Electronically controlled safety mechanism for highway exit ramp
First Claim
1. An electrically controlled safety mechanism for a highway exit ramp or other roadway and useful for alterting a driver of a vehicle as to the vehicle'"'"'s incorrect direction of movement upon said ramp or other roadway and comprising, a series of electrically controlled detection means provided within the roadway and of the type capable of sensing the presence, correct, and incorrect direction of movement of a vehicle thereacross, a warning member and a support housing for said mechanism, a base means supporting said warning member and support housing laterally of the ramp or roadway, said warning member being pivotally mounted with respect to said housing and capable of being disposed in a nonoperative position and then pivoted into a horizontal position operatively across the roadway when its operations are initiated by the said electrically regulated detection means, drive means operatively associated with said housing for imparting when energized the pivotal movements to the said warning member, time operative electrical means electrically connected with said detection means, electrical controller means connected with said time operative electrical means, said electrical controller means initiating the energization of the said drive means for pivoting the warning member into its warning position when vehicle movement is detected in the incorrect direction, and said controller means prevented from initiating energization of the motor means by operation of the time operative electrical means when a vehicle is detected traveling in the correct direction.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An electrically controlled safety mechanism for a highway exit ramp for detecting vehicle movement in the wrong direction, including a series of electrically controlled detection devices provided within the roadway, a warning member and support housing for the mechanism located adjacent to the roadway, and some distance beyond the road bed located detection devices, the warning member of the housing being pivotally mounted with respect to its base and capable of disposition in a nonoperative vertical position, but pivotal into a horizontal position when the detection devices sense the presence of a vehicle traveling in the wrong direction, a motor, brake, and speed reducer associated with the housing, for operation of the warning member, and for initiating its pivotal movements, the circuitry of this device including time operative electrical relay and electrical controller relays connected together for providing timed operations to the said motor and related mechanisms, so that the warning member will be conveniently pivoted into its operative and vehicle impeding position when a wrong way vehicle has been detected, and remain in such position for a segment of time, and then returned to its upright position after the hazardous condition has theoretically been alleviated.
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Citations
23 Claims
- 1. An electrically controlled safety mechanism for a highway exit ramp or other roadway and useful for alterting a driver of a vehicle as to the vehicle'"'"'s incorrect direction of movement upon said ramp or other roadway and comprising, a series of electrically controlled detection means provided within the roadway and of the type capable of sensing the presence, correct, and incorrect direction of movement of a vehicle thereacross, a warning member and a support housing for said mechanism, a base means supporting said warning member and support housing laterally of the ramp or roadway, said warning member being pivotally mounted with respect to said housing and capable of being disposed in a nonoperative position and then pivoted into a horizontal position operatively across the roadway when its operations are initiated by the said electrically regulated detection means, drive means operatively associated with said housing for imparting when energized the pivotal movements to the said warning member, time operative electrical means electrically connected with said detection means, electrical controller means connected with said time operative electrical means, said electrical controller means initiating the energization of the said drive means for pivoting the warning member into its warning position when vehicle movement is detected in the incorrect direction, and said controller means prevented from initiating energization of the motor means by operation of the time operative electrical means when a vehicle is detected traveling in the correct direction.
- 21. In the process for detecting the wrongway movement of traffic upon a highway exit ramp, and which includes an electrical control safety mechanism for detecting such vehicle movement, the process of including locating at least three electrically controlled detection means within the roadway such that when a vehicle moving in the wrong direction passes over said detection means in one direction, a first time controlled relay refrains from interfering with the actuation of a second controller relay, so that said second controller relay is energized for inducing operations of a down relay that energizes an electrical motor for locating a warning member into a horizontal and traffic impeding position across said roadway, and wheren traffic moving in the proper direction upon said roadway is likewise detected by said electrically controlled detection means so that the said time controlled relay is actuated for a ten second period of time, thereby preventing the controller relay from being actuated, and preventing the warning member from pivoting into its horizontal direction.
Specification