GB2309328A

GB2309328A - Foreign driving safety device

Info

Publication number: GB2309328A
Application number: GB9601033A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Vernon Hodgkinson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1996-01-18
Filing date: 1996-01-18
Publication date: 1997-07-23
Anticipated expiration: 2016-01-18
Also published as: GB9601033D0; GB2309328B

Description

FOREIGN DRIVING SAFETY DEVICE This invention relates to a device in tended to reduce the risk to drivers who are driving in an unfamiliar country and on the opposite side of the road to that to which they are accustomed.

A great many of the accidents occurring to drivers in a foreign country are caused by their inadvertantly driving on the side of the road to which they are used in their home country, and which is by definition the 'wrong' side in the foreign country. The majority of these occurrences happen immediately after setting out after a stop for petrol, or a meal, or at a road junction, when the drivers concentration has been interrupted. It is comparatvely uncommon for a driver to cross over to the 'wrong' side when he is under way in a stream of traffic or out on the open road.

According to this invention an audible and distinctive warning is sounded to remind the driver or jog his memory at the times when he is most vulnerable to the make the mistake of setting out on the 'wrong' side of the road. These are associated with his vehicle having come completely or nearly to rest and then re-starting, or slowing down sufficiently for him to have to change gear.

The invention consists of an audible warning device emitting either a tone or 'bleep' or a synthesised or recorded warning message in intelligible speech. This warning device is activated to sound by a trigger.

The trigger can take one of many forms as follows: (1) The resumption of output from a tachogenerator connected in the drive to the car's speedometer by insertion between the drive cable and either the speedometer or the gearbox and thus sounding whenever the car has come to a complete halt and moves off again.

(2) The breaking of a circuit using the (insulated) stop peg against which the needle of the speedometer comes to rest when the car is stationary, or the sensing by means of a photocell or magnetic reed switch of the coming to the stopped position of the speedometer needle.

(3) The making or breaking of a circuit through a switch on the gearbox or in the gearchange selection mechanism sensing the selection of first gear.

(4) The making or breaking of a circuit by means of a switch or proximity sensor attached to or incorporated into the gear change knob or the clutch pedal. This switch or sensor would also reset a timer so that if the circuit is made again within a preset period the timer will reset again and the sounder will be inhibited from sounding.

This means that the sounder will only sound if the gearknob or clutch pedal is operated longer than the preset interval after the last sounding. This feature will allow the driver to be warned once when he first sets off and works his way up through the gears, but will not warn him again until, typically, he has then driven for a minute without changing gear. He would thus be warned if, on the open road, he changed down before an overtaking manoeuvre or to negotiate an obstacle.

If using sensor method (3) on the gearknob the whole device might be built into a replacement gearknob and be powered either from an internal battery, or by permanent wiring into the car's electrical system via an 'On/Off' switch or by plugging into the cigar lighter socket or other supply socket.

If using method (3) and the clutch pedal mounted sensor the device might, again, be self powered from an internal battery or from the car's electrical system, as for the gearknob version.

Claims

1 An audible warning is sounded to draw drivers' attention to the need to drive on the correct side of the road.

2 This warning is given at times when drivers are most likely to make the mistake of driving on the incorrect side of the road.

3 The warning is activated by either a tachogenerator in the speedometer drive, or by modification of the speedometer or by a switch on the gearbox or by a sensor on the gearknob or the clutch pedal.

4 To prevent unnecessary warnings, if sensing is made using the gearknob or clutch pedal it is arranged that the warning system will be inhibited for a delay period so that it will not warn again until the whole delay period has elapsed since the last use of the gearknob or the clutch pedal.

5 The device may be powered from its own internal battery or from the system of the vehicle to which it is fitted, either via permanent wiring or by plugging into a convenient supply point provided for the purpose or into the cigar lighter. Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows CLAIMS 1 An audible warning device which sounds to draw drivers' attention to the need to drive on the correct side of the road.

2 An audible warning device which sounds with intelligible speech to give a warning to drive on the appropriate side of the road in the language of the country where it was fitted.

3 An audible warning device which sounds only at those times when a driver is most at risk to drive on the incorrect side of the road ie after stops which have broken his concentration 4 An audible warning device which is activated by the driver touching the gear change knob.

5 An audible warning device which, after it has given a warning is suppressed for a fixed or variable length of time so that it will not sound again until the delay period has elapsed since the last touching of the gear knob.

6 An audible warning device which requires no modification to, or the installation of any switches or sensors in or on, the vehicle in which it is installed beyond the substitution of the device for the gear knob previously fitted, or the installation of the device in the vehicle and its plugging-in to a power source.

7 An audible warning device as in claims 1-6 which contains its own internal power supply in the shape of a replaceable battery.

8 An audible warning device as in claims 1-6 which derives its electrical supply by connection to the host vehicle's electrical system using the cigar lighter socket.

9 An audible warning device as in claims 1-6 which derives its electrical supply by means of permanent wiring to the host vehicle's electrical system via an On/Off switch.