GB2338017A - A traffic sign mountable to a road cone or cylinder - Google Patents

Abstract

A traffic sign (4) for mounting on a road cone or cylinder comprises a front face, a rear face (3) and at least two straps (1,2) for attaching the sign to a road cone or cylinder. Each strap is attached to the rear face by at least one fixing member (5) which extends through the sign from one face to the other face and through the strap. The fixing member also passes through a low friction washer (10) located between the rear face and the strap. The straps can also be arranged for partial rotation about the fixing members. The fixing members may be rivets for mounting onto a cylinder a hole (x) is provided to receive a pin for anchoring the sign.

Description

2338017 1 A Traffic Si The present invention relates to a traffic sign for

mounting on a road cone or cylinder.

Temporary or emergency road traffic signs may be rernovably mounted on traffic cones or cylinders.

When such a sign is mounted it should be flat and should not wrap itself around the cone, as emphasized by the Department of Transport's Traffic Signs Manual (Chapter 8, Volume 0.

Since temporary or emergency traffic signs are not intended for permanent display they need to be easily and efficiently stored. Generally, the signs are stored in an upright position in a box, whilst the supporting cones are stacked together.

GB 2213854 B discloses a road sign which is removably mounted on a cone. Referring to Figure A hereto, the sign is mounted on the cone using mount members 20. 21 which are secured to a rear face 18 of the sign using self tapping screws 19. The ends of lengths of rope 22, 23 are secured within the mount members. The lengths of rope are looped over the road cone.

One problem with a sign of this type is that it is bulky to store and its ropes are not able to circumvent a cone snugly. In one example, such a prior art road sign comprises a 3mm deep dense plastic sheet (which has the additional disadvantage of being very flexible) and a 35mm deep mounting member.

There appears to be a need for a device for the temporary mounting of traffic signs that provides traffic signs which are so compact for storage purposes that, for example, ten traffic signs can be accommodated in a space which is filled with three prior ail signs.

The present invention seeks to provide an improved traffic sign.

According to the present invention there is a provided a traffic sign for mounting on a road 2 cone or cylinder, the sign comprising a front face, a rear face and at least two straps for attaching the sign to a road cone or cylinder, wherein each strap is attached to the rear face by at least one fixing member which extends through the sign from one face to the other face and through the strap.

Preferably the fixing member is a rivet. The fixing member may be located at or towards each end of each strap.

The traffic sign may comprise a layer of plastic material mounted adjacent the front face and between the front face and the straps. This layer of plastic material may be a sheet of foamed plastic or a sheet of dense plastic. One face of the layer of plastic material may be the rear face of the sign. Preferably, this layer of plastic material confers rigidity to the sign.

Each end of each strap may be spaced from the other end of each strap. One strap may differ in length from another strap to conform to the circumference of a supporting cone.

In one embodiment, the ends of the straps lie substantially flat against the rear face. The straps may be arranged for partial rotation about the fixing members.

At least one low ffiction washer may be located between the rear face and each strap, each washer being arranged such that a fixing member extends therethrough.

At least one low friction washer may be located adjacent to each strap on the side of the strap remote from the rear face, each washer being arranged such that a fixing member extends therethrough.

1, The traffic sign may further comprise an aperture extending through the sign from one face to the other face for receiving a pin element for anchoring the sign.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is a provided a traffic sign mounted on a road cone or cylinder, the sign comprising a front face, a rear face and at least two straps for attaching the sign to the road cone or cylinder, wherein each strap is attached to the rear face by at least one fixing member which extends through the sign 1 3 from one face to the other face and through the strap.

The sign of the present invention has several advantages over the prior art. For example, no bulky mounting member is needed. The straps are fixed directly (with or without a low friction washer being present between the rear face and each strap) to the rear face of the sign, so the traffic signs are slimmer than those of the prior art. Also, the width of each strap makes good frictional contact with a supporting cone. Further, the straps are rectangular rather than circular in cross section, thereby reducing any tendency for the sign to move relative to a supporting cone, for example in strong winds. Moreover, the arrangement of the straps enables them to circumvent a cone relatively snugly so that the sign is securely mounted on the cone in use.

In one embodiment the present invention provides a temporary mounting for traffic signs comprising a sign backing in the form of a foamed plastic sheet which carries the traffic diagram or legend on one side and the means of removable attachment, to a cone or cylinder, on the other side and wh= the means of attachment consists of two broad straps which are directly rivetted to the sign from front through to back and which are left in a semi-rotatable mode by the use of thin metal or plastic washers on the rivet shank and on top of the strap ends.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying Figures 1 and 2.

Figure A is a view of the rear face of a prior art traffic sign according to GB 2213 8 54.

Figure 1 is a view of the rear face of a traffic sign according to the present invention.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of part of the traffic sign of Figure 1 showing a rivet passing from the front face of the traffic sign to the rear face thereof Referring to Figure 1, a sign 4 has a front face which bears a traffic diagram or legend (not shown).

4 The sign in Figure 1 is a triangular warning sign. Rectangular information signs and circular mandatory signs may also be used.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the temporary mounting of traffic signs device comprises a set of two broad straps 1 and 2 which are fixed to the back 3 of a road sign 4 by means of rivets 5 which pass directly through the sign 4 from front to back and in so doing penetrate a printed sign film 6, a foamed plastic sheet 7, a low friction washer 8, the ends of the straps 9, another low friction washer 10 and a metal or plastic washer 11. All these layers are permanently held in position by the deformed end of the rivet 12.

The broad straps 1 and 2 are about 1.5min in thickness, about 45 to 50 mm in width and are a seat-belt type of strapping. Their ends 9 lie flat on the back surface of the foamed plastic sheet 7 when fixed by the rivets 5 and are then capable of being partially rotated around the shank of the rivet by simple hand twisting. This effect is made much easier by the incorporation of the low friction washer 8, which may be made of PTFE 15 (polytetrafluoroethylene) and which separates the strap surface from the back surface of thesheet7. If required the second low friction washer 10 can be inserted between the upper strap surface and the rigid washer 11 so that the strap surfaces, in compression, are sandwiched between two low friction washers and offer very low resistance to partial rotation in both directions.

When a Prescribed Traffic Sign or an Authorised Traffic Sign conforming to, or allowed by, the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 is equipped with mounting straps, it is found that the sign will instantaneously fit on to a road traffic cone and the broad fixing straps will partially rotate around the rivets of their fixed ends so that the strap contact area with the curved surface of the cone is both large and parallel thus ensuring maximum fixation and stability.

The cones should preferably conform to cone Diagram 577 (7101) and the cylinder should preferably conform to Diagram 578 (7103), both being deemed 'prescribed traffic signs' under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, although a road cone which is used to hold and display a traffic indicator is not required to conform with the provisions of Regulation 29 of the Act.

Any size of cone can be used as a mount, consistent with the size of the sign to be mounted, but in practice the most common cone in use at present is the 75Omm high cone and in this case the broad straps for fixing the sign are cut and fixed to the sign so that the bottom of the mounted sign conforms with the law by being a minimum clearance distance of 30Omm from the ground. When the road sign has been mounted and then demounted the cut ends of the rivetted straps, which were originally parallel, are rotated to an angle (as shown in Figure 1) which reflects the size and slope of the selected road traffic cone.

Traffic cylinders are either fixed into the bases of existing reflecting road studs or into purpose made bases and are only used to separate opposing flows of traffic where one carriageway of a dual-carriageway road is required to carry two-way traffic or to separate two lanes which are to become segregated or to he rejoined. Their use is therefore somewhat restricted when compared to that for traffic cones but nevertheless the traffic sign with its broad strap ends in a parallel conformation, will take up the shape of the curved surface of a cylinder; it is found that the top strap 1 fits over the road cylinder in a snug fashion whilst the bottom strap 2 is slightly wider but of sufficiently small diameter to prevent large excursions of the sign in the wind. It is apparent that in such a position on a road cylinder the sign is inclined to fall under gravity and contact the ground. To prevent this happening and to allow the bottom of the sign to be at least 300min from the ground a disposable plastic stud or pin is passed through the sign hole 'W' to act as a stop across the flat top surface of the road cylinder.

It can be seen therefore that road signs equipped with flexible broad straps, as opposed to elongate cords, ropes or cables, have the ability to conform to curved surfaces, and with fixed ends which can partially rotate on their rivets, they contact sloped curves with the maximum amount of parallel contact area.

Overall, therefore, when dismounted for storage and transportation purposes it has been found that signs according to the present invention are so slim that twenty of them can be accommodated in an upright fashion in a box which normally can carry only six of the conventional signs which have back attachment mounts for ropes or cord.

Claims (1)

1. Claims

   1.

   3.

   6.

   9.

   5. A traffic sign as claimed in any preceding claim wherein a fixing member is located at or towards each end of each strap.

   6 A traffic sign for mounting on a road cone or cylinder, the sign comprising a front face, a rear face and at least two suns for attaching the sign to a road cone or cylinder, wherein each strap is attached to the rear face by at least one fixing member which extends through the sign from one face to the other face and through the strap.

   A traffic sign as claimed in claim 1 wherein the fixing member is a rivet.

   A traffic sign as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 comprising a layer of plastic material mounted adjacent the front face and between the front face and the straps.

   A traffic sign as claimed in claim 3 wherein the layer of plastic material is a sheet of foamed plastic.

   A traffic sign as claimed in any preceding claim wherein each end of each strap is spaced from the other end of each strap.

   A traffic sign as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the ends of the straps lie substantially flat against the rear face.

   A traffic sign as claimed in any preceding claim wherein at least one low friction washer is located between the rear face and each strap, each washer being arranged such that a fixing member extends therethrough.

   A traffic sign as claimed in any preceding claim wherein at least one low friction washer is located adjacent to each strap on the side of the strap remote from the rear face, each washer being arranged such that a fixing member 7 extends therethrough.

   10.

   A traffic sign as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the straps are arranged for partial rotation about the fixing members.

   11.

   A traffic sign as claimed in any preceding claim further comprising an aperture extending through the sign from one face to the other face for receiving a pin element for anchoring the sign.

   12.

   A traffic sign according to any preceding claim mounted on a road cone or cylinder.

   13.

   A traffic sign substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings.

   14.

   A traffic sign mounted on road cone or cylinder substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings.