DE29801729U1 - Reflector for protective walls, in particular for guardrails used in road construction to limit paths - Google Patents

Description

Mekon GmbH, Daimlerstr. 7, 58553 Halver

Reflector for protective walls, especially for guard rails used to mark paths in road construction

The invention is directed to a reflector for attachment to protective walls, in particular to guard rails in road construction to delimit paths, with a reflector section that reflects the light and with a fastening section for attaching the reflector to the protective wall, with an opening in the protective wall being provided for attachment. Such reflectors are attached, for example, to protective walls, such as guard rails, that are temporarily erected in the construction area of roads. Angle elements are sometimes provided for attaching the reflectors, which align the reflectors in such a way that the side walls are clearly visible to traffic due to their yellow-orange color and their reflectivity in daylight and when illuminated by headlights.

In the known reflectors, the reflector spacer that reflects the light is attached to the angle element made of sheet metal. Together with the reflector section, the angle element is attached to

TELEPHONE (0202) 55 7022 COMMERZBANK AG CREDIT- AND VOLKSBANK EG POSTAL OFFICE VAT No. TELEX 8 591606 wpald WUPPERTAL 4129 805 WUPPERTAL 103 490 014 COLOGNE 72634-506 DE 121035988 FAX (0202) 571501 Bank code 330 400 01 Bank code 33060098 Bank code 370100 50

&iacgr;.,&idigr; ■ · · ···· ·
Buse · Mentzel · Iiidewig· · ..·*..*

Threaded bolts or screws are pushed on and screwed in, whereby these protrude from the sides from the posts to which the protective walls are attached and connected to one another. Another way of attaching them is to cast the reflectors in plastic blocks, which are then also screwed on or glued to the protective walls. However, these methods require additional fasteners to be carried along during assembly, such as screws, nuts or adhesives. In addition, tools are required in the case of screw connections. With adhesive connections, it is often no longer possible to remove the reflector from the protective wall. This is a disadvantage if, as is usual with temporary protective walls in construction areas in road traffic, the protective walls are to be dismantled as quickly as possible after the construction work has been completed and transported away on trucks, stacked or pushed into one another to save space. The glued-on reflectors prevent this from happening. Rather, the fact is that due to the fact that the reflectors have to be screwed or glued on, the time required to set up and dismantle the protective walls at construction sites is very large.

Since bolts are always required to attach the screw-on reflectors, which in turn are only available on the stands, the reflectors can only be attached where a stand must be used. However, this will usually only be the case at the ends of each protective wall element, i.e. at the transition from one element to the other. The distance between the individual reflectors can therefore become unnecessarily large. This could affect safety in the construction site area.

Another disadvantage is the angle element made of non-springy sheet metal. Due to the material properties, the angle element can, for example, be damaged by contact with passing vehicles.

Buse · MeatzeJ · Isudewjg· _# j _# . ..

Vehicles can become permanently deformed, with the result that the reflector is no longer optimally aligned with the traffic. The protective function of the crash barriers to secure traffic is thereby significantly impaired.

The invention is based on the object of redesigning a reflector of the type mentioned at the beginning so that it is easy to handle, can be quickly assembled and disassembled and which, in addition to the protective function, can also fulfill a guiding function for the flowing traffic.

This object is achieved according to the invention in that the fastening section is attached to the protective wall together with the associated reflector section, in that the fastening section passes through the opening in the protective wall so that the reflector section is arranged on the front side of the protective wall. The fastening section partially engages behind the rear side of the protective wall with its peripheral surface.

This inventive measure makes it possible to attach reflectors to guard rails in a short time when setting up construction sites. Neither the use of a tool nor additional adhesive is required. Fastening is done by simply inserting or pushing the fastening section into the openings provided for this purpose, for example elongated holes, on the guard rails. Removing the reflectors is just as easy. By pulling against the insertion movement, the clamping of the reflector on the guard rail is released, so that they can be transported and stored in a way that saves as much space as possible, stacked or pushed together. In addition to saving material due to the fact that additional connecting means are not required, the reflector according to the invention also saves time.

Buse · Mertjf» j.jAidetlig· .:.. ..' '..

Conveniently, gripping the fastening section behind it creates a clamp that fixes the reflector in a desired position.

In some cases, this clamping can be caused by radial projections, for example radial ribs, on the fastening section. It is also conceivable that the fastening section has projections in some areas which after the fastening section has been inserted into the slot, twist them to grip behind the back of the protective wall and create a bayonet-like clamping.

The reflector can also be clamped by simply inserting the fastening section and then moving it parallel to the protective wall in a conical slot.

It is also advantageous if the fastening section is part of the angle element, which has the spring part on its fastening leg, which passes through the opening. In this case, the fastening leg with the spring part encloses the protective wall in the edge area of the opening, so that the fastening leg is arranged on the front of the protective wall and the spring part rests against the rear of the protective wall. After the plug-on movement has been completed, the reflector is clamped in place by the fastening leg on the one hand and the spring part on the other.

The spring part is advantageously designed as a spring plate that is connected in one piece to the angle element. The spring force generated by the spring plate strengthens the clamping between the spring plate and the fastening part, and the mobility of the spring plate makes it easier to attach the reflector.

Buse · Mentzd .·. Jsudetvjg ^# .;.

It is recommended that the reflector is attached to the protective wall using a friction fit with the fastening leg and the spring part. This allows the reflector to be positioned in a desired position in which it remains without external influences. Due to the friction between the protective wall surface and the spring part or fastening leg, the reflector is thus secured against coming loose from the protective wall.

In an advantageous embodiment, the locking lug on the fastening leg snaps into the corresponding recess on the guard rail when it is pushed on. This prevents the fastening leg from accidentally falling off the guard rail, for example due to strong wind or contact. Only by specifically lifting the spring part is the locking lug released, which enables the reflector to be removed from the protective wall.

To ensure the best possible safety of construction sites, it is necessary that the reflectors on the protective walls are optimally aligned with oncoming traffic. It is therefore particularly advantageous to manufacture the angle element consisting of the holding leg and the fastening leg from spring steel. If the angle element is deflected during installation, for example by bending, the reflector returns to its original position. This ensures that the protective function of the reflector continues to be guaranteed.

Advantageously, the spring tongue that creates the spring part is part of the fastening leg and is created from it by punching out sections. Additional fastening of the spring tongue by welding or soldering to the fastening leg for clamping the reflector is not necessary. This saves costs and simplifies production.

Buse · Mentzel · uudewig· _# J. _# .„* *,.'

When attaching the reflector, it is advisable for the spring tongue and the fastening leg to be at least partially spaced apart. This makes it easier to attach wall sections of the protective wall and defines a predetermined spring pressure for the spring tongue from the outset.

In order to minimize the risk of the spring tongue tearing out of the angle element, the molding area begins, preferably at the retaining leg of the angle element. This measure significantly increases the stability and thus the reliability of the reflector.

When the reflector is attached, the angle element is advantageously pushed forward until the edge of the wall material hits the inner surface of the tongue, which is located in the apex area of the legs. This advantageously ensures a reproducible alignment of the reflector. In addition, this measure means that no visual control of the correct position of the attached reflector is required.

The special profiling of the known crash barriers is particularly useful for aligning the fastening leg and thus the reflector. This means that the reflectors are guided sideways during the insertion movement, making it easier to attach the reflector and also offering more stability. In addition, this measure gives the reflectors another function in addition to their protective function. Since the reflectors only need holes in the crash barrier to attach them, they can be attached not only to the respective ends of a crash barrier element, but also in the area in between. This makes it possible to arrange the reflectors at a much smaller distance, which is important for the safety of flowing traffic, especially on curves. This higher density of retroreflective elements also means that traffic is better guided.

Buse · Meatzd,· _# 6,ude*yg· .;..

The reflector according to the invention therefore advantageously also has a guiding function.

In order to achieve the highest possible spring pressure of the spring tongue on the back of the protective wall, the spring tongue has an angle in the area of the free end that points away from the fastening leg. In a special embodiment, this deformation area serves to accommodate the locking lug for locking into the corresponding recess in the protective wall.

Another advantage of the reflector is that reflectors can also be attached to the places where the protective wall elements are attached to the posts using bolts. For this purpose, the fastening legs have a recess through which the bolt can advantageously be passed.

Furthermore, the spring tongue is narrower than the recess created by punching it out of the fastening leg, which creates a gap between the spring tongue and the fastening leg. This means that on the one hand the spring tongue is narrow enough to engage in the slot in the protective wall, and on the other hand the recess is wide enough so that the bolt from the stand can be passed through if necessary.

Further details and advantages of the invention emerge from the following description and the drawings. The invention is shown in an embodiment in the drawings. They show:

Fig. 1 is a side view of the reflector according to the invention

the assembly,

Fig. 2 the front view of the reflector shown in Fig. 1,

Buse · Mentzel ₄ » _# Ludewig .;

Fig. 3 the top view of the reflector shown in Fig. 1 with

an additional fastening option,

Fig. 4a shows the schematic plan view of the inventive Re

flektors in case of assembly,

Fig. 4b schematically shows a partial cross-section through the in Fig. 4a

shown mounted reflector along the cutting line
IV - IV, which allows the attachment of the reflector to the
protective wall can be seen,

Fig. 5 is a schematic side view of the elevated

Protective walls but without reflectors,

Fig. 6 a perspective view of the mounted reflector

gates on a protective wall.

The reflector 10 shown in Fig. 1 comprises a reflector section 11 and a fastening section 12, which are arranged on an angle element 13. The angle element 13 consists of a holding leg 14, which serves to hold the reflector section 11, on the one hand, and a fastening leg 15, which is provided for fastening the fastening section 12, on the other hand. The reflector section 11, which reflects the light, is made of plastic and has a centrally arranged opening through which a fastening element 18, for example a rivet, can be passed and with which the reflector section 11 can be fixed to the holding leg 14. The fastening leg 15 adjacent to the holding leg 14 forms the fastening section 12 with a spring part 16 arranged at a distance 17. This fastening section 12 serves to fasten the reflector 10 to a protective wall 20.

Buse · Meetzoi · _{&Lgr; #} Isudetyg· . J.. .,**..*

for example, a guard rail. The spring part 16 is designed in the form of a spring plate, which is formed by punching out sections of the fastening leg 15 as shown in Fig. 3. The connection of the spring plate 16 to the angle element 13 is made by a molding area 27, which is arranged on the holding leg 14. The molding is therefore not directly in the bending area of the two legs 11 and 12. This measure is important when the holding leg 14 is deflected and the material of the angle element 13 is subjected to great stress in the apex area. This could lead to the spring plate 16 tearing out, which would result in the reflector 10 falling off the protective wall 20. The spring tongue 16 also has a deformation area 26 at the free end 25. This is designed so that the spring tongue defines a distance 17 to the fastening section 12 with its side facing the fastening leg. In this deformation area 26, the spring pressure generated by the special shape of the spring plate 16 acts on the wall area of the protective wall 20 during assembly.

Fig. 3 shows the top view of the reflector according to the invention. Due to its special shape, the spring plate 16 exposes a recess 28 in the fastening leg 15. This recess 28 is part of the entire punched-out area that was created by punching out the spring plate 16 in the fastening leg 15 and is dimensioned so that a bolt 29 can be passed through. These bolts 29, as shown in Fig. 5, serve to fasten and connect the one or more protective walls 20 to the stand 30. The width of the spring plate 16 is dimensioned so that it is narrower than the width of the opening 21 in the protective wall 20. This defines a lateral distance 32 between the spring plate 16 and the fastening leg 15.

Buse · Mentzel · I

As can be seen from Fig. 4a and 4b, the reflector is attached to the protective wall by inserting the wall material between the attachment leg 15 and the spring plate 16. In order to be able to attach the reflector 10 not only in the edge area of the protective wall 20, openings 21 are provided along the entire length of the protective wall 20 at a defined distance. When attached, the attachment leg 15 therefore covers the front 22 of the protective wall 20, while the spring plate 16 encompasses the rear 23 of the protective wall 20. An optimal fit of the reflector 10 on the protective wall 20 is achieved when the edge of the opening 21 strikes the inner surface 19 of the spring plate 16. Within the fastening section 12, the protective wall 20 is pressed against the fastening leg 15 by the acting spring force of the spring plate 16 and thus ensures a friction-locked mounting of the reflector 10 on the protective wall 20.

Another special feature can be seen in a profile 24 of the protective wall 20. As can be seen in Fig. 4a and 4b, the protective wall 20 has a special shape. In the longitudinal direction of the protective wall 20, a guide surface 31 is provided in which the openings 21 for the bolts 29 for fastening the protective wall itself and for clamping the reflectors 10 are arranged. The width of this guide surface 31 is dimensioned so that it is only slightly larger than the width of the fastening leg 15. The areas adjacent to the longitudinal guide surface 31 are bulbous, as shown in a side view in Fig. 5. This creates a lateral guide when the reflector 10 is attached, due to the profile 24, which ensures that the reflectors are optimally aligned. It is therefore not possible to attach the reflector 10 tilted upwards or downwards.

A possible arrangement of several protective walls 20 is illustrated in Fig. 5 in a side view and in Fig. 6 in a perspective view.

Buse · MSntael »STjiH^wi· · · *

As already mentioned, bolts 29 are attached to the posts 30, which allow two protective walls 20 to be arranged one above the other on both sides. After assembly, as shown in Fig. 6, two rows of reflectors 10 arranged one behind the other are created. The distance between the reflectors 10 depends on how many openings 21 are present in the protective wall 20. It is therefore possible to adapt the distance between the reflectors 10 to individual requirements. For example, in curved construction site areas, it is sensible to make the distance between the reflectors 10 as small as possible to increase safety. In sections with fewer curves, the distance can be increased accordingly. The linear alignment of the reflectors 10 thus creates light guide bands for road users due to the reflected light, which advantageously contribute to securing neuralgic construction site areas.

It goes without saying that the embodiment shown here is only an exemplary implementation of the reflector according to the invention. However, this is not limited to this, and other shapes of the fastening section and the reflector section are possible. For example, it is conceivable that the fastening section is designed in a cylinder-like manner with radially arranged ribs on the peripheral surface, which cause the clamping to the protective wall. In addition, materials other than spring steel, for example an elastic plastic, can be used to form the angle element. Other shapes of the object according to the invention are also conceivable, which have not been graphically represented here.

BUSE MENTZEL LUDEWIG

Authorised representatives before the European Patent Office

PO Box 2014 62
D-42214 Wuppertal

Kleiner Werth D-4227S Wuppertal PATENT ATTORNEYS Dipl.-Phys. Buse Dipl.-Phys. Mentzel Dipl.-Ing. Ludewig

Wuppertal-Wuppertal,

Password: "Plug-in reflector"

Mekon GmbH, Daimlerstr. 7, 58553 Halver

List of reference symbols

10 Reflector

11 Reflector section

12 Mounting section

13 Angle element

14 holding legs for

15 Mounting brackets for

16 Spring part, spring tongue, spring plate

17 Distance between 15 and

18 Fastening element from

19 interior area of 16

20 Protective wall, guard rail

21 Breakthrough in 20

22 Front of 20

23 back of 20

24 Profiling of 20

25 free end of 16

26 Deformation range of

27 Forming area of

28 Recess for 29

29 bolts

30 stands

31 Guide surface

32 lateral distance between 15 and

TELEPHONE (0202)55 70 22 COMMERZBANK AG CREDIT- AND VOLKSBANK EG POSTAL OFFICE VAT No. TELEX 8 591606 wpatd WUPPERTAL 4 129 805 WUPPERTAL103490014 COLOGNE 726 34-506 DE 121035 988 FAX (0202) 571501 Bank code 33040001 Bank code 33060098 Bank code 370100 50

Claims (17)

BUSE MENTZEL LUDEWIG Patent Attorneys Authorized representative before the European Patent Office Dipl.-Phys. Buse PO Box 201462 Kleiner Werth 34 Dipl.-Phys. Mentzel D-42214 Wuppertal D-42275 Wuppertal Dipl.-Ing. Ludewig Wuppertal-Wuppertal, Password: "Plug-in reflector" Mekon GmbH, Daimlerstr. 7, 58553 Halver Protection claims 1.) Reflector (10) for attachment to protective walls (20), in particular to guard rails in road construction, for delimiting paths, with a reflector section (H) that reflects the light and with a fastening section (12) for fastening the reflector (14) to the protective wall (20), wherein an opening (21) is provided in the protective wall (20) for fastening, characterized , that the fastening section (12) penetrates the opening (21) from the front side (22) of the protective wall (20) and in doing so partially engages behind the rear side (23) of the protective wall (20). 2.) Reflector (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the reflector (10) is held in a clamped manner by the engaging behind the fastening section (12). TELEPHONE (0202)55 70 22 COMMERZBANK AG CREDIT- AND VOLKSBANK EG POSTAL OFFICE VAT No. TELEX 8 591606 wpatd WUPPERTAL 4 129805 WUPPERTAL103490014 COLOGNE 72634-506 DE 121035988 FAX (0202) 571501 Bank code 33040001 Bank code 330 60098 Bank code 370100 50 3.) Reflector (10) according to claim 1 to 2, characterized in that the clamping on the fastening section (12) of the reflector (10) is carried out by radial projections. 4.) Reflector (10) according to claim 1 to 2, characterized in that the clamping of the reflector (10) to the protective wall (20) is carried out by a bayonet lock. 5.) Reflector (10) according to one or more of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the clamping is carried out by parallel displacement of the fastening section (12) on the protective wall (20). 6.) Reflector (10) according to one or more of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the fastening section (12) is part of an angle element (13) with a fastening leg (15) which passes through the opening (21) with a spring part (16), the spring part (16) resting resiliently on the protective wall rear side (23). 7.) Reflector (10) according to one or more of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the fastening leg (15) of the reflector (10) is secured by a friction-locking holder against being pulled off the protective wall (10). 8.) Reflector (10) according to one or more of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that a locking bracket fixes the fastening leg (15) to the protective wall (20). 9.) Reflector (10) according to one or more of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the material of the angle element (13) consists of a spring steel. 10.) Reflector (10) according to one or more of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the clamping of the reflector (10) is carried out by a the fastening leg (15) has a spring tongue (16) punched out in certain areas. 11.) Reflector (10) according to one or more of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the spring tongue (16) and the fastening leg (15) are arranged at a distance (17) from one another for receiving wall areas of the protective wall (20). 12.) Reflector (10) according to one or more of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that a molding region (27) of the spring tongue (16) is arranged on a holding leg (14) of the angle element (13). 13.) Reflector (10) according to one or more of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that in the apex region of the legs (14, 15) the spring tongue (16) has an inner surface (19) which serves as a stop for the plug-on movement. 14.) Reflector (10) according to one or more of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that a guide surface (31) for aligning the fastening leg (15) is specified by a profiling (24) of the protective walls (20). 15.) Reflector (10) according to one or more of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that the spring tongue (16) in the region of the free end (25) has a deformation region (26) directed against the fastening leg (15), which serves for the locking holder and/or the clamping of the reflector (10). 16.) Reflector (10) according to one or more of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that a partial area of the recess (28) created by partially punching out the spring tongue (16) in the fastening leg (15) forms a receptacle for a bolt (29) used to connect the protective walls (20). · 17.) Reflector (10) according to one or more of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that the spring tongue (16) has a distance (32) from the fastening leg (15).