ES1306133U - DEVICE TO AVOID PEDESTRIANS HITTING IN BLIND ZONES GENERATED BY VEHICLES (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding) - Google Patents

Abstract

Device (1) to avoid pedestrian collisions in blind zones generated by vehicles, incorporating into own vehicles (4) of the type that comprise a plurality of first sensors (2) for detecting foreign vehicles (3) in circulation, and with a first detection field (20) oriented on the sides of said own vehicle (4), characterized in that it comprises, at least, a first element signaling the presence of foreign vehicles (3) in the first detection field (20) of the first sensors (2), arranged in the area of appreciation (5) of pedestrians (10) who cross in the area of the vehicle (4). (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding)

Description

DESCRIPTION

DEVICE TO AVOID PEDESTRIANS HITS IN BLIND AREAS

GENERATED BY VEHICLES

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a device to avoid accidents in blind zones generated by vehicles, which are those areas of the road in which a pedestrian who is crossing in front or behind the vehicle does not appreciate why the stopped vehicle itself is covering it, and where this lack of visibility prevents you from seeing if any other vehicle is coming that could be dangerous when crossing the street or other similar maneuvers. The device warns pedestrians of this circumstance to prevent them. Additionally, it can also include a warning to the car of another approaching vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In everyday life there are dangerous situations caused by vehicles - normally large ones such as buses, trucks and similar - that generate blind areas where the pedestrian cannot see if other vehicles are coming when wandering along the road, for example, to cross the street. . These situations are very common in urban areas: buses stopped, unloading or receiving passengers at their stops, or trucks and delivery vans loading/unloading merchandise, while other vehicles circulate on the same road, passing the bus or heavy vehicle a few centimeters down the road. parallel lane, normally the left, without pedestrians having any visibility to appreciate their arrival, given the volume of the vehicle itself.

It is relatively common for a traveler getting off the bus, or another pedestrian who is nearby (in many cases children coming from a school bus), to try to cross the road passing in front of it, without any vision of possible vehicles. circulating that may be passing the bus at that time. This gives rise to accidents, usually serious accidents, due to the lack of visibility of vehicle over pedestrian, and pedestrian over vehicle; which can lead, and in fact leads on many occasions, to a fatal outcome.

It is equally and sadly common that some bus stops are incorrectly located, such as those immediately before a zebra crossing or a pedestrian crossing, so that while the bus is parked at its stop, Pedestrians who intend to use the zebra crossing or pedestrians have almost zero visibility as to whether a vehicle is preparing to overtake the bus, since said visibility is blocked by the volume of the bus itself.

The problem is well known; For example, the Road Safety publication "Circular Seguro" (https://www.circulaseguro.com/las-paradas-de-autobus-y-el-riesgo-de-atropello/) indicates that:

"An especially conflictive case is that of the space surrounding buses, particularly in the vicinity of the stops they make on their routes. The risk is generated in a simple way. On the one hand, the passenger getting off the bus looks for the right place. What is best for him to cross the street and go towards his destination? On the other hand, the driver of the car approaching the bus perceives this vehicle as an obstacle in his way and tries to get it out of his way by any means possible";

This Cadena Ser article also talks about the problem:

(https://cadenaser.com/ser/2021/11/15/sociedad/1636959702_423484.html):

"The lack of visibility caused the incident. Since the bus stopped in the middle of the road, it considerably reduced the visibility of both the school boys and girls and the rest of the vehicles circulating on the road. For the same reason, and Since he did not see any danger, the boy tried to cross the road quickly to get home before anyone else was that there was a truck in the opposite lane that was advancing without knowing the position of the infant.

In the previous line, according to the European regulation GSR UNECE R159-MOIS (Information System at the start of the march), and the American counterpart (among others) require in the near future that all heavy vehicles of more than a certain tonnage, incorporate 180° pedestrian detectors, but always aimed at warning the driver of the heavy vehicle itself about the imminent danger, not those of other vehicles, and much less pedestrians.

To try to minimize the problem, the applicant is the owner of utility model 202330262 referring to an exterior warning device for vehicles to prevent accidents, which is installed in vehicles that have one or more pedestrian detection sensors, with an oriented detection field. in front of the front of the vehicle (range of 0 to 5 meters), and which also includes a visual signaling element (a light beacon, fixed or flashing, with iconography or text or not) of the presence of pedestrians crossing fixed on the vehicle , and oriented towards the lateral area of the vehicle against the direction of traffic in said lateral area, associated with the pedestrian detection sensors in the detection field, to connect in the event of the presence of pedestrians in said area and warn other second vehicles that they are overtaking the vehicle in question and avoid hitting it due to lack of vision.

In this way, it is possible to avoid the collision of pedestrians who cross the road in front of a stopped bus or truck, without prior visibility of a possible vehicle that is traveling parallel to said bus or truck, and without prior visibility of said vehicle on the pedestrian crossing the road, since pedestrians will be detected by the sensors and the signaling element, which is visible to drivers on that side, will warn the passing vehicle of this circumstance, allowing it to stop.

However, this device does not warn the pedestrian, so if the driver of the second vehicle (the one overtaking) is distracted, the pedestrian may be run over, a problem that is solved with the present invention.

In relation to the invention, it must be said that sensors are currently known for detecting other vehicles that approach from the sides of the vehicle to pass it, and/or from the front or rear), or pedestrians, and that they are They are used, for example, to turn on a light in the side mirror to warn the driver of this circumstance. These sensors have a detection field oriented on the sides of said vehicle to precisely detect movements in these areas.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The device to avoid pedestrian collisions in blind zones generated by vehicles (that is, areas where the pedestrian does not see the road because it is covered by the stopped vehicle itself, normally in front of or behind said vehicle that he passes by when crossing) is It is used in vehicles that comprise a plurality of first sensors -already existing in the vehicle itself-, for detecting other vehicles and pedestrians in circulation. The vehicle that will incorporate the device (hereinafter "own vehicle" in this document), is normally a large vehicle, such as a truck, bus, cargo vehicle, etc., and is the one that generates the blind zones. These first sensors They have a first detection field oriented on the sides and/or front or rear (blind areas) of said vehicle, with sufficient range, for example of about 5-10 meters maximum.

In addition to the above, and according to the invention, the device comprises:

-at least a first signaling element (a warning device (optical and/or acoustic) of the presence of foreign vehicles in the first detection field of the first sensors, arranged in the pedestrian appreciation area (area where pedestrians can appreciate the warnings from the first signaling element, normally on the front of the vehicle in question) that cross the area of the vehicle itself (normally in front or behind it).

In this way, and automatically, the pedestrian who intends to cross the road will be warned in advance of any vehicle that approaches his wandering area through the blind zone hidden by the vehicle in front of or behind the one he is crossing, and may take safety measures. self-protection (leave carefully, stop, turn back, etc.)

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1.- Shows a plan view of the operation of the device of the invention, and an enlarged detail of the same where a first housing with first sensors and first signaling elements can be seen.

Figure 2 shows a detail of a first housing of the device of the invention, where the first sensors and first signaling elements are arranged.

Figure 3.- Shows a view of the second housing, where the second sensors and second signaling elements are arranged, in this case for the drivers of other vehicles.

Figure 4.- Shows a front view of the vehicle that implements the device of the invention.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

The device (1) to avoid pedestrian collisions in blind areas generated by vehicles of the invention comprises (see figs. 1 and 2):

-a plurality of first sensors (2) for detecting foreign vehicles (3) in circulation, arranged in the own vehicle (4), and with a first detection field (20) oriented on the sides and front and/or rear ( blind zones) of said own vehicle (4), and - at least one first optical and/or acoustic signaling element of the presence of foreign vehicles (3) in the first detection field (20) of the first sensors (2), arranged in the area of appreciation (5) of pedestrians (10) who cross in the area of their own vehicle (4).

The first element signaling the presence of foreign vehicles (3) in the detection field (20) of the first sensors (2) may be a first visual warning device (7), or a first acoustic warning device (8), or both. It is preferred that these signaling elements be arranged in a first resistant and watertight housing (9), to protect them from impacts and the atmospheric agents themselves, so that assembly can be facilitated in any existing vehicle by simply installing the housings ( 9) and its components and necessary wiring.

In addition, a control (11) can also be provided, accessible to the driver of the vehicle (4), associated with the signaling elements, to manually warn pedestrians.

Additionally, the invention may also comprise the arrangement of one or more second sensors (103) for detecting pedestrians (10) (see figs. 1, 3 and 4), with a second detection field (130) oriented in front of the front part of the vehicle (4), and a second signaling element (visual (105) and/or acoustic (107)) of the presence of pedestrians (10) crossing, fixed on the vehicle (4) and oriented towards the lateral area of the own vehicle (4) against the direction of traffic in said lateral area, associated with the second sensors (103), to simultaneously warn the drivers of the vehicles that circulate in the blind area that a pedestrian that they do not see may appear, and they themselves can take precautionary measures. A second resistant and watertight casing (108) can be provided that covers these second sensors (103) and second signaling elements, or the second sensors (103) or some or all of the second signaling elements, the markers being able to be on one or both sides. of your own vehicle (4). Likewise, the second signaling elements can be associated with the control (11) to be operated directly by the driver.

Having sufficiently described the nature of the invention, it is indicated that the description of the same and its preferred embodiment must be interpreted in a non-limiting manner, and that it covers all the possible embodiment variants that can be deduced from the content of this report. and the demands.

Claims (5)

1. -Device (1) to avoid pedestrian collisions in blind zones generated by vehicles, incorporating into own vehicles (4) of the type that comprise a plurality of first sensors (2) for detecting foreign vehicles (3) in circulation, and with a first detection field (20) oriented on the sides of said own vehicle (4), characterized in that it comprises, at least, a first element signaling the presence of foreign vehicles (3) in the first detection field (20) of the first sensors (2), arranged in the area of appreciation (5) of pedestrians (10) who cross in the area of the vehicle (4). 2. -Device (1) to avoid pedestrian collisions in blind zones generated by vehicles according to claim 1, where the first element signaling the presence of foreign vehicles (3) in the detection field (20) of the first sensors (2), is selected from one or more of the following: -a first visual warning (7), -a first acoustic warning (8). 3. -Device (1) to avoid pedestrian collisions in blind areas generated by vehicles according to any of the previous claims, where the signaling elements are arranged in a first resistant and watertight casing (9). 4. -Device (1) to avoid pedestrian collisions in blind areas generated by vehicles according to any of the previous claims, which comprises a control (11), accessible to the driver of the vehicle (4), associated with the signaling elements. 5. -Device (1) to avoid pedestrian collisions in blind zones generated by vehicles according to any of the preceding claims, which comprises one or more second sensors (103) for detecting pedestrians (10), with a second detection field (130). ) oriented in front of the front part of the own vehicle (4), and a second element signaling the presence of pedestrians (10) crossing, fixed on the own vehicle (4) and oriented towards the side area of the own vehicle (4) against the direction of circulation in said lateral area, associated with the second sensors (103).