Title

Towing Arrangements

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the field of towing of vehicles. In particular the present invention relates to towing arrangements between a towing vehicle and a trailed vehicle/trailer. The present invention is concerned with safety issues arising in towing arrangements.

Background to the Invention

Towing occurs on roads at all times of day and night. One of the issues which arises is the danger a vehicle/trailer being towed may cause to other road users. Towing of all types of trailers, including livestock trailers, flatbed trailers, habitable trailers such as caravans or mobile homes, wheeled equipment such as generators, pumps etc., trailers which are themselves adapted to tow or carry another vehicle, etc. is quite common. It is also common to tow a vehicle which is to be moved for example has broken down, is being delivered or is illegally parked. Towing a vehicle can occur with all of the wheels of the towed vehicle on the ground, or with certain of the wheels (for example those on one axle) raised off the ground.

There are many types of towing arrangement between a motorised vehicle and a vehicle/trailer being towed. In the present description the inventor will use the term

"towing vehicle" to refer to the vehicle doing the towing. The term "towed vehicle" will be used to refer to any vehicle/trailer or any other wheeled article that is towed

by the towing vehicle. Of particular interest within the present invention are towing arrangements where there is a horizontal gap between the (end of the body of the) towing vehicle and the (front of the body of the) towed vehicle for example where a drawbar extends between the towing vehicle and the towed vehicle. The drawbar may be a part of the towed vehicle or may be a temporary drawbar that is employed for a period so as to allow towing. Also of particular interest within the present invention are towing arrangements where a towline is use to link the towing and towed vehicles. Such a towline may be a chain, rope, cable or other flexible tie.

Of particular danger are towing arrangements where the gap between the towing and towed vehicles is such that road surface is visible in the gap between the towing and towed vehicles. A gap can occur or widen upon turning.

It may not be immediately apparent that a vehicle and a following trailer/vehicle are attached to each other.

Unsuspecting road users may try to pass between the vehicle and the vehicle/trailer being towed. The present invention relates to any towing arrangement where an unsuspecting road user may try to pass between the towing vehicle and the vehicle being towed. This can occur when the towing vehicle/towed vehicle is moving or stationary. The road user may be a pedestrian, cyclist, motorcyclist or other motorist. This then leaves a potential source of injury resulting from colliding with the towing arrangement between the vehicles. Furthermore the towed vehicle is not usually in control of its own movements and moves when the towing vehicle pulls it along. Accordingly, there is a danger that the person driving the towing vehicle will not

realise that a person or vehicle has made its way into a gap between the towing vehicle and the towed vehicle and will pull off causing the towed vehicle to collide with the person or vehicle.

Accordingly there is a need for safer towing arrangements.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention relates to a safety barrier for a horizontal gap between a towing vehicle and a towed vehicle being towed by the towing vehicle, the barrier comprising a band of material adapted to be fitted between the towing vehicle and the towed vehicle so as to form a visible barrier running across the gap to discourage entry into the gap by another road user.

This is a simple but highly efficient method of preventing undesirable entry into the gap between the towing and towed vehicles. Accordingly, collisions with the towline or drawbar running between the vehicles will be reduced. Also the danger of a road user being injured due to the towing vehicle moving off while they are present in the gap is also diminished.

It is desirable that the band of material comprises high visibility material such as is used in high visibility clothing such as in construction/police/road crew clothing. Of particular interest are machine-washable materials. A The high visibility material may comprise reflective and/or luminous material. (Retroreflective materials are of particular interest.) The presence of the band of material will strongly discourage attempted entry into the gap between the towing and towed vehicles. The high visibility

material is desirably a woven material such as cotton or synthetic material such as polyester and blends of such materials. Of particular interest are coloured materials where the material is substantially colour-fast for example to machine washing.

To further improve visibility it may be desirable to incorporate one more warning lights, for example one or more LED's. A series of lights (for example 4 or more) could be provided along the security band. Optionally the light (s) are flashing lights. A power source such as a battery may be incorporated into the security barrier. Any necessary wiring can be run hidden within the barrier. A control may be provided to switch the lights on and off as desired. A further option is to provide a control selection circuit to allow selection of different illumination of the lights for example one or more flashing patterns.

It is desirable that the band is tensionable. This allows for the band to be held in place between towing and towed vehicles by virtue of being tensioned between the vehicles. The barrier is supported by that tension (alone) . Having the barrier in a tensionable form allows it to extend or retract to accommodate changes in the size of the gap due to relative movement of the towing and towed vehicles, such as that which occurs by stretching of a towline or on turning corners. Tensioning can be achieved by simple means for example by simply using resiliently deformable material such as elasticised material to form the band. The entire band or one or more discrete portions thereof may be elasticated. Alternatively or additionally, a mechanical pay-out/reel-in system could be utilised.

It will be appreciated that the barrier may be formed by a continuous band or by discrete portions of a band which overlap or which are spaced apart. In such a construction it may be desirable to have the band supported on a flexible (and desirably extendable) tie.

Generally the barrier will be provided on the vehicles to limit the entry of the user into the gap. The position of the barrier will be such that if the towing vehicle moves off, a road user at the barrier will not be hit by the towed vehicle. Typically the barrier will run between the side of the towing vehicle and the side of the towed vehicle. It thus forms a barrier at the outer extremity of the combined towing vehicle/towed vehicle.

Desirably the length of the barrier is adjustable so as to accommodate different towing arrangements, such as different lengths of towline/drawbar etc. for example the barrier may be provided with one or more adjusters to adjust the length of the barrier. For example fasteners may be provided to shorten the effective length of the barrier, for example by looping a length of the barrier upon itself. As above a mechanical pay-out/reel-in system could be utilised as an alternative or in addition to such fasteners. For example a spring-biased reel could be employed.

Desirably the barrier includes a failsafe mechanism which allows the barrier to fail before injury to a road user colliding with the barrier can occur. It is also useful to have the failsafe mechanism operate if the towed vehicle is no longer being towed but the barrier remains in place. This helps to prevent damage or injury being caused by the

safety barrier itself over and above any such effect achieved by the tensionable nature of the belt. For example the belt may be provided in two or more parts which are connected by a breakable link such as a fastening arrangement. One suitable fastening arrangement is a fastener, for example one constructed of a hook and loop fastener such as that sold under the trade name Velcro™.

The safety barrier will be sold in lengths suitable to allow it to extend between the towing and towed vehicles. The band will typically be less than about 10 mm in thickness, for example less than about 7 mm, such as less than about 5 mm. In order to be suitably visible, it is desirable that the band is at least about 3 cm in width suitably at least about 4 cm in width, for example at least about 5 cm in width. The band may be at least about 6 cm, for example at least about 7 cm such as at least about 8 cm in width. It may be desirable to have the barrier with a width of approximately 110 cm or less, for example 100 cm or less, such as 90 cm or less, or 80 cm or less.

The towing arrangement may be any of the type described above including those occurring in articulated vehicles, including articulated trucks and articulated buses.

Desirably a safety barrier of the invention may be rolled up for storage thereof.

It is appreciated that advertising material may be printed directly onto or otherwise attached to a barrier of the invention .

The invention extends to a safety barrier substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings .

It will generally be desirable to provide a kit comprising at least two safety barriers of the invention. This will provide a safety barrier for the driver side and passenger side of the towing/towed vehicles.

The present invention also extends to a method of towing a vehicle comprising the steps of:

(i) providing a towing arrangement between a towed vehicle and a towing vehicle with a gap therebetween; and (ii) providing a safety barrier according to the invention between the towed and towing vehicle so as to form a visible barrier running across the gap.

Desirably in such a method of towing a second safety barrier is provided on an opposing side of the towed and towing vehicles to a first safety barrier. In such an arrangement it is desirable that the barrier is resiliently extendable and retractable and is sufficiently tensioned when towing to remain in a desired position even when the relative distance between the towing and towed vehicles changes .

In situations where the barrier is trapped, for example in a door, bonnet (hood) , boot (trunk) -lid, etc it may be desirable to fold the barrier upon itself to provide sufficient thickness of material to secure the barrier when trapped. It is desirable therefore that the material of the

barrier is such not to damage any surface trapping the barrier. This may be achieved by having the barrier constructed of material which is sufficiently yielding to prevent damage even where doubled or rolled upon itself. A retainer such as a retainer constructed of yielding materials may be provided to hold the barrier in its rolled state .

Brief Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a towing barrier of the invention which is shown in Figure 1 (A) as two connectable parts and in Figure 1 (B) with the two parts connected.

Figure 2 shows various views of the barrier of the invention as follows: Figure 2(A) shows a top plan view of a barrier of the invention running between a towing and towed vehicle; Figure 2 (B) shows a side elevation of one embodiment of a barrier of the invention; Figure 2 (C) shows a side elevation of a further embodiment of a barrier of the invention; and Figure 2 (D) shows a view similar to that of Figure 2 (A) with the barrier adjusted to accommodate a different towing distance.

Figure 3 shows barriers of the invention in used between a towing car and a towed caravan, in particular Figure 3 (A) shows a top plan view thereof and Figure 3 (B) shows a side elevation view thereof.

Figure 4 shows a similar arrangement to Figure 3 and further illustrates how the barrier operates in relation to

a pedestrian, in particular 4 (A) illustrates the situation before the pedestrian impacts the barrier while Figure 4 (b) illustrates the situation after the pedestrian impacts the barrier .

Detailed Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 illustrates a safety barrier 1 which in the embodiment takes the form of a two-piece band or belt arrangement comprising a first belt Ia and a second belt

Ib. Desirably the safety barrier 1 is comprised of a high visibility for example luminous material.

In the embodiment the both belts Ia, Ib are tensionable, each being composed of a resiliently deformable material such as elasticised material. Each of the belts Ia, Ib is formed with one or more complementary fastening arrangements which in the embodiment take the form of 2 pads of interengaging material such as a hook and loop fastener for example Velcro™.

The discrete belts are thus connectable to form a breakable link 3 (as shown in Figure 1 (C) ) by means of the complementary fastening arrangement.

The length of the safety barrier can be adjusted through the use of adjusters or fasteners 4A; 4B suitably located and desirably spaced apart along the band. The adjusters or fasteners are complementary to one another in that when the band is folded back upon itself a first part 4A can be secured into a second part 4B or vice versa to reduce the total length of the band. Figure 2 (D) shows an arrangement where the length of the barrier has been reduced to a

shorter length. Folding the barrier upon itself at one end, for example as shown by the turned in end indicated by reference numeral 15 allows the barrier to be more easily trapped in a door or the like.

A means of securing the safety barrier 1 between the towing and towed vehicles is depicted in Figure 2. Utilising the two-piece arrangement as shown in Figure 1 and described above, opposing ends of the connected belt sections are secured to the towing and towed vehicles by catching the end of the band in the respective vehicle door/window 5 (by closing the door as illustrated in dashed outline in Figure 2 (A) ) . Due to the resiliently stretchable nature of the barrier the barrier will remain taut and in place. Furthermore when the distance between the vehicles increase or decreases, for example as occurs during a turning action the barrier will accommodate this motion by resiliently extending or retracting. This action of the barrier is depicted in Figure 2 (B) where arrows indicate potential movement .

It will be appreciated that trapping the barrier on a door or window is only one way to secure the barrier. Other arrangements are possible such as tying, or surface- attachment for example using other attachment means such as magnetic grips, suction grips, non-permanent adhesives and the like.

The barrier 1 may optionally be adorned with one or more patches 6, comprised of a high visibility material, as shown in Figure 2 (C) . Sufficient patches will be employed to have high visibility material along substantially the entire length of the barrier. In other embodiments the

material forming the belts Ia, Ib will itself be of high visibility so such patches are not required. It may however be desirable to combine patches with use of high visibility material .

Figure 2 (D) demonstrates how the length of the safety barrier can be shortened by folding the band back on itself (to form a loop 7) and securing the adjusters or fastners 4A, 4B to each other.

An embodiment of the safety barrier in use is shown in Figure 3. The towed vehicle which in the embodiment is a caravan 9 is attached to the tow hitch 10 of the towing vehicle which in the embodiment is a car 8 by a towing means in the form of a drawbar 11. The safety barrier 12 is secured to the towing and towed vehicles by catching the end of the band in the respective vehicle door/window 5. In operation, the high visibility material of the safety barrier (or the high visibility patches of the safety barrier) is clearly visible. Having two distinct sections of band connected to form a breakable link in the safety barrier forms a failsafe mechanism. To protect against entry of a road user into the space 14 between the towing and towed vehicles from either the driver or passenger side two barriers 12 are provided - each on an opposing side.

The failsafe mechanism incorporated into the barrier 1 is exhibited in Figure 4. If an approaching pedestrian 13 (as illustrated in Figure 4 (B) ) fails to notice the high visibility safety band 12 between the towing 8 and towed 9 vehicles (even after they have walked against the barrier 1) the connection 3 joining the discrete band sections breaks (as shown in Figure 4(B)), preventing any injury or

damage being caused by the safety barrier to the pedestrian. It will be appreciated that the fail-safe will also operate if too much tension is placed on the barrier thus for example preventing damage to either the towing or towed vehicle.

The words "comprises/comprising" and the words "having/including" when used herein with reference to the present invention are used to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof.

It is appreciated that certain features of the invention, which are, for clarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the invention which are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any suitable sub-combination.