Road marker with remotely controllable display

Abstract

A road marker having a remotely controllable display includes a shell, a light panel, a power source, a receiver and a controller. The shell has at least one lens. The light panel emits light through the lens. The power source provides electricity for operation of the light panel. The receiver receives control signals from a remote control system. The controller controls the light emitted by the light panel in accordance with the control signals from the remote control system.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/656,319, which was filed on Feb. 25, 2005 and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to road markers. More particularly, the invention relates to a road marker having a remotely controllable light display.

2. Description of the Related Art

Road markers are frequently used to delineate the lanes of highways. Road markers, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,403,115, typically have a plastic shell of trapezoidal cross section which is filled with a potting material. A retroreflective lens is formed by molding cube corners on the inside on angled walls of the shell. The lens reflects light from headlights. However, it is also known such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,703,719 to provide retroreflective road markers with LEDs which can be used to improve the visibility of the road marker in daylight. The road marker is provided with a battery and solar cell to recharge the battery as well as a sensor to determine the amount of ambient light present. When the light is above or below a certain amount, the LEDs are displayed to improve the visibility.

It would be advantageous, however, to provide a road marker which has a display which could be remotely activated to provide warning to a driver of certain conditions such as weather conditions or lane direction reversals which occur during evacuations or heavy traffic periods.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a road marker according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the road marker in FIG. 1 illustrating the internal components of the road marker; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view a roadway incorporating the remotely controllable road marker system according to the invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the invention, a road marker includes a shell, a light panel, a power source, a receiver and a controller. The shell has at least one lens. The light panel emits light through the lens. The power source provides electricity for operation of the light panel. The receiver receives control signals from a remote control system. The controller controls the light emitted by the light panel in accordance with the control signals from the remote control system.

According to another aspect of the invention, a remote controlled road marker system includes a road marker and a remote control arrangement. The road marker has a light panel for emitting light. The road marker has a receiver for receiving control signals. The road marker has a controller for actuating the light panel in response to the control signals transmitted to the receiver. The remote control arrangement includes a central controller and a master controller. The central controller has a transmitter for transmitting the control signals. The master control has both a receiver and a transmitter for relaying the control signals from the central controller to the road marker.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a novel remote controlled road marker system, which includes a remote control arrangement for wirelessly controlling a light-emitting road marker. The road marker according to one embodiment of the invention is generally indicated 10 in FIGS. 1-3. Described in greater detail below, the road marker 10 has a display or light panel that is controlled by the remote control arrangement to display a particular color, such as red, green, blue, or any combination derived from these colors, with the purpose to indicate road conditions.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the road marker 10 has a shell 20 having at least one lens 22. A rectangular planar surface 24 is formed along an inner surface of the center of the lens 22. Optionally, the lens 22 may also have cube corners, as known in the art. An edge-lit light panel 30 is mounted to the rectangular planar surface 24. The light panel 30 is rectangular and complementary to the planar surface 24. A pair of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are mounted to an end of the light panel 30. The LEDs emit light onto an edge of the panel 30. In one embodiment of the invention, the LEDs are mounted between the inner and outer panels so that the light is carried through the length of the panels and evenly displayed on the surface 24.

A solar panel 40 is mounted in the top of the shell 20 for recharging a battery 42 which provides a power source for the light panel 30. The light is capable of displaying a single color or may display one of selected colors such as red, green, blue, or any combination derived from these colors. As shown in FIG. 2, the light panel 30 is connected to a controller 50, which receives power from the battery 42. The controller 50 is connected to an RF receiver 60, which receives signals from a remote control arrangement 70 to control the operation of the light panel 30. The RF receiver 60, controller 50, battery 42 and wiring harness are mounted within the shell 20 in silicone and the shell 20 is potted with fill material, such as polyurethane or other suitable filler materials known by those skilled in the art.

As shown in FIG. 3, the remote control arrangement is generally indicated at 70. The remote control arrangement 70 includes a master control 72 and a central controller 80. The central controller 80 controls the overall operation of the remote control arrangement 70. The central controller 80 includes a radio transmitter 82 and receiver. The central controller 80 may be accessed by a user via a central processing unit 73 or computer. The master control 72 includes a radio receiver 74 for receiving signals from the transmitter 82 of the central controller 80. The master control 72 also includes a transmitter 76 for transmitting signals to the individual road markers 10. The system 70 may also include at least one repeater 90 for relaying the signal from the master controller 72 or other repeaters 90 to distant road markers 10. By this arrangement, it has been shown that the master control 72 and/or repeaters 90 can successfully send signals to an unlimited number of road markers 10. Accordingly, depending upon the length of the lane having the remotely controlled road markers 10, it may be necessary to have numerous repeaters 90.

The master control 72 is strategically placed in the trajectory of the road markers 10. The master control 72 includes a plurality of communication port. One communication port is used for information transfer with the central controller 80. A second communication port is used for transmitting information to the road markers 10. A third communication portion is used for transmitting information to the repeaters 90. Additionally, the master control 72 has digital inputs for interconnection of detection systems such as mist or fog detectors, rain detectors, etc. The master control 72 relays signals received from these detectors to the central controller 80, which then determines the amount, color and frequency of light to be emitted from the road markers 10.

The central controller 80 is housed in a central station that serves to monitor and control the operation of the road markers 10. The central controller 80 can handle an unlimited number of road markers 10 or road marker systems. The central controller 80 can be programmed to cause the individual road markers 10 to display a light by event or schedule table, manually, or in response to signals from detectors. The central controller 80 can change the color, level of the light, or the lighting of the road markers 10. The markers 10 can be controlled to display as a uniform group continuously or in blinking form. Likewise, the markers 10 can be controlled to initiate at sequential times such that a synchronous scroll effect or progressive lighting can be provided.

Thus is disclosed an effective intelligent road marker system which can provide necessary safety information to drivers. Colors and sequencing of light can be used to warn the drivers of hazardous conditions including weather conditions such as fog or mist, approach of dangerous conditions such as accidents which require slowing down, or even of the reversal of lane direction such as in evacuations where both lanes of a two-lane highway may be carrying traffic in a single direction.

Claims

1. A road marker comprising:

a shell having at least one lens;

a light panel for emitting light through the lens;

a power source providing electricity for operation of the light panel;

a receiver that receives control signals from a remote control system; and

a controller that controls the light emitted by the light panel in accordance with the control signals from the remote control system.

2. A road marker as set forth in claim 1, wherein the power source includes a battery and a solar panel for recharging the battery.

3. A road marker as set forth in claim 1 including a light-emitting diode for emitting light onto an edge of the light panel.

4. A road marker as set forth in claim 1 including fill material for filling the shell and supporting components of the road marker within the shell.

5. A remote controlled road marker system comprising:

a road marker having a light panel for emitting light, the road marker having a receiver for receiving control signals, the road marker having a controller for actuating the light panel in response to the control signals transmitted to the receiver; and

a remote control arrangement comprising:

a central controller having a transmitter for transmitting the control signals; and

a master control having both a receiver and a transmitter for relaying the control signals from the central controller to the road marker.

6. A remote controlled road marker system as set forth in claim 5 including a repeater for relaying control signals from at least one of the central controller and the master control.

7. A remote controlled road marker system as set forth in claim 5 including detectors for detecting road conditions.

8. A remote controlled road marker system as set forth in claim 7, wherein the master control is operative to relay signals from the detectors indicating the road conditions to the central controller.

9. A remote controlled road marker system as set forth in claim 8, wherein the controller initiates a control signal to be transmitted to the road markers in response to receiving the signals from the detectors indicating the road conditions.

10. A remote controlled road marker system as set forth in claim 8, wherein the controller initiates a control signal to be transmitted to the road markers in accordance with a schedule table.

11. A remote controlled road marker system as set forth in claim 8, wherein the controller initiates a control signal to be transmitted to the road markers in response to manual input from a user.