Automatic brake light safety system

• US 7,710,254 B1
• Filed: 06/05/2007
• Issued: 05/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/05/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Joel H. Hill III
• Original Assignee: Joel H. Hill III
• Inventors: Hill, Joel H. III
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee; Benjamin C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pham; Quang
• Application Number:
  US11/810,102
• Time in Patent Office: 1,064 Days
• Field of Search: 340/479, 340/463, 340/464, 340466-469, 340/461, 340/475, 340/487, 340/901
• US Class Current: 340/479
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/444 with indication of the braking strength or speed changes, e.g. by changing shape or intensity of the indication B60Q1/1407, B60Q1/442, B60Q1/447 take precedence

Abstract

An integrated progressive brake light system for vehicles in which different sequences of brake lights are illuminated dependent on operator activation input. The brake light system uses a progressive multiple selective illumination in which additional central oriented brake lights are actuated as metered increase of operator input to indicate the relative degree of applied braking force as will be evident to the visual interpretation thereof.

Claims

1. An automatic sequential brake light system for vehicles wherein the system provides a brake light signal illumination sequence based on detected braking effort and comprises pairs of dissimilar sized brake lights in alternate illumination, comprising:

a. activation of a pair of same size horizontally aligned spaced brake lights to indicate a first degree of braking effort;

b. activation of a pair of same size brake lights and dissimilar size brake lights in a horizontal dependent orientation to said same size horizontally aligned space brake lights to indicate a second degree of braking effort greater than said first degree; and

c. activation of both pairs of dissimilar sized brake lights in horizontal and vertical orientation simultaneously to indicate a third degree of braking effort greater than said second degree.

2. The automatic sequence brake light system set forth in claim 1 wherein feature “

c”

defines activation of pairs of dissimilar sized brake lights and wherein said similar size brake lights in vertical alignment are positioned between said brake light pairs of similar size in horizontal alignment.

3. The automatic sequence brake light system set forth in claim 1 wherein feature “

c”

further comprises said pairs of dissimilar sized brake lights are of horizontal orientation of a known size greater than that of said vertical orientation of a lesser size.

4. An automatic sequential braking light system as in claim 1, comprising:

multiple brake light illumination displays,

means for detecting brake effort by an operator of the vehicle,

wherein activation of selective groupings of brake lights depending on brake effort,

wherein said multiple brake lights comprises independent pairs of similar size lights in horizontal and vertical orientation dependent of similar size wherein one of said brake lights is of dissimilar size in horizontal alignment between said remainder pair of similar size brake lights.

5. The automatic sequential braking light system set forth in claim 4 wherein said brake light illumination displays are formed of multiple lamps therewithin.

6. The automatic sequential braking light system set forth in claim 4 wherein said means for detecting brake effort comprises, an electronic control circuit responsive to operator brake activation input.

7. The automatic sequential braking light system set forth in claim 1 wherein said similar size light pairs are activated independently and in combination sequence depending of control means input in a predetermined sequence.