GB1603824A - Hazard warning devices - Google Patents

Hazard warning devices Download PDF

Info

Publication number
GB1603824A
GB1603824A GB18834/77A GB1883477A GB1603824A GB 1603824 A GB1603824 A GB 1603824A GB 18834/77 A GB18834/77 A GB 18834/77A GB 1883477 A GB1883477 A GB 1883477A GB 1603824 A GB1603824 A GB 1603824A
Authority
GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
base
lamp
casing
switch
upper casing
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
GB18834/77A
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
DEVONS BOLLARD Ltd
Original Assignee
DEVONS BOLLARD Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by DEVONS BOLLARD Ltd filed Critical DEVONS BOLLARD Ltd
Priority to GB18834/77A priority Critical patent/GB1603824A/en
Publication of GB1603824A publication Critical patent/GB1603824A/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E01—CONSTRUCTION OF ROADS, RAILWAYS, OR BRIDGES
    • E01F—ADDITIONAL WORK, SUCH AS EQUIPPING ROADS OR THE CONSTRUCTION OF PLATFORMS, HELICOPTER LANDING STAGES, SIGNS, SNOW FENCES, OR THE LIKE
    • E01F9/00—Arrangement of road signs or traffic signals; Arrangements for enforcing caution
    • E01F9/60—Upright bodies, e.g. marker posts or bollards; Supports for road signs
    • E01F9/623—Upright bodies, e.g. marker posts or bollards; Supports for road signs characterised by form or by structural features, e.g. for enabling displacement or deflection
    • E01F9/627—Upright bodies, e.g. marker posts or bollards; Supports for road signs characterised by form or by structural features, e.g. for enabling displacement or deflection self-righting after deflection or displacement
    • E01F9/629—Traffic guidance, warning or control posts, bollards, pillars or like upstanding bodies or structures
    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E01—CONSTRUCTION OF ROADS, RAILWAYS, OR BRIDGES
    • E01F—ADDITIONAL WORK, SUCH AS EQUIPPING ROADS OR THE CONSTRUCTION OF PLATFORMS, HELICOPTER LANDING STAGES, SIGNS, SNOW FENCES, OR THE LIKE
    • E01F9/00—Arrangement of road signs or traffic signals; Arrangements for enforcing caution
    • E01F9/60—Upright bodies, e.g. marker posts or bollards; Supports for road signs
    • E01F9/604—Upright bodies, e.g. marker posts or bollards; Supports for road signs specially adapted for particular signalling purposes, e.g. for indicating curves, road works or pedestrian crossings
    • E01F9/615—Upright bodies, e.g. marker posts or bollards; Supports for road signs specially adapted for particular signalling purposes, e.g. for indicating curves, road works or pedestrian crossings illuminated
    • E01F9/617—Illuminated or wired-up posts, bollards, pillars or like upstanding bodies or structures for traffic guidance, warning or control
    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E01—CONSTRUCTION OF ROADS, RAILWAYS, OR BRIDGES
    • E01F—ADDITIONAL WORK, SUCH AS EQUIPPING ROADS OR THE CONSTRUCTION OF PLATFORMS, HELICOPTER LANDING STAGES, SIGNS, SNOW FENCES, OR THE LIKE
    • E01F9/00—Arrangement of road signs or traffic signals; Arrangements for enforcing caution
    • E01F9/60—Upright bodies, e.g. marker posts or bollards; Supports for road signs
    • E01F9/623—Upright bodies, e.g. marker posts or bollards; Supports for road signs characterised by form or by structural features, e.g. for enabling displacement or deflection
    • E01F9/654—Upright bodies, e.g. marker posts or bollards; Supports for road signs characterised by form or by structural features, e.g. for enabling displacement or deflection in the form of three-dimensional bodies, e.g. cones; capable of assuming three-dimensional form, e.g. by inflation or erection to form a geometric body
    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E01—CONSTRUCTION OF ROADS, RAILWAYS, OR BRIDGES
    • E01F—ADDITIONAL WORK, SUCH AS EQUIPPING ROADS OR THE CONSTRUCTION OF PLATFORMS, HELICOPTER LANDING STAGES, SIGNS, SNOW FENCES, OR THE LIKE
    • E01F9/00—Arrangement of road signs or traffic signals; Arrangements for enforcing caution
    • E01F9/60—Upright bodies, e.g. marker posts or bollards; Supports for road signs
    • E01F9/688—Free-standing bodies

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Architecture (AREA)
  • Civil Engineering (AREA)
  • Structural Engineering (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Geometry (AREA)
  • Road Signs Or Road Markings (AREA)
  • Refuge Islands, Traffic Blockers, Or Guard Fence (AREA)

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO HAZARD WARNING DEVICES (71) We, DEVONS BOLLARD LIMITED, a British Company, of 2-4 Drakes Circus, Plymouth, Devon, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to self-righting hazard warning devices for use on roadways or as obstruction markers.
Self-righting road marker or hazard warning devices are known which rest on a curved, generally part-spherical, base. The base is ballasted so as to return the device to the upright position should it be tilted. The curvature of the base of such devices can, however cause them to spin about their axis of symmetry when tilted, and this in turn can result in the device rolling on the base from the position in which it has been placed, with possibly dangerous consequences.
An object of the invention is to provide a self-righting hazard warning device having a base of improved design which resists the tendency of earlier known self-righting devices to spin when tilted.
According to the present invention there is provided a self-righting, free-standing hazard warning device for use as a roadway marker, comprising: a hollow base which is adapted to be filled with ballast and has a bottom surface on which it normally rests; an upper casing which is mounted on the base and has a depending peripheral skirt at its lower end which fits over the upper end of the base, and a warning lamp which surmounts the upper casing, said bottom surface of the base being surrounded by a number of curved facets defining a polygonal transverse cross-sectional shape which increases in size with increasing distance of the cross-sectional plane from the bottom surface of the base, the corners at the intersection of adjacent facets being surmounted by outwardly-projecting ribs which are provided on said depending peripheral skirt of the upper casing and are disposed in planes passing theough the axis of symmetry of the base, such that, when the device is tilted from an upright position, the base rolls on the curved facets and the device rests upon pairs of adjacent ribs when tilted so that the base rolls along the entire extent of one of said facets, the device being returned to the upright position by the weight of the ballast in the base.
The provision of a number of curved facets on the base resists the tendency of the base to spin when tilted, and consequently the device is less likely to roll on its base away from a position in which it is placed.
The upper casing and the base of the device may be disconnected from each other and stored separately when not in use, for example by nesting bases and upper casings within each other in separate stacks.
the hazard warning device may include a photocell connected in an energising circuit of the lamp and responsive to the ambient light intensity to complete the lamp circuit when the said light intensity falls below a threshold level.
The invention will now be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a self-righting hazard warning device not according to the present invention, given by way of illustration; Figure 2 is a longitudinal section through a self-righting hazard warning device according to the present invention, and Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of the device shown in Figure 2.
Throughout the drawings the same reference numerals are used to designate the same or corresponding component parts.
Referring first to Figure 1 by way of explanation, a self-righting hazard warning device 10 not in accordance with the invention has a tubular support 1 of resiliently flexible plastics or synthetic rubber having at its lower end a portable power supply unit 2 including a drycell battery. The power supply unit 2 is connected through electrical leads 3 within the support 1 to a lamp 4 mounted within a lamp housing 5 fixed to the upper end of the tubular support 1 by releasable bolts or screws (not shown). The lamp housing 5 is moulded in transparent plastics in the form of a Fresneltype cylindrical lens designed to provide a divergent beam around the entire 360C with respect to the vertical axis of the support.
The power supply unit 2 includes a flasher switch device for switching the lamp 4 on and off cyclically. The unit 2 also includes a control circuit, mounted on a printed circuit board, connected to a photocell 6 which is located in the lamp housing 5 above the lamp 4 and which is responsive to the ambient light intensity.
When the ambient light intensity falls below a threshold level the control circuit connected to the photocell 6 switches on the lamp circuit, so that the lamp 4 commences flashing under the control of its flasher device. A small conical lens 7 is moulded in the top of the lamp housing 5 to direct ambient light onto the photocell 6.
A manually operable override switch 8 mounted in the side of the tubular support 1, is connected in the lamp circuit and when closed short-circuits the photocellcontrolled switch, overriding the photocell and causing the lamp 4 to flash continuously, irrespective of the ambient light intensity.
Since the tubular support 1 may be used alone as a free-standing marker or warning device, it may be provided at its lower end with feet which maintain the support 1 in an upright position on a roadway to act as a lane demarcation post illuminated by the lamp 4. Alternatively, the tubular support 1 may be slid within an existing flexible tubular lane marker post and secured thereto with its lamp housing 5 uppermost to form an illuminated lane marker.
The tubular support 1 constitutes an internal core of the free-standing self-righting hazard warning device 10 illustrated in Figure 1. The device 10 has an upper conical casing 11 of moulded resiliently flexible plastics or synthetic rubber having an enlarged lower end with a depending peripheral skirt 12 which fits over a hollow base 13, being releasably secured to the latter by countersunk screws 14 with Allen socket heads passing through the skirt 12.
The base 13 is self-righting and has an internal ballast chamber 15 which can be filled with ballast (water or fine sand) through a filler plug 16 in an upper wall 17. The base 13 has a flat bottom surface 18 surrounded by curved facets 19 which in the illustrated example define a hexagonal shape in transverse cross section. The base 13 is moulded in tough plastics (for example polyethylene) or in glass fibre-reinforced plastics material.
The lower end of the tubular support 1 fits into a circular well 20 in the upper wall 17 of the base 13 and the upper end of the support 1 is located within an annular flange 21 of flexible resiliept plastics or synthetic rubber which is bolted to the upper end of the casing 11 of the bollard. The lamp housing 5 has a surrounding annular flange 22, also of flexible plastics or synhtetic ribber, which is bolted to the flange 21 when the device is assembled with the tubular support 1 fitted within the casing 11 and the base 13. The flanged 21 and 22 come into contact with the ground if the bollard is knocked over, protecting the lamp housing 5 from damage.
The conical upper casing 11 may have a fluorescent surface finish or covering. To facilitate handling and carrying of the device the casing 11 is provided with a carrying handle 23 by means of which the casing 11, without the base 13, may be suspended from a convenient support, for example when the device is used to provide a hazard warning on a highway obstruction such as a skip.
To minimise sliding of the base 13 on a road surface the flat bottom surface 18 may have a non-slip surface treatment or coating.
The manual override switch 8 is accessible through a small hole 24 suitably positioned in the side of the upper casing 11.
Figures 2 and 3 illustrate a self-righting freestanding hazard warning device according to the present invention, in which the tubular support 1 of Figure 1 is dispensed with, simplifying the manufacture of the component parts.
The peripheral skirt 12 of the upper casing 11 has a number of ribs 28 projecting outwardly from the corners at the intersection of adjacent curved facets 19 of the base 13 and disposed in planes passing through the axis of symmetry of the base 13. When the device is toppled the base 13 is supported upon pairs of adjacent ribs 28, which define substantial points of contact with the roadway surface, so that the device is likely to be unstable in this position and to return to the upright position by rolling of one of the curved facets 19 upon the ground.
The device of Figures 2 and 3 has a simple push-button on/off switch 8 which is located within the upper casing 11 and supported by the upper wall 17 of the base 13. The switch is operable by pressing a bellows-like boot 29 of rubber or like material inserted in the wall of the casing 11 directly in line with the operating button of the switch 8.
The screws 14 which secure the upper casing 11 to the base 13 may alternatively pass through the base flange of the casing 11 adjacent the peripheral skirt 12 in a direction parallel to the (normally vertical) axis of symmetry of the casing 11, being screwed into thickened wall portions of the underlying upper edge of the base 13.
WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A self-righting, free-standing hazard warning device for use as a roadway marker, comprising: a hollow base which is adapted to be filled with ballast and has a bottom surface on which it normally rests; an upper casing which is mounted on the base and has a depending peripheral skirt at its lower end which fits over the upper end of the base, and a warning lamp which surmounts the upper casing, said bottom surface of the base being surrounded by a number of curved facets defining a polygonal transverse cross-sectional shape which increases in size with increasing distance of the cross-sec
**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (7)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. respect to the vertical axis of the support. The power supply unit 2 includes a flasher switch device for switching the lamp 4 on and off cyclically. The unit 2 also includes a control circuit, mounted on a printed circuit board, connected to a photocell 6 which is located in the lamp housing 5 above the lamp 4 and which is responsive to the ambient light intensity. When the ambient light intensity falls below a threshold level the control circuit connected to the photocell 6 switches on the lamp circuit, so that the lamp 4 commences flashing under the control of its flasher device. A small conical lens 7 is moulded in the top of the lamp housing 5 to direct ambient light onto the photocell 6. A manually operable override switch 8 mounted in the side of the tubular support 1, is connected in the lamp circuit and when closed short-circuits the photocellcontrolled switch, overriding the photocell and causing the lamp 4 to flash continuously, irrespective of the ambient light intensity. Since the tubular support 1 may be used alone as a free-standing marker or warning device, it may be provided at its lower end with feet which maintain the support 1 in an upright position on a roadway to act as a lane demarcation post illuminated by the lamp 4. Alternatively, the tubular support 1 may be slid within an existing flexible tubular lane marker post and secured thereto with its lamp housing 5 uppermost to form an illuminated lane marker. The tubular support 1 constitutes an internal core of the free-standing self-righting hazard warning device 10 illustrated in Figure 1. The device 10 has an upper conical casing 11 of moulded resiliently flexible plastics or synthetic rubber having an enlarged lower end with a depending peripheral skirt 12 which fits over a hollow base 13, being releasably secured to the latter by countersunk screws 14 with Allen socket heads passing through the skirt 12. The base 13 is self-righting and has an internal ballast chamber 15 which can be filled with ballast (water or fine sand) through a filler plug 16 in an upper wall 17. The base 13 has a flat bottom surface 18 surrounded by curved facets 19 which in the illustrated example define a hexagonal shape in transverse cross section. The base 13 is moulded in tough plastics (for example polyethylene) or in glass fibre-reinforced plastics material. The lower end of the tubular support 1 fits into a circular well 20 in the upper wall 17 of the base 13 and the upper end of the support 1 is located within an annular flange 21 of flexible resiliept plastics or synthetic rubber which is bolted to the upper end of the casing 11 of the bollard. The lamp housing 5 has a surrounding annular flange 22, also of flexible plastics or synhtetic ribber, which is bolted to the flange 21 when the device is assembled with the tubular support 1 fitted within the casing 11 and the base 13. The flanged 21 and 22 come into contact with the ground if the bollard is knocked over, protecting the lamp housing 5 from damage. The conical upper casing 11 may have a fluorescent surface finish or covering. To facilitate handling and carrying of the device the casing 11 is provided with a carrying handle 23 by means of which the casing 11, without the base 13, may be suspended from a convenient support, for example when the device is used to provide a hazard warning on a highway obstruction such as a skip. To minimise sliding of the base 13 on a road surface the flat bottom surface 18 may have a non-slip surface treatment or coating. The manual override switch 8 is accessible through a small hole 24 suitably positioned in the side of the upper casing 11. Figures 2 and 3 illustrate a self-righting freestanding hazard warning device according to the present invention, in which the tubular support 1 of Figure 1 is dispensed with, simplifying the manufacture of the component parts. The peripheral skirt 12 of the upper casing 11 has a number of ribs 28 projecting outwardly from the corners at the intersection of adjacent curved facets 19 of the base 13 and disposed in planes passing through the axis of symmetry of the base 13. When the device is toppled the base 13 is supported upon pairs of adjacent ribs 28, which define substantial points of contact with the roadway surface, so that the device is likely to be unstable in this position and to return to the upright position by rolling of one of the curved facets 19 upon the ground. The device of Figures 2 and 3 has a simple push-button on/off switch 8 which is located within the upper casing 11 and supported by the upper wall 17 of the base 13. The switch is operable by pressing a bellows-like boot 29 of rubber or like material inserted in the wall of the casing 11 directly in line with the operating button of the switch 8. The screws 14 which secure the upper casing 11 to the base 13 may alternatively pass through the base flange of the casing 11 adjacent the peripheral skirt 12 in a direction parallel to the (normally vertical) axis of symmetry of the casing 11, being screwed into thickened wall portions of the underlying upper edge of the base 13. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:
1. A self-righting, free-standing hazard warning device for use as a roadway marker, comprising: a hollow base which is adapted to be filled with ballast and has a bottom surface on which it normally rests; an upper casing which is mounted on the base and has a depending peripheral skirt at its lower end which fits over the upper end of the base, and a warning lamp which surmounts the upper casing, said bottom surface of the base being surrounded by a number of curved facets defining a polygonal transverse cross-sectional shape which increases in size with increasing distance of the cross-sec
tional plane from the bottom surface of the base, the corners at the intersection of adjacent facets being surmounted by outwardly-projecting ribs which are provided on said depending peripheral skirt of the upper casing and are disposed in planes passing through the axis of symmetry of the base, such that, when the device is tilted from an upright position, the base rolls on the curved facets and the device rests upon pairs of adjacent ribs when tilted so that the base rolls along the entire extent of one of said facets, the device being returned to its upright position by the weight of the ballast in the base.
2. A device as claimed in Claim 1, in which the warning lamp is connected electrically to a power source mounted in the base.
3. A device as claimed in Claim 2, in which the base has a ballast chamber which is covered by a transverse wall sealed to the inside surfaces of the base, the transverse wall having a central pocket or well in which the power source is seated.
4. A device as claimed in Claim 2 or Claim 3, in which the energising circuit of the lamp includes a flasher switch device for switching the lamp on and off cyclically.
5. A device as claimed in Claim 2, Claim 3 and Claim 4, in which the energising circuit of the lamp includes a manual switch located within the upper casing and operable from the outside of the device through a flexible boot in a wall of the casing.
6. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, in which the warning lamp has an energising circuit including a photocell responsive to the ambient light intensity to complete the lamp energising circuit when the said light intensity falls below a threshold level.
7. A self-righting hazard warning device substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in Figures 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings.
GB18834/77A 1978-05-05 1978-05-05 Hazard warning devices Expired GB1603824A (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB18834/77A GB1603824A (en) 1978-05-05 1978-05-05 Hazard warning devices

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB18834/77A GB1603824A (en) 1978-05-05 1978-05-05 Hazard warning devices

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
GB1603824A true GB1603824A (en) 1981-12-02

Family

ID=10119210

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
GB18834/77A Expired GB1603824A (en) 1978-05-05 1978-05-05 Hazard warning devices

Country Status (1)

Country Link
GB (1) GB1603824A (en)

Cited By (11)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
AT388005B (en) * 1984-09-27 1989-04-25 Ebner Hubert DEVICE FOR LIMITING, MARKING OR SECURING TRAFFIC AREAS AND THE LIKE
EP0330392A1 (en) * 1988-02-20 1989-08-30 Ronald Richard Webb Illuminated marker or warning cone
WO1995031352A1 (en) * 1994-05-18 1995-11-23 Emtech Safety Products Pty. Ltd. Safety/warning device
AU706664B2 (en) * 1994-05-18 1999-06-17 Emtech Safety Products Pty Ltd Safety/warning device
FR2785919A1 (en) * 1998-11-16 2000-05-19 Beatrice Feuvray Self righting road signal bollard has base and signal cone with defined position for centre of gravity
WO2001088275A1 (en) * 2000-05-18 2001-11-22 Feuvray Beatrice Self-lifting signalling element device
US6715905B2 (en) 2002-06-17 2004-04-06 Birchwood Products Limited Lighting apparatus
US6808291B1 (en) 1994-05-18 2004-10-26 Elfare Corporation Pty Ltd. Safety/warning device
SG108238A1 (en) * 2001-01-22 2005-01-28 Eflare Corp Pty Ltd Safety/warning device
AT504708B1 (en) * 2006-12-21 2008-10-15 Loop Design Vertriebsgesmbh ADVERTISING
CN102644247A (en) * 2012-05-09 2012-08-22 中信机电制造公司科研设计院 Novel marker

Cited By (12)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
AT388005B (en) * 1984-09-27 1989-04-25 Ebner Hubert DEVICE FOR LIMITING, MARKING OR SECURING TRAFFIC AREAS AND THE LIKE
EP0330392A1 (en) * 1988-02-20 1989-08-30 Ronald Richard Webb Illuminated marker or warning cone
WO1995031352A1 (en) * 1994-05-18 1995-11-23 Emtech Safety Products Pty. Ltd. Safety/warning device
AU706664B2 (en) * 1994-05-18 1999-06-17 Emtech Safety Products Pty Ltd Safety/warning device
US6808291B1 (en) 1994-05-18 2004-10-26 Elfare Corporation Pty Ltd. Safety/warning device
FR2785919A1 (en) * 1998-11-16 2000-05-19 Beatrice Feuvray Self righting road signal bollard has base and signal cone with defined position for centre of gravity
WO2001088275A1 (en) * 2000-05-18 2001-11-22 Feuvray Beatrice Self-lifting signalling element device
SG108238A1 (en) * 2001-01-22 2005-01-28 Eflare Corp Pty Ltd Safety/warning device
US6715905B2 (en) 2002-06-17 2004-04-06 Birchwood Products Limited Lighting apparatus
AT504708B1 (en) * 2006-12-21 2008-10-15 Loop Design Vertriebsgesmbh ADVERTISING
CN102644247A (en) * 2012-05-09 2012-08-22 中信机电制造公司科研设计院 Novel marker
CN102644247B (en) * 2012-05-09 2015-04-01 中信机电制造公司科研设计院 Novel marker

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
GB1603824A (en) Hazard warning devices
US4751622A (en) Solar powered construction light
US7623026B2 (en) Omni directional universal mount hazard marker
US4739302A (en) Road construction barrier/marker
US5754124A (en) Electrical hazard warning system
US4827245A (en) Portable strobe light system
US7782223B2 (en) Flashing flare warning device
US5103383A (en) Emergency flasher
US8523398B2 (en) Gravity controlled lighting device
US3868630A (en) Portable traffic barricade
US3496904A (en) Portable collapsible traffic marker
US20080129543A1 (en) Portable traffic signaling device
US20100148989A1 (en) Safety or Alert Device
US3520235A (en) Collapsible road marker
US4041452A (en) A rotating beacon for a bicycle
US4884017A (en) Solar powered construction light
GB2462089A (en) A ring shaped highway warning lamp
US5729215A (en) Battery operated safety strobe barricade
US20030136329A1 (en) Flexible marker device
AU2003236712A1 (en) A flexible marker device
US3504339A (en) Signal lamps
EP0330392A1 (en) Illuminated marker or warning cone
US6939021B2 (en) Triangular light assembly with flashing and non-flashing lights
US5307251A (en) Pedestrian crossing safety device
US3202979A (en) Highway marker

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
PS Patent sealed
PCNP Patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee