1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to automotive vehicles and more specifically to a brake light control assembly.
2. Background of the Invention
The rear lights of vehicles help to communicate the actions and intentions of a driver to someone following the vehicle. For example, a single flashing taillight helps to indicate that the driver of the vehicle intends to turn left or right. In other situations, double flashing tail lights help to communicate that the driver of the vehicle believes there is some situation with the vehicle, the surrounding environment, or the driver that creates a hazardous or dangerous situation for other drivers. Brake lights also help to communicate to following drivers that the vehicle is either slowing down, or already stopped.
Brake lights are typically either separate lights, or a separate filament of the same light bulb that is used for the taillights so that brake lights can have a higher intensity than normal taillights. Brake lights on most automobiles generally consist of a pair of lights that are located toward both the passenger and driver sides on the rear end of the vehicle. As desired, sometimes a centrally located brake light is positioned in the center of the rear end to aid in the communication that the vehicle is braking rather than turning.
With most systems that are manufactured today, the brake lights are either illuminated or not. With such systems, if a driver communicates a braking action to a following driver beyond the simple illumination of the brakes, the driver would have to depress and release the brake pedal repeatedly to cause the brake lights to flash as desired. Flashing the brake lights of the vehicle can help to alert a following driver of impending reduction of speed of the vehicle. Pumping the brake pedal before applying the brakes as ultimately desired is not always practical or effective because a driver may not have time or may not remember flash the brake lights.
Several systems have been developed to automatically interrupt or cause the brake lights to flash upon application of the brakes by the driver. Many of the systems include electrical or mechanical sensors that detect rapid decelerations, which in turn causes the brake lights to illuminate in a manner different from normal. These systems may cause the brake lights to flash for a certain amount of time and remain illuminated, or flash until the rate of deceleration is below a predetermined amount. Instead of flashing or interrupting the lights, other warning systems vary the intensity of the lights in a similar manner. Common to the rapid deceleration systems is the problem that the brake lights flash or change intensity only if the deceleration rate surpasses the preselected value. Therefore, during slower or normal braking conditions the brake lights operate as usual.
Systems have also been developed that interrupt or cause the brake lights to flash a predetermined amount of time every time the driver applies the brakes of the vehicle. These systems typically use timers, magnetic coils, transistors, or heating elements to interrupt the illumination of the brake lights for a predetermined amount of time. These systems do not vary, nor allow the driver to vary the number of flashes when the brake pedal is depressed. Accordingly, the brake lights flash in the same manner every time the brakes are applied.
Other systems have also been developed that interrupt or cause the lights to flash in different manners depending on various conditions like vehicle speed, rate of deceleration, ambient driving conditions, angle of incline of the road, etc. These systems include sensors that detect these conditions, which then communicate the data to a central processing unit to automatically vary the brake lights. These systems do not allow a driver to select or monitor the illumination of the brake lights. Therefore, the vehicle""s central processor controls how the brake lights illuminate based upon certain sensed data rather than allowing the driver to manipulate the brake lights as desired.
A brake light control assembly allows the driver of the vehicle to determine how many times the brake lights will flash or are interrupted before upon each application of the brakes. The brake light assembly includes a brake light interrupter circuit that is adapted to be connected to a vehicle with brake lights that are illuminated upon actuation of a brake assembly. The brake light interrupter circuit is also adapted to be in electrical communication with an electrical circuit of the vehicle between a battery and a brake light for selectively interrupting illuminations of the brake light a predetermined number of times.
A switch is selectively positioned to vary the predetermined number of times the illuminations of the brake lights are interrupted upon each actuation of the brake assembly. The switch is adapted to be connected within the passenger compartment of the vehicle so that the driver of the vehicle can select the number of times the brake lights flash upon each application of the brakes. Additionally, the switch is responsive to the driver so that the number of the times the illuminations of the brake lights are interrupted can be varied while the driver is driving the vehicle. The switch therefore allows the driver to change the number of times the brake lights flash, as desired, depending upon various driving conditions like traffic, weather, vehicle speed, and road conditions.