SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ONCOMING TRAFFIC WARNING AT A WORK ZONE

A system and method are set forth for traffic warning at a road construction work zone, comprising at least one a motion sensor associated with at least one traffic cone proximate the road construction work zone for transmitting laser pulses in a direction of oncoming traffic and detecting reflected laser pulses from the oncoming traffic and in response transmitting an alert signal, and a portable alert unit for receiving the alert signal and generating a warning of the oncoming traffic

FIELD

The present specification relates generally to traffic safety in a road construction work zone, and more particularly to a system and method for traffic warning at a road construction work zone.

BACKGROUND

Personnel at a road construction work zone are often required to work relatively close to moving traffic. As such, personnel must rely on driver compliance with speed limits and careful driving to avoid accidents causing injury or death.

SUMMARY

As discussed below, a system and method are set forth for traffic warning at a road construction work zone. In one aspect, a motion sensor is associated with least one traffic cone in communication with a portable alert unit for warning a user of oncoming traffic.

In an aspect, a system is provided for traffic warning at a road construction work zone, comprising at least one a motion sensor associated with at least one traffic cone proximate the road construction work zone for transmitting laser pulses in a direction of oncoming traffic and detecting reflected laser pulses from the oncoming traffic and in response transmitting an alert signal; and a portable alert unit for receiving the alert signal and generating a warning of the oncoming traffic.

In another aspect, a method is set forth, comprising pairing the portable alert unit and at least one motion sensor, activating the at least one motion sensor to transmit laser pulses in a direction defined by a lens, receiving the reflected laser pulse from the oncoming traffic, calculating distance of the oncoming traffic, transmitting an alert to the portable alert unit, and generating an alarm of the oncoming traffic at the portable alert unit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

The description of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provided below is merely exemplary and is intended for purposes of illustration only; the following description is not intended to limit the scope of the invention disclosed herein. Moreover, recitation of multiple embodiments having stated features is not intended to exclude other embodiments having additional features or other embodiments incorporating different combinations of the stated features.

Turning toFIG.1, a road construction work zone100is depicted for a roadway110, around which traffic must divert. Traffic cones120are positioned to guide oncoming traffic130around the work zone100. As discussed above, personnel working within the road construction work zone100must rely on driver compliance with speed limits and careful driving to avoid accidents causing injury or death.

A system is shown inFIG.2for warning personnel of oncoming traffic, according to an embodiment. In one aspect, a motion sensor200is associated with at least one traffic cone210and communicates with a portable alert unit220for warning a user230of oncoming traffic.

As shown inFIG.3, the portable alert unit220may include an actuator300(e.g. a button) for activating initiation of communication with a motion sensor200, a speaker310for broadcasting an audio warning signal and one or more lights320indicating operating status of the portable alert unit220. Internal components the portable alert unit220are discussed below with reference toFIGS.5and7.

As shown inFIG.4, motion sensor200is shaped to fit into an opening (e.g. a top circular hole) in the traffic cone210. In an embodiment, the motion sensor200includes a tapered body portion400adapted to fit into the opening and a head portion410that forms a “plug” for the opening. The motion sensor200includes a transmitting lens420A and receiving lens420B, and additional internal components discussed below with reference toFIGS.6and7.

Turning toFIG.5, internal components of an exemplary portable alert unit220are shown including a processor500connected to a packet radio controller510, speaker310lights320and a vibrator/shaker330for causing the unit220to vibrate. In an embodiment, lights320can include a multi-colour LED display. Packet radio controller510is activated by a switch300for initiating communication with the motion sensor200via radio module520(e.g. a 2.4 GHz radio module) and antenna530.

Turning to FIG.6, internal components of an exemplary motion sensor200are shown including a processor600connected to a LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensor620and a radio module625having an antenna630. In an embodiment, LIDAR sensor620comprises a transmitter635, which can be a laser diode, a receiver640, which can be a photodiode, transmitting lens420A, receiving lens420B, and a timer and analog-to-digital (A/D) converter650.

In an embodiment, radio modules520and625are Class 1 radios having a range of up to 100 metres (300 ft) at 20 dBm and 100 mW. Because the devices communicate via radio signals, the portable alert unit220and motion sensor200do not need to be in visual line of sight of each other. In other embodiments, LoRa (Long Range) or other suitable low-power wide-area network modulation techniques may be used for communication between the portable alert unit220and motion sensor200.

In operation, a user230activates the portable alert unit220by pressing button300. This initiates a pairing process between the portable alert unit220and motion sensor200(700inFIG.7), wherein the radio modules520and625share addresses, names and profiles according to an authentication process, as is known in the art. Upon completion of pairing, portable alert unit220may cause lights320to be illuminated (e.g. flashing green lights).

Next, at710, processor600of motion sensor200activates the LIDAR sensor620causing the transmitter635to emit laser pulses in a direction defined by lens420A. As shown inFIG.4, the head portion410of motion sensor200may include indicia, such as an arrow, indicating the direction of the laser beam (i.e. to assist placement of the motion sensor200for detecting oncoming traffic130). In the event of oncoming traffic130, the laser pulses are reflected and received by lens420B and receiver640(step720). Timer and A/D converter650calculates the amount of time that each transmitted pulse is reflected back to receiver640to calculate the distance between the oncoming traffic130and motion sensor200in traffic cone210(step730). This timing information is transmitted to processor600and in the event that the distance is less than a chosen threshold (e.g. 300 ft) an alert signal is transmitted from motion sensor200to the portable alert unit220via the radio connection (step740). In response to receiving the alert signal, processor500of portable alert unit220generates a suitable alarm (step750), such as one or more of an audio alert via speaker310, flashing red lights320, and internal vibration via vibrator/shaker330.

Upon being alerted to oncoming traffic130, the user (e.g. worker) can take appropriate protective measures such as departing safely from the work zone100.

Alternatives and modifications are contemplated. For example, rather than using a single motion sensor200, a relay of sensors may be provided using a gateway wherein the alert signal is transmitted from one sensor to an adjacent sensor for further extending the range of operation of the traffic warning system.

It is also contemplated that, rather than using a single LIDAR sensor620, multiple such sensors may be incorporated into the motion sensor200and aimed via associated lenses in additional directions (e.g. rear view, side views, etc.)

The present invention has been described above with reference to a number of exemplary embodiments and examples. It should be appreciated that the particular embodiments shown and described herein are illustrative of the invention and its best mode and are not intended to limit in any way the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims. The features of the various embodiments may stand alone or be combined in any combination. Further, unless otherwise noted, various illustrated steps of a method can be performed sequentially or at the same time, and not necessarily be performed in the order illustrated. It will be recognized that changes and modifications may be made to the exemplary embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, although much of the disclosure relates to verifying a recorded audio communication between two or more devices, exemplary systems and methods can be used for other applications, such as determining a context of a recording from a relatively small sample of the recording. These and other changes or modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention, as expressed in the following claims.