Abstract:
A bollard with connecting mechanism for connecting railings, comprising: a bollard body which is provided with at least two receiving parts concave inwardly on each of opposite surfaces thereof; at least two connectors, each of which includes a base and an ear extending from the base and having a connecting hole thereon for connecting the railing; wherein the base is accommodated in the receiving part, and the ear is selectively accommodated in the receiving part or exposed out of the receiving part according to whether railings need to be connected.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to a bollard, more particularly, relates to a bollard with connecting mechanism for connecting railings. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Bollards, particularly traffic bollards come in a variety of shapes and size. Some are permanently erected in the road, others are temporarily put out into the ground for example when road works in progress. To facilitate the safe and smooth movement of crowds, railings (also known as rails, gates, barriers or fences) are always required to be connected to bollards (also known as posts, poles or columns). 
   In order to connect the railing to the bollard, three types of mechanisms are generally adopted, i.e., a connecting mechanism of bollard suitable for particular used railings, a connecting mechanism of railing suitable for particular used bollards, or an additional connecting device used for connecting a bollard with a particular railing. 
   However, if use additional connecting device, various additional connecting devices have to be designed and produced for the various existing bollards and railings. This is discommodious and expensive. There are many known bollards provided with a connecting mechanism on the bollard body but such a bollard meets problems, for example, it is complicated to be produced or inconvenient for using. Above all, connecting mechanisms of the bollards generally include parts protruding from the bollards for connecting the railing to the bollard. When no railing is connected on it, such protruding parts always pose a safety hazard as well as inconvenience to the public. 
   There is therefore a need for a bollard with connecting mechanism which overcomes the above defects of the known additional connecting device and the known bollard with connecting mechanism. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   An object of the present invention is to provide a bollard with a connecting mechanism for connecting railings, which has no protruding parts when no railing needs to be connected, in order to avoid a safety hazard to the public. 
   According to the invention, in one aspect, a bollard with a connecting mechanism for connecting railings comprises a bollard body which is provided with at least two receiving parts concave inwardly on each of opposite surfaces thereof; at least two connectors, each of which includes a base and an ear extending from the base and having a connecting hole thereon for connecting the railing; wherein the base is accommodated in the receiving part, and the ear is selectively accommodated in the receiving part or exposed out of the receiving part according to whether railings need to be connected. 
   In another aspect, the receiving part is formed by a concave portion of wall of the bollard body and has at least one inserting hole therein for inserting the ear. 
   In another aspect, the inserting hole of the receiving part on one of the opposite surfaces is at a height different from the inserting hole of the receiving part on the other of the opposite surfaces. 
   In another aspect, the bollard body is solid and the inserting hole of the receiving part on one of the opposite surfaces is through hole which communicates with the receiving part on the other of the opposite surfaces. 
   In another aspect, the bollard body is hollow and the inserting hole of the receiving part on one of the opposite surfaces is through hole which communicates with the cavity of the hollow bollard body. 
   In another aspect, a first fixing hole formed on the receiving part corresponds to a second fixing hole formed on the base so that a fixing member going through the first and second fixing holes fixes the base to the bollard body. 
   In another aspect, the cross-section of the bollard body is in symmetric form. 
   The bollard with connecting mechanism structured as the above is simple and easy to produce, and can be wildly applied to any kinds of bollards. Furthermore, no protruding part, which could pose a safety hazard to the public, is on the bollard with connecting mechanism when no railing is connected to it. Except for nuts and bolts, no additional parts are required for the connection of railing to the bollard. No part of the bollard ever has to be removed, regardless of whether railing is connected to the bollard or not. The railings can be connected to one or both sides according to the specific situation. Nuts and bolts are used for connecting the bollard body and the connectors. These nuts and bolts are not necessary to be removed and stored at additional place whether the railing(s) is connected to the connecting mechanism or not. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
     The invention will be described for illustrative but not limitative purpose according to its preferred embodiments with particular reference to the enclosed drawings, wherein: 
       FIG. 1A  shows a front view of the bollard with connecting mechanism according to a first embodiment of the invention in a first configuration; 
       FIG. 1B  shows a side view of the bollard in  FIG. 1A ; 
       FIG. 1C  shows a top view of the bollard in  FIG. 1A ; 
       FIG. 1D  shows a sectional view of the bollard in  FIG. 1C  taken along line A-A; 
       FIG. 2A  shows a front view of the bollard with connecting mechanism according to the first embodiment of the invention in a second configuration; 
       FIG. 2B  shows a side view of the bollard in  FIG. 2A ; 
       FIG. 2C  shows a top view of the bollard in  FIG. 2A ; 
       FIG. 2D  shows a sectional view of the bollard in  FIG. 2C  taken along line A-A; 
       FIG. 3A  shows a front view of the bollard body of the bollard with connecting mechanism according to the first embodiment of the invention, without any connector; 
       FIG. 3B  shows a side view of the bollard body in  FIG. 3A ; 
       FIG. 3C  shows a top view of the bollard body in  FIG. 3A ; 
       FIG. 3D  shows a sectional view of the bollard body in  FIG. 3C  taken along line A-A; 
       FIG. 4A  shows a perspective view of the connector of the bollard with connecting mechanism according to the first embodiment of the invention; 
       FIG. 4B  shows a front view of the connector in  FIG. 4A ; 
       FIG. 4C  shows a side view of the connector in  FIG. 4A ; 
       FIG. 4D  shows a top view of the connector in  FIG. 4A ; 
       FIG. 4E  shows a sectional view of the connector in  FIG. 4D  taken along line A-A; 
       FIG. 5A  shows a sectional view of the bollard with connecting mechanism according to a second embodiment of the invention in a first configuration; 
       FIG. 5B  shows a sectional view of the bollard with connecting mechanism according to the second embodiment of the invention in a second configuration; 
       FIG. 5C  shows a sectional view of the solid bollard body in  FIG. 5A ; 
       FIG. 6A  shows a sectional view of the bollard with connecting mechanism according to a third embodiment of the invention in a first configuration; 
       FIG. 6B  shows a sectional view of the bollard with connecting mechanism according to the third embodiment of the invention in a second configuration; 
       FIG. 6C  shows a sectional view of the solid bollard body in  FIG. 6A . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   The first preferred embodiment with hollow bollard is described in detail with reference to the drawings. 
   Refer now to  FIG. 1A to 1D  and  FIG. 2A to 1D .  FIG. 1A to 1D  show a first configuration of the bollard with connecting mechanism according to the first embodiment of the invention.  FIG. 2A to 2D  show a second configuration of the bollard with connecting mechanism according to the first embodiment of the invention. 
   As seen from  FIG. 1A to 1D  and  FIG. 2A to 2D , a bollard with connecting mechanism according to the invention comprises a hollow bollard body  1  and two pairs of connectors  2 . The bollard body  1  is provided with two pairs of receiving parts  11 , each pair concave inwardly on each of opposite surfaces thereof. The two pairs of connectors  2  can be mounted into the receiving parts  11  in the two configurations. 
   Refer now to  FIG. 3A to 3D .  FIG. 3A to 3D  show the bollard body  1  of the bollard with connecting mechanism according to the invention. As seen from  FIG. 3A to 3D , the bollard body  1  is a hollow post with a square cross-section. Obviously the cross-section of the bollard body is not only bounded as square, and can be in any other symmetric form, e.g., circular, rectangular, hexagonal, octagonal, etc. Receiving parts  11  are formed on the bollard body  1  in pairs at the same height. The receiving part  11  is cubiform-shaped recess formed by a concave portion of wall of the hollow post and has two inserting holes  12 . The inserting hole  12  is a through hole which communicates with the cavity of the hollow bollard body  1 . A first fixing hole  13  is formed on the wall of the receiving part  11 . 
   Refer now to the  FIG. 4A to 4E .  FIG. 4A to 4E  show the connector  2  of the bollard according to the invention. The connector  2  is an integral part which has a base  21  and an ear  22 . The base  21  is a flat and approximately cubiform board in a shape corresponding to the receiving part  11 , such that it can be mounted into the receiving part  11  perfectly. The ear  22  is a flat and semi-elliptic board perpendicularly extending from one side of the base  21 , in which a connecting hole  24  is formed for connecting the railing onto it. The width and thickness of the ear  22  correspond to the dimension of the inserting hole  12 , and the length of the ear  22  is shorter than or equal to the width of the inner cavity of the hollow bollard body  1 , such that the ear  22  can be inserted into the inner cavity through the inserting hole  12 . A second fixing hole  23  is formed in the base  21  at a position corresponding to that of the first fixing hole  13  of the receiving part  11  such that the connector  2  can be fixed into the receiving parts  11  by nut and bolt. A recess is bored at each end of the fixing hole  23  such that it is better to house washer, nuts and/or bolt-head. Preferably, the first fixing hole  13  is formed on the centre of the receiving part  11  and the second fixing hole  23  is form on the centre of the base  21  such that the positions of holes  13  and  23  allow a higher flexibility for the base  21  to be accommodated in the receiving part  11 . This flexibility allows the ears  22  of the connectors  2  on two opposite sides of the bollard  1  in different heights in order for a more flexible connection to the railings. 
   Then refer back to  FIG. 1A to 1D . The first configuration is a state that no railing needs to be connected to the bollard. In the first configuration, the connectors  2  are completely mounted in the bollard body, with the ear  22  inserted through the inserting holes  12  and then into the inner cavities of the hollow bollard body  1  and the bases  21  accommodated in the receiving parts  11 . Therefore, no any protruding parts remain when no railing needs to be connected to the bollard. It can be seen from  FIG. 1D  that the ears  22  of the connectors  2  in pair are mounted up and down such that the dimension of the bollard body  1  can be reduced. 
   Then refer back to  FIG. 2A to 2D . The second configuration is a state ready for connecting the railing to the bollard. In the second configuration, the connectors  2  are rotated 180 degree and partly mounted in the bollard body  1 , with the bases  21  accommodated in the receiving parts  11  and the ears  22  facing outward. It is preferable that a fixing mean such as a bolt passes through the fixing holes  13  and  23  to securely fix the connector  2  to the bollard body  1 . Preferably, the connecting hole  24  is slot-shaped for providing flexibility to the connection between the railing and the bollard. 
   It is flexible to have a mixed configuration; that is, the first and second configurations can be existed at the same time. In other words, a connector  2  is partly mounted in the bollard body  1 , with the base  21  accommodated in the receiving part  11  and the ear  22  facing outward. While at the same time another connector  2  at the opposite side is completely mounted in the bollard body  1 , with the base  21  accommodated in the receiving part  11  and the ear  22  inserted in the inserting hole  12 . 
   The second preferred embodiment with solid bollard is described in detail with reference to the drawings. 
   Please refer to  FIG. 5A to 5C . In the second embodiment, the connector  2  is same as that in the first embodiment. The bollard body  1  is solid post with a square cross-section, in which two pairs of receiving parts  11  are formed. Obviously the cross-section of the bollard body  1  is not only bounded as square, and can be in any other symmetric form, e.g., circular, rectangular, hexagonal, octagonal, etc. The receiving part  11  is cubiform-shaped recess formed by a concave portion of wall of the post and has one inserting hole  12 . The inserting hole  12  of the receiving part  11  on one of the opposite surfaces is formed through the solid bollard body  1  and communicates with the receiving part  12  on the other of the opposite surfaces. The first fixing hole  13  is also through hole communicating with both the pair of receiving parts  11  on the opposite sides. 
   The third preferred embodiment with solid bollard is described in detail with reference to the drawings. 
   Please refer to  FIG. 6A to 6C . In the third embodiment, the connector  2  is same as that in the first embodiment. The bollard body  1  is the solid post same as that in the second embodiment, in which two pairs of receiving parts  11  are formed. The receiving part  11  is cubiform-shaped recess formed by a concave portion of wall of the post and has one inserting holes  12 . The inserting hole  12  is blind hole formed inside the solid bollard body  1 . In this embodiment, the inserting hole  12  of the receiving part  11  on one of the opposite surfaces is at a height different from the inserting hole  12  of the receiving part  11  on the other of the opposite surfaces such that the dimension of the solid bollard body  1  can be reduced. Obviously, the inserting hole  12  of the receiving part  11  on one of the opposite surfaces may be as high as the inserting hole  12  of the receiving part  11  on the other of the opposite surfaces.