Abstract:
Disclosed is a vibrating notification device for an automobile. A vibrator is placed within touch of an automobile driver which vibrates upon the automobile engine speed reaching the proper shift point for the automobile. Additional embodiments include sequential lights which activate in order as the automobile&#39;s engine approaches the shift point speed.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention related to the field of automotive notifications. More particularly, the present invention relates to a vibrating driver notification for check engine light, shift points and other useful information. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Majority of present day automobiles, light and heavy trucks and tractors are equipped with multiple-speed transmissions and generally a few pedals. Manual transmissions require frequent shifting by the operator while all automatic transmissions have a manual-mode which requires the operator to actuate a mechanical or an automatic lever or paddles to command a gear change. 
         [0003]    Prior art notifications include shift indicators which are often embodied by a single light on automobile dashboards. These shift light indicators require the vehicle operator to remove attention from the road. Other auditory notifications would interfere with cabin music playing and constitute a nuisance. 
         [0004]    Tactile or vibration notification avoids these issues. Previously, invented by Zac Nelson of Ford in the OpenXC project, is a vibrating shift knob which requires the use of the OpenXC information platform and an Android operated device to function. Further the OpenXC shifter is configured to function on only a true manual. Accordingly, there is a need to create a shift notification which does not require the use of an Android device and is functional on a semi-automatic transmission (SAT). 
       SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
       [0005]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a vibration notification to a vehicle without using an Android device. 
         [0006]    A first aspect of the present invention teaches, An automobile notification device comprising: a vibrator, the vibrator located in the cabin of an automobile and in proximity to a driver station; circuitry, the circuitry wired to the vibrator such that the circuitry is capable of providing activation signals and power to the vibrator; and an engine computer, the engine computer configured to create signals which provide information regarding automobile engine status, wherein the engine computer is wired to the circuitry. 
         [0007]    It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a shift notification on a semi-automatic transmission. 
         [0008]    A second aspect of the present invention teaches the use the automatic transmission to provide engine speed shift data to then provide a vibration notification on the associated shift paddles to notify a driver to shift gears. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is a front view of two shift paddles with a concealed vibration motor in each. 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a front view of an up-shift paddle with concealed circuitry. 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a front view of a down-shift paddle with concealed circuitry. 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is a side view a standard shift-knob and boot. 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  is a shift-knob with a concealed vibration motor. 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  is a shift-linkage with an integrated collar holding the vibrating motor concealed under the shift-boot. 
           [0015]      FIG. 7  is a description of an iteration of the concealed circuitry of  FIGS. 2 and 3 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0016]    Referring now to  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 1  is a portrayal of a first embodiment  20  of the present invention using paddle shifters. Paddle shifters are commonly used invention in relation to electronically controlled transmissions, also referred to as semi-automatic transmissions. These transmissions have a “manual mode” which the operator may select. in this mode, the operator is required to request gear changes. The first embodiment  20  includes a vibrator  22  placed behind each paddle shifter  24 . The vibrator  22  is activated via two electric lines—ground  26 , and activation  28 . The activation line  28  receives a signal from an existing on board computer connected to the automatic transmission upon exceeding an engine speed above which the driver should shift gears. Upon receiving an activation signal, the vibrator  22  will buzz in both paddles notifying the driver to shift. 
         [0017]    Alternatively, raw engine data may be obtained and a shift point calculation may be conducted externally by means of a micro-controller. 
         [0018]    Referring now to  FIG. 2 ,  FIG. 2  displays second embodiment of the present invention with an up-shift paddle  40  concealing some circuitry. The micro-controller board  42  is connected by power  44 , ground  46  and obtains engine speed by means of any standard communication method commonly available on production cars using 2 wires—BUS Receive  48  and BUS Send  50 . The micro-controller board  42  constantly monitors engine speed and sequentially activates SMD LEDs  52 ,  54 ,  56 ,  58 ,  60  and  62  mounted on the surface of the paddle facing the driver leading up to the engine speed shift point where LED  62  is activated at the shift point simultaneously with vibrators  64 ,  66 ,  68  and  70 . Additionally, the micro-controller board  42  sends the engine speed signal to another micro-controller mounted in the down-shift paddle using 4 connections—power  72 , ground  74 , serial send  76  and serial receive  78 . 
         [0019]    Referring now to  FIG. 3 , shows the down-shift paddle  80  associated with the up-shift paddle  40 . This paddle is also embedded with a similar micro-controller board  82  which receives an engine speed signal from the adjacent micro-controller board  42  using 4 lines, power  84 , ground  86 , serial receive  88  and serial send  90 . The micro-controller board  82 , then activates SMD LEDs  92 ,  94 ,  96 ,  98 ,  100  and  102  and vibrators  104 ,  106 ,  108  and  110  in an identical pattern to the up-shift paddle. The calculation for the downshift signal will be conducted internally inside the micro-controller board  42 . The down-shift signal will be generated upon decreasing engine speed until the engine speed is above a set speed. A down-shift signal may also be generated upon an increasing engine speed if the engine speed is below a set speed determined by the semi-automatic transmission. A downshift signal would vibrate at a different frequency than an up-shift signal and the LED&#39;s  92 - 102  and  52 - 62  would activate in reverse order. 
         [0020]    The ability to read information over a communication bus enables the LEDs and the vibrators to activate upon other crucial events. In case of an existing fault within the OBD (on-board diagnostics), both paddles may vibrate simultaneously for a set period at a differing frequency than for shift notifications. 
         [0021]    Referring now to  FIGS. 4 and 5 ,  FIG. 4  is a cross-section of a simple shifter assembly  112  consisting of a shift-knob  114 , shift-linkage  116  and a shift-boot  118 . The simple shifter  112  is a part of manual transmission. Such a transmission has no electrical components and requires the operator to do all the shifting and clutching. Referring now to  FIG. 5 ,  FIG. 5  shows a third embodiment of the present invention including a similar cross-section assembly  120 , concealing a vibrating motor  122  inside the shift-knob  124 . The vibrating motor  122  is activated via two electric lines—ground  126 , and activation  128 . The activation line  128  receives its signal at an engine speed above which the driver should shift gears—this shift signal must come from an existing output on the equipped engine controller. In the absence of such an output from the existing on board computers, an external device must be used to obtain a shift signal. Using a micro-controller (see  FIG. 7 ) which is tapped into the OBD bus the microcontroller would be aware of the engine speed via the OBD bus and use a pre-programmed shift point in which to direct an activation signal to the vibrator  122 . Upon receiving an activation signal, the vibrator  122  buzzes notifying the driver to shift. All circuitry is concealed under the shift-boot  130 . 
         [0022]    Referring now to  FIG. 6 ,  FIG. 6  is a fourth embodiment of the current invention a cross-section of the entire assembly  132 . In this case, a vibrating motor  134  is integrated into the shift-linkage  136 . This allows for a more compact ergonomic shift-knob  137 . The vibrating motor  134  is activated via two electric lines—ground  138 , and activation  140 . The activation line  140  receives its signal from an existing on board computer upon exceeding an engine speed above which the driver should shift gears. Upon receiving an activation signal, the vibrator  134  notifying the driver to shift. All circuitry is concealed under the shift-boot  142 . 
         [0023]    Referring now to  FIG. 7 ,  FIG. 7  describes a micro-controller  142  would be placed within a car and that reads commonly available parameters over the OBD bus present on all vehicles. This micro-controller  142  would be used in the cases of a true manual transmission which would not be connected to any extra electronics as a semi-automatic transmission would. This device consists of a micro-controller board  144  which activates the vibrator via two lines, signal  146  and ground  148  which connect to the vibrating motor ( 126 ,  128 ). The micro-controller board  144  communicates with the vehicle via 4 lines—power  150 , ground  152 , serial send  154  and serial receive  156 .