Emergency traffic signal attachment

• US 20040008126A1
• Filed: 05/16/2003
• Published: 01/15/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Keyvan T. Diba, Payam Manavi
• Original Assignee: Keyvan T. Diba, Payam Manavi
• Inventors: Diba, Keyvan T., Manavi, Payam
• Granted Patent: US 6,847,306 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/907
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/095 Traffic lights
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 362/80 Light emitting diode

Abstract

An attachment for a traffic signal having a housing for fitting over one of the normal lights, herein the green light, of the signal and overriding the normal sequence in response to preemptive emergency signals, and a electro-optically responsive data display panel on the housing to provide clear and direct instructional messages to motorists as to the appropriate actions to be taken. A first embodiment overrides the normal green light with a reflective electro-optically responsive panel overlying the normal green light to become opaque in response to the emergency signals, with a red light source outside the panel that is activated to produce red reflected light. A second embodiment replaces the normal green (or alternatively yellow or red) signal with a panel of light-emitting elements (LEDs) that have one group capable of providing the normal green signals and a second group that are capable of providing graphic instructions in response to emergency signals. In both embodiments, the display panels provide alternate selections such as “STOP” or a halt symbol as one selection and an arrow or chevron pattern, with “RIGHT” or an abbreviation as a second selection.

Claims

1. An emergency traffic signal attachment for use on one lamp of a traffic signal, said attachment comprising:

a housing mountable on the traffic signal over said one lamp thereof and having an opening to pass the light through the housing;

an electro-optically responsive panel in said opening for overlying said one lamp and normally being transparent to pass light through the opening, said panel having a reflective outer surface and being operable when energized to become opaque;

a source of red light on said housing on the side of the panel opposite said one lamp and operable when energized to produce red light to be reflected by the panel as a substitute for the light of normal operation;

and a controller responsive to preemptive signals from approaching emergency vehicles on an intersecting street and operable to energize said panel to become opaque and to energize said red light source, thereby to override the normal operation of the traffic signal.

2. An emergency traffic signal attachment as defined in claim 1 wherein said housing has a tubular portion for fitting over a shade on the green lamp and forming said opening, said panel being fitted in said tubular portion to lie in front of the said one lamp.

3. An emergency traffic signal attachment as defined in claim 2 wherein said source of red light is a series of light-emitting elements mounted in said tubular portion around said panel.

4. An emergency traffic signal attachment as defined in claim 2 wherein said housing includes an extension on one side of said tubular portion, and further including an electro-optically responsive data display panel on said extension.

5. An emergency traffic signal attachment as defined in claim 1 wherein said one lamp is a green lamp.

6. An emergency traffic signal attachment as defined in claim 4 wherein said controller is responsive to the direction of detected signals and is operable to produce both “

stop”

messages and messages directing motorists to move laterally.

7. An emergency traffic signal attachment as defined in claim 6 wherein the available displays include a form of the word “

stop” and

a form of the word “

right”

.

8. An emergency traffic signal attachment as defined in claim 7 wherein the form of the word right is combined with a direction-indicating graphic.

9. An emergency traffic signal attachment as defined in claim 8 wherein the direction-indicating graphic is a chevron pattern that is sequentially displayed to appear to be moving toward the right.

10. An emergency traffic signal attachment as defined in claim 5 wherein the “

stop”

message includes a graphic “

hand”

symbol.

11. A traffic signal attachment for use on one lamp of a traffic signal mounted at the intersection of roadways, said attachment comprising:

a housing mountable on the traffic signal in the position of said one lamp and having an opening for passing green light from the housing;

an electro-optically responsive panel in said housing having light-emitting elements capable of being energized in different patterns and emitting different light signals, said elements including a first set of elements for emitting a colored light and a second set of elements for producing selected emergency instruction signals;

and a controller for energizing said first set of light-emitting elements according to a normal schedule and, in response to preemptive signals from an emergency vehicle on one of the roadways, activating selected light-emitting elements of said first and second sets to produce the selected pattern.

12. A traffic signal attachment as defined in claim 11 wherein said light-emitting elements are arranged and controlled to produce a chevron pattern in said opening indicating movement toward one side when said second light-emitting elements are energized.

13. A traffic signal attachment as defined in claim 12 in which said controller sequentially controls the second light-emitting elements to produce a pattern that appears to move toward said one side.

14. A traffic signal attachment as defined in claim 11 further including an electro-optically responsive data display panel on said housing beside said opening, and wherein said controller is operable in response to said preemptive signals to energize said panel to provide visual directional instructions.

15. A traffic signal attachment as defined in claim 14 wherein said visual instructions include a graphic symbol instructing movement to the side of the roadway, to be produced in response to a signal from an emergency vehicle on the same roadway.

16. A traffic signal attachment as defined in claim 15 wherein the symbol includes an arrow.

17. A traffic signal attachment as defined in claim 15 wherein the symbol includes a chevron pattern.

18. A traffic signal attachment as defined in claim 14 wherein said visual instructions include instructions to stop, to be produced in response from a signal from an emergency vehicle on an intersecting roadway.

19. A traffic signal attachment as defined in claim 18 wherein the instructions include a form of the word “

stop”

.

20. A traffic signal attachment as defined in claim 18 wherein the instructions include a hand symbol providing a “

halt”

instruction.

21. A traffic signal attachment as defined in claim 14 wherein the directional instructions include both a verbal instruction and a corresponding graphic symbol.

22. A traffic signal mounted at the intersection of roadways and having a plurality of lamps, having in combination:

a housing mounted on the traffic signal in the position of one of the lamps and having an opening for passing light from the housing;

an electro-optically responsive panel in said housing having light-emitting elements capable of being energized in different patterns and emitting different light signals, said elements including a first set of light-emitting elements for emitting a colored light and a second set of elements for producing selected emergency signals;

and a controller for energizing said first set of light-emitting elements according to a normal schedule, and, in response to preemptive signals from an emergency vehicle, actuating selected light-emitting elements of said first and second sets to produce the selected pattern.

23. A traffic signal as defined in claim 22 further including further including an electro-optically responsive data display panel on said housing beside said opening, and wherein said controller is operable in response to said preemptive signals to energize said panel to provide visual directional instructions.

24. A traffic signal as defined in claim 23 wherein the directional instructions include both a verbal instruction and a corresponding graphic symbol.

25. The method of controlling a traffic signal having a plurality of traffic lamps in response to preemptive emergency signals from emergency vehicles for overriding the normal operation of the traffic signal, the traffic signal being disposed at an intersection of roadways, said method comprising the steps of:

providing an attachment for the traffic signal having a data display panel and an electro-optically responsive panel associated with a selected one of the traffic signals to display a red light upon command regardless of the normal operation of the lamp;

providing a controller for detecting the preemptive emergency signal, determining the direction from which signals are approaching the controller, and activating said electro-optically responsive panel to provide the red light when the signal is approaching from an intersecting roadway, and for activating said data display panel to provide an instructional message for motorists, selected from a plurality of available messages;

and providing in said plurality of available messages for display on said data display panel a first graphic message commanding the motorist to stop, for display with the red light when the signal is approaching on an intersecting roadway, and a second graphic message commanding the motorist to move laterally on the roadway to an out-of-the-way position when the signal is approaching on the same roadway.

26. The method as defined in claim 25 wherein said first graphic message is provided with a form of the word “

stop”

.

27. The method as defined in claim 25 wherein said first graphic message is provided with a representation of a hand as a “

halt”

symbol.

28. The method as defined in claim 25 wherein said second graphic message includes a chevron pattern indicating movement to one side of the roadway.

29. The method as defined in claim 27 wherein said chevron graphic is sequentially varied to appear as a moving pattern moving toward said one side.

30. The method as defined in claim 25 wherein said second graphic message includes an arrow pointing to one side of the roadway.

31. The method as defined in claim 25 wherein said second graphic message includes a verbal display instructing movement in one lateral direction.

32. The method as defined in claim 31 wherein the verbal display is a form of the word “

right.”

33. The method as defined in claim 25 wherein said second message in includes a verbal display instructing movement in one lateral direction and a graphic symbol pointing in that direction.

34. The method of controlling a traffic signal at an intersection of roadways having a plurality of traffic lamps in response to preemptive emergency signals from emergency vehicles on the roadways for overriding the normal operation of the traffic signals, said method comprising the steps of:

providing an attachment for the traffic signal having a first electro-optically responsive panel associated with one of the traffic lamps and capable, when activated, to provide a red light regardless of the normal operation of the lamp and also having a second electro-optically responsive panel forming a data display panel beside said first panel;

providing a controller for detecting the preemptive emergency signals, and determining the direction from which the emergency signal is approaching;

and activating said optically-responsive panel to provide a red light when a signal is received from a vehicle approaching on an intersecting street and displaying a visual message on the data display panel indicating the appropriate action to be taken by motorists approaching the traffic signal to avoid interference with the emergency vehicle.