Gather feedback on ideas and inventions that you plan to market yourself, or find partners for further development. Remember that anyone can read your post, so don't disclose any confidential information about your project.
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By Michael D. Grissom
#2305
I heard this was patented recently in Germany but not available in the US (yet). I think my 5 year old design is much simpler but, can be even better if the speed sensitive air valves were part of the extruded bump. This 'valve' will probably be the UNIQUE part of this invention that would allow it to become a utility patent. I didn't find one in a patent search at http://www.USPTO.gov/ so, all you mechanical inventor types put your thinking caps on and give this one a shot.
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By Steve
#2429
Don't know what the German patent looks like - what's the difference to your's?
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By Michael D. Grissom
#2433
This is the patent:
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Pars ... ed+bump%22

http://tcisystems.twoffice.com/ is the product which is now available in the US.

Theirs is purely mechanical and my suggestion is pneumatic. I didn't catch the US patent because I used "collapsible" as was givin in the radio news release instead of "automatic" as it is in the patent. Theirs is called The Programmable Retractable Speed Bump on the site and a speed sensitive automatic speed bump in the patent.

See what happens when you involve an attorney.

:~(
User avatar
By Steve
#2445
And what does your 5 year old design look like?
User avatar
By Michael D. Grissom
#2447
Mine is like an thick walled extruded letter "D" lying on its back and stretched across the road. The flat side of the "D" is burried in a channel cut into the pavement. Speed sensitive pneumatic valves (yet to be designed) would allow the speed bump to deflate for vehicals at or below the speed limit. In it's static state, the internal air pressure is ambient and the shape of the bump is maintained by the rigitity of it's thick walls. The internal valving would be designed so that too sudden of a compression (speeding vehical) would lock the valves preventing deflation. Normal speeds wourd open the valves allowing deflation.
By Stig Bakke's brother Stig
#2450
Hmm... sounds good, but wouldn't that make roads deteriorate more quickly? Dealing with runoff might be a problem.
User avatar
By Michael D. Grissom
#2451
Runoff shouldn't be any different than it is for current designs and road deteriorization should be less because these would provide for expansion joints to form naturally underneath the bump where they can't be seen.

I think the reason I like the idea of a speed sensitive collapsible speed bump so much is because I hate to see entire communities bouncing over these things just because a few individuals can't maintain the speed limit.

I'm one of those guys that thinks convicted criminals should "do their time" earning money to pay for locks/keys and other security devices for the rest of the worlds citizens. This would be AFTER they had finished paying their victims for damages.
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