Indicators to identify status and safety of vehicles
View Patent ↗One or more indicators provide an indication of the energy source of power for one or more vehicles. The indicators may be positioned on a vehicle and/or on other structures such as parking garages, tunnels, and entrance gates. The indicators may be visual and/or acoustic. On a vehicle the indicators are positioned to most likely be intact during and after an accident and provide a predetermined indication that identifies an energy source that provides power for the vehicle.
1. A vehicle that provides an indication of a type of an energy source that provides power to the vehicle, comprising:
a visual indicator, providing a machine readable visual image in the form of a bar code positioned at an exterior upper location of the vehicle;
the visual indicator providing a predetermined indication that identifies one or more types of energy sources that provide power for the vehicle.
2. The vehicle set forth in claim 1 wherein the indicator further provides an indication by way of wireless communication.
3. The vehicle set forth in claim 1 wherein the indicator further comprises an acoustical indicator.
4. The vehicle set forth in claim 2 further comprising a transmission means that causes transmission of an identification of an energy source for the vehicle, associated with a unique identifier for the vehicle, to a destination associated with the vehicle.
5. The vehicle set forth in claim 2 wherein the wireless communication comprises a response from an encoded identifier on the vehicle indicative of the energy source for the vehicle in response to a signal requesting the encoded identifier.
6. The vehicle set forth in claim 4 wherein the destination associated with the vehicle is an enclosed area.
7. The vehicle set forth in claim 4 wherein the destination associated with the vehicle is a tunnel.
8. The vehicle set forth in claim 1 wherein the energy source comprises an energy source selected from the set comprising: hydrogen fuel cell, electric battery, fossil based fuel, and one or more combinations thereof.
9. The vehicle set forth in claim 1 wherein the vehicle comprises a road vehicle.
10. The vehicle set forth in claim 9 wherein the vehicle comprises a passenger vehicle.
11. The vehicle set forth in claim 9 wherein the vehicle comprises a commercial vehicle.
12. The vehicle set forth in claim 9 wherein the vehicle comprises a bus.
13. The vehicle set forth in claim 1 wherein the exterior upper location of the vehicle corresponds to a B pillar of the vehicle.
14. The vehicle set forth in claim 1 wherein the exterior upper location of the vehicle corresponds to a center top portion of a windshield of the vehicle.
15. The vehicle set forth in claim 1 wherein the exterior upper location of the vehicle corresponds to a center top portion of a rear window of the vehicle.
16. The vehicle set forth in claim 1 wherein the exterior upper location of the vehicle-corresponds to a position on a roof of the vehicle.
17. The vehicle set forth in claim 1 wherein the visual indicator provides an indication by color of the energy source that provides power for the vehicle.
18. The vehicle set forth in claim 1 further comprising a controller connected to the indicator to cause the indicator to provide the predetermined indication.
19. The vehicle set forth in claim 1 wherein the visual indicator includes a flashing light.
20. The vehicle set forth in claim 1 further comprising a visual indicator that provides illumination of an area in the vicinity of the vehicle.
21. The vehicle set forth in claim 1 wherein the visual indicator is illuminated.
22. The vehicle set forth in claim 1 further comprising a battery coupled to the visual indicator to provide backup power to the visual indicator.
23. The vehicle set forth in claim 22 further comprising a solar charging apparatus coupled to the battery.
24. The vehicle set forth in claim 1 wherein the visual indicator comprises one or more light emitting diodes.
25. The vehicle set forth in claim 1 wherein the visual indicator is self-powered.
26. The vehicle set forth in claim 1 further comprising a second visual indicator positioned in a grille of the vehicle, the second visual indicator providing a predetermined indication that identifies one or more types of energy sources that provide power for the vehicle.
27. The vehicle set forth in claim 2 wherein the wireless communication is transmitted to a wearable device.
28. The vehicle set forth in claim 1 wherein the vehicle comprises a tractor.
29. The vehicle set forth in claim 1 wherein the vehicle comprises a snowmobile.
30. The vehicle set forth in claim 1 wherein the vehicle comprises an all-terrain vehicle.
31. The vehicle set forth in claim 1 wherein the vehicle comprises a motorcycle.
32. The vehicle set forth in claim 1 wherein the vehicle comprises a subway type train.
33. The vehicle set forth in claim 1 wherein the vehicle comprises a passenger type ship.
34. The vehicle set forth in claim 1 wherein the vehicle comprises a recreational type boat.
35. The vehicle set forth in claim 1 wherein the vehicle comprises a jet ski.
36. The vehicle set forth in claim 10 wherein the vehicle comprises a convertible top.
37. The vehicle set forth in claim 11 wherein the vehicle comprises a flatbed truck.
38. The vehicle set forth in claim 11 wherein the vehicle comprises a commercial type loader.
39. The vehicle set forth in claim 1 wherein the visual indicator further provides an identification of the vehicle by model.
40. The vehicle set forth in claim 1 wherein the visual indicator further provides an identification of the vehicle by vehicle identification number (VIN).
41. The vehicle set forth in claim 4 wherein the destination associated with the vehicle is a bridge.
42. The vehicle set forth in claim 4 wherein the destination associated with the vehicle is a parking facility.