GB2269196A

GB2269196A - Portable signs and like structures

Info

Publication number: GB2269196A
Application number: GB9216076A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Rabeea Al-Asir
Original assignee: AL ASIR RABEEA
Current assignee: AL ASIR RABEEA
Priority date: 1992-07-28
Filing date: 1992-07-28
Publication date: 1994-02-02
Anticipated expiration: 2012-07-28
Also published as: GB9216076D0; GB2269196B

Abstract

A portable sign of hollow, collapsible construction comprises a plurality of side panels (10, 11, 12) hingedly interconnected to form an upright body and has a plurality of outwardly directed faces upon a base (14). At least some of the panels are of stiff material or construction and the base has at least two sections which are hinged to at least two of the stiff panels and to each other such that when the panels are lifted the base is caused to fold outwardly and collapse the structure. When the collapsed structure is lowered into position the downwardly projecting base unfolds on contact to erect the structure. The body is hollow and the base is disposed externally of the body so as to permit stacking of the structures. <IMAGE>

Description

PORTABLE SIGNS AND LIKE STRUCTURES The present invention relates to portable structures of hollow, collapsible construction, for example a portable sign, suitable for erection on a temporary or semi-permanent basis, for example to give warning of an adjacent hazard.

Temporary signs intended to provide warnings in this way are widely used, both within buildings to warn of wet floors or the like and also out-of-doors such as to warn traffic of accidents, road works or waiting restrictions. Available such signs are usually unitary, rigid or semi-rigid structures such as moulded traffic cones or bollards or have hinged metal frames which may be difficult to erect at the site of use. Signs of these types are often bulky or otherwise inconvenient to store and to transport to the place where they are required to be used. In addition, if the sign is knocked over by traffic or blown over by the wind it may be a traffic hazard.

It is against this background that the present invention has been devised, which takes the form of a portable sign or other structure of hollow, collapsible construction, which may be transported in a compact condition and is easily erected when required for use.

In accordance with an earlier patent application PCT No. 92101024 there is provided a portable sign or like structure of hollow, collapsible construction, comprising a plurality of side panels hingedly interconnected to form an upright body having a plurality of outwardly directed faces upon a base, at least some of the panels being of stiff material or construction and the base having at least two sections which are hinged to at least two of the stiff panels and to each other such that when the panels are lifted the base is caused to fold outwardly and collapse the structure and when the collapsed structure is lowered into position the downwardly projecting base unfolds on contact to erect the structure.

In the structure as described in the aforesaid PCT Application the base extends at least partially over the bottom of the upright body thereby preventing stacking of the structures. It is an object of the present invention to obviate this disadvantage.

In accordance with one feature of the present invention there is provided a portable sign or like structure of hollow, collapsible construction, comprising a plurality of side panels hingedly interconnected to form an upright body having a plurality of outwardly directed faces upon a base, at least some of the panels being of stiff material or construction and the base having at least two sections which are hinged to at least two of the stiff panels and to each other such that when the panels are lifted the base is caused to fold outwardly and collapse the structure and when the collapsed structure is lowered into position the downwardly projecting base unfolds on contact to erect the structure, wherein the body is hollow and the base is disposed externally of the body so as to permit stacking of the structures.

By providing the hinged base externally of the hollow upright body stacking of the structures is permitted and the stability of the structure is increased. If the structures are stacked with their hinges aligned it is possible for stacks of limited size to fold when lifted so as to collapse the structures and unfold when lowered into position in the manner described above for a single structure.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable sign or like structure of hollow, collapsible construction, comprising a plurality of side panels hingedly interconnected to form an upright body having a plurality of outwardly directed faces upon a base, at least some of the panels being of stiff material or construction and the base having at least two sections which are hinged to at least two of the stiff panels and to each other such that when the panels are lifted the base is caused to fold outwardly and collapse the structure and when the collapsed structure is lowered into position the downwardly projecting base unfolds on contact to erect the structure, wherein additional weight is provided for the base by a removable member fitting over the body and resting on the base in use, said member being hinged to permit folding thereof together with the base.

The invention will now be further described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 shows one embodiment of sign structure in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a side view of the sign structure of Fig. 1 in the collapsed condition; Fig. 3 shows an alternative embodiment of sign structure in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 4 is a side view of the sign structure of Fig. 3 in the collapsed condition, and Fig. 5 shows a sign structure in accordance with the aforesaid PCT Application with an auxiliary base member.

The sign structure illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 comprises three trapezoidal side panels 10, 11 and 12 made of stiff plastics material hinged together along their side edges with the panel 12 being foldable along the centre line 13. The construction of the panels and the hinges may be as described in the aforesaid PCT Application to which reference is directed for further information. The upright body defined by the panels 10, 11, 12 is of hollow tapered construction with an unobstructed bottom end to permit stacking of the structures.

The structure has an open triangular base 14 made from a solid sheet of heavy rubber of locally reduced thickness to provide aligned hinge lines 15, 16 at one corner and in the centre of the opposite side.

The panels 10, 11 are hingedly connected at their lower edges to the inside edges of the base 14 adjacent the hinge line 15. The remaining inside edge of the base 14 is closely adjacent the panel 12 in the erected condition of the structure but is movable away therefrom on folding of the structure into the position of Fig. 2.

The sign structure is foldable by lifting the body using the upper handholds in the panels whereupon the weight of the base 14 causes the structure to fold into the position shown in Fig. 2 in which the base 14 has folded together along the hinge lines 15, 16, the panels 10, 11 have moved together and the panel 12 has moved inwardly by folding along the hinge line 13. When the folded structure shown in Fig. 2 is lowered or even dropped into position the projecting base 14 contacts the ground and unfolds along the hinge lines 15, 16 to erect the sign automatically. If the structure is knocked over, e.g. by passing traffic, it will also fold flat so providing less obstruction than a conventional road cone in the same circumstances.

Two or more of the structures shown in Figs. 1 and 2 may be stacked one on top of the other by inserting the upright tapered body of a lower structure through the open base and into the hollow interior of the body of an upper structure. Two or more structures may be stacked one on top of the other in this way and provided that the hinge lines 15, 16 of all the stacked structures are parallel to each other and the size of the stack is limited to a relatively small number of structures the stack will fold and unfold when lifted and lowered, in the manner described above for a single structure. The structures may be stacked in use to provide additional weight or to await collection. Folding of the stacked structures is useful in facilitating handling and transport.

In the structure of Figs. 1 and 2, the base 14 may be modified by omitting the side incorporating the hinge 16.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the hollow upright body of the sign structure is formed by two rectangular panels 20, 21 hinged to each other at their upper edges and to opposed inside edges of an open rectangular base 22 with aligned hinges 23, 24 disposed centrally of the other sides of the base. In other respects, the construction of the body and the base is similar to the first embodiment of Figs. 1 and 2.

As with the first embodiment, the two-sided sign structure of Figs. 3 and 4 folds automatically when lifted by the handholds in the panels 20, 21 and unfolds automatically when lowered into position.

Likewise, the second embodiment of sign structure is stackable in the same way as the first embodiment.

Referring now to Fig. 5, there is illustrated a sign structure with a triangular pyramidal body and a base which may be similar to the base of the first embodiment of Figs. 1 and 2 (in which case the structure will be stackable) or may take the form described and illustrated in the aforesaid PCT Application, i.e. at least partly covering the lower end of the body (in which case the structure will not be stackable). An auxiliary base member 30 is provided which is closely similar to the base 14 of the first embodiment of Figs. 1 and 2 in that it is of open triangular shape with a hinge line 31 at one corner and an aligned hinge line 32 centrally of the opposite side.

The central opening 33 of the auxiliary base member corresponds in shape to the lower end of the upright body of the sign structure to which it is to be fitted. As indicated by the chain dot lines in Fig.

5, the auxiliary base member is lowered over the upright body in the erected condition of the sign structure so as to rest on the base thereof and provide additional weight to enhance the stability of the structure. If care is taken to orientate the auxiliary base member correctly with the hinge lines 31, 32 parallel to the hinges of the base the sign structure with the fitted auxiliary base member can still be collapsed and erected automatically by lifting and lowering as described above. In addition, the structures may still be stacked although the number of structures in a stack that is required to be foldable will be reduced. It will be appreciated that if foldability of the structure or a stack of structures is not a requirement the orientation of the auxiliary base member will be unimportant.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A portable sign or like structure of hollow, collapsible construction, comprising a plurality of side panels hingedly interconnected to form an upright body having a plurality of outwardly directed faces upon a base, at least some of the panels being of stiff material or construction and the base having at least two sections which are hinged to at least two of the stiff panels and to each other such that when the panels are lifted the base is caused to fold outwardly and collapse the structure and when the collapsed structure is lowered into position the downwardly projecting base unfolds on contact to erect the structure, wherein the body is hollow and the base is disposed externally of the body so as to permit stacking of the structures.

2. A structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the base sections are of dense construction to promote outward folding of the base when the panels are lifted.

3. A structure as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein at least one of said panels is collapsible to permit folding of the body.

4. A structure as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the base is triangular and three of said panels extend upwardly therefrom to give the body a pyramidal form.

5. A structure as claimed in claim 4, wherein the pyramidal body is truncated to provide an open top.

6. A portable sign or like structure of hollow, collapsible construction, comprising a plurality of side panels hingedly interconnected to form an upright body having a plurality of outwardly directed faces upon a base, at least some of the panels being of stiff material or construction and the base having at least two sections which are hinged to at least two of the stiff panels and to each other such that when the panels are lifted the base is caused to fold outwardly and collapse the structure and when the collapsed structure is lowered into position the downwardly projecting base unfolds on contact to erect the structure, wherein additional weight is provided for the base by a removable member fitting over the body and resting on the base in use, said member being hinged to permit folding thereof together with the base.

7. A structure as claimed in claim 6, wherein the removable member is of triangular shape with a triangular central opening and aligned hinges at the apex of the triangle and the centre of the opposite side, said member being dimensioned to fit a body of corresponding triangular section.