GB2408766A - Barrier securing device - Google Patents

Abstract

The barrier securing device, primarily for securing barriers alongside roads on construction sites, comprises a clip 1 shaped to engage around and clip onto an upper edge of a kerb 6 and a system for securing the barrier 9 to the clip. The clip is preferably C-shaped with a central section which, in use, lies flat on an upwardly-facing surface and front and rear end sections 3,4 which, in use, extend parallel to and grip the front and rear facing surfaces of the kerb. The clip is preferably formed from a sheet material, e.g. sheet steel, with barbs 5 formed in the end sections by being punched out. The securing system may comprise an element, preferably a spigot 7, that extends away from the clip and which preferably telescopically engages a barrier post. The spigot may be separable from the clip and, in use, extend through an opening defined by the clip and have a base for engaging beneath the clip that is larger than the opening.

Description

ACCESS BARRIER SECURING DEVICE

The present invention relates to an access barrier securing device.

In order to maintain adequate safety standards on construction sites it is normal practice to erect temporary access barriers so as to separate site traffic from pedestrians. Such access barriers are also used to improve site security. Typically temporary access barriers are made up of a series of panels which are clipped together edge-to-edge. The panels comprise rectangular frameworks formed from steel tube and a sheet of mesh welded to the tubular framework. The spigots project from lower corners of the tubular framework and when the barrier is installed these spigots are inserted into openings defined in heavy concrete blocks which serve to maintain the panels upright.

The concrete blocks are typically three feet long and therefore project a substantial distance both in front of and behind the barrier panels. The edges of adjacent panels are secured together with clips which can only be removed with appropriate tools. However it is not that difficult to bodily lift panels upwards so that they are disengaged from the supporting concrete basis, in which case the barrier panels can be pushed over.

It is common practice in the construction industry to lay roads on a construction site prior to construction of buildings on that site. Roads of this type comprise base coat tarmac which is susceptible to spreading under the pressure of construction vehicles. In order to prevent this spreading, concrete kerbs are generally installed along the road edges, the kerbs being embedded in concrete as permanent fixtures. When the construction site is completed, a top coat of tarmac is laid on top of the base coat to complete the road way on one side of the kerb and an appropriate material such as tarmac is laid on the other side of the kerb to form a footpath. At the end of the process the upwardly facing surface of the kerb is substantially level with the footpath but until completion of the site the top of the kerb projects above the surrounding surfaces. This makes the herbs very susceptible to damage if for example a heavy construction vehicle is driven over them.

On a construction site, the ideal location for a safety barrier to separate road traffic from pedestrian traffic is along the kerb line. If however an attempt is made to locate heavy concrete basis suitable for supporting an access barrier extending along that line the basis must project on either side of the kerb and therefore must be propped for example with bricks to compensate for the fact that the kerbs project at least above the temporary road way and generally above the intended footpath. The result is unsatisfactory as the barrier tends to be unstable and readily displaced by passing traffic.

Furthermore, given that the concrete feet extend into the roadway the width of access for large construction vehicles is relatively reduced, increasing the risk of a vehicle coming into contact with the barrier.

British patent number 2369642 describes the use of temporary kerbs which are laid as part of the initial road construction, which are designed to remain in place throughout the whole building program, but are removed when the project is completed and replaced with permanent concrete kerbs. The temporary kerbs can be fabricated from recycled waste plastics material. They are used to form kerbs on construction sites in exactly the same way as concrete kerbs, that is the temporary kerbs project above the temporary road and pedestrian footpath surfaces.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a device which makes it possible to support access barriers on roadside kerbs which project upwards relative to adjacent surfaces.

According to the present invention, there is provided a device for securing an access barrier to a road side kerb, comprising a clip shaped to engage around and drip an upper edge of the kerb, and means for securing the barrier to the clip.

The clip is generally C-shaped, comprising a central section which in use lies flat on an upwardly-facing surface of the kerb, and end sections which in use extend parallel to front and rear facing surfaces of the kerb, the end sections being formed to grip the front and rear facing surfaces of the kerb.

The clip may be formed from sheet material, for example sheet steel, barbs being formed in the end sections of the clip to grip the kerb. The barbs can be formed by punching out sections of the sheet steel.

A member such as a spigot may extend upwardly from the clip to enable a barrier panel to be fixed to the clip. The member could be for example an upwardly extending spigot adapted to telescopically engage a barrier post. The spigot may be separable from the clip, for example by providing the spigot with a relatively large base and engaging the spigot with the clip by pushing it through an opening in the clip, the opening being smaller than the size of the spigot base.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of one component of a device in accordance with the present invention fitted to a kerb; Figure 2 is a perspective view of a spigot for use with the component illustrated in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a sectional view through a barrier fence post mounted on a device formed from the components of Figures 1 and 2; Figure 4 is a schematic representation of the installation of a device in accordance with the present invention on a kerb; Figure 5 is a schematic representation of an access barrier supported by devices in accordance with the present invention; Figure 6 is a view on the lines 6-6 of Figure 5; Figure 7 illustrates an alternative access barrier in accordance with the present invention to that shown in Figure 5; Figure 8 is a view on the lines 8-8 of Figure 7; and Figure 9 illustrates a modified embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to Figures 1 to 3, an illustrated embodiment of the present invention comprises a clip I which is generally C-shaped and has a midsection defining an open aperture 2 and two end sections 3 and 4. The clip 1 is formed from sheet steel from which the aperture 2 has been punched out. In addition barbs 5 have been pressed out of the end sections 3 and 4, the barbs 5 extending inwardly and upwardly so as to grip adjacent front and rear surfaces of a kerb 6. A tubular spigot 7 extends from a base 8, the tubular spigot being intended to be received telescopically in a barrier fence post 9. The barrier fence post 9 may incorporate a screw 10 which can be screwed against the spigot 7 so as to resist separation of the post 9 from the spigot 7.

As shown in Figure 3, the kerb 6 is a temporary kerb of plastics material such as that described in British patent number 2 369 642. The kerb is installed between a base coat 11 of what will eventually be a vehicle road way and a base coat 12 of what will eventually be a pedestrian footpath. A rear surface of the kerb is tapered to make it relatively easy to pull the kerb out of the ground, to insert a permanent concrete kerb, and to fix the permanent kerb in position with a relatively small amount of cement. Given that the kerb 6 is fabricated from a deformable material such as recycled plastics, the barbs 5 can penetrate a short distance into the kerb surface, making it extremely difficult to pull the clip 1 away from the kerb after it has been installed. Further resistance to displacement could be provided by inserting nails (not shown) through nail holes 13 (see Figure 1). Installing the clip 1 in the position shown in Figure 3 can be achieved by pushing the clip downwards at an angle as indicated in the Figure 4 and then pulling on a fixing bar 14 so as to turn the clip through approximately 45 . The clip could then be removed by reversing the procedure, that is by pushing with the fixing bar 14 in a direction parallel to the line of the kerb. This greatly reduces the force required to dislodge the barbs 5.

If the kerb was fabricated from concrete the use of the barbs 5 to secure the clip in place would be disadvantages, firstly because the grip of the barbs on the concrete surface would be limited and secondly any such grip that was achieved might cause surface damage to the kerb when the clip was removed. It would however be possible to secure the clip in place with a pair of screws inserted through the end sections 4 and 5 of the clip into pre-drilled holes in the kerb. Given that those holes could be below the level of the top coat of the roadway and pedestrian footpath there would be no visible damage to the kerb. Of course kerbs could still be damaged by construction equipment and thus in both circumstances it would be preferred to use replaceable kerbs of the type described in British patent number 2 369 642.

Figure 5 illustrates a barrier erected using the components illustrated in Figures 1 to 3. Posts 9 are secured by clamps 14 to fence panels comprising a rectangular outer frame 15 of steel tubes and a mesh panel 16. As best seen in Figure 6, the clamps 15 can be in the form of two strips of steel interconnected by bolts 17.

Of course, rather than using a single clip to secure two panels in place, separate clips can be used for each panel, and this may be preferred as it will make it easier to accommodate variations in the spacings between adjacent posts 9.

Figure 7 shows an alternative arrangement in which, rather than relying upon separate posts 9 which are connected to adjacent panels, for any pair of adjacent panels one is telescopically engaged with a spigot extending upwards from a clip whereas the other is simply clipped to the other panels. Thus in Figure 7 the frames have downwardly extending tubular sections 18 which telescopically received the spigots extending from clips 1. The clamps 14 simply interconnect two of the frames as shown in Figure 8.

It will be appreciated that kerbs generally incorporate lower kerb sections corresponding to for example access routes into individual properties. The upper surface of the kerbs in such sections is therefore relatively low. Furthermore the shape of such sections is different. Figure 9 illustrates an alternative clip arrangement which can be used in such circumstances. To accommodate differences in height between kerb sections located beneath opposite ends of an individual panel, a simple tubular spacer 18 such as that shown in Figure 9 could be arranged around the spigot 7. Spigot 7 of different lengths could also be provided to accommodate such vertical offsets.

Claims (8)

1. A device for securing an access barrier to a road side herb, comprising a clip shaped to engage around and drip an upper edge of the kerb, and means for securing the barrier to the clip.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein the clip is generally C-shaped, comprising a central section which in use lies flat on an upwardly-facing surface of the herb, and end sections which in use extend parallel to front and rear facing surfaces of the kerb, the end sections being formed to grip the front and rear facing surfaces of the kerb.

3. A device according to claim 2, wherein the clip is formed from sheet material, barbs being formed in the end sections to grip the kerb.

4. A device according to claim 3, wherein the clip is formed from sheet steel and the barbs are punched out from the sheet steel.

5. A device according to any preceding claim, wherein the securing means comprises an member extending from the clip, the member being adapted to support a barrier post.

6. A device according to claim 5, wherein the member comprises an upwardly extending spigot adapted to telescopically engage a barrier post.

7. A device according to claim 6, wherein the spigot is separable from the clip, the spigot extending through an opening defined by the clip and having a base for engaging beneath the clip, the base being larger than the opening.

8. A device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompany drawings.