Emergency Signal Stations Patents (Class 246/13)
  • Patent number: 5680120
    Abstract: A transportation safety apparatus and method for the detection of obstacles which lie off the line-of-sight or beyond the field of view of a moving vehicle entails shooting a laser beam through the air from a moving vehicle, capturing the beam and passing it to a fiberoptic relay which transmits a laser pulse to a distant site, and receiving a reflection thereof if the site is clear of obstacles. The pulses are received within about 10-20 microseconds per kilometer of relay length from the time of launching, permitting monitoring of the probe-site in real-time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 1996
    Date of Patent: October 21, 1997
    Assignee: Aspen Systems Inc.
    Inventor: Michael M. Tilleman