Electronic monitor system for automobiles

• US 4,034,336 A
• Filed: 08/04/1975
• Issued: 07/05/1977
• Est. Priority Date: 08/13/1974
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nippon Denso Company Limited (DENSO Corporation), Toyota Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nippon Denso Company Limited (DENSO Corporation), Toyota Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Arai, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Swann, III, Glen R.
• Application Number:
  US05/601,801
• Time in Patent Office: 701 Days
• Field of Search: 340/52 F, 340/414, 340/415, 340/147 LP, 340/366 B, 340/27 R
• US Class Current: 340/459
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 17/225 brake fluid level indicators level indication in general G01F; H01H
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 23/243 Schematic arrangements of probes combined with measuring circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0816 Indicating performance data, e.g. occurrence of a malfunction
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 23/00 Alarms responsive to unspecified undesired or abnormal conditions

Abstract

An electronic monitor system for automobiles warns the driver both by a flashing light or buzzer and by lighting an appropriate indicator light which tells the location if there is something wrong with any one of the functions located through the car, and includes circuitry which determines whether the function needs emergency care or not and manually-operated switch which triggers the circuitry to render the indication less bothersome if the defective function is one not requiring emergency care.

Claims

1. An electronic monitor system for automobiles, which comprises:

a plurality of defect sensing means located at different locations within said automobile for sensing a defect in various functions throughout the automobile, and for producing a signal whenever there is a defect in a sensed function;

a plurality of indicating circuit means for indicating a defect in one of said sensed functions, each of said indicating circuit means being responsive to one of said signals produced by said plurality of defect sensing means, said indicating circuit means comprising;

a plurality of indicator lights connected to said plurality of defect sensing means; and

transistor circuit means for controlling the supply of electric current to said plurality of indicator lights in response to said signal from said plurality of defect sensing means for turning on one of said plurality of indicator lights which indicates the location of the sensed defect;

a control circuit means including a manually-operated triggerable switch means for generating a control signal when said switch means is manually triggered;

a warning circuit means including a warning element for producing a warning whenever one or more of said defect sensing means senses a defect in a sensed function and for producing a less bothersome warning whenever one or more of said defect sensing means senses a defect in a sensed function and a control signal is generated by said control circuit; and

discriminating circuit means responsive to predetermined ones of said plurality of defect sensing means for preventing said control circuit means from producing a control signal by which said warning element is made to provide a less bothersome warning whenever one of said predetermined defect sensing means senses a defect.

2. An electronic monitor system as in claim 1, wherein said plurality of defect sensing means comprises a switching means which opens when there is a defect in said sensed function.

3. An electronic monitor system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said warning circuit means comprises a nonstable multivibrator means responsive to one or more signals produced by said defect sensing means whenever there is a defect in a sensed function, and wherein said warning element comprises a warning light connected to the output of said nonstable multivibrator means.

4. An electronic monitor system as claimed in claim 3 wherein the input of said warning circuit is coupled via OR circuit means to the outputs of said indicating circuit means.

5. An electronic monitor system as claimed in claim 4 wherein said OR circuit means includes a plurality of diodes.

6. An electronic system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said control circuit means comprises transistor means whose collector is coupled to said warning element and which turns on when said triggerable switch means is manually triggered.

7. An electronic monitor system as claimed in claim 6 wherein said transistor means of said control circuit further comprises resistor means coupled between said collector of said transistor means and said warning element for lowering the strength of said warning whenever said triggerable switch means is manually triggered, thereby making said warning less bothersome to an operator of the vehicle.

8. An electronic monitor system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said discriminating circuit means comprises OR circuit means having diodes each coupled to the collector of said transistor circuit means of said indicating circuit means coupled to said predetermined defect sensing means.

9. An electronic monitor system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said warning element comprises a sound buzzer.

10. An electronic monitor system according to claim 1 wherein said warning element comprises a lamp.

11. An electronic monitor system according to claim 10 wherein the brightness of said lamp is reduced to a lower value, said control signal generated by said control circuit.

12. An electronic monitor system according to claim 3 wherein said warning light is coupled to the output terminal on said nonstable multivibrator through a parallel circuit comprising a resistor to restrict the amount of electric current therethrough to reduce the brightness of said warning light and a by-pass circuit including a transistor which in response to said control signal becomes nonconductive.