ONE-WAY SPEED BUMP
A one-way speed bump for controlling both direction and speed of traffic is described. The speed bump has a shallow front face and a steep rear face. Vehicles approaching the front face of the speed bump are allowed to pass over the speed bump at a controlled rate of speed. Vehicles attempting to pass from the wrong direction will engage the steep rear face of the speed bump. This will cause the vehicle to be jolted and possibly damaged. Indicia may be provided on the steep rear face to warn drivers that they are traveling in the wrong direction.
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This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/779,345 filed Mar. 3, 2006, which is herein incorporated by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates generally to speed bumps and more particularly to one-way speed bumps which control both the speed and direction of vehicular traffic.
BACKGROUND INFORMATIONIn the interest of safety to other vehicles and pedestrians speed of motor vehicles should be kept to a safe level. One means for controlling vehicular speed is through the use of a speed bump placed across a road other path of travel for vehicles. Speed bumps are typically dimensioned so that a vehicle may pass over at a relatively slow speed without jarring the driver or causing damage to the vehicle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention provides a one-way speed bump for controlling both direction and speed of traffic. The speed bump has a shallow front face and a steep rear face. Vehicles approaching the front face of the speed bump are allowed to pass over the speed bump at a controlled rate of speed. Vehicles attempting to pass from the wrong direction will engage the steep rear face of the speed bump. This will cause the vehicle to be jarred more so than if the vehicle traveled the correct direction. Indicia may be provided on the steep rear face to warn drivers that are considering traveling in the wrong direction to not go the wrong way.
A speed bump comprising a bottom surface, a front face comprising a relatively shallow angle measured from the bottom surface structured and arranged to allow vehicular traffic approaching the front face to pass over the speed bump and a rear face comprising a relatively steep angle measured from the bottom surface structured and arranged to deter vehicular traffic approaching the rear face from passing over the speed bump.
A one-way speed bump 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention shown in
The speed bump 1 has a front face 4 having a relatively shallow front angle. The speed bump 1 may have sides 3 at each end. The shallow front face 4 is the face of the speed bump 1 that a driver sees if approaching from the correct direction. The shallow front face 4 is designed to allow a vehicle traveling at a safe speed and in the correct direction to pass over the speed bump with little effect on the vehicle or driver. The shallow front face 4 may be set at an acute angle, shown as a in
Referring still to
In one embodiment of the invention, a top portion 8 may be located between the rear face 6 and front face 4. In a particular embodiment, the top portion 8 is a substantially flat surface generally parallel to the ground or pavement. The top portion 8 may have a dimension, shown as W2, of for example 0 inch to 6 inches, for example 2.1 inches. In another embodiment, the top portion 8 may have a radiused width or radially transition from the front face 4 to the rear face 6.
In another embodiment shown in
Referring again to
The shallow front face 4 and the bottom 2 of the speed bump 1 may be connected by a transition region, such as a short vertical edge 10 as shown in
As identified in
As shown in
Referring now to
Speed bump 1 may be attached to the pavement using spikes, lag bolts or other hardware. In the embodiment shown in
The speed bump 1 may be made of plastic to allow the weight to be kept low while still maintaining durability. However, other materials, such as, steel, aluminum, concrete and asphalt may be used in fabrication of the speed bump 1 so long as the structure remains substantially non-collapsible, i.e. the speed bump 1 should be able to withstand vehicular traffic without collapsing or substantial deformation. It has been contemplated that the speed bump 1 may be of modular or one-piece construction.
Whereas particular embodiments of this invention have been described above for purposes of illustration, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that numerous variations of the details of the present invention may be made without departing from the invention as defined in the appended claims.
Claims
1. A speed bump comprising:
- a bottom surface;
- a front face comprising a relatively shallow angle measured from the bottom surface structured and arranged to allow vehicular traffic approaching the front face to pass over the speed bump; and
- a rear face comprising a relatively steep angle measured from the bottom surface structured and arranged to deter vehicular traffic approaching the rear face from passing over the speed bump.
2. The speed bump according to claim 1, further comprising a top portion between the front face and the rear face.
3. The speed bump according to claim 1, further comprising indicia on the rear face.
4. The speed bump according to claim 3, wherein the rear face comprises a recess and wherein the indicia are located within the recess.
5. The speed bump according to claim 1, wherein the shallow angle between the bottom surface and the front face is between about 10 and about 35 degrees.
6. The speed bump according to claim 1, wherein the shallow angle between the bottom surface and the front face is about 15 degrees.
7. The speed bump according to claim 1, wherein the steep angle between the bottom surface and the rear face is between about 35 and about 100 degrees.
8. The speed bump according to claim 1, wherein the steep angle between the bottom surface and the rear face is about 60 degrees.
9. The speed bump according to claim 1, further comprising anchor holes passing through the speed bump.
10. The speed bump according to claim 9, wherein the anchor holes extend through the front face and the bottom surface in a direction substantially perpendicular to the bottom surface.
11. The speed bump according to claim 10, further comprising bolts passing through the anchor holes, wherein the bolts are connected to anchors secured to a road.
11. The speed bump according to claim 1 comprising a single, solid piece of material.
12. The speed bump according to claim 1, wherein the speed bump has an overall height of about 1½ to about 6 inches.
13. The speed bump according to claim 1, wherein the front face is substantially flat and the rear face is substantially flat.
14. The speed bump according to claim 1, wherein the front face is curved and the rear face is curved.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 1, 2007
Publication Date: Nov 8, 2007
Applicant: New Pig Corporation (Tipton, PA)
Inventors: Scott Broughton (Hollidaysburg, PA), Matthew J. Huff (Claysburg, PA), R. Douglas Evans (Everett, PA)
Application Number: 11/680,810
International Classification: E01F 11/00 (20060101);