21st century turn signal

Automotive Design & Production,  June, 2005  

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According to Richard L. Ponziani, president of RLP Engineering (Dayton, OH; www.rlpengineering.com), the turn signal is little different today than it was in 1938, when it debuted on the 1938 Buick as a safety feature. (Self-cancellation was added in 1940, again by Buick.) And it carries many of the same deficiencies it did back then: a high-cost, labor-intensive assembly; premature cancellation; no cancellation; excessive nose; and durability and reliability concerns. His answer is to collect the signals emanating from right and left wheel-speed sensors to map the vehicle's path to measure: steering wheel position and rotation, arc radius, lateral g, the yaw rate and cumulative yaw, acceleration, deceleration, velocity, distance and time. Which means the device would require that the vehicle be fitted with ABS.

RLP's turn signal stalk switch is a momentary contact switch with a return-to-center mode. Moving the stalk up or down for less than one second initiates the turn signal activation sequence, and automatic shut-off mode. Holding the stalk in position for more than one second initiates the lane-change program that stays on until the stalk is released. In addition, software can be added to learn the habits of the driver, and compensate for any deficiencies it detects. Ponziani claims his Intelliturn system provides higher quality at a lower cost, and with greater design flexibility than a conventional turn signal system.

COPYRIGHT 2005 Gardner Publications, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group