Brake Pedal Sensor Pad for Accurate Early Brake Warning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional early warning brake indication systems often activate brake lights inappropriately when a driver lifts their foot off the acceleration pedal, leading to misleading signals for following vehicles, which can result in unnecessary braking and potential collisions.
Innovation Solution
A sensor pad beneath the brake pedal outputs a signal when a weight greater than a predetermined value is applied, triggering a brake light control unit to illuminate rear brake lights only when the driver is likely to press the brake pedal, distinguishing it from mere foot movement or coasting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a sensor attached to the acceleration pedal is used to detect foot release, then early warning indication is provided, but false activation occurs when the driver coasts or readjusts their foot
Solution Approach 1:
A sensor pad is introduced as an intermediary element positioned beneath the brake pedal to detect the driver's foot position. This intermediary sensor provides more accurate information about the driver's intent to brake compared to acceleration pedal sensors, thereby reducing false activations while maintaining early warning capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical detection method (acceleration pedal position sensing) with a more precise detection method (weight-based sensor pad beneath the brake pedal). This substitution enables better differentiation between intentional braking and other foot movements, improving reliability.
2Loss of time
If brake lights are activated on foot release from acceleration pedal, then early warning is provided, but following vehicles may slam on brakes unnecessarily causing collisions
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor pad detects the driver's foot placement beneath the brake pedal in advance, providing early warning indication before the actual braking action occurs. This preliminary detection allows following vehicles to prepare for potential braking while avoiding false warnings that would cause unnecessary panic braking.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides feedback to following vehicles through brake light activation only when there is a high probability of imminent braking (foot beneath brake pedal). This selective feedback mechanism prevents misleading information from being transmitted, thereby avoiding unnecessary braking actions by following vehicles.
3Measurement precision
If a sensor pad beneath the brake pedal is used, then accurate detection of braking intent is achieved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor pad is implemented as a simple, cost-effective component that can be easily replaced or repositioned. This approach achieves high measurement precision for foot position detection without requiring complex or expensive sensing systems, thereby minimizing the increase in device complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution provides a more accurate early warning of impending braking, reducing the likelihood of unnecessary braking by following vehicles and enhancing safety by differentiating between intentional braking and other foot movements.
Implementation Method 1
a sensor pad disposed beneath a brake pedal of the vehicle on a floor portion of a driver's side area of a cabin of the vehicle, the sensor pad configured to output a signal at a first voltage level when a weight greater than a predetermined weight is applied to the sensor pad
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle early warning braking indication system includes a sensor pad disposed beneath a brake pedal of the vehicle on a floor portion of a driver's side area of a cabin of the vehicle, the sensor pad configured to output a signal at a first voltage level when a weight greater than a predetermined weight is applied to the sensor pad. The system also includes a brake light activation unit configured to receive the signal output from the sensor pad and to cause a brake light provided on a rear portion of the vehicle to be illuminated when the signal is at the first voltage level, and to cause the brake light to not be illuminated when the signal is at a second voltage level different than the first voltage level.