1 PEDESTRIAN SAFETY BARRIER Field of the invention The present invention relates to safety barriers, of the type used to protect 5 pedestrians. Background of the invention Safety barriers are used in many contexts and applications. Given an increasing focus on workplace safety in recent years, there is a 10 call for safety barriers in light industrial applications, such as in factories, warehouses and the like. These types of industrial areas receive mixed foot traffic (pedestrians) and vehicular traffic (forklifts, delivery trucks, etc), with the possibility of significant injury or death due to accident. Roadside barriers have been deployed in industrial workplaces, but are not 15 especially well adapted for this purpose. One example familiar to Australian drivers is the roadside guard rails supplied by ARMCO Barriers Pty Ltd, which for some decades have been near ubiquitous on Australian roads in regional as well as metropolitan areas. Such barriers are primarily adapted for high-speed collisions, absent any nearby foot traffic, and consequently their use in industrial 20 workplaces can often cause more safety problems than it solves. Some adhoc measures are often taken in industrial workplaces to help avoid collisions and related accidents without impeding free range of people or vehicles. Typically, a bright yellow painted line may be painted on the floor to demarcate pedestrian accessways from areas into which vehicles should not 25 stray. Similarly, walkways may be indicated with a white crosshatch pattern or similar. Permanent and semi-permanent barriers are also deployed in some applications, such as referred to above, but are often found to be bulky, insubstantial and unsightly. Furthermore, such barriers can often present greater 30 risks than they address, by - for example - presenting trip risks to foot traffic, or by catching on clothing.
2 There exists, in view of the foregoing, a need for improvements that at least attempt to address these and other limitations associated with existing safety barrier constructions. 5 Summary of the invention The invention concept resides in a modular safety barrier assembly having an integrated barrier assembly and handrail assembly. This provides a small form factor, and the integrated nature of the assembly provides sufficient offset to discourage pedestrians from tripping upon the stanchions of the barrier assembly. 10 The stanchions comprise U-beams, which impart sufficient rigidity and stability to the barrier, however, the side flanges of the U-beam are advantageously tapered from a maximal width near the base of the stanchion, to a minimal width near the handrail assembly. This advantageous arrangement permits the handrail assembly to be closely adjacent the barrier assembly, but 15 offset therefrom to provide a sufficient clearance between the handrail assembly and the barrier assembly. With the growing focus on safety in the workplace, a substantial barrier between vehicle movement and pedestrians is called for by workplace managers. While regulations may not mandate use of barrier equipment at present, OH&S 20 managers are likely to be receptive to such measures as the use of safety barriers proactively addresses safety concerns. Escape routes must be protected from vehicles and product / pallets obstruction, and a clear passage maintained for escape of pedestrians. A continuous or near-continuous handrail to guide in the event of 25 emergency evacuation provides an additional measure of safety. Furthermore, use of a handrail helps protect pedestrians from incidental contact with the other parts of the barrier - such as by scuffing their feet on the stanchions of the barrier. The safety barrier itself preferably consists of two or three stanchions distributed along the length of the barrier, with a pair of guardrails consisting of 30 rectangular tubing irremovably affixed to the stanchions. The stanchions preferably terminate with orthogonally oriented end plates that assist in supporting the safety barrier, and allow for affixing the barriers to a surface (using, for example, masonry bolts).
3 The safety barrier and handrail are preferably provided in modules of standard length for piecewise assembly on site. This allows for ease of specification, transport and assembly. As an example, standard lengths of 2000mm, 3000mm, 4000mm and 5000mm are contemplated. 5 Similarly, heights are preferably also standardised. Preferably, the handrail is provided at a standard height (1000mm), in keeping with accepted practice. The barrier is also of matching height (1000), for a pleasing appearance, though other heights can be adopted as required. 10 Brief description of preferred embodiments Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a modular safety barrier assembly according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 2 is a detail of the view of Fig. 1, where the handrail assembly meets the barrier assembly. 15 Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the assembly of Figs. 1 and 3. Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the assembly of Figs. 1 to 4. Fig. 5 is a rear elevation of the assembly of Figs. 1 to 4. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a modular safety barrier assembly, having a lower barrier. 20 Detailed description of preferred embodiments Figs. 1 to 5 depict from different viewpoints a modular safety barrier assembly 100 comprising a handrail assembly 200 and barrier assembly 300. The handrail assembly 200 and barrier assembly 300 are removably 25 attached to each other using a complex of nuts, bolts and washers. The handrail assembly 200 consists of a pair of t-fittings 210 that accept a handrail sections 220 in the form of a cylindrical tubing, and support sections 230 in the form of cylindrical tubing, which is bent about its middle to form a dog legged section, and terminating distal the t-fitting 210 in a plate 240. 30 The plate 240 is generally rectangular, are is welded to the support section 230. The plate 240 has near its corners holes bored through the plate 240 to allow the handrail assembly 200 to be removably attached to the barrier assembly 300 by suitable fixing means, such as sets of screw-threaded nuts, and bolts, and 4 washers. the plate 240 is dimensions to fit flat against the barrier assembly 300 to ensure a secure fit. The t-fitting 210 is shaped and dimensioned to snugly accept the ends of the handrail section 220 and the support section 230. They are additionally 5 secured by suitable screw-threaded fixing means that extend through the t-fitting 210 and engages the sections 220, 230. The barrier assembly 300 comprises stanchions 310, that are formed essentially as U-beams 320 and terminate at one end with support plates 330 which are welded to the U-beams 320. The flanges of the U-beams 320 taper 10 away further from the support plates 330, providing a pleasing appearance, and also providing adequate clearance for the handrail assembly 200. The support plates 330 are generally square in shape, and have holes drilled therein near their corners to assist with attaching the barrier assembly 300 to the ground, such as with set of masonry bolts to a concrete floor (not shown). 15 Extending between the stanchions 310 are a pair of guardrails 340 in form of regular tubing. The guardrails 340 are, as depicted, removably attached to the stanchions 310 using sets of fasteners (in this case, a complex of nuts, bolts and washers) across matching holes in the guardrails 340 and stanchions 310. Sets of four fasteners are used at each fixing point to ensure a secure fit. Also a pair of 20 guardrails 340 are used to ensure the stability of the barrier assembly 300. The guardrails 340 are positioned to one side of the barrier assembly 300, and the handrail assembly 200 is fitted to the opposite side of the barrier assembly 200. The stanchions 310, firmly fitted to the floor via the support plates 300, connect the guardrails 340 and handrail assembly 200. 25 In the finished assembly, the handrail section 220 is level with the top of the upper guardrail 340, to provide an even and matched appearance. The upper guardrail 340 and the handrail section 220 need not match in height, however, and can be at different heights, as depicted in Fig. 6, which the barrier assembly extends only to 700mm, but the handrail assembly extends a fully 1000mm as 30 with the preferred embodiment of Figs. 1 to 5. The materials used in constriction of components are of relatively heavy gauge steel, of sufficient thickness to resist heavy use and minor collisions, and 5 finished with an industrial coating that provides high visibility, as well as protection against corrosion. The modular safety barrier assembly 100 described and depicted herein has a variety of uses and provides advantages of existing approaches to safety 5 concerns in industrial workplaces, such as factories, warehouses, and so on. The barrier assembly 300 prevents vehicular traffic from inadvertently intruding upon pedestrian walkways, and well as pedestrian traffic from inadvertently intruding upon vehicle access areas. The handrail assembly 200 provides for pedestrian safety, particularly in the case of emergency such as fire, 10 or gas leaks, when visibility may be poor, or pedestrians may be disoriented. The integrated handrail assembly 200 acts to some extent as an offset to pedestrian traffic, to help minimise trip risk but discouraging feet from tripping on the the stanchions 320. The use of a handrail assembly 200 directly attached to the stanchions 320 (rather than free-standing) is a great advantage in this regard. 15 The integration of the handrail assembly 200 and the barrier assembly 300 allows for a small form factor, as well a neat and pleasing appearance on site. The U-beams 320 used to form the upright of the stanchions 310 imparts sufficient strength to the stanchions 310 without requiring use, for example, of a full rectangular tubing member. Also, the tapered side flanges of the U-beams 20 320 allows the handrail assembly 220 to be offset from, but close enough to the barrier assembly 300 to provide a neat and compact finished assembly 100. The length of the assembly 100 is 2000mm, and its modular nature allows multiple assemblies to be used in concert to erect a barrier of any desired configuration. Furthermore, assemblies of other lengths are envisaged, so that 25 assemblies of different lengths can be used together as required. For example, similarly arranged assemblies of 3000mm, 4000mm and 5000mm lengths can be constructed. Assemblies of greater length preferably incorporate an additional stanchion and associated fastening points to ensure stability of the arrangement. Optional accessories can also be added to the finished assembly 100. As 30 an example, floor sections can be added in the form of L-sections adjacent the support plates 330 of the stanchions 310 to provide a surface against which loads (packages, pallets, etc) can be pushed against.
6 Various other modifications and additions may be made to the modular safety barrier assembly described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. 5