Safety system for school buses
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A safety system for buses, and in particular school buses, comprising:
- a) a bus including a plurality of rows of seats for students riding on me bus, with at least one aisle running lengthwise of the bus, each row of seats comprising a plurality of seats with at least one seat of the plurality of seats on each side of the aisle, a safety seat belt with a buckle connection mounted at each seat for buckling in a student sifting on the seat, a forward seat for a driver, and a door through which students enter and leave the bus;
b) a first sensor associated with each seat to sense and output a signal indicative of whether a student is occupying the associated seat;
c) a second sensor associated with each seat belt to sense and output a signal indicative of whether a student occupying the associated seat is buckled in;
d) a third sensor sensing directional movement through said door to sense and output signals indicative of entry and exit of students through said door;
e) an alarm actuated responsive to a predetermined signal;
f) a display located within the vision of a bus driver while normally operating the bus that displays to a driver a seat chart in the form of an array of visually perceived indicators arranged in a pattern correlated with the plurality of rows of seats in the bus and provides displaying indicia for visually identifying row and seat for each of the plurality of seats, each said indicator visually indicating one of three conditions for each said seat, a first condition being that said seat is unoccupied, a second condition being that the seat is occupied but the seat belt is not buckled, and the third condition being that the seat is occupied and the seat belt is buckled;
g) an input, operable by a driver, for generating an input signal;
h) a memory;
i) a processor coupled to (I) the first, second and third sensors to receive the output signals therefrom, (ii) the alarm for providing to the alarm the predetermined signal to actuate the alarm, (iii) the memory for storing in memory collected and collated data concerning the output signals from the sensors, the status of sensors and the status of the display, and for retrieving from memory such data, (iv) the display to drive the visual indicators to indicate the status of each seat regarding occupation and seat belt and (v) the input to receive the input signal, said processor further including circuitry to determine an updated head count of students on the bus from the signals received from the third sensor, and to compare the updated head count of the students on the bus with the data relative to the output signals from the first sensors indicative of seat status, and responsive to a mismatch, to initiate the predetermined signal to activate the alarm.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A safety system and method for school buses in which sensors are associated with each seat to sense if a person is occupying the seat and if the seat belt is buckled. A display, within the vision of the bus driver, shows the condition of each seat. Sensors determine the head count of students on the bus. An alarm signals a mismatch between the head count and seats occupied. A telecommunications link and a global positioning system provides bus location to a remote station. Additional sensors detect shook, heat, smoke, CO, water and tire pressure.
39 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A safety system for buses, and in particular school buses, comprising:
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a) a bus including a plurality of rows of seats for students riding on me bus, with at least one aisle running lengthwise of the bus, each row of seats comprising a plurality of seats with at least one seat of the plurality of seats on each side of the aisle, a safety seat belt with a buckle connection mounted at each seat for buckling in a student sifting on the seat, a forward seat for a driver, and a door through which students enter and leave the bus;
b) a first sensor associated with each seat to sense and output a signal indicative of whether a student is occupying the associated seat;
c) a second sensor associated with each seat belt to sense and output a signal indicative of whether a student occupying the associated seat is buckled in;
d) a third sensor sensing directional movement through said door to sense and output signals indicative of entry and exit of students through said door;
e) an alarm actuated responsive to a predetermined signal;
f) a display located within the vision of a bus driver while normally operating the bus that displays to a driver a seat chart in the form of an array of visually perceived indicators arranged in a pattern correlated with the plurality of rows of seats in the bus and provides displaying indicia for visually identifying row and seat for each of the plurality of seats, each said indicator visually indicating one of three conditions for each said seat, a first condition being that said seat is unoccupied, a second condition being that the seat is occupied but the seat belt is not buckled, and the third condition being that the seat is occupied and the seat belt is buckled;
g) an input, operable by a driver, for generating an input signal;
h) a memory;
i) a processor coupled to (I) the first, second and third sensors to receive the output signals therefrom, (ii) the alarm for providing to the alarm the predetermined signal to actuate the alarm, (iii) the memory for storing in memory collected and collated data concerning the output signals from the sensors, the status of sensors and the status of the display, and for retrieving from memory such data, (iv) the display to drive the visual indicators to indicate the status of each seat regarding occupation and seat belt and (v) the input to receive the input signal, said processor further including circuitry to determine an updated head count of students on the bus from the signals received from the third sensor, and to compare the updated head count of the students on the bus with the data relative to the output signals from the first sensors indicative of seat status, and responsive to a mismatch, to initiate the predetermined signal to activate the alarm. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A safety method for buses, and in particular school buses, comprising the steps of:
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a. providing a bus including a plurality of rows of seats for students riding on the bus, with at least one aisle running lengthwise of the bus, each row of seats comprising a plurality of seats with at least one seat of the plurality of seats on each side of the aisle, a safety seat belt with a buckle connection mounted at each seat for buckling in a student sifting on the seat, a forward seat for a driver, and a door through which students enter and leave the bus;
b. a first sensing associated with each seat sensing and outputting a signal indicative of whether a student is occupying the associated seat;
c. a second sensing associated with each seat belt sensing and outputting a signal indicative of whether a student occupying the associated seat is buckled in;
d. a third sensing of directional movement through said door sensing and outputting signals indicative of entry and exit of students through said door;
e. signaling an alarm responsive to a predetermined signal;
f. displaying within the vision of a bus driver while normally operating the bus a seat chart in the form of an array of visually perceived indicators arranged in a pattern correlated with the plurality of rows of seats in the bus and providing displaying indicia for visually identifying row and seat for each of the plurality of seats, each said indicator visually indicating one of three conditions for each of said seats, a first condition being that said seat is unoccupied, a second condition being that said seat is occupied but the seat belt is not buckled, and the third condition being that said seat is occupied and the seat belt is buckled;
g. establishing an input, operable by a driver, for generating an input signal;
h. establishing a memory;
i. providing a processor (i) to receive output signals from the first, second and third sensing steps, (ii) to provide the alarm responsive to the predetermined signal, (iii) to store in memory collected and collated data concerning the output signals from the sensing steps, the status of sensing and the status of the displaying step, and to retrieve from the memory such data, (iv) to drive the visual indicators of the displaying step to indicate the status of each seat regarding occupation and seat belt and (v) to receive the input signal, j. determining an updated head count of students on the bus from the third sensing step, and comparing the updated head count of the students on the bus with the date relative to the output signals from the first sensing step indicative of seat status, and k. initiating the predetermined signal to activate the alarm responsive to a mismatch between the updated head count of the students on the bus with the data relative to the output signals from the first sensing step indicative of seat status. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification