EP0518793A1 - Means for fixing signalling devices on guardrails - Google Patents

Abstract

The subject of the present invention is a device for fixing and aligning signalling equipment mounted on crash barriers in which the items of equipment (4) are mounted on supports (3) which are fixed to the said crash barriers (1), characterised in that the said item of equipment (4) is mounted on the said support via latching means (31l/31m) making it possible to install the said items of equipment (4) in a vertical position and to align them. The invention applies in the field of road and motorway equipment. <IMAGE>

Description

The present invention relates to a device for fixing and aligning signaling equipment on a road safety barrier.

The technical sector of the invention is that of material and apparatus for the equipment of roadways.

The road safety barriers are made from metal sections of a cross section, which can take different shapes. Such profiles generally comprise two half-waves joined by a groove and are in the form of sections of the same length. These sections are placed end to end with a slight overlap to achieve their assembly by means of bolts and are supported by posts anchored in the ground.

Such slides delimit the road or motorway lanes and are in known manner, used to place signaling or protective equipment there, such as, for example, anti-glare screens, signs, delineators, etc.

Are already known elastically deformable supports which allow to be fixed to said slides without any special tool.

Until now, such staplable supports could not be used for equipment such as anti-glare screens, because these supports have the disadvantage of not being able to properly align said equipment, due to the slight warping that generally present said slides, or the improper placement of posts or a displacement of the masses of embankments in which they are beaten.

The objective of the present invention is to overcome this drawback by producing means making it possible to best achieve the verticality and the alignment of said equipment.

This objective is achieved by the device according to the invention, for fixing and aligning signaling equipment fitted to road safety barriers including said equipment. are mounted on supports fixed to said slides, characterized in that said equipment is mounted on said support by means of notches making it possible to achieve the verticality and alignment of said equipment.

In a preferred embodiment, said equipment is fixed to said support by means of a plate articulated to the support around an axis which, in the mounted position of the support on the slide is substantially parallel thereto.

Said support surrounds the slide, its lower end being turned towards the inside of the lower half-wave of the slide and the plate is articulated at the upper part of the support and comprises several superimposed notches, one of which cooperates with the edge of the upper half-wave of the slide, which edge being penetrated into one of said notches.

Preferably, said notches take the form of deep and narrow grooves to receive, with a minimum of play, said edge of the upper wave of the slide.

In one embodiment, the plate comprises a series of notches superimposed on one of its lateral sides.

In another embodiment, the plate comprises two series of notches superimposed on its two lateral sides.

In another embodiment, the plate comprises a series of deep grooves extending transversely and below its carrier zone to which said screen is fixed.

According to the invention, the equipment is removably mounted on the plate, which has fixing rails parallel to each other, which rails tightly frame said base plate of the equipment and cover it along two of its edges.

The plate also comprises an elastic mounted locking pin, which pin emerges from the upper face of the plate and is intended to cooperate with a corresponding housing reserved for the base of the equipment.

Preferably, said grooves converge on a point P located on the side of the support, the angle formed between said grooves being between 3 ° and 7 ° and preferably being 5 °.

All of said grooves are inclined relative to the horizontal, at an angle between 5 ° and 10 °, preferably 8 °.

The result of the invention is a device for fixing and aligning signaling equipment on road safety barriers comprising compensating means for overcoming the veiling of the rails, these means being constituted by notching systems which make it possible to achieve verticality and the alignment of said equipment.

The fixing of said supports and their signaling equipment being done without special tools is very fast, which is a safety factor for the personnel, the time of presence on the concerned track being considerably reduced.

• la figure 1 est une vue en perspective d'une glissière de sécurité métallique équipée d'un écran anti-éblouissement ;
• la figure 2 est une vue en perspective à plus grande échelle, d'un support d'écran selon l'invention ;
• la figure 3 est une vue de côté/coupe partielle de la partie supérieure du support de la figure 2 et représentant le système de verrouillage de l'écran.

Other advantages and characteristics of the invention will become apparent on reading the following description of a drawing in which the signaling equipment cited as an example is an anti-dazzle screen, said description being established with reference to the drawings appended to which :

• Figure 1 is a perspective view of a metal crash barrier equipped with an anti-glare screen;
• Figure 2 is a perspective view on a larger scale, of a screen support according to the invention;
• Figure 3 is a side view / partial section of the upper part of the support of Figure 2 and showing the locking system of the screen.

FIG. 1 represents a metal safety barrier 1 of the type which runs along or separates the lanes of motorways, which barrier is supported by posts 2. In known manner, the barrier 1 is formed by a series of sections placed end to end with a slight overlap for connection by bolts. The fixing of the slide 1 to said posts 2 is also carried out by bolts.

Figure 1 illustrates the mounting of a screen support 3. Of course, this figure is given to illustrate the relative position of screen support / slide, in reality the slide is equipped by a plurality of screens mounted according to a not regular, so that the light rays emitted by the headlights of vehicles traveling in opposite directions on motorway lanes, are stopped in order to avoid dazzling drivers and increase the safety of motorways when driving at night.

The slide 1 is of a profiled cross section and comprises in known manner, two half-waves 1a / 1b joined by a central groove 1c. Several types of two half-wave slides exist on the road equipment market. Some of them include half-waves with an angular profile.

Said support 3 surrounds the slide from the outside thereof and comprises a part 3a which can, as illustrated in the drawing, adopt the profile of the slide. Said part 3a has at its lower end a return 3b extending towards the inside of the lower wave 1b and substantially matching the shape of this half-wave.

At its upper part 3c, the support 3 comprises a plate 31, which is of a rectangular or trapezoidal contour and is articulated around an axis 32 extending parallel to the slide 1.

Said plate 31 carries a screen 4 comprising a base plate 4a. It has at its end opposite its articulation 32, two aligned fixing rails 31a / 31b, which are spaced from one another and are parallel to the axis 32 and to the free edge 31c of the plate, and two others rails 31d / 31e parallel and arranged in the same way as said rails 31a / 31b.

These rails are of an L-shaped profile and thus comprise a wing 31a₁-31e₁ parallel to the upper face 31f of the plate and reserving between said rails and said face a space "e" (FIG. 3) slightly greater than the thickness of the base plate 4a of the screen 4.

The groups of rails 31a / 31b-31d / 31e are spaced from each other at a distance "d" slightly greater than the side of said plate 4a, which is for example of a square contour. The base plate 4a has in its central position, a cylindrical housing 4a₁ extending into the body of the screen and intended to receive a locking means for fixing the screen 4 and preventing it from sliding between the rails 31a-31e and the upper face 31f of the plate 31.

These locking means consist of a cylindrical stud 31g with a diameter slightly smaller than that of the housing 4a₁ and secured to an elastic tongue 31h.

The support 3 and the plate 31 being made of plastic, such as polyethylene, the tongue 31h and the stud 31g are obtained by molding during the implementation of the plate. A vacuum is reserved between said tongue and said stud.

We thus use the flexibility of the plastic which is sufficient to allow the erasure of the stud when the base plate 4a is engaged between the rails 31a-31e and return to its initial position when the stud 31g enters the cylindrical housing 4a₁ of the screen.

The plate further comprises on its lateral sides 31k / 31j notching groups 31l / 31m in one of which it is intended to penetrate the edge of the upper half-wave 1a of the slide 1.

According to the embodiment illustrated in the drawing, the plate comprises two lateral notching groups, each consisting of three deep grooves 31l₁ / 31l₂ / 31l₃-31m₁ / 31m₂ / 31m₃. These grooves are narrow and have two walls parallel to each other, spaced from each other at a distance substantially greater than the thickness of the slide.

They are thus oriented on the side of the support and their median axes are located in concurrent planes on a line P and forming between them angles α, for example 5 °. All of said groups of grooves are inclined relative to the horizontal at an angle β of the order of 8 °.

This inclination is given by the median plane M which forms said angle β with the horizontal.

The plate shown in the drawing is equipped with two notching groups. Of course, it could include only one. According to another variant, it could include a notch constituted by grooves similar to those described above but extending over the width and below the plate.

FIG. 3 illustrates a screen support 3 4, the plate 31 of which is horizontal, the upper half-wave 1a being engaged in the middle groove 31m₂ of the group 31m.

FIG. 2 represents said support whose low groove 31l₃ of the groups of grooves 31l of the plate receives said half-wave 1a of the slide.

Of course, the horizontality of the plates 31 and consequently, the verticality of the screens 4 is a function of the relative position of the plate 31 and of the slide 1. Depending on the degree of warping of the latter, the installer chooses the groove of each of said groups 31l / 31m to penetrate the edge of the half-wave 1a of the slide.

The verticality of the screens 4 and their alignment is thus achieved by visual appreciation.

For the installation of the supports 3 on the slides, the upper half-wave 1a of the slide is engaged in one of said grooves 31l / 31m of the plate and the support 3 is stapled around the lower half-wave 1b, the elasticity of polyethylene allows such mounting.

As a variant, the upturned lower end 3b of the part 3a of the support 3 is first placed around the lower half-wave 1b, and the part 3a of the support is folded against the outside of the slide by simultaneously engaging the grooves chosen 3l / 3m around the edge of the upper half-wave 1a.

The elasticity of the plastic material from which the supports 3 are made, allows their installation without any difficulty.

Of course, without departing from the scope of the invention, the parts which have just been described may be replaced by a person skilled in the art by equivalent parts fulfilling the same function. It is thus provided that the supports 3 are further equipped in the upper part with one or more hairpin hooks of the type of those which equip the supports described in Patent FR.A.2 533 055 in the name of the inventor to consolidate their attachment to the slide.

According to this other alternative embodiment, the support 3 and the plate 31 are first and simultaneously placed by engaging the edge of the upper half-wave of the slide in said hairpin hooks and in the notches 31l₁ / 31l₃- 31m₁ / 31m₃ of the plate and then hook the support 3 to the lower part of the slide 1.

The device also makes it possible first to fix the support 3 to the slide 1 and then to place the plate 31 by engaging the edge of the upper wave 1a in the notches chosen and then stapling the plate to the axis 32 by deformation elastic of its articulation legs.

Claims (13)

Device for fixing and aligning signaling equipment fitted to road safety barriers, the equipment (4) of which are mounted on supports (3) fixed to said guide rails (1), characterized in that said equipment (4) is mounted on said support by notching means (31l / 31m) making it possible to achieve the verticality and the alignment of said equipment (4). Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the equipment (4) is fixed to said support (3) by means of a plate (31) articulated to the support around an axis (32) which, in the mounted position of the support (3) on the slide (1) is substantially parallel to the latter. Device according to any one of claims 1 and 2, the slide (1) of which is of a cross section with two half-waves (1a / 1b) joined by a central groove (1c), characterized in that said support ( 3) surrounds the slide (1), that its lower end (3b) is turned towards the inside of the lower half-wave (1b) of the slide (1) and that said plate (31) is articulated at the upper part (32) of the support (3) and comprises several superimposed notches (31l₁, 31l₂, 31l₃ - 31m₁, 31m₂, 31m₃) one of which cooperates with the edge of the upper half-wave (1a) of the slide, which edge ( 1a) being penetrated into one of said notches. Device according to claim 3, characterized in that said notches (31l₁-31l₃ / 31m₁-31m₃) adopt the form of deep and narrow grooves to receive, with a minimum of play, said edge of the upper wave (1a) of the slide (1). Device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the plate (31) comprises a series of superimposed notches (31l₁-31l₃ / 31m₁-31m₃) on one of its lateral sides (31d / 31k). Device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the plate comprises two series of superposed notches (31l₁-31l₃ / 31m₁-31m₃) on its two lateral sides (31d / 31k). Device according to any one of Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the plate comprises a series of grooves deep (31l₁, 31l₂, 31l₃) extending transversely and below its load-bearing zone (31f) to which said equipment (4) is fixed. Device according to any one of Claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the equipment (4) is removably mounted on the plate (31). Device according to claim 8, of which said equipment (4) comprises a base plate (4a), characterized in that the plate (31) comprises fixing rails (31a-31e) parallel to each other, which rails narrowly frame said plate base (4a) and cover it along two of its edges. Device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the plate (31) comprises a locking pin (31g) mounted resiliently, which pin emerges from the upper face (31f) of the plate and is intended to cooperate with a corresponding housing (4a₁) reserved for the base (4a) of the equipment (4). Device according to any one of claims 4 to 10, characterized in that said grooves (31l₁-31l₃ / 31m₁-31m₃) converge on a line P located on the side of the support (3). Device according to claim 11, characterized in that the angle (α) formed between said grooves (31l₁-31l₃ / 31m₁-31m₃) is between 3 ° and 7 ° and is preferably 5 °. Device according to any one of Claims 4 to 12, characterized in that all of said grooves (31l₁-31l₃ / 31m₁-31m₃) are inclined relative to the horizontal, at an angle (β) between 5 ° and 10 °, preferably 8 °.

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