CH688098A5 - Folding support for beacon or marker or for sign or notice - Google Patents

Abstract

The folding support for signs or markers having a base (1) which is rectangular and designed to be fixed or positioned on the ground, and a folding chassis (2). The latter carries or supports the indicator sign, and has a similar form and size as that of the signal. The base has two parallel side frame parts (3d,3g) and which are connected at their ends by two transverse elements (4). The side frame elements are also connected by a third transverse element (6) which is located centrally. - The central transverse element supports the folding chassis at a gutter or channel part (9) of the transverse. The chassis is foldable in an open position, and in the folded position is linked to the two side frame elements by movable connecting rods (21). The latter are placed in front of the central transverse part, and have at their lower part a locking system (14) which can be positioned under the central transverse element using a simple operation of the weight when the support is deployed.

Description

1

CH 688 098 A5

2

Description

The present invention relates to a foldable support, simple and double-sided, of various beacons and panels, in particular road signs, with automatic locking and unlocking.

The technical sector of the invention is that of the construction of indicator panels.

Until recently, temporary signs were fixed on folding trestles, which had to be tilted with respect to the vertical, to resist the thrust of the wind, from where poor visibility of the signs by the drivers of vehicles. In addition, the "beacons", recently introduced into the range of road signs, must be presented vertically.

Currently, foldable supports of panels or beacons are constructed comprising a substantially rectangular base, placed on the ground, and a vertical, foldable frame carrying the panel or the beacon. These devices make it possible to present the panels or beacons vertically, hence better visibility. In addition, they are very stable.

Such folding supports are described in patents FR 1 478 906, FR 6 924 111, FR 7 103 179, FR 7 601 926 and FR 8 607 153.

Known folding supports having a rectangular or trapezoidal base generally include locking devices intended to keep the folding frame in a vertical position, which are complex.

An object of the present invention is to provide collapsible supports for beacons and various signs or advertising panels having a simple locking means, which provides automatic locking of the collapsible frame in a vertical position.

Another object of the present invention is to provide collapsible supports for beacons and signs or the like, adapted to be transported, once folded, in special transport vehicles, flat, on horizontal rails, or suspended.

Another object of the present invention is to provide collapsible supports for beacons and traffic signs or the like, the unlocking of which, for folding, is also automatic.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide folding supports allowing the permanent positioning of double-sided beacons, the second face not interfering with folding.

Another object of the present invention is to provide collapsible supports for beacons or temporary or other traffic signs having excellent stability, fully collapsible flat, easy to unfold or fold, and movable by one man.

The folding supports according to the invention comprise, in known manner, on the one hand a substantially rectangular base, intended to be placed on the ground, and, on the other hand a folding frame which carries the tag - single or double-sided - or the road sign, or the advertising panel. In the open position, the folding frame is held by a double strut which connects it to the base.

The objectives of the invention are achieved by means of folding and self-locking supports, single and double-sided beacons, and indicator panels, in which the base comprises two parallel beams, interconnected by end crosspieces. These beams may have the shape of a hollow square tube, or of an angle with unequal wings, the large wing being arranged vertically, and the small wing facing outwards from the chassis. The longitudinal members can also, indifferently, be made up of hollow or rectangular tubes.

The end crosspieces, in flat iron or rectangular tube, protrude on either side of the side members, this to allow both better seating of the assembly, and easy storage on horizontal slides. It may seem interesting that these end crosspieces are welded a little behind the ends of the side members, to allow easy locking on the storage rails. Likewise, the part of the end crosspieces located beyond the side members may be inclined slightly downwards, for a better seat on the ground.

The invention results in new folding supports intended to receive either an indicator panel, or a single or double-sided beacon, or a display or advertising panel.

The folding supports according to the invention have very good stability, and they offer the advantage of presenting the panel or the tag which they support in a vertical position, therefore very visible.

Once folded, the supports according to the invention have a very small footprint, and they are easy to store flat or suspended on horizontal slides equipping special transport vehicles for this type of folding supports.

The locking system fitted to the folding supports according to the invention has the advantage of being automatic, either in the direction of blocking the open support, or in the direction of unlocking for folding. It also has the advantage of being able to be easily adapted to other folding supports existing on the market.

In a preferred embodiment, the locking system is fixed to the bottom of the movable part, and in its center. It works essentially by the action of gravity: the bolt, in the form of an elongated C, swings freely around an axis located in its upper part and comes to hang the mobile and foldable part of the support in vertical position, to a transverse bar - which can be round or square - connecting the two chassis side members by their middle.

To avoid sliding of the movable part either towards the front or towards the rear, the bottom of this movable part can advantageously consist of an inverted U-shaped iron, which covers the central crosspiece of the base. For greater convenience, it is preferable that the rear wing of the U-shaped iron is narrower than the front wing. Likewise, this

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

65

2

3

CH 688 098 A5

4

front wing of the U-shaped iron receives a cutout in the middle which will allow the lock to pass freely.

The two struts which connect the folding part of the support to its base are articulated, on the one hand on each of the side members a little in front of the central part, on the other hand at the ends of a horizontal bar secured to the part of the folding support, the length of which is slightly less than the distance between the side members. This horizontal bar secured to the mobile part must be 0.20 meters above the ground when the folding support is in the open position and is intended to present regulatory markers of type K5c of French regulations, on each of these two sides.

Two small pins can advantageously be welded to the front ends of the horizontal bar. Their function is to retain the lower part of a temporary regulatory sign, triangle, round or square.

Beacons, traffic signs or advertising panels can be fixed on the mobile part of the folding support by any suitable means. There is no need to separate them from this mobile part to fold the support.

The maneuver for deploying or folding the support is very simple, and can be carried out by a single man: the folded support, equipped with its beacons (on both sides) or its panel (on one side) is placed on the ground, at the location it must occupy. The worker grabs the upper end of the movable part, and lifts it up by pulling it towards him. The action of the struts causes this movable part to pass from the horizontal position to the vertical position.

The U-shaped iron with unequal wings which serves as a lower support for the mobile part of the support is fitted onto the central crosspiece of the base, and the locking is done automatically by the action of gravity. The support can no longer retreat intem-pestively.

The folding maneuver is also simple: by tilting the deployed support forward, the lock is released, still by the action of gravity, and the worker only has to push the mobile part; this, by the movement of the struts, folds and comes to be positioned between the side members of the base. If, for any reason (seizure, presence of foreign body, etc.), the unlocking is not done by the simple action of gravity, the worker can advantageously release the lock by pressing with the foot on a unlocking lug provided for this purpose.

The location of the axes of rotation of the struts on the side members, and the length of these struts will be calculated so that the folded frame is not offset from the side members of the base.

Furthermore, if the self-rusting folding support is large, intended for example to receive motorway panels, it may be advantageous, according to a known method, to place rollers at the ends of the somewhat elongated side rails to allow a easy movement of the assembly.

The following description refers to the appended drawings, which represent, without any limiting nature, an exemplary embodiment of folding supports according to the invention.

Figs. 1 and 2 are perspective views of a tag or panel support, respectively in the open position and in the folded position.

Fig. 3 is a front view of the movable part of the support.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the base of a support.

Fig. 5 is the front view of a strut.

Fig. 6 shows the mode of articulation of a strut on a spar.

Figs. 7 and 8 show, on a larger scale, the lower part of the foldable arm of the support, respectively from the front and from the side.

Fig. 9 shows a perspective view of the locking.

Figs. 1 and 2 show an exemplary embodiment of a folding support intended to receive either a tag on each of the sides of the folding frame (here two parallel square tubes), or a temporary or permanent road sign, such as a square triangle, disc or arrow, or a billboard of any form. For clarity of the drawing, the tags or the panel are not shown in FIG. 2.

The folding support consists essentially of two parts: a base 1 intended to be placed on the ground, when the support is in service, and a folding frame 2 which carries a tag on each of its two front and rear faces, or a panel on its front side only.

In the operating position, shown in fig. 1, the frame 2, which is perpendicular to the base 1, is substantially vertical. In the folded position, which is shown in FIG. 2, the chassis 2 is folded against the base, so that the assembly consisting of the base, the chassis and the panel fixed on the front face, or tags fixed on the front and rear faces form, at the folded state, a thin object easy to store in a transport vehicle.

The base 1 has the general shape of a rectangular frame which is composed of two 3d beams, 3g, connected together by two crosspieces. Advantageously, the cross members 4 have a length greater than the spacing between the side members, so that each cross member has two extensions 5 which extend outside the side members.

These extensions form feet whose function is twofold: they increase the width of the base and thus ensure better sitting on the ground. Advantageously, the four feet 5 can be slightly bent downwards, that is to say on the side opposite to the side members.

In addition, the feet 5 allow the sliding of the folded assembly on horizontal slides equipping a special vehicle for transporting the supports in a horizontal position, for example a vehicle of the type described in patent FR 1,582,008,

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

65

3

5

CH 688 098 A5

6

or, in the vertical position, in a specially designed vehicle, such as that described in patent FR 8,608,247.

The two side members are, moreover, connected in the middle, by a cross member 6 made of round or square iron, on which the lower part of the movable frame comes to bear, in a vertical position.

The chassis 2 has the most suitable shape to correspond to the type of beacon or panel that it must receive.

Figs. 1 and 3 represent, by way of illustration, a chassis 2 intended to receive beacons on each of its faces, or temporary traffic signs of “normal” size with regard to the regulations in force in France.

Of course, this chassis can have any other shape.

The frame 2 presented by way of illustration comprises two parallel uprights 7d, 7g connected to each other, at one of their ends, by a cross-member 8. The spacing between the two parallel uprights -which may consist of irons made of hollow square tube , U-shaped irons, or any other section - is slightly greater than the diameter of the bolt which will fix the beacons or the panel to the mobile chassis.

The two parallel uprights 7 are interconnected at their other end by a part 9 in the form of an inverted U, the length of which is substantially less than the spacing between the side members.

One of the wings of the U-shaped iron can advantageously have a width less than the other. It will be placed on the side opposite the holes 23 in the side members, which will be discussed below. The other wing of the U-shaped iron is partially indented in its center. The notch 26 must be wide enough to allow the free passage of the latch 14 shown in perspective in FIG. 9.

A cross 10 - which can be constituted by a hollow or solid square iron is welded perpendicular to the uprights 7, at a distance from the U-shaped piece 9 slightly less than the regulatory height of the lower edges of the beacons, that is to say twenty centimeters.

This square iron carries at each of its ends a lug 11 d, 11g. The total length of the square iron 10, increased by that of the lugs 11, must be slightly less than the distance between the side members of the base.

Two small flat irons 12d, 12g are welded to the square iron 10, on the opposite side to the uprights 7, and immediately before the end lugs 11d and 11g. They are intended to hold in place a regulatory sign, or a beacon, also fixed to the mobile chassis by a bolt with nut placed at the desired height in the interval between the uprights 7.

We can advantageously give the square iron 10 a slightly curved shape towards the U-shaped cross member, to allow better insertion of a regulatory circular panel. In this case, it is imperative that the lugs 11 d, 11g are aligned and at the same level.

Figs. 7 and 8 show, on a larger scale,

the detail, from the front and from the side, of the lower part of the mobile chassis.

The two uprights 7 are drilled, in alignment, at 13, a little above the inverted U-shaped iron. This drilling will allow the automatic lock 14 to be fixed, shown in perspective in FIG. 9.

The latch 14 must be able to pivot without difficulty on an axis 15, which crosses the first upright 7g, then the hole 16 in one of the wings of the C-shaped latch, the second parallel upright 7d, and is permanently fixed by a pin 17 ; a washer 18 is interposed between the outer part of the upright 7d and the pin 17. Any other means can be used to fix the axle 15 to the uprights 7, up to and including the weld. The main thing is that the latch 14 can pivot freely on the axis 15.

The latch 14, which has the shape of an elongated C, and one of the branches of which is pierced at 16 so as to be able to pivot on the axis 15, receives on its other branch a lug 19, which protrudes on either side. This lug 19 is intended to prevent complete rotation of the latch 14, which could prevent automatic locking. The latch 14, which pivots freely on the axis 15, has its stroke limited by the lug 19, which can abut on the uprights 7, so that it is always in the proper position to make the movable frame 2 integral to the cross member 6 of the base, when the folding support is deployed. At this moment, the U-shaped iron 9 is placed on the cross-member 6, and the latch 14, by the action of gravity, sees its end carrying the lug 19 pass under the cross-member 6 of the base, and remain in place, locking the mobile chassis 2 on the base 1.

A stud 20 extends the branch of the bolt 14 pierced at 16. It finds its utility to allow the movable frame 2 to be separated from the base 1, in the event of natural malfunction. It is enough to press with the foot on the stud 20 to unlock the movable frame 2.

The movable frame 2 is connected to the base 1 by two identical connecting rods 21 d, 21g, one of which is shown in FIG. 5.

These connecting rods 21 consist of a flat iron, pierced at each of its ends, at 22a and 22b. Their length is calculated so that the movable chassis is in the middle of the base, when the support is folded, the protrusion on either side, if necessary, parallel uprights 7 being equal.

Fig. 6 shows a mode of articulation of the connecting rods on the side members of the base. These are drilled in 23d, 23g, a little in front of the central crossbar 6. The two holes are equidistant from the crossbar 6.

A stud 24 is put in place, from the outside of the spar, in the hole 23, then in one of the holes 22 in the connecting rod 21, and held in place by a self-locking washer 25, or by any other means. The connecting rod 21 must be able to pivot freely.

One of the pins 11 of the crosspiece 10 of the movable frame 2 receives the other hole 22b of the connecting rod 21. The latter is held in place by a washer5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

65

4

7

CH 688 098 A5

8

self-locking or any other means. The connecting rod must be able to pivot freely.

The other identical connecting rod is fixed in the same way both to the base 1 and to the movable frame 2.

The folding support is ready to operate.

The adaptation of the automatic locking system to the folding supports currently existing on the market is very easy: For the base 1, it is enough, after having removed all the existing manual locks, to put in place - if it is not there already - the crossbar 6 which joins the midpoints of the side members.

For the folding frame, the addition, in its lower central part, of the inverted U gutter 9, as described above, with its notch, and of the latch 14 held in place by its axis 15 are sufficient.

This operation does not change the height or the structure of the movable frame, and therefore of the transformed folding support.

Claims (8)

Claims 1. Foldable support for beacons or signposts, in particular for road signs, permanent or temporary, of the type comprising a base (1) substantially rectangular, intended to be placed on the ground, and a foldable frame (2), which carries said panel indicator, and the shape and dimensions of which depend on the type and size of the panel to be presented, characterized in that said base comprises two parallel beams (3d, 3g) connected to each other, at each of their ends, by a cross member (4) whose end pieces (5) protrude on either side, and a third crosspiece (6), joining their central part, crosspiece on which comes to rest, by means of a gutter (9), the chassis foldable in the open position, said foldable frame being further connected to the side members of the base by two articulated buttress rods (21), placed in front of the third crosspiece (6), and equipped, in its lower part, with '' a locking system (14) which is positioned under the central crosspiece (6) by the simple action of gravity, when the support is deployed, thus making the foldable frame integral with its base. 2. Foldable support according to claim 1, characterized in that said locking system (14) has the general shape of a "C", one of the branches of which, pierced at one end (16) can rotate freely around a pin (15), itself held in place by holding means, for example a pin (17) and a washer (18), said locking system being thus secured to the lower part of the movable frame. 3. Foldable support according to claim 2, characterized in that the other branch of the “C” shaped locking system is provided with a lug (19) protruding on either side, to prevent the complete rotation of the system around the axis, and keep it in the locked position, whether the chassis is deployed or folded. 4. Foldable support according to claim 2, characterized in that the branch pierced at one end (16) of the locking system (14) is extended by a lug (20) which allows, by a simple pressure of the foot, to separate the movable frame (2) of its base (1), in the case where a simple tilting towards the front of the folding support would not operate this separation by the sole effect of gravity. 5. Foldable support according to claim 1, characterized in that the two connecting rods (21) are articulated on the one hand inside each of the side members of the base, a little in front of the central cross member, by each through a stud (24), held in place by holding means, for example a self-locking washer (25), and, on the other hand, at the ends, in the form of studs (11cJ, 11g) d '' a horizontal crosspiece (10), integral with the chassis (2), the length of which - studs included - is slightly less than the distance between the side members of the base (1), which connecting rods being held in place on the studs of the crosspiece (11d, 11g) each by another holding means, for example a self-locking washer (25). 6. Foldable support according to claim 1, characterized in that the gutter (9) is in the form of an inverted U, the wing of which is placed on the side of a horizontal crosspiece (10) secured to the frame (2) for the articulation with the connecting rods receives a notch (26) wide enough to allow the free passage of the locking system (14) and a lug (19) on the system preventing the complete rotation of the system on the chassis, while the other wing is of a smaller width . 7. Foldable support according to claim 1, characterized in that a horizontal crosspiece (10) secured to the movable frame for articulation with the connecting rods, on which rests the lower part of the sign, which is also held pressed against the folding frame with one or two bolts, has two legs (12d, 12g) which have the effect of preventing the panel from sliding forward. 8. Foldable support according to claim 1, characterized in that the length of a horizontal crosspiece (10) integral with the chassis for articulation with the connecting rods, excluding end studs is slightly greater than the width of a tag, so that the folding chassis can receive a beacon on its front face - side of the buttress rods - and a second beacon on its rear face, without the presence of this second beacon preventing the folding of the chassis (2) between the side members (3d, 3g) of the base (1), the two opposing tags being held in place on the foldable frame by holding means, for example bolts or pins and buttonholes. 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 5