Patent Publication Number: US-5890909-A

Title: Method and apparatus for teaching vehicle safety

Description:
This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 07/636,210 filed on Dec. 31, 1990, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,327. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     An educational toy and method of conveying vehicle safety procedures is presented. More specifically, vehicles are disclosed with operational safety belt restraining devices, removable human shaped toy passenger figures or crash dummies, means for instructing seat belt safety, and associated safety articles. 
     2. Description of the Background Art 
     Visual and physical aids help impart subject matter to individuals seeking to learn a particular topic. The key is to find a suitable combination of instructional elements that benefits the user with regard to the concept being studied. Various aspects of vehicle safety have been conveyed to children by differing methods and devices over the years. None of the prior attempts to transmit vehicle safety to children uses a vehicle having a working seat belt and a crash figure or dummy in directed, realistic demonstrations of the need for a passenger to be secured by a seat belt. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,557,471 relates an anthropodynamic dummy. The dummy is life sized for use in studies that require human body mass and shape. 
     Disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,488,375 is a typical toy vehicle. This particular toy vehicle has a body pivotably attached to the frame. Shown in this patent is a driving dummy wearing a nonfunctional seat belt. No mention is made of the significance of the dummy or the seat belt. 
     A child&#39;s ride-on toy vehicle is presented in U.S. Pat. No. 4,562,893. Safety features built into the design include front and rear roll bars. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,575,355 teaches a toy vehicle having a waist encircling seat belt (not a shoulder harness type seat belt) constructed of two rigid semicircles with each directly incorporated into the drive mechanism of the vehicle. The seat belt must be in the closed position for the vehicle to move under its own force. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,580,985 discloses a simulator device for demonstrating the benefits of wearing a seat belt. An egg is fitted within a propulsion device and projected against a fixed barrier. 
     A method and apparatus for teaching school bus safety to children is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,731,026. Comprising the system is a movable school bus, a child figure, a movable car, and a flat sheet having various zones of danger displayed upon its exposed viewing surface. 
     A safety awareness kit, including toy figures and storage case, is related in U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,607. The toy figure, say a cat or squirrel, has a flattened portion that shows the result of improperly encountering a vehicle. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,895,542 reports a toy automobile with attachments. Included in the attachments are the various items that would be fitted to a truck type vehicle, including: a window; a roof; multiple headlights; an antenna; and similar articles. 
     German Patent No. 3,409,841 discloses an instructional model for teaching children the operation of traffic lights. The described device resembles a traffic light. 
     Likewise, in German Patent No. 2,159,088, road safety procedures are conveyed to children. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the present invention is to present an instructional vehicle toy for training children about general vehicle safety. 
     A further object of the present invention is to relate a training method that conveys general safety principles relating to vehicles. 
     An additional object of the present invention is to create a child&#39;s toy that physically illustrates the effect of not wearing a seat belt on dummies placed within a vehicle that crashes. 
     Another object of the present invention is to present a method of instructing a child in the beneficial aspects of using seat belts by providing a crash dummy, a vehicle with functional seat belts, and means conveying seat belt safety instructions that outlines various experiments or safety exercises that the child practices to establish the results of wearing or not wearing a properly fastened seat belt in a vehicle. 
     Yet a further object of the present invention is to originate a method of seat belt safety instruction that is adaptable to any means of transportation. 
     The subject device, an instructional apparatus for teaching vehicle seat belt safety to a child, comprises a three-dimensional passenger figure for fitting into the seat of a vehicle. The vehicle is a movable three-dimensional vehicle having a passenger (a driver or rider) seat fitted with a seat belt restraining device. The seat belt is reversibly securable about the passenger figure. When the seat belt is secured about the passenger figure the passenger figure is restrained from a vehicle crash related removal from the passenger seat. Preferably, a set of instructions is provided that presents safety exercises for the child that illustrate the proper use of the seat belt and the results to the passenger figure of not securing the seat belt. 
     Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description that follows, when considered in conjunction with the associated drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1a is a perspective view of one embodiment of the subject device including a land vehicle, a ramp, and a barrier object. 
     FIG. 1b is the perspective view shown is FIG. 1a, but the vehicle is illustrated in cutaway to show fully the seat belts. 
     FIG. 2 is a flexibly jointed passenger figure. 
     FIG. 3a is a side view of the subject device including a land vehicle, a passenger figure seat belted into the vehicle, a ramp, and a barrier object. 
     FIG. 3b is a top view of the subject device including a land vehicle, two passenger figures seat belted into the vehicle, a ramp, and a barrier object 
     FIG. 4 is a side view of the subject land vehicle displaying an unfastened seat belt with a passenger figure seated in a vehicle seat or being removed from the vehicle (dotted lines) and a detached roll bar and its location within the vehicle (dotted lines). 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the subject invention showing an air vehicle with an unfastened seat belt and a passenger figure that is insertable into the vehicle or removable along the dotted lines. 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a Seat Belt Safety Manual of the subject device. 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a container for the subject device in which seat belt safety instructions are printed on the container&#39;s surface. 
     FIG. 8 is a front view of a card having seat belt safety instructions for the subject device. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now to FIGS. 1-6, there are shown preferred embodiments of an apparatus for teaching vehicle safety. Models and sample practices are provided, both to add a measure of fun to the learning process and to stimulate the desire to learn more. Generally, vehicle safety involving the use of a seat belt is related. Specifically, disclosed is an instructional apparatus for teaching vehicle seat belt safety to a child that comprises a three-dimensional passenger figure, usually flexibly jointed, and a movable three-dimensional vehicle, generally a land vehicle or an air vehicle. Within the vehicle is a passenger seat fitted with a seat belt restraining device. When the passenger figure is fitted in the passenger seat and the seat belt is reversibly securable about the passenger figure, the passenger figure is restrained from a vehicle crash related removal from the passenger seat. 
     Seat belt safety instructional means further comprises the subject invention. Included is a set of instructions or manual that teaches seat belt safety by presenting safety exercises for a user. The exercises illustrate the use of the seat belt and the results to the passenger figure of not securing the seat belt. 
     Additionally, for a land vehicle, a detachable roll bar, a barrier object into which the vehicle is be crashed, and a ramp from which the vehicle is launched are provided. These items help to illustrate the results to the passenger figure of not wearing a seat belt. 
     Preferably, the subject apparatus comprises a movable three-dimensional toy or model vehicle that is either a land vehicle 3a (see FIGS. 1a, 1b, 3a, 3b, and 4) that usually travels over a supporting surface or an air vehicle 3b (see FIG. 5) that usually travels through the air. Since the subject device is an instructional toy, the size of the vehicle is usually not greater than about three feet in length, but may exceed this size if desired. Each vehicle may or may not contain a propulsion system such as a spring mechanism, an electric motor, a gasoline engine, and the like and may include means for controlling remotely the actions of the vehicle. The vehicle may be constructed from standard components including metals, natural and synthetic polymers, wood, and equivalent materials. 
     FIGS. 1a and 1b clearly illustrate a land vehicle 3a. There is no requirement that the vehicle 3a be a JEEP® type vehicle as shown, but may be of any design configuration. Fitted to the vehicle is a seat belt or seat belt restraining device that is unfastened 5a or fastened 5b. Each seat belt is anchored to one side of a passenger seat 10, wherein each passenger seat 10 is secured within the vehicle. As is seen in FIG. 1b, an unfastened seat belt has a first coupler half 15a that is capable of being reversibly secured or mated by a user to a seat 10 associated second coupler half 15b to form a fastened seat belt 5b. Preferably, the coupler halves (15a and 15b) have coupling means that are easily mated to and detached from one another, yet provide enough resistance to unfastening to firmly secure a passenger figure 20 between a fastened seat belt 5b and a seat 10. Usual coupling means include, but are not limited to, VELCRO® (hook-to-mat type linking surfaces), snaps, hooks, and magnets. Therefore, a preferred reversibly securable seat belt comprises a seat belt fabricated from a suitable material such as natural or synthetic polymers, leather, and similar materials and a mating pair of VELCRO® strips with one mate attached to the seat belt 15a and the other mate attached near (on the vehicle) or to the seat 10. 
     Each seat belt restraining device may further comprise not only a lap strap but also a shoulder strap. Since it is well known that seat belts with shoulder straps are safer than seat belts without shoulder straps, all of the seat belts shown in the figures include the shoulder strap, but the subject apparatus will function with only the lap belt. 
     A seat 10 is sized to accommodate a passenger figure 20. The seat 10 is firmly anchored to the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 2, a preferred type of three-dimensional passenger figure or dummy 20 mimics a human passenger by having flexible or movable joints 25. Flexible joints 25 may be associated with head-to-torso, arm-to-torso, leg-to-torso, hand-to-arm, foot-to-leg, upper leg-to-lower leg, upper arm-to-lower arm, and similar body member connection points. By having movable joints 25, a passenger figure 20 is fitted easily into a seat 10. Further, by having movable joints 25, a user of the subject apparatus can see the results or distortions upon the passenger figure 20 of being thrown from the vehicle when the figure is not wearing a fastened seat belt. For a land vehicle 3a having an unfastened seat belt 5a, FIG. 4 depicts a seated passenger figure 20 being ejected from the vehicle 3a, thereby becoming a removed and endangered passenger figure 21. When the seat belt 5b is secured or fastened about a passenger figure 20 (FIGS. 3a and 3b), the figure 20 is restrained from a vehicle crash related removal from the passenger seat 10. 
     To illustrate the benefits of vehicle overhead protection to a passenger, a removable or detachable roll bar 30 is disclosed. FIGS. 1a, 1b, 3a, 3b, and in particular FIG. 4 exhibit the removable roll bar 30. In practice, the roll bar 30 may be replaced with a removable roof or equivalent device for protecting a passenger figure 20 from injury in a crash that results in an up-side-down or tumbling vehicle. 
     Additional equipment such as a vehicle ramp 35 and barrier object 40 are disclosed in FIGS. 1a, 1b, 3a, and 3b. As depicted in FIG. 3a, the vehicle 3a traveling or being propelled in the direction indicated by arrow A would climb up the ramp 35 and given enough force be launched off or from the ramp 35. When the launched vehicle 3a hits an unmovable object (a wall or the like), the ground, or a partially movable barrier object 40 and comes to a slow or abrupt halt or tumbles, a child user sees either a seat belt secured figure staying within the vehicle or a seat belt unsecured figure most likely being ejected from the vehicle and the resulting damage to the propelled flexibly jointed passenger figure 20. Here, FIGS. 1a, 1b, 3a, and 3b, the barrier object 40 is shown as a barrel, but any partially movable object is contemplated as suitable. Partially movable implies that when a vehicle crashes into the barrier object 40 that some movement of the barrier object 40 results, unlike an unmovable object such as a wall. In the movement of the barrier object 40 upon a vehicle crash, some of the vehicle&#39;s forward momentum is absorbed by barrier object 40. 
     Seat belts find use with not only land vehicles 3a, but air vehicles 3b as well. FIG. 5 plainly indicates an airplane 3b (additionally, helicopters, gliders, and like devices are contemplated to be within the realm of this disclosure) having a seat 10, a seat belt 5a (unfastened seat belt in this rendition), and a passenger figure 20 that fits within the air vehicle. Clearly, airplane pilots and passengers require seat belt restraining devices for rough weather, bad landing, upside-down maneuvers, and similar unusual procedures. Air vehicles having more than one seat are considered to be equivalent alternative versions to the single seat rendition depicted in FIG. 5. Such air vehicles may or may not be actual flying models, but if capable of flying, such designs may be propelled by any standard means. As with the land vehicle 3a, a readily fastenable seat belt 5a is required. Means for fastening the seat belt are equivalent with those described above for the land vehicle 3a. 
     Providing a user, presumably a child, with a three-dimensional passenger figure and vehicle with a functioning seat belt will permit free form or spontaneous usage of these elements by the child. Some general seat belt safety knowledge is obtained from such free form activities. However, the seat belt safety learning process is directly enhanced by providing safety instructing means. Specifically, various types of seat belt safety teaching information, instructions, or manuals are contemplated to be within the realm of this disclosure. The term &#34;manual&#34; is taken from its standard English usage to mean a set of instructions or a prescribed drill. As long as suitable seat belt information, exercises, and examples of use and non-use are presented to a child user, the exact form of the safety manual is variable and includes an actual book manual 45 (see FIG. 6) and equivalent variants such as an information covered container box 50 (see FIG. 7), an instructional card 60 (see FIG. 8), single insert sheets that are sold with the subject device, advertising messages in print or broadcast media, and like approaches. Contained within the instructing means are exercises or experiments designed to show correct and incorrect operation of a seat belt under various vehicle crash conditions and the results to a passenger of not fastening a seat belt. Various suitable exercises can be listed concerning proper seat belt usage, however, five specific seat belt safety exercise examples are now given. It must be stressed that these exercises are for illustrative purposes only and are not to be considered exhaustive of useful seat belt safety experiments. 
     EXAMPLE 1 
     In a first procedure, a user child places a flexibly jointed passenger figure 20 into a land vehicle 3a. The child fastens a seat belt 5b over the passenger figure. Next the child propels the figure containing vehicle 3a into an unmovable object (as indicated above, a wall or the like) and observes if the passenger is still within the vehicle. In a second procedure, the child generally repeats the first procedure, but leaves the seat belt unfastened 5a. The child notes the results of propelling the vehicle 3a containing the unsecured passenger figure into a stationary object. Since the figure 20 is flexibly jointed, after the collision, positional changes in the joints are observed and conclusions may be drawn concerning human occupants in an actual life-size vehicle. 
     EXAMPLE 2 
     An experiment similar to Example 1 above is conducted, however here a vehicle ramp 35 is employed to lift the vehicle into the air before the crash into the unmovable object. Once again, the results to a seat belt secured and seat belt unsecured passenger figure 20 are noted. 
     EXAMPLE 3 
     As in the first two Examples, a comparison is made between two vehicle crashes for the condition of a post-crash passenger figure 20; one vehicle crash in which the figure is seat belt secured and the other vehicle crash where the figure is not seat belt secured. Here, in place of the unmovable object a partially movable crash object 40 is employed. The child user can see if a vehicle crashed into a partially movable object 40 results, as compared to an unmovable object crash, in a less distorted passenger figure 20 or one with equal damage. Optionally, to increase the crash variables, a ramp may be used in this exercise. 
     EXAMPLE 4 
     Any one or all of the above three land vehicle 3a Examples are repeated, but in each case the exercise is conducted with and without the presence of a vehicle roll bar 30. Should the vehicle 3a tumble or flip up-side-down, the damage results to the passenger figure 20 may vary depending upon the presence or absence of the roll bar 30. 
     EXAMPLE 5 
     An air vehicle (airplane 3b) having a cockpit seat 10 and fastenable seat belt (specifically in FIG. 5, the seat belt 5a is in an unfastened state) is used. A flexibly jointed pilot figure 20 is inserted into the seat 10 (approximately along the dashed lines shown in FIG. 5). After one or a variety of vehicle maneuvers (such as directly crashing the airplane, a bumpy landing, up-side-down flight, and the like), a comparison is made between the &#34;state&#34; of a seat belt fastened and unfastened pilot. The &#34;state&#34; of the pilot refers to if the pilot is still within the airplane or if not, the location of the pilot or the condition of the pilot&#39;s joints. Other obvious extensions of this and the above Examples are considered to be within the scope of this disclosure. 
     Additional visual or physical instructional elements that may enhance the learning experience are optionally included with the subject apparatus. Such instructional elements include, but are not limited to, safety badges, safety arm bands, crash helmets, safety stickers, and the like. 
     The invention has now been explained with reference to specific embodiments. Other embodiments will be suggested to those of ordinary skill in the appropriate art upon review of the present specification. 
     Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail by way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity of understanding, it will be obvious that certain changes and modifications may be practiced within the scope of the appended claims.