AU711999B1 - Information display arrangement - Google Patents

Description

Australia Patents Act 1990 Complete Specification for a Standard Patent Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address of Service: Phillip David Pluck as above.

63 Norfolk Rd North Epping 2121 Australia Invention Title: "Information Display Arrangement" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: The present invention relates to an information display arrangement for motor racing helmets.

The invention has been developed for use by drivers and riders operating vehicles such as cars, go-carts, motorcycles and the like, especially when racing. The invention is particularly suited for use by off road motorcyclists, such as motocross riders, and will be described hereinafter with reference to this usage. However it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to this particular field of use.

Motor racing of any type, and motocross in particular, is, by its very nature, a physically and mentally demanding activity. It is necessary for the rider to be simultaneously aware of the operative state of the motorcycle (such as engine revolutions per minute {hereinafter referred to as RPM}, the gear which is engaged by the transmission of the machine, the traction available to the tyres, the state of the suspension, the manner in which the motorcycle is flying after launching from a jump, etc) along with a myriad of external factors such as any other riders in close proximity and the numerous challenging and potentially dangerously destabilising obstacles such as jumps, ruts, berms and puddles which are prevalent upon motocross tracks.

As the rider's attention must be virtually constantly upon the track, motocross bikes are almost universally supplied without any speedometers, tachometers or other such equipment designed to give the rider some information as to the operative state of the machine. This contrasts with road based motorcycles and trail bikes which usually have such equipment mounted to the machine near the handlebars to allow the rider to quickly glance down to receive some accurate information. Hence, motocross riders must rely solely upon listening to the tone of the engine exhaust to guess RPM, and, if they wish to know what gear is engaged by the transmission, must keep a mental count of gear changes. Additionally, they must make an educated guess as to the speed of their machine at any given time.

A rider's precise awareness of the operative state of the machine can be crucial to safe and efficient riding. For example, the speed when taking off from a jump is an important determinant of whether the rider will launch the machine the required distance to safely clear a jump. This is particularly true when jumping so-called "double jumps", which consist of a first dirt mound providing an up ramp and a second dirt mount spaced from the first to provide a down ramp. If the rider and machine project off the first mound at a speed slightly lower than that required to land on the down ramp, the bike and rider may land by slamming into the upwardly inclined face of the second dirt mound, often resulting in an awkward crash.

Similarly, if the rider and machine are projected from the first jump at too great a speed, they will overshoot the down ramp and be forced to land on the often flat ground beyond. This is less likely to result in a crash, but nevertheless results in an unduly harsh landing.

Further, motocross tracks often provide only a fairly short distance to accelerate the machine from a slow speed dictated by a sharp corner, up to the speed required to clear a jump. In the split second available to a motocross racer to decide whether or not to attempt such a jump when coming out of a sharp corner, the rider must be confident that the machine is in the necessary gear to provide optimum acceleration up to the preferred jumping speed.

At the commencement of a motocross race it is very important for a rider to get a good start if that rider wishes to do well in the race. A good start requires, amongst other things, the engine to be spinning at the optimum RPM to ensure that there is enough power available to launch the machine quickly from the gate, but not so much RPM as to limit acceleration by excessive wheel spin. As outlined above, a motocross rider is limited by the prior art to listening to the engine exhaust tone to guess the RPM. This is particularly difficult to do when on a starting grid in close proximity to numerous other motorcycles which are all also noisily revving their engines.

It is an object of the present invention to ameliorate one or more of the disadvantages of the prior art, or at least to provide an alternative thereto.

According to the invention there is provided an information display arrangement for motor racing helmets having a peak disposed adjacent an eye port, said information display arrangement including display means being disposable upon said peak or upon goggles adapted to reside in said eye port, said display means being in communication with electronic monitoring circuitry adapted to drive said display means so as to indicate an operative state of a vehicle.

Preferably the display gives information indicative of any one or more of the engine RPM, the gear engaged by the transmission, the engine temperature and/or the speed of the vehicle.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a schematic view of another preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 is a front view of a preferred embodiment of an alternative display means according to the present invention; Figure 4 is a front view of a preferred embodiment of another alternative display means according to the present invention; Figure 5 is a perspective view of a prior art helmet; Figure 6 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention in use; Figure 7 is a sectional part-view of a helmet with a display means attached thereto; Referring to the drawings, the information display arrangement 5 includes electronic display means 6 which is disposable upon the peak 14 of the helmet 7, or upon the goggles 10. The display means 6 is in communication with electronic monitoring circuitry 8 adapted to drive the display means 6 to indicate the operative state of a vehicle 9.

In one embodiment the electronic monitoring circuitry 8 is disposed upon the vehicle 9. For example, if the vehicle is an off road motorcycle, the electronic monitoring circuitry may be disposed in a plurality of different locations, such as under the seat 11, attached to frame rails 12, or to the fork triple clamps (not shown). In another preferred embodiment, the electronic monitoring means 6 is disposed upon the rider 13, for example in a back pack. For vehicles such as racing cars, the electronic monitoring circuitry may be disposed, for example, upon the dashboard or mounted to the chassis.

As illustrated in figure 5, the peak 14 is typically disposed adjacent an eye port The peak 14 provides a convenient mounting point for the display means 6. In some embodiments the electronic display means 6 is integrally formed with a peak 14 of the helmet 7. In other embodiments the electronic display means 6 is attachable to the peak of a standard prior art helmet 7 by fastening means such as any one or combination of glue, bolts and/or clamps.

Examples of the display face 16 are shown in figures 1 to 4. The display face is preferably angled such that, when disposed on the peak 14, it faces towards the eye port, however does not significantly obscure vision from the eye port. This is best shown in the cross sectional depiction of figure 7. The peak 14 is a generally planar projection extending from the helmet shell 17 above the eye port 15 and terminating at a distal rim 18. The electronic display means 6 is preferably disposed on, or adjacent to, the rim 18. It has been appreciated by the inventor that when wearing the helmet 7 it can be difficult to focus ones vision on the display means 6 disposed on the peak 14 as it is at fairly close proximity to ones eyes. Nevertheless, it is still possible to be aware of the information being displayed if one focuses instead into the distance and takes note of the display through the peripheral vision. Hence, by using the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the rider is given information regarding the operative state of the vehicle in a manner which can be readily observed even while the rider is watching the track.

The electronic monitoring circuitry 8 can be configured to sense various aspects of the operation of the vehicle 9. Probably of main use to most motor racers is an indication of the engine RPM of the vehicle. There are different methods by which the engine RPM may be monitored, the majority of which involve monitoring components of the ignition system (not illustrated) of the vehicle. A method favoured by the inventor is to attach a conductive wire 20 to the high tension cable (not illustrated) which drives the spark plug. The preferable means by which the wire is attached to the high tension cable is by wrapping a loosely coiled spring around it. Despite the shielding which is usually provided around the high tension cable, it has been found by the inventor that a voltage spike is induced in the spring each time the ignition system sends a high voltage current along the high tension cable to the spark plug. This method of sensing the functioning of the ignition system is preferred as it does not require any changes to the ignition system, such as the stripping of wires, or the placement of magnetic sensors. It will be appreciated, however, that other methods of sensing the engine RPM may be employed.

The voltage spike is fed along wire 20 to the electronic monitoring circuitry 8 which is adapted to process the spikes so as to determine the engine RPM. In one embodiment, the electronic monitoring circuitry includes a microprocessor which counts the spikes. If the engine is of the two stroke variety, each spike sensed from the ignition can be equated with a revolution of the crankshaft of the engine and hence the engine RPM is equal to the number of spikes per minute. If the engine is of the four stroke variety, each of the ignition spikes can be equated with two rotations of the crankshaft, and hence the engine RPM is equal to two times the number of spikes per minute.

The electronic monitoring circuitry 8 also includes display driving circuitry (not illustrated) which is adapted to drive the electronic display means 6 so as to provide an indication of the information sensed by the electronic monitoring circuitry 8. For example, an indication of the engine RPM can be represented by any of the display means 6 shown in figures 1 to 4, with the display means 6 shown in figure 4 being most suited to display of information relating solely to engine RPM. The electronic display means 6 includes a linear array of LED's 19, each of which are a colour selected to indicate the proximity of the engine RPM, as sensed by the electronic monitoring means 8, to a pre-defined preferred maximum engine RPM, colloquially known as the engine "red line". This upper engine RPM limit is different for each design of engine. For the display means 6 having ten LED's 19, such as those shown in figures 1,2 and 4, the eight left-most LED's are preferably green. The ninth LED is preferably amber and the tenth LED is preferably red. Each of the LEDs are lit by the display driving circuitry once the sensed engine RPM reaches predefined thresholds.

For example, for an engine having a red line of 9000 RPM, and a display means 6 having ten LEDs arranged as described above, the thresholds may be defined as follows: LED Colour RPM Threshold First Green 4500 Second Green 5000 Third Green 5500 Fourth Green 6000 Fifth Green 6500 Sixth Green 7000 Seventh Green 7500 Eighth Green 8000 Ninth Amber 8500 Tenth Red 9000 As each new higher engine RPM threshold is reached, the display circuitry in one embodiment turns off the lower LED and lights the next LED. For example, if using the above thresholds, a sensed engine RPM of 6200 would be indicated by the sole lighting of the fourth LED. As only one LED is lit at any time, this has the advantage that less power is consumed by the LED's, but the disadvantage that the display may be less clearly interpreted by the rider.

In another embodiment the display circuitry keeps the lower LED's lit when the engine RPM reaches a new, higher threshold. This means that, in the preceding example, the first, second, third and fourth LED's would be lit. This approach uses more power, but has the advantage of greater clarity.

Hence, by using either of the above described preferred embodiments, a reasonably accurate indication of the engine RPM can be gained simply by noting how far along the linear array the LED(s) are lit. Additionally, while on the starting line, the rider can hold the engine RPM steady at the desired level by watching the display means 6, rather than trying to hear the exhaust tone over the noise made by the machines of the opponents. For example, if the rider believes that approximately 5500 RPM is the optimum starting revs for the conditions, the rider can rev the engine until the third LED is lit, and then easily maintain the engine at that level to within 500 RPM.

In the display means 6 of the embodiment shown in figure 3, there are only three LEDs, the first being green, the second being amber and the third being red. This three light arrangement is a basic "shift light". For the preferred embodiment of the invention to operate in this manner, the thresholds are preferably set fairly close to the red line. For example, for a vehicle having a red line of 9000 RPM, the green LED may be lit when the engine RPM reaches 8000, the amber at 8500 RPM and the red at 9000 RPM. Using this arrangement, the rider can wait until the amber light is lit before changing gears to ensure that the engine is always revved to close to the red line before gear changes. In this manner the rider can ensure that the maximum possible power is obtained from the engine.

An alternative display means (not illustrated) uses a liquid crystal display adapted to display a bar. The length of the bar is controlled by the electronic monitoring means 8 to be proportional to the engine RPM. In another alternative embodiment the length of the bar is inversely proportional such that the bar which obscures the background is revealed as the engine RPM rises. The liquid crystal display background is brightly coloured so that the rider can focus upon the coloured background rather than the dull bar as the source of information. This arrangement has advantage of very low power requirements as compared to the use of LED's. On the other hand, this arrangement is less easily interpreted by the rider, so from this viewpoint the LED's are the preferred approach.

To ensure that the preferred embodiment can be used with different vehicles, each of which may have different red lines, the electronic monitoring circuitry includes provision for a switch having various settings, each of which correspond to different red lines. For example, the switch of one embodiment has numerous different settings which correspond to red lines spaced between 3000 RPM and 14,000 RPM.

Alternatively, the red line may be programmed into the circuitry to allow it to be tailored for each specific application.

In another embodiment the electronic monitoring circuitry is adapted to sense the speed of the vehicle. This can most conveniently be done by placing a magnetic source on one of the non-driven wheels and mounting a magnetic sensor onto the vehicle at a position such that the magnet passes close to the sensor each time the wheel completes a revolution, thereby inducing a control signal, such as a voltage spike, to be generated by the sensor. By counting the control signals per unit of time, and multiplying this count by the outer circumference of the tyre which is mounted on the non-driven wheel, the electronic monitoring circuitry can calculate the distance travelled per unit time, in other words, the speed. The speed is displayed by the display means 6, for example on the bar graph 21 shown in figure 3.

In another embodiment the electronic monitoring circuitry 8 is adapted to sense the gear engaged by the transmission of the vehicle. In one embodiment this is achieved by sensors interacting directly with the components of the gearbox. In a more preferable embodiment, the gear is calculated from the ratio of engine RPM to rotational speed of a driven wheel. This method does not require any mechanical interference with the gearbox components. The gear is displayed on the electronic display means 6, for example by numeric display 22 which displays an integral numeral between 0 and 9. Alternatively, a series of LED's are successively lit to display the engaged gear.

To ensure that the gear sensor can be used with any vehicle, and for the same vehicle but with different drive ratios, the electronic monitoring circuitry has provision for a calibration procedure. This consists of connecting the engine RPM sensor and the driven wheel sensor to the vehicle and then using the vehicle's engine to drive the driven wheel in each of the available gears. The electronic monitoring sensor then stores the various ratios of engine RPM to driven wheel rotational speed. This calibration procedure must be repeated each time the final drive ratio, or internal gearbox ratios, are altered.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the ratio of engine RPM to driven wheel rotational speed is only constant whilst the clutch is fully disengaged. If the clutch is slipping, the ratio will not remain stable and the embodiment of the gear sensor which relies upon this ratio will not function. The avoidance of this problem is an advantage of the embodiment which mechanically senses the engaged gear.

The engine temperature is sensed in another embodiment, the display for which is shown in figure 3. In this embodiment (not illustrated) a thermometer is attached to the electronic monitoring means. The thermometer is adapted to sense the temperature of the engine and the electronic monitoring means is adapted to illuminate a warning light on said display means if the engine temperature exceeds a predefined temperature threshold. In this way the user of the vehicle can help to avoid overheating the engine.

In the embodiment illustrated in figures 2 and 6, the electronic monitoring circuitry 8 communicates with the electronic display means 6 via a cable 24. If the electronic monitoring circuitry is mounted to the vehicle, for example to the seat 11 of a motorcycle 9, the cable 24 extends from the vehicle to the helmet. As the rider usually moves significantly to shift body weight for cornering, braking, accelerating, etc, the cable 24 is resiliently extensible. In one embodiment the cable is spirally wound in a manner similar to the cable which extends from a telephone to the handpiece, The cable 24 terminates at a plug which mates with a socket 25 provided upon the helmet 7 (as shown in figure 6) or upon the display means 6. The cable 24 preferably extends from the rear of the seat 11 and is supported by releasable attachment to the back of the rider's shirt.

The use of the cable 24 has the advantage of manufacturing simplicity, but the disadvantages of potentially inhibiting the freedom of movement of the rider and requiring the rider to attach and detach the cable 24 from the socket 25 each time the rider gets on or off the motorcycle. An alternative embodiment illustrated in figure 1 addresses these disadvantages by providing the electronic monitoring circuitry 8 with a transmitter adapted to communicate with a receiver 27 which is connected to the display means 6. The receiver is mounted upon the helmet 7. In one embodiment the transmitter 26 and receiver 27 communicate with each other via infra-red radiation. In another embodiment they use radio frequency waves. In these embodiments both the electronic monitoring circuitry 8 and the display 6 are separately powered by respective battery units.

Although the invention has been described with reference to specific examples, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention may be embodied in many other forms.

Claims (20)

1. An information display arrangement for motor racing helmets having a peak disposed adjacent an eye port, said information display arrangement including display means being disposable upon said peak or upon goggles adapted to reside in said eye port, said display means being in communication with electronic monitoring circuitry adapted to drive said display means so as to indicate an operative state of a vehicle.

2. An information display arrangement according to claim 1 wherein said peak is a generally planar projection extending from said helmet above said eye port and terminating at a distal rim, and wherein said display means is disposed on, or adjacent to, said rim.

3. An information display arrangement according to claim 1 or 2 wherein said electronic monitoring circuitry is adapted to sense an engine RPM of said vehicle and to drive said electronic display means so as to indicate said engine RPM.

4. An information display arrangement according to claim 3 wherein said electronic monitoring circuitry is electrically connected to a wire attachable to a high tension cable which, in turn, is attached to a spark plug of said vehicle such that a voltage spike is induced in said wire each time an ignition system of said vehicle sends a high voltage current along the high tension cable, said voltage spike being fed along said wire to said electronic monitoring means. An information display arrangement according to claim 4 wherein said electronic monitoring means is adapted to count said voltage spikes.

6. An information display arrangement according to any one of claims 3 to 5 wherein said electronic display means is, or includes, an array of LED's.

7. An information display arrangement according to claim 6 wherein each of said LED's are one of a number of colours selected to indicate a proximity of said engine RPM to a pre-defined preferred maximum engine RPM.

8. An information display arrangement according to claim 7 wherein one or more green LED's are lit by said electronic monitoring circuitry to indicate an engine RPM which is below a first pre-defined threshold RPM.

9. An information display arrangement according to claim 8 wherein one or more amber LED's are lit by said electronic monitoring circuitry to indicate an engine RPM which is above said first pre-defined threshold RPM, but below a second pre-defined threshold RPM. An information display arrangement according to claim 9 wherein one or more red LED's are lit by said electronic monitoring circuitry to indicate a sensed engine RPM which is above said second pre-defined threshold RPM.

11. An information display arrangement according to any one of claims 3 to 5 wherein said display means is, or includes, a liquid crystal display adapted to display a bar having a length which is controlled by said electronic monitoring means so as to be proportional to said engine RPM.

12. An information display arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said electronic monitoring circuitry is adapted to sense a gear engaged by a transmission of said vehicle and to drive said electronic display means so as to indicate said gear.

13. An information display arrangement according to claim 12 wherein said electronic display means is adapted to display an integral numeral between 0 and 9.

14. An information display arrangement according to claim 12 or 13 wherein said electronic monitoring circuitry is adapted to measure a rotational speed of a driving wheel of said vehicle and an engine RPM of said vehicle and to calculate the gear engaged by the transmission based upon a ratio of said rotational speed to said engine RPM. An information display arrangement according to claim 14, wherein a magnetic source is disposed upon said driving wheel and a sensor is disposed upon said vehicle so as to sense the passing of said magnetic source upon each rotation of the driving wheel, said sensor being electrically connected to said electronic monitoring circuitry.

16. An information display arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims further including a thermometer attached to said electronic monitoring means, said thermometer being adapted to sense the temperature of an engine of said vehicle, said electronic monitoring means being adapted to illuminate a warning light on said display means if said engine temperature exceeds a predefined temperature threshold.

17. An information display arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said electronic monitoring circuitry communicates with said electronic display means via a cable.

18. An information display arrangement according to claim 17 wherein said cable is resiliently extensible.

19. An information display arrangement according to claim 18 wherein said cable is spirally wound. An information display arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said electronic monitoring circuitry includes a transmitter adapted to communicate with a receiver connected to said display means.

21. An information display arrangement according to claim 20 wherein said transmitter and receiver communicate with each other via either infra-red radiation or radio frequency waves.

22. An information display arrangement according to claim 20 or 21 wherein both said electronic monitoring circuitry and said display are separately powered by respective battery units.

23. An information display arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said electronic display means is integrally formed with the peak of said helmet.

24. An information display arrangement substantially as herein described with reference to any one of the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. Dated this 1 st Day of September, 1999 Phillip David Pluck