Continuous rail and airborne rail transit alert system for pedestrians, vehicles and animals
An alert system for railed vehicles than can operate continuously or nearly continuously to warn pedestrians, vehicles and animals. In one embodiment, the system has a transmitter in close proximity with one or more rails for applying energy to become a medium for the energy that is felt or heard at a warning distance. In another embodiment, a transmitter is mounted on a train to broadcast a highly focused airborne warning that can be heard or felt even by the hearing impaired. Optionally, but desirably, the system has a forward-looking sensing device for identifying an obstruction in a prescribed warning area that triggers an auxiliary warning system with a customized (or tailored) warning based on that identification that also may be heard or felt.
1 . An airborne warning system for use with a rail vehicle which is movable along a track, the warning system comprising a transmitter mounted on the rail vehicle, said transmitter nearly continuously emitting a narrow warning beam substantially a full time the rail vehicle is moving, said narrow warning beam being an airborne warning directed to be focused down the track in a direction of travel of the rail vehicle, said narrow warning beam being sized to keep said narrow warning beam within a warning area for a desired warning distance, said warning area being delimited on opposite sides by a railroad right of way and having a width corresponding to the railroad right of way; said warning distance being at least a distance traveled by the rail vehicle in 5 seconds, whereby said narrow warning beam is contained substantially within said warning area for said desired warning distance.
2 . The system of claim 1 wherein the beam emitted by said transmitter is an active denial warning that can be felt by pedestrians, vehicles and animals.
3 . The system of claim 1 wherein a controller is attached to the transmitter for temporarily reducing or shutting off the narrow beam of sound or vibration.
4 . The system of claim 1 wherein the transmitter comprises two or more parametric speakers for additional sound or vibration energy transmission and redundancy.
5 . The system of claim 1 wherein the transmitter is powered by the rail vehicle's electrical system or is battery operated and attached with a switchable magnetic mount.
6 . The system of claim 1 wherein an articulator is attached to the transmitter for keeping the transmitter focused down the track.
7 . The system of claim 6 wherein the articulator is under control of a computer-driven tracking system, a mechanical tracking system or a GPS mapping system.
8 . The system of claim 1 wherein the transmitter is mounted on a bogey or railcar mounted in front of the rail vehicle.
9 . The system of claim 1 wherein the warning system further includes a light.
10 . The system of claim 1 further comprising a forward looking computerized sensing device mounted on the rail vehicle for identifying a person, animal, or vehicle in the warning area, wherein the intensity of the beam is increased when a person or vehicle is sensed by the computerized sensing device.
11 . The system of claim 10 wherein the intensity of the beam is modified depending on the identification of the obstruction.
12 . The system of claim 10 further comprising an auxiliary warning system which is activated by said warning system in response to a signal from the forward looking computerized sensing device indicative of a person, animal, or vehicle being sensed in the warning area to increase the intensity of the warning signal or to activate additional warning signals.
13 . The system of claim 12 wherein the auxiliary warning system is a high powered directional light or a kinetic warning.
14 . The system of claim 12 wherein the auxiliary warning system is automatic or computer controlled.
15 . The airborne warning system of claim 1 wherein the narrow warning beam is of an angle such that said beam does not extend outside of a right-of-way of the rail vehicle for at least 5 seconds.
16 . The airborne warning system of claim 1 wherein the narrow beam is 5 degrees wide.
17 . The airborne warning system of claim 1 wherein the transmitter comprises a parametric speaker.
18 . The airborne warning system of claim 1 wherein the narrow beam is no more than 12 degrees wide.