Road structure – process – or apparatus – Traffic director – Yielding
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-07
2001-06-05
Lillis, Eileen D. (Department: 3671)
Road structure, process, or apparatus
Traffic director
Yielding
C404S015000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06241419
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates generally to mechanical devices installed on roadways to slow the speed of motor vehicles, and relates more particularly to an automatic speed bump that is operative based on the speed of the vehicle contacting the bump.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the interest of safety to other vehicles and nearby pedestrians, the speed of motorized vehicles should be kept to a safe level. Excessive vehicular speeds, especially on roads through residential areas and in parking lots, create a dangerous environment for drivers and pedestrians alike. To that end, speed limits are posted on roads, with the local speed limit being dependent on the type of road and the location of the road. Unfortunately, many drivers disregard the posted speed limit.
Other methods, which drivers cannot disregard, are employed on some roads to keep the speed of vehicles at a safe level. It is common for speed bumps to be placed across roads in neighborhoods, parking lots, and other areas where it is desirable to ensure that vehicle speeds are limited. Such speed bumps are usually elongate, mounded areas of asphalt or cement that traverse the width of the road, or the width of a driving area of a parking lot, to ensure that each vehicle encounters the speed bump. The speed bumps are usually painted or physically treated in some manner to alert drivers to the presence of the speed bumps. The dimensions of the speed bumps are such that a vehicle must be slowed to a low speed to pass over the speed bump without jarring the vehicle. Passing over a speed bump at a higher speed, as is known to most drivers, causes a very undesirable jolt to the vehicle and its occupants. In this manner, speed bumps cause drivers to slow down to a low speed to pass over the bump.
Speed bumps are typically installed at intermittent locations along a road or parking lot, but close enough to each other so that vehicles traveling between adjacent speed bumps do not have enough linear road space to accelerate to an unsafe speed, considering the low speed to which the vehicle is slowed to pass over the speed bumps. The speed bumps can be spaced apart any desired distance, which usually depends on the type, shape, and location of the road. For example, speed bumps in a parking lot should be placed relatively close together to drastically limit the speed of vehicles to perhaps 10 mph, but speed bumps on a residential street can be placed further apart to limit the speed of vehicles to perhaps 20 mph or 30 mph. Therefore, speed bumps prevent vehicles from traveling at unsafe speeds along an expanse of a road, in a parking lot, or other driving area.
However, such speed bumps can be very inconvenient and frustrating because they do not discriminate between vehicles driving at different speeds. Speed bumps are installed to require drivers traveling too fast to slow to a low speed to pass over the speed bump. However, drivers that already are traveling at a safe speed do not need the added deterrent of the speed bump to maintain their vehicles at a safe speed. Therefore, although a speed bump is necessary to slow down a fast driver, the speed bump is not necessary, and is a nuisance, for the slower, safer driver who does not exceed the speed limit.
Therefore, speed bumps indiscriminately affect all drivers, even those traveling at a safe speed. This indiscriminate effect on vehicles traveling over speed bumps has caused many people to be opposed to the installation of speed bumps where they are otherwise needed, thereby contributing to an unsafe environment for other drivers on the road and nearby pedestrians.
Therefore, it can be seen that there is a need in the art for an automatic speed bump that is operative based on the speed of the vehicle that contacts the speed bump. There is also a need for an automatic speed bump that provides a bump for vehicles that encounter the speed bump traveling over a predetermined speed, but does not provide a bump for vehicles traveling below the predetermined speed. It is to the provision of such a speed bump that the present invention is primarily directed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Briefly described, the present invention comprises a speed bump mounted on top of the pavement or recessed into the pavement. A front pivot member is hingedly connected at its lower end. The front pivot member is biased upwardly such that it is maintained at an inclined position in the absence of an external force acting on it. The front pivot member is hingedly connected at its upper end to a rear pivot member. The rear pivot member has a lower end that rotates about the hinged connection. The lower end of the rear pivot member is urged upwardly by a biasing means. The speed bump further comprises a striker which has a leading edge which can receive the lower end of the rear pivot member.
When a vehicle engages the speed bump at a speed that exceeds a predetermined speed, the impact of the tires on the speed bump causes the rear pivot member to be driven downwardly rapidly enough and with enough force to force the lower end of the rear pivot member beneath the leading edge of the strike plate. The lower end of the rear pivot member is then captured against the leading edge of the strike plate. This prevents any further rearward movement of the rear pivot member, and therefore locks the front pivot member of the speed bump in an inclined position, thus providing a bump to the vehicle traveling above the predetermined speed.
However, when the vehicle is traveling at or below the predetermined speed, the force on the front pivot member causes the rear pivot member to be driven downwardly to a lesser degree and more slowly as the rear pivot member moves toward the strike plate. The lower end of the rear pivot member is not driven down hard enough to be captured by the leading edge of the strike plate. Instead, the rear pivot member slides above and onto the top surface of the strike plate. In this manner, the front and rear pivot members collapse to a horizontal position such that the vehicle does not experience a bump.
Stated another way, in a preferred form the present invention comprises an automatic speed bump for use on a driving surface. The speed bump includes a base element mounted to or recessed in the driving surface and a striker mounted to the base plate and including a leading edge. A front pivot member is hingedly connected to the base plate and is biased toward an inclined, raised position by a spring. A friction element is moveably mounted to the base for movement between a raised position shrouding the leading edge of the striker and a lowered position unshrouding the leading edge of the striker. A friction element biasing means is provided for biasing at least one end of the friction element away from the base. A rear pivot member is provided having an upper end hingedly connected to the front pivot member and having a lower end for slideable engagement with a surface of the friction element. When the vehicle exceeds a predetermined speed and the vehicle's tires contact the speed bump, the impact of the tires on the front pivot member causes the lower end of the rear pivot member to drive the friction element downwardly toward the base to unshroud the leading edge of the striker. This causes the lower end of the rear pivot member to slide off the friction element and to be captured by the leading edge of the striker. This capture of the rear pivot member maintains the front pivot member of the speed bump in its raised, inclined position.
Alternatively, the friction element can be replaced by other means, such as by a roller plate having spring-biased, telescoping rollers mounted thereon. Such a speed bump works essentially the same way as that described above. Namely, when a vehicle engages the speed bump above a predetermined speed, the roller plate becomes engaged with the strike plate and the vehicle experiences a hard bump. When the vehicle engages the speed bump below the predetermined speed, the roller plate smoothly rolls away, flattening the speed bump so tha
Gardner Groff Mehrman & Josephic, PC
Hartmann Gary S.
Lillis Eileen D.
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