GB2268611A - Warning device for a vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

A portable warning device for a vehicle, preferably an automobile, provides, in use, a reminder to the driver of the vehicle to keep left in a left hand drive country, or vice versa. The warning device is conveniently in the form of a tubular housing (10) with an enlarged plug (11) at one end and an electrical connector (12) at the other end, the housing being arranged to be plugged into a conventional cigarette lighter socket (13) of a vehicle, so that electrical circuitry in the housing is powered, in use, to generate a visual warning by illumination of an arrow (14) on the plug (11) by a bulb. The housing can either be reversibly engageable in the socket or can have its plug (11) rotatable to direct the arrow to the left or to the right as required. In other embodiments the power supply is independent of the vehicle, and the reminder can be a non-verbal, aural warning. The electrical circuitry may be adapted so that the direction indicator (14) is initially illuminated for a predetermined time and then turned off. <IMAGE>

Description

WARNING DEVICE FOR A VEHICLE This invention relates to a warning device for a vehicle. 'Vehicle' not only includes wheeled, road-going means of transport, but also includes any other means of transport such as canal barges and aircraft.

In the world at the present time, rather more than 50% of the countries have a 'drive on the left' rule of the road. However the countries which drive on the right include the U.S.A. and much of Western Europe, and so constitute a majority of the world's motorised traffic.

Inevitably, with the world being divided in this way, when motorists go outside their home country they may find themselves required to drive on the other side of the road. Once started on a journey this is not too difficult, in that a driver is constantly reminded of the rule of the road by where he finds himself. Once a driver is motoring on the correct side of the road, be it left or right, there will be little risk of swerving onto the incorrect side of the road.

Matters are however different when a driver sets off from rest, and a high risk then exists. Pulling away from a parked position, at a moment when the road is clear of traffic, a driver can all too easily revert to driving on the accustomed side of the road. Many accidents are caused in this way. Typically a motorist on holiday stops his car, at a picnic site for instance, and afterwards sets off again on the wrong side of the road. When an oncoming truck is met around the next bend, a fatal accident can result. Sometimes motorists will complete a stay outside their home country, driving on the unaccustomed side of the road, but a few days after returning home suddenly set off on what is now the wrong side of the road.

The problem is recognised to a degree in that, as a driver sets off, passengers in the vehicle will often say "Remember to drive on the lefts, or right as appropriate. Clearly, however, a more reliable warning such as warning device for the interior of the vehicle, is desirable. It would not of course be needed for most drivers most of the time, but only for the exceptional times when drivers need to drive on the unaccustomed side and perhaps for a brief spell after returning. It is known, for reminding a driver of the side of the road on which he should drive, to build into the vehicle a visual reminder consisting of a display screen for simulating the road, such as in U.K. Patent no. 2,108,444B. However such devices have proved not at all popular.

The object of the present invention is to provide a warning device which is not built into the vehicle and which can be purchased merely by those drivers who feel a need for it at the time the need arises.

According to the invention there is provided a warning device for a vehicle, the device being portable and comprising a housing, electrical circuitry in the housing, the circuitry being arranged to be powered either by removable connection to an electrical system of the vehicle or by a power source independent thereof, and being arranged to generate, in use, a reminder to keep left in a left hand drive country, or vice versa.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is an exploded schematic perspective view of a warning device of the invention shown removed from a cigarette lighter socket of a vehicle, in which socket it is intended to be fitted, in use; and, Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of electrical circuitry in a housing of the warning device of Figure 1.

The warning device of the present invention is wholly portable in that it is not built into the vehicle, and as it is not needed for most drivers most of the time, it is removable from a vehicle and can be carried, for example, in a driver's pocket. The portability of the warning device, together with the fact that it is much less expensive than said aforementioned built-in devices, are factors which, it is believed, will make it much more acceptable.

A particularly convenient form of the warning device is shown in Figure 1, in which it comprises a cylindrical, tubular housing 10 having an enlarged cylindrical plug 11 closing one of its ends, with an electrical connector 12 extending from its other end.

The housing 10 and connector 12 are designed so that the device can plug into a conventional cigarette lighter socket 13 or any other similar socket of a motor vehicle from which power for small accessories may be drawn. The connector 12 is arranged to convey electrical power to electrical circuitry within the housing to illuminate a lamp which itself illuminates an arrow 14 in the outer surface of the plug 11. A driver can thus plug the warning device into the socket when required, the connector 12 being such that the device can be arranged in the socket so that the arrow 14 faces to the left or to the right as appropriate for the country in which the vehicle is to be driven. The circuitry can be arranged so that until the vehicle ignition is switched on the arrow 14 is not illuminated, illumination occurring once vehicle ignition occurs.Alternatively it could be that the connector 12 and housing 10 can only be engaged in the socket in one orientation. In this instance the end plug 11 could itself be rotatable relative to the housing so as correctly to orientate the arrow to the left or right as required.

It could be arranged that the arrow 14 is permanently illuminated whilst the vehicle is being driven. However, it is believed that the value of a warning is decreased if it is there constantly and thus that a better system is for the warning automatically to be extinguished or to change its form once it has initially operated. This can be done in many ways, one of which is shown in Figure 2, which shows an electrical circuit within the housing 10.

The circuit has terminals 15 connected to the electrical connector 12. A relay 16, which is normally closed allows voltage from the vehicle electrical system initially to be applied across a lamp 17 disposed beneath the arrow 14, causing the arrow to be illuminated. The same voltage is applied across a resistance and coil to operate the relay itself. After a brief delay, introduced by the resistance and the coil, the relay opens to turn off the lamp 17. When the voltage is removed, because the ignition is being turned off or the device has been removed from the socket 13, the relay returns to its closed position ready for its next operation. A light emitting diode could be used instead of a lamp.

Other more complicated circuits can produce alternative effects. For example the lamp could flash two or three times before extinguishing, rather than only once. As another example, the circuit can be re-set by lowering the voltage instead of its complete removal.

Since the slight lowering of the voltage occurs when the starter is operated, > by that means the warning can be repeated after any period when the engine has been off.

Another alternative is that the warning needs to be turned off by the driver, and it then comes on again next time the vehicle is started.

Many different alternative forms of the warning device are envisaged. The visual reminder can be in the form of any suitable symbol or symbols having directionality, whose handing is reversible, preferably by rotation of part or all of the housing. The warning device does not have to be visual, or solely visual, in that a simple buzzer or other non-verbal noise would provide a warning to the driver, with or without the visual warning, that he should think which side of the road on which to drive.Instead of the reminder being automatically generated from the vehicle electrical system voltage applied to ho teeminalg 1E signal that driving has commenced could be derived from a sensor which detects vibration, noise, movement, presence of occupants or other concomitant of at least the commencement of the act of driving, this signal causing actuation of the warning, the warning being powered from the vehicle electrical system or independently thereof.

Instead of the power supply for the warning device being provided by the vehicle, the power source could be independent, for example a battery or solar cell. In such an embodiment, the warning device, when carried in a vehicle, could provide a reminder at least for a while after vibration or movement begins after a period of absence of the same. In other words it is envisaged that the warning device can be powered from the electrical system of the vehicle or independently thereof, can provide a visual and/or non-visual warning and can be actuated automatically upon the commencement of driving, either through the operation of the vehicle electrical system and/or alternatively by virtue of some other action which commences upon commencement of the driving of the vehicle, such as noise or vibration therein. With an independently powered device, VELCRO (Registered Trade Mark) is preferably used to secure it to a facia of the vehicle, there being velcro on two opposite sides to allow the device to be fixed in alternative positions to provide a keep left or keep right warning. An associated circuit could have a battery in series with a sensor, a timing circuit and a lamp. The timing circuit could be adjustable to effect operation of the lamp for whatever period(s) required.

The device can be purchased by drivers who feel a need for it at the time the need arises, and in direct contrast to a fixed display screen in a vehicle, its small size enables it to be wholly portable and relatively inexpensive to produce.

Claims (22)

Claims

1. A warning device for a vehicle, the device being portable and comprising a housing, electrical circuitry in the housing, the circuitry being arranged to be powered either by removable connection to an electrical system of the vehicle or by a power source independent thereof, and being arranged to generate, in use, a reminder to keep left in a left hand drive country, or vice versa.

2. A device as claimed in Claim 1, in which the reminder is a visual warning.

3. A device as claimed in Claim 2, in which the visual warning is by means of illumination of direction indication means.

4. A device as claimed in Claim 3, in which the direction indication means is an arrow.

5. A device as claimed in Claim 3 or Claim 4, in which the circuitry is arranged to be powered in two alternative orientations of the housing relative to its connection to the electrical system of the vehicle, the two orientations providing direction indication means to the left or the right respectively.

6. A device as claimed in Claim 3 or Claim 4, in which part of the housing is angularly moveable relative to the remainder thereof to provide direction indication means to the left or to the right as selected.

7. A device as claimed in any one of Claims 3 to 6, wherein said illumination is by means of a lamp.

8. A device as claimed in any one of Claims 3 to 7, wherein said circuitry includes connection means for engagement, in use, with an electrical power take-off point in the vehicle.

9. A device as claimed in Claim 8, wherein the housing is adapted to be engaged, in use, in a cigarette lighter of the vehicle.

10. A device as claimed in either Claim ss or Claim 9, wherein the direction indicator means is initially illuminated, in use,upon switch-on of vehicle ignition.

11. A device as claimed in Claim 10, in which the direction indicator means is illuminated all the time the vehicle ignition remains switched on, in use.

12. A device as claimed in Claim 10, in which the direction indicator means is initially illuminated for a predetermined time and then said illumination is turned off.

13. A device as claimed in Claim 12, wherein a relay is arranged to turn off said illumination.

14. A device as claimed in Claim 12 or Claim 13, in which the direction indicator means is switched on and off on a plurality of occasions.

15. A device as claimed in Claim 10 or Claim 11; wherein means are provided for an operator to turn off said illumination.

16. A device as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 4, in which the power is supplied to said circuitry to generate the reminder, in use, upon actuation of a sensor which detects an activity concomitant of driving the vehicle.

17. A device as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 4, wherein the circuitry is arranged to be powered by an independent power source.

18. A device as claimed in Claim 17, wherein the circuitry is powered and the reminder generated, in use, upon actuation of a sensor which detects an activity concomitant of driving the vehicle.

19. A device as claimed in Claim 17, in which the reminder is generated for only a predetermined time after initial actuation of the sensor.

20. A device as claimed in any one of Claims 17 to 19, wherein velcro is provided on the housing for securing it to a vehicle facia.

21. A device as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the reminder is a non-visual, non-verbal warning.

22. A warning device for a vehicle, substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to, and as shown in the accompanying drawings.