Motor vehicle display system and ranging device
First Claim
1. A method of indicating the state of motion of a subject vehicle to a driver of a following vehicle by means of an array of lamps mounted on the subject vehicle and operable to produce a visual display indicative of the state of motion, the method comprising the steps ofsensing a measure of velocity of the subject vehicle by operation of a vehicle motion measuring means,determining whether the measure of velocity is less than a reference value and, when so determined, illuminating said lamps in a time dependent sequence to produce an animated visual display indicative of the state of motion as being stationary, anddetermining by operation of a vehicle distance measuring device mounted on the subject vehicle whether said following vehicle is within a pre-set distance behind said subject vehicle and, when so determined, discontinuing said time dependent sequence and illuminating said lamps thereafter in a time independent manner to produce a static visual display indicative of the state of motion as being stationary.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle display system has a stationary detector and an indicator, which form a stationary vehicle detection apparatus being operative to produce an indicator signal which is indicative of the vehicle being stationary. The vehicle display system also has a vehicle deceleration detector and an indicator. The vehicle deceleration detector measures the magnitude of deceleration of a vehicle and generates a signal to drive the indicator and thereby generate a display indicative of the magnitude of vehicle deceleration. The vehicle deceleration detector is independent of the vehicle braking system. In one embodiment, the indicator is an array of lamps and the stationary vehicle indicator signal is an inanimate display. One embodiment has an additional ranging device that detects a trailing vehicle within a predetermined distance of the vehicle employing the ranging device. The ranging device may be used to initiate a change of the display generated by the vehicle display system.
46 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A method of indicating the state of motion of a subject vehicle to a driver of a following vehicle by means of an array of lamps mounted on the subject vehicle and operable to produce a visual display indicative of the state of motion, the method comprising the steps of
sensing a measure of velocity of the subject vehicle by operation of a vehicle motion measuring means, determining whether the measure of velocity is less than a reference value and, when so determined, illuminating said lamps in a time dependent sequence to produce an animated visual display indicative of the state of motion as being stationary, and determining by operation of a vehicle distance measuring device mounted on the subject vehicle whether said following vehicle is within a pre-set distance behind said subject vehicle and, when so determined, discontinuing said time dependent sequence and illuminating said lamps thereafter in a time independent manner to produce a static visual display indicative of the state of motion as being stationary.
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11. A motor vehicle display system for indicating the state of motion of a subject vehicle to a driver of a following vehicle, the system comprising
an array of lamps mounted in use on the subject vehicle and operable to produce a visual display indicative of the state of motion; -
a vehicle motion measuring means operable to sense a measure of velocity of the subject vehicle; means for comparing the measure of velocity with a reference value; means for illuminating said lamps in a time dependent sequence in response to said measure of velocity being determined to be less than said reference value, whereby the sequence produces an animated visual display indicative of the state of motion as being stationary; a vehicle distance measuring device mounted in use on the subject vehicle and operable to determine whether said following vehicle is within a pre-set distance behind said subject vehicle; and wherein the means for illuminating said lamps is operatively connected to said vehicle distance measuring device such that, when said following vehicle is determined to be within said pre-set distance, the time dependent sequence is discontinued and said lamps are illuminated thereafter in a time independent manner to produce a static visual display indicative of the state of motion as being stationary. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification