School bus alert

Claim 1

A method, applicable to a network of bus stops which in some instances have overlapping zones, for controlling a corresponding network of controllable roadway signs that alert drivers that they are approaching a given bus stop with the concurrence of a school bus stopped or proximately stopped there, the method comprising the steps of: providing a network of bus stops to have enhanced driver-warning safety by virtue of controllable roadway signs; for each bus stop, providing at least one pertinent controllable roadway sign along a roadway approach to that bus stop, wherein each bus stop has a defined bus stop zone surrounding it, defined as a perimeter centered on that bus stop and encircling even the furthest away pertinent controllable roadway sign therefor; configuring the network of bus stops and the controllable roadway signs such that there is at least one instance bus-stop zone overlap in which at least one roadway sign pertinent to one bus stop is also situated in the bus stop zone of another bus stop to which such overlapped roadway sign does not pertain; providing a plurality of school buses for concurrently servicing the network of bus stops, each school bus being configured with a message emitter; providing an alert system physically associated with each controllable roadway sign, the alert system having operative DORMANT and ACTIVE states wherein the alert system normally rests in the DORMANT state, in the ACTIVE state the alert system provides an obvious sensible warning to drivers reasonably interpretable by them that they are approaching the bus stop to which the ACTIVE alert system/roadway sign pertains contemporaneously as a school bus is indeed stopped or proximately stopped there; providing detection means and control means for each alert system that cooperatively are responsive to a school bus's emitted messages, and from the perspective of each roadway sign, the pertinent detection means for detecting whether an emitted message originates from such a school bus that is servicing or proximately servicing the pertinent bus stop for that roadway sign and if so, the control means for activating its corresponding alert system to the ACTIVE state in response to at least one given message and returning the alert system to the DORMANT state in response to at least another given message.

Claim 2

A method, applicable to a network of bus stops which in some instances have overlapping zones, for controlling a corresponding network of controllable roadway signs that alert drivers that they are approaching a given bus stop with the concurrence of a school bus stopped or proximately stopped there, the method comprising the steps of: providing a network of bus stops to have enhanced driver-warning safety by virtue of controllable roadway signs; for each bus stop, providing at least one pertinent controllable roadway sign along a roadway approach to that bus stop, wherein each bus stop has a defined bus stop zone surrounding it, defined as a perimeter centered on that bus stop and encircling even the furthest away pertinent controllable roadway sign therefor; configuring the network of bus stops and the controllable roadway signs such that there is at least one instance bus-stop zone overlap in which at least one roadway sign pertinent to one bus stop is also situated in the bus stop zone of another bus stop to which such overlapped roadway sign does not pertain; providing a plurality of school buses for concurrently servicing the network of bus stops, each school bus being configured with a message emitter; providing an alert system physically associated with each controllable roadway sign, the alert system having operative DORMANT and ACTIVE states wherein the alert system normally rests in the DORMANT state, in the ACTIVE state the alert system provides an obvious sensible warning to drivers reasonably interpretable by them that they are approaching the bus stop to which the ACTIVE alert system/roadway sign pertains contemporaneously as a school bus is indeed stopped or proximately stopped there; providing detection means and control means for each alert system that cooperatively are responsive to a school bus's emitted messages, and from the perspective of each roadway sign, the pertinent detection means for detecting whether an emitted message originates from such a school bus that is servicing or proximately servicing the pertinent bus stop for that roadway sign and if so, the control means for activating its corresponding alert system to the ACTIVE state in response to at least one given message and returning the alert system to the DORMANT state in response to at least another given message.