ES1295501U - Guardrail impact protection device. (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding) - Google Patents

Abstract

Guardrail impact protection device, mounted on columns that runs parallel to the traffic lane to be protected, said protector being made up of an elongated piece (1) of deformable elastic material, comprising: - a profile that has a front section (15), in front of which a vehicle can impact in the event of an accident, of uniform section, curved convexly in front of the road, - each end conformation (11), through which it is held at the upper edges and bottom of the guardrail (2), through respective slots (13) that face each other and dovetail with the rear free ends (21) of said guardrail, - a rounded and hollow shape (12), located in the central area, by the rear face of the piece (1) coinciding with the intermediate concavity presented by the guardrail (2), which in the assembly position contacts or is very close to the front face of the guardrail (2), which when receiving a impact on the front surface (15) deforms absorbing the shock. (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding)

Description

DESCRIPTION

Guardrail impact protection device

sector of the invention

The sector in which the invention falls is that of safety devices to slow down, redirect or stop drifting vehicles, for example protection posts or bollards; Devices to reduce damage to roadsides due to the impact of a vehicle, essentially made up of longitudinal beams or rigid bands, mounted on columns that run parallel to the traffic lane to be protected.

The invention refers to a solid rubber adapter for guardrails, which is fixed by pressure on the outer face of a guardrail, deforming and absorbing the shock of a person or vehicle on it, while disengaging from the guardrail in order to avoid that the injured person bounces back onto the road, thus reducing the risk for him and for the other people or vehicles involved in the accident.

Background of the invention

Conventional guardrails installed along highways are installed horizontally supported by vertical posts anchored to the ground, in spaced positions. In general, guardrails are made up of a metallic profile with a "W" shaped section turned towards the outside of the track, which yields and deforms when hit by a vehicle when it collides with it in order to cause deceleration. of the vehicle, while preventing it from leaving the road and falling off embankments or cliffs.

In addition, metal guardrails are generally galvanized with zinc, which are subject to rapid deterioration due to corrosion caused by stones and other debris projected and thrown against it by vehicles that circulate on the road, which makes it easier for Corrosion rapidly deteriorates exposed surfaces. Therefore, highway guardrails are often damaged by vehicles and objects impacting them.

The maintenance of metal guardrails is an expensive process, which requires a lot of time to keep them in a safe and operational condition, especially in areas with curves and areas of high concentration of traffic.

The prior art includes various coatings that are applied to existing guardrails to provide a surface with the ability to rehabilitate the appearance of dilapidated guardrails and to provide a more resilient surface against crashes or impacts against it. In the documents FR2460365, ES1020221, ES1070047 or ES2125762, examples of rubber coatings or other deformable elastic materials are described that are integrally molded on the outer or front face of the guardrail.

One of the drawbacks of the elements of the prior art is that the protection exactly follows the contours of the metallic profile that forms the guardrail behind. In addition, a protection of this nature must have a certain thickness so that it is capable of absorbing the impact of a vehicle that collides with it at a normal speed for driving on that road. Consequently, with this type of protectors there is usually a rebound effect of the vehicle, returning it to the road, which can cause a more serious accident when colliding with other vehicles that are traveling on the road at that moment.

One objective of the present invention is to manufacture a flexible protector for guardrails that, in addition to deforming and absorbing the impact in the event of a vehicle or person colliding with it, prevents the injured vehicle or person from bouncing and returning to the road. To achieve this objective, the device disengages from the guardrail in the event of an impact against them, keeping them intact.

Description of the invention

Based on the prior art, one objective of the present invention is to provide a guardrail impact protection device that allows achieving the proposed objectives, mentioned in the previous section, which has the characteristics of claim 1.

The impact protection device of the present invention is intended to be mounted on metal guardrails, formed by a corrugated profile mounted on columns that runs parallel to the traffic lane to be protected. This device is made up of an elongated piece of deformable elastic material, whose front surface, located towards the road on which a vehicle can impact in the event of an accident, presents a uniform section profile, curved convexly in front of the road. circulation.

This piece ends in two extreme conformations through which it is attached to the upper and lower edges of the guardrail through two slots that face each other and are tongue and groove to the rear free ends of said guardrail. And, in the central area and on the rear face, said piece, coinciding with the intermediate concavity that the guardrail presents, defines a rounded and hollow conformation, which in the assembly position is located in contact with or very close to the front face of the guardrail. .

This design has a clear practical implication, which is that when receiving an impact from the front surface, the part deforms, absorbing the shock, while the extreme conformations tend to move towards the rear face of the guardrail and become uncoupled from it. detaching itself from it, in order to prevent the person and/or the injured vehicle from bouncing back onto the road and could cause a new accident against a vehicle that is driving on it.

Description of the figures

To complement the description that is being made and in order to facilitate the understanding of the characteristics of the invention, a set of drawings is attached to this specification in which, for illustrative and non-limiting purposes, the following has been represented:

Fig. 1 represents a view of the protective device (1) object of the invention.

Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of the protective device (1), mounted on a guardrail (2).

Preferred embodiment of the invention

As can be seen in the referenced figures, the device of the invention is intended to protect guardrails (2), which are usually metallic and are made up of a wavy profile, which is mounted on columns, parallel to the road of circulation to protect. This impact protection device is made up of a piece (1) of a deformable elastic material, which does not follow the contours of the metal profile that forms the guardrail (2) behind it at all.

The piece (1) has a profile with a frontal section (15) (in front of which a vehicle can impact in the event of an accident) with a uniform section, curved convexly in front of the road. As can be seen in Fig. 2, the front section (15) of the profile of the piece (1) has such a curvature that the upper and lower ends are outside the free ends (21) of the guardrail and its inner face contacts with the edges (22) of the same, which are located facing the road of circulation.

The piece (1) presents two extreme conformations (11), through which it is attached to the upper and lower edges of the guardrail (2) through two slots (13) that face each other and are tongue and groove with the rear free ends ( 21) of said guardrail (2). This form of coupling will be essential to ensure that in the event of an impact against the protector, it can be detached or uncoupled from the guardrail (2) to avoid the rebound effect of the vehicle or person that impacts against it, which is one of the reasons that currently causes the most accidents.

The piece (1) presents in the central area and on the rear face of the same, coinciding with the intermediate concavity that the guardrail (2) presents, a conformation (12), rounded and hollow, which in the assembly position contacts or remains very close to the front face of the guardrail (2) but when receiving an impact on the front surface (15) it deforms due to the crushing of said rounded conformation (12), absorbing the shock, while causing the protector to stretch towards the ends , enough for it to disengage its extreme conformations (11) from the edges (21) of the guardrail and for the protector to detach.

In a preferred embodiment, the shape (12), rounded and hollow, which is located in the central zone and on the rear face of the piece (1), presents a section according to a circular ring.

The device of the invention is modular. The pieces (1) are preferably made of recycled rubber or a similar material that is elastically deformable in the event of an impact, with a length between 1 and 4 meters in length, in such a way that they can be easily attached to the guardrail (as and as shown in Fig. 2) even manually with the help of a lever or pusher. These pieces (1) will be manufactured straight and, in those cases that the material they comprise does not allow them to be folded longitudinally, with a certain degree of curvature, in order to be able to arrange them in the curved sections of the guardrails.

Once the nature of the invention has been sufficiently described, as well as a preferred embodiment, it is stated for the appropriate purposes that the materials, shape, size and arrangement of the elements described may be modified, as long as this does not imply an alteration. of the essential characteristics of the invention that are claimed below:

Claims (3)

1. - Guardrail impact protection device, mounted on columns that runs parallel to the traffic lane to be protected, said protector being made up of an elongated piece (1) of deformable elastic material, comprising : - a profile that presents a frontal section (15), in front of which a vehicle can impact in the event of an accident, of uniform section, curved convexly in front of the road, - respective end conformations (11), through which it is attached to the upper and lower edges of the guardrail (2), through respective slots (13) that face each other and dovetail with the rear free ends (21) of said guardrail, - a shape (12), rounded and hollow, located in the central area, on the rear face of the piece (1) coinciding with the intermediate concavity that the guardrail (2) presents, which in the mounting position contacts or is very close to the front face of the guardrail (2), which upon receiving an impact on the front surface (15) deforms, absorbing the shock. 2. - Device according to claim 1, in which the front section (15) of the profile of the piece (1) presents a curvature such that the upper and lower ends are outside the free ends (21) of the guardrail and its inner face comes into contact with the edges (22) of the same that face the road, while the rounded shape (12) comes into contact with the central concave area (23) of the guardrail. 3. Device according to claim 1, in which the shape (12), rounded and hollow, which is located in the central area and on the rear face of the piece (1), has a section according to a circular ring.