Heads-up speed display for vehicles

• US 7,327,239 B2
• Filed: 08/05/2005
• Issued: 02/05/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Invision Systems, LLC
• Original Assignee: Invision Systems, LLC
• Inventors: Gallant, David, Oliver, Randy
• Primary Examiner(s): Pope; Daryl C
• Application Number:
  US11/197,967
• Publication Number:
  US 20060028330A1
• Time in Patent Office: 914 Days
• Field of Search: 340/438, 340/936, 340/984, 340/432, 340/439, 340/441, 116/35.R, 116/36, 116/37, 116/38, 116/57, 116/62.1, 345/7, 345/8, 359/630
• US Class Current: 340/438
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/188 Displaying information using colour changes
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/00 Instruments specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement of instruments in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/29 Instruments characterised by the way in which information is handled, e.g. showing information on plural displays or prioritising information according to driving conditions
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/146 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: B60Y 2200/12 Motorcycles, Trikes; Quads; Scooters
• CPC Class Codes: B62J 50/22 electronic, e.g. displays
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 1/04 Special adaptations of driving means
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 1/08 Arrangements of scales, pointers, lamps or acoustic indicators, e.g. in automobile speedometers
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/014 comprising information/image processing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0141 characterised by the informative content of the display
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/01 Head-up displays
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/017 Head mounted

Abstract

A heads-up speed sensing display and control system for apprising an operator of the risk of operating a vehicle at various speeds has a risk indicator display with a plurality of illuminable elements, such as three different colored LEDs, illuminable in a plurality of patterns, each of the plurality of patterns having a predetermined correlation to vehicle speed, such as green for safe, yellow for caution and red for hazardous. A speed sensor, such as a Hall-effect device is coupled to a driven element of the vehicle, like a speedometer cable, and causes the speed sensor to generate a signal indicative of vehicle speed. A control unit receives the speed signal and selects an illumination pattern to indicate the risk of operation at the speed the vehicle is then traveling. The display may be wired or wireless and be attached to a windshield, face guard or helmet. The display system may be customizable to the operator and the environmental conditions and may be coordinated with a signage system using the same risk indicator conventions. The indicator system may also be used as a governor. In yet another embodiment, GPS data is used in a lookup table to ascertain the speed limit for the operation of the vehicle at any given time and place. The speed limit information is used to inform a governor which reduces vehicle speed to the ascertained limit. The ascertained speed limit may be used to select a risk indicator pattern for the actual operating speed of the device.

Claims

1. A visual indicator and control system for apprising an operator of a vehicle of the level of risk associated with operating the vehicle at a plurality of different speeds, comprising:

a plurality of illuminable elements illuminable in a plurality of patterns, said patterns having a predetermined correlation to safety of operation at a given vehicle speed;

a speed sensor coupled to a driven element of the vehicle, said speed sensor sensing upon the motion of said driven element and generating said signal indicative of vehicle speed; and

a control circuit that receives said signal indicative of vehicle speed, selects an illumination pattern from said plurality of illumination patterns based upon said signal indicative of vehicle speed and outputs an illumination signal for illuminating said plurality of illuminable elements in one of said plurality of illuminable patterns to indicate the degree of safety of operation of the vehicle at the present speed, said control circuit being programmable to variably associate selected speed ranges of the vehicle with ones of said plurality of patterns indicating safety of operation based upon at least one of operator expertise and environmental conditions, said visual indicator receiving a signal indicative of vehicle speed and displaying one of said plurality of illuminable patterns in response to the signal, said visual indicator positionable proximate to the operator'"'"'s line of sight while the operator is operating the vehicle and being visible to the operator when the operator is looking at a spatial position towards which the vehicle is traveling.

2. The visual indicator of claim 1, wherein said control circuit has an output acting as a governor controlling power output of an engine driving the vehicle to control the speed of the vehicle, such that the operator does not exceed a predetermined level of risk.

3. The visual indicator of claim 2, wherein said control circuit output for controlling power output affects the sparking rate of an internal combustion engine.

4. The visual indicator of claim 2, wherein the said control circuit is programmable to select a particular speed limit for the vehicle based upon at least one of operator expertise and environmental conditions.

5. The visual indicator of claim 1, wherein the signal indicative of vehicle speed is a stock electronic input to a stock electronic speedometer.

6. A speed sensing display and control system for apprising an operator of the risk of operating a vehicle at various speeds;

comprising;

a risk indicator display with a plurality of illuminable elements illuminable in a plurality of patterns, each of said plurality of patterns having a predetermined correlation to vehicle speed, said plurality of patterns being implemented by at least one of extinguishing an element of one color and illuminating an element of another color to indicate a change in risk associated with a change in speed, successively illuminating additional elements to indicate a change in risk, and flashing at least one element to indicate that the vehicle has attained a particular level of risk associated with operation of the vehicle at a given speed;

a speed sensor coupled to a driven element of the vehicle, said speed sensor sensing upon the motion of said driven element and generating a signal indicative of vehicle speed;

a control unit that receives said signal indicative of vehicle speed, selects an illumination pattern from said plurality of illumination patterns based upon said signal indicative of vehicle speed and outputs an illumination signal for illuminating said plurality of illuminable elements in one of said plurality of illuminable patterns to indicate risk of operation at the speed then applicable to the operator, said risk indicator display being positionable proximate to the operator'"'"'s line of sight while the operator is operating the vehicle and being visible to the operator when the operator is looking at a spatial position towards which the vehicle is traveling; and

a plurality of signs posted in the environment through which the vehicle travels, each of said plurality of signs having a speed risk advisory visible thereon to apprise an operator of a vehicle as to an appropriate risk level for the vehicle in the vicinity of the sign, said sign expressing the speed risk advisory in terms of one of said illumination patterns to allow comparison between the pattern shown on the sign and the pattern displayed on said risk indicator display.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein said control unit is programmable to allow inputting a selected skill level for the operator, said control unit assigning said illumination patterns indicating risk of operation at given speed ranges based upon the skill level input.

8. A method for controlling the speed of a vehicle, comprising:

storing a plurality of speed limits associated with a plurality of geographic positions in a computer-accessible memory;

ascertaining the geographic position of the vehicle using a GPS receiver;

accessing the speed limit for the geographic position of the vehicle with a

computer by looking up the speed limit for the applicable geographic position in the memory;

sensing the speed of a vehicle with a speed sensor;

comparing the actual speed of the vehicle to the ascertained speed limit;

if the actual speed of the vehicle exceeds the ascertained speed limit, then reducing engine power output until the speed of the vehicle is less than or equal to the ascertained speed limit.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the speed limits for each of the plurality of geographic positions include values associated with at least one of the operator expertise and environmental factors and further including the step of entering data into the computer pertaining to at least one of the operator expertise and environmental factors before said step of ascertaining, the computer finding the applicable speed limit based upon geographic position and at least one of operator expertise and environmental conditions during said step of ascertaining.