Automatic signaling systems for vehicles
View Patent ↗An automatic signaling system includes a processor having an input for receiving a signal from a sensor, and an output configured to be coupled to a signaling system of a vehicle, the signaling system having a turn signal light, wherein the processor is configured to automatically activate the turn signal light based at least in part on the signal received from the sensor. A method for activating a turn signal light of a vehicle includes receiving a signal from a sensor, and automatically activating the turn signal light of the vehicle based at least in part on the received signal.
1. A system, comprising:
an automatic signaling system configured to be coupled to a turn signal light of a vehicle, the automatic signaling system configured to automatically activate the turn signal light of the vehicle before or when a portion of the vehicle reaches a boundary of a lane;
a lever for activating a turn signal light of a vehicle, the lever having a first end, a second end, and a body extending between the first and the second ends; and
a first switch located on the lever, the first switch operable to activate, deactivate, or activate and deactivate, the automatic signaling system.
2. The control of claim 1 , further comprising a second switch for adjusting a sensitivity of the automatic signal system.
3. A control, comprising:
an automatic signaling system configured to be coupled to a turn signal light of a vehicle, the automatic signaling system configured to automatically activate the turn signal light of the vehicle before or when a portion of the vehicle reaches a boundary of a lane;
a lever for activating the turn signal light of a vehicle, the lever having a first end, a second end, and a body extending between the first and the second ends, the first end being movable in a first direction to activate the automatic signaling system.
4. The control of claim 3 , wherein the first end is movable in a second direction to de-activate the automatic signaling system.
5. The control of claim 4 , wherein the first end is movable in a third direction to activate the turn signal light.
6. An automatic signaling system, comprising:
a processor having an input for receiving signals from a sensor, and an output to be coupled to a signaling system of a vehicle, the signaling system having a turn signal light;
wherein the processor is configured to determine a value associated with a spatial relationship between a vehicle and a lane boundary using the signals, and automatically activate the turn signal light based at least in part on the determined value;
wherein the processor is configured to compare a threshold value with the value that is associated with the spatial relationship, and wherein the threshold value is variable based on a speed of the vehicle.
7. The automatic signaling system of claim 6 , wherein the processor operates independent of an angle of a turning wheel of the vehicle.
8. The system of claim 6 , further comprising the sensor.
9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the sensor comprises an image sensor configured for sensing at least a portion of a lane.
10. The system of claim 8 , wherein the sensor comprises a signal receiver configured to wirelessly receive information regarding a position of the vehicle.
11. The system of claim 6 , wherein the processor is coupled to a device selected from the group consisting of a speed sensor, a light sensor, and a moisture sensor.
12. The system of claim 6 , wherein the processor is configured to activate the turn signal light based at least in part on the determined value, and when the vehicle is traveling above a prescribed speed.
13. The system of claim 6 , further comprising a reader for reading data from a key-memory, wherein the processor is configured to activate the turn signal light based on the determined value and the data.
14. The system of claim 6 , wherein the spatial relationship between the vehicle and the lane boundary comprises a position of the vehicle relative to the lane boundary.
15. The system of claim 6 , wherein the spatial relationship between the vehicle and the lane boundary comprises an orientation of the vehicle relative to the lane boundary.
16. The system of claim 6 , wherein the signals comprise image data of an image frame, and wherein the processor is configured to determine the value by:
performing image processing on the image data to identify the lane boundary;
determining a position of the identified lane boundary in the image frame; and
determining the spatial relationship based on the determined position of the identified lane boundary.
17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the position is relative to the image frame.
18. The system of claim 16 , wherein the processor is further configured to use information regarding a previously identified lane boundary to identify the lane boundary.
19. The system of claim 6 , wherein the value that is associated with the spatial relationship comprises a distance between the vehicle and the lane boundary.
20. The system of claim 6 , wherein the threshold value is also variable based on a width of a lane.
21. The system of claim 6 , wherein the processor is also configured to automatically deactivate the turn signal light.
22. The system of claim 21 , wherein the processor is configured to automatically deactivate the turn signal light after the turn signal light has been activated for a prescribed duration.
23. An automatic signaling system, comprising:
a processor having an input for receiving image data, and an output to be coupled to a signaling system of a vehicle, the signaling system having a turn signal light;
wherein the processor is configured to process the image data to identify a lane boundary, and automatically activate the turn signal light based at least in part on the identified lane boundary; and
wherein the processor is configured to identify the lane boundary using a region of interest.
24. The system of claim 23 , wherein the processor is configured to automatically activate the turn signal light based at least in part on the identified lane boundary by:
determining a distance between the vehicle and the identified lane boundary;
comparing the distance with a threshold value; and
automatically activate the turn signal light based at least in part on a result of the comparison.
25. The system of claim 24 , wherein the threshold value is variable based on one or more parameters selected from the group consisting of a width of a lane, a width of the vehicle, and a speed of the vehicle.
26. The system of claim 25 , wherein the position of the identified lane boundary is relative to an image frame.
27. The system of claim 23 , wherein the processor is configured to automatically activate the turn signal light based at least in part on the identified lane boundary by:
determining a position of the identified lane boundary; and
automatically activate the turn signal light based at least in part on the determined position.
28. The system of claim 23 , wherein the processor is configured to automatically activate the turn signal light based at least in part on the identified lane boundary by:
determining an orientation of the identified lane boundary; and
automatically activate the turn signal light based at least in part on the determined orientation.
29. The system of claim 23 , wherein the processor is configured to identify the lane boundary using a previously identified lane boundary.
30. The system of claim 23 , further comprising a sensor for generating the image data, wherein the sensor is configured to be mounted at a location that is behind a rear-view mirror.
31. The system of claim 23 , wherein the processor is also configured to automatically deactivate the turn signal light.
32. The system of claim 31 , wherein the processor is configured to automatically deactivate the turn signal light after the turn signal light has been activated for a prescribed duration.
33. An automatic signaling system, comprising:
a processor having an input for receiving information, and an output to be coupled to a signaling system of a vehicle, the signaling system having a turn signal light;
wherein the processor is configured to process the information, and automatically activate the turn signal light based on the processed information before or when a portion of the vehicle reaches a boundary of a lane in which the vehicle is traveling.
34. The system of claim 33 , wherein the processor is configured to process the information to identify the boundary of the lane.
35. The system of claim 34 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine a position of the boundary of the lane.
36. The system of claim 35 , wherein the position of the boundary is relative to an image frame.
37. The system of claim 34 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine an orientation of the boundary.
38. The system of claim 34 , wherein the processor is configured to identify the boundary of the lane using a previously identified lane boundary.
39. The system of claim 34 , wherein the processor is configured to identify the boundary of the lane using a region of interest.
40. The system of claim 33 , further comprising a device coupled to the processor, the device selected from the group consisting of a speed sensor, a rain sensor, and a moisture sensor.
41. The system of claim 33 , wherein the processor is further configured to automatically de-activate the turn signal light after a completion of a lane-change maneuver by the vehicle.
42. The system of claim 33 , wherein the processor is further configured to automatically de-activate the turn signal light after the turn signal light has been activated for a prescribed duration.
43. The system of claim 33 , further comprising a sensor for generating the information, wherein the sensor is configured to be mounted at a location that is behind a rear-view mirror.
44. The system of claim 33 , wherein the processor is configured to process the information to determine a position of the vehicle relative to the boundary of the lane.
45. The system of claim 33 , wherein the processor is configured to process the information to determine an orientation of the vehicle relative to the boundary of the lane.
46. The system of claim 33 , wherein the processor is configured to process the information to
determine a distance between the vehicle and the boundary, and
compare the distance with a threshold value.
47. The system of claim 46 , wherein the threshold value is variable based on a speed of the vehicle.
48. The system of claim 46 , wherein the threshold value is variable based on a width of the lane.