The invention comprises a reflector device, more particularly a rotatable body for mounting on a traffic signpost, for example, including at least one light-reflecting portion in order to provide a varying, for example intermittent, pulsating or fluctuating reflection of light when the body is brought into rotation.

It is a fact that in spite of good marking and signposting, it can be difficult, in certain situations, for a driver of a motor vehicle to spot pedestrians crossing the road at a pedestrian crossing in the dark. The reason may be the prevailing weather and light conditions, that when driving with dipped lights, the traffic signs are not sufficiently illuminated by the headlights of the car, and so on. The pedestrian, on his or her part, often perceives the pedestrian crossing as a safe traffic area, especially if the traffic legislation commands road-users to give way to pedestrians who are in a pedestrian crossing.

For natural reasons, it is highly desirable to reduce the risk of personal injuries caused by a collision between a motor vehicle and a pedestrian in such situations. For that reason, in some situations, the traffic is controlled by means of traffic lights, which give both parties clear signals about obligation to stop, and so on. In other situations there is tried placing the pedestrian traffic in another plane than that of the road surface, for example by subpassages/overpassages. The disadvantage of such measures is the cost of establishing the technical solutions. Today, by far the most roadway crossings by pedestrians are, therefore, made at marked pedestrian crossings with associated signposting.

The invention has as its object to remedy the drawbacks of the prior art.

The object is achieved through features as specified in the description below and in the subsequent Claims.

It is an object of the invention to provide a device which can provide, whenever needed, a varying, for example pulsating or fluctuating, reflected light from a position in the immediate vicinity of the starting point of a pedestrian crossing.

This is achieved through a reflector device on the external side wall of a rotatable body being provided with a plurality of light-reflecting portions of different characteristics. This may be achieved in various ways: a. The body may be provided with a reflector material in different colours, for example white and red. b. The side wall of the body may have a surface of a different reflecting quality; for example, the side wall may be only partially covered with a reflector material, whereas the adjacent areas exhibit the material colour of the body, for example dull aluminium or flat-varnished steel. c. The side wall of the body is divided into several, preferably plane, surfaces provided with a reflector material, the surfaces being brought, by rotation of the body, into an incident light beam from a vehicle and reflecting, for a brief moment, the light towards the vehicle. An example of this is a body of a hexagonal cross- sectional profile.

The reflector material may be of the same type as that used in traffic signs or reflector tags carried by pedestrians, that is to say, reflector foil, reflectorizing paint, moulded plastics with internal light-reflecting surfaces, or the like.

In this publication, a reflector-coated portion is referred to partly by terms such as "reflecting" and "light- reflecting" , and is to be understood as it being a portion which exhibits another surface property than the colour of the building material itself (metal, plastics) or the colour of a common paint, even though, optically speaking, these also reflect light.

The rotatable body is placed at a height above the ground, so that it can be illuminated by the dipped lights of a vehicle and also be reached by a person travelling on foot at the pedestrian crossing, the reflector device being brought into a rotational movement manually and creating, by means of its reflecting surface, the desired light reflection in order to warn the driver of a vehicle approaching the pedestrian crossing.

On a base, for example a post for a traffic sign marking the pedestrian crossing, there is placed and fixed a body including at least one reflector-coated portion on an external side wall. The body is rotatable about a central axis. Along the periphery of tlie body, the at least one reflector-coated portion is broken by at least one portion of a highly different light-reflecting quality.

In the longitudinal direction of the body, the portion/portions coated with material qf the same reflecting quality may extend continuously or interruptedly along a substantial part of the axial extent of the body, interrupted by one or more portions of a highly different light-reflecting quality. The portion/portions may assume any direction, relative to the central axis of the body, Typically, the reflecting portion/portions may lie in the axial direction. Alternatively, it/they may have a helical shape about the body- Thereby, the desired varying, for example pulsating or fluctuating, light effect is achieved when the rotating body is illuminated.

The body may have any cross-sectional shape, A typically selected cross-sectional shape is circular, hexagonal or octagonal.

The body preferably includes at least one grip portion suitable to form the rest for a hand when the body is to be brought into rotation. The grip portion may have the form of, for example, a peripheral end portion in a shape suitable for forming the rest for a hand, it may be formed by the transitions between the tnany side surfaces of a polygonal body, or it may be formed by the body's reflector-carrying sidewall alone, for example a cylinder surface.

Alternatively, the reflector device may comprise a driving device which brings the body into a rotating motion by means of/ for example, an electric motor controlled by, for example, a movement sensor detecting moving objects near the sensor, The light reflector device further includes a stem arranged for rotatable connection to the rotatable body in that the stem and the body each include one or more complementary portions for receiving and releasably positioning rotary bearings.

The stem includes one or more securing means for securing the reflector device to a base. The securing means are typically removable with the use of a tool suitable therefor.

The stem is typically tubular with an internal diameter complementary to a base, for example a post for a traffic sign.

The reflector device includes further means for preventing the entrance of water into the rotary bearings.

It will be understood that in spite of what has been said about mounting with a vertical central axis, the reflector device according to the invention is not limited to such mounting only.

In what follows, there will be described a non-limiting example of a preferred embodiment which is visualized in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a longitudinal section of a reflector device with a vertical central axis according to the invention;

Figure 2 shows a cross-section II-II as shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 shows, on a smaller scale, a perspective sketch of the reflector device. Reference is now made essentially to figures 1 and 2, in which a reflector device according to the invention is shown with the reference numeral 1. The reflector device 1 includes a tubular body 3, which is mounted on. a. tubular, vertical stern 5. The body 3 5 is provided internally with upper and lower bearing seats 7, 9 suitable for receiving an upper supporting bearing 11 and a lower supporting bearing 13, respectively.

The stem 5 is provided with annular grooves [not shown)' fox receiving .several locking rings 15 for the positioning and Xo securing of the bearings 11, 13. Besides, the stem 5 is provided, with threaded holes (not shown) for receiving threaded pins 17, IB for the securing of the reflector device 1 to a tubular base 21.

The threaded pin 19 secures, at the same time, a εleeve-shaped jacket 23 to the stem 5. The jacket 23 is provided with a skirt s 24a extending over the upper end portion 4a of the body 3. The jacket 23 is also provided with a sloping upper jacket surface 24b. Internally, the jacket tightly encloses a portion of the stem 5.

A sealing ring 25 is placed at the upper end of the jacket 23 and o stem 5 and is provided with α flange 26 extending over the upper end portion of the jacket 23. The flange 26 fits tightly against the jacket 23, and internally, the sealing ring fits tightly against the periphery of the base 21.

The body 3 of the reflector device 1 has essentially a 5 hexagonal cross-sectional profile and, thereby, includes six sidewalls 31. Each sidewall 31 is provided with a light- reflecting coating 33. Between two adjacent sidewalls 31 a rib 35 projects essentially radially outwards.

The base 21 is fixed in the road or pavement surfacing at a o pedestrian crossing. The stein S is secured to the base 21 at a suitable height above the ground by means of the threaded pins 17. The lower supporting bearing 13 is fitted and secured with locking rings 15. The body 3 with the light- reflecting coating 33 is placed over the bearing 13, and the upper supporting bearing 11 is fitted and locked with a locking ring 15. The jacket 23 is positioned and secured with the threaded pins 19. The sealing ring 25 is fitted.

The jacket 23 and the sealing ring 25 prevent moisture and dust from penetrating down to the bearing 11, 13.

In the position of use the body 3 prevents unauthorized access to the threaded pins 17.

Whenever, in the darkness of night, a pedestrian needs to warn about the fact that in a short while there will be one or more human beings in the pedestrian crossing, the person concerned brings the body 3 into rotation by gripping the surface of the body 3, for example by the rib 35, and exerting a force directed horizontally and tangentially to the body 3. At its plurality of light-reflecting portions, the reflector device will now return an incident light from an arriving vehicle as a pulsating reflection, and this will give the desired, improved warning effect in relation to a constant light reflection.

Advantageously, the base 5 may be a signpost supporting an information sign for the pedestrian crossing.

It lies within the scope of the invention to use any sidewall shape on the rotating body 3. An alternative design of the light-reflecting coating is for example one or more portions spiralling about the body 3 between the end portions of the body. This will give a fluctuating light reflection. The light-reflecting portions may be broken up into smaller sections in order to provide a pulsating or fluctuating reflection.

It also lies within the scope of the invention for the reflector device to be provided with a motor drive, a movement sensor detecting movement near the reflector device and starting the driving motor. The drive may be fixed-time controlled or kept running for as long as any movement is detected in or near the pedestrian crossing.