IMPROVED REMOVABLE BARRIER CONSTRUCTION

Abstract: The present invention relates to a cable barrier construction, provided with tensioning and quick releasing systems for coupling to a metal fixed barrier, specifically designed for closing under safety conditions and quickly reopening passages provided in motorway traffic dividers.

Description: Description IMPROVED REMOVABLE BARRIER CONSTRUCTION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improved removable barrier construction for removably closing motorway passages. As is known, motorways, highways and, in general, roads provided with two traffic lanes, are protected at a central traffic divider system, by safety barriers, which can be made of concrete aggregate material, possibly reinforced concrete or, more generally, of metal materials, depending on characteristics for holding the vehicle traffic and for general safety as defined by National and European Rules . The mentioned protecting elements are conventionally interrupted, at preset spacings, with paved areas for allowing the transiting vehicles to change the traffic lane, depending on provided conditions. These regions are conventionally known as traffic divider passages and have an average extension from 20 to 40 m. The frequency with which the mentioned passages are formed through the road barrier will depend on the environment conditions, the road maintenance requirements, the provision of outlets or the like, and, usually, it would correspond to about a passage for each 2 km of motorway. Thus the mentioned passage would represent an interruption through the side protection for the vehicles provided by the safety battier. Such an interruption is very dangerous, since possible accidents caused by a crossing of a vehicle through a barrier passage, even if of a comparatively low rate, would have very noxious effects for the vehicle traffic. In fact, in such a case, an uncontrolled vehicle performing such a crossing would frequently impact against one or more vehicles arriving from an opposite direction on the other road lane: then, the kinetic energy sum of the impacting vehicles would be deleterious for the vehicle passengers. Because of the above mentioned drawbacks, it has been considered to suppress the mentioned passages and/or close said passages with fixed constructions like conventional fixed barriers. However, such a solution would be unsuitable for emergency vehicles or snow removing vehicle in general, which are frequently compelled to change the road lane, for example in a case of a serious accident obstructing a road lane for several hours and in a case of a prolonged maintenance, such as it is necessary to provide an opposite direction lane on the opposite traffic path. These requirements, accordingly, must be adapted to the safety requirements of the motorway users, which compel to adopt an efficient closing system but which can be easily and quickly removed as necessary. Prior art metal conventional disassemblable barriers, on the other hand, have not been found as satisfactory to meet the requirement of an easy and quick opening, since they would require to disassemble a very great number of coupling elements. These coupling elements, moreover, would be subjected to polluting and atmospheric agent effects, susceptible to hinder a proper operation thereof. Fixed cable barriers as used in several countries with good results from a mere safety standpoint, such as, for example, the barrier disclosed in the document EP 369659 (British Ropes), on the other hand, cannot be easily adapted to provide easily removable systems and, moreover, this prior barrier could not be easily fitted to existing barrier system. A cable barrier system, which has been specifically designed for solving the above mentioned problems has been disclosed in a previous Italian Patent No. 1,270,041 to Snoline, in which, however, some of the above mentioned safety and handling problems have not been fully solved. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the aim of the present invention is to overcome the above mentioned problems, by providing a barrier construction for removably closing motorway and the like passages, which is adapted to resist with a full safety against impacts, as provided by International Rules for small and middle weight vehicles, for example motor vehicles and buses, and which, moreover, can be quickly removed, as necessary, without requiring constructionally complex tools. Within the above mentioned aim, a main object of the present invention is to provide a barrier construction which, owing to its specifically designed structural features, is very reliable and safe in operation. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a barrier construction which can be easily made starting from easily available elements and materials and which, moreover, is very competitive from a mere economic standpoint. According to one aspect of the present invention, the above mentioned aim and objects, as well as yet other objects, which will become more apparent hereinafter, are achieved by an improved barrier construction for removably closing road passages, characterized in that said barrier construction comprises at least two overlaying cables, spaced from one another and restrained at several points, said cables entering inside an existing metal barrier or metal transition assembly, and being coupled, at their end portions, to tension assemblies arranged inside said battier, or inside transition metal lugs, as the barrier is a concrete barrier. Said cables, as they are located at a heigh included between a minimum and maximum level of the longitudinal strip of the fixed metal safety battier, are preferably, and at least partially, covered by plastic materials box-like element comprising, at several points thereof, ground bearing elements, or fabric or plastic film sleeve elements, in which case separated ground bearing feet are provided. In each case, between said cables, a plurality of restraining elements are provided for preventing the cables from being spread apart from one another at their end portion, said restraining elements being constituted by the same plastic elements or by preferably metal coupling elements comprising rod elements secured by screws, small cables or the like. In order to facilitate the opening operation, the cables are advantageously constituted by two or more cable parts, for example coupled at the center of the motorway passage or at the end portions thereof, by a quick connecting system, such as, for example, that disclosed in the document EP 369659. The cables, entering the two end portions of the barrier at the windward side, with respect to the arriving traffic, and which are held as near as possible to that side of the barrier, are fixed, at one end portion of the passage, to a fixed connecting assembly and, at the other, at the tension assemblies. The distance of the mentioned fixed points from the barrier starting point, corresponding for example to about 6 m, is that of the transition region in which other maintenance operations could be carried out, for example on the barrier supporting poles in order to modify the deforming properties thereof, to provide a gradual transition to a merely resilient operating system, constituted by che mentioned cables, to an elastic-plastic system, represented by the fixed barrier. The tension assemblies, which are arranged at a protected position, inside the existing fixed barrier or a specifically formed extension thereof, comprise a fixing construction and a manual or electrically operated winch, considering that the tension to be applied would be small since it would be merely required for eliminating or reducing the chain line arrangement forming between a bearing foot and a subsequent bearing foot. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Further characteristics and advantages of the barrier according to the present invention will become more apparent hereinafter from the following disclosure of a preferred, though not exclusive, embodiment of an improved barrier construction for removably closing motorway passages, which has been illustrated, by way of an indicative but not limitative example, in the accompanying drawings, where: Figure 1 is a schematic view illustrating a motorway passage provided with a barrier construction according to the present invention, as seen in elevation; Figure 2 is a schematic view illustrating a motorway passage with the barrier construction according to the present invention, as seen from the top; Figure 3 is a top plan view illustrating an end portion of the barrier with a cable and cable tension assembly; Figure 4 is a schematic view illustrating a possible example of a cable spacing element; Figure 5 is a schematic top plan view illustrating the end and transition region, with the tension assembly; Figure 6 is a detail view illustrating a detail of the barrier strip provided with cable inlet slotted holes; and Figure 7 is cross-sectional view illustrating a detail of a coating panel provided with a resting or bearing foot. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS With reference to the number references of the above mentioned figures, the barrier construction for removably closing motorway passages, according to the present invention, which has been generally indicated by the reference number 1, comprises at least two cables, indicated by 2, which are spaced from one another and are constituted by metal cables or the like, which are coupled, at their end portions, under pretension conditions. The cables 2, in particular, are arranged at such a height as to remain inside the minimum and maximum levels of the strip of the fixed metal safety barrier 9. Said cables are conventionally coated, through the overall length thereof, or on portions thereof, by coating elements 3, having desired optical properties . Said elements 3 can comprise simple fabric sleeve elements covered by plastic materials, or hollow plastic material bodies, as specifically contoured and possibly colored. At even spacings, for example between one and four meters, ground bearing or resting feet 4 are provided, said feet being generally made of a small weight plastic materials, and they can be advantageously embedded in the plastic coating element 3, as shown in Figure 7. Said cables 2 are held at a desired vertical spacing from one another by spacer elements 5 , formed as contoured or shaped metal rods which are secured by screws, or lengths of small metal cables with bent end portions, as shown in Figure 4, and which can be advantageously arranged under the coating elements 3 or embedded therein. According to a modified embodiment, the mentioned coating elements 3 are so designed as to directly provide also this mentioned function. In order to quickly open the passage, said cables are connected approximately at a half of their length or at other points, usually comprising a bar end portion and a fork end portion, as well as a coupling pin. Thus, after having released the cable tension by the winch 7, it will be possible to disengage the closure and bend the two end portions on the two sides of the passage. At the end portions of the cables 2 are provided, on a side, a fixed attachment 8 and, at the other side, a tension assembly, generally indicated by the reference number 10, which advantageously comprises a bottom or base plate 11 which is affixed to the ground by affixing bolts so as to be arranged inside the barrier 9, in order to bring the cable attachments as tangent as possible to the inner face of said barrier. The metal barrier 9, in particular, can be of a double-wave strip type 12, and including a central pole 13 and, after the tension assembly 10 or, respectively, the fixed attachment 8, it can continue with the same arrangement or be connected to another type of the barrier, either a metal or a concrete barrier, by a suitable transition region. On the front of the cable fixing points, the barrier defines a transition end region 14 between the cable and barrier, for a length required for providing a gradual variation of the flexure properties in the case of an impact. At the region 14, the barrier 9 is suitably narrowed to allow the cables to pass inside said barrier, through suitable slotted holes 15 provided windward of the strip. The strip, consequently, can be suitably reinforced in its inner portion, which would be advantageously made by coupling a like piece, as shown in Figure 6. The end portions of the cables to be pretensioned is coupled to the support element 16 affixed on the anchoring plate 11. The pretensioning operation, in particular, is performed by a winch 7, rigid with the assembly 10 and provided, for example, with a removable crank or any other suitable locking system, in order to prevent vandalic acts. As the desired tension has been achieved, the cable end portion is affixed to the support 16 by two fixing pins. As shown, the cable 2 is provided with an end elongated slot 20, coupled to a latching system 21 which comprises two overlapping plates 22 provided with a plurality of longitudinal holes, said plates being coupled by a pin 23 engaging the cable slot 20. At the opposite end from said pin 23, a sheave 25 is provided, for sliding thereon the service cable 26 included in the winch 7 connected to the construction 10. Thus, by operating the winch 7, the plates 22 will be brought at the holes formed through the fixed construction 10, thereby said plates can be coupled to said fixed construction by two coupling pins . The construction 10, in particular, is connected to the bottom plate 11 and the latter is coupled to the ground by suitable coupling plug so arranged as to provide the required longitudinal anchoring force and a small resistance in the cross direction, thereby said construction would not provide any dangerous reaction in the case of a side impact against the barrier 12. If a fixed concrete barrier is provided, then the system can be easily used by replacing the portion adjoining the passage, for a suitable length adapted to provide a gradual transition between the different stiffness properties, by a metal barrier and related end assembly, of the above disclosed type. In a further embodiment, in which it is necessary to protect the end assembly against possible front impacts, the end portion of said end assembly can be of an impact absorbing type, and it can be constructed by any suitable existing method. From the above disclosure it should be apparent that the invention fully achieves the intended aim and objects. In particular, it is pointed out that the subject cable system has been designed for resisting against an angled impact of a vehicle, as provided by recent European Rules, with exclusively dynamic deformation, thereby directing the vehicle so as to hold said vehicle in its traffic lane. Moreover, the arrangement of the cable attachments with respect to the barrier has been specifically designed to provide a gradual deforming of said barrier, thereby eliminating any "hard" points which would be very dangerous for the vehicle passengers. With respect to possible maintenance and modification operations, upon installing the barrier, said modifications to the barrier and to the cable system can be easily carried out by a maintenance staff including only two persons, with the aid of a service car. Likewise, if the passage must be opened, then the same operator can easily release the tension of the cables, disengage the central coupling and quickly fold the system on itself on the two sides. According to preferred embodiments, the cables have a height from ground between 200 and 1000 mm and are preferably arranged at a distance from 500 to 700 mm. Moreover, said cables can be replaced by chains or other rigid linear elements, coupled to one another by hinge assemblies. In order to render the barrier more visible at the barrier passage, the cable coating elements can be so colored as to clearly display the traffic closure. The invention, as disclosed, is susceptible to several modifications and variations, all of which will come within the inventive idea. Moreover, all of the details can be replaced by other technically equivalent elements. In practicing invention, the used materials, as well as the contingent size and shapes, can be any, depending on requirements.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A barrier construction, for removably closing motorway passages between fixed barriers, characterized in that said construction comprises at least two overlapping cables, coupled to one another so as to hold the distance thereof not greater than a starting distance, said cables being provided with openable connection means, coupled at the end thereof to a fixed point and to tension assemblies arranged at end portions of said barrier passage and inside said fixed barrier, said cables being arranged at a height included between the minimum and maximum level of the fixed barrier, said cables entering said barrier at a point included between the end assembly and the tension or fixing assembly. 2. A barrier construction according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said cables enter the existing barrier at the windward side of each traffic direction. 3. A barrier construction, according to the preceding claims, characterized in that said cables are arranged near an inner face of the existing fixed barrier, for a length between the contact with said barrier and the fixed or tension point. 4. A barrier construction, according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the fixed barrier end portion is modified by narrowing and reinforcing it for allowing the cables to enter said barrier. 5. A barrier construction, according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said fixed barrier end portion provides a less flexure resistance, to provide a gradual transition between the deformability of the cables and that of the fixed barrier. 6. A barrier construction, according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the openable connection is arranged at a half of the passage length. 7. A barrier construction, according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said openable connection is arranged at an end portion of the passage length. 8. A barrier construction, according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said cables are coated, through the passage length, by plastic material coating elements. 9. A barrier construction, according to Claim 8, characterized in that said coating elements are made of polyethylene box-like elements. 10. A barrier construction, according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said coating elements are made of a plasticized fabric sleeve elements. 11. A barrier construction, according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that, through the length of said passage, said cables are provided with ground bearing feet which are not restrained to the ground. 12. A barrier construction, according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said coating elements are embedded in said ground bearing feet. 13. A barrier construction, according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said cable spacer elements comprise contoured spacing rods affixed by screws. 14. A barrier construction, according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said cable spacer elements comprise steel small cables restrained at their end portions. 15. A barrier construction, according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said spacer elements are embedded in said coating elements . 16. A barrier construction, according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said cables are tensioned and coupled to a structure fixed to the ground and which can be folded under a siding. 17. A barrier construction, according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said cable tension end assemblies are operated by manual or electrically operated winches. 18. A barrier construction, according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said construction comprises a metal transition region coupled to an existing concrete barrier. 19. A barrier construction, according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the fixed barrier end assembly comprises a front impact protecting element. 20. A barrier construction, according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said cables comprise chains or rigid linear elements coupled to one another by hinge assemblies. 21. A barrier construction for removably closing motorway passages, according to one or more of the preceding claims, and substantially as broadly disclosed and illustrated and for the intended aim and objects.

Inventors: ANGHILERI MARCO, MULLER FRANZ, ANGHILERI, MARCO, MULLER, FRANZ
Applicants: ANGHILERI MARCO, MUELLER FRANZ, SNOLINE SPA, ANGHILERI, MARCO, MULLER, FRANZ, SNOLINE S.P.A.
Application year: 1999
Main classification: E01F15
IPC codes: E01F15