GB2280922A

GB2280922A - Reflecting road stud

Info

Publication number: GB2280922A
Application number: GB9416124A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Edward Barker
Original assignee: DESIGN SUITE Ltd
Current assignee: DESIGN SUITE Ltd
Priority date: 1993-08-10
Filing date: 1994-08-10
Publication date: 1995-02-15
Also published as: GB9316576D0; GB9416124D0

Abstract

A reflecting road stud comprises a base unit having a circular spigot 10 for mounting in a circular hole in the road surface and a generally rectangular protector 12. The protector 12 extends beyond the spigot 10 to the front and rear of the stud to form flanges 14, 16 which rest on the road surface. A socket 22 is formed in the protector 12 and the spigot 10 for receiving a reflector mounting. The upper surfaces of the flanges are tapered to form ramps 28 and openings in the ramps 28 allow light access to the reflectors. The base unit may be formed from a plastics material such as filled nylon. <IMAGE>

Description

IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO REFLECTING ROADSTUDS The invention relates to reflecting roadstuds of the general type, which comprises a base unit intended to be partially sunk into a road surface, and a replaceable reflector which is received in a socket in the base unit.

The commercially available reflecting roadstud sold under the Registered Trade Mark CATSEYE forms a well-known example of this type of reflecting roadstud, and in that instance, the base unit is made of cast iron, and is of generally rectangular form, as seen from above, there being a rectangular or square socket centrally of the length of the cast iron base unit, into which the rubber reflector mounting is fitted. Moreover, the conventionally available CATSEYE type reflecting roadstud provides protective ramps on the base unit, fore and aft of the socket in which the reflector unit is received, these ramps providing a good degree of protection for the reflector mounting against removal by oncoming objects, such as snow-ploughs.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a reflecting roadstud of the general type to which the invention relates, which is more economical to install than the conventional CATSEYE type reflecting roadstud.

The economy is chiefly achieved by the construction of the roadstud which enables it to be fitted without the necessity of producing rectangular holes in a road surface.

According to one aspect of this invention, a base unit for a reflecting roadstud comprises an upright substantially cylindrical spigot for reception in a cylindrical. hole in road surfacing and a protector secured to the spigot, the protector being substantially rectangular as seen from above, extending fore and aft of the spigot, so that it forms flanges, the undersides of which rest on a surface of the road surface when the spigot is inserted in a hole in that surface; the protector and the spigot together defining a socket for the reception of a replaceable reflector mounting, which socket extends above and below the level of the underside of the protector, and the protector also providing fore and aft ramps, there being an opening in at least one of the ramps into the fore or aft side of the part of the socket defined by the protector, thus giving light access to any reflector(s) aligned with such opening. It is preferred that there are openings into both the fore and aft ramps, giving light access to reflectors aimed in both fore and aft directions.

According to a preferred feature of the invention, the depth of the spigot is not greater than 40 mm. Preferably it is not greater than 30 mm. It is further preferred that the depth of the protector in the region of the socket is not greater than 30 mm. Preferably the overall depth of the base unit is not greater than 60 mm. The significance of the depth limitations is that the invention provides the advantages of the well-known commercially available reflecting roadstud sold under the Registered Trade Mark CATSEYE, in particular the ramps on the protector, but the overall depth of the base unit is not significantly greater than that of the said commercially available base unit, because the reflector mounting is received partly in the spigot.

Preferably the base unit is made of plastics material. It may, for example, be made of filled nylon or other polymer.

It is further preferred that the spigot and protector are formed integral with each other. They may, for instance, be formed as a unitary moulding.

According to another preferred feature of the invention, the spigot has a cylindrical wall within which there is a substantially rectangular wall defining the spigot part of the socket. In a preferred construction, the corners of the rectangular wall merge into the cylindrical wall at four positions. This provides a particularly strong, but lightweight construction. According to yet another preferred feature of the invention, one or more keying formations are provided in the socket for interengagement with formations on a reflector mounting in the socket.

For example, one or more teeth may project into the socket for reception in a corresponding hole or holes in the reflector mounting.

It is further preferred that one or more keying formations is or are provided in the spigot to interengage with the road surface material or with adhesive between the spigot and the road surface for the purpose of resisting removal of the base unit from the road surface. Such a keying formation may, for example, take the form of a tooth projecting externally of the spigot or a hole formed in the wall of the spigot to receive adhesive or material forming part of the road surface.

According to another aspect of the invention, a reflecting roadstud comprises a base unit having an upright substantially cylindrical spigot for reception in a cylindrical hole in road surfacing and a protector secured to the spigot, the protector being substantially rectangular as seen from above, extending fore and aft of the spigot, so that it forms flanges, the undersides of which rest on a surface of the road surface when the spigot is inserted in a hole in that surface, the protector and the spigot together defining a substantially rectangular (as seen from above) socket, the socket extending above and below the level of the underside of the protector and the protector also providing fore and aft ramps, and a deformable and replaceable reflector mounting received in the socket with at least one reflector facing in a fore or aft direction and aligned with an opening in the associated fore or aft ramp.

Preferably, the reflector mounting has at least one reflector facing in each of the fore and aft directions.

A reflecting roadstud in accordance with this second aspect of the invention may incorporate in its base unit any of the preferred features of the first aspect of the invention.

One construction of a reflecting roadstud, and more particularly a base unit for a reflecting roadstud, in accordance with the invention, will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a base unit, Figure 2 is a plan view of the base unit shown in Figure 1, and Figure 3 is an end elevation of the base unit shown in Figure 1.

The reflecting roadstud in accordance with this specific example is of the general type to which the invention relates, that is to say one in which there is a base unit, which is fitted into the road surfacing, and a replaceable reflector mounting element, which is received in a socket in the base unit. It is intended that in this particular construction the reflector mounting, which is not shown, shall be of the same general design as those commercially available for use with the well-known reflecting roadstud sold under the Registered Trade Mark CATSEYE.That is to say, the reflector mounting is of elastomeric material, and is generally in the form of a rectangular prism, hollow on the underside, and with two side-by-side reflectors facing in each of the fore and aft directions, the central part of the mounting being adapted to be depressed, under an applied load, such as that which will be encountered if a wheel of a vehicle passes over the mounting.

The base unit illustrated in the drawings is made by plastics injection moulding, for example from filled nylon or other polymer, which is suited to withstanding applied loads. Essentially, the base unit comprises a shallow upright cylindrical spigot 10, and a protector 12 which, as seen in plan view, is of substantially rectangular shape, though both its ends and its longitudinal edges are curved outwardly from the rectangular, and as will be observed from Figures 1 and 2, the protector 12 extends fore and aft of the spigot 10, thereby providing large flanges, the undersurfaces 14 and 16 of which are adapted to rest on a surface of the road surfacing material.

The spigot comprises a cylindrical wall 18 (see Figure 2), within which there is a rectangular wall 20 which merges into the cylindrical wall 18 at four corner locations.

Figure 2 also shows that the rectangular wall 20 forms the boundary wall of the lower part of a socket 22 (see also Figure 1), which is the socket provided for the deformable and replaceable reflector mounting. Moreover, there are two pairs of teeth 24 and 26 projecting inwardly from the side walls of the rectangular socket, for engagement in holes formed through the corresponding walls of the elastomeric reflector mounting. The mounting can be fitted into the socket provided by the inner wall 20, by lowering it through the open top of the socket, and deforming the side walls of the mounting inwardly, until the holes formed in those side walls can engage over the teeth 24 and 26. When the side walls are released, so that they spring outwardly, the mounting becomes firmly keyed in the base unit, by the engagement of the teeth 24 and 26 in the side walls of the mounting.This method of securing the reflector mounting in the central socket of the base unit is similarly to that which is employed with the known commercially available reflecting roadstuds.

Turning now to the protector 12, which forms the upper part of the base unit, it can be said that generally this simulates the upper part of the known cast iron reflecting roadstud. In particular, at the fore and aft ends of the protector 12, there are ramps 28 leading from a position near to the undersurface 14 of the protector at the outer extremity, to an upper central level around the upper extension of the inner wall 20 of the spigot, which together with that wall 20 forms the socket for the reception of the replaceable reflector mounting. However, openings 30 and 32 are formed in the ramps 28, each of these openings tapering from a wide outer end to a narrow inner end, and having a flat base 34 (see Figure 3).Each of these openings 30 and 32 provides light access to the region of the reflector mounting, where the reflectors themselves are situated, when the reflector mounting is in position in the socket in the base unit. Hence, light entering each of the openings 30 and 32 from any direction will be deflected from the reflectors, facing in the fore and aft directions. Again, this construction is a feature of the known commercially available reflecting roadstud.

Keying formations are provided for securing the base unit in the surfacing material of the road surface. These keying formations in this particular construction take the form of outwardly projecting teeth 36 on the cylindrical outer wall of the spigot, and holes 38 formed through the outer wall.

When the base unit is to be fitted into a road surface, a cylindrical hole is drilled in the road surface slightly larger in diameter than the spigot 10. It will be appreciated that it is very much simpler to produce a circular hole in the road surface than to dig out a rectangular hole of the size and shape required for the commercially available cast iron base units. If required, epoxy resin or other adhesive material in fluid form can then be introduced into the hole, particularly around the cylindrical peripheral wall of the hole. The spigot 10 of the base unit is then pressed into the hole, and in so doing, the teeth 36 score the wall of the hole, and become embedded in the surfacing material. Eventually, the fully fitted position is arrived at, where the undersides 14 and 16 of the flanges of the protector 12 engage with the surface of the road.If adhesive has been applied to the wall of the hole, some of that adhesive will flow into the keying holes in the spigot and, after curing, will provide a keying effect for the spigot. The adhesive between the cylindrical wall of the spigot and the wall of the hole secures the spigot to the road surface. Excess adhesive will be squeezed out between the undersides of the flanges provided by the protector and the top of the road surface.

This also assists in securing the base unit to the road surface. Subsequent pressure on the road surface may cause some of the surfacing material to engage in the holes 38, further keying the spigot 10 to the surfacing material.

When thus located, the external appearance of the reflecting road stud base unit is similar to that of the conventionally available cast iron stud, but of course, the cost and time of the fitting operation are very greatly reduced. The replaceable reflector mounting is then pushed into the socket in the base unit, and the roadstud is ready for use.

Claims

1. A base unit for a reflecting roadstud which comprises an upright substantially cylindrical spigot for reception in a cylindrical hole in a road surfacing and a protector secured to the spigot, the protector being substantially rectangular as seen from above, extending fore and aft of the spigot, so that it forms flanges, the undersides of which rest on a surface of the road surface when the spigot is inserted in a hole in that surface; the protector and the spigot together defining a socket for the reception of a replaceable reflector mounting, which socket extends above and below the level of the underside of the protector, and the protector also providing fore and aft ramps, there being an opening in at least one of the ramps into the fore or aft side of the part of the socket defined by the protector to give light access to any reflector(s) aligned with such opening.

2. A unit as claimed in claim 1 wherein there are openings into both the fore and aft ramps, giving light access to reflectors aimed in both fore and aft directions.

3. A unit as claimed in either of claims 1 or 2 in which the depth of the spigot is not greater than 40 mm.

4. A unit as claimed in claim 3 wherein the depth of the spigot is not greater than 30 mm.

5. A unit as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4 in which the depth of the protector in the region of the socket is not greater than 30 mm.

6. A unit as claimed in any of claims 1 to 5 in which the depth of the base unit is not greater than 60 mm.

7. A unit as claimed in any preceding claims made of plastics material.

8. A unit as claimed in claim 7 made of filled nylon or other polymer.

9. A unit as claimed in any preceding claim in which the spigot and protector are formed integral with each other, as for instance, a unitary moulding.

10. A unit as claimed in any preceding claim in which the spigot has a cylindrical wall within which there is a substantially rectangular wall defining the spigot part of the socket.

11. A unit as claimed in any preceding claim in which one or more keying formations are provided in the socket for interengagement with formations on a reflector mounting in the socket.

12. A unit as claimed in any preceding claim in which one or more keying formations is or are provided in the spigot to interengage with the road surface material or with adhesive between the spigot and the road surface for the purpose of resisting removal of the base unit from the road surface.

13. A reflecting roadstud which comprises a base unit having an upright substantially cylindrical spigot for reception in a cylindrical hole in road surfacing and a protector secured to the spigot, the protector being substantially rectangular as seen from above, extending fore and aft of the spigot, so that it forms flanges, the undersides of which rest on a surface of the road surface when the spigot is inserted in a hole in that surface, the protector and the spigot together defining a substantially rectangular (as seen from above) socket, the socket extending above and below the level of the underside of the protector and the protector also providing fore and aft ramps, and a deformable and replaceable reflector mounting received in the socket with at least one reflector facing in a fore and aft direction and aligned with an opening in the associated fore or aft ramp.

14. A roadstud as claimed in claim 13 which incorporates in its base unit any of the features of claims 2 to 12.

15. A base unit for a reflecting roadstud substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.