Honda gets Indian patent for alerting mechanism in electric motorcycle

The invention has a low voltage battery that will be placed in the rear side of the vehicle body, which can be accessed by the opening of the seat

Japanese auto major Honda Motor Company has developed a device to help electric motorcycles avoid accidents by sending out a sound alert to pedestrians. The company has received a patent for the invention in India. This device can be used in electric and hybrid vehicles. 

A similar mechanism is used in electric and hybrid vehicles, which have a weaker driving sound compared with the sound of a combustion engine vehicle. The device alerts a person who fails to hear the sound of the approaching vehicle. In hybrid cars, when the driving force of the electric motor falls below a certain value and the brake is applied, a sound alerts a person approaching the vehicle. 

Honda said in a filing that its latest device was specifically meant for motorcycles, which had limited space and could not use larger devices.

The invention uses a low-voltage battery that is placed at the rear of the vehicle and can be accessed by opening the seat. An audio processor triggers a predetermined sound alert based on the information from the motor of the vehicle and the vehicle's speed through speakers attached to the front of the motorcycle. The system can also control the sound level depending upon the time or the level of environmental noise.

The Patent Office, Chennai, which heard the company's response in May this year, said that all the objections raised by it through a hearing notice had been waived after the company filed a detailed submission. With the application meeting the requirements prescribed by the Patents Act, the Assistant Controller of Patents & Designs, Chennai, granted a patent to the company in an order passed late last week.