Pedestrian Crossing Shuttle With Lift Platforms for Safe Boarding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current pedestrian crossing safety systems inadequately address the needs of mobility disadvantaged persons, particularly in terms of safety and convenience, as existing solutions are either impractical due to high costs, durability issues, or space constraints, and fail to prevent accidents caused by speeding vehicles and signal violations.
Innovation Solution
A safety board system comprising a pair of lift platforms and shuttles that travel back and forth between them, equipped with a direction changing device, sensing units, anti-collision sensors, and a control device to ensure safe and efficient passage for mobility disadvantaged persons, while minimizing sidewalk width reduction and preventing accidents by detecting and responding to speeding vehicles and obstacles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a moving walkway is installed at the top of the road to assist pedestrian movement, then pedestrian convenience is improved, but durability deteriorates due to the weight of passing vehicles and construction/maintenance costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the pedestrian assistance function into separate components: stationary lift platforms at curbside and a small shuttle vehicle. This segmentation removes the heavy load-bearing requirement from the pedestrian assistance device, allowing the shuttle to be a lightweight, durable vehicle rather than a road-supported structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The shuttle acts as an intermediary between the curb and the road, providing pedestrian assistance without requiring direct support from the road infrastructure. The lift platforms serve as intermediaries to load/unload passengers from the shuttle, eliminating the need for the road itself to support heavy moving walkway structures.
2Reliability
If guide rails are formed along the boundaries of the pedestrian crossing and robots move along them, then pedestrian safety monitoring is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The shuttle serves multiple functions: it transports passengers, monitors safety through integrated sensors, provides audible/visual signals to drivers, and communicates with traffic control systems. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate guide rails and multiple specialized robots, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining safety.
3Reliability
If an electric cart operates autonomously on the pedestrian crossing, then mobility disadvantaged persons can cross safely, but the cart cannot change direction to enter from the road to the sidewalk
Solution Approach 1:
The shuttle is designed as a dynamic vehicle capable of autonomous steering and direction changes, unlike static or linearly-moving prior art. The shuttle can autonomously navigate from the road onto the sidewalk, change direction to face the curb, and position itself for passenger boarding, providing both safety and operational flexibility.
4Ease of operation
If lift platforms are installed on the sidewalk to transport passengers, then pedestrian convenience is improved, but sidewalk width is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The lift platforms are designed to provide just enough capacity to load/unload the shuttle, not excessive capacity. The platforms are positioned and sized to minimize sidewalk occupation while still achieving the function of passenger transfer, balancing convenience with space conservation.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a safety board system. The safety board system of the present invention is installed on a pedestrian crossing to assist individuals with reduced mobility in safely crossing the pedestrian crossing, the safety board system including: a pair of lift platforms that are formed on sidewalks on both sides of the pedestrian crossing; one or more shuttles that move along a predetermined travel path within a travel area set on the pedestrian crossing to travel back and forth between the pair of lift platforms and transport passengers to the opposite lift platforms; a driving device that moves the shuttles; and a control device that selectively operates the driving device. Therefore, the present invention can directly assist the movement of mobility disadvantaged persons crossing the pedestrian crossing, leading to rapid and safe crossing.