BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention can be more easily understood and further advantages and uses therefore can be more readily apparent, when considered in view of the detailed description and the following figures;

Figure 1 depicts the front view of a present invention embodiment of an improved traffic management apparatus in the form of a traffic cone with an illuminated arrow which can be positioned in multiple positions.

Figure 2 illustrates a side view of the above mentioned invention embodiment which allows for access to the mechanism and wiring setup of this cone as well as illustrates where the barricade clips can be connected.

Figure 3 illustrates a side view of another embodiment such as the above mentioned embodiment with an installed Solar panel system and charge controller which allows this cone to be able to derive the power required for its functioning from the sunlight it receives via the attached solar panel system.

Figure 4A illustrates a possible orientation of the illuminated arrow mentioned in the above mentioned embodiments of the present invention wherein the sub- sections of the illuminated arrow are positioned so as to indicate the instruction “Pass to the left” to the road users.

Figure 4B illustrates another possible orientation of the illuminated arrow mentioned in the above mentioned embodiments of the present invention wherein the sub- sections of the illuminated arrow are positioned so as to indicate the instruction “Turn Right” to the road users.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention will now be described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiment set forth herein. Rather, the embodiment is provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

Many aspects of the invention can be better understood with references made to the drawings below. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. Instead, emphasis is placed upon clearly illustrating the components of the present invention. Moreover, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts through the several views in the drawings. Before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the embodiments of the invention are not limited in their application to the details of construction and to the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The embodiments of the invention are capable of being practiced and carried out in various ways. In addition, the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

One of the embodiments of the present invention discloses a smart traffic cone which is designed and deliberated to provide maximum visibility and extreme awareness for diverting traffic and road situations. This cone is made with superior quality of materials and a reliable design and is thus able to direct the traffic easily while producing an eye-catching signal to the road user.

As illustrated in Fig. 1, this embodiment comprises of a four-sided tapered cone 101 (800mm height) with a square base at the bottom (270mm x 270mm). The substratum is made of PE material for the sides and metal for the bottom, fixed on an octagon base 102 (460mm x 460mm x 40mm), which is called ground base. This ground base 102 is made of rubber and lay on the ground in order to let the cone withstand the wind conditions and mitigate the chance of falling over.

The main part within this embodiment which is designed to gain the attention of the traffic and provide road instructions is the illuminable arrow comprising of one or more subsections which can move independently and each subsection has a light such that this illuminable arrow can be programmed such that each independent sub section can be programmed to automatically set to a predetermined position with its individual light switched on or off as programmed. One variation of the above embodiment involves the illuminable arrow comprising of four sections, Main body 105, Tail 201 and Arrowhead (two sections 108 & 109). All these sub-sections of the arrowhead can be automatically positioned and lighted up simultaneously as programmed for each stored position.

At the front and back side of the cone, two spin pivots 104 are located in the middle of each side. These pivots are stand out the cone surface through ball bearings and can be revolved by stepper motors supported with efficient mechanism (such as gears) to rotate the arrow sections (Main body 105 and tail 201), while the two sections of the arrowhead 108 & 109 are connected to the arrow body and rotated using two tiny servo motors 106.

This illuminated arrow can point in multiple directions, some of which are illustrated as the following: 1- Pass to the left, as illustrated in Figure 4A.

2- Turn left.

3- Turn right, as illustrated in Figure 4B.

4- Pass to the right

The lighting source of this arrow is SMT LEDs with lenses attached to them in order to get the proper intensity and viewing angle. These SMT LEDs are soldered on a printed circuit board and attached to a heatsink which composes the back and side part of casing while a shell with high transmittance can be used as a front panel.

On the top of the cone, there is a hole to allow a flashing light system 120, raised on the peak of aluminum pole 401 vertically (155 cm height). This flasher light has a dome shaped shell with high lumens in two colors (blue & red).

The pole elevation, as depicted in FIG 4 A & FIG 4B, and attraction as illustrated in FIG 1, FIG 2 & FIG 3 take place using a pole combined by a sophisticated mechanism (ball screw and gears) with concealed cable management. This flasher gets road users attention, with 360-degree visibility day or night.

FIG 2, shows an access at one of the cone sides, to the aperture which houses the mechanism & wiring setup as well as to allow to implement the maintenance, if needed of the same.

The gate 202 with keyed handle 203 is attached by hinges to the opening frame to keep this aperture close at the normal operation, also seal strip is lined to make the portal weatherproof.

Two slots 210 reside at the left and right side closer to the top of the cone and enable us to connect barricade clips (belt ends). This great safety addition is designed to create barriers between traffic cones, thereby making it one of the easiest, fastest and economical ways to direct/redirect or block traffic. One of the embodiments of the present invention also includes a control panel 110 located on the cone surface in trapezoid shape with illuminated switches and indicator to govern the operations and the processes of the smart cone. These switches control the flasher lit ON/OFF, elevation and attraction, as well as the arrow rotation and positions (as mentioned above).

The system is battery 111 operated (Customized rechargeable LiP04 battery bank), with protection module to keep the operation and storage in very safety conditions. This battery slides into the ground base of the cone and is locked up by a cam lock

112.

Another embodiment of the present invention includes a Solar panel system 301 (solar panel and charge controller) which make this embodiment fully power autonomous with no need to charge the battery bank frequently. Besides the PV system we can also charge the battery bank which is built up inside the by two types of charger (AC utility charger & DC car charger) via a waterproof connector allocated at the ground base.

From above we can realize that the system is fully independent, with autonomous power source, which makes this product mobile.

Also, another embodiment of the present invention involves having the entire parts of the system fully automated by intelligent programmable control electronic circuits connected to closed loop stepper motors with integrated drives and sensors. Another embodiment of the present invention makes the traffic cone waterproof, durable and weatherproof (ingress protection level IP67) and to be resistant to the weather effect with superior quality of materials and construction using high end injection mold housing with stainless steel hardware.

Another embodiment of the present invention involves addition of a remote controller, so we can control the system from a distance without any physical contact. Also, we can add monitoring software for evaluation and data logging for recoding and statistics monitoring.

Another embodiment of the present invention involves installation of one or more cameras which can be used for security purposes in case of accidents or criminal pursuits by the police authorities.

Although preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it will at once be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention includes advantages and features over and beyond the specific illustrated construction. Accordingly, it is intended that the scope of the invention be limited solely by the scope of the hereinafter appended claims, and not by the foregoing specification, when interpreted in light of the relevant prior art.

It will be appreciated that variations of the above disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirably combined into many other different products or applications. Also, that various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by scope of the hereinafter appended claims.