WO2006019229A1

WO2006019229A1 - Digital number display signal lamp and control method thereof

Info

Publication number: WO2006019229A1
Application number: PCT/KR2005/002573
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kyu Cheol Lee
Original assignee: Kyu Cheol Lee
Priority date: 2004-08-18
Filing date: 2005-08-08
Publication date: 2006-02-23
Also published as: KR200378757Y1

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a digital numerical display signal light. The signal light includes a plurality of light emission lamps, a digital numerical display insulation plate, a digital numerical display lattice portion, and a digital numerical display signal control device. The plurality of light emission lamps displays the predetermined colors of the signal light. The digital numerical display insulation plate is provided with the plurality of light emission lamps that are uniformly distributed and mounted on the entire area thereof. The digital numerical display lattice portion is located on the predetermined region of the digital numerical display insulation plate in a lattice form. The digital numerical display signal control device controls the ON/OFF operations of the light emission lamps. Accordingly, collisions with pedestrians and inconvenience attributable to traffic jams can be prevented.

Description

DIGITAL NUMBER DISPLAY SIGNAL LAMP AND CONTROL

METHOD THEREOF

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates, in general, to a digital numerical display signal light and, more particularly, to a digital numerical display signal light that allows pedestrians or drivers to be aware of the remaining time for walking or driving. Background Art

[2] In general type signal lights, such as a driver signal light having four display lamps, that is, red, yellow, and green display lamps and a green left turn arrow display lamp, and a pedestrian signal light having two display lamps, that is, red and green lights, the light-off times of display lights having respective functions cannot be known in advance, so that drivers' sudden stops, rear-end collisions and hindrance to vehicles traveling in different directions frequently occur, which results in traffic jams at in¬ tersections. In sidewalk, collisions between pedestrians and vehicles occur in the case where the pedestrians using a pedestrian crossing do not completely cross the pedestrian crossing and become trapped therein because a signal changes while the pedestrians are still walking.

[3] Furthermore, although a conventional signal light equipped with a separate remaining time indicator is installed such that the remaining time indicator and the signal light are separately provided, it is difficult for pedestrian or drivers to view both the signal light and the remaining time indicator at the same time because of the lack of simplicity. Furthermore, additional installation costs are required and many problems occur in the management thereof. Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem

[4] The present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a digital numerical display signal light, which allows drivers or pedestrians to be visually aware of the remaining time, so that the drivers can easily determine whether it is possible to cross a stop line or the pedestrians can easily determine whether it is possible to cross a pedestrian crossing.

[5] Another object of the present invention is to provide a digital numerical display signal light, in which the structure of the signal light is simplified, so that manu¬ facturing costs thereof can be reduced. Technical Solution [6] In order to the accomplish the above objects, the present invention provides a digital numerical display signal light, including a plurality of light emission lamps for displaying the predetermined colors of the signal light; a digital numerical display insulation plate provided with the plurality of light emission lamps that are uniformly distributed and mounted on the entire area thereof; a digital numerical display lattice portion located on the predetermined region of the digital numerical display insulation plate in a lattice form; and a digital numerical display signal control device for controlling the ON/OFF operations of the light emission lamps.

[7] It is preferred that the digital numerical display signal control device include an

ON/OFF controller for controlling the ON/OFF operations of the digital numerical display signal lamps; a down counter for allowing digital numerical display signals to be displayed as digits from 9 to 1; and a Binary Code Decoder (BCD) for receiving a BCD signal from the down counter and outputting seven segment signals.

[8] It is preferred that the digital numerical display signal light include a green digital numerical display signal lamp for directing the straight passage of vehicles, a yellow digital numerical display signal lamp for indicating a preliminary signal, and a red digital numerical display signal lamp for directing the stoppage of the vehicles.

[9] It is preferred that the digital numerical display signal light include a green digital numerical display signal lamp for directing the walking of pedestrians, and a red digital numerical display lamp for directing the stoppage of walking of the pedestrians.

[10] It is preferred that the digital numerical display insulation plate be configured such that the light emission lamps are densely or sparsely mounted in the central region thereof, and the digital numerical display signal control device control the light emission lamps.

[11] It is preferred that a numerical character of the digital numerical display lattice portion occupy 50 % to 70 % of the entire area of the digital numerical display insulation plate, and the digital numerical display signal control device control the light emission lamps.

[12] It is preferred that the digital numerical display lattice portion be configured such that the internal light emission lamps thereof are more densely or sparsely arranged than external emission lamps.

[13] It is preferred that the digital numerical display lattice portion be repeatedly turned on and off when the digital numerical display insulation plate is in a turned-on state, or the digital numerical display lattice portion be repeatedly turned on and off when the digital numerical display insulation plate is in a turned-off state, and the digital numerical display signal control device control the light emission lamps.

[14] In addition, a method of controlling a digital numerical display signal light, includes the steps of turning on a digital numerical display signal lamp; performing countdown on the digital numerical display lattice portion of the digital numerical display signal lamp after a predetermined time has elapsed; and repeating the process from the first step when the countdown reaches 0.

Advantageous Effects [15] As described above, the present invention is effective in that drivers or pedestrians can be visually aware of the remaining time and, therefore, they can correctly determine whether factors making sudden stops dangerous exist and whether it is possible to cross an intersection at the time of entrance into the intersection, so that collisions with pedestrians and inconvenience attributable to traffic jams can be prevented. [16] Furthermore, in accordance with the present invention, the structure of the signal light is simplified, so that the manufacturing costs thereof can be reduced.

Brief Description of the Drawings [17] FIG. 1 is a view showing four signal lamps for drivers according to an embodiment of the present invention; [18] FIG. 2 is a view showing two signal lamps for pedestrians according to the embodiment of the present invention; [19] FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a digital numerical display signal lamp according to the present invention; [20] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a control circuit installed in the signal light of the present invention; [21] FIG. 5 is an operational timing diagram of the signal light of the present invention; and

[22] FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the present invention.

[23] *Description of reference numerals of principle elements*

[24] 11 : green digital numerical display signal lamp for drivers

[25] 12: green arrow signal lamp for drivers

[26] 13: yellow digital numerical display signal lamp for drivers

[27] 21 : green digital numerical display signal lamp for pedestrians

[28] 22: red digital numerical display signal lamp for pedestrians

[29] 30: light emission lamps

[30] 31 : digital numerical display insulation plate

[31] 32: digital numerical display lattice portion 42: power supply

[32] 45 : ON/OFF controller and timer

[33] 4C: down counter

[34] 4E: BCD

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention [35] The construction and operation of the present invention are described with reference to the accompanying drawings below. However, the following embodiments are only examples of the present invention, so that the scope of the present invention must not be interpreted as being limited to the embodiments.

[36] FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrates a driver signal light having four signal lamps and a pedestrian signal light having two signal lamps, in accordance to an embodiment of the present invention.

[37] FlG. 3 is a schematic view of a digital numerical display lamp mounted on the signal light. The digital numerical display lamp includes digital numerical display light emission lamps 30, a digital numerical display insulation plate 31, and a digital numerical display lattice portion 32.

[38] The digital numerical display light emission lamps 30 are implemented using lamps that can be viewed even at night or on a rainy day. In this case, it is preferred that Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) or ElectroLuminescence (EL) elements each having high light emission efficiency be used so that drivers and pedestrians can be easily and clearly aware of the signal lamps.

[39] The digital numerical display insulation plate 31 displays the colors of respective signals, and two or more signals selected from among a green digital numerical display signal, a green arrow signal, a yellow digital numerical display signal, and a red digital numerical display signal are realized using the light emission lamps 30.

[40] The digital numerical display lattice portion 32 displays one of the digits from 9 to

1 on the digital numerical display signal lamp. In this case, light emission lamps inside the digital numerical display lattice portion 32 are divided into seven segments in a lattice form. Mode for the Invention

[41] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the control circuit of the digital numerical display signal light, which includes an ON/OFF controller and timer 45, a down counter 4C, a BCD 4E, and a power supply 42.

[42] The control circuit, including a ON/OFF controller and timer 45, may perform an off operation at the time of the change of digits while counting down is performed, and the timer thereof allows respective devices to be synchronized according to a pre¬ determined timing.

[43] The down counter 4C is a counter for counting down digits and causing the counted-down digits to be displayed. Furthermore, the down counter 4C sends a BCD signal to the BCD 4E so that the BCD signal becomes one of the digits from 9 to 1 when the ON/OFF controller and timer 45 is turned off.

[44] The BCD 4E receives the BCD signal from the down counter 4C, converts the received BCD signal into seven segment signals, and sends the converted seven segment signals to the digital numerical display lattice portion 32. Thereafter, the digital numerical display lattice portion 32 displays one of the digits from 9 to 1 according to the seven segment signals.

[45] In this case, it is preferred that the internal devices of the present invention be im¬ plemented using semiconductor devices that are robust against variations in temperature and humidity and are semipermanent. For example, it is effective to employ a microcomputer or an 8051 controller. Accordingly, adjustment may be performed such that the digits from 9 to 1 to be displayed by the signal light are counted down every second or more than every two seconds according to the traffic conditions and policies of each country, using a microcomputer program or the like. Furthermore, it is preferred that the style of numerical characters be changed, that the area occupied by the digital numerical display lattice portion 32 with respect to the entire area of the digital numerical display insulation plate 31 be adjusted, or that the light emission lamps 30 be densely or sparsely arranged at a predetermined location of the digital numerical display insulation plate 31, so as to increase visual effects on pedestrians or drivers. It is preferred that the style of numerical characters of the digital numerical display lattice portion 32 be a clear Gothic type (black letter). It is effective if the area of the digital numerical display lattice portion 32 is within a range from 50 to 70% of the entire area of the digital numerical display insulation plate 31. The reasons for this are that it is difficult to be visually aware of the digital numerical display lattice portion 32 when the occupied area is less than 50%, and the digital numerical display lattice portion 32 cannot be clearly viewed when the occupied area is more than 70%.

[46] FIG. 5 is an operational timing diagram of the digital numerical display signal light.

The power supply 42 supplies power to the ON/OFF controller and timer 45 and the BCD 4E based on input power 41 (43 and 44).

[47] The ON/OFF controller performs ON/OFF operations in synchronization with a signal 49 for the digital numerical display insulation plate 31. Accordingly, the light emission lamps of the digital numerical display insulation plate 31 periodically emit light, so that the digital numerical display lattice portion 32 may be clearly viewed (46). In this case, the digital numerical display insulation plate 31 and the digital numerical display lattice portion 32 may be variously programmed so as to accomplish the object of the present invention of maximizing visuality to human beings, like the following cases: the case where the digital numerical display lattice portion 32 repeats ON/OFF operations while the digital numerical display insulation plate 31 is in a turned-on state, and the case where the digital numerical display lattice portion 32 repeats ON/OFF operations while the digital numerical display insulation plate 31 is in a turned-off state. Such programming is determined depending on the weather in each country or the overall weather conditions of each region thereof. Since the programming can be implemented using conventional technology, detailed de¬ scriptions thereof are omitted.

[48] The timer sends a synchronization signal in order to maintain constant timing when the digit emission of the digital numerical display lattice portion 32 is turned on and off (47).

[49] The down counter 4C sequentially sends display signals corresponding to the digits from 9 to 1 when the ON/OFF controller and timer 45 starts sending an OFF signal and a timing signal (4D and 4F).

[50] Accordingly, the digital numerical display lattice portion 32 displays lattice type digit signals in a countdown manner from 9 to 1 using a down counter signal (4A). In this case, the light emission elements inside the digital numerical display lattice portion 32 are controlled by the down counter signal.

[51] The digital numerical display insulation plate 31 repeats ON/OFF operations between the digit signals, so that the pedestrians or the drivers can be visually and easily aware of the digital numerical display signal lamps 30. In this case, the intervals of the ON/OFF operations may be arbitrarily adjusted so that the digital numerical display light emission lamps 30 can send a clear sign to the pedestrians or the drivers.

[52] As a result, the signal that results from the combination of the signals for the digital numerical display lattice portion 32 and the digital numerical display insulation plate 31 is displayed on the digital numerical display light emission lamps 30 (48). In this case, the digital numerical display lattice portion 32 displays the digits being counted down, and the digital numerical display insulation plate 31 displays the color of a current signal.

[53] Referring to FIG. 6, the digital numerical display signal light is turned on or off in a predetermined order. While the digital numerical display signal light is turned on or off, the digital numerical display insulation plate 31 displays appropriate colors and the digital numerical display lattice portion 32 performs countdown.

[54] If a predetermined time has elapsed after the green digital numerical display signal lamp 11 has been turned on, the digital numerical display lattice portion 32 of the green digital numerical display signal lamp 11 starts countdown. If the countdown reaches 0, the green arrow signal lamp 12 is turned on. Thereafter, the process is repeated. When the yellow digital numerical display signal and the red digital numerical display signal are turned off after the green arrow signal, the above- described steps are repeated from the beginning again. This operational embodiment is an example for a specific country, and may be adjusted so as to conform to the conditions and traffic policies of each country. Industrial Applicability

[55] The present invention is achieved by combining a signal light and a digital numerical display device, and allows drivers or pedestrians to be visually, simply, and easily aware of the remaining time for walking or passage. Furthermore, the structure of the signal light is simplified, so that manufacturing costs thereof can be reduced.

[56] Although only an embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of technical spirit, and it should be appreciated that the modi¬ fications and variations are all included in the appended claims.

Claims

-1/4 Claims

[1] A digital numerical display signal light, comprising: a plurality of light emission lamps for displaying predetermined colors of the signal light; a digital numerical display insulation plate provided with the plurality of light emission lamps that are uniformly distributed and mounted on an entire area thereof; a digital numerical display lattice portion located on a predetermined region of the digital numerical display insulation plate in a lattice form; and a digital numerical display signal control device for controlling ON/OFF operations of the light emission lamps.

[2] The digital numerical display signal light as set forth in claim 1, wherein the digital numerical display signal control device comprises: an ON/OFF controller for controlling ON/OFF operations of the digital numerical display signal lamps; a down counter for allowing digital numerical display signals to be displayed as digits from 9 to 1 ; and a Binary Code Decoder (BCD) for receiving a BCD signal from the down counter and outputting seven segment signals.

[3] The digital numerical display signal light as set forth in claim 1, wherein the digital numerical display signal light comprises a green digital numerical display signal lamp for directing straight passage of vehicles, a yellow digital numerical display signal lamp for indicating a preliminary signal, and a red digital numerical display signal lamp for directing stoppage of the vehicles.

[4] The digital numerical display signal light as set forth in claim 1, wherein the digital numerical display signal light comprises a green digital numerical display signal lamp for directing walking of pedestrians, and a red digital numerical display lamp for directing stoppage of walking of the pedestrians.

[5] The digital numerical display signal light as set forth in claim 1, wherein the digital numerical display insulation plate is configured such that the light emission lamps are densely or sparsely mounted in a central region thereof, and the digital numerical display signal control device controls the light emission lamps.

[6] The digital numerical display signal light as set forth in claim 1, wherein a numerical character of the digital numerical display lattice portion occupies 50 % to 70 % of an entire area of the digital numerical display insulation plate, and the digital numerical display signal control device controls the light emission lamps. 0/4

[7] The digital numerical display signal light as set forth in claim 1, wherein the digital numerical display lattice portion is configured such that internal light emission lamps thereof are more densely or sparsely arranged than external emission lamps.

[8] The digital numerical display signal light as set forth in claim 1, wherein the digital numerical display lattice portion is repeatedly turned on and off when the digital numerical display insulation plate is in a turned-on state, or the digital numerical display lattice portion is repeatedly turned on and off when the digital numerical display insulation plate is in a turned-off state, and the digital numerical display signal control device controls the light emission lamps.

[9] A method of controlling a digital numerical display signal light, comprising the steps of: turning on a digital numerical display signal lamp; performing countdown on a digital numerical display lattice portion of the digital numerical display signal lamp after a predetermined time has elapsed; and repeating the process from the first step when the countdown reaches 0.