Vehicle gear shift indicator
First Claim
1. An indicating system for use on a mechanically propelled vehicle having a driver-operated engine-driving wheels transmission system using a plurality of separate gears normally operable in an ascending or descending sequence and to indicate to the driver thereof when he should change from the particular one of the gears which is engaged at any time to the next gear in one of the sequences comprisingmeans responsive to the particular gear engaged to produce an electrical datum signal having a value representing a datum speed dependent on the identity of that gear,indicating means comprising means operative in response to predetermined control signals to produce respective ones of a series of indications to the driver indicating with successively greater urgency that he should change to the next gear in the said sequence,means responsive to the actual speed of the engine or of the vehicle to produce an electrical signal representing that speed,control means responsive to the datum signal and to the electrical signal representing the actual speed and operative when the actual speed reaches the datum speed to produce a first one of the said control signals,means feeding the first control signal to the indicating means to cause the indicating means to produce the first said indication in the said series,means responsive to the datum signal and to the electrical signal representing the actual speed and connected to sense whether the driver changes to the said next gear in the sequence in response to the said first indication in the said series and, if he does not, to produce successive further said control signals as the actual speed exceeds the datum speed by a respective predetermined amount or amounts, andmeans connected to feed the said further control signals to the indicating means to cause the indicating means to produce in succession the other indications in the said series,the values of the datum signals being respectively predetermined so that the respective datum signals are such that respective gear changes at those speeds promote engine efficiency, the datum signals having values which are pre-calculated and are independent of the actual operation of the vehicle at any time.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An indicator panel 20 has an array of LED'"'"'s 25A to 25Q to provide an indication to the driver of a road vehicle, particularly a diesel-powered truck, when he should change to the next highest gear during acceleration from rest or low speed. The LED'"'"'s are lit progressively as the engine speed increases in each gear and, when lit, emit green light if the engine speed is below the optimum change-up speed for that gear. When the engine speed begins to exceed the optimum change-up speed, the next LED illuminated produces red light to the driver. An audible warning may also be produced. If the driver does not change up in response to such warning, further red LED'"'"'s will show and a more strident audible warning may be given. The change-up speeds to which the system responds are pre-set so as to be the optimum speeds for increased fuel efficiency. The change-up speed corresponding to the lowest gear is relatively low and increases successively for the successively high gears. The system may be associated with engine speed control or limiting means so as positively to prevent further increase in engine speed if the driver ignores the warning. The system may also produce an indication of the optimum engine speeds at which the driver should change down to the next lower gear during vehicle deceleration.
39 Citations
14 Claims
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1. An indicating system for use on a mechanically propelled vehicle having a driver-operated engine-driving wheels transmission system using a plurality of separate gears normally operable in an ascending or descending sequence and to indicate to the driver thereof when he should change from the particular one of the gears which is engaged at any time to the next gear in one of the sequences comprising
means responsive to the particular gear engaged to produce an electrical datum signal having a value representing a datum speed dependent on the identity of that gear, indicating means comprising means operative in response to predetermined control signals to produce respective ones of a series of indications to the driver indicating with successively greater urgency that he should change to the next gear in the said sequence, means responsive to the actual speed of the engine or of the vehicle to produce an electrical signal representing that speed, control means responsive to the datum signal and to the electrical signal representing the actual speed and operative when the actual speed reaches the datum speed to produce a first one of the said control signals, means feeding the first control signal to the indicating means to cause the indicating means to produce the first said indication in the said series, means responsive to the datum signal and to the electrical signal representing the actual speed and connected to sense whether the driver changes to the said next gear in the sequence in response to the said first indication in the said series and, if he does not, to produce successive further said control signals as the actual speed exceeds the datum speed by a respective predetermined amount or amounts, and means connected to feed the said further control signals to the indicating means to cause the indicating means to produce in succession the other indications in the said series, the values of the datum signals being respectively predetermined so that the respective datum signals are such that respective gear changes at those speeds promote engine efficiency, the datum signals having values which are pre-calculated and are independent of the actual operation of the vehicle at any time.
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6. A system for indicating to the driver of a road vehicle having a multiple-geared engine-driving wheels transmission system when he should change from a particular one of the gears which is engaged at any time to a higher gear, comprising
gear-indicating means responsive to the identity of the said particular one of the gears to produce an electrical gear-indicating signal indicating the identity of that particular gear, means connected to receive and to be responsive to the gear-indicating signal to generate a respective one of a plurality of electrical datum signals having respective predetermined engine-speed-representing values dependent on the identity of the said particular one of the gears and representing a relatively low engine speed for the lowest gear of the transmission system and successively higher engine speeds for the successively higher gears thereof, an array of light sources for positioning in the vehicle where they may be seen by the driver, and light source control means connected to control the array of light sources and connected to receive and to be responsive to each datum signal and to an electrical signal representing actual engine speed whereby to energise the light sources successively as the actual engine speed increases, the light source means including modifying means adapted to modify the indication provided to the driver by the energised light sources and means responsive to each datum signal and to the electrical signal representing actual engine speed to sense the extent by which the actual engine speed exceeds the speed represented by the datum signal and operative to actuate the modifying means to cause the array of light sources to produce a series of indications to the driver indicating with successively greater urgency as the said extent increases that he should change to the said next higher gear.
Specification