FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of heavy-duty barriers, wherein the heavy- duty barrier has a base part of concrete, or which is fillable with concrete, and a fence part attached to the base part, wherein the fence part comprises a bar structure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A heavy-duty barrier of the kind relevant for this application is one that is used to prevent people from entering a worksite. Typically, the work is repair, maintenance or construction work on a road or on building, but it can be any activity that necessitates entrance restriction. The heavy-duty barrier is supposed to be able to stop a person falling against it without overturning. In order to obtain this, the heavy-duty barrier has a lower part, or base part, which is heavy and constitutes a ballast. Typically, the base part consists of concrete or of a metal tub filled with concrete, but other solutions exist as well. The heavy-duty barrier further comprises an upper part, which acts as a fence and consists of a bar structure. The upper part, or fence part, is attached to the base part, for instance by having bottom ends cast into the concrete or being attached to the concrete or to the tub.

Most often several heavy-duty barriers are positioned in a row, i.e. side by side, in order to block an area, and then they are interconnected by means of chains attached to their base parts. This possibility to interconnect the barriers is helpful in that it enhances the ability of the barrier to withstand a force trying to move it by pushing on the base part, since one or more other barriers will have to be moved in common with the barrier subjected to the force. In reality, although the heavy-duty barrier is only tested for persons falling against it which is communicated by the manufacturers, users of the heavy-duty barrier often believe that it is capable of withstanding larger forces than a person falling against it without overturning, since it is perceived as heavy and stable. That user perception causes wrong use, which in turn generates a risk of accidents. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It would be advantageous to enhance the capability of the heavy-duty barrier to reduce the risk of accident due to excessive reliance in the capability of the heavy-duty barrier. To address this concern, in a first aspect of the invention there is presented a heavy- duty barrier, which is movable, comprising a base part, which comprises a ballast, and a fence part attached to the base part, wherein the fence part comprises a fixed bar structure and a rigid connection element, which is movably attached to the bar structure, and which is connectable with a corresponding connection element of a neighbouring heavy-duty barrier, wherein the connection element comprises an attachment portion movably attached to a bar portion of the bar structure, and a hook portion arranged to be engaged with a corresponding hook portion of another connection element. By means of this connection element a simple to use and strong interconnection of neighbouring heavy-duty barriers has been obtained. It takes a lot more force to overturn the heavy-duty barrier when it is interconnected with one or more other heavy-duty barriers than when not interconnected, or merely connected with the prior art chain. It should be noted that the definition of the connection element as rigid does not exclude flexible or pivotable parts from being included, while the overall structure is still considered to be rigid. This contrasts with a chain, which is considered non-rigid, i.e. flexible, while still including many rigid elements, i.e. the individual links of the chain.

In accordance with an embodiment of the heavy-duty barrier the movable attachment of the attachment portion includes rotation of the connection element about a longitudinal centre axis of the bar portion. Thereby, arrangement of neighbouring heavy- duty barriers at different angles to each other is facilitated. In accordance with an embodiment of the heavy-duty barrier the movable attachment of the attachment portion includes movement along a length of the bar portion. Thereby, accommodation of unevenness of the ground is enhanced.

In accordance with an embodiment of the heavy-duty barrier the attachment portion is tubular and encircles the bar portion. This provides a simple yet reliable attachment of the connection element to the fixed bar structure. In accordance with an embodiment of the heavy-duty barrier the hook portion comprises a first protrusion protruding from the attachment portion, and a second protrusion protruding from the attachment portion, wherein the first and second protrusion define a gap between them, which gap is arranged to receive a part of a first protrusion of another connection element.

In accordance with an embodiment of the heavy-duty barrier the first protrusion has an L-shaped cross-section, and a free end of the first protrusion faces the second protrusion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will now be described in more detail and with reference to the appended drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of two interconnected heavy-duty barriers according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view from above of a part of the heavy-duty barrier shown in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a connection element, which is part of the heavy-duty barrier shown in Fig. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the heavy-duty barrier 1 comprises a base part 2, and a fence part 3, which is attached to the base part 2. The base part 2 comprises a steel tub 4 and a concrete ballast 5, which has been cast into the steel tub 4 to provide the heavy-duty barrier with a level of resistance against overturning, i.e. falling over, when hit by a force, such as caused by a strong wind or by a person falling on the fence part 3. The base part 2 is elongated, having a length of for example about 1-3.5 m, or even more, a width of for example about 0.2-0.4 m, and a height of about 1-1.2 m. Example weights of the heavy-duty barrier are 200-500 kg. A typical example is a length of about 3 m, a width of about 0.3 m, a height of about 1.1 m, and a weight of about 450 kg. As an alternative base part structure, a concrete ballast can be cast in a mould and then used as the base part without the steel tub. The fence part 3 comprises a bar structure 6, typically comprising tubular bars, typically with a square or circular cross-section, and two connection elements 7, one at each end of the heavy-duty barrier 1. The bar structure 6 comprises a bar portion 8 at each end of the heavy-duty barrier 1, at which the connection element 7 is movably mounted. For the purposes of this application, in a most simple embodiment a single connection element 7 is feasible. The bar portion 8 is a vertical portion, and in the embodiment shown in the drawings it is an end portion of an upper bar 9, which has a major portion 9a extending horizontally above the base part 2, end portions 9b, 9c extending vertically at the ends of the base portion 2, and bent portions 9d, 9e integrally connecting the vertical end portions 9b, 9c with the horizontal major portion 9a. Thus, the end portions 9b, 9c of the upper bar 9 provide the bar portions 8 where the connection elements 7 have been mounted. Furthermore, the fence part 3 comprises two locking elements 10, one at each connection element 7. Each locking element 10 prevents the connection element 7 from falling off the bar portion 8 at which it is mounted. In this embodiment, more particularly, the locking element 10 extends between the very end of the end portion 9b, 9c and a vertical end post 11 and 13, respectively, also being comprised in the bar structure 6 and being attached to the base part 2 at its ends. The vertical end post 11, 13 is displaced towards a centre of the heavy-duty barrier 1 relative to the adjacent bar portion 8, with which it is connected by means of the locking element 10. Additionally, the bar structure 6 comprises a middle post 12, and a lower bar 15. The lower bar 15 extends horizontally and is located between the upper bar 9 and the base part 2. More particularly, the lower bar 15 comprises two halves 15a, 15b, one half 15a extending from the middle post 12 to one end portion 9b of the upper bar 9, and the other half 15b extending in the opposite direction, from the middle post 12 to the other end portion 9c of the upper bar 9. The middle post 12 reaches from the base part 2 up to the upper bar 9. The vertical end posts 11, 13 extend from the base part 2 up to the respective half of the lower bar 15. The connection element 7 comprises an attachment portion 16, and a hook portion

17. The attachment portion 16 is tubular and has a slightly larger inner diameter than the outer diameter of the bar portion 8 which the attachment portion 16 encircles. In other words, the attachment portion 16 is concentric with the bar portion 8 and there is a play between the outer surface of the bar portion 8 and the inner surface of the attachment portion 16. The attachment portion 16 has a longitudinal centre axis C— C, which coincides with a longitudinal centre axis of the bar portion 8. Thus, the connection element 7 is rotatable about the bar portion 8, and more particularly about the centre axis of the bar portion 8. Additionally, there is room to move the connection element 7 along the length of the bar portion 8, i.e. vertically. The hook portion 17 comprises a first protrusion 18 protruding from the attachment portion 16, and a second protrusion 19 protruding from the attachment portion. The first and second protrusion 18, 19 define a gap 20 between them, which gap 20 is arranged to receive a part of a first protrusion 18 of another connection element 7. The first and second protrusions 18, 19 generally protrude laterally from the attachment portion 16, and they have a substantial vertical extension, thereby forming opposite first and second walls, respectively. The first protrusion 18 has an L-shaped cross- section, i.e. a cross-section taken perpendicular of the centre axis C— C of the attachment portion 16. The longer portion of the L is attached to the attachment portion 16. A free end of the first protrusion 18, i.e. the end of the shorter portion of the L, faces the second protrusion 19, and more particularly the surface of the second protrusion 19 that faces the gap, which surface can be defined as an inner surface of the second protrusion 19. Furthermore, a height of the connection element 7 is defined as its extension in the direction of the centre axis C— C. The second protrusion, or second wall, 19 is provided with a chute, or bent portion, 21 at the middle of the height of the second protrusion 19. The chute 21 extends from the attachment portion 16 to the freed edge of the second protrusion 19, and is, for example, V-shaped. The chute strengthens the second portion 19, which is generally plate shaped. The second protrusion 19 further comprises an upper edge portion 22 and a lower edge portion 23, which are bent outwards, i.e. away from the opposite portions of the first protrusion 18. Thereby, the gap between the first and second protrusions 18, 19 increases towards the upper and lower ends of the connection element 7, which facilitates interconnection of two connection elements 7. When two heavy-duty barriers 1 are to be interconnected, the first heavy-duty barrier is put in place on the ground. Then, the second heavy-duty barrier 1 is lifted and moved close to the first heavy-duty barrier, and the connection elements 7 of both heavy- duty barriers 1, at their adjacent ends, are aligned with each other. Then, the second heavy- duty barrier is lowered such that its connection element 7 is engaged with the connection element 7 of the adjacent first heavy-duty barrier 1. Thereby the heavy-duty barriers 1 become interconnected as shown in Fig. 1. Another way of interconnecting the heavy-duty barriers 1 is to start with placing the heavy-duty barriers 1 side by side adjacent to each other and in a position that allows retrofitting of the connection elements 7. This means that the connection elements 7 and the locking elements 10 are not mounted on the heavy- duty barriers 1 until after they have been positioned on the ground. How this can be done is understood by the person skilled in the art from the drawings and the above description and will not be elaborated in detail, but, for instance, the locking element 10 can be detached to allow mounting of the connection elements 7 and then reattached. In alternative embodiments, the connection element can be provided with a two-part attachment portion having a demountable semi-cylindrical part. Then the connection element can be mounted also on a bar portion having no accessible free end.

Due to the rotatability and movability along the bar portion 8, it is possible to position the heavy-duty barriers at an angle to each other, and a certain ground unevenness is allowed as well. This movability can be slightly enhanced by providing play between the protrusions 18, 19 of the interconnected connection elements 7. While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description are to be considered illustrative or exemplary and not restrictive. The invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments.

For instance, the fence part can be differently designed with fewer or more bars, differently shaped bars, etc., such as a short embodiment where the middle post has been omitted.

The connection element can be differently designed, for instance with a fully flat second protrusion, a U-shaped end portion of the first protrusion, etc., as long as it fulfils the task of being able to hook into a connection element of an adjacent heavy-duty barrier.

Other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measured cannot be used to advantage. Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope.