JP2003237462A - Automatic flash system for brake lamp of automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent and reduce a tragic automobile accident, by taking safety of an automobile into consideration in view point of a psychological aspect of a driver. <P>SOLUTION: This automatic flash system is provided with a control means (micro-computer) for flickering each brake lamp of the automobile in response to a speed, the control means computes the number of flashes, and generates a flickering signal to flash the brake lamp. In the each brake lamp of the automobile, the number of flashes gets high when the speed is high, the number of flashes gets low when the speed is low, the lamp is turned on when the automobile is stopped, and the brake lamps are provided in a front part and a rear part of the automobile. A small red lamp of an auxiliary brake lamp is provided in an instrument panel part of the automobile to be flickered synchronized with the brake lamps, and the three lamps are interlocked to form a safety system for the traveling automobile, in the automatic flash system. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to blinking of a brake light of an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a brake is used, a red brake light at the rear of a vehicle is lit. To prevent a rear-end collision, the driver stepped on the brake pedal several times just before speeding down or stopping, blinking the brake lights to notify the following vehicle to prepare for a rear-end collision. The top cause of a car accident is a rear-end collision, the top cause of a car death accident is a frontal collision, and equipment for seat belts, airbags, ABS systems, etc. Although the car body has been strengthened against offset collisions, etc., there was a dislike of being biased toward hardware measures in the event of an accident. In addition, the development of these measures and the construction of the production line required considerable cost.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to prevent or reduce the above-mentioned automobile accident from the psychological point of view of a driver. Therefore, a brake light that can be automatically blinked is provided. That is.

[0004]

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention provides a speed detecting device (speed meter) for detecting a speed in a moving vehicle having a brake light, and changing the speed detecting device into a stepless electric signal,
A control means (microcomputer) for controlling the blinking of the brake light is provided, and the control means can automatically blink the brake light based on a signal from the speed sensing device.

In the automatic blinking system of the present invention, the brake light of the automobile works in accordance with the speed. When the speed is fast, the number of blinks is large (fast), when the speed is slow, the number of blinks is small (slow), and it lights when stopped. be able to.

The brake light of the present invention is provided not only in the rear portion of the vehicle but also in the front corner, and both brake lights automatically blink in synchronization. Three vehicles, a front vehicle and a succeeding vehicle, centering on the vehicle that is traveling, can easily check the speed relationship of each other by the blinking light, and maintain a safe inter-vehicle distance and perform appropriate braking work. In addition, reduce traffic accidents by alerting vehicles other than your own vehicle, pedestrians, etc. to the approaching vehicle when going straight or turning right or left at intersections that are considered to have the most accidents, and by alerting everyone to them. You can

Another feature of the present invention is a small red lamp as an auxiliary lamp provided in an easily viewable part of an instrument panel portion of an automobile. When the vehicle in front of the vehicle brakes, the driver knows the speed situation of the vehicle in front by the blinking interval of the rear brake light of the vehicle in front, and the vehicle also lightly presses the brake pedal to blink the red lamp on the instrument panel. By blinking, you can intuitively read the difference in speed, distance, proximity, etc. between the two vehicles, which not only allows the driver to respond appropriately, but also automatically sends the same sign to the following vehicles. it can.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, an "automatic blinking system of a vehicle brake light" according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a system for automatically synchronizing a blinking light of a brake light according to the speed of an automobile according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a relationship between a traveling speed during braking of the automobile and the number of blinking lights of the brake light. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a blinking signal generated based on the relationship of FIG.

In FIG. 1, the illustrated automatic blinking system includes a speedometer 1 for detecting the speed of an automobile and a control means 2 for controlling blinking of various brake lights based on the speed of the automobile.
And the control means 2 is composed of, for example, a microcomputer. The various brake lights are composed of a rear brake light 3 provided on the rear side of the vehicle, an auxiliary brake light 4 provided on the instrument panel portion of the driver's seat, and a front-angled brake light 5 provided on the front side of the vehicle as described later. It

The illustrated control means 2 is a speed calculation means 11,
Flashing number calculation means 12 Flashing signal generation means 13 and memory 1
Includes 4 and. The speed calculation means 11 calculates the traveling speed of the vehicle based on the speed detection signal from the speedometer 1,
The blinking number calculation means 12 calculates the number of blinking of the brake lights 3, 4, 5 based on the traveling speed during braking. In this example, the relationship between the traveling speed during braking and the number of blinks of the brake lights shown in FIG. 2 is stored as a map, and the blinking number calculation means 12 uses this map to correspond to the traveling speed during braking. Read the number of blinks. In this map, the traveling speed during braking and the number of blinks are in a proportional relationship, and if the traveling speed during braking is fast, the number of blinks of the brake lights 3, 4, 5 also increases, and for example, the traveling speed is 10
The blinking rate at 0 km / h is 10 times / second.

Further, the blinking signal generating means 13 generates a blinking signal corresponding to the blinking number calculated by the blinking number calculating means 12. For example, the braking speed is fast (for example, 100
At the time of (km / h), the number of blinks is large (for example, 10 times / second), and as shown in FIG. 3A, a blinking signal with a small pulse interval is generated. Also, for example, the braking speed is slow (for example, 10k
m / h), the number of blinks is small (for example, once / second),
As shown in FIG. 3B, a blinking signal with a large pulse interval is generated. The flashing signal thus generated is transmitted to the brake lights 3, 4, and 5, and these brake lights 3, 4, and 5 are automatically flashed in synchronization with each other as described later. And when stopped, everything lights up.

In the example described above, the relationship between the traveling speed during braking and the number of blinks is set to be a proportional relationship, but instead of this, the relationship is set to be a parabolic relationship. Alternatively, the relationship between them may be set in a step-like relationship.

According to the above system, for example, when a preceding vehicle brakes while traveling on a highway, the own vehicle can grasp its speed condition by the blinking interval of the rear brake light 3 of the preceding vehicle. In other words, it can be read that the preceding vehicle is traveling at high speed if it blinks quickly, medium to low speed if it blinks slowly, and that it is stopped if it lights. Furthermore, if the fast flashing changes to a slow flashing or turns on, it means a sudden speed down or a stop, and the driver of the vehicle can take an early or swift response.

At the same time, the response to the preceding vehicle is also transmitted to the following vehicle in the form of the blinking interval of the red light of the rear brake light 3 of the own vehicle, and the driver of the following vehicle can also respond as quickly as the own vehicle. Therefore, it can be expected to be effective in preventing and reducing rear and rear collision accidents during the daytime and nighttime due to the unadjusted speed especially during rainfall, snowfall, and freezing.

Further, by incorporating this system, it is not necessary to give a signal to a following vehicle by a hazard flasher which is often seen when traffic is congested on an expressway. Not only that, the driver lightly sees the blinking of the rear braking light 3 of the preceding vehicle and depresses the brake pedal lightly, and compares it with the blinking interval of the red small lamp 4 which is the auxiliary light of the instrument panel of his own vehicle to compare the speed between the two vehicles. Since you can feel the difference sensuously, you can prepare for and respond to your early mind as well as call attention. This can be similarly applied to general roads including urban areas, and the suppression of speed, the prevention of rear-end collision accidents, and the blinking of the brake lights 5 at the front corners are also effective in the prevention of encounter accidents.

[0016]

The automatic blinking system according to claim 1 of the present invention comprises a speedometer, which is a speed detecting device for an automobile, and a control means for flashing a brake light, and the control means is provided by the speed detecting device. Automatically blink the brake light based on the signal,
It has the effect of notifying the speed situation of the car to others.

In the automatic blinking system according to the second aspect of the present invention, when the vehicle speed is high, the number of times the brake light blinks increases,
When the speed is slow, the number of blinks is small, and it turns on when the car is stopped, and it is intended to reduce traffic accidents by drawing the attention of people around the vehicle at the intersections before and after running.

In the automatic blinking system according to claim 3 of the present invention, the brake lights provided at the front corners of the automobile are also claimed.
It synchronizes with the contents of 2 and blinks automatically. This is because three cars, a front-running car and a following-car, centering on the own vehicle, check each other's speed relationship by the blinking of light to maintain a safe inter-vehicle distance and perform appropriate braking work. Aims to reduce traffic accidents by alerting other vehicles at the intersection and its vicinity, school children and general pedestrians that the car is approaching, and alerting all of them.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the automatic blinking system according to claim 4 is a small red lamp provided in a portion of an instrument panel portion of an automobile which is easily visible to a driver. This is because when the preceding vehicle brakes, you can know the speed situation of the preceding vehicle by the blinking interval of the rear brake light of the preceding vehicle, and your own vehicle will also blink the instrument panel by gently pressing the brake pedal. By reading the speed difference between the two vehicles and the degree of approach from the red lamp in the section, the driver can take appropriate action and at the same time send the same sign to the following vehicle.

The present invention is useful not only for notifying an oncoming vehicle, a motorcycle, a bicycle, a school child, a general pedestrian, etc. of the approach and speed of the vehicle, but also for keeping the three vehicles running from each other with a distance between them. This will help prevent and reduce accidents such as the aforementioned rear-end collisions, encounters, and even tragic frontal collisions and involvement.

Further, at the intersection where the most accidents occur, the brake light at the front corner of the right-turn vehicle signals to the oncoming straight vehicle, and the blinking of the brake light informs the succeeding right-turn vehicle of the speed situation. Also, the effect of traffic safety appears here.

Currently, the brake light of an automobile is only in the rear part, and when the driver steps on the brake, the brake light is turned on. Therefore, when applying a brake, the driver performs the work of stepping on the brake pedal several times in order to inform the following vehicle of the speed down.

It can be said that the location of an accident in a traveling automobile is not limited to the rear portion, but may be at any angle in the front, rear, left and right. Therefore, it seems that there is no reason why the red lamp for the purpose of inviting the presence and attention of the vehicle should be always installed in the rear part.

Therefore, the red emitting diodes provided at equal intervals around the automobile such as the left and right side moldings and the front and rear bumpers also blink by the brake light automatic blinking system of the present invention as one measure for accident prevention. Is.

The present invention converts speed information from a moving (or stopped) vehicle into information about blinking (or lighting) of light, and transmits this to the driver of the own vehicle and the driver of the following vehicle. Will contribute to the new road safety system.

In addition to the hardware aspect, the safety measures of the car must be considered from the psychological aspect of the driver, and it is considered that safety and human life should be prioritized rather than the appearance and legal regulation of the car.

The present invention is effective on a general road at daytime and nighttime, but is particularly effective at a highway at night, and maintaining an appropriate inter-vehicle distance can prevent serious accidents such as a catastrophic colliding collision. Show effect. It should be noted that this system is also worth considering in the global automobile industry, as it is consistent with a common theme throughout the world.

[Brief description of drawings]

[Figure 1] Conceptual diagram of the automatic blinking tuning system of the brake lights

[Fig. 2] Relationship between the traveling speed of the vehicle during braking and the number of blinking brake lights

[Figure 3] Flashing signal generation example

[Figure 4] Rear brake light

[Figure 5] Auxiliary brake light (red small lamp) on the instrument panel

[Figure 6] Brake light at the front corner

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Speedometer 11 Speed calculation means 2 Control means (microcomputer) 12 Blinking number calculation means 3 Rear braking light 13 Blinking signal generation means 4 Auxiliary braking light (small red lamp) 14 Memory 5 Brake light at front corner

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A speedometer, which is a speed sensing device for sensing the speed of an automobile having a brake light, and a control means for controlling blinking of the brake light, the control means sensing speed from the speed sensing device. An automatic blinking system for a brake light of an automobile, characterized in that the brake light is blinked based on a signal. 2. The control means flashes the brake light corresponding to the speed of the vehicle, such that the flashing frequency is high when the speed is fast, the flashing frequency is low when the speed is slow, and the brake light is lit when stopped. Automatic flashing system. 3. The automatic blinking system according to claim 1, wherein the brake lights are provided at a front portion and a rear portion of the automobile. 4. A small red lamp that blinks in synchronism with the brake light is provided in the instrument panel of the automobile.
The automatic blinking system according to any one of 1 to 3.