FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE
The present invention broadly relates to the field of pathways safety equipment and more particularly, to a visual guidance system adapted to be installed on pathways, such as roads, to ensure safety of drivers.
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE
With the advent of automobile technology, people these days prefer to drive to commute from one place to another. It is quite often the case that people would drive hundreds of kilometres while on travel. With growing number of vehicles on road, safety of the driver has gained importance. A typical difficulty for the driver arises when the road is poorly lit or it is very foggy, thereby making it difficult for the driver to see the road features perfectly well. This affects the safety of the driver and his co-passengers.
Existing solution for enabling driver's visibility of road consists of reflectors disposed on the road sides or centre. Such reflectors reflect light of a passing vehicle and illuminate, thereby letting the driver know as to what are the limits to which the road extends. However, the said solution is dependent upon an incoming light from a passing vehicle. Though some advancements have been made in those regards as disclosed by Patent KR200454394Y1, wherein ultraviolet excitation of reflective service has been described which perform better than traditional solution in rainy and foggy weather conditions. However, limitations in varied and limiting weather conditions still exist.
Another series of solutions are the self-emission road studs as described in Patent EP0688903 A2. These reflectors have an emitting light source which provide better road limit visibility to the driver, but the pathway remains dark and unilluminated. Further such solutions have a very limited success in foggy and stormy conditions where environment in front of commuter is optically unconducive.
In addition, with time the reflectors get dirty due to deposition of dust etc. and eventually become ineffective in reflecting light.
Thus, there exists a need for a solution which enables visual guidance of a driver during foggy or dimly lit conditions.
Further, there exists a need for a solution which provides visual guidance over a long duration, without losing effectiveness by prolonged exposure to dust etc.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the prior art, the general purpose of the present invention is to provide a visual guidance system that enables visual guidance of a driver during foggy or dimly lit conditions device.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a visual guidance system that provides visual guidance over a long duration, without losing effectiveness by prolonged exposure to dust etc.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
Fig. 1A illustrates a top perspective view of visual guidance system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. IB illustrates a top perspective view of visual guidance system of Fig. 1 depicting the positioning of the system on pathway/road;
Fig. 1C illustrates a front left elevation view of visual guidance system of Fig. 1;
Fig. ID illustrates top view of visual guidance system of Fig. 1 depicting placement and orientation in respect to moving commute.
Fig. 2 illustrates a left top-down view of the visual guidance system of Fig. 1, sectioned along horizontal plane T;
Fig. 3 A illustrates a bottom perspective view of visual guidance system of Fig. 1;
Fig. 3B illustrates a (1) front right elevation view and (2) front left elevation view of optical assembly of the visual guidance system of Fig. 1;
Fig. 3C illustrates a first polygonal shape of the pathway and away side of the optical assembly;
Fig. 3D illustrates an (1) upwards perspective view and (2) front left elevation view of top and bottom side of the optical assembly;
Fig. 3E illustrates a second polygonal shape of top and bottom side of the optical assembly;
Fig. 3F illustrates a bottom perspective view of relation between the first and the second polygonal shape;
Fig. 3G illustrates a top perspective view of visual guidance system of Fig. 1, depicting spread of light ray by the system;

Fig. 4A illustrates a left top-down view of the visual guidance system, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 4B illustrates a left top-down view of the visual guidance system, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, depicting a Self-Maintenance Mechanism;
Fig. 4C illustrates an elevation view of the Self Maintenance Mechanism;
Fig. 4D illustrates a downwards perspective view of visual guidance system in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;
DETAILED DISCRETION
Illustrative embodiments of the invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments of the invention are shown. Indeed, the invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.
Visual Guidance System envisaged by the present invention is a individual standalone unit, plurality of such unit being installed on sides or centre of the pathway as per requirement. No interconnecting or supporting infrastructure is compulsorily required for the system.
The visual guidance system (100) is shown in Fig. 1A and includes a trapezoidal prism shaped Protective Casing (105) having a front face (105a), a top face (105b), two side faces (105c and 105d) and a rear face (105e), which could be curved in an embodiment of the present invention. The top face (105b) has a square shape bound between points L, M, N, O in Fig. 1A. The present embodiment is designed, as shown in Fig. IB, to be installed on a pathway (900) having a pathway edge (901) with the top face (105b) parallel to the pathway (900) surface. As shown in Fig. ID, the system (100) is placed in plurality along the pathway with income traffic (902) and front face (105a) facing in same direction. When illuminated, the system (100) is adapted to throw focus light (801) onto the pathway 900 for the incoming traffic (902) in focused manner as explained later. Furthermore, the Protective Casing (105) encapsulates all the elements of the system (100) to protect against natural elements, such as rain, dust etc. In particular, a Polycarbonate casing protects the whole unit from environmental stresses and provides an economical and easy fabrication. Whereas, using an aluminium casing provide a heavy-duty corrosion-proof metal option for case fabrication which has much higher stress durability. Other form of casing based on material suiting the environment in which unit is to be used must be chosen. An encapsulation filler may be used to fill up the component cavities to provide additional safety.

Referring to Fig. 2, to aid the intended functionality of the visual guidance system (100), the system (100) includes a Central Module (101) powered by Power Source (not shown), and a Light Source (103) controlled by the Central Module (101). The system (100) also includes an Optical Assembly (104) configured in vicinity to the Light Source (103) to enable proper reflection of light emitted by the Light Source (103), thereby ensuring illumination of area in vicinity of the place of installation of the system (100), as will be evident from ensuing description. The Central Module (101), the Power Source, the Light Source (103) and the Optical Assembly (104) are encapsulated in the Protective Casing (105). In particular, the Optical Assembly (104) is configured in the front face (105a) of the casing (105), as shown in Fig. 1C. The present invention envisages to embody the functionality of a streetlight into a small form factor of a road stud. In an embodiment of the present invention, the system (100) may also include a Power Storage (120) to provide uninterrupted functionality depending on the type of Power Source used. In another embodiment of the present invention, the Power Source could include a solar panel as will be explained later.
To enable proper illumination of the area of road/pathway in the vicinity of the system (100), when affixed to a road/pathway, the functioning and configuration of the Light Source (103) and Optical Assembly (104) would be explained by referring to Figs. 3A-G in addition to Fig. 1A, IB, 1C. The Light Source (103) has enough light intensity to illuminate desired surface, such as road/pathway as will be apparent from the ensuing description. In an embodiment of the present invention, the Light Source (103) may include an array of Light Sources, like LEDs, OLEDs, PLEDs or Light Bulbs with varied built, that can be powered by the Power Source and its operation being controlled by Central Module (101). As per studies conducted by the inventor, using a Light Source (103) with illumination close to yellow spectrum will function as a fog light for foggy areas or to red spectrum to increase identifiability on high speed pathway. Apart from illumination of road/pathway, a pulsing light source can perform the function of identification of road/pathway limits or features, like edge of road or pedestrian prone area using red spectrum pulse, upcoming crossing or fork using yellow spectrum pulse etc.
Furthermore, the Optical Assembly (104) is an essential assistive component for the visual guidance system that ensures that the light emitted by the Light Source (103) is properly directed (outside the casing) to ensure proper illumination of the road/pathway. The Optical Assembly (104) includes an optical configuration including one or more mirrors and lenses to focus the light from Light Source (103) to limited focused area as per requirement. As shown in Fig. 1A, IB and Fig. 3A, the Optical Assembly (104) is a frustum shaped structure with one side opening (104a), shown in Fig. 1, for receiving the Light Source (103), enclosed by four sides (104b, 104c, 104d, 104e), forming reflective surfaces to focus light emitted by the Light Source (103). In an embodiment of the present invention, the four sides are made up of reflective material such as first surface mirror based on acrylic, plastic or other widely used bases, polished metal or metal alloy like chrome, carbon steel, polished steel, polished silver, etc. Out of the four sides, a top side (104b) and a bottom side (104e), as shown in Fig. 3A, are configured to focus the light towards intended focus area spread. Also, a pathway side (104c) and an away side (104d), as shown in Fig. 3 A, are configured to restrict illumination above the system (100) and focus light towards the pathway. In this respect, reference is made to

Fig. IB, which depicts that the pathway side (104c) is one which is towards the pathway (900) and away from the pathway edge (901) while away side (104d) is one which is towards the pathway edge (901). The system (100) is installed on a road or pathway in a manner such that the top face (105b) faces away from the surface of the road/pathway but parallel to it, pathway side (104c) shall always be the side in direction towards the pathway/road to be illuminated and away side (104d) will be the side of the construct further from the pathway/ road area to be illuminated.
Referring back to Fig. 3A, the top and bottom side have same geometrical shape (referred to as second polygonal shape) and pathway side and away sides have same geometry (referred to as first polygonal shape). The resulting shape is a reflective assembly that focuses light from the Light Source (103) for illumination in required manner. Geometry of top and bottom sides (104b, 104e) is such that it controls the spread of illumination horizontally, based on the angle of pathway side 104c and away side 104d to each other and to the Light Source (103). Similarly, geometry of pathway side 104c and away side 104d controls the spread of the illumination vertically, based on the angle of top and bottom side (104b, 104e) to each other and to the Light Source (103). To elaborate this further, firstly, the configuration and geometry of pathway side (104c) and away side (104d) will be explained in conjunction with Fig. 3B and 3C.
As shown in Fig. 3B and 3C, pathway side 104c and away side 104d, each has a first polygonal shape. The configuration of pathway side and away side would be explained with reference to away side 104d only and same explanation would be applicable to pathway side 104c. Figure 3B and 3C in combination will explain the first polygonal shape of the away side 104d in conjunction with the bounded area between the edge of top side (104b) and edge of bottom side (104e) and Light Source side (104a). Segment WIB is edge of the top side (104b), segment WZ is the Light Source (104a) and segment ZKJ is the edge of the bottom side (104e) such that the area bound by points BIWZMKJ forms the first polygon shape of the away side (104d).
As shown in Fig. 3C, edge portion WI is downwardly inclined at 3.56° to line AI, as shown in Fig. 3C, where line AI represents a horizontal line parallel to the road/pathway and the top face 105a of the casing 105 and A is an imaginary point in the plane of the away side (104d) . Line IET is collinear to line AI.
Further, as shown in Fig. 3C, point K is at a position such that an imaginary line IK is inclined at an angle 120° to line AI and at an angle 29.4° to line AK, where A' is an imaginary point in the plane of the away side (104d), such that line A'I and line AK connect while committing to all the conditions given above. Further, segment ZMK is part of a segment AMK of a circle having chord AK. Furthermore, distance of centre point (M) of Arc AK from the centre point of chord line AK, marked as L, is 10.3078th part of length of line AK (i.e., length of line LM = length of line AK - 10.3078).
Length of line IET and line KJ is variable and can be adjusted as per requirement, however length of line KJ can never be less than zero.

Distance between point A" and W" is variable, subject to condition that length of line WZ shall never be more than length of line Wl.
Further, to explain the shape and configuration of top side (104b) and bottom side (104e), reference is made to Figs. 3D and 3E. As already mentioned, each of the top side (104b) and the bottom side (104e) has a second polygonal shape, which will be explained in conjunction with area bound between an edge of pathway side (104c) and an edge of the away side (104d) and Light Source (104a). As shown in Fig. 3E, segment XC is the edge of the pathway side (104c), segment VX is the Light Source (104a) and segment VGE is the edge of the away side (104d) such that area bound by points EGVYC defines the second polygonal shape of the top side (104b) and the bottom side (104e).
Referring to Fig. 3E, line XC is a portion of Line AC and line AD is parallel to front face (105a) of the casing (105). As shown, line XC is at inclined at an angle of 30° to line AD. Further, a line AB is at an angle of 90° to line AD. Segment VGE, which is the edge of the away side (104d) is a portion of arc AE which in turn is a segment of a circle having chord AE. Chord AE is inclined at an angle of 7° to line AB. Moreover, the curvature of Arc AE is derived in accordance to the length of chord line AE. In particular, distance of centre point of Arc AE, taken as G, from the centre point of chord line AE, taken as F, is 19.6516th part of length of line AE (length of line FG = length of line AE - 19.6516).
In addition, the angle between line AD and line AC and angle between line AB and line AE is subject to requirement, can be increased or decreased to increase or decrease the horizontal spread of illumination, respectively.
Fig. 3F illustrates the combined profile, including the first polygonal shape and the second polygonal shape, of top side and away side in relation to each other. The light source is placed at the surface represented by WX' YZ and the light emitted therefrom is reflected by the entire profile, as shown.
The Optical Assembly (104) as explained above, is designed to limit the vertical spread of light to the level of system (100) to make sure no glare is produced for the commuter coming from the opposite direction. Further, the design helps in illuminating the sides and forward position uniformly for best illumination and avoiding strain on the eyes of the commuter. As shown in Fig. 3G, the illumination is mostly focused at the level of the system (100) towards front pathway side (801). Regions adjacent to focused illumination (802) will have diffused illumination. Beyond the diffused light regions (803), are glow areas which are not straining the vision of the commuters. Placing the system at uniform interval along the pathway can illuminate the required stretch for better commuter focus and safety without overburdening the commuters' senses and inducing dizziness. For this purpose, the optical assembly is a first surface mirror specified three-dimensional construct.
Further, in an embodiment of the present invention, the system (100) also includes a Self Maintenance Mechanism (SMM 110), as also shown in Fig. 4A to 4D. The SMM 110 includes an Air Pressure Chamber (112) and Air Pressure Component (113) controlled by the Central Module (101) or an independent Control Module (111). The SMM 110 provides

pressurized air pressure through Wind Tube Array (114) over critical areas including and not limited to Light Source (103) and Optical Assembly (104) for keeping such critical places clean. In an embodiment critical part would include Light Source (103), the Optical Assembly (104) and the Power Source sensitive to dust like Solar Panel (102) as shown in figure 4D. The SMM (110) is a system to increase the durability of the visual guidance system (100) by keeping the critical areas clean. A dependent Central Module (101) is an efficient and economical way to control the SMM using the same processing power used to control the Light Source (103), whereas independent Central Module (111) provides an option to utilize SMM where no processing power exits in the main unit. The dependent Central Module (101) could be a microprocessor, a microcontroller and the like The Air Pressure Chamber (112) is connected to an array of tubing, Wind Tube Array (114), on one side having opening (116) near critical areas of the system and to an air inlet (115) on other side to intake air therethrough. The opening (116) is configured one of the side faces (105c, 105d), rear face (105e) or the front face (105a) of the casing (105). The chamber consists of an Air Pressure Component (113) which can range from Motor with turbine, a blower or any other form of air suction mechanism. The Central Module (101 or 111) activates the Air Pressure Component (113) which facilitate Air Pressure Chamber (112) to draw air from inlet (115) and force it through the Wind Tube Array (114) (figure 4A and 4B).
The Air Pressure Components (113) is configured within the Air Pressure chamber (112) and includes, in present embodiment, a combination of motor and a turbine. The combination of motor and turbine when activated creates a low air pressure (112b) on one side of chamber (112) compared to other side (112a). The low air pressure side is connected to an Air Inlet Tube (115) from where air can be suctioned in. On the high air pressure side (112a) of chamber, the air chamber (112) is connected to array of tubes which open up near critical area (116) like and not limited to Light Source (103). When SMM is activated air is suctioned in from Air Inlet (115) and pushed towards the critical openings (116) blowing the dust and other pollutant partials and other loose obstructions near critical areas. Frequent cycles of cleaning keep the unit functioning over longer period of time. The dependent Central Module (101) or the independent Central Module (111) controls the frequency and operation of SMM Components. The circuit can be programmed to set the frequency according to need ranging from few seconds to few hours cycle. The circuit can also be used to run a combination of forward and reverse revolutions for geographical areas which encounter heavy dusty conditions.
Furthermore, a Central Module (101) consists of two additional modules - one being Power Optimisation and Battery Management and second being Controller. To manage all processes in a small factor standalone structure an efficient power harvesting circuit is used. A connected direct line can also be used to power the set of units in certain situations with use of an appropriate converter or power management circuit.
Controller segment of the Central Module (101) controls the function of managing Light Source (103) and SMM (110). The controller controls the timing, intensity and duration of Light Source (103) for examples Light Source (103) always on, on After Regular Interval or switch on at Sunset etc. For similar operations a Microcontroller or other processing unit can also be utilized for much more controlled usage.

Furthermore, the system 100 includes a Power Source (102) which can be internal or external. By installing a self-sufficient Power Source like Solar Panel and rechargeable storage battery (120), the unit can operate without any external infrastructure or electrical connection. As shown in Fig. 4C, the solar panel (102) could be installed on the top face of the casing (105). For geographical area without sufficient solar power other Power sources can also be used ranging from electricity from electrical grid to a viable wind turbine system with requirement of connecting Power Supply of each individual unit (an additional component will be required to convert AC grid electricity to DC Current). Furthermore, system can be coupled with a Power Storage (120) as per the requirement. Power Storage provides much more reliability to the operations of the system and helping it operate in self-sufficiency and/ or work through Power Outage or restrictive weathers.

We claim:
1. A visual guidance system (100) installed on a road/pathway for enabling illumination
thereof, the system comprising:
a Central Module (101) powered by Power Source (102;
a Light Source (103) coupled to the Central Module (101), the Central Module (101)
controlling the operation of the Light Source (103);
an Optical Assembly (104) configured in vicinity of the Light Source (103), the Optical
Assembly (104) has a profiled shape to enable reflection of light emitted by the Light Source
(103) for illumination of the road/pathway; and
a protective casing (105) housing the Central Module, the Light Source and the Optical
Assembly (104).
2. A Visual guidance system (100) according to claim 1, wherein the Optical Assembly comprises a top side (104b), a bottom side (104e), a pathway side (104c) and a away side (104d) forming a frustum shaped structure with a side opening (104a) to house the Light Source (103), the pathway side and away side each having a shape defined by a first polygonal shape and the top and bottom side each having a shape defined by second polygonal shape to aid in reflecting the light emitted by the light source (103).
3. A Visual guidance system (100) according to claim 2, wherein the top side (104b), the bottom side (104e), the pathway side (104c) and the away side (104d) are made of reflective material.
4. A Visual guidance system (100) according to claim 1, comprising a Self Maintenance Mechanism (110) comprising
an Air Pressure Chamber (112) and Air Pressure Component (113) controlled by Central Module (101) for generating air pressure; and
a Wind Tube Array (114) coupled to the Air Pressure Chamber (112), the Wind Tubing Array (114) having an air inlet (115) on one end and an outlet (116) on the other end, the outlet (116) being disposed at least near the Light Source (103) to blow pressurized air thereon for cleaning the Light Source (103).
5. A Visual guidance system (100) according to any of the preceding claims comprising a Power Storage (120) coupled to at least the Control Module (101) and Power Source (102) to serve as a storage of power.
6. A Visual guidance system (100) according to claim 1, wherein the Control Module (101) comprises at least an arrangement of Counter IC and Logic Gates supported by Analogue Switches to control Self Maintenance Mechanism (110) and Light Source (103).
7. A Visual guidance system (100) according to claim 1, wherein the Control Module (101) is a microcontroller or other processing units to achieve desired functionalities.

8. A Visual guidance system (100) according to claim 1, wherein the Power Source (102) is a Solar Panel or an array of Solar Panels.
9. A Visual guidance system (100) according to claim 1, wherein the Power Source (102) comprises external power source via wired connection through an independent infrastructure.
10. A Visual guidance system (100) according to claim 1, wherein Light Source (103) consists of LEDs, OLEDs or PLEDs or a combination thereof.
11. A Visual guidance system (100) according to claim 1, wherein the Casing (105) is made of Polycarbonate with thermally conductive and waterproof protective filler.
12. A Visual guidance system (100) according to claim 1, wherein Casing (105) is made
of Aluminium with thermally conductive and waterproof protective filler.