Card – picture – or sign exhibiting – Signs – Automotive vehicle carried
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-01
2001-09-04
Silbermann, Joanne (Department: 3628)
Card, picture, or sign exhibiting
Signs
Automotive vehicle carried
C074S047000, C040S218000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06282823
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a courtesy device for installation in automobiles and, more particularly, to a device for waving a hand which is visible to other drivers to thereby send a courteous gesture to other drivers within the vicinity of the automobile.
2. Description of the Related Art
Increasing traffic congestion on the world's roads and highways, coupled with the ever increasing stress in the average person's daily routine, has lead to an epidemic of aggressive and sometimes violent actions by drivers, a situation which has come to be known as “road rage.” Incidents of road rage commonly involve aggressive, and often dangerous, maneuvering of one or more vehicles involved in a confrontation. More violent incidents of road rage may involve physical fights and, in the most serious cases, the use of weapons including firearms. In recent years, many accidents and deaths on America's highways have been attributed to incidents of road rage.
An act of road rage may be triggered any one of numerous causes including impolite drivers, incompetent drivers, aggressive drivers, and egotistical drivers. In some instances, a driver suffering from personal problems may release their personal anger on other drivers who may simply be in that person's way. Other times, aggressive maneuvers, such as switching lanes and cutting off a driver, may spark an incident of road rage. Regardless of the particular circumstances which may trigger an act of road rage, the underlying cause of road rage is a general lack of courtesy and politeness in today's hectic society.
The present invention proposes to create a renewal of courtesy and politeness among drivers, thereby helping to eliminate road rage on roads and highways of the United States and abroad.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a driver courtesy device and includes a transmitter component attachable to the dashboard or steering console of an automobile, within reach of the driver of the automobile, and display unit mounted adjacent the rear window or one of the side windows of the automobile. The display unit includes an upstanding member resembling an arm and hand, and a motor and interposer means structured for moving the arm and hand in a reciprocating, generally linear motion to simulate a waving hand in conveying a courteous gesture. Upon actuating the transmitter component, via a switch mechanism, a signal is transmitted via invisible light waves to a receiver in the display unit. The hand continues movement through the reciprocating waving action until the timer times out and deactivates the motor.
REFERENCES:
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patent: 851731 (1907-04-01), Daley
patent: 2147010 (1939-02-01), Cranford
patent: 2714266 (1955-08-01), Jauquet
patent: 2817916 (1957-12-01), Yarrow
patent: 3678457 (1972-07-01), Lev
patent: 4176483 (1979-12-01), Bailey
patent: 5450811 (1995-09-01), Heiland
patent: 5628133 (1997-05-01), Cooper
Downey P.A. Robert M.
Silbermann Joanne
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