Proportional brake light display system
First Claim
1. A display system to provide a visual indication of the deceleration of a motor vehicle in response to a pressure applied to the brake pedal shoe of the vehicle, whereby to slow the vehicle, said display system comprising a display having at least one light carried by said vehicle, a pressure sensor located at the interior of the brake pedal shoe and responsive to the pressure applied thereto and control circuitry connected between said pressure sensor and the said at least one light of said display for causing said light to be illuminated when a pressure is applied to the brake pedal shoe, said pressure sensor including an optical emitter to transmit an optical signal and an optical detector aligned with said optical emitter to receive the optical signal therefrom, the pressure being applied to the brake pedal shoe resulting in an interruption of at least some of the optical signal being transmitted between said optical emitter and said optical detector for causing the said at least one light of said display to be illuminate.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A proportional brake light system having an LED display carried on a motor vehicle and capable of instaneously warning motorists following from behind whether and how quickly the vehicle is likely to stop in response to an operator generated foot pressure being applied to the brake pedal shoe. The brake pedal shoe of the vehicle has a hollow interior, and an optical signal is transmitted along an optical transmission path extending therethrough. As the pressure applied by the operator to the pedal shoe is increased, more of the optical signal being transmitted along the optical transmission path is interrupted. A multi-stage comparator is responsive to an interruption of the optical signal so as to cause a corresponding number of LEDs from the display to be illuminated. The LEDs are arranged in a pair of linear arrays that arc aligned in oppositely extending illumination paths, such that an identical number of LEDs from each array is simultaneously illuminated to create a highly visible bar graph display.
29 Citations
16 Claims
- 1. A display system to provide a visual indication of the deceleration of a motor vehicle in response to a pressure applied to the brake pedal shoe of the vehicle, whereby to slow the vehicle, said display system comprising a display having at least one light carried by said vehicle, a pressure sensor located at the interior of the brake pedal shoe and responsive to the pressure applied thereto and control circuitry connected between said pressure sensor and the said at least one light of said display for causing said light to be illuminated when a pressure is applied to the brake pedal shoe, said pressure sensor including an optical emitter to transmit an optical signal and an optical detector aligned with said optical emitter to receive the optical signal therefrom, the pressure being applied to the brake pedal shoe resulting in an interruption of at least some of the optical signal being transmitted between said optical emitter and said optical detector for causing the said at least one light of said display to be illuminate.
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9. A display system to provide a visual indication of the deceleration of a motor vehicle, said display system comprising:
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a hollow brake pedal shoe having a flexible surface to which a pressure is applied to slow the motor vehicle;
a visual display carried by the motor vehicle;
an optical transmission path located at the interior of said hollow brake pedal shoe along which an optical signal is transmitted, the pressure being applied to the flexible surface of said brake pedal shoe causing a depression of said flexible surface and a corresponding interruption of at least some of the optical signal that is transmitted along the optical transmission path; and
control circuitry connected to said visual display and responsive to an interruption of said optical signal being transmitted along said optical transmission path for causing said visual display to be illuminated. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification