Vehicle wheel safety barrier system using pressure and infrared sensors
AssigneeBBI Fibre Technologies, Inc.
InventorsIan Dodd, James Anglehart
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The safety barrier system prevents a person from being caught under a wheel of a vehicle and is provided with a sensing system to inform the driver of the presence of the person on the barrier during start up. The sensing system combines a first sensor (for example, a pressure sensor) with an infrared sensor, and includes a snow switch for selectively using the first sensor and/or the infrared sensor depending on the weather conditions. The barrier is mounted to the vehicle by a motor drive mechanism to lower the barrier when stopped and to raise the barrier after the vehicle has travelled a given distance. The system is particularly suitable for school buses.
Claims10
A vehicle wheel safety barrier system comprising:
- a barrier member for blocking an object from reaching at least one wheel of the vehicle as the vehicle is moving;
- motor mount means for raising and lowering the barrier member, and for connecting the barrier member to a frame of the vehicle;
- first sensing means for detecting when an object comes in contact with the barrier member and for producing a first output signal in response to the presence of an object;
- infrared sensing means for detecting infrared radiation in a zone in front of the barrier member and for producing an infrared output signal in response to the presence of an object;
- selecting means for providing a climate condition signal indicative of at least a first and second weather condition outside the vehicle;
- and
- means for generating a warning alarm when the barrier member is lowered, as a function of the climate condition signal wherein said generating means is responsive to the infrared output signal of the infrared sensing means when the first weather condition is selected and said generating means is responsive to the first sensing means when the second weather condition is selection.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.