Patent Application
20220134945
This innovation relates, generally, to a signal indicator system for a motor vehicle. More particularly, it relates to a U-turn indication system having components integrally formed within a motor vehicle and/or in electrical communication with a remote traffic light to visually alert pedestrians, oncoming drivers, and/or approaching drivers of an intended U-turn by a motor vehicle.
Currently, motor vehicle accidents involving U-turns have been recorded as contributing to accidents ranging from property damage, to personal injury, and/or even fatalities. It would be more desirable for motorist safety to be enhanced with an automotive U-turn signaling alert system configured to visually notify both pedestrians and other drivers that a vehicle intents to perform a U-turn. Motor vehicles in today's market do not address this need, thus, motor vehicles are completely silent of a U-turn indication system in electronic communication with pedestrian signals or hanging traffic lights. There is a long felt, yet unfulfilled need for a motor vehicle to have a U-turn indication system having a plurality of light emitting units both on a vehicle and on traffic lights and/or pedestrian signals configured to illuminate and result in a chase lighting effect to maximize the attention gain of pedestrians, drivers of oncoming motor vehicles, and/or drivers of approaching motor vehicles.
Many vehicles currently being manufactured in the automotive industry have a plurality of alert systems utilizing light emitting units such as standard turn signals located on many of the exterior surfaces of a motor vehicle. However, these turn signals do not currently differentiate between a left and/or right turn and a U-turn, which is critical element to enhanced motorist safety. Drivers making a U-turn typically take longer time to perform a 180-degree rotation to reverse the direction of travel compared to that of a standard left and/or right turn. Indicating to oncoming traffic that a U-turn will be performed in advance of the procedure may prevent a potential impact from an oncoming vehicle contacting the front and/or the side of the vehicle performing the U-turn. Further, indicating to approaching traffic that a U-turn will be performed in advance of the procedure may prevent a potential impact from an approaching vehicle contacting the rear of the vehicle performing the U-turn, as the acceleration of a U-turn is less than that of a left and/or right turn.
Marked pedestrian crossings are most commonly found at intersections, but they may be positioned at other locations on busy roads that would otherwise be too unsafe to cross without pedestrian signal assistance due to vehicle numbers, speed or road widths. Pedestrian signals are also commonly installed where large numbers of pedestrians are attempting to cross such as in shopping areas or where vulnerable road users such as school children regularly cross. A pedestrian crossing or a crosswalk is a place designated for pedestrians to cross a road, a street, or an avenue. A pedestrian crossing sign or signal is used in some on road traffic and road signs having an image of a “red” colored hand indicating to a pedestrian to not walk and a “white” colored body indicating to a pedestrian that it is safe to walk. Alternatively, many street crossings have pedestrian signals that show the words WALK and DON'T WALK or show a WALKING PERSON in white and a RAISED HAND in orange. Pedestrian signals direct pedestrians while crossing the street. The WALK or WALKING PERSON appears when it is legal to start crossing. There is a need to indicate to a pedestrian of any U-turn activity to enhance their safety when walking during across a street. Thus, the pedestrian signals should have a U-turn indicator in wireless electrical communication with the U-turn signal of a vehicle so that they are in sync for a real-time visual indication to alert an individual of a vehicle's intention of making a U-turn.
However, in view of the prior art considered as a whole at the time the present invention was made, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill in the pertinent art how the identified needs could be fulfilled.
The long-standing but heretofore unfulfilled need for a U-turn indication system having a signal light retained within a housing integrally formed within a motor vehicle having a plurality of arrows positioned in a radiused orientation to visually alert surrounding drivers or pedestrians of a U-turn procedure with a series of chase lights illuminating one after the other. This U-turn indication system is mechanically actuated by a switch located inside the interior of the motor vehicle. The switch is electrically connected to the visual signal indicator which is located on at least one exterior surface of the motor vehicle. The U-turn indicator having light emitting units is positioned within a light housing of the motor vehicle and is configured to be visually located by pedestrians, drivers of oncoming vehicles, and/or drivers of approaching vehicles, and which also includes improvements that overcome the limitations of prior art U-turn signaling systems is now met by a new, useful, and non-obvious invention.
Further, a plurality of arrow shaped light emitting units in a radiused and/or substantially U-shaped orientation are configured to have a chase lighting system and are retained within a housing having a transparent lens located on at least one and/or a plurality of exterior surfaces of a motor vehicle. A chase lighting system is an electrical application in which strings of adjacent light emitting units such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) cycle on and off frequently to give the effect that the lights are moving along the string. This chase lighting system is more desirable to be incorporated into a signaling alert system because the alternating sequence of lights being illuminated in a radiused configuration will differentiate the U-turn signal from the standard left and/or right turn signal with intermittent blinking and/or flashing lights. It is within the scope of this current invention for a plurality of company logo shaped light emitting units to be configured in a radiused and/or substantially U-shaped orientation and are retained within a housing having a transparent lens located on at least one and/or a plurality of exterior surfaces of a motor vehicle.
In a preferred embodiment, the U-turn signal indicator of a vehicle can activate the illumination of U-turn signal lights retained within a housing of a vehicle simultaneously with the activation of U-turn signal lights retained on a remote signal indicator such as a pedestrian cross walk signal, traffic lights, and/or hanging traffic lights. It is within the scope of this invention for a remote signal indicator to be a location that is not connected to the vehicle. The housing of a vehicle is located on any front, side, and/or rear portion of a vehicle including, but not limited to, within a side headlight, a side view mirror, a tail light, a turn-signal light, a housing retained on a bumper, a housing connected to a window and/or a windshield. The benefit of this simultaneous activation of both the vehicle U-turn signal and the remote signal indicator
For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Referring now to
Referring again to
In another embodiment,
In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and within which are shown by way of illustration specific embodiments by which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.
It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, and those made apparent from the foregoing description, are efficiently attained. Since certain changes may be made in the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matters contained in the foregoing description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention that, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.
