Patent Description:
The system described originates from the need to provide safety and conformity to temporary road and highway construction sites, when the need arises to place road signs at the leftmost lane, also referred to as the fast lane.

For simplicity, reference will be made below to roads with vehicles usually circulating in the right lane (i.e., with left-hand drive, as in Italy); although, it is quite apparent that the invention is applicable directly and without modifications also on the roads of countries with vehicles usually circulating on the left lane (i.e., with right-hand drive), such as, for example, Great Britain and Japan. In the latter cases, the fast lane, where the temporary signs are placed, will be the furthest one to the right.

In suburban roads, divided highways or highways, the left side is always delimited by a guardrail which may take on different forms, such as the classic iron guardrail, with a single or double (or triple, etc.) wave, up to the Jersey barrier (also referred to as a New Jersey barrier) in concrete.

On these carriageway delimiters, the placement of road signs, which, due to the nature of the signaling, may not be positioned on the ground, is always problematic, for at least two reasons:.

A device for fixing supports for road sign panels on a concrete safety barrier is disclosed in, for example, <CIT>.

Speed of installation and installation safety are therefore two fundamental requirements.

This has been achieved, according to the present invention defined in claim <NUM>, by providing an emergency road sign support and fastening system which comprises self-locking support brackets configured to be firmly fastenable to the guardrail or to the Jersey barrier, in a fast manner and without the need to modify or intervene on said guardrails or Jersey barriers.

A better understanding of the invention will be achieved by means of the following description and with reference to the accompanying drawings, which show a preferred embodiment and some variants thereof given by way of non-limiting example.

With reference to the Figures, the present invention allows the placement, and the simultaneous solid fastening, of a support pole for a road sign on the guardrail or on the Jersey barrier, so as to facilitate the fast and safe positioning thereof during the occurrence of temporary emergency situations, such as, for example, in the case of accidents, work in progress, lane narrowings or changes, etc..

The inventive concept underlying the invention is to provide a fastening system for a road sign pole such as to allow safe, easy, and fast installation and simultaneous locking on Jersey barriers, metal barriers, single, double, or triple wave guardrails, C-shaped poles, or anywhere else it is possible to place it safely.

To this end, the road sign pole support system described comprises self-locking supports provided with brackets provided with one or more clamps which allow the fast installation and removal thereof.

It should be noted that, currently, in the road and highway construction site field, no unified and regulated brackets, for temporary use, for fastening road signs are there. In fact, nowadays, each construction site worker uses "do-it-yourself" systems which are non-certified and are the result of the initiative of the individual, without any technical - legal recognition by certification bodies or by the same companies which manage the road and highway sections.

In order to better satisfy the needs which have emerged in the field described above, the present invention provides a bracket provided with:.

A first embodiment of the present invention is shown in <FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>. In this case the removable support bracket, referred to as a "double-head WSJ", provides a clamp P1 which is substantially configured with an inverted U cross section so as to be placed in the intended position and which is fastenable on a Jersey barrier of the single-line or double-line type. In accordance with the invention, said removable support bracket includes at least one or two movement grips [<NUM>] which are integral with the main body thereof [<NUM>], which allow a secure grasp of the bracket when installing and removing it on and from the barrier.

At each of the grips [<NUM>], a handle [<NUM>] is provided, configured to activate the rotary movement of a cam [6a] by means of a suitable kinematic return mechanism, which also comprises a return spring [<NUM>] configured to rotate the cam [6a] against the side surface of the Jersey barrier itself allowing the locking of the removable system on the barrier itself.

Said cam [6a] is of the type without foot and has a surface intended to be in contact with the surface of the barrier which is highly rough, preferably (but not exclusively) indented.

According to a peculiar feature of the invention, shown in <FIG>, the rotation axis of the cam [6a] is arranged so that during the step of inserting the clamp P1 on the Jersey barrier, the cam [6a] tends to rotate upwards in accordance with the lifting movement of the lever [<NUM>] by the operator, so as to avoid jams and frictions against the surface of the barrier, while once at the end of the run - in the operating position, in which the road sign may be positioned - any attempt to lift the support will be advantageously prevented by the action of said cam [6a] which tends to be wedged into the surface of the Jersey barrier, opposing any possibility of disengaging the bracket from the barrier itself.

The only manner to remove said support from the barrier is to voluntarily operate the handle [<NUM>] by lifting it to rotate the cam [6a] so as to move the gripping teeth thereof (or the rough contact surface thereof) away from the barrier surface itself.

In other words, each handle [<NUM>], placed at each grip [<NUM>], of each clamp P1 acts by lifting the cam [6a] by means of a kinematic lever mechanism.

This allows defining a clearance, i.e., a space, such as to allow the insertion of the support on the barrier.

When the operator releases the handle(s) [<NUM>], the spring [<NUM>], present in the kinematic lever mechanism, pushes the relative cam [6a] downwards, so as to eliminate the aforesaid clearance between the clamp P1 and the walls of the Jersey barrier, always maintaining a constant grasp.

In the preferred embodiment described, in order to increase the adherence and make the fastening of the removable support on the Jersey barrier more stable, the inner surface of the bracket which is in contact with the barrier is coated with a material which allows high adherence, such as polyurethane, rubber, etc., for example. This material is preferably non-deformable, even following extreme temperatures (hot/cold expansion).

The cam [6a] may be made of metal or metal/polyurethane, rubber, etc., with shape and size which are definable according to requirements.

The invention, in the embodiment described, provides that an anti-rotation pole for road signs is insertable between the two handles.

Said pole may be inserted either in a section inside the support or, preferably, in a suitable fastening seat [<NUM>] provided with a pin system [<NUM>] with a return spring for locking the pole itself. The pole end, which was previously constrained, of an end element [<NUM>] made of sheet metal, adapted to facilitate the insertion thereof onto the hooking seat, as shown in <FIG>, is insertable into such a hooking seat [<NUM>].

Such a hooking seat is preferably made with a square or polygonal base; this feature, together with the pin system for locking the pole [<NUM>], also allows the operator to position the road sign in order that it is visible for the driver (front orientation), or to make it "invisible" by simply rotating it by <NUM>° (lateral orientation) when the sign is temporarily unused.

In the preferred embodiment described, each bracket has a side with a side element (door) [<NUM>] which may be folding so as to provide:.

A first variant of the invention, not shown, consists of a clamp P1' adapted to be specifically used on Jersey barriers of the single-line type, therefore with a head width equal to <NUM>; said clamp P1' being substantially equal, in shape, to the clamp P1 but without the folding side door.

A second variant of the invention, not shown, consists of a clamp P1" adapted to be specifically used on Jersey barriers of the double-line type, therefore with a head width equal to <NUM>; said clamp P1" being substantially equal, in shape, to the clamp P1 but without the folding side door.

In other words, the two configurations of the clamp P1, provided with a door, correspond, respectively, to the clamp P1' (closed configuration, single-line Jersey) and to the clamp P1" (open configuration, double-line Jersey), but the invention also is achievable, with the same functions and advantages, for Jersey barriers of a different type from the two mentioned heretofore.

As described so far, the system according to the present invention, by means of the clamps P1 or P1' or P1", allows the temporary locking of the removable support on the Jersey barrier, both vertically and horizontally.

The part coated in rubber, or another high-adherence material, may partially or totally involve the contact surface of the clamp with the Jersey barrier.

A second embodiment of the invention is shown in <FIG> and consists of a removable support bracket provided with at least one clamp P2, referred to as a "WSG", and configured to be applicable on single, double or triple wave metal guardrails, the clamp having a body provided with a side backing element having a convex shape adapted to match the concave shape of at least one wave of the guardrail, while on the opposite side, with respect to said side element, a cam provided with a foot [6b] is present, placed in a position such as to cooperate in abutment with the surface of the guardrail opposite to that in which said side backing element is insertable.

This second embodiment, in which the insertion of the system occurs from the back of the guardrail itself (i.e., the side not facing the carriageway), involves a fastening in a manner completely similar to those of the embodiments or variants already described.

A peculiarity of the second embodiment described consists of the cam [6b] which is provided with a foot; such a feature means that the system may be effectively and efficiently removed by operating only the handles (<NUM>) without any tools.

In fact, if a force, which is not exerted by the operator and is capable of rotating the cam, intervenes on the support, the foot acts as a support, blocking the rotation and ensuring that the grasp does not loosen.

A third embodiment of the invention is visible in <FIG> and consists of a removable support bracket provided with at least one clamp P3, referred to as a "WSP" and configured to be applicable on C-shaped metal poles or other support elements with a similar structure.

Such a third embodiment is preferably intended for the anchoring on the flat and vertical parts of the guardrail supports, such as, for example, the open C-shaped poles.

This last embodiment, unlike the previous ones, involves the use of a single lever to release the cam [6b], also in this case provided with a foot for the same reasons already indicated for the clamp P2.

The embodiments and variants described heretofore have been illustrated with a lever (<NUM>) of the third kind, in which the fulcrum is positioned at the opposite end with respect to that in which the kinematic chain for operating the cam is connected, but it is apparent that the same inventive concept also is applicable, mutatis mutandis, in the case of levers of the first and second kinds.

Claim 1:
A support system for emergency road signs, with self-locking support bracket, provided with one or more clamps (P1, P1', P1", P2, P3) which allow the rapid installation and removal thereof on and from a single-line or double-line Jersey barrier or a guardrail or a C-shaped metal pole,
wherein each support bracket comprises:
- at least one seat (<NUM>) in which the post or pole of a road sign is insertable,
- at least one self-locking clamp (P1 or P1' or P1" or P2 or P3) configured to be applicable to the single-line or double-line Jersey barrier or the guardrail or the C-shaped metal pole;
- at least one or two grips (<NUM>) which are integral with the main body of the support bracket, which grips allow a secure grasp of the support bracket when installing and removing it;
characterized in that
each self-locking clamp is provided with at least one handle (<NUM>) operatively connected to a suitable kinematic return mechanism to actuate the rotary movement of a cam (6a or 6b), wherein said kinematic mechanism comprises a shaped post (<NUM>) for the connection to the cam and a return spring (<NUM>) to rotate the cam (6a or 6b) against a side surface of the Jersey barrier or guardrail or C-shaped metal pole, to keep the support bracket locked on the Jersey barrier or guardrail or C-shaped metal pole itself;
wherein said shaped post (<NUM>) is operatively connected to the handle (<NUM>) and to the cam (6a or 6b) so as, by lifting the handle, the cam is rotated and moved away from the side surface of the Jersey barrier or guardrail or C-shaped metal pole.