ES1161933U - Braking signaling device and vehicle traction control. (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding) - Google Patents

Abstract

Braking signaling and traction control luminous device for vehicles which, comprising lights that are incorporated in the rear part of the vehicle (6) and are connected to an electronic control unit (3), is characterized by comprising a control panel illumination (2) with three types of lights (2a, 2b, 2c) of, at least, three different colors, connected to an electronic control unit (3) that is connected, in turn, to a set of detectors (4). ) incorporated in all the wheels (5) of the vehicle (6), capable of activating depending on the deceleration and the good or bad grip of the wheels (5) on the road surface. (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding)

Description

DESCRIPTION

Luminous braking signaling device and traction control for vehicles.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION 5

The invention, as stated in the present specification, refers to a luminous braking signaling device and traction control for vehicles that provides, to the function to which it is intended, advantages and novelty characteristics that will be described in 10 detail later.

The object of the present invention falls, specifically, on a luminous device for vehicles, in particular motor vehicles, whose purpose is to add to the conventional braking signaling system, 15 which all vehicles have at their rear, as an additional means of safety, to serve as a warning to the vehicles that circulate behind, on the deceleration of the vehicle that incorporates the device and, at the same time, on the traction control depending on the state of the sign, being able to modify the type and color of lights that activate 20 depending on the grip that the tires present to the firm before a deceleration or braking in good conditions or before a deceleration or braking in conditions of lack of traction due to the existence of ice, oil, gravel or other sliding conditions, assuming with This is a remarkable improvement for road safety. 25

FIELD OF APPLICATION OF THE INVENTION

The field of application of the present invention is part of the industry sector dedicated to the manufacture of apparatus, systems and light signaling devices for motor vehicles,

focusing particularly on the field of braking warning devices.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

 5

Currently, most motor vehicles incorporate additional electronic systems that improve driving safety. Among them, the ABS (of the German Antiblockiersystem anti-lock system of wheels or anti-lock brakes), which, as is known, consists of a device that makes the braking force 10 vary to prevent the tires from losing their grip on the ground.

In summary, it consists of a pump that is incorporated into the circuits of the brake fluid and some rotation sensors that control the revolutions 15 of the wheels connected to an electronic control unit so that, if a brake brakes one or several wheels reduce Suddenly its revolutions, the control unit detects it and interprets that the wheels are about to be locked without the vehicle having stopped. This means that the vehicle will start to slide on the ground without control, and so that this does not happen, the sensors send a signal to the control unit that reduces the pressure of the brake fluid without the driver intervening in it.

Another of the systems that incorporate some vehicles to improve driving safety is the traction control which, known by the acronym ASR (Anti-Slip Regulation) or TCS (Traction Control System), is a car safety system launched at market by Bosch in 1986 and designed to prevent the loss of adhesion of the wheels and that they skate when the driver exceeds the acceleration of the vehicle or when the road is very slippery (e.g. ice) and that, in

In general, it works based on electrohydraulic systems and can use the same sensors and drives of the ABS system, since it controls whether, on acceleration, one of the wheels of the motor axle of the car skates, that is, it rotates at a higher speed than it should, and, in this case, the control unit acts in order to reduce the torque and thus recover the adhesion between tire and firm, performing different actions on the spark of one or more cylinders, the fuel injection or the brake fluid of the wheel that has lost grip.

The most common situations in which this system operates are the 10 sharp accelerations on wet and / or gravel roads, as well as on dirt roads and on icy surfaces.

On the other hand, different documents are known in the state of the art that describe light systems and devices for warning of braking and / or deceleration of the vehicle, among which the following are worth mentioning as more remarkable.

European patent E99303782, referring to a PROGRESSIVE BRAKE LIGHT SYSTEM, which describes a progressive brake light system 20 to provide an indication to the driver of the vehicle driving behind about the intensity with which the vehicle equipped with the system is decelerating comprising: an accelerometer located inside a vehicle and intended to detect the deceleration of the vehicle; a set of lamps that includes a plurality of lamps 25 destined, each of them, to be ignited when being supplied with current; control means connected between the accelerometer and the lamp assembly, the control means being intended to control the power supply to the lamps in a predetermined sequence as the detected deceleration increases; 30 characterized in that memory means are also provided for

continuously monitor the deceleration detected by the accelerometer and to store a maximum deceleration detected; in which means are provided for replenishing the memory media; and in which the lamp assembly also includes a peripheral lamp configured to offer the appearance of a light source that extends around the rest of the lamp assembly, whose peripheral lamp is turned on when the maximum stored deceleration is detected. In addition, it includes a mode selection switch to choose a predetermined sequence of lamp lighting.

 10

The P9500058 patent is known for an INDICATOR DEVICE OF ACCELERATION OR DECELERATION OF VEHICLES that proposes to eliminate the deficiency of existing information regarding acceleration or deceleration that a vehicle for transporting people, animals or things (car, truck, bus, van, motorcycle , etc.) receives from 15 others that circulate more or less close to it, or provides to them. For this, the device consists of three parts: a) Deceleration acceleration meter (MAD). b) Pilot acceleration deceleration (PAD). c) Sneak acceleration-deceleration. It also has means of communication of the acceleration or deceleration measurements 20 made by the MAD and which are sent to the PAD and the sneak.

It is also able, through its acceleration-deceleration meter (MAD), to obtain the vehicle speed, process its variations with respect to time and thus obtain the acceleration or deceleration that occurs at any time and then translate them into electrical orders that sends to the PAD and the sneak being able to do it to other means.

European patent E92200430 discloses a BRAKE LIGHT ACTIVATION SYSTEM AND INERTIAL SIGNAL GENERATOR DEVICE OF THE SAME, which refers to a safety system for the activation of the brake lights of a car before

that the actual braking action takes place. According to another aspect, the invention lies in an inertial device that generates signals of improved design.

The safety system of the present invention, as claimed in claim 1, when installed on the accelerator pedal, detects the acceleration vector produced by pedal movements. When said acceleration vector exceeds a preset value, as happens when the accelerator pedal is released abruptly, the electronic circuit activates the brake lights for a predetermined period of time, usually one second.

This is achieved by a relatively small and simple safety system that offers an easy-to-install device for vehicle manufacturers (original equipment manufacturing, Original Equipment 15 Manufacture, or OEM) and for vehicles already purchased (after-sales installation).

The system according to the invention is a universal safety system that can be used in all vehicles on the market without requiring special adapters. It relies on a stress-sensitive resistance (Force Sensing Resistor, or FSR) to detect the acceleration vector produced by the movements of the accelerator pedal. It provides a safe system that dramatically improves the impending braking signal of the car, as long as the accelerator pedal is released abruptly. 25

Patent P200700940 discloses a BRAKING SIGNALING DEVICE FOR VEHICLES specially designed to relate the activation of the brake lights in a vehicle with the pressing of the brake pedal of the same, which starts from the implantation 30 of a pressure sensor associated with the pedal of the aforementioned vehicle brake,

which is associated with a control circuit, materialized in a microcontroller or microprocessor, which, through the information received through the pressure sensor, and thanks to a programming software or firmware connects different lighting circuits with a source of power, specifically the vehicle battery. 5

Thus, it is envisaged that in substitution of the classic brake drivers, the vehicle incorporates a plurality of LEDs, grouped in several independent circuits, preferably forming concentric geometric figures in the case of the left and 10 right brake lights.

The patent P200400601 describes a DEVICE FOR BRAKING SIGNALING IN VEHICLES that is installed in the front of the vehicle and whose mission is to notify the 15 drivers of the vehicles that circulate in front, that braking is taking place.

The function, therefore, is to signal that drivers are stopping or slowing down the drivers ahead, the 20 pedestrians when crossing streets or roads and also other drivers approaching them.

In general, the device for braking signaling in vehicles, object of the invention, is applicable to all kinds of 25 vehicles, whether cars, buses, motorcycles, etc. Having luminous elements indicative of the braking phases, in the front part of the vehicle, the pedestrians and / or vehicles that are approaching the vehicle are informed, if they are going to stop or continue the march. 30

The device includes at least three lights or luminescent elements, such as LEDs, located in the upper or lower area of the windshield. Of these lights, those at the ends are preferably red and are activated when the abovementioned pedal is pressed, simultaneously with the way of the conventional rear brake lights, indicating by their color and situation that the vehicle is braking. Once the vehicle stops, the third light, or block of lights, is switched on from the central and intermediate part to the red ones, which has a different color, for example green, thus closing the braking circuit and indicating in two phases the driver performance. 10

Utility model U200200630 describes an EMERGENCY BRAKING WARNING DEVICE FOR VEHICLES comprising a sensor to determine whether the braking operation of a vehicle corresponds to a normal situation or an extraordinary 15 or emergency situation, which due to its intensity is due expressly notify when turning on the brake and steering lights together. Said sensor is of optical activation, being constituted by a ramp in which a sphere or rolling element is disposed that depending on the deceleration of the vehicle ascends by said ramp 20 producing said notification by means of the interruption or release of a light barrier, such as that established by a photosensor diode and a light source.

The utility model U200600363 also refers to an ANTICIPATION DEVICE 25 FOR THE SIGNALING OF THE BRAKING ACTION, IN PARTICULAR FOR AUTOMOBILE VEHICLES characterized by the fact that it comprises a motion detection sensor arranged in a brake pedal of the motor vehicle, whose sensor is associated with the electrical connection of the rear light of 30 indicating the braking action of a vehicle so that, when

The motion sensor detects a driver's foot within a predetermined motion detection area, sends an electrical signal by operating the rear indicator indicating the braking action.

Thanks to these characteristics, a device designed to increase safety and decrease the number of traffic accidents is obtained, since the driver behind the carrier vehicle of the device object of the invention obtains a hundredths of a second more reaction.

 10

The P9901733 patent rests with an OPTICAL SIGNALING AND BRAKING SIGNAL MODULE IN AUTOMOBILE VEHICLES that aims to enhance information and / or communication between road users, being mainly indicated for driving in urban centers and in those areas where it is presumably 15 greater traffic agglomeration. The invention includes the creation of a new optical signaling system or module, to be installed in motor vehicles, of deceleration and braking, contemplating red light that illuminates when the brake pedal is operated and turns off when released, remaining the same as the conventional system, and amber light that lights up when the accelerator pedal is released and goes out when the accelerator pedal is operated or when the brake pedal is operated

The P9501257 patent describes a NOTICE SYSTEM IN THE VEHICLE SPEED DECREASES, of the type of 25 those that operate independently of the braking systems that are characteristic of the vehicles and comprise a circuit that automatically closes in the vehicle. moment to stop stepping on the accelerator pedal and consequently a lamp is lit as a signal prior to a possible decrease in speed and that when the vehicle speed decreases there is a displacement of the

piece by effect of inertia and in that displacement the plate closes successive circuits that feed a series of lamps that with their illumination "Warn of the decrease of speed".

Likewise, the utility model U9802460 describes a PROGRESSIVE SPEED DECREASE LISTENER that comprises a system consisting of a controller-emitter device or several units attached, next to the pedals or in any other part of the vehicle, which can be transmitted to another receiving device. signal of decrease of speed when raising the foot of the accelerator, activating the receiving device the 10 ignition of the lights of braking and allowing that the other conductors perceive the warning in time. The subsequent operation on the brake pedal causes the gradual ignition of a greater number of lights in the luminaires of the braking signals, thereby increasing their intensity and therefore indicating to other drivers the extent of the decrease in the speed.

The signal from the controller-transmitter device to the receiver can be sent through conductive wires (electrically), electronically by impulses or by any other system that allows the required reliability. twenty

However, none of the aforementioned documents describe a luminous braking signaling device for vehicles with the technical, structural and constitutive characteristics similar to those specifically presented by the one claimed herein.

EXPLANATION OF THE INVENTION

The luminous braking signaling and traction control device 30 for vehicles proposed by the invention is thus configured as a

novelty within its field of application, the distinguishing details being conveniently set forth in the final claims that accompany the present description.

Specifically, what the invention proposes, as noted above, is a luminous device for motor vehicles designed as an additional system of conventional braking signaling lighting incorporated by cars at its rear, and whose essential purpose is to increase the road safety by serving as a warning and signaling about the deceleration of the vehicle that the device incorporates, so that the vehicles behind it can see it and know if it is a deceleration by braking under normal conditions or if it is a deceleration caused by the eventual loss of traction control due to some anomalous circumstance, in particular due to a bad grip due to the existence of ice, oil, gravel or other 15 sliding elements or causes of the bad state of the firm, modifying the type and color of lights that are activated In one case or another.

More specifically, the luminous device of the invention essentially comprises a set or panel of lights of at least three different colors 20 that are connected to an electronic control unit connected, in turn, to a set of detectors incorporated in the wheels of the vehicle in such a way that, when the vehicle slows down due to braking or any other circumstance, for example a slope, lack of acceleration or lack of traction, lights of a certain color are activated, for example orange, announcing in advance to the vehicles that circulate behind said deceleration, with the particularity that, at the same time, depending on the activation of all or only one or two of the wheel detectors that indicate a normal or abnormal deceleration of the vehicle and the correct grip or not of 30 tires to the firm, that is, the existence of a lack of traction or

no, one or more lights of a second or a third color are also activated depending on whether one cause or another, that is, for example green if the deceleration has been caused by a normal effect and the detectors have been activated at the same time in the four wheels, and for example red if the deceleration has occurred due to some anomalous circumstance that makes the vehicle skid causing only one of the detectors to be activated.

It should be noted that, preferably, the detectors incorporated in the wheels of the vehicle are the rotation sensors themselves that use the vehicle's ABS system 10 or, optionally, additional sensors of other active safety systems that the vehicle can incorporate, allowing to take advantage of the installation and connections thereof. Likewise, the electronic control unit for controlling the light assembly, also preferably, is a plate or component added to the electronic control unit itself that vehicles already incorporate for the electronic control of said safety systems and for other electrical components vehicle.

 twenty

Finally, note that, preferably, the set of lights of the device is based on LEDs.

The described luminous braking signaling and traction control device for vehicles consists, then, in an innovative structure of 25 characteristics unknown until now for the purpose to which it is intended, reasons that together with its practical utility, provide it with sufficient basis for obtain the privilege of exclusivity that is requested.

 30

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To complement the description that is being made and in order to help a better understanding of the features of the invention, this descriptive report is attached, as an integral part thereof, of a sheet of drawings in which, with Illustrative and non-limiting, the following has been represented:

Figure 1 and only.- It shows a schematic representation of the luminous braking signaling and traction control device for 10 vehicles, object of the invention, showing the essential parts and elements that it comprises and its arrangement in the vehicle.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

 fifteen

In view of the described figure 1 and unique, and according to the numbering adopted therein, it can be seen how the device (1) in question essentially comprises a lighting panel (2) with three types of lights of, at least three different colors, for example a first color (2a) orange, a second color (2b) green and a third color (2c) red, 20 that are connected to an electronic control unit (3) connected , in turn, to a set of detectors (4) incorporated in all the wheels (5) of the vehicle (6), said switchboard (3) being programmed in such a way that, before the deceleration of the vehicle, under any circumstance, the lights of a first color (2a) are activated and, at the same time, depending on the activation of the detectors (4) depending on the firm grip, those of a second color (2b) are activated when the deceleration has occurred for a normal braking effect with good grip or for lack of acceleration or for a question a, or those of a third color (2c) are activated when said deceleration has been caused by an abnormal effect and there is a lack of grip on the firm that makes the vehicle skate for example by

the existence of ice, oil, gravel or other sliding element.

Preferably, the detectors (4) incorporated in the wheels (5) of the vehicle (6) are the rotation sensors of the vehicle's ABS system and / or those of another active safety system, for example traction control 5 that incorporate the vehicle. And, in the same way, the electronic control unit (3) is part of the electronic control unit of the vehicle itself that controls said systems and other components.

In any case, the detectors (4) of the device (1) are trained 10 to be activated based on the joint deceleration of all wheels (5) of the vehicle (6), which will be determined by braking or deceleration in good conditions. grip the firm, and also to activate before the independent deceleration of one or the other wheels (5), at least, of one, which will be determined by a bad grip on the firm or other anomalous circumstance.

Finally, preferably, the lights of the three colors (2a, 2b, 2c) of the lighting panel (2) of the device (1), which logically is incorporated in the rear of the vehicle (6), are LED lighting diodes . twenty

Describing sufficiently the nature of the present invention, as well as the way of putting it into practice, it is not considered necessary to make its explanation more extensive so that any person skilled in the art understands its scope and the advantages that derive from it, stating that, within its essentiality, it may be implemented in 25 other embodiments that differ in detail from that indicated by way of example, and to which it will also achieve the protection that is sought provided that it is not altered, changed or modified its principle fundamental.

30

Claims (6)

1.- Luminous braking signaling device and traction control for vehicles that, comprising lights that are incorporated in the rear of the vehicle (6) and connected to an electronic control unit of 5 control (3), is characterized by comprising a lighting panel (2) with three types of lights (2a, 2b, 2c) of at least three different colors, connected to an electronic control unit (3) that is connected, in turn, to a set of detectors (4) incorporated in all the wheels (5) of the vehicle (6), capable of being activated according to the deceleration and the good or bad grip of the wheels (5) to the firm. 2. Luminous braking signaling and traction control device for vehicles according to claim 1, characterized in that the lights of a first color (2a) are orange, those of a second color (2b) are green and those of a Third color (2c) are red. 3.- Luminous braking signaling and traction control device for vehicles according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the detectors (4) incorporated in the wheels (5) of the vehicle (6) are the 20 rotation sensors of the system Vehicle ABS 4. Luminous braking signaling and traction control device for vehicles, according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the detectors (4) incorporated in the wheels (5) 25 of the vehicle (6) are the turn sensors of an additional active safety system, such as traction control, which incorporates the vehicle. 5.- Luminous braking signaling and traction control device 30 for vehicles, according to claim 1, characterized in that the electronic control unit (3) is part of the electronic control unit of the vehicle itself that controls other systems and other components. 6. Luminous braking signaling and traction control device 5 for vehicles according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the lights of the three colors (2a, 2b, 2c) of the lighting panel (2) are lighting diodes LED.  10