VEHICLE SIGNALLING SYSTEM Field of the invention
This invention relates to a signalling system for use in a road vehicle for selectively displaying messages and/or symbols to other road users. Background to the Invention
As road use increases, the driving of vehicles becomes increasingly stressful. Violent and aggressive driving, often referred to as 'road rage', is also becoming increasingly common, perhaps as a result. The majority of violent and aggressive acts on the road arise from criticism, reaction to criticism and miscommunication between driv- ers.
Traditionally, hand gestures have been used to indicate thanks to another driver who has, for example, let another driver pull out of a side road or change lane on a motorway. When a driver is thanked, it reinforces helpful driving, and both drivers are then more likely to be considerate of other road users. Unfortunately, hand gestures of thanks can be open to misinterpretation, especially since most insulting gestures between drivers also involve the use of hands.
A large number of road rage incidents occur because of one driver's reaction to another driver's error. Pulling out too closely in front of another car, or failing to indicate when changing lanes are typical acts which can annoy other motorists. While the intention behind these manoeuvres is not aggressive, drivers often react angrily to criticism. If a driver is able immediately to acknowledge his or her mistake, then the situation is defused. Even if another driver expresses displeasure at an error, an admission of being in the wrong will end a potentially aggressive situation. However, there is no universally understood hand gesture which will convey an apology without risk of misin- terpretation.
There is therefore a need for some means of easily signalling different messages to other drivers clearly and unambiguously.
While signalling systems for motor vehicles are known, for example taxi 'for hire' signs, and those used in police vehicles to signal another driver to stop, these are installed when the vehicle is modified for police use and are not readily applicable to private vehicles.
Summary of the Invention
According to the invention, there is provided a vehicle signalling system, comprising a display means arranged to display any of a plurality of predetermined messages or symbols, means for attaching the display means to the inside surface of a vehicle win- dow so that the display means may be viewed from outside the vehicle, and a remote control unit having means for selecting the message or symbol to be displayed by the display means and signalling to the display means to display the selected message or symbol.
Preferably, the display means is connected to the remote control unit by a trail- ing wire or wires. The remote control unit may also be connectable to the vehicle's battery by way of a separate wire or wires, for example having a plug to establish an electrical connection with an outlet such as a cigarette lighter socket. In an alternative embodiment, the remote control unit has no physical connection to the display means, but instead signals to the display means by infra red or radio signals. The display means may therefore be provided in this embodiment with internal batteries. The batteries may be replaceable dry cells, removable rechargeable cells, or even cells recharged by solar panels mounted on or near the display means.
The remote control unit preferably has separate buttons or other touch- responsive areas for each message or symbol to be displayed by the display means, to simplify operation and therefore minimise distraction for the driver. The control unit may be shaped so that the driver may readily distinguish the different control buttons or areas by touch, but they may also be colour-coded as well as having identifying words and/or symbols thereon. As the control unit is not fixed to the vehicle or built in to the vehicle's existing controls, it can readily be placed in a position convenient to the indi- vidual driver, thus enabling him or her to use the control quickly in circumstances where a rapid reaction is required, either to say SORRY or THANKS. In addition to these two words (or symbols conveying the same ideas) other words may be provided for, such as HELP, to summon help when stranded, but it is desirable that the number of choices is kept to a minimum, to ensure that the device is straightforward to operate. Where vehicle construction and use regulations permit, the display can also serve as an additional brake warning light visible in the rear window of a vehicle. This
may be achieved by providing the device with separate lights linked to the vehicle's braking system, or by providing a matrix of individual lights, such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which can be selectively switched on and off to display different words or symbols , all the lights in the array being lit when the brake-warning function is oper- ated.
The display means is preferably configured as a body rotatably mounted between two brackets which attach adhesively to the surface of the window, for example by resilient adhesive pads. The brackets preferably are each provided with a plug formation insertable into a socket in the respective end of the body of the display means. The plugs are preferably held in place by resilient means within the socket. The resilient means preferably comprise radially-directed resilient members bearing inwardly on the plugs so as to ensure that there is sufficient friction on the plugs to hold the display means, in use, at the selected orientation relative to the window so that the displayed message or symbol is readily visible to other motorists. The device of the invention is simple to install in a vehicle without the use of tools, and may therefore be sold as an accessory for installation by the user, rather than having to be installed during construction of the vehicle. Brief Description of the Drawings
In the drawings, which illustrate an exemplary embodiment of the invention: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the display device;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the remote control unit;
Figure 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional elevation of the connection between a mounting bracket and one half of the body of the display device, the other half being omitted for the sake of clarity; and Figure 4 is a simplified circuit diagram of the device.
Detailed Description of the Illustrated Embodiment
Referring first to Figure 1 , the display device comprises a plastics casing 1 , the front portion 2 of which is moulded in a transparent material to enclose an array 3 of LEDs arranged so as to be capable of alternatively displaying one of three different mes- sages, which in the example illustrated are SORRY, THANKS, and HELP. By illuminating different combinations of LEDs, the different messages become visible. It will be ap-
preciated that the invention is not limited to the use of LEDs, arrays of other types of lamp being possible, as well as other arrangements to display symbols or words, for example illuminated masks or liquid crystal displays.
The casing is rotatably mounted between two mounting brackets 4, each of which has a flat surface 5 by which, using resilient self-adhesive pads, for example, the brackets may be securely mounted on the inside surface of a window of the vehicle, preferably the rear window or windscreen. When the mounting brackets 4 have been attached to the window, the casing is rotated to ensure that the LED array 3 can be seen at the eye level of other motorists who might be following the vehicle in which the device is mounted.
Attached to the display device 1 by means of a flexible insulated cable 6 is a hand-held remote control device 7, as shown in Figure 2. The device 7 has a second flexible cable 8 attached thereto, the cable 8 having a plug (not shown) at the end thereof which provides an electrical power connection to a power output socket in the car, for example that used for an electric cigarette lighter of the type found in most motor cars. The cable 8 thus provides the power for operation of the remote control device and the display device.
The remote control device 7 is provided with three press-buttons 9, 10 and 1 1 , each of which, when pressed, causes a respective one of the three selected messages to be displayed by the display device. The press-buttons 9, 10 and 1 1 are shaped and positioned so that the user may readily distinguish between them by feel alone, although they are also differently-coloured to distinguish them from each other, and have the relevant messages printed alongside them. A warning lamp 12 is also set into the unit 7 to confirm, when any of the buttons 9-1 1 is pressed, that the display device is operating correctly.
Referring now to Figure 3, each mounting bracket 4 is formed with a plug 13 extending therefrom with an enlarged domed end 14. The plug is received in a socket 15 in the respective end of the body of the display device, the socket 15 having moulded into its opposed sides a recess 16, the opposed recesses 16 each supporting a shaped block 17 of a resiliently-compressible material, for example of a hard elastomer. The blocks 17 each have a semi-circular recess therein which, in use, bears against and
grips a side of the plug 13, retaining it, with the aid of the flange 14, within the socket 15 unless an axial outward force is applied to the plug above a predetermined level. In addition, the blocks 17 exert friction on the plug 13, preventing it from rotating freely, but instead allowing it only to be rotated when the user applies a rotational force to the body above a predetermined level sufficient to ensure that, in use, the display device remains in the chosen orientation and is not caused to rotate out of position by the vibration or shocks experienced during motion of the vehicle.
The circuit diagram shown in Figure 4 shows that each push-button in the remote control unit is connected to the display device through a separate control wire 20, 21 or 22 within the cable 6, a common ground wire 23 being provided to complete the circuit in each case. When a button 9, 10 or 1 1 is pressed, the circuit is closed to send a signal to a respective latching circuit 24, 25 or 26 which sends a control voltage to a respective relay 27, 28 or 29 in the display device 1 for a predetermined period, causing the relay to close and to cause a current flow through a predetermined group 30, 31 or 32 of the LEDs, in a pattern corresponding to the chosen word. It will be appreciated that by careful positioning of the LEDs, certain of them can be used for more than one word, reducing costs and simplifying the circuit board upon which they are mounted. After the predetermined delay from pressing the button, the control voltage is dropped, allowing the relay to open and the LED array to be switched off.