The present invention concerns that of a safety apparatus for use in combination with vehicles.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,215,395, issued to Slaughter, discloses a vehicle having a visible display to show the status of the seat belts, and includes external viewing by other motorists or law enforcement personnel.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,066, issued to Larry and U.S. Pat. No. 5,714,930, issued to McKinney Jr., disclose additional seat belt indicator means for observation of a viewer located outside the vehicle.
The present invention concerns that of a safety system for use in combination with vehicles. The safety system comprises two halogen lights, one mounted within the vehicle near the front windshield and the other mounted within the vehicle near the rear windshield. Both of the halogen lights will go on if any individual within the vehicle is not wearing their seat belt, thereby providing a safety warning system for authorities and an encouragement for the general public to always wear seat belts when the vehicle is moving.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of a seat belt safety system that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the seat belt safety system that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the seat belt safety system in detail, it is to be understood that the seat belt safety system is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The seat belt safety system is capable of other embodiments and being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of descriptions and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present seat belt safety system. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a seat belt safety system which has all of the advantages of the prior art and none of the disadvantages.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a seat belt safety system which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a seat belt safety system which is of durable and reliable construction.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a seat belt safety system which is economically affordable and available for relevant market segment of the purchasing public.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment when considered with the attached drawings and appended claims.
The vehicle 4, in
Within vehicle 4 is located a windshield brake light 10, which is mounted within the vehicle 4 immediately next to the rear windshield 6 near the bottom side surface of the rear windshield 6. Windshield brake light 10 is designed to turn on whenever a brake pedal is depressed within the vehicle.
A part of the safety system 2 can be seen in
The vehicle 4, in
A part of the safety system 2 can be seen in
Power means 40, which is preferably the vehicle battery, is connected via connection 41 to sensor 43 under seat 42. When seat 42 is not being used, a small gap 46 exists in between the sensor 43 and connection 45. However, when seat 42 is being used by an individual, the individual's weight will push down on the sensor 46, causing it to make contact with connection 45, which is connected through circuit 50 to central connector 44. Central connector 44 is connected by a pair of connectors 55 and 57, respectively, to halogen lights 12 and 22.
Seat belt latch 48 is connected via connector 65 to circuit 50, which normally remains in a closed position. If an individual sits down in the seat 42 and does not put on their seat belt, a continuous connection will exist in between the power means 40 and the halogen lights 12 and 22, causing them to turn to an “on” position and alert authorities that seat belts are not being worn.
Seat belt latch 48 is connected via connector 65 to circuit 50, which normally remains in a closed position. If an individual sits down in the seat 42 and puts on their seat belt, seat belt latch 48 will cause circuit 50 to open, thereby breaking the continuous connection that exists in between the power means 40 and the halogen lights 12 and 22 once an individual sits down in seat 42.
By placing this system under each seat 42 within a vehicle, each individual must placed on their seat belt, lest the halogen lights 12 and 22 be placed in an “on” position, which could potentially be seen by authorities. The mere fear of having these halogen lights 12 and 22 on and being pulled over is more than enough to cause all individuals within a vehicle 4 to put their seat belts on when the vehicle 4 is moving.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/598,412 filed Aug. 4, 2004.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
4849733 | Conigliaro et al. | Jul 1989 | A |
5714930 | McKinney, Jr. | Feb 1998 | A |
6059066 | Larry | May 2000 | A |
6215395 | Slaughter | Apr 2001 | B1 |
6239695 | Okada et al. | May 2001 | B1 |
6501374 | King et al. | Dec 2002 | B1 |
6545597 | Blount | Apr 2003 | B1 |
6774781 | Lee | Aug 2004 | B1 |
7154386 | Amemiya | Dec 2006 | B2 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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60598412 | Aug 2004 | US |