US3746807A - Automatic turn-signal controller - Google Patents

Automatic turn-signal controller Download PDF

Info

Publication number
US3746807A
US3746807A US00274984A US3746807DA US3746807A US 3746807 A US3746807 A US 3746807A US 00274984 A US00274984 A US 00274984A US 3746807D A US3746807D A US 3746807DA US 3746807 A US3746807 A US 3746807A
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
threaded member
pawls
turn
neutral position
vehicle
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
US00274984A
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
K Yasuda
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Individual
Original Assignee
Individual
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US3746807A publication Critical patent/US3746807A/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

Links

Images

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q—ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q1/00—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor
    • B60Q1/26—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic
    • B60Q1/34—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic for indicating change of drive direction
    • B60Q1/40—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic for indicating change of drive direction having mechanical, electric or electronic automatic return to inoperative position
    • B60Q1/42—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic for indicating change of drive direction having mechanical, electric or electronic automatic return to inoperative position having mechanical automatic return to inoperative position due to steering-wheel position, e.g. with roller wheel control
    • B60Q1/425—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic for indicating change of drive direction having mechanical, electric or electronic automatic return to inoperative position having mechanical automatic return to inoperative position due to steering-wheel position, e.g. with roller wheel control using a latching element for resetting a switching element
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
    • Y10T74/00—Machine element or mechanism
    • Y10T74/11—Tripping mechanism

Definitions

  • This invention relates to an automatic control device which can positively and reasonably control the warning signal generation and termination on road vehicles, such as automobiles, motor cycles, and bicycles, when used by drivers turning intersections or changing lanes on highways.
  • the present invention succeeds in solving all of the foregoing problems by basing the switching action on the distance that the vehicle covers for its turning motion.
  • the invention resides in a construction comprising an axially displaceable threaded member which is driven for rotation by a driving cable extended from the driving shaft of the vehicle with a speed reduction, a pair of pawls either of which can exclusively engage with or disengage from the threaded member, and a pair of tum-signal switches which are closed or opened in response to the engagement or disengagement of either pawl, either of said pawls being urged by externally operable means from a neutral position into exclusive engagement with the threaded member, either pawl being automatically reset to a neutral position away from its engagement with the threaded member at the point where the threaded member has attained a predetermined axial displacement, while the disengaged threaded member being automatically reset to its starting point.
  • FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the turn signal control device of this invention
  • FIG. 2 is a vertically sectional front elevation taken on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;
  • FIG. 3 is a vertically sectional side elevation taken on the line 33 of FIG. 1.
  • FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 the front end portion of a driving cable is shown extended from the driving shaft of a vehicle with a speed reduction indicated at 4 as branched out from a speed-meter driving cable (not shown).
  • the spindle v5 is connected to the front end portion of the driving cable to be driven thereby.
  • a support pin 6 rotatably supports the upper end portion of the spindle 5, and a support bar -7 which pivotally supports the main stem of the support pin.
  • a pair of side frame 10, l l which are interconnected at the bottoms with a bottom plate 12.
  • the bottom plate 12 is formed with a round hole in the center in threaded cngagement with a sleeve 13 which also serves as a guide skirt for a hollow cone 17.
  • a bottom cover 14 is in threaded connection with the lower end portion of the sleeve 13. Adjacent the center of the bottom cover 14 is provided a bearing 14a which supports the spindle 5.
  • a connector 14b in threaded engagement with the bearing 14a connects a flange formed at the upper end of the driving cable to a recess at the lower end of the spindle 5.
  • a boss I5 is axially slidable over the spindle along a key 16.
  • On the boss 15 is securely mounted a hollow cone 17, having on its outer surface a continuously spiralled thread 18 which is sharply serrated.
  • a tension spring 19 is secured at the lower end to the spindle and at the upper end to the boss 15.
  • a pair of pawls 20 and 21 protrude inwardly from the lower end of a bell crank 22 bifurcated from the support bar 7.
  • a column 23 protrudes with a cap 24 thereon.
  • a pair of lateral slots 25, 26 are formed, and a pair of protuberances 27 formed on both sides of the column loosely fit in the slots, in such a manner that the cap 24 is secured to the column 23 by the protuberances with a slight allowance for circumferential displacement.
  • a leaf spring 28 is loosely inserted in a vertical slit fonned in the center at the head of the cap 24. It is fixed at the base end to a bracket 29 which in turn is anchored to the rear frame 9. The spring has a bend point in the center so that when bent rightward or leftward the spring remains bent and refuses to be turned back to the straight position.
  • a bifurcated arm 30 holds the cap within its U-shaped bifurcation with a pivot 31 for the bifurcated arm and an oper ating lever 32 for the arm.
  • Pressure balls 33 fasten the operating lever in its neutral position. For this purpose the balls are urged forward into engagement with grooves 35 formed in the portions of the boss 34 surrounding the pivot 31.
  • a pair of microswitch actuating horns 36, 37 protrude from the both sides of the boss 34 for the lever 32, and are associated with the contacts 33, 39, respectively, of a pair of microswitches 4t), 41.
  • the driver turns the operating lever 32 for an angular displacement in the direction where the vehicle is to turn, just in the same manner as with a conventional turn signal. For example, if the driver turns the lever 32 clockwise, the angular displacement of the lever tilts the bifurcated arm 30 via the pivot 31 to the right as viewed in FIG. 1. Also, the microswitch actuating born 36 on the boss 34 moves the contact 38 to connect the microswitch 40, thereby allowing the side flashers (not shown) on that side of the vehicle to flash.
  • the cap 24 is tilted rightward by the bifurcated arm 30, whereas the bell crank 22 is inclined leftward with the support bar 7 as the fulcrum until the pawl 20 meshes with the threaded portion 18.
  • the threaded portion 18 is continuously revolving, the pawl 20 runs along the thread, with the result that the hollow cone l7 gradually ascends with the boss 15 in sliding contact with the spindle 5 against the downward urging of the spring 19. Since the threaded portion 18 extends over the truncated conical surface of the hollow cone 17, the radius of engagement between the threaded portion 13 and the pawl 20 increases in direct proportion of the distance that is covered by the vehicle after the switching of the turn signal.
  • the cap 24 which supports the pawl 20 through the bell crank 22 gradually returns to the upright position in defiance of the spring 28.
  • This motion is accompanied by the movement of the bifurcated arm 30 to toward its neutral position.
  • the pressure balls 33 fit in the grooves 35 of the boss 34, and the pawl 20 is disengaged from the thread of the threaded portion 18.
  • the threaded portion 18 is brought back to its original point by the tension of the spring 19. In this way all the parts are reset to their initial positions, the microswitch 40 being cut off by the return of the horn 36 to its normal position.
  • the side flashers are not automatically put off.
  • the microswitch 41 and the pawl 21 on the other side of the controller are actuated and, by the same procedure above described, the flashing by the turn signal is automatically stopped after the veicle has run a certain distance, for example after a run of 200 meters, from the point where the turn signal was switched on.
  • the threaded portion 18 on a cylindrical drum, so that the drum can be urged upward by the engagement of the portion with either pawl until it pushes open the inner base portion of the bell' crank 22 to disengage the pawl from the threaded portion.
  • the same effect may be achieved by providing the threaded portion 18 in the form of internal threading on the inner wall of the cylindrical drum, in engagement with either of the pawls 20, 21 which protrude outwardly, not inwardly.
  • the automatic resetting means for the threaded portion 18 may take the form of gravity or weight, or the tension spring may be replaced by a compression spring to obtain, naturally, the same effect.
  • the present invention permits automatic control of a turn signal in relation to the distance of travel of the vehicle carrying the control device.
  • the signal generation is terminated without fail after a run of the vehicle over a predetermined dis tance, there is no possibility of the vehicle running with the side flasher lamps on after the vehicle has resumed straight running following a turn.
  • the signal generation is continued regardless of time.
  • There is no danger of the rotational angle of the steering handle causing any inability, premature termination, or impossibility of automatic termination, of the signal generation.
  • control device of the present invention can thus achieve these and other advantageous effects which are never attainable with the conventional devices.
  • An automatic turn signal control device communicating with a driving cable extending from the driving shaft of a vehicle with a speed reduction means for actuating and then deactuating the turn signals after a turn comprising an axially displaceable threaded member connected for rotation with said driving cable and normally running idle as it is driven; a pair of pawls, each of said pawls being engageable and disengageable with said threaded member; a pair of turn signal switch means operative in response to either of said pawls; external means for urging either of said pawls from a neutral position into engagement with said threaded member so as to indicate a turn; 'means for automatically resetting either of said pawls to a neutral position away from engagement with said threaded member at a point where said threaded member is at a predetermined axial displacement, and means for automatically resetting said disengaged threaded member to its starting point.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Lighting Device Outwards From Vehicle And Optical Signal (AREA)
  • Mechanical Control Devices (AREA)
  • Mechanisms For Operating Contacts (AREA)
US00274984A 1971-09-11 1972-07-25 Automatic turn-signal controller Expired - Lifetime US3746807A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP46070536A JPS5112516B2 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1971-09-11 1971-09-11

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US3746807A true US3746807A (en) 1973-07-17

Family

ID=13434341

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US00274984A Expired - Lifetime US3746807A (en) 1971-09-11 1972-07-25 Automatic turn-signal controller

Country Status (6)

Country Link
US (1) US3746807A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
JP (1) JPS5112516B2 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
CA (1) CA967261A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
DE (1) DE2236176C3 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
FR (1) FR2151869A5 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
GB (1) GB1355596A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4058797A (en) * 1975-06-09 1977-11-15 Yamaha Hatsudoki Kabushiki Kaisha Turn signal system

Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2009693A (en) * 1933-10-11 1935-07-30 James P Kendall Distance controlled indicator system

Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2009693A (en) * 1933-10-11 1935-07-30 James P Kendall Distance controlled indicator system

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4058797A (en) * 1975-06-09 1977-11-15 Yamaha Hatsudoki Kabushiki Kaisha Turn signal system

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE2236176A1 (de) 1973-03-22
CA967261A (en) 1975-05-06
JPS5112516B2 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1976-04-20
GB1355596A (en) 1974-06-05
FR2151869A5 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1973-04-20
DE2236176C3 (de) 1975-04-24
JPS4837094A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1973-05-31
DE2236176B2 (de) 1974-09-05

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
JPS6140043Y2 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
US5731755A (en) Vehicular U-turn indicator
US2561582A (en) Directional mirror for motor vehicles
US3746807A (en) Automatic turn-signal controller
JP3029973B2 (ja) 方向指示器
US2771525A (en) Signal device for motor vehicles
KR100378365B1 (ko) 후진등과 방향 지시등을 이용한 차량의 유턴표시장치
US4127793A (en) Device for maintaining a stopped vehicle in braked condition
JPS6114916Y2 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
US2824917A (en) Turn signalling arrangement
JPS592577Y2 (ja) 車両用レバ−操作装置
US2224457A (en) Safety signal switch for automobiles
JPH11229658A (ja) 自動車停止位置報知装置
KR0122621Y1 (ko) 자동차의 급회전 표시장치
US1884117A (en) Control switch
KR0119687Y1 (ko) 급회전 표시가 가능한 콤비네이션 스위치
KR200270302Y1 (ko) 자동차 방향지시등 자동작동 장치
KR200154225Y1 (ko) 자동차의 헤드램프 구동장치
JPS6218139Y2 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
JP4799354B2 (ja) 車両用スイッチ装置
US1857935A (en) Automobile signal switch
US2062323A (en) Combined headlight and direction indicator for vehicles
US2016908A (en) Switch mechanism for direction indicators for motor vehicles
JP2955711B2 (ja) 自動車の出車スペース確保装置
BR102023002511A2 (pt) Sistema para comutação automatizada de sinal de seta de veículo