The present invention relates to visual guides for facilitating the positioning of vehicles, and more particularly, embodiments concern enhanced visual safety indicators for more effectively assisting drivers of automobiles and other operators of other vehicles to more properly and safely position their vehicles in parking spaces.
Safety surface line marking is ubiquitously used to demarcate parking spaces and assist drivers in parking their vehicles in those parking spaces. However, safety surface line marking is less or not at all effective for this purpose for drivers who unable to see the lines while parking their vehicles. There are many reasons why some drivers experience this problem, including the size of the driver, the size and/or design of the vehicle, the limited mobility or other physical imparity of the driver, the position of the lines, fading of the lines from wear, poor lighting, and the inexperience of the driver who is unable to judge distance or gauge the locations of the lines without actually seeing them.
All vehicles have side mirrors which can assist their drivers when backing into parking spaces, but which would have to be repositioned downwardly for parking and then returned to their original positions for driving, and are therefore inconvenient to use and of little practical value for this purpose. Further, while some vehicles have cameras that can display relevant information to assist their drivers when backing into parking spaces, such technology is present only on relatively expensive vehicles, or may be malfunctioning, and is therefore not generally available or not always reliable when it is available.
As a result, it is not uncommon for drivers to fail to properly center their vehicles in parking spaces. This may be particularly problematic for larger sport utility vehicles and trucks that have smaller margins within standard parking spaces. Reports by the insurance industry indicate that this often results in damage to both the incorrectly parked vehicles, adjacent correctly parked vehicles, and adjacent structures. This issue has been neglected by designers, owners, and operators of both private and commercial parking lots and garages, who have failed to address relevant insurance and law enforcement statistical findings. Similar problems exist for operators of other vehicles.
This background discussion is intended to provide information related to the present invention which is not necessarily prior art.
SUMMARY
Embodiments of the present invention solve the above-described and other problems and limitations by providing enhanced visual safety indicators for more effectively assisting drivers of cars and trucks and other operators of other vehicles (e.g., recreational vehicles, tractor-trailers, trailers of various kinds, boats and other watercraft, aircraft) to more properly and safely position their vehicles in parking spaces.
In a first embodiment of the present invention, a system is provided for visually defining a parking space to enhance an ability of an operator of a vehicle to park the vehicle in the parking space. This system may comprise one or more rear safety indicators positioned on a vertical barrier located at a rear limit of the parking space. In a second embodiment of the present invention, a system is provided for visually defining a parking space to enhance an ability of an operator of a vehicle to park the vehicle in the parking space. This system may comprise one or more upper safety indicators positioned on an upper barrier located at an upper limit of the parking space. In a third embodiment of the present invention, a system is provided for visually defining a parking space to facilitate the parking of a vehicle in the parking space. This system may comprise one or more center lower safety indicators positioned on a lower surface at an approximate center of the parking space. Aspects of the first, second, and/or third embodiments may be combined to provide all of one or more rear, upper, and/or center lower safety indicators.
Various implementations of the foregoing embodiments may include any one or more of the following additional features. The vehicle may be a car, truck, recreational vehicle, tractor-trailer, trailer of any variety (e.g., camper, cargo, motorcycle, horse, boat), watercraft, or aircraft, or a hybrid vehicle that is a combination of any thereof. The safety indicators may have a form such as a rectangle, circle, symbol, letter, number, or word, or a combination of any thereof. The safety indicators may be constructed of a material such as an adhesive tape, paint, engraving, architectural element, reflective material, artificially illuminated device (whether visible light or non-visible light for assisted-driving or self-driving vehicles), laser generator, or sound generating device (whether audible or non-audible sound for assisted driving or self-driving vehicles), or a combination of any thereof.
The rear safety indicators may demarcate a rear limit, a left limit and a right limit, and/or a center of the parking space. Relatedly, the rear safety indicators may include a left rear safety indicator which demarcates the left limit of the parking space, and a right rear safety indicator which demarcates the right limit of the parking space, wherein the left rear safety indicator and the right rear safety indicator cooperate to demarcate the width dimension of the parking space. The rear safety indicators may extend continuously or severally from a lower height to an upper height on the vertical barrier.
The upper safety indicators may demarcate an upper limit, a left limit and a right limit, and/or a center of the parking space. Relatedly, the upper safety indicators may include a left upper safety indicator which demarcates a left limit of the parking space, and a right upper safety indicator which demarcates a right limit of the parking space, wherein the left upper safety indicator and the right upper safety indicator cooperate to demarcate a width dimension of the parking space. The upper safety indicators may extend continuously or severally from a rearward position to a forward position on the horizontal upper barrier.
The vehicle may be a non-autonomous vehicle controlled by a driver or an at least semi-autonomous (i.e., semi- or fully-autonomous) vehicle. The center lower safety indicators may be four inches wide, or between one-eighth inch and six inches wide. The center lower safety indicators may be projected onto the lower surface of the parking space by a laser projector in response to a signal from a remote control device such as a garage door opener. The center lower safety indicators may be detectable by a sensor of the semi- or fully-autonomous vehicle. The center lower safety indicators may include an electromagnetic emitter which produces an electromagnetic signal which is detectable by the sensor of the semi- or fully-autonomous vehicle. The center lower safety indicators may include a rear stop element configured to communicate a stopping point for the semi- or fully-autonomous vehicle in the parking space.
This summary is not intended to identify essential features of the present invention, and is not intended to be used to limit the scope of the claims. These and other aspects of the present invention are described below in greater detail.
Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein:
The figures are not intended to limit the present invention to the specific embodiments they depict. The drawings are not necessarily to scale.
The following detailed description of embodiments of the invention references the accompanying figures. The embodiments are intended to describe aspects of the invention in sufficient detail to enable those with ordinary skill in the art to practice the invention. Other embodiments may be utilized and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the claims. The following description is, therefore, not limiting. The scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
In this description, references to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, or “embodiments” mean that the feature or features referred to are included in at least one embodiment of the invention. Separate references to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, or “embodiments” in this description do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment and are not mutually exclusive unless so stated. Specifically, a feature, structure, act, etc. described in one embodiment may also be included in other embodiments, but is not necessarily included. Thus, particular implementations of the present invention can include a variety of combinations and/or integrations of the embodiments described herein.
Broadly characterized, the present invention provides improved visual guides for facilitating the positioning of vehicles. More particularly, embodiments provide enhanced visual safety indicators for more effectively assisting drivers of cars and trucks and other operators of other vehicles (e.g., recreational vehicles, tractor-trailers, trailers of various kinds (e.g., camper, cargo, motorcycle, horse, boat), boats and other watercraft, aircraft) to more properly and safely position their vehicles in parking spaces. Embodiments may facilitate both entering and exiting parking spaces, and may be employed in substantially any suitable location such as in public parking areas, private parking areas, garage parking areas, pathways, docks, and hangars, and particularly in any such location (e.g., hospitals, assisted living facilities, rehabilitation facilities, and/or in handicapped parking spaces anywhere) in which the elderly, disabled, or other persons with relevant physical limitations may need or desire to park their vehicles. The safety indicators advantageously enhance personal and property safety especially with regard to locating the center of a parking space and/or providing an aid in determining distance between a vehicle and a barrier such as curb, wall, fence, post, cable, sign, or other obstacle located proximate to the parking space.
Referring to
In more detail, referring to
The safety indicators 40 may take substantially any suitable form or combinations of forms, such as rectangular (as seen in
The safety indicators 40 may extend from a lower or first height or position to an upper or second height or position in order to ensure visibility for difference sized drivers in different sized vehicles. More generally, the safety indicators 40 may be adapted for use with substantially any suitable vehicle, such as automobiles (e.g., cars, sport utility vehicles, trucks, vans), recreational vehicles, tractor-trailers, trailers of various kinds (e.g., camper, cargo, motorcycle, horse, boat), watercraft (in which case the parking space may be at a dock), and/or aircraft (in which case the parking space 20 may be in a hanger), and/or hybrid vehicles which are combinations thereof. Further, in addition to being more visible to unassisted drivers, one or more of the safety indicators 40 may be positioned so as to be visible by vehicle cameras and/or normally positioned vehicle side and/or rearview mirrors.
The visual parking space safety indicators 40 may include one or more first rear safety indicators 42 which may be mounted on a vertical barrier (e.g., a curb or wall 44 or structure 46 (such as a post or cable, whether singular or part of, e.g., a fence)) located at or near the rear limit 32 of the parking space 20, and/or one or more second upper safety indicators 48 which may be positioned on a horizontal upper barrier (e.g., a ceiling 50 or structure (such as the aforementioned post or cable)) located at or near the upper limit 34 of the parking space 20.
The first rear safety indicators 42 may extend continuously (as seen in
The second upper safety indicators 48 may extend continuously (as seen in
Some or all aspects of the first implementation of the first embodiment seen in
Referring also to
In this third embodiment, the visual parking space safety indicators 40 may include one or more center lower safety indicators 66 which may be mounted on and substantially flush with or raised above, temporarily projected onto, embedded in, or otherwise associated with the lower surface 24 at the approximate center 30 of the parking space 20, i.e., approximately within five percent of being centered or approximately within ten percent of being centered between the left and right limits 26,28 (which may or may not be indicated by conventional markings 22). In various implementations, the one or more center lower safety indicators 66 may replace or supplement the conventional markings 22 and/or the rear and/or upper enhanced markings 42,48.
The center lower safety indicators 66 may extend severally (as, e.g., a plurality of circles or other shapes, as seen in
In various implementations, the one or more center lower safety indicators 66 may be visual in nature (i.e., they can be seen by a driver of the vehicle 36); reflective, electronic, or otherwise detectable in nature (i.e., they can be detected by a sensor of the vehicle 36); or a combination thereof. In particular, the one or more center lower safety indicators 66 may be configured to be conspicuously visible in the displayed view 70 provided by a rearward, or “back-up,” camera of the vehicle 36 to better assist the driver when backing into the parking space 20, as depicted in
In one implementation, shown in
Additionally or alternatively, the one or more center lower safety indicators 66 may comprise or consist of one or more passive reflectors or active emitters 68 (of, e.g., visible or non-visible light or radio-frequency signals) which can be detected by one or more sensors on the vehicle 36 to accomplish (in the case of semi- or fully-autonomous vehicles) or assist in (in the case of non-autonomous vehicles) parking the vehicle 36, whether in a forward or reverse orientation. For example, the vehicle may be equipped with a visible or infrared light source which emits a light signal which is reflected by one or more reflectors 68 which are part of the indicators 66. In another example, the vehicle may be equipped with a radio-frequency or other electromagnetic signal detector which senses a radio-frequency or other electromagnetic signal emitted or otherwise produced by one or more radio-frequency signal emitters or other electromagnetic signal producers 68 which are part of the indicators 66. In one implementation, detectable center lower safety indicators 66 may include a rear stop element 74 physically or functionally configured to communicate a stopping point for the vehicle 36.
Thus, embodiments of the present invention provide substantial advantages for more clearly and effectively assisting operators to more properly and safely park their vehicles in parking spaces, including providing a practical and cost-effective solution for reducing damage to vehicles and structures resulting from poorly parked vehicles.
Although the invention has been described with reference to the one or more embodiments illustrated in the figures, it is understood that equivalents may be employed and substitutions made herein without departing from the scope of the invention as recited in the claims.
Having thus described one or more embodiments of the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent includes the following: