EP0773325A1

EP0773325A1 - Manufactured article for marking areas adjacent to roadways for vehicles, particularly in the dark

Info

Publication number: EP0773325A1
Application number: EP96202998A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Lorenzo Roberti; Alberto Ferrari
Original assignee: Rp Roberti & Paoletti Srl
Current assignee: Rp Roberti & Paoletti Srl
Priority date: 1995-11-08
Filing date: 1996-10-29
Publication date: 1997-05-14
Also published as: IT1279878B1; ITMO950154A0; ITMO950154A1

Abstract

The manufactured article, consisting, for example, of sections of kerb (1) of a pavement, is intended for making the obstacle it represents clearly visible, especially at night; each section of kerb has, facing the carriageway (6), for example, reflectors (3) fixed in respective cavities at the extremities of each section: the said cavities consisting, in this case, of chamfers fashioned in the upper part of the kerb; placing a pair of the said sections of kerb (1) together creates a refractive zone which is visible in the light emitted by vehicles on the carriageway transiting in the two directions.

Description

The invention concerns a manufactured article for marking areas adjacent to carriageways for vehicles, particularly in the dark, that is, for example, a kerb, a bollard, or barrier, delimiting pavements, flower-beds, traffic islands and roadside areas in general, or inserted in the roads themselves, having at least one marker element that is activated by the lights of passing traffic.
Prior art comprises pavements, flower-beds, or traffic islands in general provided with demarcation consisting of a manufactured article made up of sections of kerb, made of natural or artificial stone, or other suitable material, that however do not have - with the exception of the possibility of painting them with black and white stripes - any luminous-type markers, which are more effective, consisting for example, of reflectors aligned transversely which signal their presence particularly at night, or with precarious ambient lighting conditions in general.
The drawbacks arising from this are, for example, accidental collision of the wheels, or of parts of vehicles in general, with the said kerb, possibly causing dangerous impact damage to the tyres, or even accidentally causing the vehicle to jolt and to change direction suddenly, with the consequent possibility of damaging things, or worse, causing serious damage to persons.
In reality, with some carriageway divider elements, especially high ones consisting of solid cement barriers, for example, used on motorways, the use of reflective banner-type marker elements has been introduced, aligned so that they project sideways, held in a raised position by a support inserted in the lateral face of the barrier facing the carriageway: this, moreover, in such a way that they do not project into the carriageway.
To this end, the base of the barrier has to be wider than its upper part: in this way the path of the vehicles cannot interfere with the said marker elements.
However, such a solution may not be adopted in the case of kerbs or carriageway divider elements that are not very high, whose face adjacent to the carriageway is not inclined towards the opposite side, therefore, with section that is not tapered upwards, that is, having a vertical face: in this case, the slightest projection of the marker elements from the said face would be liable to be hit and damaged by transiting vehicles.
As regards other applications, consisting of fixing the marker element on the face of the manufactured article facing the traffic, these have been found to be inadequate in that the said marker element in this way does not have the transverse alignment that is most suitable to be properly functional and visible in the light emitted by the vehicles.
Such prior art may be subject to considerable improvements with a view to eliminating, or otherwise considerably reducing, the said drawbacks.
From the foregoing emerges the need to resolve the technical problem of inventing a manufactured article, provided with at least one marker element which is refractive, reflective, or provided with its own light source, aligned transversely in such a way that it may be easily seen by the driver of the vehicle that emits the light, even in the absence of ambient light and also at high speed, positioned, moreover, in such a way that it may not interfere with the path of the vehicle, even when the said path touches the said manufactured item and which does not require support elements for it to be held in position: it being possible for the height of the said manufactured items to be very modest, for example, of the order of a few decimetres, and projecting even just one decimetre, as in the case of kerbs for pavements, flower-beds, or carriageway dividers used in urban and non-urban areas or for other possible destinations, such as those of suburban road networks, those of residential, industrial areas as well as those in the vicinity of motorway junctions.
The invention resolves the said technical problem by adopting a substantially parallelepiped manufactured article, even with curvilinear or broken-line axis, advantageously made of a cement mix or using a reinforced plastic material, for example, with glass fibre, whose manufacturing method, in the case of the cement mix, is selected from a group comprising the forming of the said manufactured article by pressing and, generally more advantageously, by vibration; the manufactured article being inserted in the ground from which it does not project very far, for example, of the order of ten centimetres: the opposite face being buried, or covered by gravel, bitumen, natural or artificial stone, generally up to its summit; such a manufactured article being provided with, on the side facing the traffic, one or more cavities, on whose base, inclined with a transverse component, is in whichever way attached at least one marker element which is refractive, reflective or provided with its own light source, for example a reflector, a reflective, luminescent surface, in whichever way achieved, in such a way that, despite being recessed with respect to the plane of the surface into which it is inserted, it is struck directly by the light emitted by the passing vehicle; it being possible for the above mentioned marker element to have a rectangular, square, trapezoidal, circular, or other shape, as permitted by regulations; the positioning of the face of the marker element being such that it is in any case directly and effectively struck by the light of passing vehicles: it being possible for a single manufactured article to be provided with marker elements for light originating from two opposite directions along the carriageway; the at least one marker element being applied to the bottom of the said cavity in such a way that it is anchored to it, for example, with forced fit, by means of rear-side appendages with undercut that are destined to anchor into the said surface: this, in particular, if the reflector has a rigid structure and its insertion occurs during the forming process or immediately after it.
It being possible to apply the marker element by means of a suitable glue.
The advantages offered by the present invention are: the possibility for the position of the manufactured article delimiting pavements, flower-beds, traffic islands and other raised objects by the sides of carriageways for vehicles, such as motorcars, motor vehicles, bicycles, to be made visible particularly in the absence of ambient light: this as a result of the light emitted by the said vehicles, even if travelling at high speed and in foggy conditions; lack of interference of the marker element with the path of the vehicle; insertion of the marker element in a protected position; elimination of supports; reduced cost.
An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the five tables of drawings attached in which: Figure 1 is the front view of a section of manufactured article as described, having, for example, the function of pavement kerb, provided with a rectangular reflector at each of its extremities; Figure 2 is the plan view of Figure 1; Figure 3 is the vertical transverse section III-III of a manufactured article as in Figure 2 at the left-hand extremity with the manufactured article installed; Figure 4, as in Figure 1, is the front view of a manufactured article, but with a pair of rectangular reflectors positioned symmetrically with respect to the vertical centre line of the said section; Figure 5 is the horizontal longitudinal section V-V of Figure 4; Figure 6 is the vertical transverse section VI-VI of Figure 4; Figure 7 is a front view as in Figure 4 but with a pair of trapezoidal reflectors; Figure 8 is the horizontal longitudinal section VIII-VIII of Figure 7; Figure 9 is the vertical transverse section IX-IX of Figure 7; Figure 10 is a front view as in Figure 7, but with a pair of round reflectors; Figure 11 is the horizontal longitudinal section of Figure 10, Figure 12 is the vertical transverse section XII-XII of Figure 10; Figure 13 is the partially sectioned plan view of a carriageway delimited by the kerb of a pavement; Figure 14 is the longitudinal section XIV-XIV of Figure 13.
The figures show: 1, the manufactured article, for example, consisting of a section of kerb 1 m in length, buried up to trace 2 on its face adjacent to the carriageway, provided with rectangular reflectors 3 fixed in the sunken cavities at the upper part of the extremities of the said face, having sides 4 and base 5; 6, (Figure 3) the carriageway for vehicles delimited by the manufactured article 1 back-filled with material 7, homogeneous or heterogeneous, constituting the pavement, flower-bed, or other area, be it raised or not with respect to the carriageway 6; 8, (Figure 7) trapezoidal reflectors; 9, (Figure 10) round reflectors.
The base 5 of the two cavities at the extremities of the section of kerb 1 in Figure 1 being in the form of a chamfer, protected from above by the wall 4 above it, whereas in the case of the two opposing cavities positioned close to each other in the kerb 1 in Figures 4, 7, 10 the line of the base 5 consists of a broken line with at least two segments, one angled with a marked transverse component for attaching the reflector, and the other with shallower angle to allow the passage of the light emitted by the passing vehicles in the direction of the said reflector in a direction which is tangential to the said base.
In the case shown in Figures 4, 7, 10 the surface of the upper wall also acts as protection from above.
Placing two sections of kerb 1 together in line enables an area of refraction for the two directions of transit to be obtained.
In practice the materials, dimensions and details of execution may be different from, but technically equivalent to those described without departing from the juridical domain of the present invention.
For example, the manufactured article may be identified as an isolated element such as a bollard or even one or more barriers placed on the ground.
The application of present invention also for motorways is not excluded.

Claims

Manufactured article for marking areas adjacent to carriageways for vehicles, particularly in the dark, comprising sections of kerb, or barrier, or kerbstone element, characterised in that it consists of at least one section or element provided with, on at least one side, at least one cavity.
Manufactured article, as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the said at least one cavity has an angled base having a transverse angular component with respect to the surface of the face in which the said cavity has been made.
Manufactured article, as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that in each of the said cavities a marker element is attached selected from a group comprising elements that refract, reflect or that are provided with a light source.
Manufactured article, as claimed in claim 2, 3, characterised in that the said marker element is attached to the base of the relative cavity, advantageously during the manufacturing phase.
Manufactured article, as claimed in one or more of claims 1, 2, 3, 4, characterised in that it consists of at least one section of kerb (1) provided with end cavities in the upper part of its front face.
Manufactured article, as claimed in claim 5, characterised in that the base (5) of each cavity forms a chamfer between the front face and the relative transverse face of the said manufactured article.
Manufactured article, as claimed in claim 5, characterised in that each of the said end cavities, having base (5) is provided with walls (4): the upper wall constituting protection from above.
Manufactured article, as claimed in claim 5, 6, characterised in that a marker element is attached on the base (5) of the said cavity, advantageously a reflector, of whichever shape.
Manufactured article, as claimed in claim 7, characterised in that the seat for the reflector (3) has a rectangular outline.
Manufactured article, as claimed in anyone of claims 5, 6, 7, 8, characterised in that placing two sections of kerb (1) together in line determines a zone of refraction in common between the said sections of kerb, suitable for highlighting the presence of the manufactured article for the drivers of the vehicles in the two directions of transit.
Manufactured article, as claimed in claims 1, 2, 3, 4, characterised in that it consists of at least one section (1) having, in the upper part of its front face, a pair of cavities positioned either side and close to the centre line of the said face.
Manufactured article, as claimed in claim 11, characterised in that the line of the base (5) of each of the said opposed cavities consists of a broken line with at least two segments: one constituting the base for attaching the reflector element, the other, with a shallower transverse angle, allowing the passage of the incident light emitted by the passing vehicles.
Manufactured article, as claimed in claim 11, characterised in that each of the said cavities has walls (4): the upper wall constituting protection for the cavity from above.
Manufactured article, as claimed in claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 11, 12, characterised in that a marker element, advantageously a reflector, of whichever shape, is attached to the said base (5).
Manufactured article, as claimed in claim 14, characterised in that the seat for the reflector (3) has a rectangular outline.
Manufactured article, as claimed in claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, characterised in that the seat for the reflector (8) has a trapezoidal outline.
Manufactured article, as claimed in claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, characterised in that the seat for the reflector (9) has a round outline.