GB2515394A - Method for operating an exterior indicator light of a vehicle - Google Patents
Method for operating an exterior indicator light of a vehicle Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2515394A GB2515394A GB1408367.9A GB201408367A GB2515394A GB 2515394 A GB2515394 A GB 2515394A GB 201408367 A GB201408367 A GB 201408367A GB 2515394 A GB2515394 A GB 2515394A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- indicator light
- vehicle
- exterior indicator
- activating
- exterior
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Withdrawn
Links
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60Q—ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60Q1/00—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor
- B60Q1/26—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic
- B60Q1/34—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic for indicating change of drive direction
- B60Q1/346—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic for indicating change of drive direction with automatic actuation
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60Q—ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60Q1/00—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor
- B60Q1/02—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to illuminate the way ahead or to illuminate other areas of way or environments
- B60Q1/04—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to illuminate the way ahead or to illuminate other areas of way or environments the devices being headlights
- B60Q1/14—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to illuminate the way ahead or to illuminate other areas of way or environments the devices being headlights having dimming means
- B60Q1/1446—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to illuminate the way ahead or to illuminate other areas of way or environments the devices being headlights having dimming means controlled by mechanically actuated switches
- B60Q1/1453—Hand actuated switches
- B60Q1/1461—Multifunction switches for dimming headlights and controlling additional devices, e.g. for controlling direction indicating lights
- B60Q1/1469—Multifunction switches for dimming headlights and controlling additional devices, e.g. for controlling direction indicating lights controlled by or attached to a single lever, e.g. steering column stalk switches
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60Q—ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60Q1/00—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor
- B60Q1/26—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic
- B60Q1/34—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic for indicating change of drive direction
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60Q—ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60Q1/00—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor
- B60Q1/26—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic
- B60Q1/34—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic for indicating change of drive direction
- B60Q1/40—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic for indicating change of drive direction having mechanical, electric or electronic automatic return to inoperative position
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Lighting Device Outwards From Vehicle And Optical Signal (AREA)
Abstract
The invention relates to a method for operating at least one exterior indicator light (16, 18) of a vehicle (10) travelling along a route, the method comprising determining at least one position of the vehicle (10) relative to an upcoming turn(36) along the route by means of a navigation system (22) of the vehicle (10) and activating the at least one exterior indicator light (16, 18) on the basis of the determined position wherein at least one control element (32) for manually activating and deactivating the at least exterior indicator light (16, 18) is moved from a deactivating position into an activating position by means of a motor when the at least one exterior indicator light (16, 18) is activated, the control element (32) being arranged in the interior of the vehicle (10).
Description
Method for Operating an Exterior Indicator Light of a Vehicle The invention relates to a method according to the preamble of patent claim 1.
Such a method for operating at least one exterior indicator light of a vehicle travelling along a route can be found in US 2005/0187710 Al. In said method, at least one position of the vehicle relative to an upcoming turn along the route is determined by means of navigation system of the vehicle. For example, the navigation system is configured as a global positioning system (GPS) by means of which the vehicle's location on the earth can be pinpointed. As it is known the navigation system communicates with satellites via, for
example, a receiver.
Moreover, the at least one exterior indicator light is activated on the basis of the determined position. Thereby, the exterior indicator light is activated automatically without any driver input.
Moreover, vehicles are well-known from the general prior art, in which vehicles the exterior indicator lights are to be activated and deactivated manually by the driver. In other words, the driver has to switch on and off the exterior indicator lights manually.
Thus, there is a certain effort required from the driver in switching on and off the indicator lights. If the driver forgets to do so, other traffic participants might be misled.
It is an object of the present invention to further develop a method of the aforementioned kind in such a way that a particularly comfortable operation of the vehicle can be realized.
This object is solved by a method having the features of patent claim 1. Advantageous embodiments with expedient and non-trivial developments of the invention are indicated in the other patent claims.
In order to further develop a method indicated in the preamble of patent claim 1 in such a way that a particularly comfortable operation of the vehicle can be realized, according to the present invention, at least one control element for manually activating and deactivating the at least exterior indicator light is moved from a deactivating position into an activating position by means of a motor, in particular an electric motor, when the at least one exterior indicator light is activated on the basis of the determined position, the control element being arranged in the interior of the vehicle. This means the operating element is moved from the deactivating position into the activating position automatically when the exterior indicator lights is automatically activated on the basis of the determined position of the vehicle relative to the upcoming turn.
In other words, the vehicle comprises the at least one control element arranged in the interior of the vehicle. For example, the at least one control element is arranged adjacent to, in particular behind a steering wheel of the vehicle. The control element is movable between the activating position and the deactivating position. This means the driver of the vehicle can move the control element from the deactivating position into the activating position thereby manually activating the exterior indicator light. When the driver moves the control element from the activating position into the deactivating position manually, the exterior indicator light is deactivated.
According to the present invention, the control element is automatically moved from the deactivating position into the activating position when the exterior indicator light is automatically activated. Thus, the control element is automatically moved from the deactivating position to the activating position without any driver input whatsoever.
Thereby, the method helps realize a particularly easy and efficient operating and driving of the vehicle. Moreover, by automatically moving the control element from the deactivating position into the activating position, the driver can visually and/or haptically and/or acoustically recognize that the exterior indicator light is automatically switched on.
Preferably, this automatism in which the exterior indicator light is automatically activated and the control element is automatically moved can be switched on and off in a need-based manner via at least one operating element by the driver.
By means of the method according to the present invention, an automatically operated turn indicator system can be realized so that the effort of the driver while driving can be reduced. Moreover, the risk of misleading other traffic participants as a consequence of not activating the exterior indicator light can be kept particularly low.
Further advantages, features, and details of the present invention derive from the following description of a preferred embodiment as well as from the drawings. The features and feature combinations previously mentioned in the description as well as the features and feature combinations mentioned in the following description of the figures and/or shown in the figures alone can be employed not only in the respective indicated combination but also in any other combination or taken alone without leaving the scope of the invention.
The drawings show in: Fig. 1 a schematic back view of a vehicle in the form of a passenger vehicle having exterior indicator lights which are activated and deactivated automatically on the basis of positions of the vehicle relative to turns along a route along which the passenger vehicle travels; and Fig. 2 a schematic front view of a dashboard, a steering wheel, and a control element in the form of a control lever for manually activating and deactivating the exterior indicator lights, wherein the control lever is automatically moved between a deactivating position and activating positions by means of a motor when the exterior indicator lights are activated and deactivated automatically.
In the figures the same elements or elements having the same functions are designated with the same reference signs.
Fig. 1 shows a vehicle in the form of a passenger vehicle 10. In Fig. 1, the passenger vehicle 10 is shown from the back. The passenger vehicle 10 comprises exterior rear view mirrors 12 and a rear bumper 14. Moreover, the passenger vehicle 10 comprises a first exterior indicator light 16 and a second exterior indicator light 18 which are arranged on the rear bumper 14.
If the passenger vehicle 10 travels forward and the driver of the passenger vehicle 10 wants to turn left, the driver should activate the first exterior indicator light 16 while the second exterior indicator light 18 is deactivated since the first exterior indicator light 16 is a left exterior indicator light with respect to the direction of forward movement of the passenger vehicle 10.
If the driver wants to turn right, the driver should activate the second exterior indicator light 18 while the first exterior indicator light 16 is deactivated since the second exterior indicator light 18 is a right exterior indicator light of the passenger vehicle 10 with respect to the direction of forward motion of the passenger vehicle 10.
In order to realize a particularly comfortable operation of the passenger vehicle 10, a method for operating the exterior indicator lights 16, 18 is provided, in which method the exterior indicator lights 16, 18 are automatically switched on and off while the passenger vehicle 10 is travelling along a route.
Fig. 2 shows the interior of the passenger vehicle 10. The passenger vehicle 10 comprises a dashboard 20 which is arranged in the interior. The passenger vehicle 10 comprises a navigation system 22 having a display 24 arranged on the dashboard 20.
The route of the passenger vehicle 10 is displayed on the display 24, the route being illustrated by directional arrows 26. Moreover, an asterisk 28 illustrates the current position of the passenger vehicle 10 in relation to the route. The current position of the passenger vehicle 10 can be determined by means of the navigation system 22 which is designed as, for example, a global positioning system (GPS). The navigation system 22 can communicate with satellites by a receiver not shown in the figures. The current position of the passenger vehicle 10 can be determined with the help of the satellites.
The passenger vehicle 10 further comprises a steering wheel 28 which can be rotated about a rotation axis 30 thereby turning the passenger vehicle 10 left or right. Moreover, the passenger vehicle 10 comprises a control element in the form of a control lever 32 arranged adjacent and behind the steering wheel 28. The control lever 32 can be pivoted about a pivot axis 34 which corresponds with the rotation axis 30.
The control lever 32 can be manually pivoted between a deactivating position shown in Fig. 2 and at least two activating positions by the driver. This means the driver can manually pivot the control lever 32 about the pivot axis 34 from the deactivating position into a first one of the activating positions and from the deactivating position into the second one of the activating positions.
By moving or pivoting the control lever 32 from the deactivating position into the activating positions, the exterior indicator lights 16, 18 can be manually switched on and off by the driver. When the control lever 32 is in its deactivating position, both exterior indicator lights 16, 18 are deactivated. In order to activate the first exterior indicator light 16 while the second exterior indicator light 18 stays deactivated, the driver moves the control lever 32 from the deactivating position counter-clockwise about the pivot axis 34 in to the first activating position. In order to activate the second exterior indicator light 18 while the first exterior indicator light 16 stays deactivated, the driver moves the control lever 32 clockwise about the pivot axis 34 from the deactivating position into the second activating position.
However, in said method, the driver does not have to move the control lever 32 manually so that a particularly high comfort can be realized. In said method, at least one position of the passenger vehicle 10 relative to an upcoming turn 36 along the route is determined by means of the navigation system 22. For example, the passenger vehicle 10 comprises a control unit which is electronically connected to the navigation system 22. For example, the navigation system 22 transmits a position signal indicative of the current position of the passenger vehicle 10 relative to the upcoming turn 36 to the electronic control unit which receives the position signal. If a distance between the current position of the passenger vehicle 10 and the upcoming turn 36 is below a predeterminable threshold value, one of the exterior indicator lights 16, iBis activated by means of the electronic control unit. Since the upcoming turn 36 is a right turn with respect to the direction of forward movement of the passenger vehicle 10 travelling along the route, the second exterior indicator light 18 is activated automatically by the electronic control unit while the first exterior indicator light 16 stays deactivated.
Moreover, the control lever 32 is moved from its deactivating position into the respective activating position which corresponds with the automatically activated exterior indicator light 16, 18 by means of a motor, in particular an electric motor. In the present case, the control lever 32 is automatically pivoted into the second activating position by means of the motor since the upcoming turn 36 is a right turn.
After the turn was made by the passenger vehicle 10, the automatically activated exterior indicator light 16, 18 is deactivated by the electronic control unit. This means, for example, at least one second position of the passenger vehicle 10 relative to the turn 36 is determined by means of the navigation system 22, wherein the automatically activated second exterior indicator light 18 is deactivated on the basis of the second position.
Moreover, the control lover 32 is moved from the respective activating position into the deactivating position by the motor when the respective exterior indicator light 16, 18 is deactivated. This means, in the present case, the control lever 32 is automatically moved from the second activating position into the deactivating position automatically since the second exterior indicator light 18 is switched oft automatically.
For example, the automatically activated exterior indicator light 16, 18 is deactivated and the control lever 32 is moved from the respective activating position into the deactivating position when a distance between the passenger vehicle 10 or its current position and the turn 36 exceeds a predeterminable threshold value after the turn 36 was made.
By automatically moving the control lever 32 between the deactivating position and the activating positions, the driver of the passenger vehicle 10 can particularly easily recognize that one of the exterior indicator lights 16, 18 is automatically switched on and off. Thereby, a particularly comfortable operation of the passenger of the vehicle 10 can be realized. Moreover, the exterior indicator lights 16 and 18 can be activated and deactivated and the control lever 32 can be moved without any driver input whatsoever.
Thereby, the risk of misleading other traffic participants due to non-operation of the exterior indicator lights 16, 18 can be kept particularly low.
List of reference signs passenger vehicle 12 exterior rear view mirror 14 rear bumper 16 first exterior indicator light 18 second exterior indicator light dashboard 22 navigation system 24 display 26 directional arrow 28 steering wheel rotation axis 32 control lever 34 pivot axis 36 turn
Claims (5)
- Claims A method for operating at least one exterior indicator light (16, 18) of a vehicle (10) traveling along a route, the method comprising: -determining at least one position of the vehicle (10) relative to an upcoming turn(36) along the route by means of a navigation system (22) of the vehicle (10); -activating the at least one exterior indicator light (16, 18) on the basis of the determined position; characterized in that at least one control element (32) for manually activating and deactivating the at least exterior indicator light (16, 18) is moved from a deactivating position into an activating position by means of a motor when the at least one exterior indicator light (16, 18) is activated, the control clement (32) being arranged in the interior of the vehicle (10).
- 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one second position of the vehicle (10) relative to the turn (36) is determined by means of the navigation system (22), wherein the exterior indicator light (16, 18) is deactivated on the basis of the second position.
- 3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the control element (32) is moved from the activating position into the deactivating position by the motor when the exterior indicator light (16, 18) is deactivated.
- 4. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the exterior indicator light (16, 18) is activated when a distance between the at least one position and the upcoming turn (36) is below a predeterminable threshold value.
- 5. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control element (32) is designed as a control lever (32) pivotable about a pivot axis (34) between the deactivating position and the activating position.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB1408367.9A GB2515394A (en) | 2014-05-12 | 2014-05-12 | Method for operating an exterior indicator light of a vehicle |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB1408367.9A GB2515394A (en) | 2014-05-12 | 2014-05-12 | Method for operating an exterior indicator light of a vehicle |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| GB201408367D0 GB201408367D0 (en) | 2014-06-25 |
| GB2515394A true GB2515394A (en) | 2014-12-24 |
Family
ID=51032611
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB1408367.9A Withdrawn GB2515394A (en) | 2014-05-12 | 2014-05-12 | Method for operating an exterior indicator light of a vehicle |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| GB (1) | GB2515394A (en) |
Cited By (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN106347205A (en) * | 2016-10-25 | 2017-01-25 | 安徽猎豹汽车有限公司 | Automotive steering prioritized emergency flasher device and driving method thereof |
| WO2023169705A1 (en) * | 2022-03-07 | 2023-09-14 | Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft | Travel direction indicator and method for displaying a direction of travel for a motor vehicle |
Citations (6)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US20050187710A1 (en) * | 2004-02-20 | 2005-08-25 | Walker James A. | Vehicle navigation system turn indicator |
| US20090069977A1 (en) * | 2007-09-12 | 2009-03-12 | Gm Global Technology Operations, Inc. | Apparatus and methods for automatically activating a motor vehicle turn signal lamp |
| US20120089300A1 (en) * | 2010-10-08 | 2012-04-12 | Wolterman Michael J | Navigation system activation of a vehicular directional signal |
| US20120166078A1 (en) * | 2010-12-27 | 2012-06-28 | Deutsche Telekom Ag | Turn-by-turn navigation-based descriptive direction indicator for vehicles |
| US20120271510A1 (en) * | 2011-04-21 | 2012-10-25 | Continental Automotive Systems, Inc. | Navigation system controlled turn signals |
| US20130325260A1 (en) * | 2012-06-04 | 2013-12-05 | Hyundai Motor Company | Vehicle driving guiding device and method |
-
2014
- 2014-05-12 GB GB1408367.9A patent/GB2515394A/en not_active Withdrawn
Patent Citations (6)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US20050187710A1 (en) * | 2004-02-20 | 2005-08-25 | Walker James A. | Vehicle navigation system turn indicator |
| US20090069977A1 (en) * | 2007-09-12 | 2009-03-12 | Gm Global Technology Operations, Inc. | Apparatus and methods for automatically activating a motor vehicle turn signal lamp |
| US20120089300A1 (en) * | 2010-10-08 | 2012-04-12 | Wolterman Michael J | Navigation system activation of a vehicular directional signal |
| US20120166078A1 (en) * | 2010-12-27 | 2012-06-28 | Deutsche Telekom Ag | Turn-by-turn navigation-based descriptive direction indicator for vehicles |
| US20120271510A1 (en) * | 2011-04-21 | 2012-10-25 | Continental Automotive Systems, Inc. | Navigation system controlled turn signals |
| US20130325260A1 (en) * | 2012-06-04 | 2013-12-05 | Hyundai Motor Company | Vehicle driving guiding device and method |
Cited By (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN106347205A (en) * | 2016-10-25 | 2017-01-25 | 安徽猎豹汽车有限公司 | Automotive steering prioritized emergency flasher device and driving method thereof |
| WO2023169705A1 (en) * | 2022-03-07 | 2023-09-14 | Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft | Travel direction indicator and method for displaying a direction of travel for a motor vehicle |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| GB201408367D0 (en) | 2014-06-25 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| WAP | Application withdrawn, taken to be withdrawn or refused ** after publication under section 16(1) |