Intelligent car turn-signal system
Mohammed. Bentrcia
Al-Ahsa College of Technology
e-mail: mohtria@yahoo.com
1. Introduction
Automotive lighting systems represent
one of the most important systems in
driving safety and accident avoidance.
This is because of their fundamental
role in providing visibility for drivers
and warning for motorists following
them as well as for pedestrians.
Obviously, the previous systems
become more indispensable in driving
during darkness and in rush traffic
areas.
Concerning the causal factors of traffic
accidents, thousands of accidents
happen daily because of lighting
systems troubles or driver's carelessness
regarding their operation. In fact, the
astounding victim figures in road
tragedies due to lighting systems
problems have pushed transportation
authorities to legislate many penalty
rules regarding the defect of the above
mentioned systems.
This study presents a new design of the
turn–signal system in such a way to
ensure its operation whenever the driver
rotates the steering wheel for left or
right turn, or for lane changing even
without acting on turn-signal switch.
Key words: Driver distraction, car lighting
system, turn-signal system, hydraulic switch,
calibrated spring, flasher unit, power rack and
pinion system, integral power steering gear,
and power piston.
2. Problem definition
The distraction of drivers has increased
after the widespread use of cellular
phones and other technological devices
during driving. In fact the phenomenon
of holding the steering wheel with one
hand and calling, by mobile phone, with
the other hand has increased over the
last years. Therefore, in many situations
and with both hands busy, the driver
turns right or left and leaves the side
road to get in to traffic without
operating the turn-signal switch.
Consequently, the car executes the
previous maneuvers without flashing
light from the turn light systems and it
becomes a source of danger for other
vehicles and people. In fact, many
collisions and fatal accidents happen on
such occasions because of absence of
warning turn lights which attract the
attention of other drivers.
This study aims to provide a new turn-
signal system which turns on just as the
steering wheel is rotated by the driver
for turning right or left, even without
operating the turn-signal switch due to
operator distraction.
By this intelligent system, which turns
on the signal- lights whenever it is
necessary, other drivers and people will
be warned and many road accidents can
be avoided.
3. Historical evolution of car lighting
systems
After the innovation of dual filament
incandescent lamps in the early 1920s,
the next big achievement, which was
the development of the single-filament
halogen bulb, was accomplished in the
mid-1960s.
About one decade later, dual filament
halogen lamps appeared and are still
used in most modern cars.
Recently, new technologies (high and
low pressure gas discharge lamps, light
emitting diodes lamps,...) are introduced
in many cars. However, the evolution of
car lighting systems can be seen in the
following aspects:
- light color: car lighting color has
changed from one color (white common
for all lamps on the car) to multi-
colors(mainly: white for headlight, red
for brake lights & amber for turn-signal
lights ).
- light intensity: the use of halogen
bulbs provides 50% more light than the
incandescent ones. Also, the developed
gas-discharged system, in which an
electric spark jumps a gas inside a
capsule filled with gas, produces
significantly more light than a glowing
filament.
- lighting system design: the design of
different lighting systems (headlights,
rear lights,..) has evolved considerably.
In fact, the early systems did not
include a low beam and a high beam in
a single sealed housing.
Concerning the means of light
projection and direction, many suitable
reflectors ( parabolic and bifocal ) and a
block prism lens are introduced. Also,
many shortcomings (i.e. optical losses,
lenses & glass cloudiness) of materials
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used in the previous systems are
considerably reduced.
Light control: in the past few decades,
lighting systems have considerably
evolved in the context of controlling
light distribution and illumination
intensity.
In newly developed systems, the
headlamp beam can be electronically
controlled to adapt to various road and
traffic conditions.
4- Conventional turn-signal system
Referring to Figure-1, we can notice
that conventional turn-signal systems
basically consist of a fuse, flasher unit,
turn-signal switch, indicator bulbs, turn-
signal bulbs and wiring.
fuse
Turn-signal
switch
Ignition
switch
flasher
Right front
Right rear signal Signal
Figure -1: Conventional Turn Light
System
Concerning the system's operation, the
following steps outline how it works.
a- The turn-signal circuit gets power spring which opposes hydraulic
from the battery when the ignition key pressure.
is on
b- The power starts its traveling from a Oil in from pinion
fuse panel and goes through the turn- Oil in control valve
from
signal flasher to reach the switch on the control
steering column. valve
c- Depending on the position of the
Power
turn-signal lever, the power either stops
piston
in the switch (Off-position) or continues
on to the left or right turn lamps as well
as the indicator lights (activated
positions which complete the circuit). In
the latter case, the turn lights start to
blink.
d- The power is grounded after it flows
through the filament of the lights.
e- When the lever is returned to the off- rack
position, the power interrupts and the Contact
activated turn lamps turn off. Power disc
cylinder terminal
5- Design description of the new turn- spring
Hydraulic
signal system switches
5.1-Incorporation of hydraulic switches diaphragm
to the power steering unit Figure-2: Schematic of hydraulic
The new system is inspired from the switches connected to the power rack
innovative idea which consists of and the pinion steering system
introducing turn-signal switches in the
power steering unit and operating them
through the steering wheel rotation. Concerning the switch operation, there
Referring to Fig.2, we can see that two are three cases:
hydraulic switches are added to the - Case#1: Referring again to Figure-2,
power cylinder of the rack and pinion in this case the control valve directs oil
steering system, one is connected to the to fill both chambers on the two sides of
fluid chamber on the left side of the the power piston. Therefore, hydraulic
power piston and the other is attached to pressure is equalized in both chambers.
the right side. According to spring calibration which
For the design description, it is clear can be chosen in such a way to keep the
that each switch contains a diaphragm contact disc far from terminals, the
which experiences hydraulic pressure of switch will stay open and the turn-
power fluid, pin, contact disc, two signals remain off.
electrical terminals, and calibrated - Case#2: Referring to Figure-3, in this
case, the control valve of the power

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steering unit directs oil into one fluid - Case#3: in this case the control valve
chamber (the one on the left side of the of the power unit directs power fluid
power piston for example ) and the into the other chamber (the one on the
hydraulic pressure builds up in it. This right side of the power piston ) and
causes the diaphragm to move outward similar actions happen as in the
pushing the contact disc against the previous case.
spring. If the pressure increase is big The previous design description
enough, the disc will touch the two concerns the hydraulic switches
terminals completing the turn-signal incorporated to the power rack and the
circuit of the corresponding vehicle side pinion steering system. For the integral
thus activating turn-lights flashing. power steering gear, the switches are of
Whereas the pressure in the other the same design and their connection to
chamber decreases because the fluid the power cylinder of the systems is
flows outside it, the contact disc is not shown in Fig. 4.
pushed to touch the terminals.
Consequently the turn-light of the other Oil out to
side will not turn on. control Sector gear & shaft
Oil in valve
From
Oil out to pinion
Oil in Control
control valve Ball nut
from valve
control
valve
Power
Power piston
piston

terminal
rack
Contact Worm
Power disc Gear spring
cylinder terminal shaft Hydraulic
spring switches
Hydraulic Power cylinder
diaphragm switches
Figure-4: Activation of hydraulic switch
Figure-3: Activation of hydraulic switch connected to the left fluid chamber for
connected to the left fluid chamber integral power steering gear

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5.2- Circuit and Operation of the New Right
Turn Signal System front
Referring to Fig.5, we see that the signal
circuit of the new turn-signal systems
consists of the conventional turn-signal flasher
circuit on which two hydraulic switches
are added. The power going through
them flows via the off-position of the
turn-signal switch. This arrangement
Ignition
aims to suspend the simultaneous switch
operation of the conventional and the Right
new turn-signal systems. Consequently, Turn-signal Rear
we prevent unnecessary consumption of signal
switch
the battery's energy.
Concerning the operation of the system, pinion
by referring to Fig.5, we can outline it Oil out to
as follows: Oil in control valve
- When the car is moving in a straight from
control
direction, the fluid enters the two valve
chambers of the power cylinder with
equal pressures on both side of the Power
piston, but they are not sufficient piston
enough to close the turn-signal switches
connected to the cylinder.
- When the steering wheel is turned to
the right for example, the control valve
moves and aligns oil passages in such a
way that the oil, under pump pressure,
flows into the left fluid chamber and
builds up the pressure in the connected rack
switch. When the wheel rotation
reaches a specified value (chosen during Power
the system design), the pressure cylinder
becomes high enough to close the
switch as it is shown in the previous Figure-5: Layout showing the right
figure. This switch closing completes circuit of the intelligent car turn-signal
the right turn-signal circuit and turns on system
the corresponding turn lights.
- For the left turn, actions similar to
the above ones take place in the other 6- Conclusions and Discussion
hydraulic switch and the left turn By examining the new turn-signal
signals start to blink. system many conclusions can be drawn
a- the first eminent feature is its simple

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design in addition to the cheap elements
involved in its structure .
b- the system's failure does not affect
the operation of the conventional
system.
c- the activation of the system switches
can be adjusted based on a chosen
hydraulic pressure on one side of the
piston in the power cylinder (3). The
build-up pressure in the fluid chamber
depends on the rotation angle of the
steering wheel as it is indicated in
reference (3) and shown in Figure -6.
Consequently, the switch spring can be
calibrated in such a way to limit the
system's operation only for rotation
angles which exceed a certain value,
hence suspending unnecessary light
flashing.
Figure-6: fluid pressure as a function of
rotation angle of steering wheel
d- The system,s operation is more
crucial in the following driving
situations:
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- leaving the parking position to merge
in to traffic: in many cases, drivers
leave the parking lane to merge in to
traffic without operating the turn-signal
lights and ensuring that no speedy
vehicle is coming. Figure-7 clarifies the
previous situation. In such cases, the
present intelligent turn-signal system
can warn the approaching drivers and
prevent many accidents
- turning left at road intersections; some
drivers underestimate the speed of the
coming vehicles in the opposite
direction and they turn left without
activating the turn lights as it is shown
in Figure-8. Here, also the intelligent
turn-signal system can alert the coming
motorist to slow down his speed and
avoid collision.
Figure-7: Leaving parking lane to
merge in to traffic without attention
Figure-8: Turning left at intersections
- Sudden turning at low speeds without
applying brakes (thus no stop light
activated); the intelligent turn-signal
system can also alert the distracted
drivers who are behind.
e- To eliminate the operation of the
system in the case of running engine at
neutral and leaving the steering wheel
rotated with a big angle, a certain
switch can be combined with the system
circuit in such a way to open it
whenever the neutral position of power
transmission is selected. Therefore, the
turn-signal lights will not turn on.

7. References
1- Motor Automotive Technology,
Antohony,E., Schwaller , Albany, N.Y.,
U.S.A, Delmar Publishers, 1999
2- Automobile Electrical and Electronic
Systems, T., Denton, London, Arnold,
2000
3- Advanced Vehicle Technology , H.,
Heisler, London, Edward Arnold, 1989
4- History of Modern lighting and
Lighting system Maintenance, Smart
Motorist.com , Motorist news & driving
guideline.