Patent Publication Number: US-6334490-B1

Title: Passenger and cargo area safety system for vehicles

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to shock actuated safety systems for vehicles. More specifically, the present invention is a passenger and cargo safety system comprising a system of impact sensors and protective foam gel dispensers. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     The related art of interest describes various shock actuated fire extinguishing or shock absorbing systems, but none discloses the present invention. There is a need for an effective system for protection of the occupants and cargo in a vehicle involved in a collision which would form a shock absorbing layer. The related art will be discussed in the order of perceived relevance to the present invention. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,383,579 issued on May 17, 1983, to Guerdon M. Monk describes a shock actuated fire prevention system for automobiles comprising a portable foam generator system employed in a plurality of separate trip zones provided in the passenger compartment, the engine compartment, and the fuel tank compartment, inter alia. The system is distinguishable for its requirement for preventing fires in vehicles resulting from a collision. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,229 issued on Sep. 14, 1993, to Allen Breed et al. describes a mechanical crash sensor for a passenger restraint system. The sensor triggers primers for inflating air bags. The crash sensor is distinguishable for its connection to an airbag. 
     German Patent Application No. 4,233,155 A1 published on Apr. 14, 1994, for Franz Muller describes a vehicle safety device for passenger and load impact protection comprising sensors on the periphery of a vehicle body working with a trigger mechanism mounted in the engine compartment to give a maximum reaction time of 0.03 second. The trigger mechanism must move over a distance of 30 cm. relative to the mass being damped to activate the airbags distributed in the doors and seats. The device is distinguishable for employing airbags. 
     Soviet Union Patent Application No. 1,661,015 A1 published on Jul. 7, 1991, for Yu V. Filippov describes a collision sensor in a passive vehicle safety device which has an end face of an inertial mass facing a switch made with a surface layer of low melting material, i.e., solder, to complete an electrical circuit on impact to ignite a single gas source. The device is distinguishable for its singular application. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,334,646 issued on Aug. 2, 1994, to John Y. Chen describes thermoplastic elastomer gelatinous compositions which are transparent with excellent shape retention and useful as a shock absorber. 
     The following patents disclose various shock absorbing structures for vehicles. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,822,076 issued on Jul. 2, 1974, to Jacques Mercier et al. describes a fluid shock absorbing buffer. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,503,600 issued on Mar. 31, 1970, to John W. Rich describes liquid shock absorbing buffers. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,732,785 issued on Mar. 31, 1998, to Bin Ran et al. describes a proactive exterior airbag system for an automobile. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,794,975 issued on Aug. 18, 1998, to Matthias Nohr et al. describes a motor vehicle impact passenger protection system comprising a device with energy absorbing pins emerging when a collision occurs. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,309,109 issued on Mar. 14, 1967, to Richard A. Baughman describes a protective device positioned on the roof of a vehicle providing inflated rubber or plastic balloons into the passenger compartment during a collision. 
     None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus, a passenger and cargo area safety system for vehicles involved in a collision solving the aforementioned problems is desired. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a passenger and cargo safety system for vehicles. 
     It is another object of the invention to provide a passenger and cargo safety system for vehicles activated by a collision. 
     It is a further object of the invention to provide a perimeter system of electrically operated impact sensors. 
     Still another object of the invention is to provide a perimeter of a protective coating gel which solidifies upon exposure to air to protect the occupants and cargo. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes. 
     These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic environmental plan view of a vehicle installed with the collision safety system according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a gel sprayer unit. 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a sensor unit. 
     Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The present invention is directed to a passenger and cargo area fire extinguishing system actuated by a predetermined degree of shock involved in a collision. In FIG. 1, the safety system  10  is shown installed in perimeter regions  12  of the vehicle  14  which include an engine compartment  16 , a passenger compartment  18  and a cargo (or trunk) compartment  20 . 
     A plurality of conventional impact sensors  22  in an electrical circuit  24  and conventional foam injector nozzles  26  in a conduit line  28  are positioned along the perimeter regions  12  located in the roofs of the passenger compartment  18  and the cargo compartment  20 . 
     A chemical conduit circuit  30  contains a pressurized gas propellent containing tank  32 , a foam gel containing tank  34  and a mixing tank  36  located below the floor in the cargo compartment  20 . As illustrated in FIG. 1, when a predetermined shock will be detected by at least one of the impact sensors  22  and its signals communicated to the pressurized gas containing tank  32  to release its gaseous propellant, e.g., innocuous gas such as air or an inert gas, and to the foam gel containing tank  34  to release its foam gel to proceed to a mixing tank  36  and into the conduit line containing the injector nozzles  26  for injection of the foam gel into the passenger and cargo compartments,  18 ,  20 , respectively, to provide a protective and resilient foam gel coating in the vicinity of the injector nozzles  26 . 
     In FIG. 2, a representative foam injector nozzle  26  is depicted having a narrow circular nozzle portion  38  containing a plurality of apertures  40  and a wider circular base portion  42  based on a flat circular flange  44 . A fluid conduit  28  connects the nozzle  26  to the chemical conduit circuit shown in FIG.  1 . 
     In FIG. 3, a representative impact sensor device  22  is shown having a circular head  46  containing a conventional pressure sensitive portion  48  which is powered by the vehicle&#39;s electrical system to convey the electrical signals via the wire  50  to the electrical circuit  24  of the safety system  10 . 
     Thus, any portion of the vehicle  14  protected by the safety system  10  will immediately protect the occupants and cargo when an impact or collision is detected by the impact sensors  22 . 
     The chemical composition of the foam gel can be conventional and similar to the compositions of Chen discussed above. It is contemplated that the foam gel can initially be in the form of powder reacting with a reactive gas but innocuous propellent composition. 
     It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.