GB2290343A - Clamping device - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a device (1) for fixing supports for road sign panels on a safety dividing wall. The device comprises a clamp (7) having two jaws (8a, 8b) that are hinged to each other, locking/unlocking means (18, 20) for the two jaws (8a, 8b), and clamping means for clamping the jaws (8a, 8b) against the wall. The clamping means comprise a plurality of rows of lugs (29) hinged to the jaws (8a, 8b) pointing obliquely upwards and into the space (31) defined between the jaws. Downwards pivoting of each lug (29) is limited by a rod (32). The lugs (29) are biased by springs (33). The locking/unlocking means include at least one cam (18) actuated by a tilting handle (20). The ends of the lugs (29) co-operate by friction with the side faces of the wall and they ensure that the device is permanently clamped on the wall. <IMAGE>

Description

A DEVICE FOR FIXING SUPPORTS FOR ROAD SIGN PANELS ON A DIVIDING WALL The present invention relates to a device for fixing supports for panels, in particular road sign panels, on the safety dividing walls of concrete that border the carriageways of roads or motorways. Such dividing walls are often referred to as crash barriers or rails.

Various devices are known at present for fixing road sign panels on concrete barriers. These devices are of two types, depending on whether they are devices for permanent fixing or devices for temporary fixing.

A permanent fixing device is constituted by a section bar of complementary shape to the barrier. The bar is fixed to the concrete by pegs and bolts. This type of device suffers from the drawback of not being quickly removable and of being suitable for use only with permanent road signs or with road signs that, although temporary, are of long duration.

A temporary fixing device is used to install a road sign of short or medium duration. This type of device must be capable of being installed and removed in a period of time that is as short as possible, given the working conditions which are considered dangerous for the personnel involved.

Furthermore, fixing a temporary fixing device should not damage the surface state of a dividing wall.

Several panel support devices are known which are dismountable. Those devices are in the form of clamps that fit over the shape of the barrier. One side of the clamp is stationary while the other side is moving. The assembly is clamped onto the dividing wall by clamping together the two sides or jaws of the clamps so that they bear against the side faces of the wall, with clamping drive coming from a wedging system actuated by an operating lever.

Such dismountable devices are of various degrees of effectiveness, but they suffer from several drawbacks, in particular because of upwardly tapering shape of the dividing wall and because of the smooth and uninterrupted surface state of the sloping side faces of the wall. The gripping opportunities presented to the jaws are thus restricted. The clamping system is put under large amount of stress by the effects of the wind applying forces to the panels which are mounted on such devices.

These forces can give rise to play and to the entire assembly constituted by the panel plus the device for fixing the panel support blowing over. The small amount of play in the clamping of the jaws of the clamp renders the effectiveness of known devices doubtful.

In addition, installing known devices requires actions to be performed by an operator that involve pushing or pulling a lever, or else using a tool to hammer a locking part, with the result that the work is performed more or less well depending on the physical strength of the operator. Furthermore, such operations require a certain amount of attention on the part of the operator and they increase the time required for their performance.

The object of the present invention is to propose a fixing device which is easy to implement, both during installation and when being removed, that does not require a special tool, and that ensures better retention of the device on the wall by taking up any play.

The invention thus provides a device for fixing supports for panels on a wall that, close to its top, presents sloping side faces that flare outwards and downwards, said device comprising a clamp having a stationary jaw and a moving jaw that moves relative to the stationary jaw, together with means for clamping said jaws on said wall, said jaws having inside side surfaces designed to co-operate with the sloping side faces of said wall under the action of said clamping means in order to lock said device on said wall.

According to the invention, the device is characterized by the fact that the moving jaw is hingemounted on the stationary jaw in such a manner as to be able to pivot about a horizontal axis situated in the top portion of said clamp; by the fact that said device includes: locking/unlocking means designed to lock the moving jaw relative to the stationary jaw in an installation position in which the jaws are relatively closer together, their inside side surfaces making between them an angle that is substantially equal to the angle between the sloping slide faces of the wall, and enabling said jaws to be moved apart from each other towards a withdrawal position; and actuator means for actuating the locking/unlocking means; and by the fact that the means for locking the jaws on the wall comprise: a plurality of lugs mounted on said jaws in such a manner as to be capable of pivoting about corresponding axes parallel to the pivot axis of the jaws, said lugs having end portions suitable for projecting into the space defined between the inside side surfaces of said jaws, said end portions pointed into said space and towards the top portion of the clamp; resilient means exerting forces on said lugs tending to cause them to tilt said end portions downwards; and abutment means for limiting the downward tilting of said end portions, whereby said end portions co-operate by friction with the sloping side faces of the wall when an upwardly-directed force is exerted on said device once mounted on the wall, while allowing the lugs free to slide over said lateral faces while the clamp in its installation position is being put into place on the wall.

In particular dispositions of the invention, the locking/unlocking means comprise at least one cam hinged on a shaft on one of the jaws.

The actuator means comprise a handle secured to said cam.

When the space defined by the inside side walls of the jaws is empty, and said jaws are directed downwards, the handle/cam assembly tends automatically, under the action of its own weight, to urge the jaws into the installation position under the action of its own weight The lugs are organized in a plurality of horizontal rows of lugs, the lugs in any one row being rotatably mounted on a shaft carried by the corresponding jaw.

For each row of lugs, the abutment means comprise a rod parallel to the shaft carrying the lugs of said row of lugs, and mounted on the corresponding jaw.

The resilient means comprise compression springs interposed between said lugs and thrust flats provided on said jaws.

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention appear on reading the following description given by way of example and made with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic section through a concrete barrier on which the device of the invention is mounted; Figure 2 is a front view on a larger scale of the device of the invention, with a portion of the casing of the device being cut away for greater clarity; Figure 3 is a perspective view of the device of the invention; and Figure 4 is a detail view in perspective showing how a lug is mounted on a jaw.

In the drawings, reference 1 designates a device for fixing a support 2 for road sign panels 3a and 3b on a concrete wall 4 forming a safety barrier between two carriageways or running along the side of a road or a motorway. The wall 4 has a top face 5 that runs into two oblique side faces 6a and 6b having an angle A between them.

The fixing device essentially comprises a clamp whose vertical cross-section constitutes an upsidedown Ushape. The side flanges of the clamp 7 slope parallel to the side faces 6a and 6b when the clamp 7 is fixed on top of the wall 4, and they have inside side surfaces which co-operate by friction or by clamping with the sloping side faces 6a and 6b of the wall 4 in a manner that is described below.

The clamp 7 is made up of two portions or jaws 8a and 8b that are hinged about a horizontal axis 9 situated in the high or top portion 10 of the clamp 7. The jaw 8a is stationary and has two parallel horizontal top arms 11a and lib designed to rest on the top 5 of the wall, with each of the arms 11a and llb having a downwardly sloping leg 12a or 12b respectively at one of its ends.

The two legs 12a and 12b are interconnected by a plate 13. The axis 9 is situated in the vicinity of the free ends of the arms lia and lib.

The jaw 8b moves relative to the stationary jaw 8a.

It likewise has two downwardly sloping legs 14a and 14b that are interconnected by a plate 15, and two horizontal arms 16a and 16b that are adjacent inside the arms lia and llb of the stationary jaw 8a. These two arms 16a and 16b are disposed above the bottom faces of the arms Ila and lib in such a manner as to enable the moving jaw 8b to pivot relative to the stationary jaw 8a about the axis 9.

As can be seen in Figures 2 and 3, a shaft 17 is pivotally mounted on the arms lia and lib of the stationary jaw 8a beneath the arms 16a and 16b of the moving jaw 8b. At least one cam 18 is mounted on the shaft 17 and co-operates with a plate 19 that is secured to one of the arms 16a or 16b of the moving jaw 8b.A handle 20 is fixed on the cam 18 for the purpose of actuating the cam 18 so that the jaws 8a and 8b can take up two positions: a clamp-installation position 7 that is shown in solid lines in Figure 2 and in which the crosssection of the clamp corresponds to the section of the top of the wall 4, and a removal or withdrawal position as shown in chain-dotted lines in Figure 2 where the legs 14a and 14b of the moving jaw 8b are moved away from the legs 12a and 12b of the stationary jaw 8a, with the angle formed between the inside side surfaces of the jaws 8a and 8b then being greater than the angle A formed by the side faces 6a and 6b of the wall 4.

A fixing element 21 for the panel support 2 is provided on top of the clamp 7. The fixing element 21 is fixed to the arms 11a and llb of the stationary jaw Ba.

It comprises a horizontal bottom plate 22 having a hole 23, and a top portion 24 in the form of a loop that has a second hole 25 disposed vertically above the hole 23.

The panel support 2 is inserted through the holes 23 and 25 and is received in a socket 26 provided in a plate 27 which interconnects the bottom edges of the arms lla and 11b of the fixed jaw 8a. The shape of the socket 26 serves to hold the panel support 2 so that it extends in a desired direction. A locking-pin system (not shown in the drawings and secured to the fixing element 21) passes through the panel support 2, thereby ensuring safe locking between the device 1 and the support 2 with its panel(s) 3a, 3b? In an advantageous disposition of the invention, the handle 20 moves automatically into its low position under gravity. In this position of the handle 20, the arms 16a and 16b of the moving jaw 8b are locked between the cam 18 and the bottom plate 22 of the fixing element 21.In this configuration, the inside side surfaces of the jaws 8a and 8b, which surfaces are respectively defined by the inside edges of the legs 14a and 14b and also by the inside edges of the legs 12a and 12b, form between them an angle that is substantially equal to the angle A between the sloping side faces 6a and 6b of the wall 8.

A plurality of shafts 28 parallel to the hinge axis 9 between the moving jaw 8b and the stationary jaw 8a are fixed to the legs 12a and 12b of the fixed jaw 8a and to the legs 14a and 14b of the moving jaw Sb. Each of the shafts 28 has a row of lugs 29 rotatably mounted thereon with end portions 30 pointing upwards and towards the space 31 defined by the inside side surfaces of the jaws 8a and 8b, and also mounted thereon are rods 32 serving as bottom abutments for the lugs 29 and restricting downwards tilting of the lugs 29. Each lug 29 is urged downwards by a compression spring 33 which bears against a shelf 36 interconnecting the two legs of the corresponding jaw. The spring 33 is guided by a stud 34 provided on the lug or on the corresponding shelf.When the lugs 29 bear against their rods 32, the end portions 30 penetrate into the above-defined space 31.

As can be seen more clearly in Figure 4, each lug 29 includes a bore at one of its ends through which the shaft 28 passes. Annular spacers 34a are provided between pairs of lugs 29 in the same row in order to keep them spaced apart. The free end 35 of each lug 29 is semicylindrical in shape and parallel to the hinge axis 9 between the two jaws 8a and Sb.

The sloping position of the lugs 29 makes it possible to take the device 1 while it is in its installation position and fit it on the top of the wall, with the ends 35 of the lugs 29 then sliding along the sloping and smooth faces 6a and 6b of the wall 4. If necessary, each lug 29 pivots about its shaft 28 against its spring 33 and moves away from its support rod 32.

When the device 1, while in its installation position, is put into place on the top of the wall 4, the springs 33 exert compression forces on the lugs 29 that are sufficient to hold the ends 35 of the lugs 29 bearing against the corresponding faces 6a and 6b of the wall 4.

The device 1 is automatically locked on the wall 4 by the lugs 29.

The springs 33 are provided in such a manner that the ends 35 of the lugs 29 exert sufficient friction against the faces 6a and 6b of the wall 4 to enable the device to be held on the wall if a force urges the device 1 upwards, and even if the device 1 becomes partially disengaged.

It should be observed that the rods 32 serve only to point the lugs 29 in an appropriate direction while the device 1 is in its installation position and is not engaged on the wall 4.

It will be observed that the lugs 29 make it possible to eliminate automatically any play that exists in the clamping of prior art fixing devices, and ensures that the device 1 is permanently clamped to the wall 4.

To remove the device 1, it suffices to lift the handle 20, thereby releasing the moving jaw 8b whose legs 14a and 14b move away in an outwards direction, so that the lugs 29 no longer co-operate with the faces 6a and 6b of the wall 4, thus allowing the device 1 to be lifted by means of the loop 24 of the fixing element 21 while keeping the handle 20 in the high position.

The handle 20 does not have a stable location in the high position so that as soon as it has been released by the operator it falls back under gravity. This ensures that the clamp 7 is automatically returned to its installation position whenever the handle 7 is released after the device has been withdrawn.

The outside cheeks of the clamp 7 are protected by plates 13 and 15 which interconnect the legs 12a & 12b and 14a & 14b. In addition, the handle 20 is received within the width of the device.

Claims (1)

1/ A device for fixing supports (2) for panels (3a, 3b) on a wall (4) that, close to its top, presents sloping side faces (6a, 6b) that flare outwards and downwards, said device (1) comprising a clamp (7) having a stationary jaw (8a) and a moving jaw (8b) that moves relative to the stationary jaw (8a), together with means for clamping said jaws (8a, 8b) on said wall (4), said jaws having inside side surfaces designed to co-operate with the sloping side faces (6a, 6b) of said wall (4) under the action of said clamping means in order to lock said device on said wall; the device being characterized by the fact that the moving jaw (8b) is hinge-mounted on the stationary jaw (8a) in such a manner as to be able to pivot about a horizontal axis (9) situated in the top portion (10) of said clamp (7);; by the fact that said device includes: locking/unlocking means (18) designed to lock the moving jaw (8b) relative to the stationary jaw (8a) in an installation position in which the jaws (8a, 8b) are relatively closer together, their inside side surfaces making between them an angle that is substantially equal to the angle (A) between the sloping slide faces (6a, 6b) of the wall (4), and enabling said jaws (8a, 8b) to be moved apart from each other towards a withdrawal position; and actuator means (20) for actuating the locking/unlocking means (19); and by the fact that the means for locking the jaws on the wall comprise: a plurality of lugs (29) mounted on said jaws (8a, 8b) in such a manner as to be capable of pivoting about corresponding axes (28) parallel to the pivot axis (9) of the jaws (8a, 8b), said lugs (29) having end portions (30) suitable for projecting into the space (31) defined between the inside side surfaces of said jaws (8a, 8b), said end portions (30) pointed into said space (31) and towards the top portion (10) of the clamp (7); resilient means (33) exerting forces on said lugs (29) tending to cause them to tilt said end portions (30) downwards; and abutment means (32) for limiting the downward tilting of said end portions (30), whereby said end portions co-operate by friction with the sloping side faces (6a, 6b) of the wall (4) when an upwardly-directed force is exerted on said device once mounted on the wall, while allowing the lugs free to slide over said lateral faces (6a, 6b) while the clamp (7) in its installation position is being put into place on the wall.

2/ A device according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that the locking/unlocking means comprise at least one cam (18) hinged on a shaft (17) on one of the jaws (8a, 8b).

3/ A device according to claim 2, characterized by the fact that the actuator means comprise a handle (20) secured to said cam (18).

4/ A deice according to claim 3, characterized by the fact that when the space (31) defined by the inside side walls of the jaws (8a, 8b) is empty, and jaws are directed downwards, the handle/cam assembly tends automatically, under the action of its own weight, to urge the jaws (8a, 8b) into the installation position.

5/ A device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized by the fact that the lugs (29) are organized in a plurality of horizontal rows of lugs, the lugs in any one row being rotatably mounted on a shaft (28) carried by the corresponding jaw (8a).

6/ A device according to claim 5, characterized by the fact that for each row of lugs (29), the abutment means comprise a rod (32) parallel to the shaft (29) carrying the lugs (29) of said row of lugs, and mounted on the corresponding jaw (8a).

7/ A device according to claim 5 or 6, characterized by the fact that spacers (34a) are provided between the lugs (29) in the same row of lugs.

8/ A device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized by the fact that the resilient means comprise compression springs (33) interposed between said lugs (29) and thrust flats (36) provided on said jaws (8a, 8b).

9/ A device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized by the fact that the end portions (30) of the lugs (29) have semicylindrical tips (35) parallel to the hinge axis (9) of the jaws (8a, 8b).

10/ A device for fixing a panel-support on a wall, the device being substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.