Vehicle obstacle detector and alarm system
First Claim
1. An improved obstacle detector and alarm system comprising:
- a) at least one obstacle detector assembly comprising;
(1) an impact probe having a front end, a rear end, and having a first rod cavity that extends longitudinally from the rear end,(2) a flexible rod having a front section and a rear section, where the front section is sized to be frictionally inserted into and held within the first rod cavity,(3) a housing having a front end, a rear end, and having a second rod cavity that extends longitudinally from the front end, and an acoustic transducer cavity that extends longitudinally from the rear end, where into the second rod cavity is frictionally inserted and held therein the rear section of said flexible rod,(4) a cable having a first end and a second end with the cable encompassing a first conductor and a second conductor, where the first and second conductors projecting from the second end are connected to a female connector with the second conductor connected to common ground,(5) an acoustic transducer having a first electrode and a second electrode, where the first electrode is attached to the first conductor projecting from the first end of said cable, and the second electrode is attached to the second conductor projecting from the first end of said cable, where the attached acoustic transducer is inserted into the acoustic transducer cavity on said housing and is held therein by the insertion of a potting compound, where when said impact probe touches or scrapes against an obstacle, mehcanical oscillations are produced by said impact probe that travel through said flexible rod into said housing, from said housing the oscillations are mechanically transmitted through the potting compound to said acoustic transducer from where a series of electrical pulses are produced and applied through the female connector attached to said cable, andb) an electronic control unit housed within an enclosure having attached at least one male connector that mates with the female connector on said cable, and having circuit means for processing the electrical pulses and subsequently producing an alarm that alerts a driver of a vehicle when the vehicle has encountered an obstacle.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An improved vehicle obstacle detector and alarm system (10) consisting of an obstacle detector assembly (12) and an electronic control unit (40). The assembly (12) includes an impact probe (14) that is attached through a flexible rod (16) to the front end (18A) of a housing (18). The housing includes at its rear end (18B) an acoustic transducer cavity (18D) into which is inserted a piezoelectric acoustic transducer (26) that is attached to the first end (20A) of a coaxial cable (20). The second end of the cable (20) is attached to an female connector (22) that interfaces with a male connector (41) on the electronics control unit (40). When the impact probe (14) encounters an obstacle, a series of mechanical oscillations are produced that are mechanically transmitted through the flexible rod (16), the housing (18) and ultimately to the piezoelectric acoustic transducer (26). The transducer (26) produces a series of electrical pulses, corresponding to the mechanical oscillations, that are then applied through the cable (20) to the electronics control unit (40). The unit (40) processes the electrical pulses and subsequently provides an alarm signal that energizes an audio and visual alarm that alerts the driver of a motor vehicle when the vehicle has encountered an obstacle.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. An improved obstacle detector and alarm system comprising:
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a) at least one obstacle detector assembly comprising; (1) an impact probe having a front end, a rear end, and having a first rod cavity that extends longitudinally from the rear end, (2) a flexible rod having a front section and a rear section, where the front section is sized to be frictionally inserted into and held within the first rod cavity, (3) a housing having a front end, a rear end, and having a second rod cavity that extends longitudinally from the front end, and an acoustic transducer cavity that extends longitudinally from the rear end, where into the second rod cavity is frictionally inserted and held therein the rear section of said flexible rod, (4) a cable having a first end and a second end with the cable encompassing a first conductor and a second conductor, where the first and second conductors projecting from the second end are connected to a female connector with the second conductor connected to common ground, (5) an acoustic transducer having a first electrode and a second electrode, where the first electrode is attached to the first conductor projecting from the first end of said cable, and the second electrode is attached to the second conductor projecting from the first end of said cable, where the attached acoustic transducer is inserted into the acoustic transducer cavity on said housing and is held therein by the insertion of a potting compound, where when said impact probe touches or scrapes against an obstacle, mehcanical oscillations are produced by said impact probe that travel through said flexible rod into said housing, from said housing the oscillations are mechanically transmitted through the potting compound to said acoustic transducer from where a series of electrical pulses are produced and applied through the female connector attached to said cable, and b) an electronic control unit housed within an enclosure having attached at least one male connector that mates with the female connector on said cable, and having circuit means for processing the electrical pulses and subsequently producing an alarm that alerts a driver of a vehicle when the vehicle has encountered an obstacle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification