ES382349A1 - Improvements in a motor vehicle that has a signaling device. (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding) - Google Patents

Abstract

The rear direction indicator flasher lamps 10, 101 are connected in series with resistors 11, 111 shunted by contacts 12a, 121a controlled by a relay 12, the relay circuit including a contact of a switch 13b which is closed when it is required to illuminate the parking lights 14. On operation of the direction indicator switch 7 the left or right-hand indicator lamps 8, 9, 10 or 81, 91, 101 are flashed by the unit 5 connected to a battery 1. In daylight the switch 13b is open, relay 12 is not energized and contacts 12a, 121a are closed so that full battery voltage, e.g. 12V, is applied to the lamp 10 or 101. When switch 13b is closed the relay 12 is connected in parallel with a lamp 10 or 101 through a diode 18 or 181. The relay is calibrated so that it requires about 8 volts for it to operate and open contacts 12a, 121a. Thus 8 volts must appear across the lamp 10 or 101 before the resistor 11 or 111 is connected in series. This voltage builds up during a time interval in which the lamp filament warms up and thus ensures that the resistor is not connected too soon whereby the lamp filament would be too cold to emit a flash. In another embodiment (Fig. 3, not shown), the brake signal lamp has a series resistor controlled by a relay connected in parallel with that lamp and operating similarly to the relay 12.