DESCRIPTION

Technical field of the invention

The field of application of the present invention relates to the installation of safety road barriers (hereinafter also referred to as "guardrails").

Said barriers are an essential element to ensure road safety. In fact, in addition to clearly delimiting the roadside, they are designed to significantly reduce the consequences of accidents involving road exits.

Prior Art

The main function of a "guardrail" is therefore to guarantee adequate safety standards. For this reason, "guardrail" road barriers are normally subject to compliance with appropriate mechanical standards which, only after having been certified by means of real tests (hereafter also called "crash-tests"), allow us to consider the barrier in compliance with the norm; and, consequently, also its installation can be considered in compliance with the law.

Specifically, a "guardrail" must prevent the road exit of vehicles and their overturning, to avoid dangerous collisions with other vehicles and / or elements external to the road; at the same time, by mechanical deformation, it must be able to absorb and dissipate, all or in part, the kinetic energy possessed by the vehicle at impact, thus reducing in a controlled way the decelerations induced by the impact to the vehicle occupants, and allowing its gradual re-entry into the carriageway, stopping its run, possibly near the roadside.

The combination of mechanical resistance (aimed at containing the vehicle) and elasto-plastic deformability (aimed at reducing the decelerations induced by the impact, by controlling the dissipation of kinetic energy) poses, for the construction and installation of such roadside safety barriers, a significant and not simple technical problem.

The common practice, based on the known technique, does not adequately consider these aspects concerning safety, and it is frequent that, in the event of an accident, the subject who is responsible for the road management is also responsible for the consequences of this accident. It is quite frequent that the "guardrails" installed along the roads do not meet the mandatory technical safety requirements, because their installation does not reflect the conditions of certification, and this implies serious risks for the consequences of any accidents.

In brief, it can be said that the prior art is satisfactory from the point of view of the materials and elements used to make the "guardrail”, (intended as a system certified by licensed laboratories), while the issue concerning its installation, which often does not replicate the "crash-test" certification conditions, still remains substantially unresolved. In order to be installed in fact, a guardrail must obtain a certification and pass tests of mechanical resistance on a real scale, which guarantee the fulfillment of the necessary bio-mechanical parameters, both for the safety of the road users and the third parties. Nevertheless, the actual installation conditions can rarely be assimilated to those tested during the "crash-tests" which are carried out in suitably prepared test fields.

In conclusion, a significant number of installed "guardrails" do not meet the safety requirements, due to differences in installation.

In the following, it is considered, in greater detail, a typical situation in which installation compromises the fulfillment of safety standards. This is the most widespread case in which the uprights of a "guardrail" are fixed in the ground by means of a maneuver performed with a so- called "pile-driver machine". This maneuver consists in vertically positioning the upright of the "guardrail" at the point where it must be fixed in the ground, then, with a mechanically maneuvered mallet, this is beaten and fixed in the ground (normally at a depth more or less equivalent to the part emerging from ground).

This installation technique has its main advantage in speed and simplicity. The upright has a very linear structure normally consisting of a piece with a constant profile in the infixed part.

On the other hand, the tightness of the installation mainly depends on the compactness and the characteristics of the terrain which, if not particularly compact, modifies the behavior of the road barrier in the event of a vehicle collision. In this case, in fact, the uprights, not being firm in the ground, as a result of the impact of vehicles, will tend to rotate rigidly in the ground, instead of flexing, reducing their deformation capacity and therefore the ability to absorb and dissipate the necessary amount of kinetic energy.

The certification conditions relating to the "guardrail" installations establish that, as a result of the violent collision of vehicles, the "guardrail system" will trigger elasto-plastic deformation mechanisms for certain elements (for example the horizontal block out bar and the uprights) and break mechanisms for other elements (for example bolts with programmed breakage) . In the case of uprights, the deformation mechanisms of the guardrails normally require that, at the base of said uprights, it is formed a permanent deformation (commonly referred to as "plastic hinge"), which determines the absorption of the largest share of the vehicle's initial kinetic energy. As a result of the plastic deformation of the uprights, other mechanisms, of deformation or breakage, are triggered in the other elements (for example detachment of the horizontal block out bar from the uprights and tenso-flexional deformation of said horizontal block out bar).

A correct behavior of the barrier, therefore, must allow that the formation of the plastic hinge always takes place in the same zone of the upright, normally just below ground level, at a variable depth depending on the consistency of the ground. In any case, regardless of the optimal point of formation of the so-called plastic hinge, which may also depend on the specific model of "guardrail", it is essential that the energy absorption is the same of that observed during the conditions of certification. Only the correct deformation of the upright, in fact, allows the correct triggering in succession of the mechanisms of the "guardrail system", and, consequently, the containment of the vehicle, avoiding both the dangerous return in the roadway and the road exit with serious consequences.

Said behavior of the uprights of a "guardrail", tested and certified by means of“crash tests” under controlled conditions, is difficult to be achieved in real-life installations, due to the great variety of types of terrain and the great variety of soil consistency.

Description of the Invention

The main object of the present invention, therefore, is to indicate a type of upright for "guardrails" applicable to any "guardrail" and in any terrain, so that said upright, fixed in the ground by means of the most different driving techniques, such as, for example, using a so called "pile driver machine", in the event of vehicle crashes, always remains firmly fixed in the ground, regardless of the different characteristics and consistencies of the ground itself, and presents a deformation in accordance with the certification conditions.

Another object of the invention is to indicate an element / system, which can be combined with the uprights of a "guardrail" made according to the prior art, and which allows to reach the above described aim as well.

These objectives can be achieved by means of an upright for "guardrails" of the type suitable for being fixed to the ground by driving into the ground, and comprising a longitudinal body which, when fixed on the ground along a roadside, assumes a substantially vertical position; and said upright for "guardrail" is characterized in that it is associated with one or more plates,“rigidly” fixed to said longitudinal body, and when said upright for "guardrail" is fixed to the ground, said one or more plates are positioned in such a way that: at least one of their faces is adherent with the ground and has an orientation which tends to compress the ground so as to oppose to the rotation, of said longitudinal body, which would occur when said longitudinal body is subjected to shocks coming from inside the road.

In a typical embodiment, but not the only one, said upright for "guardrail" has, in the part intended to be buried, one or more plates rigidly fixed to said longitudinal body, as already said, and these one or more plates, when said upright for "guardrail" is fixed to the ground, are arranged in such a way to be substantially vertical, and oriented so as to be substantially orthogonal to the direction of greatest probability of impacts which may affect said "guardrail". In general, and for simplicity of construction, said one or more plates are parallel to the direction of travel of said road. In fact, the road exit of a vehicle, due to an accident, can cause impacts coming from inside the road, but from all directions; therefore, the orientation of the plates along the direction of travel of the road, appears to be a good compromise.

In another possible embodiment, at least one of said plates, again rigidly fixed to said longitudinal body, when said upright for "guardrail" is fixed to the ground, is positioned horizontally and adheres to the ground surface. As will result clear also from the examples of implementation described below, the methods for fixing said plates to said longitudinal body can also include elements which work in tension and therefore the rigidity of the fixing (i.e. the non-elasticity), is to be understood as a stiffness with respect to the stresses to which the system , as a whole, is subjected to when it is correctly installed; and not, obviously, as a rigidity of the system in the most generic sense, even outside its installation context.

In fact, said one or more plates, together with the elements necessary to make them rigidly fixed to said longitudinal body, constitute an element, or a system, for reinforcing said upright, infixed at the correct depth, to allow the formation of the plastic hinge as foreseen by crash-test certificate.

In fact, the presence of said plates substantially increases the area of soil that cooperates with the deformation of the upright when the "guardrail" is hit by a vehicle coming from inside the road. This is because a larger amount of soil cooperates in determining the passive reaction on the upright itself and determines its deformation in the desired zone.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The main advantage of the present invention consists in the fact that any upright for "guardrail" according to the teachings of the present invention satisfies all the main requirements for which it has been conceived, designed and certified.

Furthermore, this invention also has further advantages, which will become more apparent from the following description, from some examples of practical embodiments which illustrate further details, from the attached claims which form an integral part of the present description, and from the attached figures in which:

Figures 1 a and 1 b show the main elements of a roadside safety barrier (“guardrail”): Figure 2 shows a“guardrail” according to the prior art, fixed at its base as in a“crash test”; Figure 3 shows a“guardrail" according to the prior art, fixed at its base by infixion of the uprights in the ground;

Figures 4a e 4c show, through two axonometric views, an upright for "guardrail", according to the invention, in which some construction details are visible;

Figures 4b, 4d and 5 show, in three orthogonal projection views, an upright for "guardrail", according to the invention, in which some constructional and installation details are visible; Figures 6a and 6b show, through two axonometric views, two further embodiments for an upright for "guardrail" according to the invention;

Figures 7a and 7b show a further embodiment for an upright for "guardrail" according to the invention;

Figure 8a show, in three orthogonal projection views, a different embodiment of an upright for "guardrail", according to the invention, in which it is exploited a zone of terrain with better hardness properties, slightly moved away from the ground on which the upright is fixed;

Figure 8b shows, through an axonometric view, an upright for "guardrail", according to the form of embodiment shown in Figure 8a;

Figure 9a show, in three orthogonal projection views, a further different embodiment of an upright for "guardrail", according to the invention, in which it is exploited a zone of terrain with better hardness properties, slightly moved away from the ground on which the upright is fixed;

Figure 9b shows, through an axonometric view, an upright for "guardrail", according to the form of embodiment shown in Figure 9a;

Figure 10 show, in two orthogonal projection views, a further different embodiment of an upright for "guardrail", according to the invention, in which it is exploited a zone of terrain with better hardness properties, slightly moved away from the ground on which the upright is fixed, and in which the reinforcement element has a section with cross shape designed to improve the firmness even during stresses coming from lateral directions;

Figure 11 show, in two orthogonal projection views, a further different embodiment of an upright for "guardrail", according to the invention, similar to the form of embodiment shown in Figure 10, but having two reinforcement elements instead of one;

Figure 12a show, in three orthogonal projection views, a further different, and particularly simple, embodiment of an upright for "guardrail", according to the invention;

Figure 12b shows, through an axonometric view, an upright for "guardrail", according to the form of embodiment shown in Figure 12a

Detailed Description

Figure 1a shows a typical roadside safety barrier (also referred to as a guardrail). Said barrier is seen from the inside of the road and, in general, is composed by few elements listed below:

• elements substantially vertical, normally referred to as uprights, which sustain the

barrier itself, and indicated with the number 100

• a horizontal block out bar, indicated with the number 330;

• an eventual upper beam, indicated with the number 340.

The uprights 100, in a typical and widespread installation mode, are fixed to the base by infixion in the ground. The number 200 indicates the ground where the "guardrail" is installed, in the cases considered by the present invention.

Figure 1 b represents the same guardrail shown in Figure 1a, but it is shown in a sectional view orthogonal to the direction of travel of the road.

The numbers indicate the same elements as in Figure 1 a. Figure 1 b provides the vision of a spacer element between the upright 100 and the horizontal block out bar 330. Said spacer element is indicated with the number 320, it has the main function of keeping connected the horizontal block out bar 330 with the upright 100, and it plays a significant role in determining the performances of the guardrail as a whole.

Another feature, which can be appreciated from the view of Figure 1 b, is the profile of the horizontal block out bar 330. This profile is the result of a long-time evolution and it is able to guarantee an optimal compromise between mechanical performances and costs.

It has already been stated that the mechanical performance of roadside safety barriers according to the prior art is satisfactory when they can operate under nominal conditions, because only in such conditions all the parts of the "guardrail system" (i.e. all its component parts, briefly synthesized with the help of figures 1) work according to the design specifications when an accident occurs and the barrier suffers strong shocks. The nominal conditions are those that correspond to the test conditions during the so-called "crash-tests". Figure 2 shows a "guardrail" in the same section of Figure 1 b, and refers to such nominal conditions.

In Figure 2, the fixing system at the base, between the upright 100 and the ground, is extremely simple: the upright is simply planted on the ground, but the ground, indicated in Figure 2 with the number 201 , in the case of “crash test ", is of a particular type and provides an excellent strengthens, whereby the buried part of the upright 100 is kept firmly still even in case of collisions. In the real cases, the nominal conditions tested on the occasion of the "crash tests" occur just in the cases where the upright is planted in a soil of the same exact type and consistency of that of the test: this case rarely occurs in reality, which is much more varied and offers many other installation situations.

Figure 2, in which the upright is always indicated with the number 100, and the horizontal block out bar with the number 330, illustrates what happens during a "crash test".

The number 400 indicates the force generated by a violent impact, which is realistically reproduced during the "crash test". Said force 400 produces a deformation in the upright 100, and the typical deformation is that represented in Figure 2 through a dotted line, which shows the typical shape assumed by the upright 100 after impact.

Since the upright 100 is firmly planted on the ground, the deformation occurs mainly in the area indicated by the number 101 , which is positioned just below ground level.

This type of deformation (together with the deformations of the other elements of the "guardrail") determines the desired effect of absorption of the kinetic energy associated with the impact, and the vehicle stops. In other words, it is essential that a plastic hinge is formed just below ground level, during violent shocks, so that the safety performance of the "guardrail" conforms to the certified performance.

In reality, the behavior of the "guardrail", in many installations, does not reproduce the behavior of the "guardrail" experienced during the "crash test".

Figure 3 shows a typical installation situation according to the prior art. It is the case where the upright 100 is planted in a roadside in the presence of a terrain that does not offer sufficient strengthens.

Figure 3 shows that, in such installation conditions, the force 400, generated by a collision, produces the typical rotation of the upright when it is not firmly fixed in the ground. Therefore, in this case its insufficient deformation does not allow it to absorb and dissipate the necessary amount of kinetic energy.

To avoid this unwanted behavior, it would be necessary to use very long uprights, or to carry out works of soil consolidation, or to build reinforcements by curbs along the roadside, but all the solutions known today are too expensive and not sufficiently standardized, and therefore, in the reality, no intervention is carried out.

Figures 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d and 5 show various views of an upright for "guardrail", in a typical embodiment, which is suitable to be fixed on soils of various types, by means of a "pile-driver machine".

In Figure 4a, the number 1 10 indicates a longitudinal central body, which may coincide with the uprights according to the prior art (the latter, in fact, are nothing more than metal beams with a suitable profile which gives them the necessary resistance to flexion). Two plates are connected to said longitudinal central body 1 10; these are indicated by the numbers 120, and extend laterally from said longitudinal central body 1 10. Said two plates 120 are positioned in the lower part of the longitudinal body 1 10, moreover, the orientation of their plane it is substantially defined by the direction of the axis of said longitudinal body 1 10, and by the direction of travel of the road where said upright must be installed. Figure 4a is taken from a real project of an upright for "guardrail" constructed according to the invention, and also shows other construction details which will however be better illustrated with the aid of the other Figures 4.

Figure 4b shows a sectional view from above of the upright according to the invention (obviously the observation point refers to the upright installed). In addition to the longitudinal central body 1 10 and the two plates 120, a road is indicated with the number 210, in order to highlight how the upright for "guardrail” according to the invention is oriented when it is installed. Finally, in Figure 4b, the number 130 indicates a reinforcing element which (from the mechanical point of view) operates at tension. The presence of the tension reinforcing element 130 makes it possible to explain an important requirement of the invention. In fact, the purpose of the plates 120 is to keep firm as much as possible the buried part of the upright for "guardrail" so that the deformation of the same occurs at the desired point, i.e. in the area just below the ground.

Moreover, it is important that the buried plates are as rigid as possible, it means that the plates must not deform. Well, on the occasion of collisions, which typically come from the side of the road 210, the plates 120 are subjected to flexing, forming an angle which tends to close at the side of the road; this deformation can be counteracted by the tension reinforcement element 130, which in this case tends itself, but gives rigidity to the whole mechanical system.

The stiffness of the plates could also be increased by providing horizontal ribs, but this solution is less interesting because the presence of horizontal ribs would oppose the infixion of the upright during installation. Certainly the "pile driver machines" are able to easily overcome the opposition offered by a rib, however, the earth just above the rib would be less compact, reducing its features of strengthens.

The above-mentioned considerations therefore allow us to identify some recommended features, even if not essential, to make the upright for "guardrails" according to the invention, particularly rigid in its buried part.

The first expedient, foresees the presence of tension reinforcing elements, with a very reduced thickness in horizontal section (to favor the operations of infixion), typically metal bands can be used, which oppose the formation of an angle between the two plates 120 which would tend to close towards the side of the road. Figure 4a proposes an axonometric view of the upright for "guardrail" according to the invention, with a view from the external side with respect to the road; here, it can be appreciated a typical implementation of the invention in which the tension reinforcing element is constituted by two bands.

A further expedient is the absence of horizontal ribs on the side of the plates 120 which doesn’t face the road, in fact it is the side where the ground must be particularly compact to better oppose the stress caused by impacts.

With reference to the compactness of the ground, however, it is observed that a horizontal protuberance, also pronounced, along the upper side of the plates 120, is recommended too; because, as well as giving rigidity, it has the effect of compacting the soil beneath it, exactly where the plates have to find resistance during bumps.

Figure 4c shows an axonometric view of the upright for“guardrails” according to the invention, seen from the inner side of the road. In Figure 4c, the numbers indicating the various elements of the upright in the preceding figures maintain the same meaning, in addition the presence of a band, indicated by the number 140, can be appreciated; this band has the function of fixing the plates 120 to the central longitudinal element 1 10. It is evident that the band 140 is not the only way to fix the plates 120 to the central longitudinal element 1 10, however it is mentioned because it allows to underline how the invention does not necessarily have to be completely realized by the suppliers of "guardrails". In fact, the invention can be implemented starting from an upright for any "guardrail", which acts as a central longitudinal element 1 10 ; and this can be equipped with the two additional plates 120, which have the function of opposing the displacement of the underground part of the upright upon strong solicitations such as those that take place during accidents.

Figure 4d shows a sectional view parallel to the plane of the plates 120. Besides all the various elements already treated with the aid of the other figures, the number 121 indicates two vertical ribs on the plates 120. In fact, as said, each deformation of the plates constitutes a deviation from the optimal behavior, and therefore it is appropriate that the plates 120 also have a good rigidity with respect to the vertical deformations. It is observed that, in this case, the simple solution to resort to ribs is absolutely feasible since these do not compromise the compactness of the ground during the maneuver of upright’s infixion.

Finally, Figure 5 shows the third orthogonal section view of the "guardrail" uprig ht according to the invention, in a plane orthogonal to the direction of travel of the road.

Therefore, it can be seen how, starting from a central longitudinal element 1 10, which is nothing other than a "guardrail" upright according to the prior art, two plates 120 can be applied with the function of opposing to displacements of the buried part of the upright, when this is stressed by an impact force 400. These reinforcing plates 120 are formed in a single piece (as better seen also in Figures 4), they are joined together in the central part; this central part, from which said two plates 120 depart, is suitably shaped to couple with the profile of the longitudinal central body 1 10. The coupling between the piece comprising the two plates 120 and the central longitudinal element 1 10 is then fixed by means of simple coupling mechanisms, such as for example the use of a clamp 140. Figure 5 also shows the ideal position for the coupling of the plates 120, that is the one in which the plates, once buried, are in a position whereby their upper edge is just below ground level, so that the deformation of the longitudinal element 1 10 is concentrated as much as possible in the same area, just below ground level.

Finally, it is important to underline that the plates 120 must be as rigid as possible, and a modality for stiffening them, convenient in the context of the present invention, is given by the use of tension reinforcing elements placed horizontally on the side of the plates 120 that doesn’t face the road. Figures 6a and 6b show two other axonometric views of an upright for "guardrail" according to the invention, inspired by a different embodiment which presents the advantage of the constructive simplicity. In the case of Figure 6a, the plates 120 are welded to a tube, shown in the figure with the number 150. The section of said tube 150 is shaped to match the section of the central longitudinal body 1 10. Therefore, sliding the tube 150 onto the central body 1 10, it is possible to positioning it at the desired height where it can be locked in various ways, such as with a wedge, or with plugs made for this purpose.

The embodiment of Figure 6b is based on the same principle of coupling between the plates 120 and the longitudinal element 1 10 and, as in Figure 6a, the plates 120 are welded to a pipe 150 having a suitable section. In addition to this, Figure 6b makes it possible to highlight another possible variant concerning the conformation of the plates 120, which may be of different types: not necessarily flat but also curved or undulated.

Finally, it is emphasized that both the embodiments shown in Figures 4 and 6 provide an opportunity to reaffirm synthetically and visually an important concept concerning the present invention: the plates 120 may constitute an element which can be applied on uprights for ordinary "guardrails", made according to the known art, and transforming them into uprights for "guardrails" according to the invention by applying an additional element.

Figure 7a shows, in an axonometric view, a further embodiment, again with the advantage of simplicity of realization. In the embodiment shown in Figure 7a, there is only one plate, indicated with the number 120, positioned in a manner suitable for benefiting from the same concept utilized in the previously described implementations: i.e. substantially increasing the area of land that cooperates with the deformation of the upright when the "guardrail" is hit by a vehicle coming from inside the road. Said plate 120, shown in Figures 7, is rigidly connected to the longitudinal body 1 10 so that it is horizontal. The stiffness of the connection is given in an effective way by the presence of one or more vertical reinforcing blades. In Figure 7a, the number 131 indicates one of these reinforcing blades, positioned so as to prevent the bending with a pitch angle. Said vertical blade 131 is fixed to a face of the plate 120 so as to keep rigid the angle between said horizontal plate 120 and an element integral with said longitudinal body 1 10.

Therefore, as can be better appreciated from the sectional view of Figure 7b, when the upright is infixed in the ground, said horizontal plate 120 is positioned horizontally and adheres to the surface of the soil. This positioning offers a significant area of opposition to rotation when the upright is hit by an impact force, indicated in Figure 7b with the number 400, coming from inside the road.

Figures 8, 9, 10 and 1 1 show a further expedient which improves the tightness of the installation of the uprights for "guardrail" according to the invention. This measure is based on the observation that the uprights must necessarily be fixed along the edge of the road, in a position that is practically not subject to discretion, at least as regards the distance from the edge of the road. Therefore, it is not realistically possible to search for areas where the soil is more compact and has the best characteristics so that the upright can be firmly planted. Flowever, it is also observed that the more one moves towards the inside of the road, the more compact the land is; under the asphalt surface, in particular, the road surface must be processed because it has no yielding, and therefore, in general, it is very hard and compact.

In Figure 8a, a different embodiment of an upright for "guardrail" according to the invention is shown, in which it is exploited a zone of terrain with better compactness properties; said zone of terrain is offset with respect to the ground on which the upright is fixed, in an area closer to the center of the road, always indicated in Figure 8a with the number 210.

In the example of installation presented in Figure 8a, with the number 120, a plate is indicated which is infixed vertically on the ground which is under the asphalt surface, indicated in Figure 8a with the number 21 1 . From the figures it is seen that said plate 120 is oriented so that its plane is vertical and parallel to the direction of travel of the road. Moreover, said plate 120 is connected to the longitudinal body of the upright, as always indicated by the number 1 10, by means of a connecting band indicated by the number 145.

When the longitudinal body of the upright 1 10 is hit by an impact coming from inside the road, indicated by the arrow 400, it will tend to move away from the road itself, however, said connection strap 145, acting in tension, opposes to this movement and transmits the stress on said plate 120. If the firmness of said plate 120, which, we remember, is fixed on a particularly compact ground, is such as to keep the plate 120 substantially still, the energy of impact 400 does not produce a displacement or rotation of the upright 1 10, but a deformation thereof in the area just above the constraint constituted by said connecting band 145. In fact, on the assumption that the plate 120 constitutes a solid anchor (as it is fixed in a hard and compact ground), the buried part of the longitudinal body 100 should not undergo significant displacements up to the point where it is held by the element of connection constituted by the inextensible band 145. Thus, the force exerted by the impact 400 will have the effect of bending the longitudinal body of the upright 1 10, which, having no constraints to hold it in its part above ground, will form a plastic hinge just above the constraint exerted by the inextensible band 145, which connects it to the plate 120, which is the main anchor element.

Well, the plastic deformation of the upright 1 10 in this area, is exactly the correct behavior that must occur when a "guardrail" is hit by an impact 400.

Figure 8b offers an axonometric view (therefore more immediately intelligible) of what is shown in Figure 8a.

From a mechanical point of view, the concepts underlying the implementation presented in Figures 8 are completely analogous to those illustrated with the aid of Figures 4 and 5, with the only difference (difference that however can produce very significant advantages) given from the fact that this embodiment of the invention not only aims at making a greater quantity of earth cooperate in the tightness of the installation (by the insertion of plates of suitable surface), but also allows, within certain limits, to look for a terrain having appropriate quality, in terms of compactness.

Figures 9 are very similar to Figures 8, and their explanation can be proposed by repeating identically what has been said for Figures 8 in which nothing has been said about the shape of the plate 120. In fact, and in general terms, it can be stated that the shape of the plate 120 does not represent characterizing constraints for the operation of the present invention.

Flowever, for the choice of the shape, some factors may be taken into consideration, cited below in a list that is not intended to be exhaustive:

the total surface of the plate affects strengthens of the fixing (the larger the surface, and the greater is the quantity of terrain which is involved in the reaction to the impact);

if the terrain on which the plate 120 has to be fixed is particularly hard, it is advisable that the lower shape of the plate is of a pointed shape to facilitate its infixing;

if the surface of the plate which has been deemed suitable is significantly large, in order to maintain the rigidity against the plate deformations, with vertical bending directions, it is advisable to resort to stiffening ribs arranged horizontally, and in this case, the best results are obtained if the maximum width of the plate is at the ribs.

The example considered in figures 9 shows a plate 120 with only one horizontal rib placed more or less in the middle of the plate 120 itself. In this case, if the surface of the plate is large, a suitable choice is that shown in the figure, in which the shape is roughly rhomboidal and the maximum width is exactly in correspondence with the reinforcement rib, which is indicated by the number 122. With regard to such horizontal ribs, and as already noted in the explanation of the embodiments previously illustrated, it is recommended that the face of the plate 120 which doesn’t face the road is smooth, to avoid that, during the infixing operation, the earth on the side where it has to exert the maximum reaction is moved (even if just a little) and then made less compact. Figure 10 shows a further embodiment of the present invention. In figure 10, the element indicated by the number 125 has a new different shape; the plate having the shape so far considered in the embodiments, is replaced by an element with a cross-shaped horizontal section, and the firmness is exerted by four plates 120 which form four right angles. This embodiment has the advantage of offering a good firmness even in the case of impacts with significant components in the direction of travel of the road (oblique collisions of the "guardrail"). Also in the embodiment of Figure 10, the reinforcement element 125 is positioned away from the upright 1 10 in a zone of ground closer to the roadway or, as in the example, inside the roadway, in search of a more compact soil.

It is clear that the cross-shaped section of the reinforcement element 125 constitutes a possible solution for effectively opposing the shocks produced by very oblique impacts, or almost parallel to the "guardrail"; but similar results can also be obtained with other forms in which the reinforcement element 125 is an element which aggregates additional plates with respect to those oriented parallel to the direction of travel of the road: for example, "T" shaped sections, "L" or "FI" can have similar effects, and represent solutions equivalent to that represented in Figure 10.

The example of Figure 10 also offers the opportunity to underline how the connecting element between the reinforcement element 125 and the upright 1 10 may also be constituted by an inextensible cable, such as, for example, a steel cable: this is an element that works in tension, and in Figure 10 it is indicated with the number 155.

Figure 1 1 shows a further variant of the embodiment shown in Figure 10, in which there are two reinforcement elements 125, usually positioned on the roadway where the ground is hopefully harder and more compact. Again, in the embodiment of Figure 1 1 the connection between the upright 1 10 and the reinforcement elements 125 is achieved by means of a cable 155.

With regard to said connection between the upright 1 10 and the reinforcement element (or elements) 125, it is necessary to fasten the cable 155 to the upright 1 10 at the point where the plastic hinge has to be formed, i.e. in proximity to the ground level, or slightly below.

Finally, after the long succession of more or less sophisticated forms of implementation, in which the reinforcement element has been presented as an element that can be added to the standard uprights according to the known art, which can be found in the sector, it should be noted that, in many cases, it may be convenient to make uprights natively provided with reinforcement plates 120 directly welded, or permanently connected, to the base of the upright in the part intended to be buried.

Figures 12 show a very simple form of implementation of this last type: Figure 12a shows three views in orthogonal projection, while figure 12b shows an axonometric view.

The form of implementation of Figure 12, in its simplicity, allows to summarize a fundamental characteristic of the invention which consists in indicating a particular compound element (or subsystem) of a "guardrail", indicated as a whole with the number 100, composed of a true upright 1 10 and additional elements or parts intended for its firm fixing. This feature is dictated by the fact that, when an upright of a "guardrail" is installed on the ground by infixion, it must remain as still as possible in its underground part, up to the point where it emerges from the ground, because it is just near of this point that it must be deformed during the collisions: to achieve this behavior, it is necessary that the earth, on which the compound element is planted, cooperates to the maximum of its potential to react to the stresses to the movement to which the buried part is subjected to during impact

All the forms of implementation, shown as non-limiting examples, aim to achieve this result. Figures 12 help to immediately visualize this objective, showing how the part of an upright intended to be buried presents plates 120 which oppose certain movements, and these plates are designed to be buried in such a way that their upper edge it is exactly at ground level, so as to allow the upright 1 10 to undergo plastic deformation at the desired point.

In general, as already seen in the foregoing description, the upright for a safety roadside barrier according to the present invention lends itself to numerous implementation variants, in addition to the main variant which distinguishes the case in which a new upright is directly realized, with the lower part suitably shaped, from the case in which only the element comprising the stabilizing plates 120 is realized.

In fact, the description provided, which presented some different embodiments, highlights how many variants are possible. Definitely, there are countless possible shapes for the plates 120, ways to connect them to the central body 1 10, and positions with which they can be connected; this is in order to increase the portion of soil involved in the deformation of the upright when the "guardrail" is bumped from a vehicle that comes from inside the road.

With reference to the geometric shape of said stabilization plates 120, it is worth underlining how such plates can be flat (for a solution that appears constructively simpler), but they can also have curvature or undulations, as well as obviously being able to assume all the possible geometric shapes. All these variations of shape show how the shape of the plates 120 is not a characterizing feature, but rather the fact that these plates are a functional element designed to exploit a greater amount of earth to increase the firmness of an upright for "guardrail" 100, when urged by a violent collision.

Moreover, the shape of the plates 120 may be susceptible to numerous variants, among which some embodiments deserve mentioning in particular: these incorporate some vertical transverse tabs on the plates with the function of opposing possible slipping of the buried part of the upright in occasion of very oblique collisions (almost tangent to the "guardrail").

Possible further variants may also depend on technological aspects concerning the individual components of the system, such as possible additional consolidation and stiffening subsystems, but also on the materials that can be used to realize each single part of the system.

Such variants may offer further advantages with respect to those already mentioned, and may be implemented by the man skilled in the art without thereby departing from the scope of the invention as it emerges from the present description and the appended claims.

Therefore, each variant of a system for the fixing at the base (on ground) the uprights of a roadside safety barrier, which includes an element that stabilizes the position of the underground part of a "guardrail" post, suitable for being planted in the ground, and that increases the quantity and / or the quality of the soil reacting to the stresses transmitted by the upright, must be considered a different implementation of the same invention, without altering the principles and the inventive nature that inspired the invention itself.

Moreover, the invention itself can be implemented in a minimal or overabundant manner, for example with a single plate, or with a number of plates greater than two, and arranged in various ways and in different directions; as well as it can be enriched with additional accessory elements, or devices that favor the efficiency of installation.

For example, the system as a whole can evolve towards a greater emphasis on the automation of the "guardrail" installation, and installation / maintenance procedures can indeed become highly automated processes. In fact, the invention lends itself to withstanding considerable flexibility in defining the process of installing the "guardrail". For example, the plates 120 can be rigidly connected to the longitudinal body of the upright 1 10 before the installation, and infixed into the soil at the same time by beating, or the operations of driving the reinforcing element (characterized by the presence of the plates 120) may not be contextual to the infixion of the longitudinal body of the upright 1 10.

Thus, the disclosed invention lends itself to incorporating and supporting further evolutionary efforts able to enhance the performance of the described systems and the installation procedures. Such developments, if not included in the present description, may be the subject of further patent applications associated with the present invention.