Vehicle Warning Device with Directional Light Emitting Units
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional seat belt warning devices do not effectively ensure that occupants recognize the need to wear their seat belts, as the warning signals can be difficult to acknowledge.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle warning device with a housing-mounted light emitting unit system that directs warning light towards the occupant's eye point, combined with a display unit to visually indicate non-wearing of the seat belt, controlled by sensors detecting seating and belt-wearing states, ensuring clear and directed alerts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If band-like irradiation light is emitted to warn occupants, then the warning function is provided, but the recognition ease by occupants is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by directing light from specific locations (front and side of the vehicle) toward the occupant's eye position. Instead of uniform illumination, the light is concentrated at the critical region where human eyes are most likely to detect it, thereby improving recognition ease while maintaining the warning function.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a single-dimensional band-like light pattern to a multi-dimensional approach by positioning multiple light sources at different locations (front and side) and directing them toward the eye point. This spatial dimensionality enhancement ensures the warning is visible from various angles and improves occupant recognition.
2Ease of operation
If light is directed toward the eye point region, then recognition by the occupant is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the light emitting system into multiple independent units positioned at different locations (front light emitting unit and side light emitting unit). Each unit can be independently controlled and optimized, which simplifies the overall design while achieving the complex goal of targeted illumination toward the eye point region.
Solution Approach 2:
The light emitting units are designed with multi-functionality, serving both as warning indicators and as directional guides toward the occupant's eye position. By combining these functions in a single system, the patent reduces overall device complexity while achieving improved recognition.
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 a clear and noticeable warning to occupants not wearing their seat belts, enhancing recognition and prompting necessary action, while also allowing others to notice and remind non-wearing occupants.
Implementation Method 1
each of the light emitting units may include a light guide unit having an incident surface on which the warning light enters along the optical axis and an output surface from which the warning light incident from the incident surface exits, and may guide the warning light in a direction of the optical axis
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle warning device includes a housing disposed at a front of a roof in a vehicle compartment, a plurality of light emitting units provided in the housing to emit warning light having directionality, a seating sensor that detects a seated state of an occupant on each of back seats in the vehicle compartment, a wearing sensor that detects a wearing state of a seat belt of each of the back seats, and an ECU that controls turning on of each of the light emitting units based on the seated state and the wearing state, and each of the light emitting units corresponds to the occupant on each of the back seats, and has an optical axis disposed with respect to the housing toward an eye point region ER including an eye point of the occupant on the back seat.