MXPA06006502A - Traffic light with modular pole - Google Patents

Abstract

This invention relates to a light assembly and more particularly, to a modular traffic light assembly. A light assembly comprising a pole having a plurality of inter-engagable sections located end-to-end to form the pole and a light attachedat an operatively upper end of the pole.

Description

SEMÁFORO WITH POS MOD ULÁLAR CAM PO OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an assembly of lights and more in particular, to a modular traffic light assembly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Traffic light assemblies are used in urban areas to control traffic flow at intersections of streets or pedestrian crossings. Conventional traffic light assemblies include a pole in the form of an integrally formed hollow tube and at least one assembly of lights secured to the top of the pole. Each assembly of lights includes separate lights of two or more different colors. The operation of the semaphore assemblies can be comprised in several ways, such as, for example, a failure of spotlights or disruption of electrical contact between the semaphore and the source of electrical energy. The semaphore assemblies can also be run over by motorized vehicles. In the repair of a conventional traffic light, which was hit by a motor vehicle, the integrally formed pole is replaced, often at a high cost. Said replacement can also be a consumer of time.

When a light from a conventional traffic light assembly is faulty, the main panel is usually removed, then the fault is located and repairs are made, so that the main panel is then reassembled and fixed to the pole. This procedure can be a consumer of time. Dysfunctional traffic lights assemblies often cause substantial bottlenecks resulting in a loss of productive time of economically active people. Therefore, it is critical that defective semaphore assemblies be repaired quickly and cost-effectively.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION An object of the invention is to provide an assembly of lights that, at least partially, alleviates some of the disadvantages associated with a certain prior art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An assembly of lights comprises a post with a plurality of interconnectable sections located end to end to form the post and a light fixed at an operatively upper end of the post. The post includes a light connector at an upper end thereof.

A base is coupled below an operatively lower section of the pole. The base has an operatively lower skirt that extends outwardly providing a wider base section to support the post. The sections that can be coupled together are cylindrical and have complementary collar and collar formations at one end and first internal blind holes formed complementary to receive the neck of an adjacent section. The sections that can be coupled together have second holes therethrough so that the assembled post includes a passage therethrough. A clamping line is located through the passage to be tightened in an axial direction at one or both ends to hold the post sections together. The clamping line is a rod that has threaded ends with screw for receiving nuts to hold the sections together. The light connector includes edge formations, one edge formation extending upwardly from one base thereof and the other downward operatively form the upper end of a cylindrical section to form channel sections that face downward and upward for ears Receivers at the rear of a traffic light.

A light can be held in any position on the indic section. The base and the cylindrical section can be moved axially with respect to one another to move the edge formations away from each other to facilitate the insertion of ears at the rear of a light in the opposite channels formed by the edge formations. An adapter can be connected to the light connector, the adapter with a number of ferrules to receive lights in the ferrules. A light connected to the pole includes a bank of light-emitting diodes. The bank of light emitting diodes is controlled to emit one of a plurality of different colors of light at a time. The groups of light-emitting diodes in the bank can be switched off while the remaining light-emitting diodes are switched on to form a shape in the bank of light-emitting diodes formed by the light-emitting diodes which remain on. The assembly of lights can be a semaphore assembly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Preferred embodiments of the invention are described below, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows an exploded view in perspective of an assembly of lights that inck a pole and a light; Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the light assembly of Figure 1; - Figure 3 shows a top plan view of a second embodiment of a light assembly; Figures 4a and 4b show perspective views of an adapter for connecting a plurality of semaphores to a traffic light post; and Figure 5 shows an exploded view of a third embodiment of a light assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION With reference to the drawings, an assembly of lights is usually indicated by reference number 1. The light assembly 1 includes a post 2 and a connector or head 3, which is connected to, in or inside the post. The connector 3 includes a base section 4, a cylindrical section 5 and fastening means 6 for securing the connector 3 to the base 4. The base 4 and the connector 3 have retainer means 7 and 8 in the form of annular edges to retain a light in the cylindrical section 5 when the X connector 5 is attached to the base 4. In this mode, the assembly of lights is a semaphore assembly.

The base 4 and the cylindrical section are circular in cross section and are arranged coaxially to the axis of the post. As mentioned before, the retainer means 7 and 8 are edge formations in the form of circular channels extending from the circumference of the base 4 and upper end of the cylindrical section 5 and arranged on the axis of the post 2 to end in the edge formations extending upwardly from the base 4, and downwardly from the upper end of the indian cylindrical section, to receive complementary ears 9 and 10 located at a rear end of a traffic light 11. The post 2 is made of a plurality of inductive post sections 12, which can be connected and coupled together by means of complementary collar and collar formations, for lifting the post. In this way, each section has a neck and collar formation at one end and a first internal blind hole at the other end to receive a complementary neck. Each of the sections 12 has a second hole extending axially therethrough, so that when it rises, the post 2 has a passage therethrough, said passage extending coaxially with the post. The diameter of the second hole is smaller than that of the first hole. The semaphore assembly 1 has a foot 13 to hold the post 2 in a vertical position. An upper end of the foot 13 ends in a neck and collar formation (or annular recess), so that the neck extends into the hole of the lower section 12 of the post. The lower end of the foot ends in a skirt that extends outward to provide a wider base section to support the post. The connector 3 includes a predetermined light 14, to indicate in use the failure of a semaphore 1 1 of the traffic light assembly. The lid fastener means 6 includes a rod or rod, which has two ends threaded to receive threaded nuts there. The bar extends through the passage, from the foot to the top of the post and secures the head, foot and post sections together. The sections can be alternating yellow and black, or any other color. The traffic light assembly as shown in Figure 3 includes an adapter 16 (also shown in Figures 4a and 4b) connected to the top of the pole. The adapter 16 has a plurality of ferrules for receiving a plurality of semaphores 1 1 therein. As shown in Figure 3, a number of lights 1 1 can be located in the cylindrical section 5. An adapter can also be located in the cylindrical section 5 to receive even more lights in their bushings. The longitudinal axis of the adapter can be extended vertically or horizontally. The lights and the adapter can be held in any position on the indic section 5. Each traffic light 1 1 includes a beam of light-emitting diodes (LEDs). These diodes can be a type that can emit different wavelengths to emit light selectively of different color. Each of these lights is controlled to emit green light, red or yellow at a given moment, as described. This makes obvious the need to have 3 different lights. A light (bank of LEDs) is now. You can use it to selectively emit one of three different colors at the same time. The LEDs can also be controlled to show different shapes. The green, red and yellow lights can be displayed in different ways, so that a colorblind person can distinguish between the different colors shown by seeing the shape formed by those LEDs lit at the same time. The shapes are achieved by turning on only a select group of LEDs in the bank of LEDs. Many shapes or figures can be displayed in this way. Arrows and other traffic signals can also be displayed in this manner. The use of LEDs is also cost-effective unlike other lights. This also allows the ease of use of backup batteries since these lights use less energy, thus extending the life of the batteries. In use, the semaphore assembly will be assembled by lifting the pole and securing the pole, head and foot together by means of the rod running along the passage and fastening means at either end of the rod. The default light indicates a traffic light failure. A defective semaphore is replaced by loosening any of the nuts on the fastener means or the foot, separating the supporting means by moving the base away from the cylindrical section (which are two separate sections) and replacing the damaged light with a na l uz of replacement. It is anticipated that this repair procedure would result in cost and time savings. In an alternative embodiment, the cylindrical section may have an outer sleeve at the upper end of which the upper edge formation is located. The sleeve can be slidably moved over the cylindrical section, so that the two edge formations can be separated to facilitate insertion into the channels formed by the edge formations of the ears at the back of a light. Electrical connectors can be provided in and over the indic section to connect lights to it. The electrical wiring can alternatively be provided through the passage and through the holes extending radially in the sections or through the upper end or the indic cylindrical section of the post. Damage to the post can be repaired simply by replacing those sections 12 of the post, which was actually damaged, thus saving costs. The light assemblies can also be configured as shown in the embodiment of Figure 5. The lights 1 1 can usually be cylindrical at one end and have a flat plate 17 at the other end. The plate 17 has a hole through it, so that the neck 20 of one of the sections 12 fits well through the hole. In this embodiment, the assembly is supported together with a cable 21 that ends in curved sections that are fixed to complementary curve formations with threaded rods on their exteriors (18 and 19) to tighten the cable in the post passage. The invention is not limited to the precise elements as described herein. For example, the fastener means may also include a cable, chain or rope. The sections of the pole can be connected together by means of fixed assembled portions together by means of screws.

Claims (13)

REVIVAL NAMES

1 .- A light assembly comprising a post with a plurality of sections that can be coupled together located end to end to form the post and a light fixed at an operatively superior end of the post.

2. A light assembly according to claim 1, wherein the pole includes a light connector at an upper end thereof.

3. A light assembly according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a base is coupled under an operatively lower section of the pole.

4. An assembly of lights according to claim 3, wherein the base has a skirt that extends outwardly operatively lower that provides a wider base section to support the pole.

5. A light assembly according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the sections that can be coupled together are cylindrical and have complementary neck and collar formations at one end and first internal blind holes formed complementary to receive the neck of an adjacent section.

6. An assembly of lights according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the sections that can be connected together have second holes through them, so that the assembled post includes a passage through it.

7.- An assembly of lights in accordance with the claim 6, wherein a clamping line is located across the passage and is clamped at least at one end and can be tightened in an axial direction at one or both ends to hold the post sections together.

8.- An assembly of lights in accordance with the claim 7, wherein the clamping line is a rod having threaded ends with screw for receiving nuts to hold the sections together.

9. An assembly of lights according to any of claims 2 to 8, wherein the light connector includes edge formations, one edge formation extends upwardly from one base thereof and the other downwardly forms an edge formation. operatively upper end of a cylindrical section to form channel sections that face downwards and upwards to receive ears at the rear of a traffic light.

10. An assembly of lights according to claim 9, wherein a light can be held in any position on the cylindrical section.

11. An assembly of lights according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the base and the cylindrical section can move axially with respect to each other to move the edge formations away from them to facilitate the insertion of ears in the back of a light in the opposite channels formed by the edge formations.

12. An assembly of lights according to any of claims 2 to 11, wherein an adapter can be connected to the light connector, the adapter with a number of ferrules to receive lights in the ferrules.

13. An assembly of lights according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a light connected to the pole includes a bank of light-emitting diodes. 14, - Lights according to claim 13, wherein the bank of light-emitting diodes is controlled to emit one of a plurality of different light colors at a time. 15. An assembly of lights according to any of claims 13 to 14, wherein the groups of light-emitting diodes in the bank can be turned off while the remaining light-emitting diodes are ignited to form a shape in the bank. of light-emitting diodes formed by the light-emitting diodes that are still on. 16. An assembly of lights according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the assembly of lights is a semaphore assembly.