GB2551046A

GB2551046A - Resilient street furniture

Info

Publication number: GB2551046A
Application number: GB1708499.7A
Authority: GB
Inventors: James Andrew Diamond Peter; Hebden Will
Original assignee: Pudsey Diamond Engineering Ltd
Current assignee: Pudsey Diamond Engineering Ltd
Priority date: 2016-05-26
Filing date: 2017-05-26
Publication date: 2017-12-06
Anticipated expiration: 2037-05-26
Also published as: GB2551046B; GB201708499D0; GB201609357D0

Abstract

The street furniture 1 comprises an upstanding post 2 having a stiff member 24 extending down from its lower end and a resilient base 3. The resilient base comprises a socket for receiving the stiff member, a securing element to secure the base to the ground and a resilient member therebetween. The stiff member and socket are crossed by bores and a fixture is provided for engagement in the bores to secure the upstanding post and the resilient base together. The stiff member may be constructed reinforced plastic, metal or a galvanised steel tube. The stiff member and socket may have a circular or box-shaped cross section. The resilient member may be a moulding within the socket formed in an upper spigot of the moulding with the spigot having the sockets cross bores. A reinforcing ring may be used to receive the fixing with the ring being threaded or plainly through bored.

Description

RESILIENT STREET FURNITURE

The present invention relates to resilient street furniture, in particular though not exclusively, resilient traffic island bollards.

Traffic island bollards are normally resilient to enable them to survive collision vsdth a motor vehicle. Their degree of resilience is a compromise between their collision survival and the sense of security that they give to pedestrians using traffic islands. Normally they are superficially unyielding but able to be flattened on collision.

Such bollards are well known. The upstanding bollard or other piece of street furniture per se is usually relatively stiff and attached to a base having resilience to enable the bollard per se to be deflected flat and spring back up.

British patent application No GB2491663A in the Traffic Management Products name has the following abstract:

The assembly comprises a base element having a resiliently deformable body and an insert element. A portion of the insert element is located within the body of the base element and includes one or more apertures and portions of the base element body are located within the apertures. The apertures may be a through hole or the insert element may include a flange located, in use, within the body and the aperture may be formed on the flange. The base may be formed of polyurethane elastomer and the insert may be formed of polyurethane polymer. A method of producing the assembly comprises molding the base element body around the insert element. The base element is formed with a reinforcing element embedded in the resiliently deformable polymer body.

British patent application No GB2511548A in the Signpost Solutions* name has the following abstract:

The base is used to support street furniture such as a bollard or low level Sign. The base comprises a body which provides at least one fixing location for securing a base to the ground. The body has a cavity with a mouth which is upwardly directed. A resilient connector connects the cavity and a fixing location. A mounting member is received in the cavity and is chemically bonded to the body, to retain the mounting member in the cavity. Threaded mounting sockets allow an item of street furniture to be attached. The resilient walls allow the body to deform during use, e.g. when an item of street furniture is deflected by a vehicle impact. The mounting member is maintained in the cavity during deflection, by the chemical bond. The chemical bond may be provided by an adhesive. The body may be rubber and thus provide the connection between the cavity and the fixing location(s).

For the avoidance of doubt, as used herein the term “post” will mean that part of a bollard or other street furniture standing up from its base.

The object of the present invention is to provide improved resilient street furniture.

According to the invention there is provided an item of resilient street furniture comprising an upstanding post of street furniture and a resilient base; • the upstanding post having a stiff member extending down from its lower end, and • the resilient base having: o a socket for receiving the stiff member, o means for securing the base to the ground, and o a resilient member therebetween; • the stiff member and the socket being crossed by bores and a fixture being provided for engagement in the bores to secure the upstanding post and the resilient base together.

Whilst the stiff member could be of reinforced plastics material, it will normally be metallic, preferably of galvanised steel tube. It and the socket could be of circular cross-section, but preferably they are of square cross-section, i.e. box section. This enhances the resistance to twisting of the upstanding post with respect to the base provided by the fixture, twisting being a risk when the post is struck eccentrically.

The socket could be of material which is harder/stiffer than the resilient member, such as a tube complementary to the box section member and secured to the resilient member; however it is preferably integral with the resilient member. The latter is preferably a moulding with the socket formed in an upper spigot of the moulding, the spigot having the socket’s cross bores.

The spigot can be homogenous, but preferably incorporates a reinforcing member, conveniently a ring, conveniently moulded into the resilient material of the moulding. It could be exposed at the socket or externally, but is preferably fully embedded in the moulding.

Normally, the spigot will be of a length to cover the stiff member where it protrudes from the post. Preferably, it is of reduced cross-section at its top compared with at the level of the cross-bores. These are preferably below the mid-height of socket, usually the same height as the protruding length of the box section member, to bias the base to deform on collision primarily at the resilient member as opposed to at the upper portion of the socket. The post can have a collar at its lower end, sized to surround the upper portion of the socket.

The reinforcing ring could be threaded at one side to receive the fixing, but is preferably plainly through bored in the interests of simplicity.

Further the reinforcing ring is preferably contoured around upper and lower rims to relieve local stress in the material of the resilient material. Further it is preferably scalloped at its lower rim between its fixing bores to provide more resilient material beneath it in regions of high stress, to allow for more strain and lower stress, in collision with the street furniture.

To help understanding of the invention, a specific embodiment thereof will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front view of a traffic bollard in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 is a side view of the bollard of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a similar view to that of Figure2, with the bollard flattened in a collision with a non-shown vehicle;

Figure 4 is an exploded, partially sectioned, view of the post, base and securement nut and bolt of the bollard of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a production version of the base;

Figure 6 is a similar view on a large scale of a reinforcing ring in the base;

Figure 7 is a central cross-sectional view on the central axis of the base at cross-bores in the base; and

Figure 8 is a similar orthogonal view.

Referring to the drawings, a traffic bollard 1 has an upstanding sign bearing post 2 and a resilient base 3.

The post is a hollow polyethylene moulding 21 carrying self-adhesive signs 22. It is of constant, generally rectangular cross-section through most of its height and has downwards taper 23, at its bottom. At the taper it is formed internally to receive a box section galvanised tube 24 to extend beyond the extent of its moulding. Insofar as the post moulding and its securement to box section tube are conventional and known from the bollards supplied for the base of GB2491663A, they will not be described in detail. The post moulding has internal location elements for the box section tube and both have cross bores for fixtures not shown.

The base 3 is primarily formed of a moulding 31 of elastomeric material. It has a rectangular foot 32 with an internal steel reinforcing plate 33 and apertures 34 for fixture bolts (not shown). Extending up from the foot, the moulding is generally upwardly conical with concave curvature and a thickness to provide long lasting resilience against collision of vehicles with the post. At the upper conical end 35, the moulding has an upwards extending spigot 36, providing a socket 37 for the box section tube 24. Typically for a 25mm OD tube, the socket will be a clearance fit after moulding, with a length of 60mm. Cross bores 38 are provided 40mm from the top of the socket, for a bolt 39 conveniently having a tamper resistant head. The box section tube 24 also has bores 25 for the bolt. With the bolt passing through both sets of bores the post is secured to the base.

Provision of the bores at this height, which is 1/3*^^ of the height of the socket, transfers collision movement of the post to substantially pivotal movement about the bolt. This bends the resilient base at its conical curvature, allowing the post to flatten close to the ground G, to which the base is fixed. Some, but small, deformation of the upper part of the spigot occurs. Since this does not exert the majority of the return bending moment to the box section tube, the top one third 40 of the spigot is reduced from 70mm diameter at the cross-bores to 50mm. In a non-shown variant the diameter of lower end of the taper 23 of the post can be the same as the larger diameter of the spigot, with its reduced diameter upper portion received with the taper 23.

At the cross-bores, the socket is reinforced by a 48 diameter x 2Smm high by 5mm thick ring 41, having its o>vn cross-bores 42, aligned with the cross-bores in the spigot. The ring is of steel and is moulded into the elastomeric material of the resilient base 31. For location of the ring during moulding of the base; • It has exposed outer surfaces 44 around the cross-bores 42, abutted in moulding by mould features; • A key-way 43 for rotational alignment, as well as receiving a key 45 of the tamper resistant bolt.

Referring now to Figures 5 to 8, a production version of the bollard and base is shown in more detail. In particular, the ring 41 can be seen to have radiused upper and lower rims 46,47. The upper rim is square to the central axis A of the ring, whilst the lower rim is scalloped, that is thicker in the direction of the axis at the position of the cross-bores 42 than at the orthogonal position 49. This is shown in Figures 7,8 by comparison of the depth 50 of the rubber of the base beneath scalloped portion with the depth 51 beneath the cross-bore portion. The result is that the rubber experiences less strain in bending of the bollard than it would if the ring were of constant depth. Thus it is stressed less for the same bending.

In use with the bollard installed on a traffic island, it will normally stand upright, displaying its signs. Should it be struck, the resilient base will allow it to pivot flat, with load applied to the base by the box section tube above, below and at the securing bolt. When the colliding vehicle has passed, the base is no longer loaded and returns to its original shape, restoring the bollard upright.

The above described embodiment has the advantages of using a small number of components, making the bollard economic, and being readily installed. Once the base has been installed, with four bolts as conventionally, the bollard post is easily fitted by introducing the box section stem into the socket of the base and securing it with the cross-bolt. Replacement of the post is equally easy should it become damaged.

The invention is not intended to be restricted to the details of the above described embodiment. For instance the tamper resistant head bolt can be a plain head bolt. Further the reinforcing ring can be of polymeric material such as glass filled nylon.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. An item of resilient street furniture comprising an upstanding post of street furniture and a resilient base; • the upstanding post having a stiff member extending down from its lower end, and • the resilient base having; o a socket for receiving the stiff member, o means for securing the base to the ground, and o a resilient member therebetween; • the stiff member and the socket being crossed by bores and a fixture being provided for engagement in the bores to secure the upstanding post and the resilient base together.

2. An item of resilient street furniture as claimed in claim 1, wherein the stiff member is constructed reinforced plastics material, or metal.

3. An item of resilient street furniture as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the stiff member is a galvanised steel tube.

4. An item of resilient street furniture as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the stiff member and the socket have a circular, or box-shaped cross-section.

5. An item of resilient street furniture as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the socket is made from a harder/stiffer material than the resilient member.

6. An item of resilient street furniture as claimed any of claims 1 to claims 4, wherein the socket is integral with the resilient member.

7. An item of resilient street furniture as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the resilient member is a moulding with the socket formed in an upper spigot of the moulding, the spigot having the socket’s cross bores.

8. An item of resilient street furniture as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the spigot is homogenous in its material of construction.

9. An item of resilient street furniture as claimed in claim 7, wherein the spigot incorporates a reinforcing member, the reinforcing member can be partially exposed or embedded fully.

10. An item of resilient street ilimiture as claimed in claim 7 or claim 8 or claim 9, wherein the spigot is of a length to cover the stiff member where it protrudes from the post.

11. An item of resilient street furniture as claimed in claim 7 or claim 8 or claim 9 or claim 10, vdierein the spigot is of reduced cross-section at its top compared with at the level of the cross-bores.

12. An item of resilient street furniture as claimed in claim 11, wherein the crossbores are preferably below the mid-height of socket, and usually the same height as the protruding length of the box section member.

13. An item of resilient street furniture as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the post has a collar at its lower end, sized so that it surrounds the upper portion of the socket.

14. An item of resilient street furniture as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein a reinforcing ring may be used to receive the fixing, and the reinforcing ring is threaded or plainly through-bored.

15. An item of resilient street furniture as claimed in claim 14, wherein the reinforcing ring is contoured around upper and lower rims to relieve local stress in the material of the resilient material.

16. An item of resilient street furniture as claimed in claim 14 or claim 15, wherein the reinforcing ring is scalloped at its lower rim between its fixing bores to provide more resilient material beneath it in regions of high stress.