AU2013100265B4

AU2013100265B4 - A safety system for a high performance vehicle

Info

Publication number: AU2013100265B4
Application number: AU2013100265A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Maurice Valentino
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2011-04-20
Filing date: 2013-03-07
Publication date: 2013-05-16
Anticipated expiration: 2020-03-28
Also published as: AU2013100265A4

Abstract

The present invention relates to a safety system for a vehicle such as a racing car, sports car or motorcycle and the like. More particularly the present invention relates to a safety system for substantially improving safety of a person or persons when driving a racing vehicle based on real time measurement and display of information regarding static or moving objects insitu. jItI me~g1

Description

- 1 Title: A safety system or a high performance vehicle Field of the invention The present invention relates to a safety system for a vehicle such as a racing car, sports car or motorcycle and the like. More particularly the present invention relates to a safety system for substantially improving safety of a person or persons when driving a racing vehicle based on real time measurement and display of information regarding static or moving objects insitu. Background Safety has not always been a paramount concern in the pursuit of high performance vehicles. An example is in Formula One racing where there have been many tragedies both for drivers and spectators over many years. In the early 1970's it was said that the chances of a driver who had raced in Formula One for a period of five years being killed were two out of three. In the following few decades much has been done to improve safety measures to protect racers and spectators from serious injury. An early safety measure introduced by racing car driver 'Jackie Stewart' following a serious crash during racing included a full-face helmet and seatbelts for drivers. Other safety improvements have included safety barriers and greater run-off space located at or near dangerous corners. Despite the foregoing changes to racing car safety, celebrated Formula 1 driver including Ayrton Senna lost his life during racing in 1994 after crashing into a wall on the exit of a notorious curve. At the same racing event, driver Roland Ratzenberger also lost his life in an accident during qualifying. Since that time the Formula 1 racing governing body ('The FIA') has worked to further improve the sport's safety standards.

For example the FIA has used safety as a reason to impose rule changes which has resulted in cars with smaller rear tyres, a narrower track overall and the introduction of 'grooved' tyres to reduce mechanical grip; the objective being to reduce cornering speeds. Other safety improvements have included (i) introduction of an air supply to a driver so that in a fire event a driver can survive a smoke filled cabin; (ii) an energy absorbing safety wall designed to improve the level of safety in case of collision; (iii) improved driving seats and harnesses in the event of impact; and (iv) providing a movable wiper fixed onto a helmet for clearing a visor portion of the helmet. While substantial efforts have been made to improve safety of car racing and motorcycle racing, most safety measures and attempts to improve safety of a driver are not directed at prevention but at minimising injury in the event of a crash hence there is an underlying presumption that sooner or later a racing car driver will crash. Since 1994, while no driver has lost their life, two track marshals have been killed as a result of a crash, one at the 2000 Italian Grand Prix and the other at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix. Therefore further improvements are required. Even further, crashes during racing in Formula One or Nascar racing generally mean that the car is recorded as 'Did not finish'. Records of cars failing to finish a race event tends to detract or tarnish a racing car team pedigree hence it is useful to try to reduce incidents of crashes. It is therefore an object of the present invention to ameliorate one or more of the disadvantages of the prior art. A further object of the present invention is to provide safety means directed at substantially preventing an accident from occurring thereby improving driver safety while maintaining racing car or motorcycle racing as an entertaining sport.

Summary of the invention In the present invention there is disclosed a safety system for use in a land or other vehicle such as a racing car or motorcycle or boat or the like, the system including: a housing unit adapted for mounting in a cockpit portion of a racing car or chassis portion of a motorcycle; at least one safety unit comprising: a power source and an information transfer means operatively interconnected by a control circuit mounted within the housing; an infra-red sensor operatively connected to the power source, the infra red sensor being mountable to a portion of the racing car remote from the housing unit, wherein the infra-red sensor is of sufficient intensity in a powered condition to emit a beam capable of intersecting an object proximal to or distal from the racing car; a distance determining sensor operatively connected to the power source and mountable close to the infra-red sensor, remote from the housing unit, whereby the distance measuring sensor detects the intersection between the infra-red beam and an object, and calculates the distance between the racing car and the object; a display means powered by the power source, the display means adapted for location on a visor or portion of a safety helmet or the like device; wherein the information transfer means is powered by the power source and operatively connected to the distance determining sensor, whereby distance determined by the distance determining sensor is transmitted to the information transfer means; and -/4 wherein in an operating condition the information transfer means transfers information to the display means and displays a readable output is displayed in real time such that a driver of the racing car or motorcycle is able to assess location of the racing car relative to an object or objects so as to substantially improve driver awareness and safety. The present invention represent a departure from previous attempts at improving safety of a vehicle such as a racing car because the safety system enhances a driver's information and knowledge of position relative to other racing cars or static objects in real time to allow evasive action thereby substantially reduce the chances of an accident and/or allow tactical manoeuvring to advance the progress of a car relative to another car and enhance racing entertainment. The safety unit can further include a speaker device powered by the power source, the speaker adapted for location on or within a drivers safety helmet whereby a high frequency audible noise is emitted by the speaker when the distance determining sensor detects an object within a predetermined distance from the racing car. In one embodiment the safety system can include multiple safety units preferably eight to ten safety units. In this aspect the safety system can include a single housing unit having a series of control circuits for operating a plurality of safety units. In a related aspect there is disclosed a safety unit for substantially improving safety in high performance vehicles such as a racing car or motorcycle or the like comprising: a housing unit adapted for mounting in a cockpit portion of a racing car or chassis portion of a motorcycle, the housing unit having a power source and an information transfer means mounted therein and operatively interconnected thereto; an infra-red sensor operatively connected to the power source, the infra-red sensor being mountable to a portion of the racing car remote from the housing unit, wherein the infra-red sensor is of sufficient intensity in a powered condition to emit a beam capable of intersecting an object proximal to or distal from the racing car; a distance determining sensor operatively connected to the power source and mountable adjacent the infra-red sensor, remote from the housing unit, whereby the distance measuring sensor detects the intersection between the infra-red beam and an object, and calculates the distance between the racing car and the object; a display means powered by the power source, the display means adapted for location on a visor or portion of a safety helmet or the like device; wherein the information transfer means is powered by the power source and operatively connected to the distance determining sensor, whereby distance determined by the distance determining sensor is transmitted to the information transfer means; and wherein in an operating condition the information transfer means transfers information to display means and displays a readable output in real time such that a driver of the racing car or motorcycle is able to assess location of the racing car relative to an object or objects so as to substantially improve driver awareness and safety.

-0 An alternative means of display the safety unit can include a colour indicator display calibrated to exhibit a colour for relative critical information. For example, the colour indicator means can be calibrated to identify a colour green corresponding to a nearest object being within 50 metres. In addition, the indicator can be calibrated to indentify a colour red indicating critical crash zone or impending accident. The colour indicator can be programmed for or tailored to a drivers requirement. The system of the invention can be used to substantially prevent crashes and rebuilds, which in formula 1 car racing can amount to millions of dollars. A further alternative indicator means can include a speaker interconnected to the information transfer means such that speaker can be used to make a high pitched noise inside a racing helmet so as to warn the racing car driver of the whereabouts of other moving or stationary objects such as a car or wall fixture, and if the driver is approaching a crash zone a counter evasive move can be made to avoid a collision. In a further embodiment the display means can be a split screen to provide at least two types of information including (i) video/visual, (ii) multicoloured digital readout. Further exemplifications of the present invention will be described as follows with reference to the accompanying drawings. A brief description of the drawings follows: Brief description of the drawings Fig 1 is a schematic representation of a safety system in accordance with the present invention; Detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings Referring to Figure 1 there is shown a safety system 1 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention for mounting in a high performance vehicle including a Formula One car or a car involved in Nascar racing to substantially improve safety of a car and driver. The safety system includes at least one safety unit system including a housing unit 2 adapted for mounting in a cockpit portion of a racing car. The housing unit has mounted therein a control circuit 11 such as a printed circuit board (not shown), a power source 3 and an information transfer means 4 electrically connected to the power source via the control circuit board. The housing is made from forged carbon fibre or carbon fibre, which protects sensors, wiring and circuitry mounted therewithin. The safety system shown further includes an infra-red sensor 5 and a sensor 6 intermediate the power source and information transfer means. In use both the infra-red sensor 5 and sensor 6 are mounted in close proximity on a body portion of a racing car (not shown). Both the infra-red sensor 5 and a sensor 6 are electrically connected to the printed circuit board and power source. In operation, the infra-red sensor 5 constantly emits a light beam 7, and intersects with an object 8, either moving such as another car, or static object such as a barrier. The sensor 6 is calibrated to measure distance between the car or at least the portion of the car on which the sensor is mounted and the object 8, and sensor 6 is activated when the light beam 7 intersects with an object 8. Once activated, the sensor 6 measures the distance between the car body and the point of intersection between the light beam and object 8. The sensor 6 is positioned along side the infra red sensor 5 and operates to read where the beam of red light stops or intersects with an object, for example 100 metres to the nearest car behind or 1 metre along side of a racing car.

In operation, the infrared sensor emits a high intensity beam of red light from its stationary mounted position and contacts an object in the path of the beam. The infra red sensors are usually positioned on each comer of the front and rear spoilers and on the side of the racing car so as to cover substantially all passing zones or contact zones. The distance measuring sensor 6 is positioned adjacent each of the infrared sensors whereby the distance sensors function to measure where the emitted beam intersects an object for example the infra red beam may intersect a nearest object being a car 100 meters behind the rear spoiler or 1 meter along side of racing car. The distance measuring sensor 6 as shown is operatively connected to the information transfer means 4 so that distance calculated by the sensor 6 is received by information transfer means 4. The safety system also includes a display device 9, which in this embodiment is a flexible liquid crystal display screen adapted for fitting on a curved visor portion of helmet (not shown). The flexible LCD screen can include a multicoloured readout indicator and full high definition for numerical and/or visual indication from a digital readout. The display device 9 is electrically connected to the information transfer means 4 and electrical input signal received by the information transfer means from distance measuring sensor 6 is transferred to the LCD display screen and displayed as a digital readout. In a further embodiment (not shown), a racing car vehicle includes a plurality of safety units. Hardware for 1 infrared distance measuring component usually includes a mother board that comprises 1 distance measuring sensor connected to a power source, and a ribbon chord electrically interconnecting the mother board to the liquid crystal display, which is located inside a safety helmet. The mother board is ideally located in a carbon/Kevlar composite box that is sealed in the cockpit of the race car out of harms way and out of sight.

In a further embodiment (not shown), a small liquid crystal display screen is fastened inside a safety helmet and contoured to the inside shape thereof where a driver can readily view the front of the car the driver would not have to move at all or move his eyes down much to view all the distances that all the sensors are providing that are located around the tip of the outer extremities of the race car these LCD liquid crystal displays would be on close proximity to each other as there needs to be at least 8-10 fitted into the inside of a race helmet .

Claims

1. A safety system for use in a vehicle such as a racing car or motorcycle or the like, the system including: at least one safety unit comprising: a housing unit adapted for mounting in a cockpit portion of a racing car or chassis portion of a motorcycle, the housing unit having a power source and an information transfer means mounted therein and operatively interconnected thereto; an infra-red sensor operatively connected to the power source, the infra red sensor being mountable to a portion of the racing car remote from the housing unit, wherein the infra-red sensor is of sufficient intensity in a powered condition to emit a beam capable of intersecting an object proximal to or distal from the racing car; a distance determining sensor operatively connected to the power source and mountable close by the infra-red sensor, remote from the housing unit, whereby the distance measuring sensor detects the intersection between the infra-red beam and an object, and calculates the distance between the racing car and the object; a display means powered by the power source, the display means adapted for location on a visor or portion of a safety helmet or the like device; wherein the information transfer means is powered by the power source and operatively connected to the distance determining sensor, whereby distance determined by the distance determining sensor is transmitted to the information transfer means; and wherein in an operating condition the information transfer means transfers information to display means and displays a readable output in real time such that a driver of the racing car or motorcycle is able to assess location of the racing car relative to an object or objects so as to substantially improve driver awareness and safety. - 11

2. A safety system for use in a vehicle such as a racing car or motorcycle or the like according to claim 1 wherein the safety unit further includes a speaker device powered by the power source, the speaker adapted for location on or within a drivers safety helmet whereby a high frequency audible noise is emitted by the speaker when the distance determining sensor detects an object within a predetermined distance from the racing car.

3. A safety system for use in a vehicle such as a racing car or motorcycle or the like according to claim 1 wherein the display means includes a colour indicator display calibrated to exhibit a colour for relative critical information.

4. A safety unit for substantially improving safety in high performance vehicles such as a racing car or motorcycle or the like including: a housing unit adapted for mounting in a cockpit portion of a racing car or chassis portion of a motorcycle or the like, the housing unit having a power source and an information transfer means mounted therein and operatively interconnected thereto; an infra-red sensor operatively connected to the power source, the infra-red sensor being mountable to a portion of the racing car remote from the housing unit, wherein the infra-red sensor is of sufficient intensity in a powered condition to emit a beam capable of intersecting an object proximal to or distal from the racing car; a distance determining sensor operatively connected to the power source and mountable adjacent the infra-red sensor, remote from the housing unit, whereby the distance measuring sensor detects the intersection between the infra-red beam and an object, and calculates the distance between the racing car and the object; a display means powered by the power source, the display means adapted for location on a visor or portion of a safety helmet or the like device; wherein the information transfer means is powered by the power source and operatively connected to the distance determining sensor, whereby distance determined by the distance determining sensor is transmitted to the information transfer means; and - I/ wherein in an operating condition the information transfer means transfers information to display means and displays a readable output in real time such that a driver of the racing car or motorcycle is able to assess location of the racing car relative to an object or objects so as to substantially improve driver awareness and safety.

5. A safety system for use in a vehicle such as a racing car or motorcycle or the like substantially hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.