EP2792792A1

EP2792792A1 - Suspended security kerb

Info

Publication number: EP2792792A1
Application number: EP14164604.2A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Alessandro Lancia; Andrea Lancia
Original assignee: Pregymix Srl
Current assignee: Pregymix Srl
Priority date: 2013-04-15
Filing date: 2014-04-14
Publication date: 2014-10-22
Also published as: ITAQ20130003U1

Abstract

Suspended safety kerb for platforms, pavements and roundabouts comprising rubber profiles alternated with reflecting laminate on a metal support.

Description

The present invention consists in a suspended safety kerb for platforms, pavements and roundabouts, characterised by its application versatility. For instance, in the specific case of the making of roundabouts, a demolition of the existing kerbing with the related traditional kerbs is unnecessary, as the proposed model has a "straddling" section which enables laying by using the existing structure as a supporting height, (see drawing - Table 4 and photo 3). The remarkable value added to this novel type of kerb is afforded by the materials used for its making:

recycled PVC profiles, making it stand out as a green product (so much so that in 2012 the Inventors were awarded the Confindustria Abruzzo Green Prize);
laminate reflecting materials, guaranteeing exceptional nighttime visibility;
reinforced concrete, constituting its core and binding together each element;
Considering the frequency of road accidents near roundabouts, above all in nighttime, due to scarce visibility of the same, and the substantial expenditures due to new makings with the traditional method, the novel kerb for roundabout immediately repays itself by introducing significant functional and performance improvements to the road infrastructure, which will become safer and more user-oriented. So much so that this novel type of kerb has already been tested in 2012, with positive results, in the making of roundabouts for the Municipality of Sulmona and the Province of L'Aquila (see photos 4 and 5). Therefore, the Inventors keep improving its details, as the present utility model originates from constant research and development activities carried out by their Company also on Patents already granted, such as, e.g.: Cordolo di sicurezza, Nr. 0001364076, issued on 22 July 2009 ; Cordolo di banchina a canale, Nr. 000273543, issued on 24 May 2012 ; Gradino ergonomico di sicurezza, Nr. 0001373045, issued on 19 April 2010 ; and from which, by extension and diversification, the application for the present model derives. From studies and tests performed on the basis of the above-mentioned Patents, the Inventors attained a novel applicative typology, which in different variants constitutes just the SUSPENDED SAFETY KERB. It is made with materials commonly found on the market, such as concrete, inert materials and reinforcing irons, as well as rubber profiles produced by the Inventors' Company (materials also used in the making of other products subject-matter of patent(s) owned by the Inventors. The section of the novel design (see main drawing), which makes the novel kerb SUSPENDED from road or platform height, hints at how, in the making of the artefact, concrete is cast into formworks suitable for the required sizes, and wherein also all other artefact components reside. Once making moulds are taken down, the artefact has two front rubber profiles, separated from each other by a high-visibility reflecting metal band (see attached photo 2). The novelty lies in having contrived a prefabricated element having two profiles of recycled PVC, which soften any impact and make it stand out as a green product, alternated with reflecting laminate materials, guaranteeing exceptional nighttime visibility. Such novelty constitutes the essence of the invention, which can be of variable shapes, sections and sizes depending on the different performances required. This novel type of kerb proves to be useful and suitable for the making of kerbs and kerb covers for road roundabouts, for the making of road and railway pavements, and is deemed particularly suitable for the superelevation (banking) of station pavements, see drawing - Table 1, from which there may be inferred the adjustable suspension with telescopic base, enabling to bring the tread floor of the kerb to the set height; this solution is a typological variant of the channel kerb provided in the superelevation of Patent Nr. 0000275218, issued on 8 March 2013 , which is experimentally being made at Tortoreto Lido railway station (see photo 6). Moreover, to improve the safety degree of travelers getting on and off trains, a typology was studied and made which provides kerb width increase by addition of a rubber-concrete panel fixedly coupled with the same casting (see drawing section - Table 2), thereby increasing the nonslip tread floor and therefore safety, as may be seen from photos 1 and 2 - (incidentally, the above-mentioned panel is a diversified use of Patent Nr. 0000272387, granted on 28 November 2011 with the title "pannello ergonomico prefabbricato", etc....). The oversize kerb, by being wider, envisages height adjustments with telescopic bases at the two sides, or at one side only and with the other one already placed at a preset height (see drawing Table 3).

In short, this kerb has the innovative feature of being prefabricated in one piece, ergonomic and modular, with the advantage of being laid simply and quickly, with a remarkable saving of costs and times. Ergonomic, as interacting between individuals and technologies, for a higher level of safety, adaptability and usability. The features, measures, materials and relative proportions of the model are variable and depend on the technical-performance level to obtain safety standards suitable and required for both road and railway use. Currently, kerbs of various types, sizes and shapes are produced and marketed, yet not with the specific rubber components, both in case of a making entirely of rubber (see drawing Table 5) and with the rubber-concrete coupling technology, as well as with the use of embedded reflecting laminae that, along with the materials and fittings used, actually constitutes the innovative part of the present model for which protection is sought.

Claims

The innovation of the industrial utility design, for which "protection of the invention" is sought is the specific section of the kerb (as highlighted by attached drawings and photos), which, made with rubber profiles alternated with the reflecting laminate on a metal support, enables to obtain an innovation of production process and end product, as well as the technological novelty related to the laying thereof.
The innovative design of the section, of different and various shapes and dimensions, the composite prefabrication with other elements, such as, e.g., rubber profiles, rolled steel sections and reflecting laminates, are the characteristic elements which form the real object of the industrial utility model, and which essentially constitute the specific claim that is to be protected in the scope of the production and marketing process of the kerb at issue.