Vehicle hazard light system

Communications: electrical – Land vehicle alarms or indicators – External signal light system

Reexamination Certificate

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Details

C340S467000, C340S475000, C340S479000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06323766

ABSTRACT:

TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to vehicle safety equipment and more particularly to an improved vehicle hazard light system that includes an impact sensor that triggers an automatic emergency flasher activation relay for automatically activating the emergency hazard flashers of a vehicle after an accident of greater than a predetermined magnitude has occurred. The improved hazard light system preferably also includes a triggering mechanism that is triggered by impacts from any direction.
BACKGROUND ART
Each year chain collision vehicle accidents occur when a driver in a car does not realize the vehicles in front of him/her have been involved in an accident and are at a dead stop in the road. This happens because many times the driver(s) of the vehicle(s) are injured and unable to activate the vehicle emergency flashers, in shock, disoriented and not thinking about activating the vehicle emergency flashers, and/or they are preoccupied with tending to injured people in their vehicle. It would of course be a benefit to these individuals and to drivers in general to have an improved vehicle hazard light system that included an impact sensor switch which would activate the hazard blinkers after an impact of a predetermined magnitude has been sensed. Because the impact could come from any direction, it would be a further benefit if the impact sensor switch could sense impacts from any direction.
GENERAL SUMMARY DISCUSSION OF INVENTION
It is thus an object of the invention to provide an improved vehicle hazard light system for use with hazard light systems that include a number of emergency flasher lights controlled by a flasher relay that is activated by a manually operated flasher relay activation switch in connection with a flasher relay activation input of a flasher relay such that, when the manually operated flasher relay activation switch is in a closed position, power is supplied to the flasher relay activation input causing the flasher relay to supply power intermittently to the number of flasher lights such that the number of flasher lights flash on and off. The improvement to the vehicle hazard light system includes the addition of an impact activated latching relay assembly including: a dual contact latching relay having first and second latching inputs for closing and maintaining first and second pairs of relay contacts of the dual contact latching relay in closed positions while electrical power is supplied to either or both of the first and second latching inputs; and a viscous fluid filled pendulum impact sensing switch including a sensing switch input connector having a first end in connection in electrical connection with an electrically conductive pendulum that is swivelly, pivotally suspended in a non-electrically conductive viscous fluid filled chamber and surrounded by an electrically conductive ring positioned within the viscous fluid filled chamber and having a sensor switch output connector in electrical connection therewith and positioned within the viscous fluid filled chamber such that when an electrically conductive pendulum mass portion of the electrically conductive pendulum swings a predetermined angle away from a center hanging position in any direction an electrical connection is formed between the sensing switch input connector and the sensing switch output connector; the viscosity of the fluid in the viscous fluid filled chamber and the size and mass of the electrically conductive mass of the pendulum mass portion being selected to determine a magnitude of impact required to cause the electrically conductive pendulum to swing through the viscous fluid filled chamber to generate a closed electrical connection between the sensing switch input connector and the sensing switch output connector of the viscous fluid filled pendulum impact sensing switch; the first pair of relay contacts being electrically wired in parallel with the manually operated flasher relay activation switch so as to bypass the manually operated flasher relay activation switch when the first pair of relay contacts are closed and supply power to the flasher relay activation input; the second pair of relay contacts being wired in series connection between a power source, a normally closed manual disable switch and the second latching input of the dual contact latching relay such that, once the second pair of contacts of the dual contact latching relay close, power is continuously supplied to the second latching input of the dual contact latching relay causing the first and second pairs of contacts to remain in the closed position until electrical power is interrupted to the second latching input by momentarily depressing the normally closed manual disable switch; the sensing switch input connector and sensing switch output connector being wired in series between a power source and the first latching input of the dual contact latching relay such that when the viscous fluid filled pendulum impact sensing switch senses an impact sufficient to form an electrical connection between the sensing switch input connector and sensing switch output connector power is momentarily supplied to the first latching input for a time sufficient to close the first and second pairs of relay contacts which remain closed until power is interrupted to the second latching input by momentarily depressing the normally closed manual disable switch.
Accordingly, an improved vehicle hazard light system for use with vehicles having a hazard light system that includes a number of emergency flasher lights controlled by a flasher relay that is activated by a manually operated flasher relay activation switch in connection with a flasher relay activation input of a flasher relay such that, when the manually operated flasher relay activation switch is in a closed position, power is supplied to the flasher relay activation input causing the flasher relay to supply power intermittently to the number of flasher lights such that the number of flasher lights flash on and off. Accordingly an improved hazard light system of the type described above is provided wherein the improvement to the vehicle hazard light system includes the addition of an impact activated latching relay assembly including: a dual contact latching relay having first and second latching inputs for closing and maintaining first and second pairs of relay contacts of the dual contact latching relay in closed positions while electrical power is supplied to either or both of the first and second latching inputs; and a viscous fluid filled pendulum impact sensing switch including a sensing switch input connector having a first end in connection in electrical connection with an electrically conductive pendulum that is swivelly, pivotally suspended in a non-electrically conductive viscous fluid filled chamber and surrounded by an electrically conductive ring positioned within the viscous fluid filled chamber and having a sensor switch output connector in electrical connection therewith and positioned within the viscous fluid filled chamber such that when an electrically conductive pendulum mass portion of the electrically conductive pendulum swings a predetermined angle away from a center hanging position in any direction an electrical connection is formed between the sensing switch input connector and the sensing switch output connector; the viscosity of the fluid in the viscous fluid filled chamber and the size and mass of the electrically conductive mass of the pendulum mass portion being selected to determine a magnitude of impact required to cause the electrically conductive pendulum to swing through the viscous fluid filled chamber to generate a closed electrical connection between the sensing switch input connector and the sensing switch output connector of the viscous fluid filled pendulum impact sensing switch; the first pair of relay contacts being electrically wired in parallel with the manually operated flasher relay activation switch so as to bypass the manually operated flasher relay activation switch when the first pair of relay conta

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