School bus alert

• US 6,094,149 A
• Filed: 10/03/1997
• Issued: 07/25/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 10/03/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: David Emerson
• Original Assignee: Joseph F. Wilson
• Inventors: Wilson, Joseph F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hofsass, Jeffery A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pope, Daryl C.
• Application Number:
  US08/943,496
• Time in Patent Office: 1,026 Days
• Field of Search: 340/901, 340/902, 340/904, 340/905, 340/906, 340/907, 340/433, 340/539, 701/2
• US Class Current: 340/904
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/123 indicating the position of vehicles, e.g. scheduled vehicles; Managing passenger vehicles circulating according to a fixed timetable, e.g. buses, trains, tramstransmission of navigation instructions to vehicles G08G1/0968

Abstract

A School bus alert system has a school bus outfitted with message emitter. The school bus alert system also includes a set of roadway signs having alarm units directly or indirectly responsive to the messages emitted by the school bus emitter. The roadway signs are provided along the roadway approaches to a given bus stop. Upon activation by the messages from the school bus, the alarm units go active and give off an obvious sensible warning that is reasonably interpretable by motorists or drivers that (i) they--the motorists or drivers--are approaching the given bus stop and (ii) there concurrently is a school bus stopped or servicing passengers at the bus stop.

Claims

1. A method, applicable to a network of bus stops which in some instances have overlapping zones, for controlling a corresponding network of controllable roadway signs that alert drivers that they are approaching a given bus stop with the concurrence of a school bus stopped or proximately stopped there, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a network of bus stops to have enhanced driver-warning safety by virtue of controllable roadway signs;

for each bus stop, providing at least one pertinent controllable roadway sign along a roadway approach to that bus stop, wherein each bus stop has a defined bus stop zone surrounding it, defined as a perimeter centered on that bus stop and encircling even the furthest away pertinent controllable roadway sign therefor;

configuring the network of bus stops and the controllable roadway signs such that there is at least one instance bus-stop zone overlap in which at least one roadway sign pertinent to one bus stop is also situated in the bus stop zone of another bus stop to which such overlapped roadway sign does not pertain;

providing a plurality of school buses for concurrently servicing the network of bus stops, each school bus being configured with a message emitter;

providing an alert system physically associated with each controllable roadway sign, the alert system having operative DORMANT and ACTIVE states wherein the alert system normally rests in the DORMANT state, in the ACTIVE state the alert system provides an obvious sensible warning to drivers reasonably interpretable by them that they are approaching the bus stop to which the ACTIVE alert system/roadway sign pertains contemporaneously as a school bus is indeed stopped or proximately stopped there;

providing detection means and control means for each alert system that cooperatively are responsive to a school bus'"'"'s emitted messages, and from the perspective of each roadway sign, the pertinent detection means for detecting whether an emitted message originates from such a school bus that is servicing or proximately servicing the pertinent bus stop for that roadway sign and if so, the control means for activating its corresponding alert system to the ACTIVE state in response to at least one given message and returning the alert system to the DORMANT state in response to at least another given message.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the obvious sensible warning of the alert system comprises one of an audible or visual warning or both.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising one or more relay stations, each stationed proximate to a selected one of the bus stops of the network of bus stops and pertaining to that selected one of the bus stops;

establishing locations for the one or more relay stations to eliminate any instance of bus-stop zone overlap in which at least one relay station pertinent to one bus stop is also situated in the bus stop zone of another bus stop to which it does not pertain;

each relay station relaying messages between •

a school bus stopped or proximately stopped at the pertinent bus stop and •

the pertinent roadway signs therefor.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the detection means of all the roadway signs pertaining to a selected bus stop having a relay station is physically located with the pertinent relay station as the control means are physically located with the roadway signs.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein message emitters comprise a radio transmitter and the detection means and control means comprise one or more radio receivers.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the detection means are configured to determine whether the radio signal has a requisite given threshold strength or not.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the detection means configured to determine whether the radio signal is encoded with a requisite given GO ACTIVE message or not.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein the at least one message comprises a radio signal having a requisite given threshold strength and the at least one other message comprises the absence of the radio signal having the requisite given threshold strength.

9. The method of claim 6 wherein the at least one message comprises a radio signal encoded with a given GO ACTIVE message and the at least one other message comprises either the absence of the radio signal encoded with the given GO ACTIVE message or a radio signal encoded with a given FALL DORMANT message.