EP0999310A1 - Guardrails for roadways, comprising two superimposed rails with differential penetration resistance - Google Patents

Abstract

The road safety barrier has a spacer (11) between each lower rib (4) of the barrier and each post extension (2) to forma gap between them, so that the upper and lower flanges (9,10) of the barrier are offset from the post extension. Each spacer is in two sections with the section adjacent to the barrier of lower strength than the inner section.

Description

The traffic lanes are used by very different vehicles, for concerns their dimensions, their weight and their speed.

This is why safety barriers are currently poorly suited to protection. passengers of all vehicles without distinction when these vehicles involved in a traffic accident, are in distress and suddenly come into contact with one of these barriers.

Safety barriers made of metal rails fixed to vertical supports stuck in the ground are very effective in restraining passenger vehicles without violence but their height being precisely adapted to these vehicles, trucks, coaches and vehicles with very high ground clearance can tackle these barriers on the ground and pass over them, which presents a major risk, which must absolutely be prevented.

Indeed, when a safety barrier is placed on the central reservation of a highway for example, it separates the two lanes against traffic and a heavy vehicle entering a lane from the opposite lane may cause chain accidents of the highest gravity.

To avoid this at all costs, a longitudinal separating concrete wall is constructed, the resistance is very important and whose height is greater than that of the beams metallic.

This creates a real dam, in the hope that in all possible cases, a vehicle in distress, even a heavy vehicle, will be prevented from crossing and will, at on the contrary, maintained on its normal traffic lane.

Unfortunately, this roadblock poses a fatal risk to vehicle occupants light, passenger cars and motorcycles, because by nature such a concrete wall is inelastic and its inertia is so great that small vehicles crash into it.

We also produced a different device, comprising two superimposed rails, the rail lower being of the type best suited to small vehicles, while the smooth upper, consisting of a very robust profile, is placed at a level such that the small vehicles do not reach it.

Very tall vehicles, trucks and coaches, strike both rails at the same time and are stopped by the barrier as a whole.

But the goal is to stop the heaviest vehicles, the barriers existing are oversized and therefore heavy and expensive, while being low effective for light vehicles.

In order to have as standardized equipment as possible, we always use the same vertical supports, whether the barriers are single or two rails superimposed. As in the first case, the beam is approximately at the level of the top of the supports, we use vertical extensions fixed to the supports to receive the beam superior.

As it must be very resistant, and therefore heavy, the extensions are themselves very robust, and therefore rigid, generally formed by a closed section profile, of very thick.

However, with one of the known safety barriers with two beams, the lower beam which is intended primarily to retain light vehicles is attached directly to the extensions, which removes the flexible retention power and gives it a stiffness contrary to safety rules specific to light vehicles.

Another known barrier has a structure comprising a very resistant horizontal profile, to which the bottom rail is attached directly, which gives it the same disadvantages than those mentioned above.

Such a known barrier has a weight which can reach 87 kilos per linear meter.

These barriers therefore respond adequately to the problem of retaining buses and trucks but are far too rigid and resistant for light vehicles, so that they do not provide the security guarantees expected of them.

In addition, the heaviness of the various components of these barriers is a serious handicap for assembly on site, especially since there is no means of height adjustment smooth, and the natural margins of adaptation are very low, even zero, which leads to additional installation costs and extensions to site operations.

Patent document DE 42 24 998 describes a safety barrier comprising two superimposed continuous sections 4 and 5 (column 4, lines 40-42), the lower section 5 receiving a beam with two wings. This arrangement has a serious drawback, namely that the lower profile 5 joins the vertical supports 8 together and the resulting structure is extremely rigid, which is dangerous for light vehicles and therefore unsuitable for the desired result.

In patent document EP 0 708 206 a safety barrier is described which comprises two superimposed longitudinal elements but the upper element is a heald intended for light vehicles and, therefore, situated at the standard height of current barriers, while the lower element a common type wheel guide (column 4, line 53-54) located approximately 30 centimeters from the ground, height coordinated with the usual diameter of passenger cars.

Patent document DE 23 62 446 describes an absolutely banal barrier since it has only one stringer.

The present invention proposes a new solution which makes it possible to produce barriers safety bar with two overlapping beams and a resistance differential, while requiring only simple assembly work, thanks to adjustment means simple.

To this end, the invention relates to a safety barrier intended to be placed on along vehicle traffic lanes, comprising two horizontal rails arranged one above the other, the bottom rail having a central core and two waves extended rearwards by two divergent wings, and being subject to supports vertical by means of individual extensions to each support, characterized in that it includes spacers which are interposed between the bottom rail and each extension, and which are each fixed on the one hand to the core of the bottom rail and on the other hand to one of the extensions, spacers which keep the beam less than one distance such that the end of the wings is far from said extension, each spacer comprising two successive parts, the first of which, considered from the area of attachment of the spacer to the web of the heald, has a resistance to crushing lower than that of the second part located near the enhances.

• la partie la plus proéminente de la lisse supérieure est en retrait par rapport à la partie la plus proéminente de la lisse inférieure ;
• la seconde partie des écarteurs possède une résistance croissante vers la rehausse correspondante ;
• chaque écarteur présente une partie frontale devant être fixée à l'âme de la lisse inférieure, deux appuis d'écartement et deux patins latéraux parallèles à la partie frontale et devant être fixés à la rehausse, ainsi qu'au moins un gousset raccordant chaque appui au patin correspondant ;
• chaque rehausse est constituée par un segment de profilé creux ayant une face frontale qui présente une ouverture longitudinale continue, de part et d'autre de laquelle se trouvent des bords plans à l'extérieur desquels s'appuie un écarteur, et à l'intérieur desquels s'appuient des pièces de fixation dudit écarteur ;
• la lisse supérieure est constituée par un profilé creux ayant une face arrière qui présente une ouverture longitudinale continue, de part et d'autre de laquelle se trouvent des bords plans dont l'extérieur se place contre la face frontale des rehausses et dont l'intérieur reçoit des organes de fixation dudit profilé aux dites rehausses.

According to other characteristics of the invention:

• the most prominent part of the top rail is set back from the most prominent part of the bottom rail;
• the second part of the spacers has increasing resistance to the corresponding riser;
• each spacer has a front part to be fixed to the core of the bottom rail, two spacing supports and two lateral pads parallel to the front part and to be fixed to the riser, as well as at least one gusset connecting each support the corresponding shoe;
• each extension consists of a hollow profile segment having a front face which has a continuous longitudinal opening, on either side of which are flat edges outside of which a spacer rests, and inside which are supported by fasteners of said spacer;
• the upper rail is formed by a hollow profile having a rear face which has a continuous longitudinal opening, on either side of which are flat edges whose exterior is placed against the front face of the risers and whose interior receives members for fixing said profile to said extensions.

The invention will be better understood from the detailed description below given with reference in the attached drawing. Of course, the description and the drawing are only given as indicative and non-limiting example.

Figure 1 is a partial schematic overall view, in perspective, of a barrier security according to an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 is a schematic view from that of Figure 1, on a larger scale.

Figure 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the barrier of Figures 1 and 2, in normal situation.

Figure 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the barrier of Figures 1 and 2, after the lower arm has received a low-power shock.

Figures 5 and 6 are partial schematic views, respectively in elevation and in horizontal section of the barrier of Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 7 is a partial schematic view in elevation of a barrier according to the invention, according to a particular embodiment.

Figures 8 and 9 are partial schematic views, respectively in section horizontal and vertical section of the barrier of Figure 7.

Referring to the drawing, it can be seen that a safety barrier according to the invention includes vertical supports 1 sunk into the ground and securely attached to each which an extension 2 is fixed and has a front face 3 (that which is oriented towards the traffic lane) which has two stacked beams 4 and 5.

The bottom rail 4 has a profile of any desired type which will not be described in detail here, because the skilled person knows perfectly the requirements of this structure to ensure at best the restraint of vehicles traveling on a traffic lane along the fence.

Here, the heddle 4 is of the known type having a longitudinal and planar central core 6, from which diverges two waves 7 and 8 located opposite the traffic lane and ending with wings 9 and 10 whose edges 9 a and 10 a are opposite the taxiway.

Between the risers 2 and the core 6, spacers 11 are interposed, individual at each support-raising assembly and each having a general shape of angular lying Ω, with know that each has a vertical front face 12, two spacers horizontal 13 and 14, and two vertical pads 15 and 16, one 15 extending upwards and the other 16 down.

The spacer 11 is fixed on the one hand to the core 6 of the bottom rail 4 by an assembly bolt-nut 17 and secondly to the riser 2.

In FIGS. 1 to 6, the fixing of each spacer 11 on the corresponding extension 2, is carried out by means of welds 18 which join the upper and lower edges of the pads 15 and 16 (placed on the front face 3 of the extension 2) and said face frontal 3. Of course, other welds could be in addition along the vertical edges of these pads 15 and 16, or at this location only.

The length L of the supports 13 and 14 measured between the plane of the front face 12 and that of the pads 15 and 16 is such that the edges 9 a and 10 has wings 9 and 10 are distant from the front face 3 of the riser 2 . in Figure 3, it is seen that the ridge 9 has departed from the end face 3 according to a space E.

On the support 13 and under the support 14 are welded gussets 20 and 21 which have the shape of a right triangle and which are also welded respectively to the upper shoe 15 and the lower shoe 16.

The gussets 20 and 21 constitute reinforcing ribs, by bracing against pads 15 and 16.

• une partie frontale située entre la face frontale 12 et les goussets ;
• une partie arrière située dans la zone des goussets.

It is noted that the side of the gussets 20 and 21 welded to the support 13 and under the support 14 has a length l which is approximately equal to half that of the spacer 11 and there are thus two successive parts:

• a front part situated between the front face 12 and the gussets;
• a rear part located in the gusset area.

The front part having no reinforcement since the gussets 20 and 21, for definition, do not extend over it, has a lower crushing strength than that of the rear part which benefits from the reinforcement of the gussets 20 and 21.

In FIG. 4, the situation of the barrier of the figure 3 after she received a moderate shock, to illustrate as simply as possible this characteristic of the invention. The shock can come from a light vehicle which struck the barrier at low speed and we observe that support 1 was not inclined and that the shape of waves 7 and 8 of the stringer 4 has not been altered.

Thus, the retractor 11 was deformed but only its front part was as pressed, this which means that the shock had a force less than the resistance of the rear part of the spacer 11, due to the reinforcement of the gussets 20 and 21.

The length L of the spacers 11 is such that at the origin, the most prominent part of the stringer 5, namely the top of the curve formed by its front face, is set back from the most prominent part of waves 7 and 8, namely the top of waves 7 and 8. Here, this shrinkage is equal to the distance D visible in Figure 3.

Thus, under the effect of a shock, the deformation of the front part of the spacers 11 allows the arm 4 to yield in a calibrated manner and recedes by a distance which, here, is equal to the space E, the edge 9 has wing 9 coming at most into contact with the front face 3 of the risers 2.

As a result, the heald 4 has moved and its most prominent part is no longer in front of the most prominent part of the heald 5 only at a distance d and no longer according to the original distance D (FIG. 4).

If the impact on the stringer 4 due to a sinking vehicle has an energy higher than that that can absorb the small deformation which has just been described, the rear part of the retractors 11 is involved and also deforms but its resistance on the one hand is greater than that of the front part, and on the other hand is progressive from the front towards the rear of the barrier, depending on the shape given to the gussets 20 and 21.

Thus, even before the waves of the heddle 4 are deformed, the spacers 11 to them only there is a resistance that can be described as "programmed".

This programmed resistance is distinct from the actual structure of the spacers 11, that is to say the choice of steel, the shapes and the thicknesses. Crushing programmed always exists, regardless of these original structural characteristics.

The more or less pronounced crushing of the spacers is prior to that of the stringer 4 proper, so that the deformation of the wing 9 against the risers 2 is avoided and the mechanical characteristics of the arm 4 are maintained.

Small vehicles have an action on rail 4 only, but vehicles bulky and heavy weights also meet the stringer 4 only, if the energy of the impact is relatively low since it is located in front of the upper arm 5.

If the shock is very violent, the entire barrier is involved, because then the stringer 4 deforms, the supports 1 tilt backwards, the risers 2 separate from the supports 1 thanks to the calibrated rupture of bolts 23 by which they are secured to the supports 1, as is well known per se, the stringer 4 according to the extensions 2 to which it is securely attached by means of the spacers 11, that is to say by the bolts 17 and the welds 18.

Depending on the forms of the vehicle by which the impact occurs with the barrier, the barrier upper 5 is reached more or less quickly after the lower beam 4 but, whatever this moment even if the first shock occurs on the arm 5 and not on the arm 4, the vehicle stopping conditions are quite different because it's the whole barrier that reacts and we understand that we can adopt for the top rail 5 a structure as rigid and robust as desired since it should not be taken into account here only the largest and heaviest and also the strongest vehicles and in which drivers are best protected.

The example used to illustrate the invention shows for the top rail 5 a simple profile whose front part is curved but it goes without saying that we can adopt any other structure, such as one or more profiles with a large moment of inertia such as a H, T, U-shaped, etc.

The risers 2 each consist of a hollow profile, the front face 3 has a continuous longitudinal opening 30, a wide slot, which does not allow to remain of the front face 3 as two flat edges 31 and 32, extended towards the inside of the profile by two perpendicular folds 33 and 34 parallel to each other.

Profile 5 has a rear face which also has an opening continuous longitudinal 50 which leaves only two edges of this rear face planes 51 and 52 extended towards the inside of the profile by two perpendicular folds 53 and 54 parallels between them.

The risers 2 being vertical and the profile 5 horizontal, the openings 30 and 50 are crossed (Figures 1, 2, 5 and 7) and the flat edges 51 and 52 are fully supported on the edges plans 31 and 32.

The profile 5 is fixed to the risers 2 by means of assembly members comprising two stirrups 35 and 55 engaged respectively in the risers 2 and in the profile 5, the wings of which enclose the folds 33-34 and 53-54, then are joined by a bolt central 24.

It is understood that the stirrups 35 and 55 can be freely positioned at the place exactly wanted along the risers 2 and along the profile 5, so that one can very precisely adjust the height of the profile 5 according to the circumstances, by with respect to each extension 2, with respect to the bottom rail 4 and with respect to the plane of the traffic lane.

Figures 7 to 9 illustrate an embodiment of the invention designed to allow the precise adjustment of the height of the lower beam 4, in the same way as that we just described for the upper profile 5, taking advantage of the specific structure extensions 2.

For this purpose, the spacers 11 are not welded to the risers 2 as in the case of the Figures 1 to 6.

The pads 15 and 16 are crossed with holes, here two superimposed holes for the pad 15 and a single hole for the shoe 16, for bolts 25 which are screwed in stirrups 36 similar to stirrups 35 and enclosing the folds 33 and 34 of the risers 2.

This assembly is equivalent to that which has been described for the upper profile 5, so that the position of the spacers 11 can be adjusted in height relative to the extensions 2, due to the freedom of sliding of the bolts 25 and the stirrups 36 along the opening vertical 30.

The lower beam 4 being fixed to the stirrups 11, it is its level and its horizontality which can be exactly adjusted according to the circumstances.

The adjustment possibilities provided by the invention can be further supplemented by providing that the bolts 23 ensuring the fixing of the risers 2 on the supports 1, do not pass through simple circular holes which fix their location in all directions (Figures 3 and 4), but each in a light 26 (Figure 9) with a long axis vertical, whereby the bolt 23 can be placed higher or lower, which has the effect to fix the extension 2 more or less high compared to the support 1 already inserted in the ground by exceeding it on a more or less precise height.

It appears from the above description that the invention makes it possible to coordinate the respective resistances of the bottom rail 4 and the top rail 5 so that the barrier reacts differently depending on whether it reacts to more or less violent shocks, from more or less heavy vehicles.

It should be remembered, in fact, that a light vehicle can cause a very powerful impact and that a heavy vehicle can cause a slight impact, but both are not located at the same level of the barrier.

Claims (6)

Safety barrier intended to be placed along vehicle traffic lanes, comprising two horizontal beams arranged one above the other, the bottom beam having a central core and two waves extended rearwards by two wings divergent, and being subject to vertical supports by means of individual extensions to each support, characterized in that it comprises spacers (11) which are interposed between the bottom rail (4) and each extension (2), and which are each fixed on the one hand to the core (6) of the lower rail (4) and on the other hand to one of the extensions (2), spacers (11) which hold the lower rail (4) according to a space (E) such as the corresponding riser (2) that the end (9 a - 10 a ) of the wings (9 and 10) is distant from said riser (2), each spacer (11) comprising two successive parts, the first of which, seen from the fixation area of the spreader (11) to the web (6) of the rail (4) has a crushing strength less than that of the second part located near the feed head (2). Barrier according to claim 1, characterized in that the most prominent part of the upper beam (5) is set back with respect to the most prominent part of the lower beam (4). Barrier according to claim 1, characterized in that the second part of the spacers (11) has an increasing resistance towards the corresponding riser (2). Barrier according to claim 1, characterized in that each spacer (11) has a front part (12) to be fixed to the core (6) of the bottom rail (4), two spacing supports (13 and 14) and two lateral pads (15 and 16) parallel to the front part (12) and to be fixed to the riser (2), as well as at least one gusset (20 - 21) connecting each support (13-14) to the pad (15-16) corresponding. Barrier according to claim 1, characterized in that each extension (2) is constituted by a hollow profile segment having a front face (3) which has a continuous longitudinal opening (30), on either side of which are located flat edges (31 and 32) on the outside of which a spacer (11) is supported, and on the inside of which are fastening pieces (25 - 36) of said spacer (11). Barrier according to claim 1, characterized in that the top rail (5) is constituted by a hollow profile having a rear face which has a continuous longitudinal opening (50), on either side of which there are planar edges ( 51 and 52) the exterior of which is placed against the front face (3) of the risers (2) and the interior of which receives fixing members (24 - 35 - 35) of said profile (5) to the said risers (2) .

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