AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE WARNING SYSTEM
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An automotive vehicle comprising:
- a drive motor operable to move the vehicle in a forward direction, the drive motor being one of;
(a) an electric motor, and (b) a hybrid electric/internal combustion motor assembly;
an electrical circuit including at least one sensor operably detecting if the vehicle is moving in the forward direction and at what speed;
at least one controller connected to the circuit and receiving a signal from the at least one sensor;
a sound emanator connected to the circuit; and
an external light connected to the circuit;
the at least one controller automatically causing the sound emanator to emit a musical song external to the vehicle if the sensor senses that the vehicle is moving in a forward direction at or less than a certain speed; and
the at least one controller automatically causing the light to change conditions external to the vehicle if the sensor senses that the vehicle is moving in a forward direction at or less than a certain speed.
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Abstract
A visual and/or audio warning is provided during at least slow forward motion of an automobile vehicle. In another aspect, external music is emitted during only slow movement of an electric or hybrid vehicle. Other aspects of an electric or hybrid vehicle employ warning sounds (preferably music) directly from a vehicular outer body panel and/or the electric drive motor.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. An automotive vehicle comprising:
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a drive motor operable to move the vehicle in a forward direction, the drive motor being one of;
(a) an electric motor, and (b) a hybrid electric/internal combustion motor assembly;an electrical circuit including at least one sensor operably detecting if the vehicle is moving in the forward direction and at what speed; at least one controller connected to the circuit and receiving a signal from the at least one sensor; a sound emanator connected to the circuit; and an external light connected to the circuit; the at least one controller automatically causing the sound emanator to emit a musical song external to the vehicle if the sensor senses that the vehicle is moving in a forward direction at or less than a certain speed; and the at least one controller automatically causing the light to change conditions external to the vehicle if the sensor senses that the vehicle is moving in a forward direction at or less than a certain speed. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An automotive vehicle comprising:
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a speed sensor; at least one controller receiving a signal from the sensor and determining if the vehicle is moving and if so, if it is moving within a slow speed range; memory connected to the at least one controller; an external speaker receiving music signals from the memory if the at least one controller automatically determines that the vehicle is moving within the slow speed range; and music files being loaded into the memory by vehicle operator, the music signals sent to the speaker being selectable from the music files by the operator, and a default music file being stored in the memory and emitted by the speaker if a music file is not loaded and by the operator. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An automotive vehicle comprising:
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a drive motor operable to move the vehicle in a forward direction, the drive motor being one of;
(a) an electric motor, and (b) a hybrid electric/internal combustion motor assembly;an exterior vehicular body panel; a vibration source coupled to the body panel; and a pedestrian warning sound transmitted to the vibration source and causing the body panel to act as an external speaker. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. An automotive vehicle comprising:
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a drive motor operable to move the vehicle, the drive motor being one of;
(a) an electric motor, and (b) a hybrid electric internal combustion motor assembly;warning signals; and a controller sending the warning signals to the drive motor which emits a warning sound directly therefrom. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26)
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27. A method of warning a pedestrian of otherwise quiet movement of an electric vehicle, the method comprising:
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(a) sensing speed of the electric vehicle; (b) determining if the electric vehicle is moving forward less than a predetermined speed; (c) automatically transmitting a music file to a sound emitter affixed to the electric vehicle external to a passenger compartment if step (b) is positive; (d) externally emitting a musical song from the emitter in response to step (c); (e) repeatedly and automatically changing an external visual indicator if step (b) is positive; and (f) manually changing music files to be externally emitted as desired by a vehicle operator. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29)
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Specification