The present invention refers to a warning device for the presence of fog.

Almost every year there is some case in which fog, creating numerous accidents, is the cause of painful cases in which, in addition to damages to motor vehicles, there are serious damages to the physical integrity of people, or even the loss of human lives.

Nowadays, there are several means for warning about the presence of fog, among which:

- luminous panels, insufficient as number, not always capable of being located in time with heavy fog or unreadable because they are covered with snow and the like; - frequent telephone islands for rescuers;

- vertical and horizontal signals that are an optimum guide but that are difficult to be seen by drivers; efficient kilometer-type signals in a tunnel, but not outside the tunnel; - fog-guard lamps with a limited use;

- use of satellite navigators, which however are not installed on all vehicles.

Therefore, object of the present invention is solving the above prior art problems by providing a warning device for the presence of fog which is adapted to warn a vehicle driver about the presence of fog that so far was not visible, for example due to natural obstacles (road bends, hills, mountains, wood, etc.), in order for the driver to be ready to drive into a fog.

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention, as will appear from the following description, are obtained with a warning device for the presence of fog as claimed in claim 1. Preferred embodiments and non-trivial variations of the present invention are the subject matter of the dependent claims.

It will be immediately obvious that numerous variations and modifications (for example related to shape, sizes, arrangements and parts with equivalent functionality) can be made to what is described, without departing from the scope of the invention as appears in the enclosed claims. The present invention will be better described by some preferred embodiments thereof, provided as a non-limiting example, with reference to the enclosed drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a side view of a preferred embodiment of the warning device of the invention; and

Figure 2 shows a side view of the internal parts of the warning device of Fig. 1.

With reference to the Figures, a preferred, but not limiting, embodiment of the warning device 1 for the presence of fog of the present invention, is described. The operating principle of the warning device 1 of the invention is based on the fact that an electric cable, in order to be conductive of electricity, must have two terminals, one for the positive pole and the other for the negative pole: in this case, one of the two terminals is interrupted. The operation of the warning device 1 of the invention is based on the need of re-joining the ends of the interrupted terminal, and this intervention is performed by the fog itself.

The warning device 1 is contained into a box 2A, preferably made of wood or hard plastics (metal must be excluded to avoid easy freezing) , having the following preferable sizes:

- length = 50 cm

- height = 30 cm

- depth = 30 cm The box 2A has four holes:

- a hole A on the upper side, preferably with a diameter of 10 cm, to house a metal body composed of two cones 7A, 7B welded to their respective bases; the upper cone 7A has its base smaller than the base of the lower cone 7B and has on its smaller base some small holes (not shown) to allow water, laid onto the base as fog, to reach the lower cone 7B in the shape of droplets;

- a hole B on the left side of the box 2A in which one of the ends of the interrupted terminal passes;

- a hole C on the opposite side of hole B in which the other end of the above interrupted terminal passes; and - a hole D in which a small tube 11 passes for discharging water outside the structure.

The non-interrupted terminal can also pass outside the box 2A, but must be strongly secured and unmovable. The box 2A has a small door 2B with key-type lock 2C which the control and maintenance operators can at any time use, and is covered by a roof or shed 4A having a wider surface to prevent rain from reaching the box 2A. In order to also prevent snow from altering the operation of the device 1, it is possible to cover the upper cone 7A with a cylinder of grid- type material, preferably metal (not shown) .

The warning device 1 for the presence of fog of the invention substantially comprises, inside the box 2A:

- a rod IA, preferably made of metal, fastened to the base 18 of the box 2A;

- a bar 2, preferably made of plastics, on which many holes 20 are obtained: this bar 2, suitably connected to the rod IA, forms a balance, while the presence of the holes 20 allows the most suitable slant of the bar 2, taking into account the different weight of the two arms of the bar 2; - an interrupted terminal having a first end 3 which enters on the right side (in Fig. 2) of the box 2A and which is strongly secured to the bar 2, following the various inclinations of the bar 2 and slightly projecting from the bar 2 itself; - a second end 6 of the interrupted terminal which enters on the left side (in Fig. 2) of the box 2A for a small length and is fastened to the wall of the box 2A;

- a first button 4, preferably made of metal, placed on the first end 3 of the interrupted terminal;

- a second button 5, preferably made of metal, placed on the second end 6 of the interrupted terminal and adapted to operatively contact the first button 4;

- the body made of the upper cone 7A and the lower cone 7B; a first cup 8, preferably shaped as a funnel, which receives water that drops from the lower cone 7B;

- a spiral-shaped duct 9 whose turns, being slightly slanted, allow a slow downward flowing of the collected water; and

- a second cup 10, preferably shaped as a funnel, which receives water that goes out of the duct 9 and, through the tube 11, is discharged outside the box 2A.

The operation of the warning device 1 of the invention will now be described. Water, laid as fog on the upper cone 7A, descends towards the lower cone 7B and is condensed into droplets and flows in the cup 8 connected to the bar 2. Going on descending, water passes from the spiral-shaped duct 9 and, in the period of time in which water passes in the duct 9 from the first cup 8 to the second cup 10, water operates with its own weight so that the right arm (in Fig. 2) of the bar 2 goes down, while the left arm goes up so that the two buttons 4, 5 are joined together by contact and, being on the same vertical line, close the electric circuit.

Once having completed the passage of current, on the left and right parts of the road near which the device 1 is placed, lamps and horns (not shown) start to operate, alternatively and intermittently, to warn about the presence of fog.

As soon as fog dissolves, since there is no more water, the duct 9 empties in a few minutes and the arm of the bar 2 to which the duct 9 is connected will again be enlightened, allowing to restore the initial slanting of the arm 2, where the buttons 4 and 5 are detached and there is no electric contact any more.

The above operation and warnings occur when one is not yet entered in the area with heavy fog, but before it, and the driver is immediately informed to suitably slow down his own vehicle's speed. In this way, rear-endings and telescoping of vehicles are prevented, together with any other type of collision, so that damages, injuries and even deaths are prevented or at least strongly reduced.

The number of devices 1, the distance between lamps or horns (100 - 200 - 300 m) that are alternatively arranged, as stated, must be established taking into account the characteristics of the affected area, such as:

- frequency of fog;

- length of time of fog; - traffic intensity;

- road slopes;

- frequent and dangerous road bends or curves.