Classifications

• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F21—LIGHTING
  • F21S—NON-PORTABLE LIGHTING DEVICES; SYSTEMS THEREOF; VEHICLE LIGHTING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLE EXTERIORS
  • F21S8/00—Lighting devices intended for fixed installation
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E01—CONSTRUCTION OF ROADS, RAILWAYS, OR BRIDGES
  • E01F—ADDITIONAL WORK, SUCH AS EQUIPPING ROADS OR THE CONSTRUCTION OF PLATFORMS, HELICOPTER LANDING STAGES, SIGNS, SNOW FENCES, OR THE LIKE
  • E01F9/00—Arrangement of road signs or traffic signals; Arrangements for enforcing caution
  • E01F9/50—Road surface markings; Kerbs or road edgings, specially adapted for alerting road users
  • E01F9/553—Low discrete bodies, e.g. marking blocks, studs or flexible vehicle-striking members
  • E01F9/559—Low discrete bodies, e.g. marking blocks, studs or flexible vehicle-striking members illuminated
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F21—LIGHTING
  • F21V—FUNCTIONAL FEATURES OR DETAILS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMS THEREOF; STRUCTURAL COMBINATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES WITH OTHER ARTICLES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • F21V15/00—Protecting lighting devices from damage
  • F21V15/01—Housings, e.g. material or assembling of housing parts
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F21—LIGHTING
  • F21S—NON-PORTABLE LIGHTING DEVICES; SYSTEMS THEREOF; VEHICLE LIGHTING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLE EXTERIORS
  • F21S9/00—Lighting devices with a built-in power supply; Systems employing lighting devices with a built-in power supply
  • F21S9/02—Lighting devices with a built-in power supply; Systems employing lighting devices with a built-in power supply the power supply being a battery or accumulator
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F21—LIGHTING
  • F21W—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES F21K, F21L, F21S and F21V, RELATING TO USES OR APPLICATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMS
  • F21W2111/00—Use or application of lighting devices or systems for signalling, marking or indicating, not provided for in codes F21W2102/00 – F21W2107/00
  • F21W2111/02—Use or application of lighting devices or systems for signalling, marking or indicating, not provided for in codes F21W2102/00 – F21W2107/00 for roads, paths or the like
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F21—LIGHTING
  • F21Y—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES F21K, F21L, F21S and F21V, RELATING TO THE FORM OR THE KIND OF THE LIGHT SOURCES OR OF THE COLOUR OF THE LIGHT EMITTED
  • F21Y2101/00—Point-like light sources

Definitions

• This invention is in the general field of highway warning devices and, more particularly, is a hazard marker that provides an aimed illumination.
• a hazard marker is typically placed near a problem area created by a mishap that occurs on either a street or a highway.
• Reasons for placing the marker include protection of people against injury, discouraging people from either walking or driving in the problem area, discouraging intrusion into emergency medical treatment of injuries resulting from the mishap and discouraging intrusion into clean up activity.
• the hazard marker may, for example, be a flare, a sequentially illuminated arrow, a message sign, a wooden barricade that carries a blinking warning light or an orange cone.
• the flare has an advantage of being easily visible at night. However, a motorist who drives past one or more flares may be temporarily blinded by their brightness, thereby endangering the motorist and people in the vicinity of the motorist.
• the flare is particularly dangerous to use where an automobile collision causes a spillage of gasoline on a roadway.
• a person charged with igniting the flare risks being burned and having their clothing burned.
• the flare additionally releases noxious fumes when it burns.
• the orange cone is one of the most commonly used hazard markers.
• the cone frequently has a light and a battery mounted near its apex. The light cannot readily be seen outside of an immediate area where the cone is placed, particularly in poor weather conditions. The light and the battery make the cone top heavy, thereby destabilizing the cone. Even in the absence of the destabilizing, the cone is frequently destroyed or badly damaged when inadvertently struck by a motor vehicle.
• a turbo flare hazard marker in the general shape of a disc includes a transparent upper housing and a lower housing that are made from a high impact plastic. Each of three or more similar legs of the marker are made from a plastic plate that is connected to an outer edge of the lower housing and extends radially therefrom. A foot of each of the legs extends below a bottom surface of the lower housing.
• the turbo flare hazard marker includes a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) that have a circular disposition within the housing. The LEDs are oriented either to provide light that can be seen by a motorist at a substantial distance from the turbo hazard flare marker or provide light that can be seen by an aircraft flying above the turbo hazard marker.
• an oscillator drives an input of a ring counter. Outputs of the ring counter sequentially drive the LEDs. Current through the LEDs passes through a sampling resistor, thereby providing a sampling voltage. A reference voltage is compared to the sampling voltage. An excitation voltage applied to the ring counter is changed in response to a difference between the reference voltage and the sampling voltage. The change in the excitation causes a corresponding change in the drive at the output of the ring counter that results in the reference and samplmg voltages being substantially equal.
• the turbo flare hazard marker is of a construction that is neither damaged by a motor vehicle nor causes damage to the motor vehicle, provides light that can be seen outside of its immediate area and does not blind a passing motorist with its brightness.
• Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention
• Fig. 2 is a plan view of the embodiment of fig. 1;
• Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a circuit board in the embodiment of fig. 1;
• Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the interior of a housing in the embodiment of fig.1;
• Fig. 5 is a section view of a lid of a housing in fig. 1 taken along the line 5 -5 ;
• Fig. 6 is a side elevation of hazard markers mounted upon a charging stick
• Fig. 7 is a schematic showing of elements that cause a sequential illumination of LEDS in the embodiment of fig.1 ;
• Fig. 8 is a timing diagram applicable to the schematic of fig. 7..
• a turbo hazard marker 10 has a general shape of a disc.
• the marker 10 includes a lower housing 12 and an upper housing 14 that are made from a high impact plastic.
• the upper housing 14 is transparent.
• a plurality of bolts 16 pass through the upper housing 14 and a bottom 18 of the lower housing 12 where they screw into nuts (not shown), whereby the lower housing 12 and the upper housing 14 are held together.
• the hazard marker 10 includes a leg 21 A that has general shape of a right triangular slab.
• a side 22 A (fig. 1) of the leg 21 A is connected to a side 24 of the lower housing 12.
• the leg 21 A extends radially from the hazard marker 10. Because of its size, the leg 21 A extends to a level below the bottom 18 whereby a ramp edge 22R of the leg 21 A extends from below a level of the bottom 18 to the upper housing 14.
• the leg 21 A includes a foot 22F that extends from an end of the ramp edge 22R to the side 22A.
• the foot 22F has a V shaped cross section.
• Legs 21B-21F similar to the leg 20 A, are connected to the side 24.
• the legs 21 A-21F have equal spacing therebetween.
• the bottom 18 does not usually rest upon the ground. Therefore, when a motor vehicle drives over the hazard marker 10 on an asphalt roadway, the V shaped feet sink into the asphalt thereby preventing the hazard marker 10 from being moved laterally. Additionally, when the motor vehicle drives over the hazard marker 10, the ramp edges of the legs 20A-20F prevent damage to the motor vehicle and to the hazard marker 10.
• rechargeable nicad batteries 26-30 are connected in series. More particularly, the battery 26 is connected to the battery 27 through a conductive ribbon 32 and the battery 27 is connected to the battery 28 through a conductive ribbon 34. Similarly, the battery 26 is connected to the battery 30 through a conductive ribbon 36 and the battery 30 is connected to the battery 29 through a conductive ribbon 38. In an alternative embodiment, non- rechargeable batteries are used
• the lower housing 12 includes similar posts 54-58 (fig. 4) that extend perpendicularly from the bottom 18. When the lower housing 12 and the upper housing 14 are connected together, the posts 54-58 wedge the batteries 26-30, respectively, against the side 24. Because the hazard marker 10 has the shape of the disc, a curvature of the side 24 and the posts 54-58 maintain positions of the batteries 26-30 within the lower housing 12.
• the batteries 26-30 rest upon the bottom 18. Additionally, a sponge rubber annulus 60 is placed over the batteries 26-30. The circuit board 19 is placed upon the sponge annulus 60. Because of a thickness of the annulus 60, the circuit board 19 is within the upper housing 14.
• LEDs 20-A, 20- have spring-like leads that are connected to the circuit board 19.
• An interior surface 60 of the upper housing 14 urges the LED 20-A into a position that causes an angle 62 to be sustained between a central axis 64 of the LED 20-A and a surface 14L of the lower housing 14. It has been determined that when the angle 62 is substantially equal to four degrees, light transmitted through the wall 14V is visible at distances in excess of fifty yards.
• the LED 20-J is positioned in a similar manner. In this embodiment, the positioning of the LEDs 20-A, 20-J is exemplary of the positioning of the LEDs 20-B through 20- I and LEDs 20-K through 20-T.
• the upper housing 14 has annular depressions 66 therein that diffuses light from the LEDs 20-A through 20-T that passes therethrough.
• the diffused light does not cause a glare that temporarily blinds a passing motorist.
• the LEDs 20-A through 20-T are positioned to transmit light vertically through a horizontal wall 14A of the upper housing 14.
• the vertically transmitted light is used to indicate a scene of a mishap to an aircraft.
• a post 68 At the center of the interior of the housing 12 (fig. 4) is a post 68 with an axial hole 70 therethrough.
• the hole 70 includes slots 72, 74 that extend through the column 68.
• a storage hole 76 (figs. 1 and 2) similar to and coaxial with the hole 70 extends through the upper housing 14.
• the circuit board 19 (fig. 3) has a central hole 77 therethrough.
• Spring contacts 78, 80 are connected to the circuit board 19 near the hole 77.
• the contacts 78, 80 are fitted into the slcts 72, 74, respectively.
• the contacts 78, 80 are connected to the batteries 26-30 via a bridge rectifier (not shown) on the circuit board 19. Because of the bridge rectifier, polarity of a voltage applied to the contacts 78, 80 is irrelevant.
• a storage stand is for storing the hazard marker 10 and hazard markers 10 A, 10B that are similar to the hazard marker 10.
• the storage stand includes a fiber glass charging stick 82 that has a rectangular cross section.
• Metal strips 84 extend along opposite sides of the stick 82.
• An end (not shown) of the stick 82 is connected to a base 86 that has an outward appearance similar to that of the hazard marker 10. It should be understood that the appearance of the base 86 is of no critical importance.
• the hazard marker 10 when the hazard marker 10 is positioned upside down (with the upper housing 14 below the lower housing 12), the batteries 26-30 do not provide power. Accordingly, the hazard marker 10 is stored upside down with the stick 82 passing through the holes 70, 76, 77. The hazard markers 10A, 10B are similarly stored. Within the hole 70, the contacts 78, 80 (fig. 3) provide a connection to the metal strips 84, thereby providing an electrical connection of the metal strips 84 to the batteries 26-30 via the bridge rectifier. A similar electrical connection is made to the hazard markers 10 A, 10B.
• a pair of wires 88 passes through an outer wall 90 of the base 86 to connect to the metal strips 84. Because of the electrical connection of the metal strips 84 to the batteries 26-30, application of a charging voltage to the wires 88 charges the batteries 26-30. Batteries of the hazard markers 10 A, 10B are similarly charged.
• the switch 92 closes, thereby providing a voltage, designated as Vcc, to a contact 92A of the switch 92.
• the contact 92A is connected to an operational amplifier 94 and an oscillator 96, whereby the voltage, Vcc, is provided to the operational amplifier 94 and the oscillator 96.
• the oscillator 96 provides a train of pulses with an 18 millisecond period that are represented in fig. 8(a).
• the oscillator 96 is connected to a ring counter 98 at a clock input 100 .
• a first pulse 101 A and a second pulse 102A of the train of pulses cause an output 101 of the ring counter 98 to provide an 18 millisecond pulse 101B (fig. 8(b)).
• the second pulse 102 A and a third pulse 103A cause an output 102 of the ring counter 98 to provide an 18 millisecond pulse 102B, fig. 8(c).
• the pulse 101B ends simultaneously with a beginning of the pulse 102B.
• 18 millisecond pulses are provided at outputs 103-110, respectively, of the ring counter 98.
• the pulses at the outputs 103-110 are represented in fig. 8(d)-fig.
• pulses 103B-110B are provided in a serial manner, one at a time. It should be understood that the amplitude of the pulses lOlB-110B is directly related to a voltage applied to an excitation input of the ring counter 98. The application of the voltage to the excitation input is described hereinafter.
• the outputs 101-110 are connected to bases of NPN transistors 112-121, respectively.
• the transistors 112-121 have their collectors respectively connected to LEDs 20- A, 20-C, 20-E, 20-G, 20-1, 20-K, 20-M , 20-0, 20-Q and 20-S at their cathodes, anodes thereof being all connected to the contact 92A.
• the transistors 112-121 have their emitters ⁇ respectively connected to the LEDs 20-B, 20-D, 20-F, 20-H, 20-J, 20-L, 20-N, 20-P, 20-R, 20-T at their anodes, cathodes thereof being all connected through a sampling resistor 122 to ground and to the operational amplifier 94 at an inverting input thereof, whereby a sampled voltage is provided to the amplifier 94.
• the contact 92 A is connected through a resistor 124 to a non-inverting input of the amplifier 94.
• a resistor 126 is connected from the non-inverting input to ground.
• the resistors 124, 126 are a voltage divider that provides a reference voltage to the non- inverting input.
• An output of the amplifier 94 is connected to an excitation input 128 of the ring counter 98 whereby an excitation input voltage is provided to the ring counter 98.
• an emitter current of the transistor 112 passes through the resistor 122, thereby providing the sampled voltage.
• the excitation input voltage is reduced, thereby reducing the amplitude of the pulse 10 IB (fig. 8) to cause a reduction of the emitter current of the transistor 112 .
• the excitation input voltage is increased, thereby increasing the amplitude of the pulse 10 IB, to cause an increase of the transistor 112 emitter current, whereby the amplitude of the pulse 101B is regulated.
• the amplitudes of the pulses 102B- 11 OB are regulated.
• the diodes 20-A, 20-C, 20-E, 20-G, 20-1, 20-K, 20-M, 20- O, 20-Q, and 20-S are omitted and the collectors of transistors 112-121 are connected to the contact 92A.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Architecture (AREA)
• Civil Engineering (AREA)
• Structural Engineering (AREA)
• Lighting Device Outwards From Vehicle And Optical Signal (AREA)

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Publications (2)

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• 2002
  • 2002-07-10 AU AU2002322589A patent/AU2002322589A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2002-07-10 EP EP02756588A patent/EP1546603A4/de not_active Withdrawn

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