GB2178094A - Portable barrier - Google Patents

Abstract

A barrier has a plurality of V-shaped members (5) pivotally mounted on a base (2). A barricade (9) is connected to the members (5) and a vehicle striking the barricade (9) causes the members (5) to pivot an axle (4) so that one end (8) of each member (5) is raised so as to strike the vehicle, whilst the other end (21) descends to dig into the ground on which the barrier rests. This prevents the vehicle pushing the barrier, so arresting its movement. Spikes (13) may be provided on the base (2), usually covered by a fracturable cover (14), to further engage the vehicle. A plurality of such barriers may be connected together by ropes (30,32) to form an elongate obstacle. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Barrier The present invention relates to a portable barrier to prevent the passage of a vehicle in an emergency.

There are many situations where is is necessary to prevent vehicles proceeding beyond a predetermined position. It is, of course, possible to use permanent barriers across the path that the vehicles are to follow, but frequently a more temporary solution is needed. However, when portable barriers are used there is a risk that the barrier may be brushed aside by a sufficiently heavy vehicle, such as a loaded lorry, and thus there is a need for a portable barrier which can ensure that the vehicle is stopped (even if the vehicle is disabled when this is done).

Therefore the present invention provides a portable barrier which has one or more pivotable members, which are caused to pviot by a vehicle striking the barrier so that one end of the member digs into the roadway whilst the other end becomes enmeshed with the vehicle. This may be achieved by generally "V-shaped" members, pivotable about a horizontal axle mounted on a base, so that one end of the V is pivoted on impact to dig into the ground and the other end into the vehicle.

A barricade which is struck by the vehicle may be attached to one or each member to extend generally vertically upwards from the base. The base may have a plurality of spikes to puncture the vehicle's tyres.

If the path of the vehicle is sufficiently narrow, a single barrier can be used, but it is preferable to connect several barriers together by a flexible link. A vehicle striking one barrier at a sufficiently high speed may not be stopped immediately but drag the barrier some distance along. Other barriers are then dragged out of position and may be arranged so that they will entangle with the vehicle's rear wheels ensuring the vehicle will be stopped.

Preferably the barricade is pivotable on the member(s) so that it can be folded when the barrier is not in use, and in this way it may be possible to arrange stacking of a plurality of barriers without occupying a large amount of space.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described in detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which; Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a barrier according to the present invention; Figure 2 shows a side view of the barrier of Fig. 1; Figure 3 shows the stacking of barriers according to Fig. 1; Figure 4 shows, in side view, the impact of a vehicle on the barrier of Fig. 1; Figure 5 shows a plan view of the movement of a line of such the barriers on impact; and Figures 6A and 6B show a modification of the barrier for use at the end of a line of such barriers.

Referring first to Fig. 1 a barrier 1 being an embodiment of the present invention has a base 2 which rests on the roadway in the path of vehicles which it is intended to block by the barrier. The base 2 has side flanges 3 which support a shaft 4 which acts as a pivot for the movable part of the barrier. As illustrated in Fig. 1, four generally "V-shaped" members 5 are provided at intervals along the shaft 4, and are pivotable about it by the movement of sleeves 6 around the shaft. The members 5 are normally held in position by a safety-pin 7 which locks the sleeves 6 to the shaft 4. The pins 7 are sufficiently strong to hold the sleeves 6 in place if a light force is exerted, but under the stronger force of a vehicle impact, the pins 7 shear, as will be described later, to permit rotation of the collars 6, and hence the members 5.The members 5 are normally held so that one end 8 of them lies on the base 2 as can be seen in Fig. 2.

A barricade 9, which is the part of the barrier which an oncoming vehicle strikes, is connected to each of the members 5 via a post 10. The posts 10 could be fixed rigidly to the members 5, but it is preferable that they are pivotably mounted as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 to permit the barrier to be folded when not in use. The posts 10 are normally held in the vertical position by means of a pin 11, but removal of this pin 11 permits the posts 10, and hence the baricade 9 to be folded in the direction of arrow 12 in Fig. 2 to a position 13 at which the baricade 9 is generally parallel to the base 2. Barriers in this position may be stacked as shown in Fig. 3.

As can be seen from Fig. 1 the base 2 may have spikes 13 which engage the tyres of a vehicle striking the barrier. The spikes may be covered with a cover 14 of e.g. fibreglass which is strong enough to permit people to walk over it, but which will fracture when the weight of a vehicle is applied to it. The barricade 9 can act as a handrail for a person walking on the cover 14, the pins 7 being strong enough to prevent movement of the members 5 under such a force.

Consider now a vehicle, e.g. a lorry, approaching the barrier. As shown in Fig. 4A, the barrier is normally positioned with the post 10 vertical and the base 2 covered by a cover 14. When a vehicle 20 hits the barrier 1, the first stage of the impact is when the vehicle's tyres run onto the base 2, fracturing the cover 14. The spikes 13 then penetrate the tyres of the vehicle 20, deflating them. If this is insufficient to stop the vehicle 20, the front of the vehicle 20 will then strike and barricade 9. The force that the vehicle 20 exerts on the barricade 9 is sufficient to shear the pins 7 holding the collars 6 on the axle 4, and therefore the members 5 pivot as the barricade 9 is pushed backwards, to a position in which the rear end 21 (i.e. the end away from the vehicle) of the member 5 is pushed into the roadway behind the barrier 1.

The end 21 is wedge-shaped so that it is forced into the roadway and holds the other end 8 of the member 5 in the position shown in Fig. 4C, at which that end 8 anchors a part of the vehicle 20 such as the axle and/or engine of the vehicle 20. Normally this is sufficient to stop the vehicle 20 completely.

It is preferable to connect several barriers together to form a line of such barriers in the path of a vehicle. This may be achieved by steel hawsers or chains 30 which are connected to a plate 31 secured to the base 2 of each barrier 1. The ropes 30 are longer than the interval between each barrier 1, but are normally bound to a shorter length by bindings 32. On impact of a vehicle with the chain of barriers thus formed, the bindings 32 burst and the barrier 1 which the vehicle strikes is pushed out of line. Once the slack in the hawsers 30 has been taken up, adjacent barriers are dragged sideways as can be seen from Fig. 5, and eventually are swung to a position in which they are dragged under the rear wheels of the vehicle 20, as can be seen in Fig. 4D. The vehicle is then secured by both its front and rear wheels, and so no further progress can be made.

If it desired that a vehicle should be able to pass the barriers, but only along a predetermined route, one way of achieving this is to form two staggered lines of barriers, so that the vehicle drives around the end of one line, through the gap between the two lines of barriers, and around the end of the second line of barriers. However, the end barrier in the line is more easily moved than the others, and Figs. 6A and 6B show a way of preventing the end barrier from being knocked out of position. All that is done is that plates 41 are secured by ropes 42 to the base 2 of the end barrier, and are laid on the ground at a distance from the barrier 1, approximately equal to the wheel base of a vehicle. When a vehicle then strikes the end barrier, its rear wheels rest on the plates 41 and so the vehicle is effectively held "by its own boot straps" so that no movement of the end barrier 1 can occur. By fitting such plates 41 on each end barrier, as shown in Fig. 6B, a vehicle may be forced to follow the desired path indicated by arrows 43.

The barrier illustrated in the drawings is relatively easy to manufacture, but may be designed to be extremely effective in stopping vehicles. The fact that one end of the members 5 digs into the road surface behind the barrier, ensures that it is very difficult for the barrier to be pushed out of position on impact of a vehicle, the presence of the spikes 13 also enables a slow moving vehicle to be stopped with little damage, and yet even a very large and fast moving vehicle can be stopped effectively.

Claims (9)

1. A barrier comprising a base at least one member pivotable on the base, and a barricade attached to the at least one member and upstanding from the base when the at least one member is in a first position, the or each member pivoting from that first position to a second position wherein an obstruction part of the or each member is raised from the base.

2. A barrier according to claim 1, wherein the or each member has an abutment part adapted to engage the surface on which the barrier rests when in use when the or each member is in the second position.

3. A barrier according to claim 2, wherein the member is generally V-shaped and pivotable about an axis adjacent the apex of the V, one end of the member forming the obstruction part and the other end forming the abutment part.

4. A barrier according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the barricade is privotablly attached to the or each member, and means are provided for preventing such pivoting.

5. A barrier according to any one of the preceding claims having means for resisting pivoting of the or each member, the means being releasabie on application of a predetermined force.

6. A barrier according to any one of the preceding claims having a plurality of upstanding spikes on the base.

7. A barrier according to claim 6 having a fracturable cover over the spikes.

8. A barrier substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, and 4 of the accompanying drawings.

9. An obstacle comprising a plurality of interconnected barriers, each barrier being according to any one of the preceding claims.