AU676005B2 - Improved taxidriver protection screen - Google Patents

Description

-1- I000I I Regulalton 32

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for service Frank Joseph HART Frank Joseph HART in Australia: CARTER SMITH BEADLE 2 Railway Parade Camberwell Victoria 3124 Australia Invention Title: IMPROVED TAXIDRIVER PROTECTION SCREEN Details of Associated Provisional Application: PL8229 filed 8 April 1993 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us 2 TITLE: IMPROVED TAXIDRIVER PROTECTION SCREEN This invention relates to a driver protection screen for motor vehicles and more particularly to a screen for protecting taxi drivers against assault by a passenger or passengers s within the taxicab.

Various different types of screens have been used in the past and generally have been permanently fixed in position within the vehicle. Whilst the screens have no doubt provided a deterrent to assailants they also provide some inconvenience to the driver in communicating with passengers and in collecting of fares. During daytime use of the taxicab the risk of assault to the taxi driver is far less than at night so much so that it would be preferable to have the screen removed during daytime use of the taxicab and installed during nightis time use of the taxicab. Of course removal and refitting of existing driver safety screens on a day to day basis is not practicable since the procedure takes some considerable time due to the manner in which the screens are secured within the ooeoo S"vehicle.

S 20 It is also desirable with screens of the aforementioned kind that the screen does not interfere with normal passenger and driver movement inside the vehicle and does not present a o hazard to vehicle occupants in the case of an accident. The screen must also offer an acceptable level of protection.

In view of the above, it is a main object of this invention to provide a driver safety screen for taxi cabs which is quickly and easily removed and installed without the need for tools, and which offers an acceptable level of protection without unduly affecting driver and passenger safety and comfort.

Accordingly the invention provides a driver safety screen for taxi cabs, said screen being formed of strong and durable sheet material and having a back portion which, in use, extends from the top of the ariver's seat to adjacent the vehicle roof, side wings extending forwardly from said back portion on each side of said driver's seat, and connecting means for removably PRS:AM:23431.CAP 18 December 1996 3connecting said screen to head rest mounting rods of said ot; e -secO vehicle seat and to said seat adjacent the bottom Ch3e©£, said back portion and side wings forming an enclosure protecting said driver's head from rearward or sideways attack by an s assailant.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood one particular embodiment will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: FIGURE 1 is a perspective front view of a screen according to the invention; FIGURE 2 is a plan view showing the screen of FIGURE 1 in position mounted to a driver's seat; FIGURE 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2 and; FIGURE 4 is a front elevation showing the streen in position on a vehicle seat.

The screen 10 is formed essentially of polycarbonate sheet material which is at least 3 mm thick and preferably thiclker.

The screen 10 has a back portion 11 which, in use, extends from adjacent the top of the driver's seat to a point closely 20 adjacent the vehicle roof. The back portion 11 also has a downwardly extending portion 12 which extends from adjacent the top of the driver's seat to a position adjacent the floor of the vehicle. The downwardly extending portion 12 and the back portion 11 are coplanar and contiguous.

25 The polycarbonate material is folded to provide side wings 13 and 14 respectively, which extend forwardly from the back portion 11 and the downwardly extending portion 12 at an angle of about 110° thereto. Each of the side wings 13 and 14 comprises an upper portion 15 and 16, respectively, and a lower portion 17 and 18, respectively. The side wings 13 and 14 extend forwardly from the back portion sufficiently to provide protection to the driver from sideways attacks.

The screen according to this embodiment is manufactured for right-hand drive vehicles and for vehicles having hwoket seats. The lower portion 17 of the side wing 13 has an X additional fold to provide a further wing 19 which fits between SP :AM:23431.CAP 18 Dcemiber 1996 3l7o 4 the driver's seat and a centre console of the vehicle.

Likewise, a further wing 20 on the lower portion 18 of side wing 14 is necessary to avoid the screen interfering with the driver's door or lower doorsill. A ctut-out 21 in the side wing s 14 allows passage of a driver's seat belt, The screen defined thus far is formed from a single sheet of poly,-arbonate material which is folded in the manner described. A frame member 22 is securely fixed to the screen as shown in Figure 1 by rivets (not shown) which pass through the polycarbonate material and into the frame member 22. The frame member 22 is formed of metal and adds considerable rigidity to the overall screen 10. A pair of spaced eyelets 23 are rigidly secured to the frame member 22 and are spaced apart a distance equal to the spacing between head rest mounting rods (not shown) which form part of a head rest 24 of the vehicle to which the screen is to be fitted. In other words, the eyelets 23 are adapted to receive the head rest mounting rods which i pass one through each of the eyelets 23.

The bottom edge of the downwardly extending portion 12 of the screen has a forwardly depending ledge 25 to which a pair of elastic straps 26 such as octopus straps, may be attached.

The straps 26 have hooks at each end and extend under the oo driver's seat from the rear of the seat and may be attached to the underside of the seat either at the seat cushion springs or other parts of the underside of the driver's seat such as the seat frame. These straps 26 should be stretched forwardly as far as possible to rigidly hold the bottom of the screen against the rear of the driver's seat.

In order to install the screen 10 in a motor vehicle, it is merely necessary to firstly remove the head rest and then place the screen in position so that the eyelets 23 align with the holes in the top of the seat back which accommodate the headrest mounting rods. The headrest 24 is then replaced in position on the seat and the headrest rods retain the screen in position by means of the eyelets 23 and the frame member 22.

The elastic straps 26 are then passed under the seat from the PRS:AM:23431.CAP 18 December 1996 v rear and attached to a suitable locating point on the underside of the seat so that they firmly hold the bottom of the screen against the seat. The screen is then firmly secured in position and this entire operation takes less than a few s minutes and does not require any specialised tools. Removal is the reverse procedure and takes even less time.

Whilst the screen described above in relation to one embodiment of the invention is for the purpose of installation on bucket seats, a modified version is readily mountable on a bench type seat. The bench seat version merely omits the lower portions 17 and 18 of the respective side wings 13 and 14.

According to another modification the back portion 11 may not have a downwardly extending portion 12 as in the described embodiment. Alternatively, the frame member 22 may merely have downwardly extending legs on respective sides whereby the bottom portions of the legs may be attached by elastic straps similar to those used in the above described embodiment. This modified version is more suitable to bench seats rather than bucket seats as it excludes the possibility of the lower side 20 wing portions 17 and 18.

S• According to a further modification the straps 26 may be replaced or supplemented by metal or other brackets which hook under the driver's seat. Also, the eyelets 23 may be clamps or hook bolts instead of closed loops to facilitate situations S: 5 where the headrest cannot be removed because of say, sc.A covers which incorporate the headrest in which case it is necessary to make a small cut in the headrest to allow the clamps or hook bolts to be connected to the headrest.

It should be apparent from the above, that the present invention provides a much improved driver protection screen.

The clear strong polycarbonate material used in the screen is virtually unbreakable and therefore it is virtually impossible for an assailant to attack the driver from behind. The side screens provide a limited degree of protection from attack from a front seat passenger. The clear polycarbonate means that the driver's vision is not impaired and the unique manner in which PRS:AM:23431.CAP 18 Deccmber 1996 -6 the screen is mounted in a taxi cab enables it to be removed and refitted between shifts. Thus, the screen may be removed from the vehicle during daytime use and installed at the start of a night shift. Of course the dimensions of the screen will s depend on the particular type of vehicle into which it is to be installed and of course the size and shape of the side wings 13 and 14 may be altered to suit particular vehicles or to provide varying degrees of sideways protection. The manner in which the screen is mounted means that it does not present any problems in accident situations. The spacing between the eyelets 23 on the frame member 22 may, in an alternative embodiment be adjustable to adapt to different spacings between the head rest mounting rods. This should enable the one screen to be used for various different makes of motor vehicle.

Clearly, the installation of the safety screen does not require any structural change to the vehicle which means that it is not necessary to make any repairs when the taxi is to be sold for *i*s non-taxi use. The claims form part of the description of the present invention.

9* *o• PRS:AM:23431.CAP 18 December 1996

Claims (7)

1. A driver safety screen for taxi cabs, said screen being formed of strong and durable sheet material and having a back portion which, in use, extends from the top of the s driver's seat to adjacent the vehicle roof, side wings extending forwardly from said back portion on each side of said driver's seat, and connecting means for removably connecting said screen to head rest mounting rods of said vehicle seat and 1K we? selC to said seat adjacent the bottomn~eer said back portion and side wings forming an enclosure protecting said driver's head from rearward or sideways attack by an assailant.

2. A driver safety screen as defined in claim 1 wherein said connecting means includes a pair of spaced eyelet members which extend forwardly from said back portion to provide loops through which said headrest mounting rods pass in order to secure said screen to said seat.

3. A driver safety screen as defined in claim 2 wherein said connecting means further includes a downward extension of said back portion which terminates adjacent the bottom of said 20 seat, said connecting means further includes attachment means for removably attaching the bottom end of said downward extension to said seat. *0

4. A driver safety screen as defined in claim 3 wherein said screen is formed from polycarbonate sheet material and a 25 metal frame member is attached to said polycarbonate material at a level, in use, adjacent said top of said driver's seat, said frame member extending across said back and said side 0: wings, respectively, and providing mounting for said eyelet members.

5. A driver safety screen as defined in claim 4 wherein said attachment means comprises elastic straps which connect between a bottom edge of said back portion and the underside of said seat.

6. A driver safety screen as defined in any one of the preceding claims wherein said back portion and side wings are i RA formed integral from a single sheet of material and both said 18 December 1996 -8 back memb;x and side wings extend over the full height of said screen when said screen is in use.

7. A driver safety screen substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED: 18 December 1996 CARTER SMITH BEADLE Patent Attorneys for the Applicant: Frank Joseph HART 0 0 PRSAM:23431.CAP18Dcmbr96 IS D=mber 1996 9 ABSTRACT A driver safety screen 10 for taxi cabs is formed of polycarbonate sheet material and comprises a back portion 11,12 which extends substantially from the floor to the roof of the vehicle behind the driver's seat. Side wings 13,14 extend forwardly from each side of the back portion on either side of the seat and a metal frame 22 provides rigidity and support. Eyelets 23 are attached to the frame and are adapted in use to receive the mounting rods of a heat rest 24 of the seat. Elastic straps 26 attach to the bottom edge of the screen and are adapted to connect to the underside of the driver's seat. The screen is therefore easily and quickly installed and removed from a taxicab. A bench seat version (not shown) is similar but does not have the lower side wings 17,18 shown in the bucket seat version. oooo *o *eoo PRS:AM:23431.CAP 18 December 1996 _1