GB2282623A - Vehicle Barrier - Google Patents

Abstract

A vehicle barrier, Fig. 1, comprises an impact member 2 removably attached to a base plate 3. The impact member comprises a central plate 6 having an impact surface 10 formed on an end of the plate and which is inclined upwardly and rearwardly from the direction of impact The impact surface is arranged to contact the undersurface of a vehicle driven at the barrier forcing the vehicle upwards. Two additional side plates 7 may be attached at an angle of 45 DEG to the center plate to form a pyramid shape therewith. The side plates have similarly inclined impact surfaces 11 and engage a vehicle being driven at the barrier from the side. In an alternative embodiment, Fig. 3, the impact member is pivotally secured to a base member for movement between operative and inoperative positions. <IMAGE>

Description

BARRIER The present invention concerns a barrier for inhibiting access into or from a given area.

It is a common requirement to be able to temporarily prevent the passage of vehicles into or from a given point, for example for preventing unauthorised vehicles making use of a limited parking area or for preventing vehicles from being removed without authority from a certain area. Also with safety or security in mind it is often a necessary requirement to prevent vehicles approaching a particular building too closely.

In this connection, a crime which has become more prevalent and which requires similar protective counter measures is that of ram raiding where a vehicle is used to ram, for example, a shop front thereby allowing thieves access to the contents of that shop.

For the above mentioned applications, arrangements have previously been proposed for inhibiting motor vehicle access into or from a given area. In GB-A-2 272 467, for example, a post is disclosed which when not in use lies flush with the ground but when erected faces outwardly at an inclined position to discourage, for example, potential ram raiders.

Similarly, in GB-A-2 267 759 a collapsible vehicle barrier is disclosed which can be raised, when desired, to provide a vertical barrier.

Such arrangements however suffer from certain disadvantages, namely, for example, that they have to be securely mounted; this usually entailing burying their anchoring points deep in concrete. This necessitates the expense of employing a workforce with the appropriate equipment necessary to carry out the required installation with its associated disruption.

Also, such known arrangements rely on the fact that they provide a physical barrier, i.e. they rely on their resistance to impact to prevent access to a given area, this being dependent on their strength which in turn is determined by the quality of the materials used in their construction and how well they are mounted. Moreover, although such arrangements can provide protection to a degree against a single ramming, they can be dislodged relatively easily under repeated impacts.

A further problem in such arrangements concerns safety and relates to the manner in which such devices are intended to prevent ram raiding occurring. In simple terms, such barriers are intended to reinforce, for example, a shop front area such that if a ram raider were to drive at speed against the barrier, the barrier would be of sufficient strength to prevent the vehicle proceeding beyond the barrier into the shop frontage. The barrier is thus designed to stop the vehicle as quickly as possible and thus involves large reactive forces on impact which clearly may cause injury to the vehicle occupants. With the arrangement of GB-A-2 272 467, the post is arranged to impale any vehicle attempting t pass it, thereby being highly likely to harm the vehicle occupants.Whilst thus the practice of ram raiding is unlawful, in the prevention thereof, it would be preferable not to seriously endanger the lives of any participants thereof.

It is thus an object of the invention to provide a barrier which can offer a more effective manner in which to inhibit access into or from a given area.

According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a barrier for inhibiting access for a vehicle to a given area, the barrier comprising: anchoring means for anchoring the barrier to the ground; a forward facing portion of the barrier comprising an impact member for engaging the said vehicle; wherein the impact member is inclined upwardly in a rearward direction of the barrier, the impact member being configured to engage an underside of the vehicle.

A vehicle driven at the barrier will thus be inhibited from gaining access to the given protected area since its underside will engage the inclined impact member, preferably thereby lifting the front thereof off the ground as the vehicle continues forwardly. As the vehicle progresses up the inclined impact member, the resulting friction between the vehicle's underside and the impact member will absorb the forward inertia of the vehicle so as to slow it down and eventually cause it to stop. The engagement between the impact member and the vehicle underside will moreover cause damage to the underside of the vehicle thereby preventing the vehicle's further usage.

The impact member may take the form of a single forward facing inclined impact plate or more preferably comprises a plurality of outwardly projecting impact plates arranged relative to one another to define a pyramidal shape. The pyramidal shape of the barrier allows it to accommodate vehicles driven at it with non head-on approach directions.

In the preferred embodiments the barrier is removably anchored to the ground. The barrier may in this regard comprise a base component fixed permanently to the ground, the impact member being attachable to the base component. The impact member and the base member may be locked together by any suitable locking means although a security padlock is preferred.

Alternatively, the impact member may be attached to the base component and movable from an undeployed position, where the impact member is substantially flush with the ground, to a deployed position, where the impact member is raised.

The impact member may in this connection comprise a front impact plate member and a co-operating rear plate member, both plate members being of a substantially triangular shape.

The sides of the rear plate member may comprise side impact plates.

Preferably the base component comprises a pair of L-shaped anchor plates which when in position in the ground extend to different depths. In this manner any forces applied to the plates are distributed in different shear planes in the ground, thereby increasing the anchoring strength.

The anchor plates are preferably spaced from one another to allow said front impact plate of the impact member to pass between them when the impact member is moved into the undeployed position.

The impact member is preferably pivotally mounted to the base component at the rear of the barrier and is lockable at the front of the barrier via a padlock arrangement.

The impact member is preferably formed of plate steel having a thickness not greater than 25 mm. The edge surface or surfaces of the impact member plate or plates facing the likely direction of approach of a vehicle will on impact with the vehicle underside force the vehicle upwardly. The edge surface or surfaces will moreover tend to tear into the underside of the vehicle thereby increasing the frictional forces between the impact member and the vehicle. Any greater thickness of the impact member plate edge would provide too large a contact surface area between the front underside of the vehicle and the impact member. If the contact area is too great the action of the impact member tearing into the underside of the vehicle, thereby slowing it down and latching on to it will not occur, such that the vehicle may be projected off the barrier which is clearly not desirable.

In a preferred embodiment the impact member is inclined at an angle of 300 to 500 to the vertical and more preferably 40".

The vertical is here a notional direction normal to the ground surface on which the barrier is mounted. This angle of inclination has been found to be most effective in retarding vehicles travelling at up to 30 mph (48 kmph). In tests, this angle has also been found the most effective in retarding the vehicle progressively so as to avoid injuries to the occupants of the vehicle that may be caused by an overly sudden change in vehicle speed.

In the preferred embodiments, the impact member extends rearwardly towards a point. The point serves to latch the vehicle to the barrier thereby preventing removal thereof.

Preferably the impact member is provided with a stop at its rearmost end, which will inhibit further forward movement of the vehicle. The stop and point may be provided as a single component.

In a preferred embodiment the barrier may be provided in combination with a moulding which is removably positioned over the barrier, the moulding being formed in a shape to enhance the appearance of the barrier and to make additional use of the space it occupies, for example, in the shape of a waste paper bin, seat or plant retainer. In the event that a vehicle is driven at the combined barrier and moulding, the moulding readily disintegrates such that the barrier operates to inhibit access there beyond.

Certain embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: Figure 1 shows in perspective a view of a first embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 shows an exploded view in perspective of the components of the embodiment shown in figure 1; Figure 3 shows in perspective a second embodiment of the present invention with the barrier in the deployed position; Figure 4 shows the embodiment of figure 3 with the barrier in the undeployed position; Figure 5 shows a perspective view of a vehicle following an attempt to pass the barrier according to the preferred embodiments of the present invention; and Figures 6A, 6B and 6C shows the views of possible mouldings for use in conjunction of barriers of figures 1 to 5.

Figures 1 to 6 show barrier arrangements which have a principle application in preventing ram raiding but which may be used in any application where prevention of vehicle access to or from a given area is required. In the particular context of ram raiding, this is proving to be a crime which is on the increase. Present security devices which are available do little to deter the ardent criminal. These devices tend to be steel post type arrangements that are mounted in concrete usually in front of the frontage of a shop often which also has steel roller blinds. Such post arrangements have many disadvantages, namely: (1) They have to be buried deep in concrete.This necessitates the expense of hiring someone with the right equipment necessary to excavate the required hole; (2) They rely on the fact that they provide a physical barrier, i.e. their strength is reliant on the quality of the materials used in their construction and how well they are mounted; (3) Although standing to height of approximately up to 1 m above ground level they can be easily dislodged with repeated ramming; and (4) They are not designed with the safety of the potential ram raider in mind.

The barriers of this application seek to overcome the problems associated with existing devices by adopting a different approach to retarding the vehicle, namely that whereby the forward inertia of the vehicle is more effectively absorbed.

In this connection and as shown in figures 1 and 2, the barrier comprises a barrier component 2 and a base component 3. The barrier component is removably mounted on the base component and is held in place by a large pin 4 and padlock (not shown). When not in use the barrier component can be easily removed to be stored elsewhere thus allowing vehicles access to the premises otherwise protected.

The barrier component 2 is constructed of a number of angled plates that form a pyramid shape, for example, in the order of 500 mm in height. It comprises a centre plate 6 whose front rises vertically to a height of 160 mm and then angles back preferably at 40 to the vertical to form a main impact surface 10. The back surface of the plate is angled at 300 to the vertical. To the centre of this plate are welded two side plates 7 at 450. The fronts of these plates rise vertically to a height of 94 mm and then are angled at 450 to the vertical. The centre and side plates converge towards a point 12.

To this basic shape are welded a further number of angled plates 8 that form upper and lower shelves. A handle 9 that facilitates mounting of the barrier in position is fitted to the back edge of the centre plate.

To the front edge of the two side plates 7 are fitted two casters 15, that facilitate easy movement of the barrier component.

The base component 3 is constructed of two 45" angled plates that are fixed approximately 8 mm apart to the ground by any suitable means. It has been found that four to six 100 mm rawbolts (not shown) are generally sufficient. To the straight edge of each of these plates are welded two pieces of angle iron 13. To the angled edges of the plates are welded two base stops 14. As a result of the absorbative manner in which the barrier operates to retard vehicles, the necessity for deep anchoring mountings can be dispensed with.

The two components fit together as follows: With the base component fitted to the ground, the barrier component is wheeled between the two plates until it abuts the base stops 14. The two are then joined together by a fixing pin 4 which is preferably 139 mm in length, 19 mm in diameter and which has a fixing hole 5 of 12.5 mm diameter at a tapered end.

The pin is slid under one of the angle irons 13 on one of the base plates through a hole 16 on the centre plate and under the angle iron on the other base plate. A padlock is then passed through the fixing hole 5 which secures the two components together.

The barrier operates as follows. When a vehicle hits the front of the barrier, its momentum carries it up the angled front impact surface 10. The incline on the impact surface has an effect in dissipating the forward inertia of the vehicle.

If a vehicle attempts to avoid the front impact member by approaching the barrier at an angle, the side members 7 which have similarly angled impact surfaces 11 will carry out the same function as the front impact member 10. The effect of forcing the vehicle upward combined with the frictional resistance force between the impact surface and the vehicle underside, which is exacerbated by the incline, is to slow the vehicle down in a relatively short distance. When the vehicle reaches the top of the barrier it becomes jammed on the central point 12, which is configured to snag the vehicle underside.

As well as forcing the vehicle upwardly this edge surface of the impact member will tend to tear into the underside of the vehicle thereby increasing the frictional forces between the impact member and the vehicle. A thickness of greater than 25 mm for the impact member plate edges would provide a too large contact surface area between the front underside of the vehicle and the impact member. If the contact area is too great the action of the impact member of tearing into the underside of the vehicle, thereby slowing it down and latching on to it, will not occur such that the vehicle may be projected off the barrier which is clearly not desirable.

Considerable energy is imparted to the barrier and its impact surfaces are designed to crumple to a degree to more effectively absorb such energy. Any forward movement of the vehicle remaining as it reaches the top of the barrier may be checked by a stop as shown in the second embodiment.

Forward movement of the barrier itself is checked by the fixings on the base plates and the pin fixing assembly 4, 13 which is also designed to minimise any upward movement. The relatively inaccessible positioning of the pin fixing moreover makes it very difficult to tamper with the connection between the barrier component and the base component.

The barrier thus provides an effective and relatively safe form of defence for protecting a particular area against intrusion from vehicles.

A further arrangement is shown in Figures 3 and 4. In this example, a barrier 20 is shown which is permanently in place, where required, but which is arranged to be deployable between "up" and "down" positions. The area 27 designates ground level. The barrier comprises a barrier component 21 and an base or anchor component 22. The anchor component is buried into the ground and comprises two L-shaped plates 23,24 which are spaced from one another.

The barrier component 21 comprises two generally triangular shaped plates 25, 26 welding together and pivotally mounted to the rear top surfaces of the anchor plates.

The anchor component is constructed of two 4 mm angled steel plates having right angled ends, 100 mm in length. The plates extend to different depths so as to avoid acting in the same shear place. Namely, the left is 800 mm x 640 mm while the right is 800 mm x 710 mm. The plates are welded to four 12 mm thick spacers on each of their four corners. This gives the plates a stepped appearance when viewed from the front.

Both plates have a fixing hole 28 of 16.4 mm diameter at the rear which accommodates a pivot pin which connects them to the barrier component.

The barrier component comprises a rear plate 26 and a front plate 25. The rear plate 26 is of an angled shape constructed from a 750 x 680 x 6 mm steel floor plate. Looking from the top, the sides angle down at 600 from the back edge (the 750 mm length) to 50 mm to form a "V" shape. The rear plate is welded at its corner to the back edge of the front plate which is described below.

The front plate 25 is constructed from steel plate, preferably of thickness no greater than 25 mm and more preferably 10 mm, so as together with the rear plate form an overall basic pyramid shape. Its base is in the order of 710 mm in length.

Its back is angled at around 350 to the vertical and rises to a height of around 530 mm above ground level. Its front edge rises to height of around 195 mm above ground level at an angle of around 120 to the vertical and then angles back at 380 to the vertical. At the rear of the plate is a fixing hole preferably of 16.4 mm diameter.

To accommodate the barrier, a hole approximately 800 x 800 x 750 mm is required in the ground. In practice the device is mounted in the hole such that it is slightly below the level of the surrounding paved area. This is to prevent pedestrians from tripping over the device when it is laid flat and not in use. The fully assembled device is then placed in the hole on supporting blocks and the concrete is then poured to the required level. To avoid concrete from entering the device, tape may be placed around the sides and bottom.

When required to be used, the device is lifted up and a padlock 30 is placed through the hole 29 at the front edge of the front plate. In this regard the back plate includes a recess 31 for receiving a handle for lifting the barrier component from the "down" position. The front plate includes a further hole 32, positioned a little lower, which receives the handle, once the barrier component has been lifted from the "down" position, so as to prevent the barrier component moving into the "down " position as padlock is being fitted.

The fact that the front plate 25 extends below ground level between anchor plates 23, 24 is advantageous in that as such the barrier is strengthened against impacts which are not head-on.

Clearly, other methods of raising and lowering the mechanical barrier may be employed, utilizing for example hydraulics or lever arrangements, which may for example be activated perhaps from a remote location.

The barrier of this example operates in a manner similar to that of the previous example. When a vehicle hits the front of the device, its momentum carries it up the angled front impact 33 edge of the front plate assembly and as a result the vehicle becomes jammed on the top of the device. Access to the protected area is thus prevented and the vehicle is disabled. If the vehicle is driven other than square on to the barrier, impact surfaces 34 on plate 26 operate in the same manner as impact surface 33.

Considerable energy is impacted to the front plate/rear plates assembly and the tendency is for the back edge to pivot downwards thus causing the front edge to rise. To overcome this, a wedge shaped spacer 35 is placed between the two anchor plates at the front of the barrier as shown in Figure 3. Any upward movement by the rear plate/front plate assembly is checked as the front edge crushes up against the angled spacer.

As with the first example, the incline of the impact members is chosen so as to retard the vehicles motion as effectively as possible, with a view to avoiding serious injury to the occupants thereof.

Again, the thickness of the impact members is chosen to such that these members will tear into the vehicle's underside and not launch it over the barrier.

As is clear from Figure 3, the rear plate 26 extends beyond the top of the front plate 25 at the end of the front impact surface to form a stop. This stop may be reinforced to ensure the underside of the vehicle is effectively snagged. The rear plate moreover completely covers the internal workings of the barrier when in the undeployed position which is preferable from an aesthetic and safety viewpoint.

The dimensions of the various components of the barriers discussed above are appropriate to most applications. However, these dimensions are not intended to be limiting and the present invention may be applied to scaled up or scaled down versions of the barrier falling within the scope of the appended claims.

Figure 5 shows a perspective view of vehicle snagged on the barrier following an attempt to pass the barrier. As shown, the vehicle 36 has been forced upwardly along the inclined impact surface and has become snagged at the top of the barrier 37. As such the vehicle is prevented from gaining access to a protected area, for example a shop front. The vehicle is moreover disabled, preventing further ram raiding attempts therewith.

Figures 6A, 6B and 6C show mouldings that can be positioned over the barriers described above.

In particular, the mouldings can take the form of, for example, a bench 38, a waste-paper bin 39 or a plant container 40. Such mouldings are formed so as to enhance the appearance of the barrier and to make additional use of the space that it occupies. The mouldings are furthermore formed so as to collapse on impact so that in the event of a vehicle being driven at a barrier having such a moulding in place, as the vehicle engages the mouldings, it will disintegrate so that the barrier operates to effectively retard and disable the vehicle. Whilst any suitable material may be used for forming the mouldings, plastics are considered appropriate.

Clearly, alternative shapes of mouldings may be used, for example, those depicting cartoon characters, personalities, famous buildings of interest etc. The mouldings may moreover be used for advertising purposes. In use, such a moulding would be securely fixed in position over the barrier, by any suitable locking mechanism, thereby inhibiting unauthorised removal thereof.

Claims (16)

CLAIMS:

1. A barrier for inhibiting access for a vehicle to a given area, the barrier comprising: anchoring means for anchoring the barrier to the ground; a forward facing portion of the barrier comprising an impact member for engaging the said vehicle; wherein the impact member is inclined upwardly in a rearward direction of the barrier, the impact member being configured to engage an underside of the vehicle.

2. A barrier as claimed in claim 1, wherein the impact member comprises a plurality of outwardly projecting impact plates arranged relative to one another to define a pyramidal shape.

3. A barrier as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the barrier is removably anchored to the ground.

4. A barrier as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the barrier comprises a base component fixed permanently to the ground, the impact member being removably attachable to the base component.

5. A barrier as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the barrier comprises a base component fixed permanently to the ground, the impact member being attached to the base member and being movable from an undeployed position, where the impact member is substantially flush with the ground, to a deployed position, where the impact member is raised.

6. A barrier as claimed in claim 5, wherein the impact member comprises a front impact plate member and a cooperating rear plate member, both plate members being of a substantially triangular shape.

7. A barrier as claimed in claim 5 or 6, wherein the base component comprises a pair of L-shaped anchor plates which when in position in the ground extend to different depths.

8. A barrier as claimed in claim 7, wherein the anchor plates are spaced from one another to allow said front impact plate of the impact member to pass between them when the impact member is moved into the undeployed position.

9. A barrier as claimed in any of claims 5 to 8, wherein the impact member is pivotally mounted to the base component.

10. A barrier as claimed in any of claims 2 to 9, wherein the impact plates have a thickness not greater than 25 mm.

11. A barrier as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the impact member is inclined is at an angle of 30 to 500 to the vertical.

12. A barrier as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the impact member extends rearwardly towards a point.

13. A barrier as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the impact member is provided with a stop at its rearmost end.

14. A barrier as claimed in any preceding claim in combination with a moulding which is removably positioned over the barrier, the moulding being formed in a shape to enhance the appearance of the barrier.

15. A barrier and moulding combination as claimed in claim 14, wherein the moulding is in the shape of a waste paper bin, seat or plant retainer.

16. A barrier substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.