The present invention pertains to the lighting industry and road signals, and of the accessory devices which are a complement thereof.

In more detail, the invention deals with a device which can make visible, from a suitable distance, objects or obstacles which could be dangerous for road traffic and users, such as roundabouts, crossroads, concealed entrances, etc., as well as making road edges and even the roadway more easily visible.

It is widely known that roundabouts and crossroads are critical spots with a high rate of Road Traffic Accidents, with often tragic consequences, above all on highways and inter-city roads. This derives from the fact that, particularly under unfavorable weather conditions, roundabouts are difficult for drivers to locate promptly.

It is also known that the same problems also occur when there are road elements such as crossroads, concealed entrances, etc.

It is also known that even routes which are otherwise free from obstacles can, in unfavorable weather conditions, begin to exhibit elements of risk.

So far the only known system for making a route or potential road danger visible consists of the lighting up the area of interest with metal iodide road-lamps, sodium, LED type lamps or the like .

The above road-lamps present the following disadvantages :

• they are inefficient in the case of unfavorable weather conditions such as fog, heavy rain, mist, smoke and the like.

• they must be installed in considerable numbers in order to provide adequate lighting, and therefore they demand high electricity consumption;

• they require complex plant solutions which are costly in terms of construction and subsequent maintenance (replacement of bulbs, transformers, etc. ) ; • they are inefficient, as the field of light can be easily misdirected in terms of the illumination of roads leading to the roundabout, or towards the generic road danger;

• they have an unpleasant effect in terms of the environment and are an eye-sore.

Object of the present invention is overcoming the aforementioned problems, by providing a device for the signaling and/or lighting of road edges and/or roadways, bulky objects, obstacles and/or road dangers, which is particularly efficient in the case of unfavorable weather conditions. It consists of:

• an emitter of laser light beams;

• a supply energy source;

• a supporting element for said emitter, designed to separate it from the road surface OR as an alternative, a small element to lift it above the road surface; It can further comprise:

• a refracting band, adapted to outline the route or the area perimeter which is to be indicated, where this emitter is adapted to determine the projection of at least one light beam along this refracting band, in such a way as to generate a luminous path/pattern from the emitter to the refracting band;

• an asymmetrical projector for distributing the light source of many lasers, possibly de- focused.

The aforementioned device has several dvantages, thanks to the special features of its aser beams :

• it facilitates the indication of features which are dangerous for road traffic, such as roundabouts, crossroads, concealed entrances and the like, from a safe and helpful distance, above all in unfavorable weather conditions: the laser beams, due to their special design characteristics, can go through fog, rain, smoke, etc. without being subjected to attenuations or changes to their original paths;

• it facilitates the illumination of the road edge, also in unfavorable weather conditions, generating an orienting luminous reference; • it has a modular structure which can be made suitable depending on various operating needs and which can be easily integrated with control, surveillance and assistance systems.

• it has a low rate of energy consumption;

• it has low construction and maintenance costs, and minimal environmental impact.

The aforementioned device and other features and advantages of the invention, as noted in the following description, are outlined in Claim 1. Subsequent variations and non-trivial alterations of the present invention are claimed in the dependent Claims.

It is intended that all enclosed claims are an integral part of the present disclosure.

The present invention can be further described by some preferred embodiments thereof, given as a non-limiting example, with reference to the enclosed drawings, in which:

• Figure 1 shows a front perspective view of a device according to the present invention, for the signaling and/or lighting of road dangers, associated with a roundabout R;

• Figures 2 shows a block diagram of a particular representation of the light emitter of the present invention;

• Figure 3 shows a side perspective view of devices of the present invention, for the signaling and/or lighting of road edge of inter-city roads; and

• Figure 4 shows a side perspective view of devices of the present invention, for the signaling and/or lighting of road edge of highways .

It will be immediately obvious that numerous variations and modifications (for example related to shape, size, physical arrangement, and the substitution of parts with equivalent functions) could be made to what is described, without departing from the scope of the invention as it appears in the enclosed claims.

With reference to the details of the Figures, the device for signaling and/or lighting edges, roadways and road dangers substantially comprises of:

- at least one emitter 1 of laser light beam FL, comprising a source 20 of laser light beams FL;

- at least one device 21 able to vary the angle of emission of the beam FL emitted from the source 20, called deflection, which is able to generate articulated patterns visible to the human eye. This is due to the phenomenon of persistence on the retina. Such device is made of two rotating or oscillating mirrors, or a pre-engraved prism, or a moving mechanism for the laser emitter, etc.;

- at least one supply source 22, for the emitter 1;

- at least one supporting element 2, adapted to provide distancing of the emitter 1 from the objects or edges to be lighted, where the supporting element 2 can be, for example, a pole (Figure 1) , or a box-type element 31, or a semi- spherical type element 41 (Figures 3 and 4).

As shown in Figure 2, the emitter 1 can comprise at least one further controller 23 adapted to drive the device 21 in order to generate patterns in the laser beams FL.

The invention can further comprise of:

- at least one refracting band 6, adapted to delimit the route or area perimeter which is to be indicated, with said emitter 1 being adapted to control the projection of at least one light beam FL along the perimeter of the refracting band 6, in such a way as to generate a path/pattern, for example a luminous cone CL or a triangle TR to light and improve the visibility of the road danger;

- a supply source 22, or alternatively, an accumulator 24, kept charged via electric mains or a photovoltaic panel 4 or a micro-aeolian generator 5, adapted to provide the necessary energy supply for the operation of the device;

- an asymmetrical projector 1 for distributing the light source of multiple lasers, possibly de- focused.

This projector 1, supplied with energy by the electric mains 22 or the accumulator 24, kept charged via electric mains or, as a non-limiting example, the photovoltaic panel 4 or the micro- aeolian generator 5, is adapted to emit one or more light beams FL, which are continuous or intermittent, and possibly different colors (for example green) from the usual road lighting colors of white and yellow/orange.

The possible use of a laser projector 1 with green light is suggested due to evidence of the ability of the human eye to more clearly perceive green light beams FL.

The emission of light beams FL for the indication and illumination of roads, in their possible variations of straight routes, bends, roundabouts, etc., will exploit the possible variation in colors or intermittence programs, to make more efficient and varied use of the invention, as it allows the identification and perception of route variations from a distance.

The light beams FL emitted by the above projector 1 are projected onto the path, which can be pre-defined, on the refracting band 6, quickly following the path itself.

The use of the refracting band 6 amplifies the projection points of the light beams FL, emitted by the laser projector 1, consequently resulting in improved visibility.

An alternative use of the present invention, which is not shown, could comprise of at least one transparent band (made for example of Plexiglas or Lexan) placed along the perimeter of the refracting band 6 in order to further improve visibility.

Furthermore, the above device has a modular structure which can be adapted depending on different operating needs, and in its different variations, it can comprise of:

- an asymmetrical projector for distributing the light of many lasers, possibly de-focused, arranged in order to obtain a correctly distributed and diffused light field;

systems 7 for controlling and remotely managing the device itself;

- video-surveillance systems 8;

tele-assistance and geo-localization devices ;

systems for displaying a wide range of information, such as road directions, traffic information and the like;

- moveable trolleys for positioning the device next to temporary obstacles or road dangers, such as accidents, public safety emergencies, concealed entrances (construction sites) , etc.

The device does not pose a threat to public health, or in particular to people's eyes.