FR2819277A1 - Connector for mounting lower rails under top rail of crash barrier has bars or sleeves which fit into lower bars or into which bars fit - Google Patents

Abstract

The connector (1) for mounting lower rails (3) under the top rail (23) of a crash barrier has bars or sleeves (4) which fit into the lower rails or into which the rails fit. The top of the connector is contoured to fit over the rear of the top rail. Independent claims are included for: (a) a barrier with lower bars mounted using the connector; (b) a crash barrier with lower bars mounted using the connector; and (c) a method for making the connector by molding plastic, especially by rotational molding.

Description

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Road safety barrier, constituent part and their manufacturing process -------------
The present invention relates to a road safety device, in particular for motorcyclists.

 The technical field of the invention is that of the manufacture of crash barriers that are installed along the roads.

 Such slides - or barriers - are generally constituted by a plurality of longitudinal elements, called smooth or heddle sections, arranged contiguously in alignment with each other, each longitudinal element being placed on two adjacent posts by displacement in a direction perpendicular to the posts; this is particularly the case of slides made up of metal profiles fixed to the posts by pieces called "spacers", which hold the profiles at about 50 centimeters above the ground.

 US Patent 5,261,647 describes a system for the construction of a road safety barrier fixed to the ground by tubular metal posts, which comprises, for each post: a sheath sliding on the post, the lower end of which rests on the base of the post and the upper end of which has a shape adapted to that of a horizontal rail for engaging therewith, said horizontal rail comprising a metal tube and a plastic tube covering the metal tube; these tubes are pierced with an opening (or two openings aligned transversely) so that the rail can be engaged on the post until it rests on the sheath, an expansion screw from the upper end of the post to block the horizontal rail in position.

 The present invention relates more particularly to barrier elements intended to be mounted on existing (metal or wooden) slides, without dismantling the latter, under these, so as to constitute for bikers who slide after a fall, a barrier which protects them from the posts and prevents them from fitting under the

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 existing slide; Patent EP 823511 describes such elements constituted by: healds of rectangular upper section and isosceles trapezoidal lower section, which are hollow and provided with two longitudinal reservations, stiffening tubes intended to penetrate half into a reservation of a first smooth and half in a second stringer close to the first stringer, each tube resting on a post, connecting half-shells provided to extend two struts and to fit between them, which are provided with horizontal notches receiving a stiffening tube, and which are provided with a cutout corresponding to the half cross-section of the post reduced by a few millimeters, of the clamping members of the two half-shells against each post, by screwing, which immobilize the half-shells on the post.

 This barrier has certain drawbacks which result in particular from the use of several screws or bolts for assembling the different parts together and to the posts; such assembly and clamping members are indeed long to set up; they can also represent a danger for motorists or motorcyclists.

 The object of the present invention is to propose an improved road safety barrier which at least partially remedies these drawbacks.

 According to a first aspect, the invention consists in providing a barrier comprising at least one bottom rail, at least one top rail, as well as a plurality of posts fixed to the ground and supporting said bottom and top rails, in which said bottom rail is attached to both said posts and said top rail.

 This makes it possible to use, to produce the bottom rail, sections of plastic tube (hollow), the mechanical strength of which is low, compared with the resistance of a metal profile or a wooden rail, particularly when the ambient temperature is high and / or when the beam is subjected to intense solar radiation; in

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 suspending the bottom heald at the top heald at least one (or two) attachment points located between two consecutive posts, the resistance of the bottom heald is significantly improved, since the latter thus benefits from the rigidity of the upper smooth.

 Thanks to the invention, the use of metal stiffening tubes provided for in the aforementioned patents is avoided, which, in addition to their cost, has the disadvantage of forming a hard point and is liable to constitute an additional danger, in particular when they are deformed following a shock.

 According to another aspect, the invention consists in proposing a suspension piece of a lower rail to an upper rail of a safety barrier, which comprises a means of connection with the upper rail and a means forming a support for the lower rail. .

 Preferably, the means forming the support of the bottom heald comprises at least two shafts or end pieces capable of receiving one end of the bottom heald.

 By fitting an end portion of a section of bottom rail around a shaft called a sleeve integrated into the suspension part, a satisfactory connection is obtained between the bottom rail and the top rail, by means of of the suspension part which can be fixed to the top rail by various means, in particular by a screw.

 Preferably, the suspension part is hollow and molded in plastic material, by rotational molding; because it is hollow, this part has a significant deformation capacity, and therefore has a high capacity for absorbing shocks.

 According to a preferred embodiment, the suspension part has, in its upper part, at least one face or support wall of geometry adapted to that of the rear face of the slide to which it is intended to be fixed; preferably, for this purpose, its cross-sectional profile has a shape matching at least part of the shape of the transverse profile of the upper rail.

 In the case where the top rail consists of a steel section whose cross section (or profile) has two undulations forming a double V, a double U or a W, the upper part of the

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 suspension part fits only part of this profile, and the suspension part is fixed to the upper slide, in the central part of this profile, preferably by a single screw.

 This facilitates rapid and precise fixing of the suspension part to the upper beam while avoiding promoting the formation of high mechanical stresses in this part, which would be likely to result from the differential expansion (or shrinking) of the upper beam, under the effect of heat, especially when it is metallic.

1 s ces deux pièces. In addition, the large contact surface between the suspension part and the upper slide, which results from the adapted profile of the upper part of this part, ensures a resistant connection between

1 s these two pieces.

 Preferably, the barrier further comprises connecting pieces (fixing) -said also supporting pieces-allowing the attachment of the lower beam (s) to posts (which are fixed to the ground, for example sunk into the ground), each fastening part comprising an integrated means of interlocking connection with a second fastening part or else with a so-called blocking part, to secure it to a post by pinching it, so that the use of clamping devices such as screws or bolts is avoided to ensure the fixing of the bottom rails to the posts.

 Like said suspension part, each fixing part preferably comprises at least one, in particular at least two and at most six integrated sleeve (s), each sleeve being intended to receive the end of a section of tubular bottom rail, by fitting the heald section onto the sleeve.

 The bottom rail is thus fixed to each post by at least two fixing and locking pieces nested one with the other and enclosing the post over a substantial part of its height, the fixing piece forming a console supporting the minus a bottom rail fitted around an integrated sleeve; these two parts form a kind of collar (or ring) for strapping the post; for this purpose these parts are supported on two opposite external lateral faces of the post;

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 each of these parts therefore comprises at least one substantially planar wall of support against one of said faces of the post.

 The assembly of these two parts is obtained by mutual engagement of connecting means respectively integrated into each of these parts, by (relative) sliding of the connecting means in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the post, to a position mutual interlocking of the fastening parts in which said parts enclose the post; for this purpose, each piece preferably comprises two parallel slide elements, which are respectively arranged on either side of said support wall of the piece; it is thus possible to make a rigid and reliable connection between the fixing piece forming a heddle support, and a post, using at least one blocking piece fitted into said fixing piece, without using screws or bolts to secure it.

 According to a preferred embodiment, the support piece, as well as said blocking piece, is constituted by an essentially hollow body, of plastic material, obtained by rotational molding, the part of which (called rear) comprises: a portion (in general shape of a central groove), which forms a housing capable of receiving a so-called front part of a post, and whose cross section is adapted accordingly to the cross section of the post, and which comprises said bearing wall, and two lateral connecting portions, which extend along the central portion, on either side thereof, substantially over the entire height of the support piece, which each comprise at least one longitudinal groove ( which is vertical in the position of connection with a vertical post) able to receive a rib of complementary shape which is provided on a piece complementary to the support piece, called a blocking piece or key; said support and blocking parts being able to surround the post and able to fit into one another, by sliding in a movement parallel to it, by their connecting portions forming a kind of slide.

 The use of the rotational molding technique for the manufacture of the suspension part, the fixing part and the blocking part,

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 facilitates obtaining hollow parts delimited by walls of substantially constant thickness and whose geometry of the external faces is perfectly controlled, therefore precise and reproducible; this technique makes it possible to produce with very good precision the portions or walls of these parts intended to come into abutment respectively against the top rail and against the post, as well as said central housing intended to receive (surround) part of the post, and said integrated means of interlocking connection. This therefore makes it possible to obtain improved connections.

 This technique also makes it possible to adjust the thickness of the walls of said parts to a determined value and allows the parts of said parts which form the integrated connecting means to be themselves hollow; these integrated connection means are thus capable of deforming elastically, which gives these parts of a part a function of spring and / or shock absorber; this elasticity of the parts forming the slide of said connecting parts to the posts also allows an operator to carry out the mutual engagement of two parts by hand, therefore without requiring the use of a tool.

 According to another aspect, the invention consists in proposing a suspension part for a bottom rail to an upper rail of a barrier, which comprises, in the so-called lower part, at least two (in particular two or three) tubular sections which are integrated into the part and form two superimposed hubs (or sleeves or end pieces) capable of receiving two (respectively three) parallel (superimposed) elements (sections) of bottom rail.

 Thus, according to one aspect of the invention, the barrier comprises two or three superimposed lower tubular rails which are fixed, on the one hand to each post by a connecting piece common to the two or three lower rails, and on the other to an upper beam by a suspension part also common to the two or three lower beams; consequently, during an impact against the barrier, the bottom rails of the barrier being generally biased to an uneven extent, the beam subjected to the greatest part of the forces due to the impact transmits these forces, partly to the post and partly at the top rail, by

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l'intermédiaire de l'intégralité de la face d'appui de la pièce de liaison commune et de la pièce de suspension commune, ce qui augmente la résistance au choc de la barrière.

through the entire bearing face of the common connecting piece and the common suspension piece, which increases the impact resistance of the barrier.

Preferably, said integrated end pieces (or shafts or sleeves) are aligned two by two, parallel to each other two by two (horizontal in the mounting position), are of circular section and extend symmetrically on either side of a median plane (vertical in mounting position); their free end is chamfered, and the ratio of their length to their diameter is in a range from 1.5 to 5, in particular from 2 to 3.

The presence of the integrated superimposed end caps makes it possible to produce a resistant barrier at a lower cost in which the superimposed lower heald elements which are fitted on the end caps are simple extruded profiles, preferably identical and of circular section; the use of at least two identical overlapping lower profiled beams effectively "closes" the space extending under a metal slide, without requiring the use of rib profiles which are complex, expensive and whose reproducibility of the characteristics mechanical is difficult to assure.

Preferably, the bottom rails are produced by plastic extrusion, in particular by simultaneous extrusion (coextrusion) of two plastic materials of different property and / or nature: a first material to form the internal part of the wall of the tubular rail , and a second material for forming the external part of said heald wall.

This technique makes it possible to choose said first (internal) material and to adjust the thickness of said internal wall part so as to facilitate fitting of the heald, and / or to increase the mechanical resistance of the heald; this technique also makes it possible to choose said second (external) material and to adjust the thickness of said external wall part, so as to minimize the coefficient of friction (and / or roughness) of the external face of the heald on a garment and / or a motorcycle helmet, to reduce the severity of the consequences of an impact; this also makes it possible to optimize the resistance to weathering and solar radiation, to increase the

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résistance mécanique de la lisse, et de diminuer le coût de la lisse grâce à la spécialisation fonctionnelle des couches interne et externe de la paroi.

mechanical resistance of the boom, and reduce the cost of the boom thanks to the functional specialization of the inner and outer layers of the wall.

Other advantages and characteristics of the invention appear in the following description which refers to the appended drawings, which illustrate without any limiting character the preferred embodiments of the invention.

In the drawings, identical or similar elements, unless otherwise indicated, have the same references from one figure to another.

FIG. 1 illustrates in perspective view, a barrier section according to the invention, which comprises, for each post, a part for fixing to the post of two lower tubular rails and the corresponding blocking part, as well as a suspension part lower beams to an upper beam which is fixed to the posts.

FIG. 2 illustrates in perspective on an enlarged scale, a suspension part according to the invention, which forms part of the construction of the barrier of FIG. 1.

Figure 3 illustrates in cross-sectional view a suspension part and its use for producing a barrier; it is a view along III-III of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 illustrates in perspective view an embodiment of the part for fixing to a post of two lower tubular rails, and of an associated blocking part; this embodiment is characterized in particular by the presence of an articulation of the end pieces by a vertical vertical bellows on the front face, and by the geometry of the integrated connecting members.

FIG. 5 illustrates a top view of the suspension part of FIGS. 1 to 3.

With reference to FIGS. 2, 3 and 5 in particular, the suspension part 1 is in the form of a closed hollow body provided with symmetry with respect to a median plane 20 which is vertical, in the mounting position, and orthogonal to the longitudinal axis 21 of the bottom rails 3.

The part 1 consists of a central part 70 on either side of which extend four cylindrical nozzles 4 of circular section, parallel and superimposed two by two; each end piece 4 is hollow and closed at

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son extrémité libre par une paroi 52 chanfreinée à sa périphérie ; le chanfrein 53 facilite l'emmanchement de l'extrémité d'un tronçon de lisse 3.

its free end by a chamfered wall 52 at its periphery; the chamfer 53 facilitates the fitting of the end of a heald section 3.

The rear face of the central part 70 has stiffening ribs 72 and a central groove 73; the part 70 comprises portions 71 forming stops for the heald ends 3.

The front face of the central part 70 comprises, successively from bottom to top: - two cylindrical faces 74 and 75 of axis 21 which extend the external face of the heddles 3 fitted onto the end pieces; - A first rib 76 extending parallel to the axis 21; - A flat face 77 pierced with an orifice of axis 79; and a second rib 78 also parallel to the axis 21.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the profiled metal slide 23, which is fixed to the post 6 by a spacer 60, has a transverse profile in the form of two U superimposed and connected together by a flat central portion of the slide 23.

The transverse profile of the faces 76 to 78 of the part 1 is adapted to the profile of the rear face 230 of the slide 23 so that each of the ribs 76 and 78 comes to bear respectively on the bottom of each U-shaped groove of the slide 23 , and so that the flat face 77 comes to bear against the flat central portion of the slide 23.

The attachment of the part 1 to the slide is obtained by a screw (not shown) extending along the axis 79 through an orifice drilled in the slide 23 and in the cylindrical insert 2 molded in the part 1.

The device for fixing the bottom rails to the post, which is illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, comprises a support piece 101 pressed against the front face 50 of the post 6 and a locking key 102 disposed in the rear part thereof; these two parts encircle the retaining post 6 (of vertical axis 22 and of section in the shape of "C") of the safety barrier, once their mutual interlocking produced; two superimposed lower rails 3 are fitted onto the arms 104 (or tubular end pieces) of the front part 5 of the part 101.

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 The support piece 101 has on its rear (post side 6) a support wall 8 which contributes to delimiting a housing in the form of a vertical groove capable of encompassing over its width the support post 6; this wall 8 is extended laterally by a female half dovetail 9 (FIG. 4), into which the male half dovetail 10 of the key 102 is inserted; on the opposite side is provided a male half dovetail of the support piece 101, which is capable of being inserted in the female half dovetail of the key 102, thus allowing the imprisonment of the post 6 .

 The internal face of the key 102 has, in line with the center of the post 6, two protruding longitudinal tabs 14 capable of being inserted into the vertical opening 15 of the post 6 (of cross section at C), so as to prevent rotation of the key.

 The junction of the rear part of the support piece 101 with its front part 5 of connection with the tubular end pieces 4, is achieved by a body provided on its periphery with waves (bellows) 18 deformable in compression in order to resume a part energy caused by a shock.

 Figure 3 shows the presence of a spoiler (or heel) protruding 19 in the lower part of the support piece 101 and the locking key 102, coming to rest on the ground to ensure reliable and repetitive positioning in height.

 FIG. 4 shows that the front part 5 of the part 101 comprises four departures of portions of tubes called arms or end pieces or sleeves 104, integrated into the support piece 101, these arms being arranged vertically superimposed two by two, on the side and other of a vertical median plane of the support 101, which are mutually parallel and horizontal in the mounting position.

 Using a blocking piece 102, the supporting piece 101 is fixed by its rear, under the metal slide 23, to the right of the front faces (road side) of the fixing posts of the safety slide; the maintenance of the support piece 101 vis-à-vis the post 6 is obtained by means of a key 102 for locking coming to fit vertically from the top rear of the support piece; the parts 101,102 have for this fixing a double

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 sliding link preferably extending over the entire height of the two parts.

 The front part 5 of the support piece 101 forms a profiled box on two parallel faces from which protrude four lateral arms 104 of tubular shape, closed by a wall 52 integrated at their free end, and provided with a chamfer 53; these arms forming supports of the bottom rail.

 The structure of the molded hollow body (and generally closed) of parts 1 and 101 allows bending of the sleeves 4 and 104 supporting the bottom rails against the post and the top rail; the deformations obtained by the flexibility of the material and by the hollow structure of these parts, make it possible to absorb part of the energy of an impact; in the case of a very violent impact, a lateral deformation of the support piece 101 can be facilitated by the central wave (bellows) 54 illustrated in FIG. 4 and extending symmetrically in a vertical median plane.

 The suspension 1 and support 101 parts make it possible to transmit the forces to the posts and to the upper heald, ensure the positioning of the lower healds, stiffen them, ensure the continuity of the healds 3 in line with the posts and along the slide 23, and make sections of boom not exposed to shock contribute to the resistance of the barrier, by transmitting to them a part of the forces.

 The sleeves 4 and 104 respectively integrated into the parts 1 and 101 have in particular the role of stiffening the bottom rail in the vicinity of the supports. It is indeed important to have the most continuous possible deformation along the barrier in order to avoid the presence of a "hard point", which would be likely to lead to too significant decelerations.

 The beams can be obtained by simultaneous extrusion of recycled HDPE forming the internal part of a tube of circular section, the thickness of which is close to 2 to 6 millimeters, and non-recycled HDPE tinted in the mass forming the external part of the tube , whose thickness is close to 1 to 4 millimeters; this can make it possible to obtain an internal face whose roughness is greater than that of the external face of the heald.

Claims (10)

 CLAIMS 1. Piece (1) for hanging a heald (3) lower than an upper heald (23) of a safety barrier, characterized in that it comprises a means (2) for connection with the upper heald and means (4) forming a support for the bottom rail.  2. Piece (1) according to claim 1 wherein said means forming a lower heddle support comprises a shaft or end piece (4) capable of receiving one end of the lower heddle.  3. Piece (1) according to claim 2, wherein said means for supporting the bottom heald comprises at least two shafts or ends or sleeves (4) aligned along a horizontal axis (21) in the mounting position, which are each capable of be introduced by sliding inside the end of a section of tube forming a bottom rail.  4. Part (1) according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the (s) said (s) shaft (s) or nozzle (s) is (are) hollow and of circular section.  5. Part (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which has, in its upper part, at least one face or wall (76 to 78) of geometry support adapted to that of the rear face (230 ) of the slide to which it is intended to be fixed.  6. Part (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which essentially consists of a hollow body of molded plastic material comprising an insert (2) for fixing the part (1) to a top rail ( 23), four integrated end pieces (4) superimposed two by two and of circular section, as well as a rib (72), and in which the ratio of the length of a end piece (4) to its diameter is located within a range ranging from 1.5 to 5.  7. Barrier comprising at least one bottom heald (3), at least one top heald (23), as well as a plurality of posts (6) fixed to the ground and supporting said bottom and top healds, characterized in that said bottom heald is fixed on the one hand to said posts and on the other hand to said top rail by a piece (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 6.  8. Barrier according to claim 7 which comprises at least two superimposed parallel hollow beams (3) which are fixed to the beam <Desc / Clms Page number 13>  upper (23) by a suspension part (1) common to said at least two beams (3).  9. Safety barrier which comprises a top rail (23) of metal or wood, which is fixed to the ground by posts (6), a plurality of suspension parts (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, a plurality of parts (101) for fixing a hollow bottom rail (3) to the posts (6) each comprising an integrated interlocking connection means for its attachment to a post (6), a plurality of blocking parts (102 ) comprising an integrated interlocking connection means, the parts (101, 102) being associated and fixed by mutual interlocking to each post, and sections of bottom rail (3) extruded in plastic material, which are fitted at each end onto the end fittings ( 4.104) integrated into the parts (1.101), and which extend under the top rail (23).  10. A method of manufacturing a suspension part (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, in which the part (1) is formed by plastic molding, and preferably by rotational molding.