Electrical hazard warning system
First Claim
1. An electrical hazard warning system, comprising:
- a charging/storage unit comprising;
at least one charging station which has electrical terminals to supply power to an electrical hazard marker installed in said station and is connectable to receive power from an external power source; and
at least one electrical hazard marker, each comprising;
a lampholder suitable for conducting electrical current to a lamp installed in said lampholder,a battery connector suitable for connecting to the terminals of a rechargeable battery and connected to supply electrical current to said lampholder,a housing which holds said lampholder and battery connector, is installable into one of said charging stations and has electrical terminals which make contact with said charging station'"'"'s electrical terminals when so installed, said housing including a translucent plastic cone illuminated by a lamp installed in said lampholder and with opposed wide and narrow ends, a base attached to said wide end so that the marker can be deployed to stand vertically upon said base and rise to the narrow end of said translucent plastic cone, anda grasping knob attached to said narrow end of said translucent plastic cone;
said at least one charging station and said at least one hazard marker being separate components arranged such that each of said hazard markers can be manually installed into and removed from a respective charging station,said at least one hazard marker being recharged when installed in a respective charging station when said station is connected to an external power source and providing a hazard warning capable of standing in a stable position on a highway when said hazard marker is removed from said at least one charging station.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An electrical hazard warning system includes a number of rechargeable electrical hazard markers and a charger/storage unit. The hazard markers each include a rechargeable battery that supplies power to a flash tube, and have a lightweight, non-skidding, topple-resistant, cone-shaped housing designed for use in all weather conditions. The markers have two switch-selectable brightness levels and are effective in either daylight or darkness. When not deployed, the markers are kept in the charger/storage unit, which fits into the trunk of a car and is equipped with multiple charging stations. Each station is protected by a circuit breaker and includes a station status light. The hazard markers illuminate immediately upon removal from the charger/storage unit, and can be placed on the roadway as needed to provide a highly visible warning.
-
Citations
47 Claims
-
1. An electrical hazard warning system, comprising:
-
a charging/storage unit comprising; at least one charging station which has electrical terminals to supply power to an electrical hazard marker installed in said station and is connectable to receive power from an external power source; and at least one electrical hazard marker, each comprising; a lampholder suitable for conducting electrical current to a lamp installed in said lampholder, a battery connector suitable for connecting to the terminals of a rechargeable battery and connected to supply electrical current to said lampholder, a housing which holds said lampholder and battery connector, is installable into one of said charging stations and has electrical terminals which make contact with said charging station'"'"'s electrical terminals when so installed, said housing including a translucent plastic cone illuminated by a lamp installed in said lampholder and with opposed wide and narrow ends, a base attached to said wide end so that the marker can be deployed to stand vertically upon said base and rise to the narrow end of said translucent plastic cone, and a grasping knob attached to said narrow end of said translucent plastic cone; said at least one charging station and said at least one hazard marker being separate components arranged such that each of said hazard markers can be manually installed into and removed from a respective charging station, said at least one hazard marker being recharged when installed in a respective charging station when said station is connected to an external power source and providing a hazard warning capable of standing in a stable position on a highway when said hazard marker is removed from said at least one charging station. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 24, 25, 26)
-
-
17. An electrical hazard warning system, comprising:
-
a charging/storage unit comprising; at least two charging stations for recharging respective hazard markers, each of said charging stations having electrical terminals to supply power to an electrical hazard marker installed in said station and connectable to receive power from an external power source, said charging stations configured to receive said respective hazard markers laid down with adjacent markers pointing in opposite directions; and at least one electrical hazard marker, each comprising; a lampholder suitable for conducting electrical current to a lamp installed in said lampholder, a battery connector suitable for connecting to the terminals of a rechargeable battery and connected to supply electrical current to said lampholder, and a housing which holds said lampholder and battery connector, is installable into one of said charging stations and has electrical terminals which make contact with said charging station'"'"'s electrical terminals when so installed, said housing including a translucent plastic cone illuminated by a lamp installed in said lampholder and with opposed wide and narrow ends, a base attached to said wide end so that the marker can be deployed to stand vertically upon said base and rise to the narrow end of said translucent plastic cone; said at least one hazard marker being recharged when installed in a respective charging station when said station is connected to an external power source and providing a hazard warning when removed from said at least one charging station. - View Dependent Claims (18)
-
-
19. A rechargeable electrical hazard marker suitable for use as a hazard warning to be deployed on the surface of a roadway, comprising:
-
a lampholder suitable for conducting electrical current to a lamp installed in said lampholder, a battery connector suitable for connecting to the terminals of a rechargeable battery and connected to supply electrical current to said lampholder, and a housing for said lampholder and battery connector comprising; a translucent plastic cone which is illuminated by a lamp installed in said lampholder, a base attached to said translucent plastic cone at said cone'"'"'s wide end and upon which said hazard marker stands when said marker is placed on the ground, a grasping knob attached to said cone'"'"'s narrow end, a mounting bracket for mounting a battery connected to said battery connector, and electrical terminals attached to said base and wired to said battery connector to conduct power to recharge a battery connected to said battery connector, said base being installable in a separate charging station having electrical terminals corresponding to said electrical terminals attached to said base and through which power to recharge a battery is conducted; said hazard marker capable of standing in a stable position on a highway and providing a high visibility hazard warning when illuminated. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
-
-
33. A charger/storage unit suitable for charging and storing a plurality of electrical hazard markers, comprising:
-
a housing connectable to receive power from an external power source, and a plurality of charging stations within said housing, each of said stations comprising; a receiving base which has electrical terminals wired to receive power from an external power source connected to said housing, said terminals arranged to contact corresponding electrical terminals on a hazard marker installed in a respective charging station, said receiving base'"'"'s electrical terminals comprising one centered socket-shaped terminal suitable for receiving a corresponding pin-shaped terminal and one off-center spring-loaded pin-shaped terminal suitable for making contact with a corresponding circular ring-shaped terminal on a hazard marker so that electrical contact can be established between the charging station and the hazard marker for different rotational positions of the hazard marker in the charging station, a circuit breaker configured to protect an external power source connected to said housing, and an indicator configured to light when its respective charging station is receiving power. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
-
-
42. An electrical hazard warning system, comprising:
-
a charger/storage unit suitable for charging and storing a plurality of electrical hazard markers, comprising; a housing connectable to receive power from an external power source, and a plurality of charging stations within said housing, each of said stations comprising; a receiving base which has electrical terminals wired to receive power from an external power source connected to said housing, said terminals arranged to contact corresponding electrical terminals on a hazard marker installed in a respective charging station, a circuit breaker configured to protect an external power source connected to said housing, and an indicator configured to light when its respective charging station is receiving power; and at least one electrical hazard marker, each comprising; a lampholder suitable for conducting electrical current to a lamp installed in said lampholder, a battery connector suitable for connecting to the terminals of a rechargeable battery and connected to supply electrical current to said lampholder, and a housing which holds said lampholder and battery connector, is installable into a respective charging station and has electrical terminals which contact with the electrical terminals of said charging station'"'"'s receiving base when so installed; said electrical terminals comprising a pin-shaped terminal protruding from one of said housing and receiving base which contacts a corresponding centered socket-shaped terminal on the other of said housing and said receiving base when said housing is installed in a respective charging station, and a circular ring-shaped terminal on one of said housing and receiving base which contacts an off-center spring-loaded pin-shaped terminal on the other of said housing and said receiving base when said housing is installed in a respective charging station, said housing and receiving base terminals arranged so that electrical contact is established between said protruding pin-shaped terminal and said centered socket-shaped terminal and between said circular ring-shaped terminal and said off-center spring-loaded pin-shaped terminal regardless of the rotational orientation of said housing relative to said receiving base, said at least one hazard marker being recharged when installed in a respective charging station when said charger/storage unit housing is connected to an external power source and providing a hazard warning when removed from said charging station. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46)
-
-
47. An electrical hazard warning system, comprising:
-
a charging/storage unit comprising; at least one charging station which has electrical terminals to supply power to an electrical hazard marker installed in said station and is connectable to receive power from an external power source; and at least one electrical hazard marker, each comprising; a lampholder suitable for conducting electrical current to a lamp installed in said lampholder, a battery connector suitable for connecting to the terminals of a rechargeable battery and connected to supply electrical current to said lampholder, a housing which holds said lampholder and battery connector, is installable into one of said charging stations and has electrical terminals which make contact with said charging station'"'"'s electrical terminals when so installed, said housing including a translucent plastic cone illuminated by a lamp installed in said lampholder and with opposed wide and narrow ends, a base attached to said wide end so that the marker can be deployed to stand vertically upon said base and rise to the narrow end of said translucent plastic cone, and a grasping knob attached to said narrow end of said translucent plastic cone; said hazard marker'"'"'s electrical terminals arranged to contact the electrical terminals of a respective charging station when said hazard marker housing is installed in said charging station regardless of the rotational orientation of said housing with respect to said station, said at least one charging station and said at least one hazard marker being separate components arranged such that each of said hazard markers can be manually installed into and removed from a respective charging station, said at least one hazard marker being recharged when installed in a respective charging station when said station is connected to an external power source and providing a hazard warning capable of standing in a stable position on a highway when said hazard marker is removed from said at least one charging station.
-
Specification