Donald M Stumpf

US Patent:

49565621, Sep 11, 1990

Filed:

Sep 15, 1989

Appl. No.:

7/409612

Inventors:

Charles E. Benedict - Tallahassee FL
Donald M. Stumpf - Panama City FL

Assignee:

Benedict Engineering Co. Inc. - Tallahassee FL

International Classification:

H02G 300

US Classification:

307 108

Abstract:

A control system for turning on the headlights (and parking lights) of an automobile when the windshield wipers are turned on, has a gating circuit that operates relay circuits to the headlights, the gating circuit electronically latching "in" the headlight relay circuit so that the headlights remain on when the windshield wiper is turned off in order to avoid inadvertent turning off of the hedlights at night time and the gate circuit electronically turning off the headlight (and parking light) relay circuits whenever the headlight switch is turned on or whenever the ignition is turned off, thus assuring that the headlights will remain on until the headlights and ignition switches are turned off. The relay circuits controlled by the gating circuit may operate a mechanically or electrically latched relay device to hold the headlights (and parking lights) on until the relay circuit controlled by the gating circuit operates the mechanically or electrically latched relay device to turn the headlights off. Ambient light and moisture sensors may be used to effect the turning on of the windshield wiper switch.

US Patent:

51855585, Feb 9, 1993

Filed:

Aug 8, 1991

Appl. No.:

7/742394

Inventors:

Charles E. Benedict - Tallahassee FL
Donald M. Stumpf - Panama City FL

Assignee:

Benedict Engineering Company, Inc. - Tallahassee FL

International Classification:

B60Q 102
H02G 300

US Classification:

315 80

Abstract:

A vehicle's input switches relating to ignition, lights and moisture or rain provide responsive inputs that feed through a digital logic circuit to outputs of an electronic switching device for automatically activating the vehicle's lights and wipers. An alarm may be activated if certain input switches are turned on when the ignition is off. The digital logic circuit may be discrete, a programmable read only memory (PROM) or a programmable logic array (PLA). The electronic switching device may constitute a driver circuit and an integrated circuit which includes both a relay switching circuit and a switched circuit, for example a metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) driver and a power metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect-transistor (MOSFET) integrated circuit.