SÁNCHEZ-BALLESTEROS GÓMEZ, Vicente (Urb. Can Margarit, C/ Nuria núm. 38, Corbera de Llobregat, E-08575, ES)
SÁNCHEZ-BALLESTEROS GÓMEZ, Vicente (Urb. Can Margarit, C/ Nuria núm. 38, Corbera de Llobregat, E-08575, ES)
| 1 CLAIMS 1 . - Guardrail, of the type comprising vertical posts (1 ) fixed to the ground, and at least one longitudinal member (2) fixed to the posts (1 ) by anchoring means; characterized in that the longitudinal member (2 ) is formed in a continuous piece of a greater height than the protruding portion of the supporting posts (1 ), and having a section having: an upper curved convex channel (21 ) for covering the upper ends of the posts (1 ), an intermediate section (23) inclined towards the front lower area, and a lower section (24), intended to contact the ground or to be arranged in close proximity thereto, facing the rear area of the guardrail in the direction of the supporting posts (1 ); in that the longitudinal member (2) has flanges (25) at a rear face thereof for being fixed to the posts (1 ) by anchoring members; and in that the longitudinal member (2) is continuous in all its height, the longitudinal edges thereof facing the rear area and ending in rounded longitudinal thickenings. 2. - Guardrail, according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the longitudinal member (2) comprises at a front side thereof a longitudinal recess (27) into which a reflective layer (4) is arranged. 3.- Guardrail, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the longitudinal member (2) is comprised of a reinforced resin. 4.- Guardrail, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises an end piece (5) intended to be placed at the far end of the longitudinal member (2) and having at one end a face (51 ) with grooves that fit the far end of the longitudinal member (2) and a front face having a corresponding curved shape, the height thereof decreasing in the opposite direction to form a thickened edge (52) at a lower height near the ground. 5.- Guardrail according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a connecting piece (6a, 6b, 6c), which has at two opposing faces (61 ) grooves for fitting two opposing longitudinal members (2). 2 6.- Guardrail, according to claim 5, characterized in that the connecting piece (6b, 6c) has at least one curved or angled intermediate portion (62), the faces (61 ) with the fitting grooves being arranged at an oblique angle. 7.- Guardrail according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the intermediate section (23) defines a concave surface toward the front side of the guardrail. |
The present invention relates to a guardrail for the public road, of the type intended to be placed on the sides of said public road to avoid people and vehicles from going off in case of a crash. Application field of the invention.
The application fields of the guardrail object of this invention are public works, the urban development sector and the manufacture of devices for road safety.
Background of the invention.
Currently, roads and other public highways are fitted with guardrails at the sides of the road to prevent vehicles from going off the road and cushion the impact in case of a crash.
A conventional guardrail comprises vertical posts built into the ground and at least one longitudinal member supported by said posts and fixed with screws, plates and/or staples. These longitudinal members or safety barriers are made of laminated metal plates and the posts used are also made from metal, generally having an "H-section" owing to its high resistance to deformation.
However, these guardrails are extremely dangerous for people who hit them, especially for motorcyclists and those who are ejected from the vehicle in an accident because the safety barriers or longitudinal members have unprotected edges, which cause cuts and even amputation depending on the force of the impact.
Usually these guardrails consist of two parallel safety barriers which are vertically separated, with gaps defined between said safety barriers and between the lower safety barrier and the ground through which the accident victim can pass when he/she impacts against the vertical posts or even by completely bypassing said guardrail.
In addition, these guardrails are formed by a metal sheet having a low deformation and cushioning capacity in case of impact by people. A solution taken to minimize these problems with height discontinuous guardrails is the placement of an additional system consisting of a fabric fixed between the longitudinal member of the guardrail and the pavement. This solution is not enough because, although it avoids the accident victim from passing under the longitudinal member of the guardrail, there remains the risk of cuts and amputations from said sharp edges.
In addition, these guardrails have the problem that they are poorly visible at night, preventing a substantial improvement in the night-time visibility of the road edges.
Description of the invention.
The guardrail, object of this invention has some technical features that are intended to improve their safety use and minimize the risk of injury such as cuts, lacerations and amputations in people impacting against the guardrail in case of an accident.
The guardrail is of the type comprising vertical posts fixed to the ground, for example by being built-in, and at least one longitudinal member attached to said posts by some anchorage means.
According to the invention, the longitudinal member is formed in one continuous piece of a greater height than the protruding portion of the support posts and having, in section: a curved convex upper channel for covering the upper ends of the posts, an intermediate section, which is inclined towards the front lower area, and a lower section, intended to contact with the ground or to be arranged in close proximity thereof, facing the rear area of the guardrail in the direction of the support posts.
In one embodiment of the invention the intermediate section defines a concave surface toward the front side of the guardrail.
The longitudinal member has, on its rear face, flanges tabs for being attached to the posts by means of anchoring members.
The longitudinal member is continuous all the way up, its longitudinal edges facing the rear area and ending in rounded longitudinal thickenings, in order to eliminate the risk of cuts caused by contact with the edges of the longitudinal member and the risk of direct impact against the support posts.
In addition, the anchoring means of the longitudinal member to the posts are hidden behind the longitudinal member itself and are fixed in the back flanges, thus avoiding the machining of holes in the longitudinal member and the appearance of screw heads and burrs that can be sharp.
In one embodiment of the invention, the longitudinal member has on its front surface a longitudinal recess into which a suitable reflective layer is housed to improve night-time visibility of the guardrail, thus signalling the edges of the road or track.
This layer, for example, is reflective yellow on the guardrail of the right side of the road and white on the guardrail of the left side of the road following the traffic direction.
The longitudinal member consists of a reinforced resin, such as a thermoset plastic resin, with glass fibre in a longitudinal direction that improves its reinforcement, the piece being conformed by pultrusion moulding. This member has a longitudinal improved deformation capacity to absorb impact energy and reduce injury to the accident victim after the impact.
It is envisaged that the guardrail comprises an end piece for placement at the ends of the longitudinal member. This end piece presents, at one end, a face with fitting grooves at the far end of the longitudinal member and the front face having corresponding curves, the height of the latter being decreasing in the opposite direction to form a thickened edge at a lower height near the ground. Depending on the end of the longitudinal member to be topped a determined decreasing end piece is used for one side or another.
The longitudinal members can be made having a great length by the aforementioned technique, and its flexibility allows for adapting it easily to the curved tracks of the roads. However it is envisaged that the guardrail comprises a connecting piece between two longitudinal adjacent and opposite members having fitting grooves at two opposite sides for the two longitudinal members facing the one towards the other. This connecting piece has its edges rounded to prevent cuts and abrasions to accident victims.
In certain embodiments, the connection piece has at least one curved or angled intermediate portion, the faces of which are arranged with the fitting grooves at an oblique angle. In this way, pieces for corners of 90 degrees or 135 degrees, for example, can be made. Description of figures.
In order to complement the description that is being carried out and for the purpose of facilitating the understanding of the characteristics of the invention, the present description is accompanied by a set of drawings wherein, by way of a non- limiting example, the following has been represented:
Figure 1 shows a cross-section of the guardrail.
Figure 2 shows a perspective view of a portion of the guardrail. Figure 3 shows an elevation view of the guardrail, showing two end pieces at their ends and a straight intermediate connection piece.
- Figure 4 shows an elevation view of a straight connecting piece.
Figures 5 and 6 show plan views of two connecting pieces at an angle, more specifically, a connecting piece with an angle of 90 degrees and a connecting piece with an angle of 135 degrees. Preferred embodiment of the invention.
As shown in the referenced figures, the guardrail comprises posts (1 ) vertically built into the ground and at least one longitudinal member (2) fixed to the posts (1 ) by means of anchoring means, represented by bolts and plates (3).
The longitudinal member (2) is formed in one continuous piece of a thermosetting resin reinforced with glass fibre oriented lengthwise.
Said longitudinal member (2) has in section: an upper curved convex channel (21 ) covering the ends of the posts (1 ), an intermediate section (23) inclined towards the front-lower area, in this case having a concave configuration, and a lower flat section (24), parallel and close to the ground, facing the rare area of the guardrail.
The longitudinal member (22) ends in longitudinal rounded thickenings
(22) of approximately 20 mm in diameter at its top and bottom edges.
The longitudinal member (2) presents, on the rare face, longitudinal flanges (25) with ribs (26) for being attached to the posts (1 ), in this case by means of bolts and plates (3).
The laminar element (2) has on its front face a longitudinal recess (27) into which a reflective layer (4) is housed.
Figure 3 shows a guardrail presenting on the free ends of the longitudinal members (2) top pieces (5) having, at one end, a face (51 ) with fitting grooves at the far end of the longitudinal member and the front face having a corresponding curved shape, the height of the latter being decreasing in the opposite direction to form a thickened edge (52), which is rounded in this case, with a diameter of about 20 millimetres at the ground level.
Connecting pieces (6a) continuously arranged between two longitudinal members (2) can be seen in Figs. 3 and 4, said connecting piece (6a) being formed in a plastic material and having on two opposing faces (61 ) fitting grooves for two opposing longitudinal members (2) their outline matching the section of said longitudinal members (1 ).
In one embodiment, the connecting pieces (6b and 6c) have at least one curved or angled intermediate portion (62), represented in figures 5 and 6, the faces of which (61 ) are arranged with the fitting grooves at an oblique angle for forming curves and corners.
Once the nature of the invention as well as an example of preferred embodiment have been sufficiently described, it is stated for all pertinent purposes that the materials, form, size and arrangement of the members described are susceptible to changes, provided these do not involve an alteration of the essential characteristics of the invention that are claimed subsequently.
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