Patent Application
20220063446
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The disclosure relates to alarm devices and more particularly pertains to a new alarm device for inhibiting an occupant from being left unattended in a vehicle.
The prior art relates to alarm devices including a variety of occupant alarms that include a weight sensor and an audible alarm. Additionally, the prior art discloses a variety of occupant alarms that are integrated into a child car seat and include a cigarette lighter adapter for a power supply. The prior art discloses an occupant alarm that includes pressure sensors positioned in a back seat of a vehicle along with an audible alarm and a visible alarm.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a triggering unit that is positioned on a car seat. In this way the triggering unit can be engaged by an occupant when the occupant sits in the car seat. A display unit is positioned within the vehicle such that the display unit is visible to the driver. The display unit displays alert indicia comprising the words “baby safe” when the display unit is turned on. The display unit is in communication with the trigger unit and the display unit is turned on when the triggering unit is engaged by the occupant. In this way the display unit inhibits the driver from leaving the occupant unattended.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order 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 additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
The triggering unit 12 comprises a pad 18 that has a top surface 20, a bottom surface 22 and a perimeter edge 24 extending therebetween. The bottom surface 22 is positioned against the car seat 14 and the occupant 16 sits on the top surface 20. The pad 18 is comprised of a resiliently compressible material such that the pad 18 is compressed by the weight of the occupant 16. A weight sensor 26 is positioned between the top surface 20 and the bottom surface 22 to sense weight of the occupant 16 when the occupant 16 sits on the pad 18. The weight sensor 26 may be an electronic weight sensor or the like that has a triggering threshold of approximately 2.5 kg. A trigger conductor 28 is coupled to and extends away from the perimeter edge 24 of the pad 18, and the trigger conductor 28 is electrically coupled to the weight sensor 26.
A display unit 30 is provided and the display unit 30 is positioned within the vehicle 17 such that the display unit 30 is visible to the driver. The display unit 30 displays alert indicia 32 comprising the words “baby safe” when the display unit 30 is turned on. The display unit 30 is in communication with the triggering unit 12 and the display unit 30 is turned on when the triggering unit 12 is engaged by the occupant 16. In this way the display unit 30 alerts the driver that the occupant 16 is seated thereby inhibiting the driver from leaving the occupant 16 unattended.
The display unit 30 comprises a housing 34 that has a forward wall 36 and a bottom wall 38. The housing 34 is positioned within the vehicle 17 such that the housing 34 is visible to the driver. The forward wall 36 has an opening 39 extending into an interior of the housing 34. A mating member 40 is coupled to the bottom wall 38 and the mating member 40 releasably engages a support structure 42 in the vehicle 17 to retain the housing 34 in a conspicuous location in the vehicle 17. The mating member 40 may comprise a hook and loop fastener, an adhesive strip or other type of releasable mating member.
A lens 44 is coupled to the forward wall 36 and the lens 44 is positioned to cover the opening 39 in the forward wall 36. Moreover, the lens 44 is comprised of a translucent material to pass light therethrough and the alert indicia 32 are printed across the lens 44. The alert indicia 32 have a contrasting color with respect to the color of the lens 44 such that the alert indicia 32 are highly visible to the driver. The display unit 30 includes a light emitter 46 is positioned in the housing 34 to emit light outwardly therefrom. The light emitter 46 is aligned with the opening 39 in the forward wall 36 thereby illuminating the alert indicia 32. In this way the light emitter 46 can visually alert the driver that the occupant 16 is seated. The light emitter 46 is electrically coupled to the trigger conductor 28 such that the light emitter 46 is turned on when the weight sensor 26 senses weight.
A power supply 48 is coupled to the display unit 30 and the power supply 48 is placed in electrical communication with a power source 50 comprising a power port 51 in the vehicle 17. The power port 51 may be a cigarette lighter or similar 12.0 volt power supply commonly found in motorized vehicles. The power supply 48 is electrically coupled to the display unit 30. The power supply 48 comprises a power cord 52 that is coupled to and extends away from the housing 34. The power cord 52 has a distal end 54 with respect to the housing 34 and the power cord 52 is electrically coupled to the light emitter 46. A plug 56 is electrically coupled to the distal end 54 of the power cord 52. The plug 56 engages the power port 51 such that the power cord 52 is electrically coupled to an electrical system of the vehicle 17.
In use, the housing 34 is mounted in a conspicuous location in the vehicle 17 and the pad 18 is positioned on the car seat 14. The light emitter 46 is turned on when the weight sensor 26 senses the weight of the occupant 16 thereby visually alerting the driver that the occupant 16 is seated. Moreover, the light emitter 46 is turned off when the weight sensor 26 does not sense with weight of the occupant 16. In this way the light emitter 46 inhibits the driver from leaving the occupant 16 unattended in the vehicle 17. Additionally, the triggering unit 12 and the display unit 30 can be employed in almost any type of vehicle 17 for universal application.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
