FR3072642A1 - METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING SIGNALING LIGHTS FOR A VEHICLE ASSEMBLY AND APPARATUS - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a garment (10) adapted to be worn by a vehicle driver without a passenger compartment, comprising - means (11) for receiving a control signal transmitted by radio via a master device located on another vehicle; - Means for, upon receipt, determine the control of the traffic lights (21, 22, 31, 32, 41, 42) positioned on said garment.

Description

SIGNALING LIGHT CONTROL METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR A VEHICLE ASSEMBLY AND CLOTHING THEREOF

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of controlling a set of signaling lights for a set of vehicles, in particular two-wheeled vehicles. It applies in particular to the control of signaling lights carried by removable devices from vehicles.

It provides a method and a mechanism for controlling the signaling lights of a group of vehicles moving in a fleet, as well as an associated garment, intended to be worn by the drivers of these vehicles.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Road safety is a crucial area which notably involves the lighting by a vehicle of traffic lights which are sufficiently clear and visible for other vehicles in the vicinity.

Vehicles without cockpits pose particular problems in this respect insofar as, on the one hand, they are naturally less visible and the lighting of traffic lights is all the more important, and on the other hand, there is difficult to find locations for these lights that allow good visibility for the surroundings.

Thus, solutions have been proposed to facilitate the visibility of signaling lights for this type of vehicle, such as for example, harnesses intended to be worn by the driver of the vehicle. These harnesses may include signaling lights in various places, and in particular on the driver's back, so that they are clearly visible from the vehicles behind: this makes it possible in particular to make visible the stop or flashing signals before a turning.

We can for example cite the French patent application FR2922185 which describes a back harness with signaling lights of “LED” types, the American patent US8616719, the American patent US9310068, or even, for example, the American patent application US2014 / 0254143.

However, these solutions are insufficient because they do not take into account the fact that vehicles such as bicycles or motorcycles often move in groups.

Visibility problems can therefore arise since, from the rear of the group, only vehicles at the end of the convoy will be visible and these may only light their own lights with a delay compared to to the group movement. It can also happen that certain drivers do not turn on their lights (children, for example) and thus create confusion for the vehicles according to the group.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide a solution which at least partially overcomes the aforementioned drawbacks. More particularly, the invention aims to provide a method, a system and a garment allowing to take into account the particularities of vehicles moving in fleets.

To this end, the present invention proposes a signaling light control system for a set of vehicles, comprising

- a master pilot device located on a first vehicle, adapted for, in response to the triggering of a command by the driver of said first vehicle, transmitting a command signal by radio;

- A set of slave devices associated with signaling lights and suitable for receiving said control signal and for, on reception, determining the control of said signaling lights as a function of the content of said control signal.

According to preferred embodiments, the invention comprises one or more of the following characteristics which can be used separately or in partial combination with one another or in total combination with one another:

- Said set of slave devices includes clothing adapted to be worn by a vehicle driver;

- A pilot device is installed on each vehicle of said assembly, and is designed to receive said control signal from said master pilot device and to retransmit it to slave devices located on the same vehicle;

- Said pilot device comprises a garment adapted to be worn by a vehicle driver and a remote control;

- Said vehicles are vehicles without cockpit, and at least a part of said slave devices are removable with respect to said vehicles;

- said master device and said slave devices have pairing means.

Another object of the invention relates to a garment adapted to be worn by a driver of a vehicle without cabin, comprising

- means for receiving a control signal transmitted by radio by a master device located on another vehicle;

- Means for, upon receipt, determine the control of the signal lights positioned on said garment.

This garment is intended to operate in the context of a system as defined above.

According to one embodiment, this garment is suitable for further, on receipt of a control signal, transmitting said signal to slave equipment located on said vehicle.

Another subject of the invention relates to a method for controlling the signaling lights of a set of vehicles, comprising

- the triggering of a command by the driver of a first vehicle, on a master device located on said vehicle;

- the transmission by radio of a control signal corresponding to said control of said master device to a set of slave devices located on said set of vehicles;

- upon receipt of said control signal, the determination of the control of associated signaling lights by said slave devices, as a function of the content of said signal.

Another object of the invention is a computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by a processor of a computer system, involve the implementation of the method as defined above.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear on reading the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, given by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figures la, lb and schematically represent three examples of implementations of the invention.

FIGS. 2a and 2b schematically represent an example of clothing according to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention aims to control signaling lights on a set of vehicles. It is particularly applicable to vehicles moving in fleets, that is to say along the same trajectory in a relatively grouped fashion.

In such a fleet, a maneuver, or action, carried out by a first vehicle is generally followed by the same maneuver carried out by the other vehicles: thus, when a vehicle turns, the others will do the same. When one vehicle brakes, the others will do the same. Depending on the size of the fleet, the maneuvers, or actions, of certain vehicles may be delayed in time by several seconds.

The vehicles affected by such fleets are typically vehicles without a passenger compartment, but other types of vehicle may also be affected.

Among vehicles without cockpits, mention may in particular be made of bicycles or motorcycles and other two-wheeled vehicles, but also tricycles or quadricycles without cockpits.

Mention may also be made of skateboards, roller skates, etc. as well as, more generally, any micro-mobility device, electric or not (gyroroue, electric scooter, hoverboard, Segway ...)

Mention may also be made of horse-drawn vehicles, as well as, by extension, animals which can carry a human being such as horses.

Vehicles without cockpit involve additional constraints which are the difficulty of having signaling lights in number and power, making them sufficiently visible, and the difficulty of controlling these because of the absence of bodywork on which one can fix wires and other means of conveying a control signal.

The invention aims, in a second step, to also solve this additional technical problem by routing the control signal by radio to several devices associated with signaling lights, and by wearing a suitable garment to be worn. by a driver of a vehicle, and on which signal lights are installed.

In the example of FIGS. 1a, 1b, illustrating three embodiments, the vehicle Vi is at the head of the fleet, and it is assumed that its role is to give signaling instructions to the other vehicles V2, V3, V ₄ .

This vehicle Vi comprises a pilot device Mi and also a set of slave devices F11, F12, F13, each being associated with one or more signaling lights.

In the same way, each vehicle V2, V3, V ₄ of the fleet comprises pilot devices, respectively M2, M3, M ₄ and slave devices, respectively F21, F22, F23; F31, F32, F33; andF ₄ i, F ₄ 2, F ₄ 3.

In practice, a fleet can be made up of any number of vehicles, and the number of slave devices can also be arbitrary and different from one vehicle to another. In particular, this number can be much higher than three. Figures la, lb, illustrate a simplified example for the sake of clarity.

In this example, it is assumed for example that the slave devices F11, F21, F31, F ₄ i are associated with the stop lights, the slave devices F12, F22, F32, F ₄ 2 are associated with the left flashing lights, and the devices F13 , F23, F33, F ₄ 3 are associated with the right direction indicators.

Preferably, these signaling lights comply with international standards.

According to embodiments of the invention, these slave devices can include equipment such as a garment adapted to be worn by a driver of a vehicle, and comprising one or, preferably, several signaling lights. This garment can also form part of the pilot devices Μι, M2, M3, M4.

Such a garment will be more particularly described below, in connection with FIG. 3.

These slave devices can also include a helmet, a bag, a gyroscopic wheel, and all kinds of connected objects that can produce light and that can functionally attach to the vehicle.

It can be simple electronic equipment comprising a radio interface for receiving the control signals, and processing means for processing and interpreting these signals in order to control the signaling lights with which they are associated.

These slave devices and the associated signaling lights can be permanently installed on the vehicle, but also removable. The latter case is represented for example by the garment and the helmet. One of the advantages of the invention is to be able to control these devices without requiring a physical connection with the vehicle for the transmission of control signals.

The pilot device can be, or include, equipment positioned on the handlebars of the vehicle or in any other place allowing its easy interaction with the driver of the vehicle. It therefore comprises a man-machine interface which, typically, comprises a set of buttons or other means, allowing the driver to trigger a command. The man-machine interface of the pilot device can also be (or include) a voice interface allowing the driver to vocalize his command which is then interpreted by a voice recognition software module.

The pilot device Mi of the first vehicle Vi acts as a "master". Preferably, a single device can be master at a given time within the fleet.

Only the master pilot device can thus transmit control signals to the slave devices (possibly through the other pilot devices).

Mechanisms can be provided for dynamically changing the master pilot device. This situation can be useful in the event of a relay at the head of the fleet between several vehicles.

The commands triggered by the driver of the first vehicle Vi are converted by electronic means and / or software on board the “master” pilot device Mi into a control signal intended to be transmitted by radio.

The conversion notably includes the generation of a particular code, or signal, associated with a given command. Thus, pressing a first button generates a first signal; pressing a second button generates a second signal, etc. It is possible to define several distinct signals for the same button: for example, for a short press, a long press, a release of the button, etc.

Transmission by radio can use different telecommunication protocols and technologies, existing or to come.

Preferably, the BLE protocol (for “Bluetooth Low Energy”) is used on the 433 MHz or 868 MHz or 2.4 GHz band, but the Bluetooth or WiFi protocols can also be used.

The slave devices are designed to receive this control signal and to, when received, control the associated signaling lights. In particular, they therefore have reception means adapted to the telecommunication protocol used, and processing means for decoding the signal and determining whether this signal corresponds to the associated signaling light.

To do this, therefore, a slave device analyzes the content of a received control signal, and determines according to this content, whether the signal on the one hand relates to the signaling lights with which it is associated, and on the other hand , the steering to be implemented.

Thus, if for example, the pilot device Mi transmits a control signal requiring the lighting of the right flashing lights, all the slave devices receive this signal, but only the devices F13, F23, F33, F43 determine that this signal concerned. They then trigger the ignition of the associated right flashing lights.

In this way, the driver of the first vehicle Vi can remotely control all of the signaling lights of a fleet of vehicles. It follows that other drivers may no longer be concerned with the signaling, and that all the signaling lights will be synchronized and will thus provide better visibility for other drivers or pedestrians sharing the roadway.

This point is even more important in the case of balanced vehicles such as bicycles. Commonly, the driver wishing to turn extends his arm in the direction of the planned turn. However, as part of a group, it can be difficult to reach out without disturbing another member of the group. For a less experienced driver, this gesture can destabilize the vehicle and, in the event of a fall, lead to the fall of other members of the group.

Thus, the invention makes it possible for drivers to avoid having to make such indicator gestures, and thus avoid a significant risk of falling while maximizing the visibility of the maneuvers planned by the group.

The transmission of the control signal between the master pilot device Mi and the different slave devices associated with the signaling lights can be implemented in different ways. Figures la, lb, illustrate three possible implementations, but the skilled person is able to develop variants.

According to a first embodiment, illustrated in FIG. 1a, the transmission of the control signals takes place directly between the master pilot device Mi and all of the slave devices. The other pilot devices (therefore "non-master") do not intervene in the process implemented.

According to another embodiment, illustrated in FIG. 1b, the transmission of the control signals takes place in two stages. Initially, the signals are transmitted to the pilot devices of the other vehicles. Secondly, each pilot device retransmits this control signal to the slave devices of its own vehicle.

Thus, the pilot device M2 receives the control signal from the master pilot device Mi by a first radio link, then retransmits it by a second local radio link to the slave devices F21, F22, F23 of the same vehicle V2.

As mentioned above, the slave devices may include clothing suitable for being worn by the driver of the vehicle. This device may only be active when it is actually worn by the driver, which makes visible one or more signaling lights arranged on its external surface.

But according to an alternative embodiment, this garment can form part of the pilot devices, as illustrated in FIG.

In this implementation, the pilot device Mi comprises a remote control Ti and a garment, or vest, Gi.

The Ti remote control mainly comprises a man-machine interface as described above, and a telecommunications interface allowing it to interface with the Gi garment. This interface can be a radio link, as also previously described. The Ti remote control is preferably within reach of the driver, for example on the handlebars of the vehicle.

In response to the triggering of a command by the driver on the remote control Ti, the garment Gi transmits a command signal to both slave devices Fn, F12, F13 of the same vehicle Vi, and to the other garments G2, G3, G4 of the other vehicles, respectively V2, V3, V4.

Figures 2a and 2b illustrate a possible embodiment of such a garment. Figure 2a shows the back of the garment, and Figure 2b its front part.

In this example, the garment forms a harness, or waistcoat, that is to say an item of equipment intended to be worn over the driver's clothing and having means to be held in place and signaling lights arranged in particular on a dorsal part.

The garment 10 comprises in particular an electronic unit 11 formed from a power supply (battery, super-capacitor, etc.), processing circuits and the radio interface allowing it to communicate with the remote control and other devices (other garments , slave devices associated with signaling lights, etc.).

It may also include a manual interface 12, preferably located on the front of the garment, allowing the driver to make adjustments to the operation of the garment.

It also includes a series of signaling lights, 21, 22, 31, 32, 41, 42 located at least partially on the dorsal part of the garment. These signaling lights are electrically powered and controlled by the electronic unit 11.

When the electronic unit 11 receives a control signal, it analyzes the content thereof in order to determine the control of the signaling lights.

This determination consists first of all in determining whether the garment is actually affected by the control signal and, if so, in determining which signal light (s) to control and how.

For example, if the control signal is a command to turn on the "stop" lights, the electronic unit 11 controls the central signal lights 31, 32 in order to make them light up to indicate a "stop" signal.

If the control signal is a command to switch on the position lights, the electronic unit 11 controls the central signaling lights 31, 32 so that they light up with less intensity to indicate a "position" signal.

If the control signal is a command to turn on the right and / or left turn signals, the electronic unit 11 controls the side signal lights, respectively right 22 and / or left 21, in order to make them turn on flashing.

The same is true for stop command signals from previous commands.

Lights 41, 42 can also be placed on the front part of the garment 10. Others, not shown in the figures, can also be placed on the side parts. These lights can have identical functions as those previously described for the dorsal part of the garment. For example, the lights 41 can have the same function as the lights 22 and the lights 42 as the lights 21. Thus, for example, if the control signal is a command to turn on the right or left turn signals, the electronic unit 11 controls the side signal lights, respectively right 22, 41 or left 21, 42, so as to cause them to flash.

More generally than the example in FIGS. 2a, 2b, it is advantageous to have signaling lights on the entire surface of the garment so that they are visible from different angles of view. All of the vehicles thus become 360 ° visible to other road users.

According to one embodiment of the invention, a pairing mechanism can be provided between the master pilot device and the slave devices and, depending on the implementations, the other pilot devices.

This pairing step allows the slave devices to identify a single master pilot device from which they can receive control signals.

It can be provided that in the event of reception of a control signal coming from another device, this control signal will not be taken into account.

The pairing can be carried out in a manner which is fairly known per se, by triggering on the two devices to pair the entry in a pairing mode which consists in transmitting identifiers so that the two devices recognize each other. The identifier of the master device is stored by the slave so that it can distinguish the control signals which it must accept and to which it must react.

In the implementation illustrated in FIG. 1b, the pairing can be done on the one hand between the pilot devices. The pilot device Mi is then the master pilot device and the pilot devices M2, M3, M4 are slave pilot devices. This pairing can be done dynamically, depending on the "life" of the fleet.

- And on the other hand between each pilot device (slave) and the slave devices of its vehicle (that is to say, in particular, accessories such as helmets, wheels, etc.). This pairing can be done when installing a slave device on the vehicle or when it is acquired by its driver.

It is obvious that different embodiments are possible and accessible to those skilled in the art to allow pairings and interactions between the devices according to the invention.

Of course, the present invention is not limited to the examples and to the embodiment described and shown, but it is susceptible of numerous variants accessible to those skilled in the art.

Claims (10)

1. Traffic light control system for a combination of vehicles (Vi, V2, V3, V4), comprising - a master pilot device (Mi) located on a first vehicle (Vi), adapted for, in response to the triggering of a command by the driver of said first vehicle, transmitting a command signal by radio; - a set of slave devices (F11, F12, F13, F21, F22, F23, F31, F32, F33, F41, F42, F43) associated with signaling lights and suitable for receiving said control signal and for upon receipt, determine the control of said signal lights according to the content of said control signal. 2. System according to the preceding claim, wherein said set of slave devices comprises clothing adapted to be worn by a vehicle driver. 3. The system as claimed in claim 1 or 2, in which a pilot device is installed on each vehicle of said assembly, and is designed to receive said control signal from said master pilot device and to retransmit it to the slave devices located on the same vehicle. 4. System according to the preceding claim wherein said pilot device comprises a garment adapted to be worn by a vehicle driver and a remote control. 5. System according to one of the preceding claims, in which said vehicles are vehicles without cockpit, and at least part of said slave devices are removable with respect to said vehicles 6. System according to one of the preceding claims, in which said master device and said slave devices have pairing means. 7. Garment (10) adapted to be worn by a driver of a vehicle without cabin, comprising - Means for receiving (11) a control signal transmitted by radio by a master device located on another vehicle; - Means for, upon receipt, determine the control of the signal lights (21, 22, 31, 32, 41, 42) positioned on said garment. 8. Garment according to the preceding claim, adapted for further, on receipt of a control signal, transmitting said signal to slave equipment located on said vehicle. 9. Method for controlling the signaling lights of a set of vehicles, comprising - the triggering of a command by the driver of a first vehicle, on a master device located on said vehicle; - the transmission by radio of a control signal corresponding to said control of said master device to a set of slave devices located on said set of vehicles; on receipt of said control signal, determining the piloting of associated signaling lights by said slave devices, as a function of the content of said signal. 10. Computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by a processor of a computer system, entail the implementation of a method according to the preceding claim.