Communications: electrical – Traffic control indicator
Reexamination Certificate
2001-05-24
2004-10-26
Lieu, Julie (Department: 2636)
Communications: electrical
Traffic control indicator
C340S908100, C340S932100, C340S468000, C340S471000, C340S480000, C340S487000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06809654
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to vehicle-borne emergency traffic signaling devices, and particularly to emergency traffic signaling devices carried on police cruisers, tow trucks, road-side work trucks and other vehicles designed to provide emergency road service to motorists.
2. Background and Description of Related Art
Normal traffic flow is subject on a regular basis, daily on many thoroughfares, to impediments resulting from automobile breakdowns, accidents, and road repairs, which are a significant source of delay and irritation to the motoring public. While events of breakdown and accident are in a statistical sense largely inevitable, the length of delay caused by any one such event depends on a variety of factors; one important and often disregarded factor is the confusion and distraction which the precipitating event, and the police or other emergency response to that event, cause for other motorists approaching the vicinity of the event.
Typically the occurrence of an accident on a highway is followed by the arrival of a cluster of emergency vehicles, which block one or more of the traffic lanes and which display several arrays of extremely bright and multicolored flashing lights. The effect on oncoming traffic is generally sudden confusion, anxiety, and stress. At night and on days where vision is furthered hampered by fog, snow or smoke, an accident scene is even more confusing, especially to elderly drivers, and it creates a set of circumstances with a high risk of secondary accidents.
Upon the arrival of a tow truck to remove a disabled car from the roadway, the disabled vehicle has usually already been pushed off the roadway onto the shoulder, and to effect its removal the tow truck is driven to a position in front of the disabled vehicle. If the tow truck's flashing lights are not already on, they are now switched on to inform traffic oncoming in the travel lanes, from either direction, that a recovery operation or repairs are in progress. At night, rearward-facing bright work lights on the tow truck are usually also switched on, to illuminate the truck's winch mechanism and the area on and behind the tow truck bed. Often these bright working lights direct a blinding glare into the eyes of oncoming drivers, adding to an already confusing and dangerous situation. Commonly a police vehicle sporting bright flashing lights is also at the scene, typically stopped behind the disabled vehicle, which is now bracketed by the police vehicle and the tow truck.
All too often the emergency signaling equipment of the emergency vehicles, including the bright flashing lights of both police vehicles and emergency repair vehicles such as tow trucks, exacerbate rather than ameliorate the confusion and anxiety of oncoming motorists. Furthermore this emergency signaling equipment in fact provides virtually no useful information to drivers suddenly confronting the scene of an emergency: the flashing blue lights of police cars identify the fact of an emergency event, but they provide no other useful information to motorists and they may be so bright as to impair the view of oncoming motorists.
The same is true for the bright work lights of tow trucks: while at night they serve the useful purpose of illuminating the accident scene for emergency personnel, they too often spill blinding glare that seriously impairs the visibility of oncoming motorists, and they provide no information useful to motorists for minimizing the distraction, risk of secondary accidents and delays that result from the precipitating event. There is accordingly a need to equip emergency vehicles, including both police cruisers and tow trucks, with programmable signaling means adapted to inform oncoming vehicles effectively with usable information regarding the roadway impediment, of a nature that will minimize the traffic congestion and risks of accidents associated with highway emergencies.
In general it is highly desirable to provide emergency vehicles with effective means of signaling motorists, at the earliest possible time, of a roadway obstruction in their line of travel, in order to assist the motorists to progress past the obstruction with a minimum of delay, a minimum of risk, and a minimum of irritation.
In the prior art numerous efforts have been made to address these concerns, with varying degrees of effectiveness. In the case of planned traffic obstructions, such as are caused by planned repairs to the roadway, effective means presently exist for informing oncoming motorists of the obstruction, and of ways of circumventing it with minimum confusion and delay. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,883,846 issued to Bruner, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,622,980 issued to Elledge each discloses a towable trailer, bearing an illuminated signpost, that may be towed to positions suitable for advising oncoming traffic of the roadway obstruction, and such trailers, typically powered by batteries but sometimes by solar panels, have become ubiquitous at roadway repair sites.
Trailer-borne signal display devices are not suitable, however, for assisting highway travelers to negotiate suddenly occurring roadway obstructions and emergencies, caused by accidents, vehicle breakdowns, and the like.
A variety of signal display devices have been disclosed that are mountable on vehicles, including devices intended for mounting on passenger vehicles and devices intended for mounting on the cab or the cargo bed of trucks. Many such devices are intended for use by ordinary motorists, as emergency equipment to be carried in their cars, in the manner of and in addition or replacement of devices such as emergency flares. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,205 issued to Halligan discloses a traffic warning apparatus for mounting on the trunk of a passenger automobile, which device features an illuminated arrow (storable within the trunk of the automobile) which can be set up to point left or right, and to use the auto's existing warning light flasher circuit to flash an arrow signal directing following traffic to move into a selected traffic lane adjoining that of the signaling automobile.
Some prior art signal display devices are intended for permanent attachment to the roof of a passenger vehicle or a truck cab. Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 4,152,854 issued to Berry discloses a roof-mounted warning signal apparatus, including folding means for configuring the signal display means in either an upright, signaling position or a horizontal storage position that minimizes air drag when the vehicle is in motion. Another roof-mounted signaling apparatus, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,835,515 issued to McDermott, features a frame having light-bearing arms that can be formed into an arrow, pointing left or right as desired. While helpful to following motorist in providing lane-changing information, these devices fall far short of providing motorists with the information needed to minimize delay, confusion and irritation attendant upon roadway emergencies.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is a principal object of the invention to provide highway emergency repair vehicles, such as police cruisers and tow trucks, with message display and work-site lighting means, deployable from a stored position to a raised operating position, that enables roadway emergency worksites to be illuminated without directing hazardous glare into the vision field of oncoming motorists, and that also provides means to display informational and instructional messages to motorists, oncoming from either travel direction, that can assist motorists to navigate the work site area with a minimum of confusion, uncertainty and risk of accident.
It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide means to illuminate a temporary roadway or roadside work area, such as an accident site or a disabled vehicle, that does not also direct or spill hazardous glare in the vision of oncoming motorists. It is another and related object of the invention to provide a means to display, in a manner visible to oncoming motorists from a substantial
Koenig Philip
Lieu Julie
LandOfFree
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