Title : THE ELECTRONIC AIR HORN

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a horn mounted in a vehicle, and

more particularly to an electronic air horn capable of freely adjusting horn

sounds and producing diverse types of horn sounds by adjusting an amount

of air flow to an air horn through an electronic device in order to obtain

combined advantages of the existing air horn and electronic horn.

Background Art

Generally, a horn of a vehicle is a device that is installed in the

vehicle to honk a horn when obstacles such as pedestrians, vehicles, and so

forth, appearing in front during traveling, obstruct the traveling of the vehicle.

The horn produces a horn sound when a driver presses a horn switch (e.g.,

a klaxon switch) installed on the center part of a steering wheel of the

vehicle.

The horns for use in vehicles, according to their operation principles,

may be classified into an air horn that produces a horn sound by operating a

vibrating plate using compressed air, an electric horn that produces a horn

sound by operating a vibrating plate using an electromagnet, and an

electronic horn that can adjust a produced sound by adjusting current flowing

through an electromagnet using an electronic circuit. Typically, the air horn is

used in large-sized trucks or buses, and the electric horn or the electronic

horn is used in most passenger cars.

Among the horns as described above, the electronic horn can

produce diverse types of horn sounds by adjusting current that is supplied to

the electromagnet mounted in the electric horn. By contrast, the existing air

horn can produce a horn sound with an echo, but it has a disadvantage in

that it is not possible to produce diverse types of horn sounds like the

electronic horn.

In addition, the existing air horn can produce only a horn sound with

the same strength while the horn switch is pressed. Although the existing air

horn can produce a horn sound, which is long/short or has an echo,

depending on its type, it has a disadvantage in that it is not possible to

produce diverse types of horn sounds, which are strong/weak, long/short, or

in succession, depending on the degree of pressing of the horn switch.

Recently, many drivers of passenger cars prefer air horns, which

generate natural sounds such as boat whistles and trumpet calls, to

electric/electronic horns, and desire to replace their electric/electronic horns

with air horns.

Disclosure

Technical Problem

The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing

problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic

air horn which can freely adjust horn sounds and produce diverse types of

horn sounds by adjusting an amount of air injection through an electronic

device by applying the function of an electronic circuit used in an electronic

horn to the existing air horn, thereby exciting consumers' interest and

heightening the value of goods.

Technical Solution

In order to achieve the above objects, in one aspect of the present

invention, there is provided an electronic air horn producing horn sounds

when a horn switch installed on a steering wheel of a vehicle is pressed,

which includes a vibrating plate producing the horn sounds in accordance

with an air flow to the horn; a compressor supplying air to the vibrating plate

through a flow path, and having a motor of which the driving force is adjusted

in accordance with a short circuit or an amount of current flowing to the

motor; a circuit board electronically controlling whether to supply the air or an

amount of air supply to the vibrating plate by controlling the current supplied

to the motor of the compressor; and an electronic air horn adjustment device

provided with a heat sink discharging heat generated from the circuit board.

Advantageous Effects

According to the electronic air horn as constructed above, in order to

obtain combined advantages of the existing air horn and the electronic horn,

the sound adjustment function of the electronic horn is introduced into the air

horn, and thus diverse types of horn sounds, which are adjusted to be

strong/weak, long/short, and/or in succession, can be produced, so that the

consumers' interest can be excited and the value of goods can be

heightened.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the

present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed

description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in

which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating the construction of an

electronic air horn according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view illustrating main parts of the electronic air

horn according to the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a view explaining the operation of the electronic air horn

according to the present invention.

Best Mode

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments

of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating the construction of an

electronic air horn according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sectional

view illustrating main parts of the electronic air horn according to the present

invention, and FIG. 3 is a view explaining the operation of the electronic air

horn according to the present invention.

The present invention provides a horn that produces horn sounds

when a horn switch provided on a steering wheel of a vehicle is pressed. An

electronic air horn 30 according to the present invention produces diverse

types of horn sounds, which can be freely adjusted, by adjusting current

supplied to a compressor of the air horn through an electronic device.

A typical air horn 10 includes, as its main components, a compressor

17 producing high-pressure compressed air, and a trumpet-shaped tube

discharging a horn sound produced from a vibrating plate 15 that is vibrated

by the high-pressure compressed air supplied from the compressor 17. The

compressor 17 is connected to a circuit board 21 of an electronic air horn

adjustment device 20, and is in electrical contact with a relay switch (not

illustrated), which is connected to a power supply (not illustrated) of the

vehicle.

The electronic air horn 30 according to the present invention

includes the electronic air horn adjustment device 20 and the compressor 17

as its main components. The electronic air horn adjustment device 20, which

is provided with the circuit board 21 and a heat sink 22, is mounted adjacent

to the vibrating plate 15 provided in the typical air horn 10. Here, the

electronic air horn adjustment device 20, although not illustrated in the

drawings, may be separately mounted on the air horn 10 by using a separate

case. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, the electronic air horn adjustment device

is mounted adjacent to one side of the vibrating plate 15, and serves to

adjust an amount of air supply and whether to supply the air by controlling

current supplied to a motor of the compressor 17. In a case 25 of the

electronic air horn adjustment device 20, the heat sink 22 and the circuit

board 22 are installed in order.

The circuit board 21 according to the present invention serves to

electronically control the amount of air supply and whether to supply the air

by controlling the current supplied to the motor of the compressor 17, so that

the air adjusted by the motor of the compressor 17, which is controlled by

the electronic circuit, is supplied to the vibrating plate 15. The heat sink 22

serves to discharge heat generated from the circuit board 21 so as to

prevent the heat generated from the circuit board 21 from flowing into the

vibrating plated 15, and to protect the circuit board 21 from the vibration of

the vibrating plate 15.

The circuit board 21 includes a power input terminal provided on one

upper side thereof, a plurality of diodes, capacitors, IC oscillation circuits,

amplification transistors, and output transistors, which are arranged thereon

to form a circuit. The circuit board 21 has a structure almost similar to the

known circuit board used in the existing electronic horn. The horn switch

installed on the center part of the steering wheel of the vehicle and the motor

for driving the compressor 17 are electrically connected to the circuit board

21.

The compressor 17 according to the present invention, supplies air

to the vibrating plate 15 through the flow path 16, and the driving force of the

motor of the compressor 17 is controlled in accordance with the short circuit

or the amount of current flowing to the motor. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the

compressor 17 is electrically connected to the circuit board 21 through

wiring, and receives the supply of current adjusted by the electronic air horn

adjustment device 20. The compressor 17, which supplies the adjusted air to

the vibrating plate 15, is controlled by the electronic air horn adjustment

device 20. The adjustment of the air supplied to the vibrating plate 15 is

performed in diverse manners, and thus the electronic air horn 30 produces

diverse types of horn sounds.

Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 2, the compressor 17 is screw-

fastened to a bracket of the air horn 10, and the electronic air horn

adjustment device 20 is mounted adjacent to the vibrating plate 15 of the air

horn 10 by screws.

Referring to FIG. 3, when the horn switch (not illustrated) installed on

the steering wheel (not illustrated) of the vehicle is pressed, the current that

has been adjusted through the circuit board 21 of the electronic air horn

adjustment device 20 is supplied to the compressor 17, and the compressor

17 flows the compressed air, which has been adjusted by the electronic air

horn adjustment device 20, into the vibrating plate 15 through the flow path

16 formed in the bracket of the air horn 10.

In this case, by the manipulation of the horn switch installed on the

steering wheel of the vehicle, whether to operate the compressor is

determined through the circuit board 21, and thus the compressed air, which

has been adjusted to be strong/weak, long/short, or in succession, is

provided to the vibrating plate 15, so that the diverse types of horn sounds

are produced through the air horn.

Industrial Applicability

As can be seen from the foregoing, the electronic air horn of the

present invention can produce diverse types of horn sounds and freely

adjust the horn sounds by applying the horn sound adjustment function of

the electronic horn to the existing air horn so as to combine the advantages

of the existing air horn and the electronic horn, and thus the consumers'

interest can be excited with the value of goods heightened.

While this invention has been described in connection with what is

presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is

to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed

embodiment and the drawings. On the contrary, it is intended to cover

various modifications and variations within the spirit and scope of the

appended claims.