Communications: electrical – Land vehicle alarms or indicators – External signal light system
Reexamination Certificate
2003-05-06
2004-08-31
Wu, Daniel J. (Department: 2632)
Communications: electrical
Land vehicle alarms or indicators
External signal light system
C340S464000, C340S468000, C455S039000, C455S041200, C362S105000, C362S106000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06784795
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a brake and signal light system for use in connection with helmets generally worn by a rider of a motorcycle. The brake and signal light system has particular utility in connection with providing for a flexible, readily attachable and a wireless signal light for attachment to a helmet to increase the visibility of the rider and associated motoring signals, such as braking and turn indication.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Helmet signal systems are desirable for improving rider safety by increasing other motorists awareness of motorcycles and for providing an additional visual notification to the motorist as to the motoring operations or intentions of the motorcycle. In addition to providing such helmet light systems, it is very desirable to have a system that is wireless from the motorcycle. Wireless communication between the helmet signal system and the motorcycle signal system is convenient for the rider, whereby with added convenience it is thought that wide acceptance of the system by riders will be observed with increased occurrence of usage by the riders. Furthermore, wireless communication increases the rider safety by eliminating a physical wired connection between the rider and the motorcycle. This is extremely important in the case that a rider must lay the motorcycle down or is involved in a motor vehicle accident.
The use of helmet mounted signal lights is known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,760,373 to Reilly discloses a motorcycle helmet containing an automatic brake light. This patent to Reilly appears to be the first advancement in the art directed towards providing signal lights in helmets which are wireless and receive operational command signals from the motorcycle. This apparatus includes a helmet having an integrated brake signal light which is caused to illuminate upon receiving an encoded signal transmitted by a transmitter attached to the brake lever of a motor motorcycle. In operation, the transmitter produces an encoded signal when the brake lever is pressed. The receiver unit receives the encoded signal that includes a binary decoder which demodulates and decodes the signal. If the decoded signal matches a predetermined code within the receiver unit, the receiver unit turns on the brake light mounted within the helmet. However, the Reilly '373 patent does not provide a readily attachable light apparatus which is flexible and which conforms to various shaped helmets, and has further drawbacks of only providing indication of braking, and requiring a relatively high amount of energy for powering the helmet system. In addition, the invention of this patent does not provide a means for detecting an error in the coded signal.
The next advancement in the art appears to be U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,008 to Eikenberry et al. This patent discloses a remote controlled safety light system having a combined signal light and receiver unit that is attachable to the rearward portion of a motorcycle helmet. A transmitter unit is connected to a motorcycle for generating a command signal to control the illumination of the signal light unit. In addition, the receiver is duty cycled to reduce energy consumption and the transmitter is powered by the signal circuitry of the motorcycle. In operation, the transmitter produces an RF signal in response to a brake operation. The receiver receives and decodes the RF signal and produces a control signal in response to the RF signal to illuminate the brake signal indicator. This patent addresses some of the deficiencies inherent with the '373 patent to Reilly by providing for an attachable signal light apparatus and a system having lower power demands. However, the Eikenberry et al. '008 patent does not provide for a microprocessor based system, additionally does not include a segmented and flexible signal light apparatus, and makes no provisions for error detection within the coded signal.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,477,209 to Benson, which is an improvement upon the '008 Eikenberry et al. patent, discloses a remote controlled safety light having increased noise discrimination. Like the '008 patent to Eikenberry et al. the apparatus of this patent includes a helmet attachable signal light apparatus having a receiver unit, and a transmitter unit. The main improvement in this patent over the '008 patent is the addition of noise discrimination to allow multiple receiver/transmitter pairs to operate in close proximity of each other.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,406,168 to Whiting discloses a helmet mounted signaling system including a transmitter, a receiver, and a plurality of signal lights mounted to the rearward side of a helmet. The transmitter is microprocessor based and is connected to the signal circuitry of a vehicle, such as a motorcycle, so as to receive a voltage signal indicating the energization of the vehicle's indicator signals. Upon detecting energization of a vehicle signal, the transmitter generates and broadcasts an RF signal with an embedded function specific code. The receiver is also microprocessor based and receives the RF signal and in response to the function specific code illuminates a corresponding signal light mounted to the helmet. This patent recognizes the improvements in the art made by the '008 patent to Eikenberry by providing a motorcycle helmet with a brake light that includes a duty cycled receiver circuit for receiving a radio-frequency signal from a transmitter located on the motorcycle for reducing power demands. Rather than using a duty cycled receiver circuit, the apparatus of this patent uses a duty cycled power circuit to energize the brake lamp. The advancement in this apparatus recognizes that modern receiver circuits use relatively little power, and that most of the power that is dissipated in a helmet signal system is used to energize the lamps. However, the Whiting '168 patent does not provide for a segmented and flexible light apparatus for attachment to the rearward side of a helmet, and has the additional deficiency of not providing for signal error detection through the use of redundant data strings.
While the above-described devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a brake and signal light system that provides for a helmet safety light which is attachable to a motorcycle helmet, and which has a flexible and segmented right and left turn signals and a central brake light, and a micro-controller based transmitter and receiver system having data redundancy for error detection. The above discussed patents make no provisions for a micro-controller based system having error detection, and additionally do not include a segmented and flexible signal light apparatus that is readily attachable to various shaped helmets.
Therefore, a need exists for a new and improved brake and signal light system that provides for a flexible, readily attachable and a wireless signal light for attachment to a helmet to increase the visibility of the rider and associated motoring signals, such as braking and turn indication. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need. In this respect, the brake and signal light system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of improving rider safety by increasing other motorists awareness of motorcycles and for providing an additional visual notification to the motorist as to the motoring operations or intentions of the motorcycle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of helmet mounted signal lights now present in the prior art, the present invention provides an improved brake and signal light system for attachment to a helmet, and overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages and drawbacks of the prior art. As such, the general purpose
Dent John
Escobosa Marcus
Pories Muriel
Lewellyn Stephen
Mar-Bruc, Inc.
Tang Son
Wu Daniel J.
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