Door-Mounted Illuminated Warning Signal for Rear-Hinged Vehicle Doors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Center-opening or rear-hinged motor vehicle doors lack effective warning signals visible to oncoming traffic, as conventional indicators like reflectors and interior lights are not visible from the rear, posing a safety concern.
Innovation Solution
A door-mounted warning system with a controller that actuates an exterior illuminable signal in various modes, including increased visibility mode, based on signals from a door-open indicator and a vehicle navigational system, to emit light of different intensities, patterns, or colors, ensuring enhanced visibility when the vehicle is near a roadway.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If conventional warning indicators (reflectors, interior lights) are used on center-opening doors, then the door structure can be simple and cost-effective, but the visibility to oncoming traffic from the rear is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent positions the warning indicator on the rear surface of the door rather than the conventional front or interior surface. This inversion of the indicator's location allows it to be visible to oncoming traffic from the rear, directly solving the visibility problem while maintaining relative system simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The warning indicator is oriented to face rearward (a different spatial dimension/direction than conventional indicators) and can rotate or change orientation based on door position. This dimensional change in indicator orientation enables visibility to rearward traffic while the indicator remains mounted on the door structure
2Reliability
If an enhanced visibility mode with multiple operating modes is implemented, then the safety and visibility to oncoming traffic is improved, but the device complexity and control system requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The warning indicator is designed to be dynamically adjustable in both position and illumination characteristics. The indicator can rotate to different orientations and change its illumination pattern based on door position and detected traffic conditions, providing adaptive safety enhancement without requiring completely separate systems for each function
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates traffic detection capabilities that provide feedback about oncoming vehicles. Based on this feedback, the controller automatically adjusts the indicator's illumination mode (steady, flashing, enhanced intensity) to provide appropriate warning levels, improving safety while using intelligence rather than hardware 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
The system provides improved safety by ensuring that the vehicle's door-open status is visibly communicated to oncoming traffic, enhancing safety by adjusting light modes according to the vehicle's proximity to a roadway, thereby addressing the limitations of conventional warning indicators.
Implementation Method 1
a vehicle door-mounted exterior illuminable signal... actuates the exterior illuminable signal to emit light
Data Source
AI summary
A warning system for a vehicle includes a vehicle door-mounted exterior illuminable signal, a door-open indicator associated with the vehicle door, and a controller configured to actuate the exterior illuminable signal to emit light in a selected one of multiple operating modes. The operating modes may include an increased visibility operating mode differing from other operating modes in an intensity and/or pattern and/or color of light emitted by the door-mounted exterior illuminable signal. The vehicle door may be a rear-hinged door and the illuminable signal may be associated with a handle of the door. The controller may actuate the exterior illuminable signal in a different operating mode on receiving both of a signal from the door-open indicator and a signal from a vehicle navigational system.