AU668473B2

AU668473B2 - Enclosure for the driver of a vehicle

Info

Publication number: AU668473B2
Application number: AU67391/94A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Paul Phillip Leisemann; Leslie Pellow
Original assignee: EXPO IND Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Cab-Safe Pty Ltd
Priority date: 1993-07-09
Filing date: 1994-07-11
Publication date: 1996-05-02
Anticipated expiration: 2014-07-11
Also published as: AU6739194A

Description

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AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 9 a o a 0 a o* a 9 9 a a.

u* Name of Applicant Actual Inventor(s) Address for Service Invention Title EXPO INDUSTRIES (ACN 010 489 040) LESLIE PELLOW PHILLIP LEISEMANN PTY LTD and PAUL GRANT ADAMS COMPANY Patent Trade Mark Attorneys Level Santos House 215 Adelaide Street BRISBANE QLD 4000

AUSTRALIA

ENCLOSURE FOR THE DRIVER OF A VEHICLE Details of Associated Provisional Applications Numbers PL9894 The following statement is a full description of the invention including the best method of performing it known to me. Al 2 THIS INVENTION relates to an enclosure for a driver of a vehicle and in particular but not limited to an enclosure to prevent a driver of a taxi from being attacked by his passenger.

Taxi drivers are frequently abused and assaulted by passengers and in some instances, the driver has been seriously injured and even killed by his passenger. Taxis have also been hijacked. Driver assaults are becoming a more frequent occurrence.

S 10 It has been proposed to provide protective barriers, screens or enclosures for taxi drivers so that a driver can work in safety and be immune to attack.

Generally, Transport Department Regulations require that such barriers, screens or enclosures: enable the passengers to view the taxi fare meter; the passengers and driver can freely communicate; and the fare money can be easily passed 20 between the passengers and the driver; and there is minimal restriction on the driver's operation of the taxi (eg. there is minimal restriction on the driver's view of the road and surroundings).

The proposals to date have not been readily accepted by drivers or their passengers.

We are told 85% of attacks are made by a passenger seated beside the driver.

As far as geometry adjacent the driver is concerned, the vehicle usually includes front seating, either bench or most commonly a pair of bucket seats separated by a console beside the driver, a back bench seat, a dash with driving coitrols in front of the driver and four doors. In an unprotected situation, the driver is in a fairly confined area and can be attacked 21 l__ 3 from the rear or side by any of his passengers. Each door includes a door post extending from a floor area up to the underside of the roof. The driver's door post is adjacent the driver's shoulder, the door post carries seatbelt fittings, and the door is hinged toward the front of the door opening, so the driver's only means of escape involves opening the door freeing the seatbelt and then getting out of the vehicle. The driver's attention is of course on driving the vehicle so the driver is virtually defenseless.

In some States, taxi drivers are exempted from wearing seatbelts as passengers have used these to prevent drivers from escaping from attackers.

It will be appreciated that with the above geometry, the front seating area is quite crowded and the passenger and driver are fairly close together with the driver's operative range extending beyond the console and into the passenger's half of the front a a seating area.

The present proposals either limit driver or passenger comfort. The drivers frequently suffer claustrophobia or where partial screening is used, the driver is not immune to attack and attacks can still occur with this partial screening. In some cases, the S 25 front seat is isolated from the rear seat but this of course limits the vehicle carrying capacity because passengers cannot be carried in the front seat beside the driver unless the driver wants to risk attack. The

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present invention has an object to alleviate at least 7 30 some degree the aforementioned problems associated with the prior art.

In a broad aspect, the present invention resides in an enclosure, for a taxi driver's seat to isolate a taxi driver from his passengers to inhibit attacks on the driver, the enclosure including: j/

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4 a lower capsular wall portion to extend behind and beside the driver's seat; and at least one upper capsular wall portion of transparent material, mountable on the lower wall portion, to extend behindand beside the driver; the wall portions inhibiting passenger access to the driver while permitting driver mobility, Preferably, the lower wall portion is of opaque material and has a rear wall portion to extend behind the driver's seat, a first side portion to extend from the driver's seat to adjacent a door pillar, and a second side portion to extend along a side of the driver's seat to a taxi dash.

Preferably, the second side portion is configured to enclose a centre console.

The lower wall portion is typically spaced from the driver's seat so that the seat position can be S adjusted normally.

To complete the enclosure, a second or S 20 plurality of upper transparent panels are coupled to the lower panel. The lower panel need not be transparent ana is typically coloured and matched to the interior of aitt t at a C ii SRA42 1

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a? ~f.4 the vehicle. The upper panel typically comprises two or three panels including a rear panel behind the driver and one or two side panels extending from the rear panel through to the dash. Typically two side panels are employed including a bridging panel between the rear panel and a front panel.

One of the side panels is typically removable so that the driver need not be fully enclosed during periods of time when he considers attack is unlikely.

1:i 0 The vehicle tipping includes a side panel carrying means in the vehicle trunk so that the side panel can be stored in the trunk when not in use.

~In order that the invention can be more readily understood and be put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the present invention and wherein: FIG 1 is a pictorial view illustrating an enclosure according to the present invention viewed from 20 the rear and to one side; FIG 2 is a pictorial view illustrating the enclosure of FIG 1 viewed from the rear and to the other •tl side; FIG 3 is a pictorial view, similar to FIG i, of a second enclosure; FIG 4 is a similar view of a (half-screen) enclosure; and FIG 5 is a similar view of a (three-quarter) enclosure.

i 30 Referring to the drawings and initially to FIG i, there is illustrated an enclosure 10 positioned in a vehicle and enclosing a driver's seat 11 so that the driver is fully enclosed by the enclosure, the driver's side door 1i and the front windscreen at 13. It is appreciated that the driver of the vehicle seated in the j 6 seat 11 will be protected from any passengers sitting beside him or behind him in the vehicle.

In the illustrated embodiment, the enclosure includes a lower panel 14 which is shaped to conform to the shape of the seat 11 and the vehicle console and to exten ight from the door post 16 around to adjacent the vr±iicle dash 17. To complete the assembly, three transparent panels 18, 19 and 20 are used.

The arrangement of these panels in relation to 10 the lower panel can be seen in FIG 1. As can be seen in o FIG 1, the lower panel 14, which in this case is opaque, includes an upper edge 21 including a connecting piece i°.o 22 in which lower edges of the upper panel portions 18, 19 and 20 are fitted. The panels include top connecting bracket arrangements shown generally at 23 so they can be secured to the roof of the vehicle.

Referring to FIG 2, the shape of the panel 18 can be more clearly seen showing an arcuate shape providing a generally medial bulge between the top of 20 the enclosure and the vehicle floor.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that the enclosure is configured and conformed to substantially follow the already existing internal parts of the vehicle. This enables passengers in the rear seat to have ample leg room and also provides an unobtrusive enclosure maximising driver and passenger comfort whilst at the same time fully enclosing the driver.

Referring now to FIG 3, the enclosure 110 has a cover panel 114 and upper panels 118, 119 and 120 of similar configuration to the panels of enclosure Modified roof brackets 123a, 123b secure the panels 118, 119 and 119, 120 to the vehicle roof, while bracket 124 secures the panel 120 to the vehicle dash.

Speaking vents 125 allow vertical _I~_~OLI tn~a communication between the driver and the passengers, with the vents having offset holes to prevent wires being poked through the vents.

A tiltable cash hopper 126 allows money to be passed between the passengers and driver.

In the "three-quarter" enclosure of FIG panel 120 is omitted. While the driver is not fully enclosed, access is restricted and so any attack will be minimised, at least from passengers in the rear seats.

1 0 The "two-thirds" enclosure llOA of FIG 4 has a modified panel 119A which allows greater access to the driver and is suitable to protect against attacks from the rear seat behind the driver and the centre rear seat.

The enclosures comply with the formal Regulations, whilst providing protection for the driver.

:i Whilst the above have been given by way of illustrative examples of the present invention, many variations and modifications thereto will be apparent to 20 those skilled in the art without departing from the broad ambit and scope of the invention as herein set forth.

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Claims

2. An enclosure according to Claim 1 wherein: the lower wall portion is of opaque material and has a rear wall portion to extend behind the driver's seat, a first side portion to extend from the driver's seat to adjacent a door pillar, and a second side portion to extend along a side of the driver's seat to a taxi dash.
3. An enclosure as claimed in Claim 2 wherein: 20 the second side portion is configured to enclose a centre console.
4. An enclosure as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 3 wherein: two or three upper wall portions are provided, wherein a rear panel extends behind the driver and the driver's seat and a first side panel extends from the driver's seat to adjacent a door pillar, such panel being fixed at its upper extremity to the roof of the taxi and mounted on the lower wall portion.
5. An enclosure as claimed in im 4 wherein: the rear panel extends e least partially to the side of the driver..
6. An enclosure as claimed in Claim 5 wherein: a third panel extends from the rear panel along the side of the driver to a taxi dash. I I 9
7. An enclosure as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 6 so arranged that: a taxi meter is enclosable in the driver's compartment of the taxi but is viewable from the passenger's compartment.
8. An enclosure as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 7 wherein: speaking vents in at least the upper wall portion allow verbal communication between the driver and passengers; and a cash tray or hopper in the upper wall portion to enable money to be passed between the driver and passengers to enable payment of fares.
9. An enclosure for a taxi substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to FIGS 1 and 2; or FIG 4; or FIG 4; or FIG 5, of the accompanying drawings.
10. A taxi fitted with the enclosure of any one of Claims 1 to 9. 0 20 DATED this twenty-ninth day of February 1996. *000 N. EXPO INDUSTRIES PTY LTD By their Patent Attorneys GRANT ADAMS COMPANY IsI 6 AL! N1 Vi ABSTRACT An enclosure '10) is fitted to a vehicle to inhibit attacks on the driver by isolating the driver from his passengers. The enclosure has a lower panel (14) which conforms to the vehicle seat (11) and console and extends from the door post (16) to the dash Two or three transport panels (18, 19, 20) extend from the lower panel (14) to the roof and are secured by brackets Speaking vents and a cash hopper allow 10 communication and money transfer between the driver and passengers. I 0 *e 1