Additional flag-type marker

Abstract: An additional road marker comprising a strip body (10) made from soft, flexible-elastic material such as rubber or plastic. It is designed to be applied like a flag to means installed for marking the edge of the carriageway, such as posts, new jersey's and guard rails, so as to protrude from the carriageway and be struck, with no damages, by vehicles when they get too close do the edge of the carriageway.

Description: The present invention concerns, in general, road signalling means, and it particularly pertains to an additional flag-type marker designed to be applied to posts marking the edge of a carriageway, new jersey's and road barriers (guard rails). Means for marking the edge of carriageways, such as posts, new jersey's and guard rails, are provided with reflectiiig studs, i.e. optical signs, which mark the edge of the carriageway, specially when visibility is reduced. Nevertheless, lack of attention, tiredness, poor visibility etc. may cause a driver to deviate from the correct direction and to get too close to the edge of the carriageway, so as to fall to the side path or to get too close to markers such as posts, new jersey's or barriers installed at the edge of the carriageway. In this case, common means installed for marking the edge of the carriageway, essentially optical, do not give the driver any sensation or signal of such deviation and do not call the driver's attention so that he can recover the right direction. Document US-A-3 863 595, representative of the background art, discloses a device designed as a "grass guard" having a supporting post member which carries adjacent its upper end a laterally-extending flexible arm, designed to come into contact with the dumpers of a vehicle. Basically, such a device represent an autonomous warning means which requires a particular, specific post in order to be installed along a roadway edge at the height of the bumpers of vehicles. This also means that it cannot be attached to already existing structure, such as concrete new jersey barriers, metal guard-rail and the like. Document FR-a-2 615 540 simply discloses a signalling means for reflecting light which has a fixing device to maintain its position. The reflecting structure has, however, a solid, rigid plate, which is unsuitable for receiving knocks and which may damage a vehicle if it is collided with the vehicle. It is an object of the present invention to obviate to such disadvantageous characteristic and to provide an additional marker which is designed to be applied to side posts, new jersey's and guard rails, and to give a "physical" sensation of the deviation of a vehicle towards the edge of the carriageway, thus allowing the driver to recover the correct direction. Another object of the invention is to provide an additional marker which is designed to be applied like a flag to common means used for marking the edge of the carriageway, so as to protrude from them and be struck by the vehicle which is deviating towards said means. The marker proposed by the present invention is flexible and made from an adequate material so as not to damage the vehicles that strike it; however, its physical contact with the vehicle will advantageously signal the driver that he is getting near the edge of the carriageway and that he should therefore recover the correct direction. Such objects and advantages are achieved with a flag-type road marker according to claim 1. Further details of the invention will however become apparent from the continuation of the description made with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 shows the additional marker applied to. a post installed for marking the edge of a carriageway; Fig. 2 shows means for marking the edge of a carriageway viewed from above, provided with the flag-type marker as shown in Fig. 1; Figs. 3a and 3b show the additional marker applied to a new jersey and to a guard rail respectively; Fig. 4 shows a perspective view of a carriageway, with an additional flag-type marker on each post installed at the edge of the carriageway; and Figs. 5, 6 and 7 show some possible methods to apply the additional flag-type marker to means designed to mark the edge of a carriageway, to a new jersey and to a guard rail respectively. In such drawing, reference numeral 10 indicates an additional marker which may be applied, like a flag turned towards the carriageway, to means designed to mark the edge of a carriageway such as posts 11, new jersey's 12 and guard rails 13. The flag-type marker 10 is made from plastic, flexible and non-deformable; it is thin and has a thicker reinforcement 10' in its upper area and at the junction with the means 11, 12, 13. The marker may also be provided, in its middle area, with a reflecting stud 14. The reinforced areas 10' ensure the flag-type shape of the marker after installation and its resistance to stresses due to the collisions it may be subject to. For installation, the marker 10 may be provided or integral with a base support 15 made from plate or from any other adequate material. For application to a post 11 designed to mark the edge of a carriageway, the base support 15 of the flag-type marker 10 is, for instance, recessed and fixed by means of rivets 16 or the like to the respective post, as shown in Fig. 5. The posts installed along a carriageway appear as shown in Fig. 4. For application to a barrier such as a new jersey 12, the base support 15 may be as shown in Fig. 6. For application to common guard rails 13, the base support will be designed so as to fit the profile of such barrier. However, the flag-type marker will adequately protrude towards the carriageway so as to be intercepted and struck by vehicles which get unintentionally too close to the edge of the carriageway, with the result and the advantages as described above.

Claims: An additional road marker, comprising a marker body (10) of a soft, flexible-elastic material such as rubber or plastic, applicable like a flag to means installed for marking roadway edges, such as posts, new jersey's and guard-rails structure, and protruding towards a carriageway so as to be struck, without damage, by vehicles whenever get too close to the edge of the carriageway, characterized in that said marker body (10) is in the form of a horizontally elongated strip having areas (10') at the junction with the means installed for marking roadway edges which are reinforced by an increase of its thickness or ribs in order to ensure orientation thereof, and in that a base support (15) is provided at one end of said marker body to fit this to one of said means installed for marking roadway edges. The additional read marker as claimed in claim 1, wherein said reinforced areas (10') are located along an upper horizontal side and a vertical side adjacent said base support (15). The additional road marker as claimed in claims 1 and 2, werein at least an optical member is provided on said marker body, consisting in a reflecting stud.

Inventors: POLINI ANGELO, POLINI, ANGELO
Applicants: POLINI ANGELO, POLINI, ANGELO
Application year: 1997
Main classification: E01F9
IPC codes: E01F9