GB2434927A

GB2434927A - Road hazard warning device

Info

Publication number: GB2434927A
Application number: GB0601942A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ferid Hickmet
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-02-01
Filing date: 2006-02-01
Publication date: 2007-08-08
Also published as: GB0601942D0

Abstract

The road hazard warning device comprises a self-starting vertical axis windmill 11 of the Savonius type, the stator part 13 of which incorporates elements by which the windmill may be secured, with the longitudinal axis of the windmill vertical, to a stationary object or hazard. At least one of the windmill vanes V preferably has a surface area A with enhanced reflectivity, which may be formed from a pellicle composed of a material of high light reflectivity. The windmill stator part preferably comprises a cone attachment part 15 adapted to releasably attach, preferably via a bracket and or lock 25, the device to the vertex of a traffic cone 17 so that the axes of the cone and windmill are aligned. The stator is preferably formed from a shaft 29 with a chamber 29' at its upper end in which a first ball bearing 33a is received, with the rotor 35 comprising a tube 37 which encompasses and has a rotational running fit with the stator shaft. A cap part is preferably adapted to be secured to the upper end of the tube which contains a chamber with a second ball bearing 33b designed to contact the first ball bearing in point-to-point contact.

Description

ROAD HAZARD WARNING DEVICES

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to road hazard warning devices and is particularly concerned with a variant design for the road hazard warning device described and claimed in Applicants co-pending UK Patent Application GB No. 0525246.5 dated 9th December 2005.

Background to the Invention

A well known hazard warning device is the ubiquitous road cone, a plastic cone of distinctive appearance, being commonly formed or decorated with a series of spaced, white, circumferentially extensive bands, set against a red background.

Road cones have proved to be of great service in warning drivers of vehicles of a hazard present at or adjacent to the site of the cone. Whilst in conditions of good visibility the standard, passive, road cone has been assessed as generally satisfactory in alerting persons of an impending hazard, by virtue of light reflected from the cone itself, in less favourable conditions, particularly, though not exclusively, at night, and notwithstanding the presence of distinctive bands as aforementioned, the presence of a standard road cone or a sequence of linearly spaced such cones, may not suffice to provide the desired warning.

Recognising this, in an alternative design warning device, an electric light source carried by the road cone at its apex is connected in circuit by way of ambient light source sensor switch means to an electric storage battery arrangement housed within the lantern affixed to the top of the cone. Such active attention-attracting road cones, being reliant upon light SOUrCe emitted from the electric lamp as well as upon light source reflected from the cone itself, are commonly positioned at regular intervals along a series of otherwise passive cones.

Clearly, whilst an adequate charge remains in the electric storage battery arrangement of such active attention-attracting cone an adequate warning signal may be transmitted to approaching persons whether on foot or in a vehicle. Use, however, of the cone in providing a warning light source over extended periods results in the not infrequent requirement for servicing of the battery arrangement of the lantern, such servicing involving visits to inactive lanterns for the removal and replacement of disposable batteries, or the removal and transport of lanterns to a remote battery re-charging station, if re-chargeable batteries be used, and the subsequent transport at the time of their reinstallation, in a re-activated state, at a desired site.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention offers an enhancement of the road hazard warning device described and claimed in Applicant's co-pending UK Patent Application (B No. 0525246.5, dated 9th December 2005. Whereas in the design described in the Patent Specification and accompanying drawings of the Application just referred to, the warning to motorists and others as to the imminent presence of a hazard is conveyed by light reflected at surfaces, preferably surfaces of enhances light reflectivity, of the vanes of the self-starting vertical axis windmill, suitably a Savonius windmill by the present invention, in addition to reflected light warning signals emanating from the vanes during their rotation, the present invention provides a hazard presence alerting signal, an additional signal arising from an electric lantern arrangement powered directly or indirectly by electro-dynamic generator means and associated electronic circuitry incorporated in the structure of the vertical axis windmill hazard warning device and driven by the rotary action of the windmill rotor means of which the windmill vanes constitute a part.

Brief Description of the Drawings

A hazard warning device in accordance with the invention is hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig.1 shows a longitudinal section through a two-vane Savonius windmill and a road cone to which the windmill is lockedly secured; Fig.2 shows the top end of the rotor of the windmill of Fig.!, in plan; Fig.3 shows, to an enlarged scale, a longitudinal section through a stator base portion of the stator of the windmill of Fig.1; Fig.4a shows an end view of the locking component of the stator base portion of Fig.3; Fig.4b shows the component of Fig.4 in plan; Fig.4 shows a side elevation of the component of Fig.4; Fig.5a is an exploded view, in longitudinal section, of the top part of the windmill assembly; Fig.5b shows, in longitudinal section, the windmill top part of Fig.5a, in the assembled state; Fig.6 shows, in plan, a cutaway portion of the windmill rotor; Fig.7a shows, in side elevation, one of the parts at the top end of the windmill; Fig.7b shows in plan, from above, the part of Fig.7a; Fig.7c shows in plan, from beneath, the part of Fig.7; and, Fig.8 shows a longitudinal section through the base of the Savonius windmill identical to that of Fig.! but incorporating means whereby the windmill may be secured offset with respect to a hazardous roadside object, not being a road cone; and, Fig.9 is a circuit diagram showing, schematically, circuit elements employed in the distribution of power developed at the output of an electro-dynamic generator forming part of the hazard warning device in accordance with the invention; Description of characteristic features of road hazard warnin2 devices in accordance with the Invention A road hazard warning device comprises: a self-starting vertical axis windmill 11 of the Savonius type, the stator part 13 of which incorporates means 15 by which the windmill may be secured, with the longitudinal axis A---A of the windmill vertical, to a stationary object 17 posing or indicating the presence of a hazard as aforesaid, the object being, in the embodiment of Figs.!, a road cone 19. T he windmill vanes V each have an individual surface area A which is occupied by a substance of enhanced light reflectivity. In the example, the area A is occupied by a highly light reflective pellicle adherent to the vane V. The windmill stator part 13 is fitted with a stator base portion 21 having a skirt wall 21' the inner surface 21a of which is of a conical form and size complementary to that of the cone 19. An enlarged portion 23 of the skirt wall 2!' has a cavity 23' within which is located a movable lock part 25. Commonly the cone already has circumferentially extensive groove 27 and the movable lock part 25 is constructed, arranged, and adapted such as, by rotational movement, to move from a position at which the stator part 13 and its stator base portion 21 are removable from the cone 19 to a position at which the movable lock part 25, protruding into the groove 27, is enabled to co-act with the cone 19 such as to preclude casual separation of the windmill 11 from the cone 19. Operation of the rotationally movable lock part 25 of the stator base portion 2! is, in the design depicted, effected using a key (not shown) of shape and size appropriate to the triangular aperture provided.

As may be seen, with the stator base portion 21 so engaged with the cone 19, the axis of symmetry of the cone and the longitudinal axis A---A of the windmill 11 are collinear.

In the windmill design depicted, the windmill stator part 13 comprises a shaft 29 formed, at its upper end 31,with a cavity 29', the shaft 29 and its cavity 29' sharing a common longitudinal axis coincident with said windmill longitudinal axis A---A; and within the shaft cavity 29', there is the first 33a of two bearing balls 33, 33 The rotor part 35 of the windmill comprises tube means 37, in two spaced portions, encompassing said shaft 29, being tube means from which the several vanes V of the windmill radially project. The bipartite tube means 37 has a rotational running fit with said shaft 29.

A cap part 39 has a cavity 39' the longitudinal axis of which is coincident with the shaft longitudinal axis A---A. The cap part 39' is adapted to be secured to the 37 tube means 37 at the upper end thereof. Within the cap part cavity 39' there resides the second 33 of the bearing balls 33a, 33k.

The shaft 29 and cap part 39 are constructed, adapted and arranged such that the first and second bearing balls 33a, 33b are in point to point contact with one another at a position contained in said windmill longitudinal axis A---A. The cap part 39 and the upper one of the bipartite tube means 37 are constructed, arranged and adapted such that said cap part 39 is releasedly secured to the upper one of the tubular portions 37 by a pin and slot coupling arrangement. Specifically, the cap part 39 has, at diametrically opposed positions, dependant hook formations 41a, 41b, respectively, and the rotor part 35 has arcuate, correspondingly located, slots 43a, 43b, adapted, respectively, to receive the hook formations 33a, 33b of the cap part 39.

At its lower end, the shaft 29 has been formed with a plurality of circular disc form portions 41 some of which are lands disposed within the lower portion of the bipartite tube means 37, others 43 of which have a machine fit within a cylindrical boss 45 upstanding from the main body of the stator base portion 21, and one 47 of which, of somewhat larger diameter, occupying a position below the lower portion of the bipartite tube means 37 is within a lower cap 49 secured to the rotor 35 at its bottom end.

In a variant embodiment (F'ig.8) of a hazard warning device comprises an adaptor part 51 which is received within and which is of such conical shape and size as to form a snug fit with the conical inner surface 21a of the base portion 21, and a bracket arm 53 of a bracket arrangement has a rigid connection with the cone shaped adaptor part.

The bracket arrangement, only the bracket arm 53 of which is shown, enables the Savonius windmill to be secured, with its longitudinal axis vertical, to an object such, for examples, as a road barrier, permanent or temporary, between adjacent carriage ways of a motorway, or a roadside skip, none of which are shown.

Whilst, in the drawings, the windmill 11 is depicted as having three vanes V, it should, of course, be understood that the windmill may have a different number of vanes, two, say, projecting radially outwards at intervals around the windmill rotor 35.

Thus far the description of the hazard warning device corresponds to that given in Applicant's co-pending UK Patent Application GB No. 0525246.5, previously referred to.

As will be observed, however, the hazard warning device in accordance with the present invention incorporates, also, a windmill driven electro-dynamic generator 55; a battery electric storage arrangement 57; an electrical lantern arrangement 59 comprising a multiplicity of sets, as 59, of electric lamp elements, as 59', light sensitive switch means 61.

In the example, the several lamp elements 59' each comprise a high brightness LED. The several sets 59 of lamp elements 59' are angularly spaced apart at intervals around the internal surface of the peripheral wall of the base part 21. The base part 21 has a window aperture arrangement 63 through which light from the several LEDs, when energised as hereinafter stated, is emitted. In the example, the window aperture arrangement 63 comprises individual window portions, as 63a, 63b, located adjacent to respective ones of the several sets of LEDs 59. Advantageously, lens elements, as 65, are retained, respectively, within the several said window portions 63, 63b.

In the example, the electro-dynamic generator 55 comprises a dynamo having a toroidal magnet arrangement 55a held within an annular cavity, being a circumferentially extensive portion of a magnet retainer 67 secured coaxially to the windmill rotor 35 at its lower end, and, fixedly housed, within the base part 21 of the windmill stator 13, adjacent to the toroidal magnet 55a, a toroidal stator winding 55b coaxial with the toroidal magnet 55g.

The stator base part 21 houses, in addition to the stator winding 55b, the battery electrical storage arrangement 57, the several lamp elements 59', and logic circuitry 67.

The latter circuitry is operative such as, in dependence upon (i) the ambient light level sensed by the light sensitive switch means 61, (ii) the state of charge of the battery electric storage arrangement 57, and (iii) the voltage level for the time developed at the output of the stator winding 55h, in the event that the voltage level of the battery arrangement 57 falls below a certain predetermined level, to complete a first circuit path electrically connecting the output of the stator winding 55b and the battery electric storage arrangement 57. In the event that d the ambient light sensed falls below a prescribed value, a second circuit path is completed electrically connecting the electric lamp elements 59' to the battery arrangement 57. lt however, the ambient light sensed should exceed said prescribed value a third circuit path is completed, a path electrically connecting the lamp elements 69' and the output of the stator winding 55b.

Whilst, in the arrangement shown in Fig 1, two sets of three lamp elements 59, only, are depicted, there may be other similar sets of lamp elements (not shown) housed within the stator base part 21, the several sets of lamp elements 63 being angularly distributed within the stator base part 21 at intervals around the internal surface of the peripheral wall of the base part 21, each set being confronted by a window aperture occupied by a lens.

In operation, whilst, for example, during daylight hours, the light sensitive switch means 61 develops an output at a value above a predetermined level, and the logic circuitry 67 is operative to isolate the lamp elements 59' from both of the power sources, the battery arrangement 57 and the dynamo stator winding 55 the lamp elements (LEDs) 59' remaining de-energized. At the same time, if the state of charge of the battery arrangement 57 is such that its voltage is low and the output voltage developed across the stator winding 55h is high, a circuit path is completed such that a charging current is applied to the battery arrangement for the purpose of bringing the battery arrangement back to full charge.

When, as at dusk, the output of the light sensitive switch means 61 falls below a prescribed value, a circuit path is completed to the lamp elements 69' from one or the other of the two power sources. Specifically, with the sensor output low, and the output of the dynamo high, a circuit path is completed to the lamp elements 69' from the stator winding 55b. If, however, in calm air, with the output voltage developed at the stator winding 55b low, a circuit path is completed to the lamp elements 69' from the battery arrangement 57.

Claims

CLAIMS

1. A road hazard warning device which comprises: a self-starting vertical axis windmill the stator part of which incorporates means by which the windmill may be secured, with the longitudinal axis of the windmill vertical, to a stationary object, being an object such as may be present adjacent to the site of, or as may, itself, constitute a hazard to be avoided by persons, whether on foot or drivers of moving vehicles; and which comprises, also (a) an electro-dynamic generator having a permanent magnet rotor arrangement adapted to be driven by the windmill rotor part, and a stator winding arrangement fixed with respect to the windmill stator part; and fixed, also, with respect to said windmill stator part: (b) battery electric storage means; (e) an electric lamp arrangement; (d) ambient light sensor means; and, (e) logic circuitry operable, in dependence upon (i) the ambient light level prevailing, for the time being, at the location of the hazard warning device, (ii) the state of charge of the battery electric storage arrangement, and (iii) the voltage level for the time developed by the electro-dynamic generator, variously, (iv) should the voltage level of the battery arrangement fall below a certain level to complete a first circuit path electrically connecting the electro-dynamic generator and the battery electric storage means; or, (v) should the ambient light prevailing fall below a prescribed value, to complete a second circuit path electrically connecting the electric lamp arrangement to the electric battery arrangement; or, (vi) should the ambient light prevailing exceed said prescribed value, to complete a third circuit path electrically connecting the electric lamp arrangement to the electro-dynamic generator output.

2 A road hazard warning device as claimed in claim 1 in which said electro-dynamic generator comprises a dynamo.

3 A road hazard warning device as claimed in claim 1 or 2 in which said rotor magnet arrangement comprises a toroidal magnet carried by the windmill rotor part coaxial therewith; and said stator winding arrangement comprises a toroidal winding arrangement fixed with respect to the windmill stator part coaxial with said rotor magnet arrangement.

4. A road hazard warning device as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3 in which at least one of the windmill vanes has a surface area which is occupied by a substance of enhanced light reflectivity.

5. A road hazard warning device as claimed in claim 4 in which said surface area is occupied by a pellicle composed of a material of high light reflectivity.

6. A road hazard warning device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 5 in which said windmill stator part comprises cone attachment means adapted releasibly to secure the windmill to a cone at the vertex thereof in such manner that, so secured, the axis of symmetry of the cone and the longitudinal axis of the windmill are collinear.

7. A road hazard warning device as claimed in claim 6 in which said stator securing means has a stator base portion comprising a skirt wall the inner surface of which is of a conical form and size complementary to that of a cone to the apex of which the windmill is adapted to be secured.

8. A road hazard warning device as claimed in claim 7 in which said stator part securing means comprises a bracket arrangement sideways outstanding from said windmill stator part.

9. A road hazard warning device as claimed in claim 7 and which comprises an adaptor part which is received within and which is of such conical shape and size as to form a snug fit with the conical inner surface of the stand part; and in which said bracket arrangement has a rigid connection with said adaptor part. -10-

10. A road hazard warning device as claimed in claim 7 or claim 9 in which said stator base portion incorporates a movable lock part constructed arranged and adapted by movement thereof to co-act with a surface portion of a cone to which the hazard warning device is adapted to be engaged such as to preclude casual separation of the warning device from said cone.

ii. A road hazard warning device as claimed in any preceding claim in which: said windmill stator part comprises: a shaft formed, at its upper end, with a cavity, said shaft and cavity sharing a common longitudinal axis coincident with said windmill longitudinal axis; and, within said shaft cavity, a first of two bearing balls; and, the rotor part of the windmill comprises: tube means encompassing said shaft, being tube means from which the several vanes of the windmill radially project, said tube means having a rotational running fit with said shaft; a cap part having a cavity the longitudinal axis of which is coincident with said shaft longitudinal axis and being adapted to be secured to said tube means at the upper end thereof; and, within said cap part cavity, the second of said bearing balls; and in which, said shaft and said cap part are constructed, adapted and arranged such that said first and second hearing balls are in point to point contact with one another at a position contained in said windmill longitudinal axis.

12. A road hazard warning device as claimed in claim 11 in which: said cap part and said upper tubular portion are constructed, arranged and adapted such that said cap part is releasedly secured to said tubular portion.

13. A road hazard warning device as claimed in any preceding claim in 3 which said windmill is a Savonius windmill.

14. In combination, a road hazard warning device as claimed in any preceding claim and an object to which said warning device is attached.

15. A road hazard warning device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 1 to 7c and 9, or with respect to Figs. 8 and 9, of the accompanying drawings.