GB2461940A

GB2461940A - An electronic device to remind a driver the correct side of the road to drive on

Info

Publication number: GB2461940A
Application number: GB0813171A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Bryan Hunter
Original assignee: HUNTER INTERNAT ASSOCIATES Ltd
Current assignee: HUNTER INTERNAT ASSOCIATES Ltd
Priority date: 2008-07-18
Filing date: 2008-07-18
Publication date: 2010-01-27
Also published as: GB0813171D0

Abstract

An electronic warning device 10 indicates to a driver of a vehicle the correct side of the road to drive on. The device has a switch 20 which can be manually-operated by the driver, and an electrically / electronically powered display 14, 16. The driver can set the warning device to remind him to drive on the left side or the right side of the road, depending on the country he is in. The visual displays can be provided by illuminated arrows 14, 16, or alternatively a display screen could be provided. Preferably audio warning in the form of a recorded voice is also provided through a speaker 18. The electronic warning device may be mounted on a holder 28 which can be clipped to a sun-visor of a vehicle. The holder may be pivotally mounted through dog-leg formations to enable positional adjustment.

Description

I

Warning Device This invention relates to a warning device for indicating to the driver of a vehicle which side of the road to drive on.

It is known that problems can arise when drivers drive vehicles in countries in which vehicles are required to use a different side of the road to the side of the road used in the homeland of the driver. For example, in the UK, vehicles are driven on the left side of the road, whereas in mainland Europe, drivers are required to drive on the right side of the road. Various devices have been proposed which are intended to warn or remind a driver in an unfamiliar country which side of the road to drive on. For example, GB 2407685 describes a screen mounted mechanical device, and FR 2717755 describes a mechanicai device which is mounted on the steering wheel. The screen mounted device of GB 2407685 is in fact illegal in the UK since it is mounted in the swept area of the windscreen. Additionally, these mechanical devices have the disadvantages that the driver has to actively look at the device in order to appreciate the indication which is provided; however, the display provided by these devices is essentially unchanging in nature, and therefore there is no particular stimulus which would make the driver pay attention to the device. DE 19852357 discloses an electronic device which receives data, for example, local RDS radio data, which permits the device to determine which traffic rules apply in the immediate locality. Whilst this system is quite sophisticated, it does rely on certain data being successfully delivered to the device from an external location.

The present invention, in at least some of its embodiments, addresses the above described problems and issues.

According to the invention there is provided an electronic warning device for indicating to the driver of vehicle which side of the road to drive on, the device including: a driver-operable switching arrangement allowing the driver to select a first operational mode in which the device indicates that the driver should drive on the left side of the road or a second operational mode in which the device indicates that the driver should drive on the right side of the road; an electrically powered indicating arrangement for indicating to the driver whether the driver should drive on the left or right side of the road, the indicating arrangement being electrically coupled to the switching arrangement and responsive thereto so that the selection of the first operational mode causes the indicating arrangement to indicate to the driver that the driver should drive on the left side of the road and the selection of the second operational mode causes the indicating arrangement to indicate to the driver that the driver should drive on the right side of the road.

The indicating arrangement may include an electrically powered visual display arrangement. The electrically powered visual display arrangement may include one or more light sources, such as LEDs. The light sources may form part of an illuminated sign, such as an arrow. Alternatively, a display screen might be contemplated.

The indicating arrangement may include an electrically powered audio warning device.

Preferably, the indicating arrangement includes both an electrically powered audio warning device and an electrically powered visual display arrangement.

Preferably, the device further includes a connection arrangement enabling the device to be mounted on a sun-visor of a vehicle. The present inventor has realised that such embodiments are particularly useful, since the device may be conveniently mounted in an extremely convenient position for providing the desired warning to the driver without undue distraction of the driver's concentration.

Advantageously, the indicating arrangement and, optionally, the switching arrangement are disposed in a main body portion. The connection arrangement may include an attachment portion for attaching to the sun visor and a connecting member which connects the attachment portion to the main body.

Advantageously, the connecting member is adjustable so as to allow the position of the main body to be altered with respect to the attachment portion. A joint or pivot may be provided to provide this adjustment.

Whilst the invention has been described above, it extends to any inventive combination of the features set out above or in the following

description, drawings or claims.

Embodiments of devices in accordance with the invention will now be described with reference to the following drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows (a) a forward perspective view and (b) a perspective view from below of an embodiment of the device of the invention; Figure 2 is a front perspective view of the device of Figure 1 with its front cover removed; and Figure 3 is a schematic circuit diagram of the device.

Figure 1 depicts an embodiment of a device of the invention, shown generally at 10, which includes a main body 12 which comprises front and rear halves 12a, 12b. Disposed in the front face of the front half 12a are an illuminatable left-pointing arrow sign 14 and an illuminatable right-pointing arrow sign 16. The front face of the front half 12a contains a number of perforations, and in particular a perforated opening 18 is provided which positioned in register with a loudspeaker which is disposed within the main body 12. The front half 12a further includes a switch 20 which conveniently enables the driver of a vehicle in which the device is mounted to select whether the device will indicate that the driver should drive on the left or right side of the road. The front half 12a further includes a mute button 22 which can be used to silence the audio output of the device, and a reset button 24, the operation of which will be described in more detail below.

Mounted on the rear face of the rear half 12b is an adjustable connecting member 26 which is generally in the form of a dogleg. The leg of the connecting member 26 which is distal from the main body 12 is in connection with a clip 28.

The clip 28 enables the device 10 to be conveniently mounted on the sun visor of a vehicle. The connecting member includes a joint 26a which enables the position of the main body 12 to be varied with respect to the clip 28 by a swivelling motion, thereby enabling the driver to set the device 10 at a convenient position.

Figures 2 and 3 provide further illustration of how the device works.

Figures 2 and 3 share certain elements in common with those shown in Figure 1, and identical numerals are used to denote such shared features. Figure 2 shows the interior of the device 10, in which a printed circuit board 30 is mounted in the interior of the rear half 12b. Mounted on the printed circuit board are a loudspeaker 32 which is used to provide audio warnings, a first plurality of LEDs 34 which are used to provide illumination of the left arrow sign 14 and a second plurality of LEDs 36 which are used to provide the illumination for the right arrow sign 16.

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing the control circuit of the device 10. A microcontroller 38 is provided which controls the operation of the device in response to the operational mode selected by the vehicle driver using the switch 20. The microcontroller controls both the visual and the audio warning provided by the device. In order to provide the audio warning, the microcontroller controls a voice sound module 40 which provides, as appropriate, warnings relating to driving on the left or the right side of the road. The voice sound module 40 is in connection with the loudspeaker 32. To provide the visual warnings, the microcontroller either sends signals to a first LED driver 42 which drives the first plurality of LED5 34 in the left arrow sign 14, or the microcontroller 38 sends signals to a second LED driver 44 which is in connection with the second plurality of LEDs 36 of the right arrow sign 16. The microcontroller also controls a third LED driver 46 which is used to control the illumination of the mute button 22; additionally the microcontroller 38 is in connection with and is responsive to the condition of the mute button 22 and the reset button 24. Furtherstill, the microcontroller 38 controls a fourth LED driver 48 which in turn controls the illumination of the reset button 24. The microcontroller 38 is in connection with and responsive to the condition of the reset button 24. The microcontroller is powered by a 12 volt power source 50 which is in connection with a voltage regulator 52. Preferably, on-board power from the vehicle is used, although the use of a power source located within the device 10 itself, such as a battery, is within the scope of the invention. A factory-set language option switch 54 is provided which is used to select the language of the pre-recorded messages outputted by the voice sound module 40. A light sensitive sensor 56 is provided, the output of which is inputted into an auto-dimming system 58 which communicates with the microcontroller 38. This arrangement is used to provide automatic brightness control for the illuminated mute and reset buttons, 22, 24 and for the left and right arrow signs, 14, 16.

A representative operational setup for the device 10 will now be described. The driver of the vehicle can conveniently select whether the warning provided by the device will be an instruction to drive on the left or right side of the road, depending on the country in which the driver of the vehicle is currently located. The microcontroller 38 provides the appropriate warning in response to the state of the switch 20. The warning consists of an audio signal and a visual signal. The audio signal can comprise a 4-second pre-recorded message stating "attention -drive on the left" or "caution -drive on the right" as appropriate. One of the voices may be a female voice with the other voice being a male voice, in order to make the messages more distinctive to the driver. The message can be repeated every 20 seconds for 3 minutes, with the message being repeated every 30 seconds continuously after 3 minutes have elapsed.

The visual signal can be provided immediately after the 4-second audio message, with the left or right arrow 14, 16 illuminating for 2 seconds and repeating three more times at 2-second intervals. To make the visual signal more distinctive, the left signal may be a different colour to the right signal; for example the left signal may be coloured red, and the right signal may be coloured green. It will be appreciated that many variations on the precise implementation of the audio and visual signals are possible.

The mute button 22 can be used by the driver to mute the audio signal.

The reset button 24 is used to reset the device so that the default signals are produced when the audio signal is on the three minute cycle or when the audio mute control is being used.

The devices of the invention provide an excellent reminder to the driver as to the side of the road to drive on without being overly distracting to the driver. Furthermore, the arrangement is self-contained and does not rely on data received from an externally located source.

Claims

CLAIMS1. An electronic warning device for indicating to the driver of a vehicle which side of the road to drive on, the device including: a driver-operable switching arrangement allowing the driver to select a first operational mode in which the device indicates that the driver should drive on the left side of the road or a second operational mode in which the device indicates that the driver should drive on the right side of the road; an electrically powered indicating arrangement for indicating to the driver whether the driver should drive on the left or right side of the road, the indicating arrangement being electrically coupled to the switching arrangement and responsive thereto so that the selection of the first operational mode causes the indicating arrangement to indicate to the driver that the driver should drive on the left side of the road and the selection of the second operational mode causes the indicating arrangement to indicate to the driver that the driver should drive on the right side of the road.

*
2. A device according to claim 1 in which the indicating arrangement includes an electrically powered visual display arrangement.
3. A device according to claim I or claim 2 in which the indicating arrangement includes an electrically powered audio warning device.
4. A device according to any previous claim further including a connection arrangement enabling the device to be mounted on a sun visor of a vehicle.
5. A device according to claim 4 in which the indicating arrangement and, optionally, the switching arrangement are disposed in a main body portion, and the connection arrangement includes an attachment portion for attaching to the sun visor and a connecting member which connects the attachment portion to the main body.
6. A device according to claim 5 in which the connecting member is adjustable so as to allow the position of the main body to be altered with respect to the attachment portion.
7. A device substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.