US20090196688A1

US20090196688A1 - Glare screen for road median barriers

Info

Publication number: US20090196688A1
Application number: US12/310,170
Authority: US
Inventors: Shin Nam Park
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-08-18
Filing date: 2007-08-14
Publication date: 2009-08-06
Also published as: WO2008020702A1; JP2010501742A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a glare screen for road median barriers, which is configured not only to enable the locations of median barriers to be distinguished, both at night and in bad weather, but also to enable the road traffic conditions ahead to be determined. The glare screen for road median barriers according to the present invention includes a safety guidance lamp using solar power, by which the locations of median barriers can be easily distinguished at night or in bad weather, so that safe travel can be achieved and traffic accidents can be prevented from occurring.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a glare screen for road median barriers and, more particularly, to a glare screen for road median barriers, which has a new structure in which a safety lamp, that is, a light-emitting lamp using solar power, is provided so as to make it easy to distinguish the locations of the median barriers and to detect the traffic conditions ahead.
Generally, median barriers are installed in the central portion of a vehicle-only road, such as an expressway, along which vehicles travel at high speeds, in order to prevent major traffic accidents from occurring. Glare screens are mounted on respective median barriers, and thus enable safe travel by blocking light directly emitted from the headlights of vehicles traveling in the opposite direction when traveling at night.
In this case, reflecting plates that reflect light emitted from the headlights of traveling vehicles are mounted to the respective glare screens, and thus the median barriers can be easily distinguished using the reflecting plates even when a vehicle is traveling at night.
However, the reflecting plates are easily soiled by dust, exhaust fumes discharged by vehicles, and the like, so that the function thereof is not sufficiently exhibited when light from the headlights of vehicles is radiated on the reflecting plates at night, and the median barriers are not easily distinguished in bad weather, with the result that a problem occurs in that traffic accidents occur frequently because drivers cannot distinguish the median barriers at night. Furthermore, the reflecting plates are problematic in that light from headlights may not be reflected if the light is not perpendicularly radiated on the reflecting plates.
Meanwhile, in the case where street lamps are not installed along the road along which the median barriers are installed, it is difficult to determine the road traffic conditions ahead at night, and thus the number of traffic accidents is increased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been proposed to solve the fundamental problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a glare screen for road median barriers, which is configured not only to enable the locations of median barriers to be distinguished, both at night and in bad weather, but also to enable the road traffic conditions ahead to be determined.
In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a glare screen for road median barriers, the glare screen being mounted on a corresponding median barrier, installed in the central portion of a road, such as an expressway, along which vehicles travel at relatively high speeds, and blocking light from the headlights of vehicles that travel in an oncoming lane, the glare screen including a safety guidance lamp mounted to an upper side surface of the glare screen and constructed using a Light Emitting Diode (LED), which is turned on or off to emit red light; safety traveling lamps mounted to each side surface of the glare screen, and constructed using two-color LEDs that are turned on or off to emit red and green light; a solar cell mounted to the upper side surface of the glare screen, facing upwards, converting solar energy into electrical energy, and supplying the electrical energy to the safety guidance lamp and the safety traveling lamps as power; a storage battery accumulating electricity generated by the solar cell; speed detection sensors mounted to the respective side surfaces of the glare screen, and configured to detect the speeds of vehicles; and a control unit connected to the speed detection sensor, turning on or off the two-color LEDs of the safety traveling lamps to emit red or green light, and turning on the LED of the safety guidance lamp, when signals, indicating that vehicles travel at high or low speeds, are transmitted.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the glare screen further includes an illumination detection sensor that is connected to the control unit. In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, the glare screen further includes a protection window mounted directly on the solar cell so as to be able to slide to one side of the solar cell; a brush configured such that the circumferential portion thereof comes into direct contact with the upper surface of one end of the protection window, and configured to come into frictional contact with the protection window while operating in conjunction with rotation of a motor and to brush the top surface of the protection window while the protection window slides to one side; and a spring configured such that one end thereof is fastened to the protection window and the remaining end thereof is fastened to the glare screen, and restoring the protection window, which is slidably moved to one side by the brush.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims and accompanying drawings where

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a glare screen for road median barriers according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the glare screen for road median barriers according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the principal part of a dust removal device, which is provided on the solar cell protecting means of the glare screen according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a circuit block diagram of a median barrier system according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a glare screen for road median barriers according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the glare screen for road median barriers according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a sectional side view of the mounting casing of the glare screen according to the second embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 8 is a circuit block diagram of a median barrier system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS OF PRINCIPAL ELEMENTS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings below.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a glare screen for road median barriers according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the glare screen for road median barriers according to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the principal part of a dust removal device, which is provided on the solar cell protecting means of the glare screen according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a circuit block diagram of a median barrier system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in the drawings, the glare screen for road median barriers according to the present invention is mounted on a median barrier, which is installed in the central portion of a road, such as an expressway, along which vehicles travel at relatively high speeds, and divides the road into two sets of lanes for travel in opposite directions. Such glare screens 15 are formed from recycled material by breaking waste tires, waste vinyl and waste acrylic into small pieces and mixing and melting them, and are continuously engaged with each other via separate fastening connection brackets 16 on the median barriers 10, and are thus fixed.
In this case, a safety guidance lamp 100, which is constructed using an LED 110, is provided on the top surface of each glare screen 15. The LED 110 of the safety guidance lamp 100 emits red light, and is automatically turned on or off under the control of a control unit 400. Thus, the LED 110 is automatically turned on during the day when it becomes difficult to distinguish it, such as at night. Accordingly, the safety guidance lamp 100, emitting light, is provided on the top surface of the glare screen 15 of each median barrier 10, so that, when traveling at night, the locations of the median barriers 10 can be easily distinguished, therefore safe travel can be achieved.
Furthermore, safety traveling lamps 120 are provided in each side surface of each glare screen 15 and are spaced apart from each other at regular intervals in the transverse direction of the glare screen 15. The safety traveling lamps 120 are flush with the glare screen 15 rather than protruding outside. Each of the safety traveling lamps 120 may be constructed using two-color LEDs 130, each of which is turned on or off to emit red or green light, or may be constructed using a LED matrix having a structure in which a plurality of LEDs is arranged in rows and columns at regular intervals.
Here, a typical two-color LED 130 is provided with three terminals, that is, a common terminal, a red indication terminal, and a green indication terminal, and operates in such a way that it is turned on to emit red light when power is applied to the common terminal and the red indication terminal, and it is turned on to emit green light when power is applied to the common terminal and the green indication terminal.
In this case, it is preferred that the two-color LEDs 130 be implemented using high-brightness LEDs so that they can be seen from at a long distance.
In this case, a solar cell 200, which supplies power to the LED 110 of the safety guidance lamp 100 and the two-color LEDs 130 of the safety traveling lamps 120 and, is disposed in the longitudinal direction of the glare screen 15, is horizontally fixed in the upper surface of the glare screen 15, and faces upwards. Furthermore, speed detection sensors 300, which detect the speeds of traveling vehicles and transmit the detected speeds to the control unit 400 as signals, are provided on the respective side surfaces of the glare screen 15. An illumination detection sensor 500, which detects the brightness of surrounding light and transmits the detected brightness to the control unit 400 as signals, is provided on the top surface of the glare screen 15.
Accordingly, when the speed of a traveling vehicle is transmitted to the control unit 400 as a signal by a speed detection sensor 300, the control unit 400 performs control so that the two-color LEDs 120 are turned on/off to emit red or green light according to the speed of the vehicle. Furthermore, when a signal is received from the illumination detection sensor 500, the control unit 400 performs control so that the safety guidance lamp 100 and the safety traveling lamps 120 are turned on/off only at night. That is, the LED 110 and the two-color LEDs 130 are turned on only at night.
Furthermore, a storage battery 250 is also provided in the glare screen 15, and accumulates the electrical energy of the solar cell 200. That is, the electrical energy generated by the solar cell 200 in the daytime is accumulated.
The first embodiment is described in detail in conjunction with the circuit block diagram of a system, which is shown in FIG. 4 to describe the control flow of the glare screen for median barriers. The safety guidance lamp 100 provided on the glare screen 15 is turned on only at night, under the control of the control unit 400. When signals, indicating that vehicles are traveling at high speeds and that there is no congestion, are transmitted to the control unit 400 by the speed detection sensors 300, which are provided on the respective sides of the glare screen 15, the control unit 400 makes drivers aware of the fact that the flow of vehicles on the road is uninterrupted by turning on or off the two-color LEDs 130 of the safety traveling lamps 120 so as to emit green light. In contrast, when signals indicating that vehicles are traveling at low speeds, for example, at a speed of less than 20 □/h, are transmitted to the control unit 400, the control unit 400 makes drivers traveling on the road aware of the congestion on the road ahead by turning on or off the two-color LEDs 130 of the safety traveling lamps 120 so that red light is emitted, and thus the drivers can reduce the speeds of their vehicles in advance. Accordingly, traffic accidents can be prevented from occurring. When vehicles travel at a speed of more than 20 □/h, that is, when the traveling of the vehicles is uninterrupted, the two-color LEDs 130 of the safety traveling lamps 120 are turned on or off to emit green light.
Meanwhile, the illumination detection sensor 500 is provided on the glare screen 10, which transmits the brightness of surrounding light to the control unit 400 as a signal. Accordingly, when the illumination detection sensor 500 transmits the brightness of surrounding light of the glare screen 15 to the control unit 400 as a signal, the control unit 400 turns on/off the LEDs 110 and 130 of the safety guidance/ safety traveling lamps 100 and 120 in the darkness of night, or in bad weather.
Furthermore, a solar cell protecting means, which is used to prevent the surface of the solar cell 200 from being soiled, is provided on the solar cell 200. The solar cell protecting means includes a transparent protection window 600, which is mounted directly on the solar cell 200 so as to be able to slide to one side of the solar cell 200 and covers or does not cover the surface of the solar cell 200, a motor 750, which is mounted on one side of one end of the protection window 600, a brush 700, which is fastened to the drive shaft of the motor 750 directly on the one end of the protection window 600 so that the circumferential portion comes into contact with the top surface of the protection window 600, and a spring 800, which is configured such that one end thereof is fastened to the remaining end of the protection window 600, and the remaining end thereof is fastened to the median barrier. In this case, it is preferred that the protection window 600 be made of synthetic resin material having a light weight.
Accordingly, the protection window 600 covers the solar cell 200 at normal times, and damage to the solar cell 200 is prevented from occurring. When dust is collected on the top surface of the protection window 600, and thus the surface of the protection window 600 becomes dirty, the brush 700 rotates by driving the motor 750 and the circumferential portion of the brush 700 comes into contact with the protection window 600, so that the dust adhered to the surface thereof is removed through frictional contact while the protection window 600 is slidably moved to one side. When the motor 750 stops, the protection window 600 is restored by the spring 800.
In this case, a timer 900 is connected to the control unit 400 so that the motor 750 can be operated only for a predetermined period of time. Accordingly, when the timer 900 periodically generates a signal for the predetermined period of time, the control unit 400 performs control so that power is applied to the motor 750 and thus the motor 750 operates, and thus the dust is removed from the protection window 600.
According to the above-described construction, the glare screen for road median barriers according to the present invention includes a safety guidance lamp 100, which is constructed using an LED 110 that is turned on/off to emit red light using solar power, so that drivers can easily detect the locations of median barriers 10 using the safety guidance lamp 100, which emits light even at night or in bad weather, therefore enabling safe traveling to be achieved and the number of traffic accidents to be reduced. Furthermore, the safety traveling lamps 120, which are constructed using two-color LEDs 130, which are turned on/off to emit red or green light, are mounted in each side surface of the glare screen 15, and the speed detection sensors 300 are also mounted on the respective side surfaces of the glare screen 15, so that the speeds of vehicles are detected and the two-color LEDs 120 emits red or green light according to the detected speeds, therefore drivers can determine the road traffic conditions ahead. Accordingly, safe travel can be achieved.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a glare screen for road median barriers according to a second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6 is a plan view of the glare screen for road median barriers according to the second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 7 is a sectional side view showing the principal part of the mounting casing of the glare screen according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a circuit block diagram of a median barrier system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The same reference numerals are assigned to components that are identical to those of the first embodiment, and a repeated description thereof is omitted. As shown in the drawings, the safety traveling lamps, constructed using two-color LEDs, are mounted in each of the front and rear surfaces of the glare screen 15 in the above-described embodiment, but a pair of first and second safety traveling lamps 150 and 155 is provided in each of the upper and lower portions of each of the front and rear surfaces of the glare screen 15 in the second embodiment of the present invention. That is, each pair of first and second safety traveling lamps 150 and 155 is constructed using a red LED 160 and a green LED 165, which are turned on or off to emit only red and green light beams. In other words, each first safety traveling lamp 150 is constructed using a red LED 160, and each second safety traveling lamp 155 is constructed using a green LED 165.
Accordingly, when speed detection sensors 300 transmit signals indicating that vehicles are traveling at low speeds (less than about 20 □/h) to a control unit 400, the control unit 400 turns on or off the red LED 160 of each first safety traveling lamp 150. In contrast, when vehicles travel at a speed of more than 20 □/h, the green LED 165 of each second safety traveling lamp 155 is turned on or off to emit green light, and thus drivers can determine the road traffic conditions ahead in advance.
In this case, first wind guidance tunnels 180 are formed on the respective sides of the pairs of first and second safety traveling lamps 150 and 155 so as to guide wind, which is generated by vehicles that travel at high speeds, to the pairs of first and second safety traveling lamps 150 and 155. That is, a pair of first wind guidance tunnels 180, which guide wind to a pair of first and second front safety traveling lamps 150 and 155, is formed on the glare screen 15, but another pair of first wind guidance tunnels 180, which guide wind to a pair of first and second rear safety traveling lamps 150 and 155, is connected to the glare screen 15 and is formed on a fastening bracket 15, which is fastened to the median barrier 10. In this case, the inlet of each first wind guidance tunnel 180 is formed to be larger than the outlet thereof, and thus strong wind can be discharged through the outlet.
Furthermore, a solar cell 200 is provided in a mounting casing 170, which is mounted in the upper end of the glare screen 15 to be exposed upwards. The mounting casing 170 is fixed in the upper end of the glare screen 15, and includes a casing main body 172, which is configured such that the upper portion thereof is open, and has a flange part (not indicated by a reference numeral), which protrudes outside, and a cover 174, which covers the opening part of the casing main body 172, is configured to be oscillated while maintaining airtightness using a packing 175, which is coupled with and surrounds the flange part and is provided in a portion that comes in contact with the flange part, and is made of a transparent material.
In this case, the upper surface of the cover 172 is formed to protrude upwards the increasing amount from both sides thereof to the central portion thereof to be convex. Furthermore, an illumination detection sensor 500 is mounted in the mounting casing 170, so that freezing can be prevented from occurring in the winter season by a self-heating function of the illumination detection sensor 500.
In this case, an eccentric oscillating cam 192, which is rotated by a motor 190 and is configured such that the circumferential portion comes into contact with the cover 174, is provided in the casing main body 172. Accordingly, the cover 174 is oscillated upwards and downwards by the oscillating cam 192, so that dust is prevented from being collected on the cover 174, and can also be removed.
In this case, second wind guidance tunnels 185, having a shape identical to that of the first wind guidance tunnels 180, are formed on the top surface of the glare screen 15 on both sides of the cover 174. Accordingly, wind generated by traveling vehicles can be guided to the cover 174, and thus the dust collected on the top surface of the cover 174 can be effectively removed.
As described above, although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and covers the range of embodiments that are substantially equivalent to the embodiments of the present invention.
The glare screen for road median barriers according to the present invention includes a safety guidance lamp using solar power, by which the locations of median barriers can be easily distinguished at night or in bad weather, so that safe travel can be achieved and traffic accidents can be prevented from occurring. Furthermore, the traveling states of vehicles on a road, in particular, the forward flow of vehicles, can be determined in advance from safety traveling lamps that are turned on or off so as to emit green or red light according to the speed of vehicles, so that the number of traffic accidents can be remarkably reduced.
According to the present invention, the glare screen for road median barriers includes a safety guidance lamp using solar power, by which the locations of median barriers can be easily distinguished at night or in bad weather, so that safe travel can be achieved and traffic accidents can be prevented from occurring. Furthermore, the traveling states of vehicles on a road, that is, the flow of vehicles ahead, can be determined in advance from safety traveling lamps that are turned on or off to emit green or red light according to the speed of a vehicle, so that the number of traffic accidents can be remarkably reduced.
Although certain preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, anyone of ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains should be able to understand that a large number of modifications and permutations are possible within the spirit and scope of the invention and its equivalents, which shall only be defined by the claims, appended below.

Claims

1. A glare screen for road median barriers, in which a safety lamp using solar power is provided, the glare screen being mounted on a corresponding median barrier installed in a central portion of a road, such as an expressway, along which vehicles travel at relatively high speeds, and blocking light from headlights of vehicles that travel in an oncoming lane, the glare screen comprising:

a safety guidance lamp mounted to an upper side surface of the glare screen and constructed using a light emitting diode (LED) that is turned on or off to emit red light;

a solar cell mounted to an upper side surface of the glare screen and facing upwards, converting solar energy into electrical energy, and supplying the electrical energy to the safety guidance lamp as power;

a storage battery accumulating electricity generated by the solar cell; and

a control unit turning on or off the LED of the safety guidance lamp.

2. The glare screen according to claim 1, further comprising:

speed detection sensors mounted to respective sides of the glare screen, and configured to detect speeds of vehicles and transmit the detected speeds to the control unit as signals; and

safety traveling lamps mounted to each side surface of the glare screen, and constructed using two-color LEDs, each of which is turned on or off to emit red or green light;

wherein, when the speeds of the vehicles are transmitted to the control unit by the speed detection sensors as signals, the control unit performs control so that the two-color LEDs of the safety traveling lamps are turned on or off to emit red or green light.

3. The glare screen according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising an illumination detection sensor that is connected to the control unit.

4. The glare screen according to claim 1, further comprising:

a protection window mounted directly on the solar cell so as to be able to slide to one side of the solar cell;

a brush configured such that a circumferential portion thereof comes into direct contact with an upper surface of one end of the protection window, and configured to come into frictional contact with the protection window while operating in conjunction with rotation of a motor and to brush a top surface of the protection window while the protection window slides to one side; and

a spring configured such that one end thereof is fastened to the protection window and a remaining end thereof is fastened to the glare screen, and restoring the protection window, which is slidably moved to one side by the brush.

5. A glare screen for road median barriers, in which a safety lamp using solar power is provided, the glare screen being mounted on a corresponding median barrier, installed in a central portion of a road, such as an expressway, along which vehicles travel at relatively high speeds, and blocking light from headlights of vehicles that travel in an oncoming lane, the glare screen comprising:

a safety guidance lamp mounted to an upper side surface of the glare screen and constructed using a light emitting diode (LED), which is turned on or off to emit red light;

first and second safety traveling lamps mounted to each side surface of the glare screen, and constructed using red LEDs and green LEDs that are turned on or off to emit red and green light;

a solar cell mounted to an upper side surface of the glare screen, facing upwards, converting solar energy into electrical energy, and supplying the electrical energy to the safety guidance lamp and the first and second safety traveling lamps as power;

a storage battery accumulating electricity generated by the solar cell; a control unit turning on or off the LED of the safety guidance lamp;

speed detection sensors mounted to respective side surfaces of the glare screen, and configured to detect speeds of vehicles and transmit the detected speeds to the control unit as signals; and

an illumination detection sensor mounted to the glare screen and transmitting brightness of surrounding light to the control unit as a signal.

6. The glare screen according to claim 5, wherein first wind guidance tunnels are formed on respective sides of the pairs of first and second safety traveling lamps so as to guide wind, which is generated by traveling vehicles, to the pairs of first and second safety traveling lamps.

7. The glare screen according to claim 5, wherein the solar cell is disposed in the upper end of the glare screen and is provided in a mounting casing, an upper surface of which is transparent,

wherein the mounting casing comprises a casing main body, which is configured such that an upper portion thereof is opened and the solar cell is upwardly fixed therein, and a cover, which is air-tightly coupled to an opening part of the casing main body so as to be able to be oscillated upwards and downwards, and is made of a transparent material,

wherein an oscillating cam, which is rotated by a motor and thus oscillates the cover upwards and downwards, is provided in the casing main body.

8. The glare screen according to claim 7, wherein:

an upper surface of the cover is formed to protrude upwards increasing amount from both sides of the cover to a central portion of the cover to be convex, and

second wind guidance tunnels are formed on a top surface of the glare screen on both sides of the cover so as to guide wind, which is generated by traveling vehicles, to the cover.

9. The glare screen according to claim 8, wherein the illumination detection sensor is mounted in the mounting casing.