Under vehicle inspection system

#The present invention is directed to a system that may be used for lighting the underside of vehicles to facilitate inspection thereof.

#In the field of security, and more particularly in regard to inspection of vehicles, especially the undersides of vehicles, it is well known to raise the vehicle up off the ground through use of a ramp, or hydraulic lift, or the like, as well as by inspection through use of a conventional flash light. Also, inspection with the inspector kneeling or crawling underneath the vehicle and inspecting the underside of the vehicle is known. Heretofore it is believed to be unknown to use an inspection system in which a flexible, polymeric fiber optic conduit is positioned underneath the path of a vehicle and is illuminated along its entire length, to direct light upward to illuminate the underside of a vehicle for this purpose.

#In accordance with the principles of the present invention, an inspection system is provided in which flexible, fiber optic conduit is adapted for inspection of areas that are difficult and/or inconvenient to inspect, such as, for example, the underside of vehicles. Lengths of such conduit are attached to mats that are placed to extend along the ground between the paths of wheels of a vehicle to define the inspection area. When the conduit's remote light source is energized, light is transmitted along the length of the fiber optic conduit, and is radiated upward to provide a steady source of light for the underside of the vehicle in the inspection area. Also, the system is portable, with the components adapted to be assembled and disassembled in relative ease, speed and simplicity.

#Detailed drawings of the present invention are shown in the attached Figures, in which:

#FIG. 1 is a top, schematic view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

#FIG. 2 is a side, perspective view of a preferred channel or track for use in the present invention.

#With reference to FIGS. 1-13, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described. A preferred embodiment 20 of the under vehicle inspection system includes a first polymeric optical conduit 22 and a second polymeric optical conduit 24 connected to a light source 26 via a harness 27. Both conduits extend from the light source to an inspection region that is generally defined as a region underneath the path of a vehicle, extending from front to back of the vehicle and between its tires on either side. Preferably, the optical conduits 22 and 24 are placed in tracks or channels attached to a plurality of substrate units or mats 28, 30, 32 and 34 as shown in FIG. 1. The conduits 22 and 24 are shown placed in a predetermined configuration through use of protective overdrive units 36 and 38, having channels or tracks, shown between the light source 26 and the inspection area. The conduits 22 and 24 are also positioned in inspection area tracks or channels 40, 42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52 and 54. The substrate units or mats 28, 30, 32 and 34 are positioned linearly adjacent to each other and, preferably in a vehicle path, with the path of the vehicle defined, for example, by tire tracks 56 and 58. Preferably, the optical conduits 22 and 24 in the inspection area are arrayed in a predetermined substantially planar configuration. The number of mats, the shape of the mats, the planar configuration of the individual fiber optic conduits in the inspection area, the number and length of the individual fiber optic conduits in the inspection area, the total length of the fiber optic conduit, the diameter of the fiber optic conduits and the specifications of the light source may be varied in accordance with known principles, and be within the spirit and principles of the present invention.

#In the preferred embodiment of the system, as configured and shown in FIG. 1, a distance of approximately 83 inches is preferred from the output of the light source 26 to the beginning of the bend of conduit 22 nearest the beginning of the inspection area, and, with a bend radius of approximately 49.8 inches. Typically the optical conduit 24 preferably extends a distance of approximately 61 inches from the connection of the conduit to the light source 26 to the beginning of the bend nearest the beginning of the inspection area, and with a preferred bend radius of approximately 39.8 inches. From the end of the bend of the conduit 22 to the beginning of the inspection region, the preferred distance is approximately 24.5 inches. The corresponding length for the conduit 24 is approximately 29.5 inches. A typical horizontal distance 43 from the conduits 22, 24 where they emerge from harness 27 to the extension 41 of the beginning edge of track 40 is approximately 70 inches. The light source 26 is typically placed to one side of the vehicle path and is typically oriented so that the conduits 22, 24 emerge from the light source generally perpendicular to the vehicle path.

#The preferred substrate units or mats are interlocking floor mats manufactured by Protech Mats Industry as its Black SBR (recycled tire rubber granules) and colored EPDM (ethlyne-propylene-diene-methylene) mats.