Mass transit safety notification system and device
A system and device that will notify roadway maintenance workers of an approaching mass transit vehicle and, conversely, will notify the operators and administrators of mass transit vehicles of roadway maintenance workers within the vicinity of an approaching section of track.
1. A safety notification system for a mass transit grid, the system comprising:
a mass transit grid;
one or more individuals in the mass transit grid, each of said individuals equipped with a personal notification unit;
two or more warning zones in the mass transit grid, a first of the warning zones being a track area and a second of the warning zones being a silent area;
a vehicle in the mass transit grid equipped with a vehicle equipment unit, said vehicle equipment unit having no information about the two or more warning zones; and
a network which communicatively connects the vehicle equipment unit to the personal notification units;
wherein when the vehicle is within a predetermined proximity to the warning zones:
the personal notification units transmit location-based information to the vehicle equipment unit;
the vehicle equipment unit receives the information transmitted from the personal notification units;
the vehicle equipment unit transmits vehicle location information to the personal notification units; and
the personal notification units receive the information transmitted from the vehicle equipment unit; and
wherein, based upon the information received from the vehicle equipment unit:
personal notification units located in the track area enter an alert mode and transmit a warning to the individual equipped with the personal notification unit and personal notification units located in the silent area receive the information from the vehicle equipment unit but do not enter an alert mode and do not transmit a warning to the individual equipped with the personal identification unit.
2. The safety notification system for a mass transit grid of claim 1 , wherein the personal notification unit is a handheld hardware device.
3. The safety notification system for a mass transit grid of claim 1 , wherein the personal notification unit is integrated into the one or more individual's safety equipment.
4. The safety notification system for a mass transit grid of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the one or more of the warning areas is fixed by geographic coordinates.
5. The safety notification system for a mass transit unit of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the one or more warning areas is modified according to the associated vehicle's speed.
6. The safety notification system for a mass transit unit of claim 1 ,
wherein the personal notification unit transmits the alert mode to the one or more vehicles in the mass transit grid equipped with a vehicle equipment unit; and
wherein, based on the alert mode, the one or more vehicle equipment units modify the speed of the associated vehicles.
7. The safety notification system for a mass transit unit of claim 1 ,
wherein one of the one or more warning areas is a geoguard area;
wherein the personal notification units in the geoguard area enter an alert mode when the individual equipped with the personal notification unit leaves the geoguard area.
8. The safety notification system for a mass transit unit of claim 1 ,
wherein one of the one or more warning areas is a restricted area;
wherein the personal notification units trigger the alert mode when they enter the restricted area.
9. The safety notification system for a mass transit unit of claim 1 ,
wherein the personal notification units will enter a fail safe alert mode when the personal notification unit losses its ability to determine its location.
10. The safety notification system for a mass transit vehicle of claim 1 ,
wherein the personal notification units are further comprised of a panic button; and
wherein the panic button will send an alert signal to other personal notification units within a defined area when activated.
11. The safety notification system for a mass transit vehicle of claim 1 ,
wherein the vehicle equipment unit is further comprised of a user interface; and
wherein the user interface displays the location of the vehicle in the mass transit grid and the location of the one or more individuals in the mass transit grid equipped with personal notification units in real time.
12. The safety notification system for a mass transit vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the personal notification units store information on personal notification unit activity and alert logs.
13. The safety notification system for a mass transit vehicle of claim 1 ,
wherein the system is further comprised of a personal notification unit interrogator; and
wherein the personal notification unit interrogator downloads the information on personal activity and alert logs stored on the personal notification units.
14. The safety notification system for a mass transit vehicle of claim 1 , the system further comprising:
a central control server communicatively attached to the network.
15. The safety notification system for a mass transit vehicle of claim 1 , the system further comprising:
a plurality of priority detectors communicatively attached to the network.
16. The safety notification system for a mass transit vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the intensity of the warnings corresponds to an identified safety risk.
17. A safety notification system for a mass transit grid, the system comprising:
a mass transit grid;
one or more individuals in the mass transit grid, each of said individuals equipped with a personal notification unit;
two or more warning zones in the mass transit grid, a first of the warning zones being a track area and a second of the warning zones being a silent area;
a vehicle in the mass transit grid equipped with a vehicle equipment unit and having a defined route, said vehicle equipment unit having no information about the two or more warning zones; and
a network which communicatively connects the vehicle equipment unit to the personal notification units;
wherein when the vehicle is within a predetermined proximity to the warning zones:
the personal notification units transmit location-based information to the vehicle equipment unit;
the vehicle equipment unit receives the information transmitted from the personal notification units;
the vehicle equipment unit transmits vehicle location information to the personal notification units; and
the personal notification units receive the information transmitted from the vehicle equipment unit; and
wherein, based upon the information received from the vehicle equipment unit:
if the track area is on the defined route, the personal notification units located in the track area enter an alert mode and transmit a warning to the individual equipped with the personal notification unit; and
if the track area is not on the defined route, the personal notification units located in the track area do not enter an alert mode and do not transmit a warning to the individual equipped with the personal notification unit; and
wherein the personal notification units located in the silent area receive the information from the vehicle equipment unit but do not enter an alert mode and do not transmit a warning to the individual equipped with the personal identification unit regardless of if the silent area is on the defined route.