GB2383386A - Driving aid - Google Patents

Abstract

The Driving Aid includes a Display Unit and Synthesised Voice connected to a Master Control Interface that receives data from the rotation of the wheels of the vehicle which provide an electrical output that can be utilised in measuring and recording the road speed of the vehicle and the speed of the engine. The Driving Aid will also include a high frequency beep sound when giving a command to change gear and a lower frequency would be utilised when confirming, effectively, that the command had been carried out.

Description

Driving Aid

This invention relates to methods, and apparatus, which facilitate learning to drive.

Learner drivers often encounter difficulty in understanding when to change gear, and how to do so, and a major part of the instruction provided by the driving instructor is to assist in this area of learning. Although one solution would appear to exist in the form of an automatic gearbox, these are expensive and fairly uncommon, and anyway, the need for general instruction still applies. Drivers of vehicles having a conventional, manually operated gearbox, therefore have to learn to change gear at the correct engine speed appropriate to the prevailing conditions, and how to use the clutch, accelerator and brakes, properly. Failure to do so leads to clutch "slippage" and consequent burning of the clutch plate.

The inability of learner drivers to remember when, and how, to change gear, is especially relevant in those situations wherein the driving instructor has passed the driving test but is not a qualified driving instructor. Moreover, the failure to remember when, and how, to change gear, applies, in some instances, to those who have already passed the driving test.

It will be shown, in the following account, how the present invention provides drivers with means both for learning to drive initially, and for facilitating driving, thereafter, thereby, helping to reduce or eliminate clutch plate burning. There is an accompanying advantage in being able to implement fuel economy, thereby providing means for further world-wide benefit.

In order to describe the invention in more detail, reference will now be made to the accompanying diagram in which:

Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of features of the invention. With reference to the schematic diagram shown in Figure 1, it can be seen that rotation of the wheels of the vehicle provides an electrical output, which can be utilised in measuring, and recording, the road speed of the vehicle, and the speed of the engine.

Road speed can be measured from a direct drive from a rotated road wheel, or from the final drive to the road wheels, from the gearbox, whilst engine speed can be measured mechanically, from engine camshaft rotation, and this rotation can be converted to an electrical signal by use of appropriate drive equipment and circuitry. Alternatively, engine speed can be measured electronically, from a parameter measurable from within the ignition system e.g. spark plug ignition

The frequency of the sound emanating from the engine can also be monitored, by use of appropriate sound detecting and filtering equipment, and a range of frequencies can thus be recorded so as to provide a measure of "over revving".

With further reference to Figure 1, it can be also be seen that the positions of the gear stick, and the positions of the clutch, brake, and accelerator, pedals, can each be monitored, such that an electronic signal is obtained from equipment associated with each pedal

With yet further reference to Figure 1, it can thus be readily seen how electrical/electronic information about the above mentioned parameters, can be supplied to a pre-programmed Master Control Interface which interprets such information and which provides visual and audio outputs which can be seen and heard by the driver

The apparatus associated with the schematic diagram shown in Figure 1, can incorporate electronic speech synthesiser circuitry, and display circuitry, and associated apparatus, which, together, provide the driver with pre-programmed driving instructions which depend upon the particular combination of measured vehicle parameters prevailing at any instant. . Thus, for instance, it can be readily seen how a visual display unit having Light Emitting Diodes (LED's) can indicate which gear that the driver is currently in, and which gear to change to, next Similarly, a speech synthesiser could provide an audible message which pronounced the words: "one" or "two" or "three" or "four" or "five" respectively, in order to inform the driver that he or she was in, "first", or "second" or "third" or "fourth" or "fifth", gear, respectively.

Insertion of the words "change into" before each of the above words, could be implemented in order to indicate that the driver had to act upon the pronounced words and hence change to the relevant gear.

A simplified approach to the above, would be to create a "beep" sound at a constant frequency, such that there was one beep for gear one, two beeps for gear two, three beeps for gear three, four beeps for gear four and five beeps for gear five. The beep interval would need to be at about two beeps per second with a delay of one or two seconds between each set of beeps. A high frequency beep sound would be utilised when giving a command to change gear and a lower frequency would be utilised when confirming, effectively, that the command had been carried out. The relevant number of beeps would thus be sounded, for instance, every one or two seconds, until the appropriate gear change had been made. It would then change to the lower frequency, but with the same interval between sets of beeps, thereby indicating that the required gear had been selected. A red Light Emitting Diode (LED) or other indicating device, could be used to warn the driver that a command was to be carried out, and a green Light Emitting Diode or other indicating device, could be used to inform the driver that the command had been correctly implemented. Moreover, the gear position "demanded" could be indicated by illuminating the appropriate number of red LED's, and the gear position engaged, could be indicated by illuminating the appropriate number of green LED's.

The Master Control Interface would incorporate microprocessor based circuitry and could be either programmed in a high level language based upon the use of intelligent software, or it could be programmed in a low level language using mnemonics for instruction construction and interpretation. The latter would be cheaper to implement, initially, but would be less flexible in use. Thus, for example, the following scenario is envisaged when commencing driving.

(Please note that this is not intended to convey an exhaustive list)

1 Check that the gearbox is in neutral

2 Check that the handbrake is engaged

3. Start the engine

4 Check that it is OK to move off (Check mirrors etc.)

5 De-clutch (Left foot). 6 Engage first gear

7. Release Handbrake.

8 Let clutch up gently whilst pressing right foot on accelerator pedal

9. When the engine revolutions per minute are within a stipulated range, de-clutch, raise accelerator pedal and change into second gear, and whilst letting clutch pedal up appropriately, press foot on accelerator pedal appropriately, to reach desired road speed. 10 Repeat 9, to get to the desired road speed in upper gears, up to the maximum gear recommended for the desired road speed 11. In order to change down into a lower gear, repeat step 9, with appropriate attention being paid to smoothly matching the revolutions per minute of the engine to the actual road speed of the vehicle

It can be readily seen how implementation of the sequence of steps 1 to 11, above, can be assisted by provision of audible and visual information, which can be made available to the driver and to the passenger, where appropriate

The requirement for practical implementation of the principles of the invention is therefore to be able to provide the driver with audio, and visual, information, which provide instruction and feedback. To a certain extent, therefore, the feedback provided by the driving instructor is being replaced, or supplemented, by the features of the invention Parameters to be monitored:

Gear position

Engine speed

Vehicle road speed

Position of clutch pedal

Position of brake pedal

Position of accelerator pedal

Position of driver's hands on steering wheel

The gear position can be monitored by means of electrical switches which are activated for each "in gear" position and for the "neutral" position. The switches could, for instance, be part of a four, or five, position, switch combination, attached to the gear lever mechanism which is positioned under the usual flexible/soft "base of gear lever" cover Types of gear lever, which incorporate a separate "on lever, reverse gear mechanical lever system", might need more complicated electrical switching.

Engine speed can be monitored via the usual revolutions per minute counter, now found on many vehicles, but if absent, engine speed can be measured by accessing a suitably accessible driven gear pinion, or the like, so that it can be readily seen that specific requirements for a range of vehicle types, can be identified and catered for, in the kit of parts which is envisaged to be available for implementing the principles of the invention embodied in this description.

Additionally, the frequency of the sound emanating from the engine could be measured and recorded in order to add to the range of parameters which are available to the driver. This is particularly relevant when the engine is being "over revved" with the clutch pedal and the accelerator pedal, both pressed too far down at the same instant.

The value of the vehicle road speed is available on every road vehicle as a legal requirement, and monitoring of this can be carried out using methods already outlined above for the monitoring of engine speed. The position of the clutch, brake, and accelerator pedal, can be monitored by fixing of a linear position indicator to the mechanism, such that the variable resistance of the associated indicator, which provides a variable resistance in an electronic circuit, can be used, after appropriate calibration, to monitor the position of each pedal. The indicators must be positioned safely and would have to satisfy road safety legislation regarding the fitting of auxiliary equipment to road vehicles This also applies to any of the equipment already described in the foregoing account and which is yet to be described

Whilst not essential to the fulfilment of the aims of the invention herein described, sensors fitted to the steering wheel of a vehicle and/or gloves provided with sensors, would allow the position of the driver's hands on the steering wheel to be monitored, thereby enhancing the use of the invention in learning to drive Thus, for instance, a soft sounding alarm (but readily audible by the driver) could be activated when the driver's hands were not in the correct position, and moreover, light emitting diodes could be activated so as to inform the driver where to place the hands during operation of the steering wheel, during manoeuvring of the vehicle

Scenario

Measure the revolutions per minute of the engine and measure the road speed of the vehicle, from the rate of wheel rotation Compute the desired ranges for these parameters, over which gear change into any particular gear is advisable and advise the driver of these parameters.

Implementation-

The desire is to continuously monitor vehicle parameters and to provide the driver with continuous audio and visual feedback upon which the driver can act The measured parameters are thus supplied to an electronic monitoring system, which is interfaced to output devices, which can provide this feedback Such devices are:

An interactive Compact Disk Player. Such devices are programmable so that a prearranged sequence of songs can be played. It is therefore possible to utilise this facility in the invention described herein. It is also possible to utilise a microcomputer based system having sufficient memory to allow the features of the invention to be implemented or which can utilise an associated hard disk which can store and "play" instructions to the driver dynamically, in a manner similar to that envisaged when a Compact Disk is used.

A pre-programmed speech synthesiser system. This can be utilised instead of, or in conjunction with, the Compact Disk Player.

A microprocessor based system, which controls the above system. This is the Master Controller, already referred to with reference to Figure 1.

Loudspeakers and/or headphones together with a visual display system.

Another aid to the teaching of driving is to incorporate dynamic visual indicators such as LED's or other indicating devices, on the steering wheel of the vehicle, such that the action of, for example, flicking the indicator switch to indicate right, causes sections of an array of LED's or other indicating devices, placed on the periphery of the steering wheel, to illuminate so as to indicate to the driver, dynamically, where he or she must place his or her hands on the steering wheel, as the wheel is rotated to the right. This method would be further enhanced by incorporation of touch sensor technology on the steering wheel which could be used in conjunction with the circuitry already described in this account for use in general instruction, and further circuitry, so that feedback to this and associated electronic circuitry, could inform the driver whether or not steering was being carried out properly.

It is pointed out, with reference to the foregoing, that it is appreciated that visual information has to be carefully controlled so that the driver is not distracted from the view of the prevailing road conditions and that therefore, such information may need to be limited to visual indicators e.g. light emitting diodes, or the like, which are placed in the line of vision of the driver and which warn of an error in driving but do not cause the driver to have to look away from the road. It will also be important to ensure that the driver can hear sirens from emergency vehicles without limitation.

It is further pointed out, with reference to the foregoing, that the concepts described can be applied in off road situations, in so-called, "simulators".

Claims (1)

1. CLAIMS 1. A Driving Aid, which includes a synthesised audible voice along with a display circuitry unit which instructs and displays the appropriate gear at the relevant speed, with associated apparatus, which together provide the driver with preprogrammed driving instructions which depend upon a particular combination of measured vehicle parameters prevailing at any instant