POST, MAINLY FOR ROAD EQUIPMENT

Abstract: The invention relates to a post, mainly for supporting road equipment, such as signs, traffic lights and light fittings. The post has a uniform, tubular profile which in the longitudinal direction of the post is divided into a number of alternate bearing sections (S) and yielding sections (C), wherein the bearing sections (S) comprise flange parts (9) directed towards the centre of the profile or parts having a wall thickness which is bigger than that of the yielding sections (C).

Description: Post, mainly for road equipment The present invention relates to a post, mainly for attachment of road equipment thereto, such as road signs, roadway lighting and traffic lights. It is known that such posts may pose a safety problem to road-users in that many posts are made very strong with a view to managing the static loads and the dynamically occurring wind loads. By a collision with such strong posts, a vehicle may wholly or partly be "split" if the speed of collision is sufficiently high. In order to remedy this problem yielding posts have therefore been produced for many years, such yielding posts being capable of undergoing deformation to such an extent that a vehicle colliding with the post will not be wrecked in the above-mentioned manner, or that the effects of such a collision are at least considerably alleviated while at the same time maintaining the integrity of the post such that damages resulting from the tumbling down of the post itself will mainly be avoidable. A known, yielding post consists of an octagonal aluminium profile, which is arched on two of its edges, and which is internally provided with four iron bars, so-called torsion bars, stiffening the post and giving it intercepting properties. This type of post will fold about the vehicle at a speed of up to 90 km/h and reduce the peak load of the stress on vehicle and passengers relative to a collision with a post of the strong type. It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a post having yielding properties by a collision and being considerably simpler to produce, and which therefore offers production advantages relative to the known type of yielding post. This object is provided by the invention, as disclosed in claim 1, which is easily produced by extrusion. It is moreover an object of the invention to provide a post which gives a high degree of flexibility in that a large number of different types of road equipment can easily be mounted on and replaced from the post even if the post is secured to a base. This object is provided by the invention as disclosed in claim 2. It is thus possible to easily replace previously erected signs or other road equipment, or the existing post may be supplemented by new signs. The post according to claim 2 may accordingly form part of a modular system resulting in advantages regarding mounting, logistics and maintenance. According to an advantageous embodiment according to claim 6 the post may be further strengthened, if so desired, to resist lateral deflections. This may be advantageous within fields of application where the post may perhaps be particularly exposed to vibrations, or where the post is to be capable of carrying a particularly heavy, static load. This will substantially increase the field of application of a standard size post. Description of the drawing Further advantages will appear from the following description of the invention reference being made to the drawing wherein Fig. 1 shows a first, substantially oval profile of a post according to the invention, Fig. 2 shows a second, circular profile of a post according to the invention, Fig. 2a shows a third, circular profile of a post according to the invention, Fig. 3 shows support sections inserted into the post shown in fig. 2, Fig. 4 shows an object from which support sections according to the invention can be produced, Figs. 5 and 5a show a bevelled cut of the object according to fig. 4 in two parts, and Fig. 6 shows another embodiment of a support section for supporting a traffic light device. Description The post according to the present invention is built up about a profile which is uniform in the longitudinal direction of the post. A first, mainly oval embodiment of the profile is shown in fig. 1. This profile 1 is stiffer in the direction of the long axis of the profile compared to the short axis so that a post with this profile is suitable for supporting loads which apply stresses to the post in a single direction in particular. This will be the case of big plane signs, and these signs may advantageously be fastened with their sign surface perpendicularly to the long axis of the profile. Moreover, this profile will be suitable for forming part of a bridge structure consisting of two vertical posts and a girder to which signs, signal devices or other types of fittings may be attached. Fig. 2 shows an outwardly circularly shaped profile 1' having a total of four attachment grooves . The shown profiles are provided with one or more longitudinally extending, external attachment grooves 2, wherein a mounting fitting can be inserted directly from a direction perpendicularly to the profile and turned, whereby the mounting fitting is slideably located within the attachment groove. The fitting may subsequently be fastened, and the attachment groove may be provided with additional fittings in other positions. In its simplest embodiment the mounting fitting consists of a clamping device 3 and a bolt ( not shown ) . This attachment system is known in connection with standard profiles from Alusuisse TM and the same applies to the outlines of the profiles. The profiles 1 and 1 ' according to the invention form a ring of connected sections which are alternately yielding and bearing. The yielding sections have a smaller wall thickness and are designated by C, whereas the bearing sections, designated by S, have a bigger wall thickness and/or may be provided with flange parts 9, 10 directed towards the centre of the profile. These profiles are capable of absorbing a considerable amount of torsion stress and forces acting perpendicularly to the post corresponding to the loads of common occurrence, while at the same time, by a collision, the post will deform and yield to the blow. Moreover, the bearing sections S may form an anchorage for bolts or anchor irons and thus be secured to a given base. By an advantageous embodiment according to claim 3, yield grooves 7 extending in the longitudinal direction of the post are provided in the yielding sections C of the profile. This will permit fractured surfaces to be established more easily in connection with a blow directed perpendicularly to the post, whereby the deformation properties can be controlled precisely and dimensioned accurately according to current requirements. Fig. 2a shows an alternative embodiment of the circular profile in fig. 2. This profile 1'' is identical to 1', apart from the fact that the individual, bearing sections S do not form any attachment grooves. However, these bearing sections form parts 11 having a bigger wall thickness than that of the yielding sections. A post of this profile will accordingly be suitable for applications where only traditional sign and light fitting mountings will be taken into consideration. The wall thickness of the bearing sections relative to that of the yielding sections will depend, among other things, of the number of bearing sections, which the profile is divided into, and of the shape of the profile as well as of the shape of the flanges in the bearing sections. Fig. 3 shows a number of support sections 4 secured to the external attachment grooves 2 on a support profile 1 ' . Each support section 4 advantageously extends from the base of the post to somewhat above the middle of the post, and the support section is fixedly secured to two ends and perhaps to intermediate points within the attachment groove, just as the support section 4 may be secured to a point on the base of the post. The mounting of the support sections to the post may take place by means of the above-mentioned clamping devices and bolts . This will strengthen the post of a standard size according to the invention in a particularly simple manner, whereby the post may optionally obtain properties resembling those of the conical post, which cannot be produced by known low- cost methods, such as extrusion. Besides, the post itself can be easily cut into the correct length just as it is possible to attach support sections of a suitable length, as the occasion . may demand. The collision-proof properties of the post will of course not be affected by the point of cutting of the section, which contributes to making the erection and taking down as well as the reuse in other connections of the profiles very little demanding. Moreover, the post may optionally be strengthened according to requirements in that for example only a single, selected attachment groove may be used. Figs. 4, 5 and 5a show a method for advantageously producing a support section 4. First, the section shown in fig. 4 is extruded. Then the extruded object is bevelled so as to produce two uniform, tapering support sections 4. Besides, the extruded object may also be cut so as to form two straight support sections 4', as shown in fig. 6. As mentioned above, the profiles 1 and 1 ' are applicable in a large number of different functions. In fig. 6 the profile 1' is used as a post for a traffic light device in that 8 designates signal units for vehicles, 6 designates signal units for cyclists and 5 designates a sound source. The signal units 8 and the sound source 5 are mounted directly to the attachment grooves 2 of the post 1 ' , whereas the signal units 6 are attached to a support section 4', which again is mounted to the attachment groove 2. The signal units 5 and 8 also comprise a hinge so that they are pivotable about an axis parallel to the post. The support section 4 ' functions here as a stiffening of the post 1' and for directly supporting the signal units 6. By this embodiment the collision-proof properties of the profile 1 ' are basically maintained in that the support sections are connected to the bearing sections S such that the yielding sections C and the properties thereof are not changed. Besides, the mounting means engaging the attachment groove, which as mentioned above comprise a clamping device 3 and a bolt, can be dimensioned in such a manner that the mounting means will only stand a certain upper load whereby they will break in case a vehicle collides with the post. Reference numerals 1 oval profile 1 ' circular profile l ' alternative, circular profile 2 attachment groove 3 clamping device 4 first support section ' second support section 5 sound source 6 first light signal unit 7 yield groove 8 second light signal unit 9 first flange 10 second flange 11 part with big wall thickness S bearing section C yielding section

Claims: P A T E N T C L A I M S 1. Post (1, 1', 1' ' ), mainly for road equipment, including signs and traffic light equipment, characterised in having a uniform, tubular profile in the longitudinal direction of the post, wherein in the longitudinal direction of the post the profile is divided into a number of alternate bearing sections (S) and yielding sections (C), wherein the bearing sections (S) comprise flange parts (9, 10) directed towards the centre of the profile or parts (11) having a wall thickness which is bigger than that of the yielding sections ( C ) . 2. Post according to claim 1, characterised in that at least one of the bearing sections (C) forms an externally accessible attachment groove ( 2 ) in the longitudinal direction of the post, wherein at least one piece of fitting comprising a clamping device (3) for attaching objects to the post (1, 1') can be inserted, is slideable and can be fixedly secured. 3. Post according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that in the longitudinal direction of the post the yielding sections (C) comprise a number of yield grooves (7) which are designed for cracking or breaking up when exposed to a hard, lateral blow. 4. Post according to claim 3, characterised in that the yield grooves (7) are situated on the inner side of the profile (1, 1' , 1' ' ). 5. Post according to claim 3 or 4, characterised in that the yield grooves (7) are V-shaped. 6. Post according to one of claims 2-5, characterised in that the post (1, 1') furthermore comprises a support section (4, 4') which can be attached to a clamping device (3) and the size of which covers the attachment groove (2) for a part of the linear extent of the attachment groove, and which in its fixed position extends from the lower end of the post. 7. Post according to claim 6, characterised in that the support section (4) is made of a tubular, extruded object, which is subsequently bevelled to produce two identical halves (4) with decreasing thickness. 8. Post according to claim 7, characterised in that the support section ( 4 ) decreases in thickness in an upwards direction. 9. Post according to claim 7, characterised in that the support section (4' ) is linear and that a light signal source and/or a sound signal source (5, 6) is/are mounted thereon . 10. Post according to claim 1, characterised by being extruded and being made of aluminium.

Inventors: HOLSCHER KNUD, HOLSCHER, KNUD
Applicants: HOLSCHER KNUD, VEJDIREKTORATET, HOLSCHER, KNUD
Application year: 1997
Main classification: E01F9
IPC codes: E01F8, E01F9