A SAFETY BARRIER

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a safety barrier and, in particular, to an inflatable safety barrier. The invention also relates to a peg for releasably fixing an object, such as a safety barrier, to a surface.

BACKGROUND ART Safety barriers are used in numerous events in order to cordon off an area or to protect people from injury. For example, sporting fields are typically surrounded by barriers that separate the spectators from the players. Such barriers, however, can cause serious injury to a player should the player accidentally strike the barrier.

Furthermore, not all sporting fields have barriers surrounding the playing area, and it is possible for players to collide with spectators.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

In a first aspect, the present invention provides an inflatable safety barrier comprising an inflatable body and an anchor for releasably fixing the body to a surface, the anchor being adapted to release the body when the barrier is struck by a force above a certain threshold.

Such an inflatable safety barrier may advantageously be used to define an area around a playing field to separate the players from the spectators, or alternatively, the players from existing solid barriers. Should the inflatable barrier be struck by a player with sufficient force, the anchor releases and the inflatable body of the

barrier is no longer fixed to the ground. The barrier would therefore have a greater degree of "give" then a fixed barrier, which would lessen the impact felt by the player and reduce the risk of injury. Such an inflatable barrier may also advantageously be portable.

In some embodiments, the anchor comprises a releasable coupling, whereby the anchor releases the body by releasing the releasable coupling. In preferred embodiments, the anchor further comprises a surface engaging portion and a body engaging portion, wherein the releasable coupling interconnects the surface engaging portion and the body engaging portion, and whereby the anchor releases the body by the surface engaging portion and body engaging portion separating at the releasable coupling.

In some embodiments, the releasable coupling may be released only when the barrier is struck by a force in a specific direction. Thus, for example, in such embodiments, the barrier will only be released if struck by a player from a certain direction, and not if a person on the other side of the barrier accidentally or deliberately runs into the barrier.

The surface engaging portion may be a shaft that is embeddable in the surface and the body engaging portion may be a head that is attachable to the barrier

In other embodiments, the anchor comprises a tab that is fixable to the surface, and the releasable coupling comprises a releasable material (for example a hook and loop fastener such as Velcro) that enables the tab to be

releasably attached to the body. The tab may be fixed to the surface by any mechanical fastener, such as a peg.

Preferably, all of the exposed parts of the anchor, both before and after release, are rounded so as to minimise the risk of injury to a person who strikes the barrier. The exposed portions of the anchor may also be enlarged to further reduce the risk of injury.

In a second aspect, the present invention provides an inflatable safety barrier comprising a gas inlet and a gas outlet, the gas outlet being selectively adjustable in order to control the firmness of the inflated barrier.

The inflatable safety barrier of the second aspect of the present invention advantageously provides a barrier which can be inflated to a variable firmness, depending on the application for which the barrier is to be used. Thus, for sports such as football, a relatively soft safety barrier can be provided so that a player is less likely to injure themselves should they strike the barrier. However, for sports such as motorcross racing or downhill skiing, where far greater speeds are attained, the safety barrier must be relatively hard in order to absorb as much of the force of the participant as possible.

Typically, the size of the gas outlet is selectively adjustable in order to control the firmness of the inflated barrier. The gas outlet may, for example, be an opening that is closable using an air tight zip.

In a third aspect, the present invention provides a peg for releasably fixing an object to a surface, the peg comprising:

- a surface engaging portion; - an object engaging portion; and

- a releasable coupling which interconnects the surface engaging portion and the object engaging portion; the surface engaging portion and object engaging portion being adapted to separate by release of the releasable coupling.

The object referred to above may, for example, be the inflatable safety barrier of the second aspect of the present invention.

In a fourth aspect, the present invention provides a method for releasably fixing an inflatable safety barrier to a surface, the method comprising the step of fixing the barrier to the surface with an anchor that is adapted to release the barrier when the barrier is struck by a force above a certain threshold.

The anchor of the fourth aspect of the present invention may, for example, be the peg of the third aspect of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the following drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a schematic drawing of a playing field surrounded by inflatable safety barriers in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 shows a perspective view of two end portions of adjacent inflatable safety barriers in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 3 shows a side view of the cap portion of the head of an anchor in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 4 shows a side view of the washer portion of the head of the anchor of Figure 3 ;

Figure 5 shows a top view of the shaft of the anchor of Figure 3;

Figure 6 shows a side view of the shaft of Figure 5 ;

Figure 7 shows the cap portion of Figure 3 and the washer portion of Figure 4 about an eyelet of an inflatable safety barrier;

Figure 8 shows the assembled anchor of Figures 3 to 6 being used to releasably fix the safety barrier of Figure 7 to the ground;

Figure 9 shows a perspective view of the gas outlet of an inflatable safety barrier in accordance with an embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention in a closed configuration;

Figure 10 shows a perspective view of the gas outlet of the inflatable safety barrier of Figure 9 in a partially open configuration;

Figure 11 shows a perspective view of the inner portion of the safety barrier of Figure 9, in which a mesh covering is positioned over the zip; and

Figure 12 shows a perspective view of the inner portion of the safety barrier of Figure 11, in which the mesh covering has been removed.

MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Referring firstly to Figure 1, a playing field 10 is shown. The playing field 10 is surrounded by inflatable safety barriers in the form of barriers 12. The barriers 12 define a playing area in which players 14 are located. A spectator 16 is located outside the playing area. As will be further described below, should a player 14 trip and slide into the barriers 12 during the course of a game, the barriers 12 will absorb much of the players force and assist in preventing injury to the player and any spectators located in that region.

Typically the barriers 12 are made of a printable PVC fabric (or similar) , which is strong enough to withstand the rigours of normal use, and which is printable on so that it may contain advertising material or the like. Alternatively, the barriers may have Velcro at selected positions along their walls (not shown) , which would enable signage to be reversably affixed to the safety barrier. Advantageously, in such cases, the signage may be changed so that the same barriers can be used for

different events, or the signage can even be changed partway through an event .

Referring now to Figure 2, two adjacent barriers 12 are shown. Adjacent barriers 12 may be joined using any method which provides a substantially airtight seal therebetween. In the present case, one of the barriers 12 has a portion of the outside of its end section 18 covered in Velcro. The end section 20 of the adjacent barrier 12 has Velcro on its inside such that the two tubes may be mateingly joined.

The body of each barrier 12 has a flap in the form of tab 22 which is securely attached to the barrier (or formed integrally with the barrier) at a place adjacent to a ground engaging portion of the barrier. The tab 22 has a number of eyelets 24 (only one is shown in each barrier 12) spaced therealong for assisting in releasably anchoring the barrier 12 to the ground, as will be described below.

Alternatively, in order to lessen the amount of material required to form the flap on each barrier, a number of smaller tabs each having only one eyelet may be spaced along the ground engaging portion of the barrier (not shown) .

In some situations, it may be necessary to provide additional attachment points in order to more securely fix the barrier to the surface, for example, in order to stop the barrier from twisting in use. Such attachment points may be provided on a side wall of the barrier.

Referring now to Figures 3 to 6, the components of an anchor comprising a releasable coupling in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention and are shown. The assembled anchor is shown in the form of peg 25 in Figure 8. It is to be understood that the term "anchor" , as used in this specification, refers to any component or assembly of components that could be used to releasably fix the body of the barrier to a surface and is not to be limited to the peg-type anchors described below.

Referring initially to Figure 3, a first part of a body engaging portion of the anchor is shown in the form of cap 26. Cap 26 consists of a rounded head portion 28 and a projecting portion 30. Projecting portion 30 has two circular ribs 32 and 33, which are separated by a circular groove 34. Rib 33 has a slightly smaller diameter then rib 32.

Figure 4 shows a second part of a body engaging portion of the anchor in the form of washer 36. Washer 36 has a circular shape and is similar in size and shape to the rounded head 28. Washer 36 also has a circular aperture 37 having the same radius as rib 32. The washer 36 is adapted to receive the projecting portion 30 through the aperture 37 until the washer 36 is positioned underneath the rounded head portion 28 of the cap 26, at which time a snap type fit between the rib 32 and aperture 37 securely joins the cap 26 and washer 36 to form head 50 (shown assembled in Figure 8) . A thin sheet of material may be secured between the washer 36 and the rounded head portion

28 of the cap 26, as will be described below. The cap 26 and washer 36 may be joined permanently, or alternatively,

the cap 26 and washer 36 may be separable, for example by prying apart with a screw driver.

Referring now to Figures 5 and 6, a surface engaging portion of the anchor is shown in the form of shaft 38. Shaft 38 has a rounded head 40 and an elongate stem 42, which is adapted to be inserted into the ground. The rounded head 40 has a recess 44 that is shaped to receive the rib 33 of the cap 26. The rounded head 40 also has a tongue 46 that is shaped to be received into the groove 34 of the cap 26. The tongue 46 and groove 34 are adapted to be reversibly interconnected via an interference fit, which defines a releasable coupling that will only release when a force above a certain threshold is applied in an appropriate direction. The washer 36 and groove 32 of the head 50 abut the upper surface of the rounded head 40.

In use, the head 50 is slid onto the shaft 38 such that the rib 33 enters the recess 44 and the tongue 46 engages the groove 34. The interference fit ensures that when the head 50 is appropriately positioned on the shaft 38, head 50 becomes removably fixed to the shaft 38. The strength of the interference fit can be altered during manufacture of the components depending on the breaking strain that is required in order to separate the head 50 from the shaft 38.

The shaft 38 also has a rounded end 43 to assist in embedding the shaft 38 in the ground. As will be described below, in normal use, the shaft 38 remains embedded in the ground, however, should the shaft 38 for some reason be caused to come out of the ground, the

rounded end 43 is unlikely to cause serious injury as might the sharp end of a standard peg.

The assembly of the peg 25 in order to releasably fix an object in the form of the body of an inflatable barrier to a surface will now be described with reference to Figures 7 and 8.

Referring firstly to Figure 7, the cap 26 and washer 36 are shown in relation to the eyelet 24 of a tab 22 of a barrier 12 of the type shown in Figure 2 (or alternatively, an inflatable barrier of the type shown in Figures 9 to 12) . In order to join the cap 26, washer 36 and tab 22, the projecting portion 30 of the cap 26 is passed through the eyelet 24 in the direction of the arrow B, whilst the washer 36 is moved in the direction of the arrow A. As discussed above, once the washer 36 is located underneath the rounded head portion 28, the cap 26 and washer 36 are fixedly connected together to form the head 50 and the tab 22 is securely held between the cap 26 and washer 36. Advantageously, once the head 50 is securely attached to the tab 22 in this manner, it is not necessary to re-attach the head to the barrier each time the barrier is intended to be used.

Referring now to Figure 8 , a barrier 12 that has been realisably fixed to the ground 48 by the peg 25 is shown. The shaft 38 has been firmly embedded in the ground 48 and will not, in normal use, come out of the ground. The head 50, comprising the cap 26 and washer 36 with the tab 22 therebetween, is releasably fixed to the shaft 38 as described above. In normal use, the only way for the head 50 (and therefore the barrier 12) to be released from the

shaft 38 (and therefore the ground 48) is for the barrier to be struck by a force above a certain threshold in the direction in which the head 50 was slid into the recess 44 of the shaft 38. The force must be above a threshold sufficient to overcome the interference fit provided between the groove 34 and tongue 46.

Typically, the shaft 38 and head 50 will be joined to form the peg 25, which will then be hammered into the ground, as would be done when hammering a standard peg into the ground.

All of the exposed parts of the head 50 and shaft 38 are rounded. Thus, if a person strikes the barrier 12, the risk of injury to the person by a, sharp edge of the peg is minimal. Further, even if the head 50 and shaft 38 become disengaged, the rounded head 40 of the shaft 38 is also rounded. Accordingly, should a person make contact with either of the sections of the anchor after dislodging the barrier, the risk of the person being injured by a sharp edge is minimised. As described above, even in the highly unlikely event that the shaft 38 comes out of the ground, the rounded end 43 is also not likely to injure the person.

Typically, the exposed areas of the peg are enlarged to further reduce the risk of injury to a person striking the barrier/peg.

As discussed above, the strength of the interference fit between the groove 34 and tongue 46 can be varied in order to alter the amount of force required to release the head 50 from the shaft 28 and therefore the barrier 12 from the

ground 48. Thus, the threshold force required to dislodge the barrier from the surface can be varied, depending on the purpose for which the barrier is intended to be used. For example, in a game of football, it is unlikely that a player will hit the barrier with as a great as force as would, say, a skier or a motorcross bike rider. Such people would be moving at a much faster speed, and would therefore need the barrier to absorb a lot more force before the barrier "gives" in order to lessen the risk of serious injury.

Any object can be releasably fixed to a surface with the anchor described above. However, it is preferred that the object be an inflatable safety barrier such as an inflatable tube. Inflatable tubes are typically inflated by a standard internal or external air blower. Typical lengths for such tubes can be from 1 metre to up to 50 metres per blower.

The safety barriers and anchor described above are not limited to use around flat playing fields and could, for example, be used on rough terrain such as that usually found on ski slopes or on motorcross tracks .

In alternate embodiments (not shown in the drawings) , the anchor may comprise a tab that is fixable to the ground and releasably attachable to the body of the barrier using a hook and loop fastener, such as Velcro. In use of such an anchor, a peg is passed through an aperture in the detachable tab and embedded in the ground to fix the barrier to the ground. The tab may be fixed to the ground using the peg 25 described above. Alternatively, as the tab separates from the body of the barrier when the

barrier is struck with sufficient force, the tab may be fixed to the ground using any form of peg because the peg and tab remain embedded in the ground where they are unlikely to injure the person who struck the barrier. Thus, the impact absorbing nature of the barrier is maintained whilst the sharp peg remains safely embedded in the ground.

Such a tab may be relatively small and contain a single eyelet, or may extend for a length of the barrier and contain a plurality of eyelets.

Inflatable safety barriers will often need to extend for some distance, for example, along the length of a football field. Accordingly, the body of an inflatable barrier will typically be releasably fixed to the ground using a plurality of anchors, for example, the pegs 25 described above, spaced at intervals along the length of the barrier.

Further, in some situations, for example, when the barrier is longer than the football field and the ends of the barrier are located well outside of the playing area, it may be desirable to affix the ends of the barrier to the surface using anchors that are not arranged to release in the manner of peg 25 in order to securely fix the barrier to the surface. Such anchors could employ standard pegs or other mechanical fastening arrangements.

An embodiment of the inflatable safety barrier of the second aspect of the present invention is shown in Figures 9 to 12 in the form of tube 100.

As can clearly be seen in Figure 9, tube 100 has a tab 102 with eyelets 104 at spaced intervals therealong (only one eyelet is shown) for fixing the tube 100 to a surface, for example, using the peg 50 described above. Tube 100 has a cap, which is attachable to an open end of the tube 100, in the form of end 106. End 106 is attachable to tube 100 by any method that forms a substantially air-tight seal known in the art, for example using velcro as is shown in Figure 2. Alternatively, a cap could be attached to a tube using an air-tight zip.

Tube 100 comprises a gas inlet (not shown) , typically in the form of an electric blower which may be inside or outside to the tube. Tube 100 further comprises a gas outlet in the form of outlet aperture 108.

As can best be seen in Figure 10, the size of outlet aperture 108 is selectively adjustable using an airtight zip 110. If it is desired to have a tube that is relatively hard, then the zip 110 would typically be done up all the way, as is shown in Figure 9, in order to minimise the size of outlet aperture 108. However, if it is desired to have a tube that is relatively soft, then the zip 110 would be opened in order to enable air to flow through the outlet aperture 108, thereby lessening the hardness of tube 100. Thus, by a simple adjustment of the zip 110, the consistency of the tube 100 is variable, and the same tube may be used for a multitude of desired applications .

In a game of football, for example, the tube 100 would need to be relatively soft so that a player does not feel like they are striking concrete if they strike the tube.

However, in sports where the participant is moving at far greater speeds, such as in skiing or motorcross racing, the tube 100 must be harder in order to be effective.

Referring now to Figures 11 and 12, the end 106 is shown separated from tube 100. The inner side 112 of end 106 can be clearly seen. A mesh 114 is affixed to the inner side 112 via a removable fixing means, for example Velcro, such that the mesh 114 covers the outlet aperture 108. The mesh 114 allows airflow through the outlet aperture

108, however, it slows the airflow down, thereby providing a degree of back pressure such that the portion of tube 100 proximate to end 106 does not deflate relative to the portion of the tube closer to the blower. If desired, as is shown in Figure 12, the mesh 114 can be removed, for example to clean the mesh.

Although the inflatable safety barriers described above have been described and illustrated as having a circular cross section, the barriers could be of any number of shapes such as semi-round, triangular, rectangular or pyramidal .

Although the present invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention may be embodied in many other forms. For example, as discussed above, the anchor could comprise a releasable coupling in the form of a detachable tab which is attachable to the inflatable barrier using a releasable material such as Velcro. Alternatively, the detachable tab may be stitched to the barrier such that the stitching

breaks when the barrier is struck with a force above the threshold.

In other embodiments, the anchor may be a peg and the releasable coupling may be provided in the form of a frangible portion of the peg. Preferably, when the frangible portion breaks during impact, the exposed portions of the peg are smooth so as not to cause injury.

In the claims which follow and in the preceding description of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word "comprise" or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising" is used in an inclusive sense, i.e. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments of the invention