GB2275287A

GB2275287A - Warning device incorporating locking/releasable lamp housing

Info

Publication number: GB2275287A
Application number: GB9303497A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Richard Eastham Turner
Original assignee: British Gas PLC
Current assignee: British Gas PLC
Priority date: 1993-02-22
Filing date: 1993-02-22
Publication date: 1994-08-24
Also published as: GB9303497D0

Abstract

A warning device, such as a road hazard cone, comprises a supporting body 2 which has an opening 4 communicating with the hollow interior 2a of the supporting body. A lamp housing 6 located in the hollow interior has an upper part 8 removably secured to a lower part 7. The part 7 is secured in the hollow interior 2a by locking means 15 which are accessible and operable only when the upper part 8 of the lamp housing is detached from the lower part. This arrangement prevents the lamp housing in its assembled and operative state being easily removed from the supporting body, such removal only being made possible by means of a tool or key 21. <IMAGE>

Description

WARNING DEVICE This invention relates to warning devices and, more particularly, to visual warning devices such as those used to warn of hazards along roads when, for example, road works are being carried out.

An object of the present invention is to provide a warning device comprising a lamp housing and a supporting body for holding the lamp housing, wherein the lamp housing in its assembled and operative condition is not readily removable from the supporting body.

To this end, according to the invention a warning device comprises a supporting body having an opening communicating with a hollow portion in the supporting body and a lamp housing located at least partly within the hollow portion, the housing comprising a first part which is removably secured to a second part which is secured in position in the hollow portion of the supporting body by locking means accessible and operable only when the first part is at least partially detached from the second part.

The hollow portion may taper at least in part towards the opening. The hollow portion may taper at least in part upwardly of the supporting body towards the opening.

Conveniently, the hollow portion is of generally truncated- or frusto-conical form with the opening being at the smaller width end. The hollow portion may however be of another tapering form, such as pyramidal.

Preferably the locking means is mounted on the second part, so that the locking means is removed with the second part of the housing when the latter is removed from the hollow portion.

The locking means may comprise a locking device having a latch member which is movable to a locking position such that the second part is secured in position in the hollow portion.

In one embodiment of the warning device, when the latch member is in the locking position it engages a wall portion of the supporting body defining the tapered part of the hollow portion.

The latch member may be turnable from a retracted position to the locking position, and preferably the warning device further comprises stop means for preventing the turning of the locking member beyond its desired locking position.

Conveniently, the latch member is fixed to a shaft via which the latch member is turnable, preferably with the shaft being adapted to receive a tool for turning the shaft.

In one embodiment, the latch member is located beneath the base of the second part with the shaft extending through the base.

Spring means may be provided which act so as to retain the latch member in the position to which it has been turned. The spring means may also act to urge the latch member towards the underside of the base of the second part of the supporting body.

Conveniently, when the hollow is of tapered form the warning device comprises two locking devices as described above, with the two latch members being movable to respective locking positions on opposite sides of the supporting body or diametrically opposite to each other.

The invention will now be further described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which : Figure 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view through the upper end of one embodiment of warning device according to the invention during securing of the lower part of the lamp housing to the supporting body, Figure 2 is a similar view to the one shown in Figure 1 but with the lower part of the housing fully secured to the supporting body and the upper part of the housing secured to the lower part, Figure 3 is a transverse cross-sectional view on the line III III in Figure 2, and Figure 4 is a full length view, partly in section, of this embodiment of the assembled warning device.

With reference to the drawings, the warning device 1 comprises a supporting body 2 of hollow generally frusto-conical form which will be referred to hereafter as the cone. The cone 2 has an upper small diameter end 3 which defines a circular opening 4 and a lower larger end 5 via which the cone stands on the ground.

The device also comprises a lamp housing 6 having a lower part 7 for location in the hollow portion 2a of the cone 2 towards its upper end, and an upper part 8 which, in the assembled housing, is removably secured to the lower part 7 in a suitable manner (not shown). For example, the parts 7 and 8 may have interengagable or interlockable portions which pressfit or snap-fit together in a releasable manner.

The lower part 7 of the housing is generally in the form of a cylindrical container having an opening 10 at the top. The top of the container has an outwardly directed annular flange 11 which rests on the top edge 12 of the cone defining the circular opening 4 to support the container 7 on the cone and prevents the container falling into the cone.

Mounted on the bottom or base 13 of the lower part 7 of the housing diametrically opposite each other are a pair of locking devices 15. Each locking device comprises a latch or cam member 16 beneath the base which is fixed to the bottom of an upwardly extending shaft 17. Each shaft extends through a hole 18 in the base of the lower part and terminates at its upper end in an enlarged head 19 having an upwardly opening socket portion 20 for receiving a tool or key 21 for turning the shaft and latch member, as will be described below.

A helical compression spring 22 is located around each shaft 17 and acts between the underside of the enlarged head 19 and the upper side of the base of the cylindrical lower part 7 to urge the latch member 16 to a position adjacent the base of the lower part.

As can be appreciated from Figures 1 and 3 in particular, with the lower part 7 positioned in the cone 2, when the tool is, in turn, engaged in the socket portion 20 of the head 19 of each shaft 17 and an operator pushes down on and turns the tool 21 via the grippable part 21a and then releases the downward pressure, the latch members 16 can be turned between retracted positions A and A and locking positions B and B'.

At the locking positions B and B' the slightly curved ends 16a of the latch members 16 contact or engage opposite respective portions of the internal surface 2b of the tapering side wall of the cone. The springs 22 also act to retain the latch members 16 in the positions to which they are moved. The opposite ends 25a, 25b of a curved wall 25 which depends from the base 13 of the lower part 7 provide stops for preventing movement of the latch members 16 beyond the desired locking positions.

As can be seen from Figure 3 the two latch members 16 are turned in opposite directions to each other to be moved to their respective retracted positions or respective locking positions, as depicted by the arrows.

The securing of the lower part 7 in the cone 2 is achieved when the two latch members 16 are in their locking positions B and B' since, as will be appreciated from Figure 2, the latch members both contact or engage the internal surface 2b of the conical wall and thus upward movement of the latch members (i.e. movement in the direction in which the taper narrows) and removal of the lamp housing from the cone is prevented.

Once the upper part 8 of the lamp housing, which may be in the form of a translucent plastics cover or dome, is secured to the lower part 7, the assembled housing 6 cannot readily be removed from the cone 2 because access cannot be gained to the locking devices 15 until the cover 8 is removed from the lower part.

In the present embodiment the lower part 7 contains a power pack or battery 30 which is positioned between locating lugs 31 extending upwardly from the base 13 of the lower part. The arrangement and relative dimensions are such that the shafts 17 are positioned in narrow spaces between the battery 30 and the cylindrical wall of the lower part but which are reachable with the aid of the tool 21 without the battery having to be removed from its location.

The cover 8 contains an electronic flasher unit 32 and a lamp 33 which together with the battery 30 form an electric circuit via the battery contacts 34 and 35. The flasher unit 32 may be of a known kind which includes a photo-electric device (not shown) via which the unit is energised when daylight fades with the result that the lamp 33 flashes on and off.

Whilst a particular embodiment has been described above it will be appreciated that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, three or more locking devices may be provided around the base of the lower part 7. Also, the cross section of the tapering support body may be other than circular, for example it could be of square cross section as in a truncated square pyramid. In the latter case a lamp housing of corresponding cross section might be used. Moreover, it will be appreciated that the external shape of the supporting body need not be of tapered form, but could, for example, be wholly or partly of parallel sided form. Furthermore, the major length or depth of the part of the hollow portion that receives the lower part of the housing need not be tapered but may be, for example, parallel sided with only a small part of the length of the receiving part of the hollow portion being of tapered form towards the opening, whereby the latch members still engage tapered wall portions of the supporting body as described above.

Claims

CLAINS

1. A warning device comprising a supporting body having an opening communicating with a hollow portion in the supporting body and a lamp housing located at least partly within the hollow portion, the housing comprising a first part which is removably secured to a second part which is secured in position in the hollow portion of the supporting body by locking means accessible and operable only when the first part is at least partially detached from the second part.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, in which the hollow portion tapers at least in part towards the opening.

3. A device as claimed in claim 2, in which the hollow portion tapers at least in part upwardly towards the opening.

4. A device as claimed in claim 2 or 3, in which the hollow portion is of generally frusto-conical form.

5. A device as claimed in any of the preceding claims, in which the locking means is mounted on the second part.

6. A device as claimed in claim 5, in which the locking means comprises a locking device having a latch member which is movable to a locking position such that the second part is secured in position in the hollow portion.

7. A device as claimed in claim 6, as dependent on any of claims 2 to 4, in which when in the locking position the latch member engages a wall portion of the supporting body defining the tapered part of the hollow portion.

8. A device as claimed in claim 6 or 7, in which the latch member is turnable from a retracted position to the locking position.

9. A device as claimed in claim 8, further comprising stop means for preventing the turning of the locking member beyond its desired locking position.

10. A device as claimed in claim 8 or 9, in which the latch member is fixed to a shaft via which the latch member is turnable.

11. A device as claimed in claim 10, in which the shaft is adapted to receive a tool for turning the shaft.

12. A device as claimed in claim 10 or 11, in which the latch member is located beneath the base of the second part and the shaft extends through the base of the second part.

13. A device as claimed in any of claims 8 to 12, further comprising spring means acting so as to retain the latch member in the position to which it has been moved.

14. A device as claimed in claim 13, as dependent on claim 12, in which the spring means also acts to urge the latch member towards the underside of the base of the second part.

15. A device as claimed in any of claims 6 to 14, comprising two or more locking devices.

16. A device as claimed in any of the preceding claims, in which the second part of the housing has outwardly projecting means for preventing the second part falling into the hollow portion.

17. A device as claimed in claim 16, in which the outwardly projecting means is an annular flange or lip.

18. A warning device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.