Abstract:
A safety barrier for a fuel truck is disclosed. The barrier consists of a pair of side rails hingedly attached to the truck where they may be deployed perpendicularly from its side. The rails include support legs and further include front rails that are deployed generally parallel to the sides of the fuel truck to provide a physical and visual barrier when the fuel truck is dispensing its load. Additionally, the barrier may include a plurality of LED devices connected to the power supply in the truck to enhance the visibility of the barrier.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to barriers and, more specifically, to barriers for fuel tanker trucks that can be deployed during the filling of underground storage tanks. Typically a drop hose is connected between the truck and underground fuel tank with the truck operator placing traffic cones around the drop location to warn and deter motorists from driving over the hoses or valves, which doesn&#39;t always work because the motorist may not see the cones. 
     The present invention provides a deployable barrier that can be installed at time of truck manufacture or as an after market retrofit to existing tanker trucks. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     There are other barriers provided for trucks. While these barriers may be suitable for the purposes for which they where designed, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described. 
     It is thus desirable to provide a deployable barrier that will cordon off an area between the fuel tanker truck and the underground fill port. 
     It is further desirable to provide a barrier with an opening whereby an operator may quickly exit the barricaded area if the need arises. 
     SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     A primary object of the present invention is to provide an articulated deployable barrier for one side of a fuel dispensing truck. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide an articulated deployable barrier that is pivotally attached to said fuel truck. 
     Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an articulated deployable barrier having longitudinal rails that are selectively extendable from a truck stored position to a truck deployed position. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide an articulated deployable barrier wherein said longitudinal rails when extended form spaced apart substantially right angled barriers extending approximately the length of the tanker portion of said fuel truck. 
     Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a deployable barrier wherein said longitudinal rails each has a pivotal rail approximate its distal end that when extended serves as ground engaging support for said longitudinal rail 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a deployable barrier wherein said longitudinal rails have hinged rails fastened to their distal ends. 
     Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a deployable barrier where the hinged rails when extended leave an opening between their ends providing an opening for the fuel tank operator to pass through freely. 
     Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a deployable barrier that creates a fence encompassing the truck&#39;s fuel dispensing ports, hoses and station fuel drop ports. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a deployable barrier having a plurality of reflective elements mounted to the barrier rails. 
     Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a deployable barrier having a plurality of illuminable elements mounted to the barrier rails. 
     Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a deployable barrier where the illuminable elements are in electrical communication with the tanker truck electrical system. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a deployable barrier having a contact switch to automatically activate the illuminable elements when the longitudinal rails are deployed. 
     Additional objects of the present invention will appear as the description proceeds. 
     The present invention overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art by providing a safety barrier comprised of deployable side rails fixedly attached to the truck with the terminal ends of the side rails having a deployable front rail with each rail having a pivotal support leg. The exterior surface of the barrier further provides for a luminescent application of a reflective film or paint. 
     The foregoing and other objects and advantages will appear from the description to follow. In the description reference is made to the accompanying drawing, which forms a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments will be described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. In the accompanying drawing, like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views. 
     The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is best defined by the appended claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
       In order that the invention may be more fully understood, it will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing in which: 
       Referring to  FIG. 1 , shown is an illustrated view of prior art. 
       Referring to  FIG. 2 , shown is an illustrative view of the fuel truck drop barrier of the present invention. 
       Referring to  FIG. 3 , shown is a perspective view of the fuel truck deployable barrier of the present invention. 
       Referring to  FIG. 4 , shown is a perspective view of the deployed safety barrier for fuel trucks. 
       Referring to  FIG. 5 , shown is a perspective view of the fuel truck deployable barrier of the present invention. 
       Referring to  FIG. 6 , shown is a perspective view of the fuel truck deployable barrier of the present invention. 
       Referring to  FIG. 7 , shown is a perspective view of the fuel truck deployable barrier of the present invention. 
       Referring to  FIG. 8 , shown is a perspective view of the fuel truck deployable barrier of the present invention. 
       Referring to  FIG. 9 , shown is an additional element of the safety barrier of the present invention. 
       Referring to  FIG. 10 , shown is an illustrative view of an open contact switch to energize the plurality of LEDs. 
       Referring to  FIG. 11 , shown is an illustrative view of a closed contact switch to de-energize the plurality of LEDs. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCED NUMERALS 
     Turning now descriptively to the drawings, in which similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views, the figures illustrate the use of the present invention. With regard to the reference numerals used, the following numbering is used throughout the various drawing figures. fuel truck drop barrier
       12 ,  14  side rails     16 ,  18  pivot legs     20 ,  22  front rails     24 ,  26  side rail support legs     28  truck attachment plate     30  side rail attachment plate     32  truck attachment hinge     34 ,  36  side rail support leg plates     38  support leg hinge     40  front rail plates     42  front rail hinge     44  pivot leg pin     46  stop plate     48  elastomeric attachment cord     50  LED     52  contact switch     54  switch spring     56  truck power source     58  LED power supply   

     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The following discussion describes in detail one embodiment of the invention (and several variations of that embodiment). This discussion should not be construed, however, as limiting the invention to those particular embodiments, practitioners skilled in the art will recognize numerous other embodiments as well. For definition of the complete scope of the invention, the reader is directed to appended claims. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , shown is an illustrated view of prior art. When fuel delivery trucks F do fuel dropping, safety cones C are placed around the perimeter of the dropping zone. Many times vehicles run over the cones because the driver (indicated at D in this and other Figures) does not see them placed on the ground. 
     The present invention over comes this problem by providing a fuel truck safety barrier that is clearly visible to drivers of other vehicles. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , shown is an illustrative view of the fuel truck drop barrier of the present invention. The present invention is a fuel delivery truck safety barrier  10  that is pivotally attached to the body of the truck and is manually deployable by the fuel truck operator O when dropping a load of fuel. The barrier is comprised of side rails  12 ,  14 ; front folding pivot legs  16 ,  18 ; hinged front rails  20 ,  22 ; and side rail support legs  24 ,  26 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , shown is a perspective view of the fuel truck barrier of the present invention. Shown is the fuel delivery truck safety barrier  10  of the present invention comprising a folding safety barrier that is pivotally attached to the body of the truck and is selectively deployed by the fuel truck operator O upon delivery of fuel. The safety barrier is comprised of deployable side rails  12 ,  14  fixedly attached to the truck F with the terminal ends of the side rails  12 ,  14  each having a deployable front rail indicated at  20  and  22  with each rail having a pivotal support leg  16 ,  18 . The exterior surface of the barrier further provides for a luminescent application of a reflective film or brightly colored paint such as hunter orange or the like. Attachment to fuel truck F is accomplished by means of truck attachment plate  28 , side rail attachment plate, and deployment is enabled by truck attachment hinge  32 . The side rail support legs are enabled by side rail support leg plates  34 ,  36  and support leg hinge  38 . Finally, the pivot legs  16 ,  18  are deployed by means of the pivot leg pin  44  and stop plate  46 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , shown is a perspective view of the deployed safety barrier for fuel trucks. Shown is the fuel delivery truck safety barrier  10  of the present invention deployed. The safety barrier has strapping or latching means, such as elastomeric cord, for anchoring the safety barrier to the truck while in its stored state, as shown in  FIG. 8 . Each of the side rails  12 ,  14  is fixedly attached to the truck by means of the attachment plates  28 ,  30  (as seen in  FIG. 3 ) and deployable to a substantially right angle in relation to the truck F&#39;s side (as shown in  FIG. 7 ) wherethen the side rail support legs  24 ,  26  are deployed as is shown in  FIG. 6  along with the front rail portions  20 ,  22  and the front rail support legs  24 ,  26 . The front rails  20 ,  22  when extended provide a protected area with an unobstructed opening for the operator O to move into and out of the protected area as needed. 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , shown is a perspective view of the fuel truck barrier of the present invention. Shown is the safety barrier  10  being folded to its storage position. The barrier is a safety barrier having a left hand  14  side and a right hand side  12  that are independently manually deployable to an open state with each side rail substantially positioned at a right angle to the fuel truck&#39;s side when fully deployed. The side rails  12 ,  14  each provide a terminus end support leg  24 ,  26  and hingedly attached front rail portions  20 ,  22  also each having a support leg  16 ,  18  on the terminal end of each front rail portion. As shown, the safety barrier front portion and respective front portion support leg are pivoted to their stored state against a respective side rail. The side rail support leg is pivotally moved to its stored state under its respective side rail then the side rail is pivotally moved to its stored state against the fuel truck whereby an elastic cord indicated at  48  in  FIG. 8  is used to anchor the safety barrier  10  in its stored state to the fuel truck F. 
     Referring to  FIG. 6 , shown is a perspective view of the fuel truck deployable barrier of the present invention. Shown is a continuation of the folding process for moving the fuel truck safety barrier from an open state to a closed state. The safety barrier front portions  20 ,  22  and respective pivot legs  16 ,  18  are pivoted to their stored state against a respective side rail  12 ,  14 . The side rail support leg  24 ,  26  is moved to its stored state under its respective side rail then the side rail is swung as indicated by the arrows in the various Figures to its stored state against the fuel truck F wherethen an elastic cord  48  is used to anchor the safety barrier  10  in its stored state to the fuel truck. 
     Referring to  FIG. 7 , shown is a perspective view of the fuel truck deployable barrier of the present invention. Shown is a continuation of the folding process for moving the fuel truck safety barrier from an open state to a closed state. The safety barrier front rails  20 ,  22  and respective pivot legs  16 ,  18  are moved to their stored state against their respective side rail. The side rail support legs  24 ,  26  are moved to their stored states (seen in  FIG. 6 ) under their respective side rails then the side rails  12 ,  14  are moved to their stored states against the fuel truck wherethen an elastic cord  48  is used to anchor the safety barrier  10  to the fuel truck. 
     Referring to  FIG. 8 , shown is a perspective view of the fuel truck deployable barrier of the present invention. Shown is a continuation of the folding process for moving the fuel truck safety barrier  10  from an open state to a closed state. The safety barrier front rails  20 ,  22  and respective pivot legs  16 ,  18  are moved to their stored state against a respective side rail. The side rail support leg is moved to its stored state under its respective side rail then the side rail is pivotally moved to its stored state against the fuel truck wherethen an elastic cord  48  is used to anchor the safety barrier  10  to the fuel truck. 
     Referring to  FIG. 9 , shown is an additional element of the safety barrier of the present invention. The present invention alternately provides for a plurality of LEDs  50  in electrically communication with the fuel truck&#39;s power source and a plurality of contact switches  52  to illuminate the LEDs  50  when the safety barrier is deployed providing a series of LEDs  50  integrated within the barrier to illuminate providing visibility to approaching vehicles. 
     Referring to  FIG. 10 , shown is an illustrative view of an open contact switch to energize the plurality of LEDs  50 . Shown is a sectional view of an enablement of an additional element comprising a plurality of LEDs  50  incorporated into the safety barrier  10  and switch means  52  for activating the barrier&#39;s LED illumination during deployment providing visibility to approaching vehicles and deactivating the LEDs  50  when the barrier is folded to its stored position. The contact switch  52  is operated by a spring  54  and is connected to both the truck&#39;s power supply as indicated at  56  and also to the LEDs as indicated at  58 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 11 , shown is an illustrative view of a closed contact switch to de-energize the plurality of LEDs  50 . shown is a sectional view of an enablement of the additional element of the safety barrier of the present invention in a deactivated position within the folded frame that is pivotally attached to the body of the truck F, having micro switches  52  mounted within the hinges of the main hinge assembly  32  so that when the barrier  10  is folded, the switch  52  is deactivated, shutting off the series of LEDs  50  integrated within the barrier  10  and designed to light up when the safety barrier  10  is deployed. 
     It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together may also find a useful application in other types of methods differing from the type described above. 
     While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claims, it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention. 
     Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention.