JP7829631B2 - Automatic turn signal cancellation system and its implementation method - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to an automatic turn signal cancellation system, and more particularly to a system in a powered vehicle that can automatically cancel the turn signal after it has been activated.

Turn signals are essential warning lights when changing direction or lanes. Cars and motorcycles must activate their turn signals before starting, changing lanes, and changing direction. By informing oncoming or following vehicles of the vehicle's intended direction in advance, they improve traffic flow and driver safety.

However, in the case of motorcycles, conventional turn signals are manually controlled. This means the turn signal must be activated before turning a corner to warn the rider of the direction of the turn, and then manually deactivated after the change of direction. However, during continuous curves, lane changes, or after sharp turns, the rider usually cannot quickly and manually control the on/off of the turn signal, causing inconvenience. When it's necessary to control both the vehicle's direction and the on/off of warning lights simultaneously, the rider may become distracted or panicked, ultimately affecting the safety of road users. Furthermore, riders may forget to turn off the turn signal after changing direction, resulting not only in power consumption but also the inability of vehicles in front or behind to accurately predict the vehicle's direction of travel, potentially leading to collisions.

Furthermore, the turn signal switch on a motorcycle is located on the left-hand handlebar grip. When a rider activates the turn signal, they typically use their left thumb to switch the switch, while simultaneously gripping the handlebars with the remaining four fingers. In such a situation, encountering an emergency could result in the rider losing balance or experiencing delayed reactions, potentially endangering the life and safety of the rider or other road users.

Conventionally, a turn signal reset device has been provided in which a control unit is connected to the turn signal, a gravity inertia detection unit is coupled to the control unit, and after the driver turns on the turn signal to change direction, a tilt angle is formed in the vehicle body during the change of direction, the gravity inertia detection unit detects the tilt of the vehicle body, a signal is sent to the control unit, and the control unit resets the turn signal. However, detecting the tilt angle of the vehicle body using the gravity inertia detection unit is prone to misjudgment. For example, when trying to change direction while waiting at a traffic light, the driver will always stop moving first and turn on the turn signal at the same time to indicate the direction of change to surrounding vehicles so that they can change direction as soon as the light turns green. Also, when the driver stops moving, they often tilt the vehicle body to make it easier to put their feet on the ground and maintain balance, and this is especially common among shorter drivers. Therefore, if the gravity inertia detection unit misdetects the vehicle's tilt when it is stopped, the turn signals may be turned off, preventing them from remaining displayed. This could affect the driver and surrounding vehicles, potentially impacting traffic flow and the safety of road users.

The present invention provides a turn signal auto-cancel system and a method for implementing the same, which includes a processing module for driving and operating each module; a light source module provided on the powered vehicle that generates a light source in response to the drive of the processing module and generates a light source signal after being driven; an inertial measurement module for measuring the body tilt angle of the powered vehicle and generating body angle information after measurement; a situation determination module coupled to the inertial measurement module for receiving the body angle information, wherein an angle threshold is provided in advance and the situation determination module selects whether to generate an off signal based on the result of comparing the body angle information with the angle threshold; and a distance detection module coupled to the light source module, wherein a distance threshold is provided in advance, and the angle threshold includes a tilt angle threshold and a column angle threshold . When the distance detection module receives a light source signal, it starts calculating the displacement distance of the powered vehicle, and if the displacement distance is greater than the distance threshold and the situation determination module generates an off signal, the processing module turns off the light source module according to the off signal.

In one embodiment, the turn signal auto-cancel system is coupled to a light source module and further includes a countdown module for performing a countdown after receiving a light source signal. If the status determination module does not generate an off signal, the light source module turns off after the countdown is complete.

In one embodiment, the tilt angle threshold is defined as an angle increase or decrease exceeding 20 degrees, and the column angle threshold is defined as an angle increase or decrease exceeding 10 degrees.

The present invention also provides a method for implementing an automatic turn signal cancellation system for automatically turning off a light source module in a powered vehicle, the method for implementing the automatic turn signal cancellation system includes: a light source execution step in which a processing module drives a light source module to generate a light source signal; a body angle measurement step in which an inertial measurement module measures the current body tilt angle of the powered vehicle and generates body angle information; a situation determination step in which a situation determination module is provided with angle thresholds in advance, the angle thresholds including a tilt angle threshold and a column angle threshold, and selects whether to generate an off signal based on the result of comparing the body angle information with the angle thresholds; and a light source off step in which, if the situation determination module generates an off signal, the processing module turns off the light source module according to the off signal , the distance detection step is performed after the situation determination step is performed, the distance detection step includes a distance detection module coupled to the light source module and provided with distance thresholds in advance, and when the distance detection module receives a light source signal, it starts calculating the displacement distance of the powered vehicle, and if the displacement distance is greater than the distance threshold and the situation determination module generates an off signal, the light source module is turned off .

In one embodiment, a countdown step is performed after a status determination step. The countdown step includes a countdown module coupled to a light source module. If the status determination module does not generate an off signal when the countdown module performs a countdown after receiving a light source signal, the light source module turns off after the countdown is complete.

To enable a detailed understanding of the characteristic embodiments described in this invention, a more specific description of the invention, which briefly summarizes the invention, can be made by referring to embodiments, some of which are shown in the drawings. However, it should be noted that the drawings only show typical embodiments of the invention, and since the invention can accept other equally effective embodiments, they should not be considered limiting in scope.

This is a diagram showing the configuration of the system of the present invention. This is a schematic diagram of the angular threshold of the present invention. This is a schematic diagram of the tilt angle of the tilt angle threshold and column angle threshold. This is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the countdown module of the present invention. This is a diagram showing the configuration of the distance detection module of the present invention. This is a schematic diagram illustrating the steps for implementing the present invention. This is a schematic diagram of the inclination angle of a powered vehicle. This is a schematic diagram of the countdown step of the present invention. This is a schematic diagram of the distance detection step of the present invention.

The following description contains specific information relating to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. The drawings and detailed description thereof are merely illustrative embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to these exemplary embodiments. Other variations and embodiments of the present invention will be conceivable to those skilled in the art. Unless otherwise specified, similar or corresponding elements in the drawings may be indicated by similar or corresponding reference numerals. Furthermore, the drawings and examples of the present invention are not typically drawn to scale and do not necessarily correspond to actual relative sizes.

For consistency and ease of understanding, similar features are indicated by reference numerals in the illustrative drawings (although some examples are not indicated in this way). However, features in different embodiments may differ in other respects and should not be narrowly limited to those shown in the drawings.

Terms such as “at least one embodiment,” “one embodiment,” “multiple embodiments,” “different embodiments,” “some embodiments,” and “this embodiment” may indicate that embodiments of the present invention described herein may include certain features, structures, or characteristics, but not all possible embodiments of the present invention must include those features, structures, or characteristics. Furthermore, repeated use of phrases like “in one embodiment” or “in this embodiment” does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, even if they may be the same. Also, phrases such as “embodiments” used in relation to “the present invention” should be understood not as meaning that all embodiments of the present invention must include certain features, structures, or characteristics, but rather that “at least some embodiments of the present invention” include the described features, structures, or characteristics. The term “connection” is defined as a connection, whether directly or indirectly through intervening elements, and is not necessarily limited to a physical connection. Where the term “includes” is used, it means “includes, but not limited to,” and clearly indicates the open-ended inclusion or relationship of the described combinations, groups, series, and equivalents.

Furthermore, for explanatory and non-limiting purposes, specific details such as functional entities, technologies, protocols, and standards are included to facilitate understanding of the described technology. In other instances, detailed descriptions of well-known methods, technologies, systems, and architectures are omitted to avoid obscuring the descriptive text with unnecessary details.

As shown in Figure 1, Figure 1 is a configuration diagram of the system of the present invention. As shown in the drawing, the automatic turn signal cancellation system 10 is mainly installed in a powered vehicle 11, and the powered vehicle 11 may be, for example, a motorcycle.

As described above, the turn signal auto-cancel system 10 mainly includes a processing module 101, a light source module 102, an inertial measurement module 103, and a situation judgment module 104. The processing module 101 is coupled to each module and used to drive and operate each module, and may be, for example, a central processing unit or a microprocessor. The light source module 102 is provided on the powered vehicle 11, and the light source module 102 is mainly a turn signal on the powered vehicle 11, but the type of light source module 102 is not limited, and the light source module 102 generates a light source in response to the drive of the processing module 101, and can generate a light source signal M1 after the drive. The inertial measurement module 103 may be, for example, an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit), and mainly consists of multiple sensors, and is used to measure and report the acceleration, angular velocity and direction of an object, and is used to measure the body tilt angle of the powered vehicle 11, and generates body angle information M2 after the measurement. The situation determination module 104 is coupled to the inertial measurement module 103 and is used to receive vehicle body angle information M2. An angle threshold M3 is pre-set and is a limiting range value that restricts the vehicle body tilt of the powered vehicle 11 to a certain number of degrees. For example, the vehicle body tilt angle must not increase or decrease by more than 10 degrees. Based on the result of comparing the vehicle body angle information M2 and the angle threshold M3, the situation determination module 104 determines whether the tilt angle of the powered vehicle 11 exceeds the angle threshold M3 and selects whether to generate an off signal M4. Referring to Figure 2, Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the angle threshold of the present invention. In one embodiment, the angle threshold M3 includes a tilt angle threshold M31 and a column angle threshold M32, and the tilt angles of the tilt angle threshold M31 and the column angle threshold M32 are as shown in Figure 3, which is a schematic diagram of the tilt angles of the tilt angle threshold M31 and the column angle threshold M32. Furthermore, it is preferable that the tilt angle threshold M31 exceeds a 20-degree increase or decrease in angle, and the column angle threshold M32 exceeds a 10-degree increase or decrease in angle. When the status determination module 104 generates an off signal M4, the off signal M4 is transmitted to the processing module 101, and the processing module 101 turns off the light source module 102 according to the off signal M4.

Referring to Figure 4, Figure 4 is a configuration diagram of the countdown module of the present invention. In one embodiment, the turn signal auto-cancel system 10 further includes a countdown module 105 coupled to the light source module 102 for performing a countdown after receiving a light source signal M1, and if the status determination module 104 does not generate an off signal M4, the light source module 102 turns off after the countdown is completed.

Referring to Figure 5, Figure 5 is a configuration diagram of the distance detection module of the present invention. In one embodiment, the turn signal auto-cancel system 10 further includes a distance detection module 106, which is coupled to a light source module 102, and a distance threshold M5 is pre-set, which is a range value that limits the travel distance, for example, 10 meters. When the distance detection module 106 receives a light source signal M1, the distance detection module 106 begins to calculate the displacement distance of the powered vehicle 11. If the displacement distance is greater than the distance threshold M5 and the situation judgment module 104 generates an off signal M4, the processing module 101 turns off the light source module 102 according to the off signal M4.

Referring to Figure 6, which is a schematic diagram of the steps for implementing the present invention, and referring to Figures 1 to 5 together, the method for implementing this system is as follows.
Light source execution step S1: The processing module 101 drives the light source module 102 to generate the light source signal M1.
Vehicle body angle measurement step S2: After measuring the current vehicle body tilt angle of the powered vehicle 11 using the inertial measurement module 103, vehicle body angle information M2 is generated. The purpose of detecting the vehicle body tilt angle is to determine whether the powered vehicle 11 is currently turning a curve.
Situation determination step S3: The situation determination module has a pre-set angle threshold M3, and it selects whether to generate an off signal M4 based on the result of comparing the vehicle body angle information M2 with the angle threshold M3. Simply put, the angle threshold M3 is a limiting range value that restricts the amount of inclination of the vehicle body of the powered vehicle 11 that it must not exceed. Referring also to Figure 7, which is a schematic diagram of the inclination angle of the powered vehicle. For example, the increase or decrease in the vehicle body inclination angle θ must not exceed 10 degrees, and when riding in the powered vehicle 11 in an upright position at 90 degrees, if the left and right inclination angles of the powered vehicle 11 exceed 100 degrees and 80 degrees, it indicates that the powered vehicle 11 is turning a curve, and the system should not turn off the light source module 102.
Light source off step S4: When the situation determination module 104 generates an off signal M4, it indicates that the vehicle body angle information M2 does not exceed the range of the angle threshold M3. This situation indicates that the powered vehicle 11 has finished turning the curve, and the processing module 101 can turn off the light source module in accordance with the off signal M4.

Referring to Figure 8, which is a schematic diagram of the countdown step of the present invention, and also referring to Figures 1 to 5, in one embodiment, the countdown step S5 is executed after the situation determination step S3 is performed. In the countdown step S5, there is a countdown module 105 mainly coupled to the light source module 102. The countdown module 105 performs a countdown after receiving the light source signal M1, and if the situation determination module 104 does not generate an off signal M4, the light source module 102 turns off after the countdown is completed. The main purpose of this step is to avoid a situation where the system cannot accurately determine the tilt angle of the powered vehicle 11 and the light source module 102 cannot be turned off for a long time. Therefore, the countdown module 105 can be forcibly turned off after the light source module 102 is activated and the countdown is completed, and the number of seconds for the countdown can be estimated based on the typical time it takes to turn a curve.

Referring to Figure 9, which is a schematic diagram of the distance detection step of the present invention, and referring to Figures 1 to 5 together, in one embodiment, the distance detection step S6 is executed after the situation determination step S3 is performed. In the distance detection step S6, the distance detection module 106, which is coupled to the light source module 102 and has a pre-set distance threshold M5, is configured such that when the distance detection module 106 receives the light source signal M1, it starts calculating the displacement distance of the powered vehicle 11. If the displacement distance is greater than the distance threshold M5 and the situation determination module 104 generates an off signal M4, the processing module 101 turns off the light source module 102. As described above, the main purpose of performing the distance detection step S6 is as follows: If the light source module 102 is turned off immediately after completing a turn, the buffer time for the powered vehicle 11 to return to its original position when turning a large curve is shortened, increasing the risk of being rear-ended by a following vehicle. Therefore, if the light source module can be turned off after traveling a certain distance, even after completing a turn, driver safety can be improved.

In summary, the turn signal auto-cancel system 10 of the present invention primarily works by having each module of the system automatically detect the status of the powered vehicle 11, thereby determining whether the light source module 102 should be turned off. This effectively improves the convenience and safety of the driver while riding in the powered vehicle 11. Therefore, the turn signal auto-cancel system 10 of the present invention can certainly achieve the objective of automatically turning off the turn signals after they have been turned on.

These embodiments and the scope of the patent application do not necessarily have to achieve all of the disclosed technical advantages or features. Furthermore, the abstract and title are merely for the purpose of facilitating the search of the patent application documents and are not intended to limit the category of the invention in any way.

10: Turn signal auto-cancel system 101: Processing module 102: Light source module 103: Inertial measurement module 104: Situation judgment module 105: Countdown module 106: Distance detection module 11: Powered vehicle M1: Light source signal M2: Vehicle body angle information M3: Angle threshold M31: Tilt angle threshold M32: Row angle threshold M4: Off signal M5: Distance threshold S1: Light source execution step S2: Vehicle body angle measurement step S3: Situation judgment step S4: Light source off step S5: Countdown step S6: Distance detection step

Claims (6)

Installed on the powered vehicle,
A processing module for driving and operating each module,
A light source module provided in the aforementioned powered vehicle, which generates a light source in response to the drive of the processing module and generates a light source signal after being driven,
An inertial measurement module for measuring the body tilt angle of the aforementioned powered vehicle and generating body angle information after measurement,
A situation determination module coupled to the inertial measurement module for receiving the vehicle body angle information, wherein an angle threshold is provided in advance, and the situation determination module selects whether or not to generate an off signal based on the result of comparing the vehicle body angle information with the angle threshold,
A turn signal auto-cancel system comprising a distance detection module coupled to the light source module and having a distance threshold set in advance ,
The angle threshold includes a tilt angle threshold and a column angle threshold .
When the distance detection module receives the light source signal, it begins calculating the displacement distance of the powered vehicle. If the displacement distance is greater than the distance threshold and the situation determination module generates the off signal, the processing module turns off the light source module according to the off signal.
Automatic turn signal cancellation system. The turn signal auto-cancel system according to claim 1, further comprising a countdown module coupled to the light source module for performing a countdown after receiving the light source signal, wherein if the status determination module does not generate the off signal, the light source module turns off after the countdown is completed. The turn signal auto-cancel system according to claim 1 , wherein the tilt angle threshold is such that the angle increase or decrease exceeds 20 degrees, and the column angle threshold is such that the angle increase or decrease exceeds 10 degrees. A method for implementing an automatic turn signal cancellation system for automatically turning off a light source module in a powered vehicle,
A light source execution step in which a processing module drives the light source module to generate a light source signal,
A vehicle body angle measurement step involves measuring the current vehicle body tilt angle of the powered vehicle using an inertial measurement module and then generating vehicle body angle information.
The situation determination module has pre-defined angle thresholds, which include a tilt angle threshold and a column angle threshold, and includes a situation determination step of selecting whether to generate an off signal based on the result of comparing the vehicle body angle information with the angle thresholds.
If the status determination module generates the off signal, the processing module includes a light source off step in which it turns off the light source module in accordance with the off signal.
After the situation determination step is performed, a distance detection step is performed, and in the distance detection step, a distance detection module is coupled to the light source module and has a distance threshold set in advance, and when the distance detection module receives the light source signal, it starts calculating the displacement distance of the powered vehicle, and if the displacement distance is greater than the distance threshold and the situation determination module generates the off signal, the light source module is turned off.
How to implement the automatic turn signal cancellation system. A method for implementing the turn signal auto-cancel system according to claim 4, wherein a countdown step is performed after the status determination step is performed, and in the countdown step, a countdown module is coupled to the light source module, and when the countdown module performs a countdown after receiving the light source signal, if the status determination module does not generate the off signal, the light source module turns off after the countdown is completed. The method for implementing the turn signal auto-cancel system according to claim 4 , wherein the tilt angle threshold is such that the angle increase or decrease exceeds 20 degrees, and the column angle threshold is such that the angle increase or decrease exceeds 10 degrees.