SE540575C2

SE540575C2 - Signaling panel for the interior of a vehicle

Info

Publication number: SE540575C2
Application number: SE1750025A
Authority: SE
Inventors: José Muños Garcia Juan
Original assignee: Fed Signal Vama Sa
Priority date: 2016-03-31
Filing date: 2017-01-13
Publication date: 2018-10-02
Also published as: ES1156834Y; DE202016107349U1; FR3049680A3; FR3049680B3; ES1156834U; SE1750025A1

Abstract

Signalling panel for the interior of a vehicle, comprising a support strip (1) with an array of LEDs (light emitting diodes) to backlight (2) a sign (3) which is provided with a print (4) according to any motif, and which is superimposed on the backlight LEDs (2), an array of high brightness LEDs (5) arranged on the support strip (1) and around at least a part of the print (4) periphery, so that when the LEDs (2, 5) are lit, it attracts attention on the outside of the vehicle and highlights the motif represented via said printing, accentuating the display from the outside of the vehicle.Applicable for drawing attention to the presence of a vehicle, more specifically emergency vehicles, to indicate their position and facilitate their transit. In addition, the printing on the panel indicates which type of vehicle is travelling in an emergency situation.

Description

SIGNALLING PANEL FOR THE INTERIOR OF A VEHICLE DESCRIPTION OBJECT OF THE INVENTION This invention, as expressed in the title of this specification, consists of a signalling panel for the interior of a vehicle comprising means of lighting which, when lit, attracts attention on the outside of the vehicle. The panel also comprises a print of any motif, such as for example a caption, a logo, etc.; screen-printed or laser printed designs, etc.; so that, when the lighting means are lit, the motif represented through said printing is highlighted, accentuating the display from outside the vehicle.

The invention is used in any application in which attention needs to be attracted to the presence of a vehicle, and more specifically, is applied to emergency vehicles so that, when the panel is lit, the vehicle’s position is indicated to other drivers nearby to facilitate its transit; at the same time, the printing contained in the panel also indicates which type of vehicle is travelling in an emergency situation (police, fire service, ambulance, etc.) and, as such, the invention provides additional signalling to the priority conventional signalling used by said emergency vehicles. More particularly, the invention applies to unmarked police vehicles as an addition to the priority emergency signalling conventionally included in said vehicles.

BACKGROUNDOF THEINVENTION It is well-known that emergency vehicles are provided with priority emergency devices to produce an optical and/or acoustic signal which are normally located on the roof of the vehicle, such as the well-known fixed emergency gantries or portable emergency devices used by unmarked police vehicles, which are placed on the roof of the vehicle when an emergency arises.

In particular, in the case of priority portable emergency devices, it is desirable to have an emergency device in addition to said priority emergency device, which highlights the existence of a vehicle travelling in an emergency situation, at the same time as facilitating its identification.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The invention provides a new panel which is provided to be located inside a vehicle and which is characterised by the fact that it comprises a support strip with an array of backlight LEDs (light emitting diodes) to backlight a sign which includes a print according to a motif of any kind, such as for example a caption, a logo, etc., and which may be screen-printed or laser printed, etc.; which is superimposed on the backlight LEDs.

In addition, the panel comprises an array of high brightness LEDs which are arranged on the support strip and around at least a part of the print periphery of the sign. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the high brightness LEDs are of one or more colours, and preferably blue.

In order for the different backlight and high brightness LEDs to be lit, the design of the intention provides for the panel to comprise the corresponding means of power, which in the preferred embodiment are connected to the vehicle battery.

Using the configuration described, when the different LEDs are lit, the presence of the panel is highlighted, and with it the sign and the print contained in it, so that it can be seen from outside the vehicle, which allows its use in any application in which attention has to be attracted to the presence of the vehicle and show the content of the print contained in the sign.

The invention also comprises a control circuit with regulation controls, and is configured to select the value of the different operating parameters for the different LEDs, such as the brightness and/or the frequency with which they are switched on and off. This last parameter is employed if the panel is to be used, for example, to indicate an emergency.

To locate the panel inside the vehicle, there is a provision for it to comprise attaching means for attaching the panel inside the vehicle: in the preferred embodiment, these are constituted of a body which has one end configured to be kept pressed against the rear face of the panel and is also configured to allow said end to be separated from said rear face of the panel, in such a way that an element of the vehicle can be introduced between the end of the body and the rear face of the panel so that, when said end is released, the panel is held in the element of the vehicle.

More specifically, the body of the attaching means comprises a flexible angular profile which protrudes from the rear face of the panel, and the free end of which converges by pressing on the rear face of the panel. The angular profile is attached to the panel by means of a slot provided in the rear face of the panel, which retains the end opposite the end of the angular profile which presses against the rear face of the panel.

The flexible angular profile has, preferably, a configuration comprising a first undulated portion, which continues according to a “U"-shaped section, whose side branches converge towards the rear face of the panel, pressing their ends against the rear face of said panel. This flexible configuration allows the ends of the side branches of the “U”-shaped section to be separated from the rear face of the panel, to introduce an element in the interior of the vehicle between said side branches and the rear face of the panel so that, when the side branches are released, they tend to return to their initial position, pressing against the element in the interior of the vehicle in which the panel is held. The element in the interior of the vehicle may be the passenger’s sunshade, allowing the panel to be seen easily from outside the front of the vehicle.

The invention is designed so that the support strip is formed of a printed circuit board in which the different LEDs are fixed, and which also contains the control circuit with the controls.

The preferred embodiment of the invention provides for the high brightness LEDs to be arranged vertically to correspond with the vertical sides of the print periphery, in collimator holes made in the sign, for example 6 of them for each vertical side of the sign. These collimator holes constitute a means of making the light from said LEDs uniform. In addition, the sign is made of material selected between translucent and transparent, to allow correct lighting.

As indicated previously, the invention has been specially designed to constitute emergency signalling in addition to the emergency signalling used conventionally in emergency vehicles. This configuration makes it easier to see and recognise a vehicle in an emergency situation.

Hereinafter, in order to give a better understanding of this description, the object of the invention has been represented in a series of drawings that are an integral part of the report and are for illustration purposes and without limitation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1- Shows a blown-up perspective view of the panel in the invention.

Figure 2 - Shows a front view of the panel in the previous figure Figure 3 - Shows a view of the panel according to the section A-A of figure 2.

Figure 4 - Shows a view of the panel according to the section B-B of figure 2.

Figure 5 - Shows a block diagram of the electronic part of the panel.

DESCRIPTION OF A SAMPLE EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Herebelow, a description of the invention is made, based on the figures mentioned above.

The panel comprises a support strip (1), materialised in the form of a printed circuit, which includes an array of LEDs (light-emitting diodes) for backlighting (2) of a sign (3) which includes a print (4) superimposed on the backlight LEDs (2). The print (4) on the sign (3) in the sample embodiment is a screen print which says “Police”, indicating the type of vehicle carrying the panel.

In addition, the support strip (1) comprises an array of high brightness LEDs (5) which, in the sample embodiment, are aligned vertically to form two columns of six LEDs each, to illuminate the sign (3) and, consequently, to illuminate also the print (4) represented therein. These high brightness LEDs are of one or more colours and, in the sample embodiment, are blue and arranged to correspond with both vertical sides of the print (4) in collimator holes (14) made in the sign (3).

To power the panel, the support strip (1) includes means of power formed of a power source (6) which is connected by means of a connector (9) to the vehicle battery (not shown) to provide power for the different LEDs (2, 5).

The invention also comprises a control circuit (7) with regulation controls (8), and is configured to select the value of the different operating parameters for the different LEDs (2, 5), such as the brightness and/or the frequency at which they are switched on and off.

When the different LEDs (2, 5) are lit, the presence of the sign (3) is highlighted, and with it the print (4) contained in it, so that the panel can be seen from outside the vehicle; this allows it to be used in any application in which attention has to be drawn to the presence of the vehicle and show the content of the print (4) contained in the sign (3).

As mentioned earlier, the invention has been specially designed to be used in emergency vehicles and, more specifically, in unmarked police vehicles which use a portable optical and acoustic alarm for priority signalling, which is placed on the roof of the vehicle when an emergency occurs; this invention, when placed inside the vehicle, constitutes an addition to said priority alarm. In this case, the high brightness LEDs (5) are switched on and off sequentially with a frequency which can be selected by the user via the control circuit (7) and using the regulation controls (8). The brightness of the different LEDs (2, 5) can also be regulated depending on the needs of the moment such as, for example, if it is a cloudy day, whether it is night or day, etc. This reinforces the signalling of the priority alarm at the same time as signalling the type of vehicle in question.

The panel is attached in the interior of the vehicle via a flexible angular profile (10) which protrudes from the rear face of the panel, comprising a first undulated portion (11), which continues according to a “U"-shaped section whose side branches (12) converge towards the rear face of the panel pressing the ends against the rear face of said panel. This configuration allows said ends of the side branches (12) to be separated from the rear face of the panel and the vehicle sunshade to be introduced between said side branches and the rear face of the panel so that, when the side branches (12) are released, the panel is held in the sunshade.

In the sample embodiment, the flexible angular profile (10) is fixed in a slot provided in an extension (13) of the rear face of the panel.

Claims

1. A signalling panel for the interior of a vehicle, characterised in that it comprises: - a support strip (1) which has - an array of backlight LEDs (2) for backlighting of - a sign (3) which has a print (4), and which is superimposed on the backlight LEDs (2), - an array of high brightness LEDs (5) which are arranged on the support strip (1) and around at least a part of the print (4) periphery, - means of power (6), to power the different backlight LEDs (2) and the high brightness LEDs (5) and highlight the sign (3) and the motif represented on it by means of the print (4), allowing it to be viewed from outside the vehicle.

2. A signalling panel for the interior of a vehicle, according to claim 1; characterised in that it comprises a control circuit (7) with regulation controls (8); and configured to select an operating value for the different parameters of the backlight LEDs (2) and of the high brightness LEDs (5), in which said parameters selected between the frequency at which emergency lights are switched on and off, brightness and a combination of both.

3. A signalling panel for the interior of a vehicle, according to claim 1; characterised in that it comprises attaching means (10) for attaching the panel to the interior of the vehicle.

4. A signalling panel for the interior of a vehicle, according to claim 3; characterised in that the attaching means (10) for attaching the panel to the interior of the vehicle are formed of a body (10) with an end configured to be kept pressed against the rear face of the panel and allow said end to be separated from said rear face of the panel so that an element of the vehicle can be introduced between the end of the body (10) and the rear face of the panel in such a way that, when said end is released, the panel is retained in the element of the vehicle.

5. A signalling panel for the interior of a vehicle, according to claim 4; characterised in that the body (10) of the attaching means comprises a flexible angular profile (10) which protrudes from the rear face of the panel and whose free end converges and presses on the rear face of the panel.

6. A signalling panel for the interior of a vehicle, according to claim 5; characterised in that the rear face of the panel comprises a slot to hold the end opposite to the end of the flexible angular profile (10) which presses against the rear face of the panel.

7. A signalling panel for the interior of a vehicle, according to claim 5; characterised in that the flexible angular profile (10) comprises a first undulated portion (11), which continues according to a “U”-shaped section whose side branches (12) converge towards the rear face of the panel.

8. A signalling panel for the interior of a vehicle, according to claim 1; characterised in that the support strip (1) is a printed circuit board.

9. A signalling panel for the interior of a vehicle, according to claim 1; characterised in that the high brightness LEDs (5) are arranged vertically to correspond with the vertical sides of the print (4) periphery and housed in collimator holes (14) made in the sign (3); said sign (3), at least in the area of the collimator holes (14), is made of a material which is selected between translucent and transparent.

10. A signalling panel for the interior of a vehicle, according to claim 1; characterised in that the colour of the high brightness LEDs (5) is selected between the same colour and different colours.

11. A signalling panel for the interior of a vehicle, according to claim 1; characterised in that the high brightness LEDs (5) are blue in colour.

12. A signalling panel for the interior of a vehicle, according to claim 1; characterised in that the means of power (6) are connected to the vehicle battery.