Description

EMERGENCY LIGHT HORN

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates to an emergency lamp horn and, more particularly, to an emergency lamp horn, in which a button switch is attached to the horn switch of a steering wheel, and a horn and an emergency lamp are simultaneously or separately operated when either the horn switch or the button switch is selectively activated according to emergency situation, so that the emergency situation can be effectively responded to, therefore rear-end collisions and similar accidents between vehicles can be prevented. Background Art

[2] Generally, in the case where an emergency signal is transmitted backward when an emergency situation occurs due to an obstruction in front while a vehicle is being driven, a secondary accident, caused by following vehicles, can be prevented as well as a primary accident. However, it is currently difficult to use the emergency signal for structural reasons, and besides, it is impossible to realize the simultaneous manipulation of a horn and an emergency lamp.

[3] Furthermore, although the numbers of secondary accidents and chain collisions, which are caused by following vehicles, are increasing due to the increased use of vehicles, there are disadvantages in that the incidence of secondary accidents, in which the impact is unavoidably repeated, cannot be reduced due to sole dependence upon a brake lamp and in that the accidents are unavoidable because an oncoming vehicle cannot detect the emergency or brake lamp either.

[4] In order to overcome these disadvantages, inventions that enable a horn and an emergency lamp to be operated in conjunction with each other, thus enabling the emergency lamp to operate when the horn is used for a predetermined period or longer, have been developed. However, there are defects in that, when an emergency situation occurs, there is no time sufficient to use the horn for the predetermined period or longer, and in that, when the horn is used, the emergency lamp is operated only after sound has been emitted and the predetermined period has elapsed.

[5] Furthermore, there is another problem in that the unconditional operation of the emergency lamp after the use of the horn may cause signal confusion for the following vehicles due to the operation of the emergency lamp, which is caused by the use of the horn, when no emergency situation is occurring. Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem

[6] Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an emergency lamp horn, in which a button switch is attached to the horn switch of a steering wheel, and a horn and an emergency lamp are simultaneously or separately operated when either the horn switch or the button switch is selectively activated according to an emergency situation, so that the emergency situation can be effectively responded to, therefore rear-end collisions and similar accidents between vehicles can be prevented. Technical Solution

[7] The features of the present invention for accomplishing the above object can be achieved by an emergency lamp horn, including a horn and emergency lamp circuit comprising a horn circuit (10), in which a horn switch (11), a horn relay (12) and a horn (13) are connected to each other, and an emergency lamp circuit (20), in which an emergency lamp switch (21), an emergency lamp relay (22) and an emergency lamp (23) are connected to each other, wherein one contact of the button switch (31) is connected to a connection node between the horn switch (11) and the horn relay (12), a timer (32) is connected to a remaining contact of the button switch (31), the anode of a diode (33) is connected to the timer (32), the emergency lamp switch (21) and a contact of the emergency lamp relay (22) are connected to the cathode of the diode (33), and the button switch (31) is attached to the horn switch (11) and configured such that, when the button switch (31) is pressed, the contacts of the button switch (31) are opened and, thus, the horn switch (11) is pressed.

Advantageous Effects

[8] As described above, in accordance with the present invention, when a driver encounters an emergency situation while driving and presses a horn switch 11 as an instinctive response, a horn 13 emits a sound, and at the same time, an emergency lamp 23 is automatically turned off after being turned on for a predetermined period, so that an emergency signal can be activated through instinctive, instantaneous manipulation, and the emergency signal can be activated more rapidly than a brake lamp, two types of signals can be simultaneously activated through a single manipulation, and the emergency signal can be transmitted forward and backward and to both visually and audibly handicapped persons and, thus, can attract more attention, so that instantaneous decisions in the event of accidents can be made, and thus, a response to the accident can be more quickly made, therefore secondary accidents and chain collisions can be prevented, with the result that damage can be minimized. Brief Description of the Drawings

[9] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention; and

[10] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the horn and button switches of the present invention. Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[11] A preferred embodiment for accomplishing the above object is described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings below. [12] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the present invention is constructed such that a horn circuit 10, in which a horn switch 11, a horn relay 12 and a horn 13 are connected to each other, and the horn 13 is operated in conjunction with the horn switch 11, and an emergency lamp circuit 20, in which an emergency lamp switch 21, an emergency lamp relay 22 and an emergency lamp 23 are connected to each other, and the emergency lamp 23 is operated in conjunction which the operation of the emergency lamp switch 21, are connected via a button switch 31, a timer 32 and a diode 33. [13] The button switch 31 is attached to the horn switch 11, and is configured such that, when the button switch 31 is pressed, the contact points of the button switch 31 are opened and, thus, the horn switch 11 is physically pressed. [14] One contact of the button switch 31 is connected to a connection node between the horn switch 11 and the horn relay 12, and the other contact of the button switch 31 is connected to the timer 32. [15] The timer 32 is connected to the anode of the diode 33, and the cathode of the diode

33 is connected to the emergency lamp switch 21 and a contact of the emergency lamp relay 22. [16] The operation of the emergency lamp horn according to the present invention, constructed as described above, is described in detail below. [17] A driver presses the horn switch 11 when an emergency situation occurs while driving, but presses the button switch 31 when no emergency situation occur but it is necessary to operate only the horn 13. [18] When the driver presses the horn switch 11 in the emergency situation while driving, the contacts of the horn switch 11 are closed, so that the horn relay 12 is operated and, thus, the horn 13 emits a sound. [19] When the horn relay 12 operates, power is applied to the timer 32 through the button switch 31, the contacts of which have been closed, and the timer 32 applies power to the diode 33, which is connected in a forward direction, for a predetermined time. [20] The power applied to the diode 33 operates the emergency lamp relay 22, so that power is applied to the emergency lamp 23 and, thus, the emergency lamp 23 are turned on. [21] In the above-described emergency situation, the horn 13 and the emergency lamp

23 are simultaneously operated in conjunction with the operation of the horn switch 11, so that pedestrians around the vehicle or the driver can rapidly respond to an accident and, thus rear-end collisions and similar accidents can be prevented.

[22] When the driver presses the button switch 31 while driving, the contacts of the button switch 31 are opened, so that the horn switch 11 is pressed by the pressure of pressing the button switch 31 and, thus, the horn switch 11 is turned on, with the result that the horn relay 12 is operated and, thus, the horn 13 emits a sound.

[23] In this case, the contact of the button switch 31 remains open even though the horn switch 11 is turned on, so that power is not supplied on the side of the timer 32 and the emergency lamp circuit 20, therefore only the horn 13 emits a sound.

[24] Meanwhile, when the emergency lamp switch 21 is turned on, power is not applied to the timer 32 or to the horn circuit 10 via the diode 33, which is connected with the emergency lamp circuit 20 in a backward direction, so that only the emergency lamp can be turned on.

[25] As described above, although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described, the present invention is not limited to the above- described embodiment. Furthermore, it will be apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains that the embodiment of the present invention may be modified and implemented in various ways without departing from the gist of the present invention, described in the claims, and that such modifications are included in the claims.