GB2515216A

GB2515216A - Illumination Arrangement for Roadside Furniture

Info

Publication number: GB2515216A
Application number: GB1416185.5A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Brian Mason
Original assignee: TWM TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS Ltd
Current assignee: TWM TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS Ltd
Priority date: 2011-12-20
Filing date: 2011-12-20
Publication date: 2014-12-17
Anticipated expiration: 2031-12-20
Also published as: GB2497767A; GB2497767B; GB201121926D0; GB201416185D0; GB2515216B

Abstract

An illumination arrangement for a traffic marker post 10 comprises a conduit 2 and multiple LED illumination devices 4 mountable to the post 10 and to the existing power supply. A shielded globe arrangement 11 within a tubular housing 12 prevents light leakage. The arrangement may be retrofitted to a range of roadside furniture so that replacement of the complete post is not necessary.

Description

Illumination Arrangement for Roadside Furniture The present invention relates generally to illuminated post arrangements and more specifically to retrofit post illumination arrangements for use with roadside furniture.

Roadside furniture, such as traffic signs, lamps and pedestrian crossing markers are usually supported by at least one post. In the case of pedestrian crossing markers especially, said posts are typically coloured with alternate black and white bands to make them more visible.

Such posts have been further adapted to increase visibility by comprising an internal light source so as to illuminate the posts.

Whilst the illuminated post arrangements provide enhanced visibility over traditional non-illuminated posts, in order to install such illuminated post arrangements, it is typically necessary to remove the existing, traditional post and replace it entirely with the more modern, illuminated post.

It will be appreciated that this is not only time consuming and expensive, but also requires significant labour, including ground work to install the new post. This invariably increases the time and cost associated with replacing such street furniture, which may prove prohibitive with respect to new installations.

A further problem associated with pedestrian crossing posts in particular, relates to the globe arrangement disposed on the top of the post to increase visibility. Typically, said globe comprises a yellow sphere containing a bulb that intermittently illuminates so as to produce a flashing effect. One of the problems with such an arrangement is that if the bulb fails, illumination of the globe is no longer possible, thus reducing visibility of the post until the bulb is replaced.

In certain embodiments of pedestrian crossing post, the globe is shielded by an open-ended housing or cover, so that the globe is only visible when the post is viewed end-on". This is to prevent light leakage into adjacent properties, whilst still allowing an approaching driver to see the illuminated globe.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a retrofit illumination arrangement that is capable of being fitted to an existing post arrangement.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a shielded globe arrangement that at least minimises the aforementioned problems with existing globe arrangements.

Thus and in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a retrofit illumination arrangement for a post, comprising at least one conduit capable of being mounted onto a post, a plurality of illumination devices disposed within the conduit and capable of connection to a power supply, and said illumination arrangement further comprising a cover adapted to allow visibility of the illumination devices and wherein said illumination arrangement can be fitted to a post to illuminate it and increase its visibility.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a shielded globe arrangement for a pedestrian crossing post, comprising a plurality of illumination devices arranged to form an illumination unit and wherein at least one said unit is disposed within a housing so as to form a shielded globe arrangement which acts to prevent light leakage trorn the sides of said globe arrangement.

Preferably, the retrofit illumination arrangement is capable of being fitted to a range of street furniture, including but not limited to pedestrian crossing posts and centre island posts.

The retrofit illumination arrangement preferably comprises a plurality of illumination devices, such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) or filament lamps. Said illumination devices may be capable of being fixed at specific points within the retrofit illumination arrangement. For example, when the illumination arrangement is fitted to a pedestrian crossing post, the illumination devices may be fixed at points within said arrangement that are aligned with the white bands of the pedestrian crossing post.

The illumination devices may be configured to form illumination units, comprising a plurality of illumination devices. For example, a plurality of illumination devices such as LEDs may be arranged in series so as to form a substantially rectangular illumination unit, or arranged concentrically so as to form a circular illumination unit.

The retrofit illumination arrangement preferably comprises a conduit for receiving electrical cables, so as to connect the illumination devices to the existing power supply within the post. The conduit is also preferably capable of receiving illumination devices, which may be mounted at various points within the conduit. The conduit is preferably capable of being fixed onto a post, for example by use of fasteners.

The retrofit illumination arrangement may further comprise a cover which engages with the conduit so as to securely retain the cables and illumination devices. The cover is most preferably removable from the conduit, for maintenance and other such purposes. The cover may be fastened to the conduit and/ or post arrangement by means of fasteners. The cover may further have apertures that allow the light from the illumination devices to be visible as the post arrangement is viewed.

The cover may be coloured so as to complement the colour of the post arrangement to which it will be fixed. For example, in the case of a pedestrian crossing post, the cover may be coloured in alternate black and white bands, to match the alternate black and white bands of the post.

Similarly, in the case of a centre island post, the post and cover respectively, may be coloured in alternate grey and white bands. The complementary colouring of the cover preferably makes the retrofit arrangement appear as discreet as possible when the post is viewed.

The illumination device(s) preferably further comprises a protective cover, which may comprise plastics and serves to protect the lighting devices when they are mounted and aligned with the apertures in the cover, so as to minimise the likelihood of damage during use.

The retrofit illumination arrangement may also be provided in the form of a sleeve-type arrangement, capable of being placed over a post and secured in position.

The retrofit illumination arrangement may be capable of radar activation.

The shielded globe arrangement comprising a second aspect of the retrofit illumination arrangement may comprise at least one illumination unit comprising a plurality of illumination devices such as for example light emitting diodes (LED5). Said illumination unit may be in the form of a disc or other such suitable embodiment.

The illumination devices comprising the shielded globe arrangement may be capable of intermittent illumination so as to create a flashing effect.

The shielded globe arrangement may further comprise a housing for partially shielding the light emitted from the globe arrangement. Said housing may be open at either end so as to allow the illumination unit to be visible only through an open end of the housing, so as to prevent light leakage into adjacent properties whilst still remaining visible to approaching drivers or pedestrians.

The shielded globe arrangement may further comprise a transparent protective window. Said protective window is most preferably located adjacently to the illumination unit, so as to protect the illumination unit whist the globe arrangement is in use.

At least one component comprising the shielded globe arrangement may be capable of rotation about a horizontal or vertical axis to provide directional illumination.

The shielded globe arrangement may be capable of retrofit installation onto an existing post, such as for example a pedestrian crossing post.

The retrofit illumination arrangement and shielded globe arrangement respectively, may be capable of connection to a post's existing power supply, or alternatively be powered by other means including but not limited to renewable energy sources.

The invention will now be described further by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which; Figure 1 shows an exploded view of the retrofit illumination arrangement in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention and; Figure 2 shows an exploded view of the retrofit illumination arrangement in relation to a pedestrian crossing post comprising a shielded globe arrangement and; Figure 3 shows an exploded view of the shielded globe arrangement in accordance with a second aspect of the present invention and; Figure 4 shows a front view (A), side view (B) and back view (C) of the retrofit illumination arrangement and shielded globe arrangement in accordance with the present invention.

Referring now to Figure 1 there is shown an exploded view of the retrofit illumination arrangement 1 in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention.

The retrofit illumination arrangement 1 comprises a conduit 2 capable of being mounted onto a post arrangement (not shown) using fasteners (not shown). The conduit 2 comprises metals and is capable of receiving at least one electrical cable (not shown) and at least one illumination unit 3.

The conduit 2 is fastened onto an appropriate face of the post (not shown). illumination devices 4, comprising LEDs in the present example, are mounted in series onto a block comprising plastics, thus forming a substantially rectangular illumination unit 3. A plurality of illumination units 3 are then mounted within the conduit 2 and secured using fasteners (not shown). The illumination units 4 further comprise a transparent protective cover 5 that comprises plastics.

The protective cover 5 is mounted in adjacent communication with the illumination devices (LEDs) 4 and protects the LEDs 4 from damage when the retrofit illumination arrangement 1 is in use.

It is to be appreciated that other alternative illumination devices 4 may be disposed within the conduit 2, without departing from the scope of the invention as described herein.

The illumination units 3 further comprise at least one electrical connection cable (not shown), for connecting the illumination devices 4 to the existing power supply of the post, so as to provide a source of power to enable the illumination devices 4 to function.

The illumination units 3 in the present example are disposed so as to coincide with the white bands of the pedestrian crossing post. The illumination devices 4 may be configured to intermittently illuminate, so as to create a "flashing" effect, or be configured to remain statically illuminated as would be the case in the present example of a pedestrian crossing post.

Once the illumination units 3 have been appropriately placed and secured within the conduit 2 and connected to the post's power supply (not shown), a cover 6 can then be placed over the conduit 2 and transparent protective cover 5 and secured using fasteners (not shown), so as to enclose the conduit 2 and its contents.

The cover 6 comprises an elongate housing, capable of being placed over the conduit 2 and secured to the post and/ or conduit 2 by fastening means (not shown). The cover 2 comprises metals and is colour coded to match the colour arrangement of the existing post (not shown), to which the retrofit illumination arrangement 1 is applied. For example, in the present example, the post is coloured with alternate black and white bands to aid visibility. Accordingly, the cover 6 is coloured with corresponding alternate black 7 and white S bands, so as to maintain the black and white banding of the original post.

The cover 6 further comprises a plurality of apertures 9, configured to correspond to the location of the illumination devices (LED5) 4.

This arrangement ensures that the LEDs 4 are visible through the cover 6 at all times, thus illuminating the post and increasing its visibility, without the need to completely remove the existing post to replace it with an internally illuminated version.

The illumination units 3 are also capable of modifying the brightness of the light emitted. This feature is used to dim the lights slightly during hours of darkness, so as to minimise glare from the lights, whilst brightening the lights during daylight hours, to ensure maximum visibility.

Referring now to Figure 2, there is shown an exploded view of the retrofit illumination arrangement 1 in relation to a pedestrian crossing post 10 in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention and further comprising a shielded globe arrangement 11 in accordance with a second aspect of the present invention.

In the present example, the retrofit illumination arrangement 1 is applied to a pedestrian crossing post 10 and therefore two retrofit illumination arrangements 1 are disposed on either side of the post such that they are configured to face the direction of oncoming traffic.

It is to be appreciated that the retrofit illumination device 1 may be applied to various embodiments of street furniture and will be accordingly configured and/ or coloured to suit the particular requirement.

The pedestrian crossing post as illustrated further comprises a shielded globe arrangement 11 which is in accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, which is capable of intermittent illu mination to as to further increase visibility of the post.

Referring now to Figure 3 there is shown an exploded view of the shielded globe arrangement 11 in accordance with a second aspect of the present invention. The shielded globe arrangement is -10-capable of being retro-fitted, as well as being installed as an alternative to the conventional shielded globe arrangements.

The shielded globe arrangement 11 comprises a housing 12 to prevent light leakage from the globe arrangement into adjacent properties. The globe arrangement 11 further comprises two substantially circular illumination units 13, one mounted within each open end of the housing 12 and configured so that the illumination devices 4 are facing outwards from the housing 12 and therefore visible to approaching drivers or pedestrians.

The illumination unit 13 comprises a plurality of concentrically arranged illumination devices 4, such as LEDs. The illumination devices 4 are capable of intermittent illumination such that a "flashing" effect is achieved. The illumination unit 13 further comprise electrical connections (not shown) for connecting the unit 13 to the existing power supply of the post. Said electrical connections (not shown) may comprise cables and/or other suitable means of connection and connect the unit 13 to the post's power supply via an aperture 17 located substantially centrally in the base of the housing 12 and through a further aperture 18 in the gallery arrangement 16.

It will of course be appreciated that a single illumination unit 13 comprising illumination devices 4 on either side could also be employed to achieve substantially the same effect.

The gallery arrangement 16 is secured to the post (not shown) and housing 12, via fasteners (not shown), thus securing the shielded globe arrangement to the post (not shown).

-11 -The illumination unit 13 is secured to the housing 12 by a bracket 14 that is capable of engaging with the housing 12, for example via screw threads (not shown). The shielded globe arrangement 11 further comprises a transparent, protective window 15 mounted within the bracket 14 so as to protect the adjacent illumination unit 13, whilst the globe arrangement 11 is in use.

The bracket 14 may also be capable of rotation, such as for example about a horizontal or vertical axis, thus moving the illumination unit 13 to produce directional illumination.

The shielded globe arrangement 11 increases visibility of the pedestrian crossing post due to the plurality of light devices 4 provided. Furthermore, one of the problems associated with traditional globe arrangements, is that if the single bulb within the globe malfunctions, the visibility of the pedestrian crossing post is reduced until the bulb is replaced.

The plurality of illumination devices 4 comprising the shielded globe arrangement 11 reduces the likelihood of this problem occurring, as if a single illumination device 4 fails, there will be others to continue to provide light, thus maintaining optimum visibility of the pedestrian crossing post.

Referring now to Figure 4 there is shown a front view (A), side view (B) and back view (C) of the retrofit illumination arrangement and shielded globe arrangement.

Figures 4A and 4C represent a typical view of a pedestrian crossing post in accordance with the present invention, as would be seen by a driver or pedestrian approaching the post. The retrofit illumination arrangement 1 can be seen disposed on the front of the post 10. The cover 2 of the retrofit illumination arrangement 1 is coloured with alternating black 7 and white 8 bands and -12 -the illumination units 3 are disposed so as to align with the white bands 8 of the post 10. The plurality of illumination devices (LEDs) 4 are aligned with the apertures 9 in the cover 2, so as to be visible as the post 10 is viewed.

The shielded globe arrangement 11 is disposed on the top of the pedestrian crossing post 10.

The circular illumination unit 13 comprising a plurality of illumination devices 4 can be clearly seen within the housing 12 when viewed from the front or rear by an approaching pedestrian or driver. The housing 12 prevents light from the illumination unit 13 from being visible when the post is viewed from the side as illustrated in Figure 4B, so as to prevent light leakage into adjacent properties.

It is of course to be understood that the invention is not intended to be restricted to the details of the embodiments described herein which are described by way of example only.

Claims

Claims 1. A retrofit illumination arrangement where there is provided a shielded internal light source arrangement for a pedestrian crossing post having a globe arrangement, comprising a plurality of illumination devices arranged to form an illumination unit and wherein at least one said unit is disposed within a tubular housing and adjacent the end thereof so as to form a shielded internal light source arrangement which acts to prevent light leakage from the sides of said globe arrangement, wherein the tubular housing extends beyond the periphery of the globe, thereby encompassing it.
2. A retrofit illumination arrangement according to claim 1 where the shielded internal light source arrangement is provided with rotation means to direct illumination directionally and wherein the illumination unit at least partially obscures the view of the globe when viewed from an open end of the tubular housing.
3. A retrofit illumination arrangement according to the preceding claims where there is provided a conduit for receiving electrical cables capable of connection to an existing power supply within the post to which it is attached or alternate means of power.
4. A retrofit illumination arrangement according to any of the preceding claims where there is provided a cover to protect the illumination devices within the shielded internal light source arrangement.
5. A retrofit illumination arrangement according to any of the previous claims which is provided with radar activation, and or timer activation.
6. A retrofit illumination arrangement according to any of the previous claims where the illumination devices is powered intermittently to create a flashing effect.