Traffic light illumination duration indicator

• US 9,064,411 B1
• Filed: 02/27/2013
• Issued: 06/23/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2013
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hezekiah Patton Jr
• Original Assignee: Hezekiah Patton Jr
• Inventors: Patton, Hezekiah Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lau, Hoi
• Application Number:
  US13/778,562
• Time in Patent Office: 846 Days
• Field of Search: 340/928, 340/929, 340/907, 340/815.4, 340/815.45, 701/93, 701/117
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/12 Mirror assemblies combined with other articles, e.g. clocks
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/095 Traffic lights
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096 provided with indicators in which a mark progresses showing the time elapsed, e.g. of green phase
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 9/33 being semiconductor devices, e.g. diodes

Abstract

A traffic light illumination duration indicator that provides a motor vehicle operator with a visual indicator of the current illuminated light time remaining before the light changes. The visual indicator is a digital display for showing the remaining minutes and seconds before the traffic light changes state between green, amber and red. The visual indicator can also be a clock-like face that either turns on or turns off a plurality of LED'"'"'s in a hand sweep action indicating the time duration before the traffic light changes from one state to another.

Claims

1. A traffic light illumination duration indicator for a conventional traffic light comprising:

a horizontal stanchion arm supporting a bank of green, amber and red traffic lights, said bank of traffic lights being in a vertical array extending from above to below said horizontal stanchion arm;

mounted on said stanchion arm on the left of and adjacent to said bank of traffic lights is said duration indicator, and a built-in counter device in said bank of traffic lights, the indicator comprising a visual digital time display, wherein the display shows time intervals between light changes of the traffic light, to inform a driver of a motor vehicle time between light changes of the traffic light;

said visual digital time display comprising a circular clock-like face having a plurality of LED'"'"'s therein that illuminate in a progressive clockwise sweep filling said face with LED'"'"'S in substantial entirety with a radial line from an edge of said LED'"'"'s separating illuminated and non-illuminated LED'"'"'S rotating around said face, indicating the amount of time until the traffic light changes from green to amber to red, said sweep covering a full face of said display from a central focal point to an outer rim thereof;

wherein the visual digital time display further comprises a numeric display superimposed on and in the center of said progressive clockwise sweep wherein numerals in said numeric display countdown as said sweep progresses, said numerals substantially filling said circular clock-face; and

wherein the visual digital time display comprises a weather resistant housing encapsulating digital components.