| CPC B60Q 1/2696 (2013.01) [B60K 35/215 (2024.01); B60K 35/28 (2024.01); B60K 35/81 (2024.01); B60K 2360/179 (2024.01); B60K 2360/184 (2024.01); B60K 2360/48 (2024.01)] | 25 Claims |
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1. An MCU-based tailgate acceleration measuring device configured to read sensor data, calculate acceleration, and display tailgate distance and acceleration data, comprising:
a) firmware programmed to calculate tailgate acceleration using the equation TailgatewithAcceleration=(Distance to car behind in car lengths)−(miles per hour of car)/10.0)×((1.00−(acceleration in x direction of car)/(scale factor));
b) an OBD-II connector cable that connects to a PCB to retrieve the car's velocity;
c) an interface board configured to receive velocity data and transmit it to the main MCU;
d) a three-axis accelerometer with a gyroscope for capturing motion data and transmitting it to the main MCU;
e) a distance sensor for measuring the distance to the car behind and transmitting the data to the main MCU;
f) two push buttons, wherein: i) one button controls the type of sensor and tailgate data displayed, ii) the other button controls the bar graph pattern and the distance units displayed on the car driver character display via the main MCU;
g) a car driver character display that shows sensor data, tailgate acceleration, and menu information controlled by the main MCU;
h) two decoder ICs, interfacing with the MCU, to drive a two-digit numeric display for presenting sensor and tailgate data with and without acceleration, as well as menu numbers;
i) an EEPROM integrated with the MCU for storing user preferences, including units of measurement and LED bar graph patterns, ensuring data retention during power cycles;
j) a 5V voltage regulator to power the MCU PCB, with an option to select power from a 5V USB port via a jumper switch;
k) a 12V voltage regulator to power two large numeric digit displays located at the rear of the car;
l) a secondary MCU configured to accept three input bits and output data to three drivers connected to two alphanumeric display digits at the back of the car, showing measurement units on a two-digit LED display;
m) a decoder circuit to select one of eight 8-line drivers that power 64 output lines, wherein: i) 60 lines are used for the bar graph display, and ii) 3 lines control the units for the alphanumeric display and one line controls the minus sign for the numeric display;
n) a left-side LED bar graph comprising 30 LEDs in two levels, capable of switching between two color levels and displaying various patterns via firmware;
o) a right-side LED bar graph comprising 30 LEDs in two levels, similarly capable of switching between two color levels and displaying various patterns via firmware;
p) a 5V voltage regulator to power the LED, with an option to select power from a 5V USB port via a jumper switch;
q) wherein the tailgate acceleration is calculated using the equation (Dcm/450.0)−((KPH*0.6214/10))×(1.00−(AXg/SCALE;
wherein the Dom is the distance in centimeters to the car behind, KPH is the speed of the vehicle in kilometers per hour, and AXg the acceleration in the x-direction in g's; and
wherein pushbutton S1 toggles between displaying distance, acceleration, and tailgate data, and pushbutton S2 toggles between bar graph patterns including in-out, out-in, left-right, and right-left for the LED bar graphs.
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