Patent Publication Number: US-2004058722-A1

Title: Directional signal device

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] 1. Field of the Invention  
       [0002] The present invention relates to a directional signal device and, more particularly, to a directional signal device that is practical for use as a third directional lamp in a vehicle.  
       [0003] 2. Description of the Related Art  
       [0004] For the sake of safety, four-wheel motor vehicles are required to have a third rear brake light. However, this requirement is not mandated for motorcycles and bicycles. Although there are safety helmets, riding a bicycle or motorcycle in the dark can be dangerous especially when the rider changes the steering direction suddenly. When turning the bicycle or motorcycle to the left or right, the motorcyclists will switch on the respective directional signal light and the cyclists can only make a hand gesture to show the direction they are about to take. However, due to the poor eyesight in the dark another rider of a trailing motorcycle or bicycle or the driver of the car behind may not be able to see such a directional signal light, and a collision may occur if the rider of a trailing vehicle fails to detect the impending change in speed or direction of the leading cyclist and, consequently, fails to slow down.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005] The present invention has been designed with the above-mentioned circumstances in view. It is the main objective of the present invention to provide a directional signal device, which is practical for use as a third directional lamp in a vehicle. It is another objective of the present invention to provide a directional signal device, which uses wireless signal-transmission technology to transmit directional control signals from a signal transmitter to a signal receiver, causing the signal receiver to display a corresponding flashing warning signal. It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a directional signal device which produces a warning sound in conjunction with the flashing warning signal. It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a directional signal device which allows the signal receiver to be installed on most any article worn or carried by the user, or directly fastened to any part of the user&#39;s body.  
       [0006] To achieve these and other objectives of the present invention, the directional signal device comprises a signal transmitter installed in a vehicle, the signal transmitter comprising a power supply, a control circuit board adapted to wirelessly transmit a directional signal, and a casing adapted to accommodate the power supply and control circuit board of the signal transmitter, the control circuit board of the signal transmitter comprising a power circuit, a direction section circuit, an encoder circuit, and a transmitting circuit, and at least one signal receiver carried on the user and adapted to receive directional signal from the signal transmitter, said signal receiver comprising a power supply, a control circuit board, and a casing adapted to accommodate the power supply and control circuit board of the respective signal receiver, the control circuit board of the signal receiver comprising X a power circuit, a receiving circuit, a decoder circuit, a comparator circuit, a light driving circuit, and a directional light emitting unit, wherein the signal transmitter is operated by the user to transmit a directional signal to the signal receiver wirelessly; the signal receiver drives the respective directional light emitting unit to flash, indicating a direction to follow. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0007]FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of the present invention.  
     [0008]FIG. 2 is an exploded view of another embodiment of the present invention.  
     [0009]FIG. 3 is similar to FIG. 2, but shows the signal transmitter and the signal receivers respectively installed in the bicycle and the user&#39;s hands.  
     [0010]FIG. 4 illustrates still another embodiment of the present invention where the signal receivers are respectively installed in the user&#39;s gloves.  
     [0011]FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a signal transmitter for the directional signal device according to the present invention.  
     [0012]FIG. 6 is an elevational view of a signal receiver for the directional signal device according to the present invention.  
     [0013]FIG. 7 is a, circuit block diagram of the present invention.  
     [0014]FIG. 8 is an exploded view of the signal receiver for the directional signal device according to the present invention.  
     [0015]FIG. 9 is an elevational view of a LED matrix type directional light emitting unit for the signal receiver according to the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
     [0016] Referring to FIGS.  1 - 9 , a directional signal device in accordance with the present invention is, shown comprised of a signal transmitter  1  and at least one signal receiver  3 .  
     [0017] The signal, transmitter  1  is installed in a vehicle. The vehicle can be a motor-driven vehicle  5  (motorcycle, motor-scooter, or the like, see FIG. 1) or a human-driven vehicle  6  (bicycle, kick scooter, tricycle, or the like). The signal transmitter  1  is comprised of power supply, for example, a battery  11 , a control circuit board  12 , and a casing  13  accommodating the battery  11  and the control circuit board  12 . A illustrated FIG. 5, the casing  13  is comprised of a top shell  14  and a bottom cover plate  15 . The top shell  14  has a window  16 . The control circuit board  12  comprises a power circuit  21  a direction selection circuit  22 , an encoder circuit,  23 , a transmitting circuit  24  and a directional switch  26 . The power circuit  21  comprises an on/off switch  24 . The directional switch  26  is adapted to select direction. When the directional switch  26  is switched to the desired direction it triggers the direction selection circuit  22  to produce a signal output. The battery  11  can be, for example, a set of #3 or #4 battery cells. Other electronic battery cells may be used as a substitute. Further, the connector for the battery  11  may be connected in parallel to the battery of the motorcycle  5  in addition, the directional switch  51  of the motorcycle  5  may be used to substitute for the directional switch  26 . The transmitting circuit  24  is adapted to transmit the signal wirelessly. The encoder circuit  23  encodes the selected direction signal, enabling the encoded signal to be transmitted to the signal receiver  3  through the transmitting circuit  24  by infrared or radio signals.  
     [0018] The signal receiver  3  carried on the user  7  is comprised of a power supply, for example a battery  31 , a control circuit board  32 , and a casing  33  accommodating the battery  31  and the control circuit board  32 . As illustrated in FIG. 8, the casing  33  is comprised of a top shell  34  and a bottom cover plate  35 . The top shell  34  has a direction index  36 . The control circuit board  32  comprises a power circuit  41 , a receiving circuit  42 , a decoder circuit  43 , a comparator circuit  44 , a light driving circuit  45 , and a directional light emitting unit  46  (see FIG. 7). The power circuit  41  comprises an on/off switch  47 . The directional light emitting unit  46  is installed in the control circuit board  32 , and controlled by the control circuit board  32  to emit light. The directional light emitting unit  46  may be variously embodied. For example, the directional light emitting unit  46  can be formed as a set of bulbs or light emitting diodes (LED), or a backlit LCD display panel. Alternately, a flexible light emitting polymer (LEP) device could be employed that both generates light and readily conforms to a curved or changing surface. FIG. 9 shows the directional light emitting unit  46  formed as a LED matrix. The control circuit board  32  further comprises a sound driving circuit  48  and a sound generating device, such as a horn, piezoelectric buzzer, or speaker  49 . The light driving circuit  45  and the sound driving circuit  48  are connected in parallel to the comparator circuit  44 , for enabling the directional signal device to produce light signal and sound signal at the same time. The battery set  31  can be a set of #3 or #4 battery cells. Other electronic battery cells may be used as a substitute. The receiving circuit  42  is adapted to wirelessly receive signals from the signal transmitter  1 . The decoder circuit  43  is adapted to amplify and decode signals received from the receiving circuit  42 , for enabling the decoded signals to be sent to the comparator circuit  43  for comparison. Compared signals are then sent to the directional light emitting unit  46 , causing the directional light emitting unit  46  to flash accordingly, indicating the direction to go. In the embodiment shown in FIG. : 1 , there are two reversed direction indexes  36  (one for leftward indication and the other for rightward indication) on the casing of the signal receiver  3 . In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, there are two receivers  3  used with one transmitter.  
     [0019] The casing  13  of the signal transmitter  1  is provided with a fastening belt  17  (see FIG. 13) or clip  18  (see FIG. 5) for mounting. The casing  33  of the signal receiver  3  is provided with a fastening belt  37  (see FIG. 13) or clip  38  (see FIG. 8) for mounting. The fastening belts  17  and  37  may be provided with hook and loop materials for fastening. By means of the belt  37  or clip  38 , the signal receiver  3  can be conveniently fastened to the user&#39;s hand, head, body, bag, dress, or the like. Other fastening techniques may also be used, such as the use of Velcro to secure the receiver.  
     [0020] Alternately, the signal receiver  3  may be directly installed in a left-hand or right-hand glove. As illustrated in FIG. 4, two signal receivers  3  are respectively installed in the left-hand and right-hand gloves  8 , which are worn by the user  7 .  
     [0021] As indicated above, the invention uses wireless transmission technology to transmit signals from a signal transmitter to one or two signal receivers. By means of controlling the signal transmitter, a turn-left or turn-right directional signal is sent wirelessly to the signal receiver, causing the signal receiver to flash and to produce sound. Therefore, the signal receiver can be used as a third directional light.  
     [0022] A prototype of directional signal device has been constructed with the features of FIG. 19. The directional signal device functions smoothly to provide all of the features discussed earlier.  
     [0023] Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.  
     [0024] 12  Control circuit board  
     [0025] 21  Power circuit  
     [0026] 22  Direction selection circuit  
     [0027] 23  Encoder circuit  
     [0028] 24  Transmitting circuit  
     [0029] 25  On/off switch  
     [0030] 26  Directional switch  
     [0031] 32  Control circuit board  
     [0032] 41  Power circuit  
     [0033] 42  Receiving circuit  
     [0034] 43  Decoder circuit  
     [0035] 44  Comparator circuit  
     [0036] 45  Light driving circuit  
     [0037] 46  Directional light emitting unit  
     [0038] 47  On/off switch  
     [0039] 48  Sound driving circuit  
     [0040] 49  Sound generating device  
     [0041]FIG. 7