Patent Abstract:
There is disclosed a mobile unit operative for securely storing and placing markers onto a surface, comprising a bed coupled to a portion of the mobile unit comprising a planar surface for storing the markers; a well area coupled to a rear portion of the bed and having an at least one well structure coupled to the first planar surface, the well structure having a bottom and side walls for housing a person for placing or retrieving said markers on the surface, wherein the at least one well structure and the first planar surface are positionally aligned to permit retrieval/storage of a marker from the first planar surface for placement/retrieval on the surface via said person located within the well.

Full Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates generally to vehicular safety systems, and more particularly to a mobile vehicular safety system for securely storing and placing markers onto a road surface. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Our nation&#39;s roads and highways represent the life blood of our transportation system and impact on our daily lives in significant and myriad ways. Commercial enterprises such as commerce, industry, trucking and livery and public-funded entities such as police, firefighters, emergency response units, and countless other organizations and individuals in both the private and public sectors rely on local, state, and federal transportation departments to provide and maintain a sound infrastructure of roads and highways. 
     However, in order to support such an infrastructure, road construction and maintenance represents an ongoing and essential activity. While most travelers view road construction and road crews merely as an annoyance or impediment to timely arrival at their intended destination, clearly such a view is misplaced. Rather those who work to build and maintain the roadways facilitate, in the long run, quick easy and efficient access to location that would otherwise be difficult, if not impossible, to reach. In addition, road crew personnel assume a substantial risk of bodily injury from both unwary or inattentive drivers, as well as from other road construction equipment. For example, in the course of placing road markers such as cones, barriers, or signs, used to notify and alert drivers, road crew personnel have often been injured and even killed. 
     A number of solutions have been developed in the past to prevent such injuries to road crew personnel and to provide a safer and more secure work environment to those individuals in the act of placing or retrieving markers from the road surface. For example, an impact attenuation device placed on the back of a truck or other vehicle provides some measure of security to such road crew personnel. However, it is typical that in the course of placing or retrieving markers, such persons performing the task walk alongside the maintenance vehicle, and are thus left unprotected and susceptible to injuries from other drivers or by the vehicle itself. Accordingly, it is highly desirable to obtain a more secure apparatus and method for retrieving and placing markers onto a road surface. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a mobile unit operative for securely storing and placing markers onto a surface, comprising a front cab; a bed coupled to a rear of the front cab, the bed comprising a planar surface for storing the markers; a well area coupled to a rear portion of the bed and having an at least one well structure coupled to the first planar surface, the well structure having a bottom and side walls for housing a person for placing or retrieving the markers on the surface, wherein the at least one well structure and the first planar surface are positionally aligned to permit retrieval/storage of a marker from the first planar surface for placement/retrieval on the surface via the person located within the well. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for securely storing and placing markers onto a road surface from a mobile vehicle comprising the steps of providing a first planar surface for storing the markers; coupling at least one well structure to an end of the first planar surface, the well structure having a first side wall integrally coupled to the end of the first planar surface, a second side wall opposite the first side wall, an interior side wall connected between said first and second opposite side walls, an exterior opening and a bottom floor; and placing a person within the well and operating in a first mode by removing the markers from the first planar surface and placing on the road surface by the person within the well, and in a second mode, removing from the surface the markers and storing onto the first planar surface by the person within the well structure. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the mobile vehicle apparatus having a well structure for retaining a crew member for storing or retrieving markers according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the mobile vehicle apparatus of FIG. 1 from the opposite side as that shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 2B is a side view of the mobile vehicle apparatus according to the embodiment depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2A; 
     FIG. 2C is a top view of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2A; 
     FIGS. 3A-B show perspective views of the mobile vehicle apparatus including a crash attenuation unit mounted thereon; 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a well structure for containing a crew member according to an embodiment of the present invention; and 
     FIG. 5A is a perspective view of the mobile vehicle apparatus having a well structure for retaining a crew member for storing or retrieving markers according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 5B is a side view of the mobile vehicle apparatus according to the alternative embodiment depicted in FIG. 5A; 
     FIG. 5C is a cross-sectional view along lines A—A of FIG. 5B; 
     FIG. 5D is a top view of the alternative embodiment of FIG. 5A; 
     FIG. 6A is a side view of the mobile vehicle apparatus having a well structure for retaining a crew member for storing or retrieving markers according to another embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view along lines A—A of FIG. 6A; 
     FIG. 6C is a top view of the alternative embodiment of FIG.  6 A. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 illustrates a mobile vehicle apparatus  10  such as a truck comprising a cab portion  20  for housing a driver  22 . The truck is equipped with a bed  30  integrally coupled to a rear of the cab portion  20  by conventional means. The bed comprises a first substantially planar surface  40  having a width WI and a length Lt. The surface  40  is substantially flat for accommodating road markers such as road signs, cones, barrels, and so on. Retainer walls  50  extend vertically upward from the sides  32  and  34  of the planar surface to help retain and support markers  100  stored onto the planar surface bed area. A well area  90  comprising first and second well structures  60 ,  62  each disposed opposite one another and positioned in an integral manner with the end portion  64  of planar surface  40  is connected to the bed  30  via conventional means. Each corresponding well structure  60 ,  62  comprises each of the same elements as will be identified below. In referring to the drawings, like parts are indicated by like reference numerals. 
     Referring now to FIG. 1, well structure  60  includes three side walls  64 ,  66 ,  68  extending vertically from a bottom surface  70  at right angles to one another forming a box-like region for housing a road crew member  230  (FIG. 2) tasked to distribute markers onto a road the surface  200 . An opening  72  opposite wall  66  permits entry and exit of the well structure  60  to and from the road surface and is located on a lateral side  34  (i.e.  32  for well structure  62 ) of the truck. The bed  30  is mounted to and supported by a chassis or frame  84  using well known, conventional means. The well area including the well structures  60 ,  62  is preferably made of a strong and durable material, such as steel, capable of withstanding various weather conditions (for example rain, snow, heat, cold etc.), as well as high impact collisions. Well area  90  comprising each of the well structures  60  and  62  is of a length d extending in a substantially vertical downward direction from a top portion  12  which is coplanar with surface  40 . The well area is disposed behind both sets of front and rear wheels  210 ,  220  to provide an additional safety measure for preventing a worker from injury via the truck wheels. The structure  90  extends downward to a point such that bottom surface  70  of well structure  60  is a distance x from road surface  200 . Preferably the distance x is approximately 6 inches to facilitate a natural step-up/step-down from the road surface. Stiffeners  99  are welded to the underside of bottom surface  70  via conventional means to provide rigidity and stiffness to the standing surface  70 . The surface  70  is preferably coated with an anti-skid material to prevent slippage. 
     FIG. 2A shows a perspective view of the mobile unit  10  from side  32  showing identically oriented well structure  62  oppositely positioned with respect to well structure  60 , while FIG. 2B provides a more schematic side view of the moblie unit and well structure. FIG. 2C illustrates a top view of the bed and well area positioned behind the rear tandem wheels  220  according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the well area  90  may further comprise a sign board area  83  interposed between the first and second well structures  60 ,  62  which supports a notification area  34  such as an electronic arrow board or solar or battery-operated information board for alerting oncoming drivers of road construction. The sign board is typically connected to the well area structure by a series of steel beams  93  and may be either welded and/or bolted together to form a secure structure. The well area itself may also be formed by means of a series of welds and/or bolts bonding the first well structure, the board structure, and the second well structure together, or may be formed as a single monolithic molded steel or metal structure which is then connected to the end of planar surface  40 . 
     A retaining mechanism comprising a chain  94  is coupled to a hook  96  extending from a side of opening  70  and extends across the opening to detachably connect with a second hook  98  on the opposite side. The side walls within each well structure extend vertically approximately 4 feet while the dimensions of the well structure are approximately 4 ft.×3 ft. in order to securely retain the person within the well structure. Similarly, chain  94  extends across the opening at substantially the top of the side walls and at a point substantially near the mid-section of a normal sized male in order to permit one to reach or lean over the side of the truck to pick up or place a marker while preventing him from tipping over onto the road surface. The size and height of the well structures may be adjusted depending on safety requirements and regulations, or other safety related concerns. Note also that each well structure  60 ,  62  may also be formed having different shapes and/or dimensions according to particular requirements. 
     The well structure  60 ,  62  may further include a harness arrangement  75  shown in FIG. 4, comprising a belt  77  used for securing around the body of a crew member within the well and a chain  79  which has a first end coupled to the belt using conventional means such as a hoop  82  fastened to the belt, and a second end connected to a hook  81  extending from one of the sidewalls. In this manner the harness operates to securely retain the person within the well structure so as to prevent inadvertent exit therefrom. Such protection is twofold, preventing a member from either inadvertently exiting onto the road surface or entering onto the bed portion of the truck. The chain is of a length sufficient to permit movement within the well structure while limiting migration outside of the structure. 
     As best shown in FIG. 3B, a crash attenuation unit  20  may be adapted to be mounted to the back of the well area  90  of the truck in order to direct the motion of a vehicle colliding with the attenuator so as to dissipate its impact energy. Such an attenuator unit is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,697,657 entitled “VEHICLE MOUNTED CRASH ATTENUATION SYSTEM” by Albert W. Unrath, Sr., issued Dec. 16, 1997, and incorporated herein by reference. As shown in FIG. 3, the crash attenuator generally comprises a frame  22  adapted to be mounted on a vehicle, and a slider  24  mounted on the frame to telescope relative to the frame toward the vehicle in response to an impact where at least one collapsible energy-absorbing member is positioned between the slider  24  and the frame  22  to absorb energy as the slider telescopes relative to the frame. A crushable energy-absorbing crash cushion  28  is provided on the outboard side of the slider. The crushable energy-absorbing crash cushion is pivotally mounted to the slider about its horizontal axis to allow pivoting between a horizontally-deployed position in which the cushion extends generally outwardly from the vehicle, and the vertical position in which the crash cushion extends vertically upward. FIGS. 1,  2  and  3 A illustrate portions of a crash attenuation unit connected to the posterior well area  90 , including hinge  95  which allows vertical and horizontal deployment. Alternatively, a lift apparatus in combination with an attenuator cushion as disclosed in co-pending patent application Ser. No. 09/181,191 filed Oct. 28, 1998, entitled “LIFT APPARATUS FOR ATTENUATOR CUSHION” by Albert W. Unrath, Sr., the subject matter being incorporated herein by reference, may be utilized and mounted to the back of the well area  90  of the truck in order to direct the motion of the vehicle colliding with the attenuator in order to dissipate its impact energy. As previously mentioned, the crash attenuator is mounted to the well area such that the well area is interposed between the crash attenuator unit and the truck bed thereby providing additional security and safety measures to the road crew members. As shown in FIG. 3, each well structure  60  is disposed at a location distant to the rear truck wheels  220  so as to minimize the potential for a crew member operating within the well structure from falling under the wheels. Note that the bottom of the well structure is a short distance, preferably about six inches, from the road surface to allow easy step up/step down from/to the road. 
     In an alternative embodiment depicted in FIG. 5A-D, the well area  90  is disposed at a location between the front wheels  210  and the rear wheels  220  in order to provide a more structurally secure and safer area for housing road crew members displacing the markers. This embodiment provides better protection to the crew member from the motoring public because the rear tandem wheels act as an additional buffer to the well structure. FIG. 5A provides a perspective view of the mobile unit according to this second embodiment, while FIGS. 5B-D provide side, top, and cross sectional views (along AA of FIG.  5 B), respectively, of this well structure configuration. As shown in FIG. 5, the well area comprises oppositely disposed well structures  60 ,  62  separated by a stepped portion  72 . Stepped area  72  comprises a planar surface  76  extending between opposite sidewalls and operable as either a seat for a road crew member or as a step to either of the other well structure or to bed portion  30 . A parallel bar  84  extends across each well structure to prevent inadvertent exit. The bar comprises a first section  55  and a second section  57  which is retractable from the first section by conventional means to enable entry and exit from the well structure. As one can ascertain, the well area according to this embodiment is interposed between a first planar surface  40  and a second planar surface  41 . A Sideboard area  83  and attenuation unit  20  (not shown) may be coupled to portions of the second planar surface  40  using conventional means and in a manner analogous to that described in the first embodiment, where such units attached to well area  90 . Accordingly, in this embodiment, road markers  100  are accessible to a crew member within the well structure from either the first planar surface  40  or the second planar surface  41 , thus allowing greater ease of handling and manipulation of road markers. 
     In a third embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 6A-C, the well area  90  comprising the two well structures  60 ,  62  may be attached directly to the rear cab portion of the truck vehicle and secured at wall  103  via conventional means. In this embodiment, the bed portion  30  on which the markers are retrieved is positioned distal to the truck bed in view of the location of each well structure. While this embodiment also provides a well structure which is located between the front and rear wheels, such a position has the disadvantage that the driver of the truck vehicle can not always or easily see the crew member in the well, due to the proximity and peripheral location of the structure vis-a-vis the cab driver. This is in contrast to both the first and second embodiments, which provide sufficient distance between the driver and the well or pod position to permit visual perception of the crew member. 
     As one can ascertain from the preceding discussion, the present invention allows one to securely store and place markers onto a surface by providing a first planar surface for storing the markers, coupling the well area to the end of the first planar surface, and positioning a person within the well area so that he/she may remove markers from the planar surface and place them on the road without exiting the truck. Conversely, the crew member may also remove markers from the road surface and store them onto the truck bed while the vehicle is in motion without undue risk of injury from the vehicle itself or from oncoming traffic. Preferably, the vehicle is moving at a relatively slow and even speed to allow efficient and safe placement/pickup of markers. Alternatively, the vehicle may come to a complete stop so as to allow a person to more safely place/retrieve a marker. 
     While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown, it should be understood that a person skilled in the art may make many variations and modifications to these embodiments utilizing functionally equivalent elements to be described herein without departing from the present scope of the invention. Any and all such variations or modifications as well as others which may become apparent to those skilled in the art, are intended to be included within the scope of the invention as defined by the attended claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 4