ROADWAY WORK AREA SAFETY TRUCK

• US 20180261088A1
• Filed: 03/06/2018
• Published: 09/13/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Royal Truck & Equipment, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Royal Truck & Equipment, Inc.
• Inventors: Roy, Robert H., Washburn, Andrew, Piggott, Joseph T., Balasubramanian, Siddharth
• Granted Patent: US 10,319,227 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/146 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/408 Radar; Laser, e.g. lidar
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/00 Input parameters relating to objects
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/08 Active safety systems predicting or avoiding probable or impending collision or attempting to minimise its consequences
• CPC Class Codes: E01F 15/148 mobile arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: E01F 9/662 mounted on vehicles, e.g. service vehicles; Warning vehicles travelling along with road-maintenance, e.g. remotely controlled
• CPC Class Codes: E01F 9/70 Storing, transporting, placing or retrieving portable devices
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/92 for velocity measurement
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/04 Display arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0129 for creating historical data or processing based on historical data
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0175 by photographing vehicles, e.g. when violating traffic rules
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/04 using optical or ultrasonic detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/054 photographing overspeeding vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/08 according to detected number or speed of vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09 Arrangements for giving variable traffic instructions railroad crossing signals B61L; reflectors E01F, G08B; indicating arrangements for variable information by selection or combination of individual elements G09F9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0955 transportable
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 2027/001 Comprising a presence or proximity detector
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 21/048 Advertisement panels on sides, front or back of vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 27/004 Displays including an emergency or alarm message
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 27/005 Signs associated with a sensor
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 9/33 : being semiconductor devices, e.g. diodes

Abstract

A safety truck includes: an over-cab storage rack to store nested stacks of barrel-type safety barriers; a man basket mounted within an inset formed in a flat bed of the safety truck along the left or right side of the safety truck to provide a support platform below the flat bed to enable personnel to ergonomically place the barrel-type safety barriers on a roadway; a sign cage mounted to the flat bed to store components of warning signs; a display board that includes speed detection radar to detect a speed of a vehicle approaching the safety truck, at least one display device to display a message readable from behind the safety truck, and a camera to capture an image of the approaching vehicle; and/or a truck-mounted attenuator connected to the rear of the safety truck to absorb kinetic energy of the approaching vehicle colliding with the TMA.

Claims

1. A roadway work site safety truck comprising:

a display board releasably connected to a rear portion of the safety truck, and movable between a stowed position for travel of the safety truck along a roadway and a deployed position to enhance safety at a roadway work site, the display board comprising;

a speed detection radar to detect a speed of a vehicle approaching the safety truck from behind the safety truck;

at least one display device operable to display at least a textual message readable from behind the safety truck; and

a display board camera able to capture an image of the approaching vehicle, at least when the display board is moved to the deployed position of the display board;

a truck-mounted attenuator (TMA) releasably connected to the rear portion of the safety truck, and movable between a stowed position for travel of the safety truck along a roadway and a deployed position to enhance safety of the roadway work site in which the TMA extends rearward from the safety truck to absorb kinetic energy of the approaching vehicle colliding with the TMA at the rear of the safety truck; and

a controller comprising a processor and a storage to store instructions that cause the processor to perform operations comprising;

receive a signal conveying a deployment command;

in response to receipt of the deployment command, operate, for a first predetermined period of time, a TMA actuator to move the TMA from the stowed position of the TMA to the deployed position of the TMA;

await the first predetermined period of time; and

in response to passage of the first predetermined period of time, cease operation of the TMA actuator and operate a display board actuator to move the display board from the stowed position of the display board to the deployed position of the display board.

2. The safety truck of claim 1, wherein:

the movement of the display board from the stowed position of the display board to the deployed position of the display board comprises a vertical raising of the display board from a lower position to a higher position; and

the movement of the TMA from the stowed position of the TMA to the deployed position of the TMA comprises a hinged movement of at least one elongate section of the TMA from a position in which the at least one elongate section extends vertically to a position in which the at least one elongate section extends horizontally rearwardly from the rear of the safety truck.

3. The safety truck of claim 1, wherein:

the safety truck comprises a display located within a cab of the safety truck;

the TMA carries a TMA camera able to capture an image of the approaching vehicle, at least when the TMA is moved to the stowed position of the TMA; and

the processor is caused to perform operations comprising;

select imagery captured by the TMA camera to be displayed on the display located within the cab in lieu of imagery captured by the display board camera in response to the TMA being moved to the stowed position of the TMA; and

select imagery captured by the display board camera to be displayed on the display located within the cab in lieu of imagery captured by the TMA camera in response to the display board being moved to the deployed position of the display board.

4. The safety truck of claim 3, wherein the processor is caused to automatically switch imagery presented on the display to the selected one of the imagery captured by the TMA camera and the imagery captured by the display board camera in response to a detection of the safety truck being driven in reverse.

5. The safety truck of claim 1, wherein the processor is caused to perform further operations comprising:

receive a signal conveying a stowage command;

in response to receipt of the stowage command, operate the display board actuator to move the display board from the deployed position of the display board to the stowed position of the display board;

in response to the display board being moved to the stowed position of the display board, operate, for a second predetermined period of time, the TMA actuator to move the TMA from the deployed position of the TMA to the stowed position of the TMA;

await the second predetermined period of time; and

in response to passage of the second predetermined period of time, cease operation of the TMA actuator.

6. The safety truck of claim 1, wherein:

the safety truck comprises a rear mounting point to which safety accessories are able to be attached for use with the safety truck;

a base component of the display board is releasably connectable to the safety truck at the rear mounting point; and

the TMA is connected to the base component of the display board.

7. The safety truck of claim 6, wherein

the base component of the display board carries a display board mounting point of substantially similar configuration to the rear mounting point carried by the safety truck to enable the safety accessories to be attached to the base component of the display board;

and

the TMA is releasably connectable either to the safety truck at the rear mounting point or to the base component of the display board at the display board mounting point.

8. The safety truck of claim 7, wherein:

the safety accessories comprise a safety basket able to be releasably attached either to the safety truck at the rear mounting point or to the base component of the display board at the display board mounting point; and

with the base component of the display board releasably attached to the rear mounting point and the safety basket releasably attached to the display board mounting point, the processor is caused to perform operations comprising;

in response to receipt of the deployment command, operate a safety basket actuator to move the safety basket from a stowed position of the safety basket to a deployed position of the safety basket; and

operate the display board actuator to move the display board from the stowed position of the display board to the deployed position of the display board.

9. A roadway work site safety truck comprising:

a display board connected to a rear portion of the safety truck, the display board comprising;

a speed detection radar to detect a speed of a vehicle approaching the safety truck from behind the safety truck;

at least one display device operable to display at least a textual message readable from behind the safety truck; and

a display board camera able to capture an image of the approaching vehicle;

a truck-mounted attenuator (TMA) connected to the rear portion of the safety truck, and movable between a stowed position for travel of the safety truck along a roadway and a deployed position to enhance safety of the roadway work site in which the TMA extends rearward from the safety truck to absorb kinetic energy of the approaching vehicle colliding with the TMA at the rear of the safety truck; and

a controller comprising;

a processor;

a recording storage comprising at least one non-volatile storage device to store imagery captured by the display board camera;

an accelerometer to detect a characteristic of an acceleration indicative of the approaching vehicle colliding with the TMA at the rear of the safety truck; and

an operation storage to store instructions that cause the processor to perform operations comprising;

receive an indication of a speed of the approaching vehicle from the speed detection radar;

receive video captured by the display board camera of the approaching vehicle;

overlay a textual indication of the speed of the approaching vehicle onto frames of the captured video of the approaching vehicle;

store the captured video with the overlain textual indication in the recording storage as recorded video;

receive an indication of detection of the characteristic of an acceleration indicative of the approaching vehicle colliding with the TMA at the rear of the safety truck;

in response to receipt of the indication, store, in the recording storage, a timestamp indicating a time and date at which the indication is received; and

refrain from overwriting a portion of the recorded video that was captured starting at a first predetermined period of time leading up to the time and date of the time stamp and ending at a second predetermined period of time following the time and date of the time stamp.

10. The safety truck of claim 9, comprising a display located within a cab of the safety truck, wherein the processor is caused to perform operations comprising operate the display within the cab to present the captured video with the overlain textual indication.

11. The safety truck of claim 10, wherein the processor is caused to perform operations comprising operate the display within the cab to present the captured video in a split screen with other video captured by at least one other camera carried on a portion of the safety truck.

12. The safety truck of claim 10, wherein the processor is caused to perform operations comprising:

operate the display within the cab to provide a user interface by which personnel may select at least one message to be displayed to motorists in vehicles approaching the safety truck from behind the safety truck; and

operate the at least one display device of the display board to display the at least one selected message.

13. The safety truck of claim 9, comprising a speed sensor to sense a current speed of travel of the safety truck, wherein the processor is caused to perform operations comprising:

use the current speed of travel of the safety truck to adjust the indication of the speed of the approaching vehicle; and

overlay the textual indication of the speed of the approaching vehicle after the adjustment is performed.

14. The safety truck of claim 9, wherein:

the controller comprises at least one transceiver to receive radio frequency wireless signals; and

the processor is caused to perform operations comprising;

operate the at least one transceiver to receive geographic location signals from satellites;

calculate a current speed of travel of the safety truck from the geographic location signals;

use the current speed of travel of the safety truck to adjust the indication of the speed of the approaching vehicle; and

overlay the textual indication of the speed of the approaching vehicle after the adjustment is performed.

15. The safety truck of claim 9, wherein the processor is caused to perform operations comprising:

receive captured audio from one or more microphones in the vicinity of the safety truck;

store the captured audio in the recording storage as recorded audio; and

refrain from overwriting a portion of the recorded audio that was captured starting at the first predetermined period of time leading up to the time and date of the time stamp and ending at the second predetermined period of time following the time and date of the time stamp.

16. The safety truck of claim 9, wherein the processor is caused to perform operations comprising:

receive data concerning operation of the safety truck from at least one sensor of the safety truck, wherein the data concerning operation of the safety truck is selected from a group consisting of;

a speed of travel of the safety truck, a direction of travel of the safety truck, an operating characteristic of an engine of the safety truck, and a current state of brakes of the safety truck;

store the data concerning operation of the safety truck in the recording storage as recorded audio; and

refrain from overwriting a portion of the recorded data that was received starting at the first predetermined period of time leading up to the time and date of the time stamp and ending at the second predetermined period of time following the time and date of the time stamp.

17. A roadway work site safety truck comprising:

a display board connected to a rear portion of the safety truck, the display board comprising;

at least one speed detection radar to detect a first speed of a first vehicle approaching the safety truck from behind the safety truck in a first lane of a roadway leading directly to the rear portion of the safety truck, and a second speed of a second vehicle approaching the safety truck from behind the safety truck in a second lane of the roadway that extends alongside the safety truck;

at least one display device operable to display at least a textual message readable from behind the safety truck; and

a display board camera able to capture an image of the first and second vehicles;

a truck-mounted attenuator (TMA) connected to the rear portion of the safety truck, and movable between a stowed position for travel of the safety truck along a roadway and a deployed position to enhance safety of the roadway work site in which the TMA extends rearward from the safety truck to absorb kinetic energy of the first vehicle colliding with the TMA at the rear of the safety truck; and

a controller comprising a processor and an operation storage to store instructions that cause the processor to perform operations comprising;

operate a display to provide a user interface to enable personnel to aim a first radar field of view of the at least one speed detection radar to cover the first lane to enable the detection of the first speed, and to aim a second radar field of view of the at least one speed detection radar to cover the second lane to enable the detection of the second speed; and

operate the display to display video captured by the display board camera of the first and second vehicles with a textual indication of the first and second speeds overlain on the captured video.

18. The safety truck of claim 17, wherein:

the controller comprises a recording storage comprising at least one non-volatile storage device to store imagery captured by the display board camera; and

the processor is caused to perform operations comprising;

operate the display to provide a user interface to enable personnel to select a first position on frames of the captured video over which to overlay the textual indication of the first speed and to select a second position on frames of the captured video over which to overlay the textual indication of the second speed;

overlay the textual indication of the first speed at the first position onto frames of the captured video;

overlay the textual indication of the second speed at the second position onto frames of the captured video; and

store the captured video with the overlain textual indications of the first and second speeds in the recording storage as recorded video.

19. The safety truck of claim 18, wherein:

the controller comprises an accelerometer to detect a characteristic of an acceleration indicative of the first vehicle colliding with the TMA at rear of the safety truck; and

the processor is caused to perform operations comprising;

receive an indication of detection of the characteristic of an acceleration indicative of the first vehicle colliding with the TMA at the rear of the safety truck;

in response to receipt of the indication, store, in the recording storage, a timestamp indicating a time and date at which the indication is received; and

refrain from overwriting a portion of the recorded video that was captured starting at a first predetermined period of time leading up to the time and date of the time stamp and ending at a second predetermined period of time following the time and date of the time stamp.

20. The safety truck of claim 17, wherein:

the at least one speed detection radar comprises a first speed detection radar and a second speed detection radar;

aiming the first radar field of view comprises aiming the first speed detection radar; and

aiming the second radar field of view comprises aiming the second speed detection radar.

21. The safety truck of claim 17, wherein:

the at least one speed detection radar comprises a single speed detection radar having both the first and second radar fields of view; and

aiming at least one of the first and second radar fields of view comprises adjusting a beam guide that defines at least one of the first and second radar fields of view.

22. A roadway work site safety truck comprising:

a display board connected to a rear portion of the safety truck, the display board comprising;

a speed detection radar to detect a speed of a vehicle approaching the safety truck from behind the safety truck;

at least one display device operable to display at least a textual message readable from behind the safety truck; and

a display board camera able to capture an image of the approaching vehicle;

a truck-mounted attenuator (TMA) connected to the rear portion of the safety truck, and movable between a stowed position for travel of the safety truck along a roadway and a deployed position to enhance safety of the roadway work site in which the TMA extends rearward from the safety truck to absorb kinetic energy of the approaching vehicle colliding with the TMA at the rear of the safety truck; and

a controller comprising;

a processor;

at least one transceiver to exchange wireless radio frequency (RF) signals with a set of headsets associated with the controller and to exchange wireless RF signals with another controller of another safety truck, wherein the other controller is associated with and exchanges wireless RF signals with the other set of headsets; and

an operation storage to store instructions that cause the processor to perform operations comprising;

receive a signal conveying a pairing command;

in response to receipt of the pairing command, operate the at least one transceiver to exchange wireless RF signals with the other controller to establish a wireless link with the other controller; and

operate the at least one transceiver to cooperate with the other controller to relay speech sounds between a headset of the set of headsets associated with the controller to another headset of the other set of headsets associated with the other controller through the controller and the other controller.

23. The safety truck of claim 22, wherein the processor is caused to perform operations comprising:

analyze at least the speed of the approaching vehicle to determine a degree of likelihood that the approaching vehicle will collide with the rear of the safety truck;

compare the determined degree of likelihood to a threshold degree of likelihood; and

in response to a determination that the determined degree of likelihood at least meets the threshold degree of likelihood, perform operations comprising;

operate the at least one transceiver to transmit an audible warning indication of an impending vehicular collision to the set of headsets associated with the controller; and

operate the at least one transceiver to transmit the audible warning indication to the other controller to enable the other controller to relay the audible warning indication to the other set of headset associated with the other controller.

24. The safety truck of claim 23, wherein:

the controller comprises a recording storage comprising at least one non-volatile storage device to store imagery captured by the display board camera; and

the processor is caused to perform operations comprising;

receive an indication of a speed of the approaching vehicle from the speed detection radar;

receive video captured by the display board camera of the approaching vehicle;

overlay a textual indication of the speed of the approaching vehicle onto frames of the captured video of the approaching vehicle;

store the captured video with the overlain textual indication in the recording storage as recorded video;

in response to the determination that the determined degree of likelihood at least meets the threshold degree of likelihood, store, in the recording storage, a timestamp indicating a time and date at which the determination is made; and

refrain from overwriting a portion of the recorded video that was captured starting at a first predetermined period of time leading up to the time and date of the time stamp and ending at a second predetermined period of time following the time and date of the time stamp.

25. The safety truck of claim 24, comprising a display located within a cab of the safety truck, wherein the processor is caused to perform operations comprising operate the display within the cab to present the captured video with the overlain textual indication.

26. The safety truck of claim 25, wherein the processor is caused to perform operations comprising, in response to the determination that the determined degree of likelihood at least meets the threshold degree of likelihood, operate the display within the cab to present a visual warning of an impending vehicular collision.

27. The safety truck of claim 22, wherein the processor is caused to perform operations comprising:

analyze at least the speed of the approaching vehicle to determine a degree of likelihood that the approaching vehicle will collide with the rear of the safety truck;

compare the determined degree of likelihood to a threshold degree of likelihood; and

in response to a determination that the determined degree of likelihood at least meets the threshold degree of likelihood, perform operations comprising operate a horn of the safety truck to provide an additional audible warning indication of an impending vehicular collision.

28. A roadway work site safety truck comprising:

an over-cab barrel-type safety barrier storage rack supported over a cab of the safety truck to store at least one nested stack of barrel-type safety barriers in a horizontal orientation extending from front-to-back over the cab;

a first man basket mounted within a first inset formed in a flat bed of the safety truck along one of a left side and a right side of the safety truck to provide a support platform at a level below the flat bed to enable personnel to ergonomically place the barrel-type safety barriers in a line as traffic delineators along a roadway as the safety truck is driven at a relatively slow speed along the roadway;

a sign cage mounted to the flat bed to store components of warning signs to be placed along the line of barrel-type safety barriers on the roadway;

a display board releasably connected to a rear portion of the safety truck, and movable between a stowed position for travel of the safety truck along a roadway and a deployed position to enhance safety at a roadway work site, the display board comprising;

a speed detection radar to detect a speed of a vehicle approaching the safety truck from behind the safety truck;

at least one display device operable to display at least a textual message readable from behind the safety truck; and

a display board camera able to capture an image of the approaching vehicle, at least when the display board is moved to the deployed position of the display board; and

a truck-mounted attenuator (TMA) releasably connected to the rear portion of the safety truck, and movable between a stowed position for travel of the safety truck along a roadway and a deployed position to enhance safety of the roadway work site in which the TMA extends rearward from the safety truck to absorb kinetic energy of the approaching vehicle colliding with the TMA at the rear of the safety truck.

29. The safety truck of claim 28, further comprising a second man basket that is configured to be a mirror image of the first man basket, and that is mounted within a second inset formed in the flat bed along the other of the left side and the right side of the safety truck at a location therealong that is opposite the first man basket, to provide another support platform at a level below the flat bed to enable personnel to ergonomically place the barrel-type safety barriers in a line as traffic delineators along the roadway as the safety truck is driven at a relatively slow speed along the roadway.

30. The safety truck of claim 28, wherein the sign cage is fabricated with an open bottom that is to be closed by the flat bed when the sign cage is mounted to the flat bed.

31. The safety truck of claim 28, wherein:

the TMA comprises multiple elongate sections that are connected by hinge components;

the TMA folds up and over the sign cage at the rear end of the safety truck when moved to the stowed position of the TMA; and

one of the multiple elongate sections rests atop a TMA support post that extends upwardly from a rearward portion of the flat bed when the TMA is moved to the stowed position of the TMA.

32. The safety truck of claim 28, wherein:

the display board and the TMA are operable to move between deployed and stowed positions in a coordinated manner in which power is used in a sequenced manner to fully move one of the display board and TMA between deployed and stowed positions and then to fully move the other of the display board and the TMA between deployed and stowed positions.

33. The safety truck of claim 32, wherein at least one of the display board and the TMA comprises a sensor to detect an obstruction that prevents movement of the at least one of the display board and the TMA between deployed and stowed positions.

34. A roadway work site safety truck comprising:

an arrow board supported on a chassis frame of the safety truck at a location between a rear portion of a cab of the safety truck and a front-most portion of a flat bed of the safety truck;

a first man basket mounted within a first inset formed in a flat bed of the safety truck along one of a left side and a right side of the safety truck to provide a first support platform at a level below the flat bed and a second support platform at a level below the first support platform to enable a first member of construction personnel standing on the second support platform to ergonomically move barrel-type safety barriers between a roadway surface and the first support platform, and to enable a second member of the construction personnel to ergonomically move the barrel-type safety barriers between the first support platform and the flat bed;

a sign cage mounted to the flat bed to store components of warning signs to be placed on the roadway; and

a truck-mounted attenuator (TMA) releasably connected to the rear portion of the safety truck, and movable between a stowed position for travel of the safety truck along a roadway and a deployed position to enhance safety of the roadway work site in which the TMA extends rearward from the safety truck to absorb kinetic energy of an approaching vehicle colliding with the TMA at the rear of the safety truck.

35. The safety truck of claim 34, further comprising a second man basket that is configured to be a mirror image of the first man basket, and that is mounted within a second inset formed in the flat bed along the other of the left side and the right side of the safety truck at a location therealong that is opposite the first man basket, to also provide two supports platforms at differing levels below the flat bed to also enable ergonomic movement of the barrel-type safety barriers.

36. The safety truck of claim 34, wherein the sign cage is also mounted to a rearwardly facing surface of a bulkhead of the safety truck that separates a front-end of the flat bed from the a rear portion of the cab, wherein the sign cage is fabricated with an open front that is to be closed by the bulkhead when the sign cage is mounted to the bulkhead and an open bottom that is to be closed by the flat bed when the sign cage is mounted to the flat bed.

37. The safety truck of claim 34, wherein:

the TMA comprises multiple elongate sections that are connected by hinge components;

the TMA folds up and over the rear end of the safety truck when moved to the stowed position of the TMA; and

one of the multiple elongate sections rests atop a TMA support post that extends upwardly from a rearward portion of the flat bed when the TMA is moved to the stowed position of the TMA.

38. The safety truck of claim 34, further comprising a mounting point carried at the rear end of the safety truck to engage a mating mounting point carried by the TMA to enable the TMA to be releasably attached to the rear of the safety truck at the location of the mounting point carried by the TMA truck

39. The safety truck of claim 38, wherein a safety basket that also a carries a mating mounting point is able to be mounted to releasably attached to the rear of the TMA truck at the mounting carried by the TMA truck in place of the TMA.