claims no. 2, 3 and 4 above. STATEMENT UNDER ARTICLE 19 "These amendments are additional to the original description and reflect the introduction of a simple electronic device which will accomplish the aims of the present invention in a most economical and practical way. In addition, such de¬ vice offers the advantage of swift installation in newly built vehicles as well as in vehicles already on the road, without altering existing electrical c rcuits."

Inventors: STILLE REINHARDT, STILLE, REINHARDT
Applicants: STILLE REINHARDT, STILLE, REINHARDT
Application year: 1992
Main classification: B60Q1
IPC codes: B60Q1