This section provides background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the disclosure. It should be understood that the statements in this section of this document are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Perimeter security fences are often used to separate a protected area from a threat side. Commonly these perimeter security fences are constructed of wire mesh topped with barbed wire and the like. Additional means, such as electric lines, video monitoring, motion sensors, guard dogs, and armed guard stations are commonly used with the structural fence to prevent and deter breaches. However, these common perimeter security fences and deterrents are not feasible for all circumstances, in particular, where long expanses of security fencing are required and that may be located long distances from security enforcement personnel.
An exemplary bollard fence panel includes bollards extending vertically from a concrete base and laterally separated by a gap of about four inches, where each of the bollards is a hollow steel section, and a metal plate located a standoff distance below a top end of the bollards, the metal plate having laterally spaced passages each of which slidingly disposing an upper end of a bollard of the bollards.
Another exemplary bollard fence panel includes bollards extending axially and laterally parallel to one another and separated laterally by a gap of about four inches, where each of the bollards is a hollow steel section, a member fixedly interconnecting lower ends the bollards, a metal plate having laterally spaced passages, each passage of the passages slidingly disposing an upper end of a bollard of the bollards, and the metal plate located a standoff distance below a top end of the bollards.
An exemplary bollard fence includes bollards having bottom ends secured in a concrete base, the bollards spaced apart and extending axially from the concrete base; an elongated member moveably disposed inside of each of the bollards, and a header member laterally interconnecting the upper ends of the bollards. The bollards may extend for example ten feet and more above the concrete base. The header member can be fixedly connected to the bollards, or the header member may permit axial movement of the bollards relative to the header and relative to one another. In accordance with some embodiments, the bollard fence may include one or more vertical sections of anti-climb and/or anti-scaling located at the upper ends of the bollards and above.
An exemplary bollard fence panel includes bollards spaced apart and extending axially parallel to one another from a concrete base, each of the bollards internally disposing an elongated metal member that is moveable relative to the bollard, and a header member laterally interconnecting the upper ends of the plurality of bollards. The bollard fence panel may be pre-formed for shipment to a location for installation. In a pre-formed bollard panel, the upper ends of the bollards may be laterally interconnected at the installation site.
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in limiting the scope of claimed subject matter.
The disclosure is best understood from the following detailed description when read with the accompanying figures. It is emphasized that, in accordance with standard practice in the industry, various features are not drawn to scale. In fact, the dimensions of various features may be arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity of discussion.
It is to be understood that the following disclosure provides many different embodiments, or examples, for implementing different features of various illustrative embodiments. Specific examples of components and arrangements are described below to simplify the disclosure. These are, of course, merely examples and they are not intended to be limiting. For example, a figure may illustrate an exemplary embodiment with multiple features or combinations of features that are not required in one or more other embodiments and thus a figure may disclose one or more embodiments that have fewer features or different combination of features than the illustrative embodiment. Therefore, combinations of features disclosed in the following detailed description may not be necessary to practice the teachings in the broadest sense and are instead merely to describe particularly representative examples. In addition, the disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/or letters in the various examples. This repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed.
Bollard fences are disclosed herein to provide a security perimeter to prevent or limit the ability of vehicles and pedestrians to enter a protected area. Embodiments of the bollard fence are suitable for use in locations that are not in physical view of security personnel and locations requiring lengthy response times to attempted breaches. The bollard fence may be deployed, for example, at airports, rail stations, seaports, manufacturing facilities, warehouses, refineries, power generation facilities, and national border crossings.
Refer now to the several figures illustrating non-limiting aspects of bollard fences. The bollard fence separates a protected side from a threat side, and it is configured to prevent or limit the ability of a person to scale the fence unassisted and to cut or otherwise manually open holes through the bollard fence of greater than about twelve inches within a threshold time. In an exemplary embodiment, the bollard fence is configured to prevent a person from climbing to the top of the bollard fence from either the protected or the threat side unassisted, for example via the use of a ladder or another person. In an exemplary embodiment, the bollard fence includes anti-climb features that mitigate climbing aids such as grappling hooks and handholds. In an exemplary embodiment, the bollard fence prevents digging or tunneling below it for about six feet from the adjacent grade. In an exemplary embodiment the bollard fence prevents or deters for a threshold time the creation of a physical breach of the bollard fence of an opening larger than 12-inches in diameter or square using a sledgehammer, car jack, pickaxe, chisel, battery operated impact tools, battery operated cutting tools, Oxy/acetylene torch or other similar hand-held tools. In accordance with an embodiment, the threshold time is thirty minutes. In an exemplary embodiment, the threshold time is one-hour. In an exemplary embodiment, the threshold time is at least one-hour and thirty-minutes for at least about twelve-feet of the bollard fence extending vertically from the grade. In an exemplary embodiment, the threshold time is four-hours. In an exemplary embodiment, the bollard fence is aesthetically pleasing.
One or more elongated members 15 are disposed inside of the bollard 14 and the elongated member is moveable relative to the bollard 14. The elongated members 15 may include, for example and without limitation, one or more of elongated rods, reinforcement bars (“rebar”), and tubing (e.g., round or square). In the exemplary embodiments, the elongated members 15 are constructed of metal (e.g., steel), however, they may be constructed of a fiber or composite material that may be resistant to cutting by a blade and/or torch. Moveable relative to the bollard 14 means that the elongated members 15 can rotate, bend, flex, and/or move axially (e.g., float) relative to the bollard. For example, the one or more elongated members 15 are not fixedly attached, at least not along the entire length, to the bollard 14 permitting the elongated member 15 move relative to the bollard 14. In an exemplary embodiment, the elongated member 15 is disposed in the bollard in a manner to move axially relative to the bollard in certain circumstances.
In an exemplary embodiment, the internal cavity 22 of the bollard 14 is not filled with a filler material, such as concrete, so that the one or more elongated members 15 can move relative to bollard 14. It is the inventor's experience that a filling a bollard with concrete may aid in cutting the bollard. The elongated solid member 17 may rotate, bend, and/or axially move relative to the bollard 14 increasing the difficulty in cutting the elongated solid member 17. For example, it is difficult for blade to bite into the elongated solid member 17 due to the elongated solid member being pushed away from the blade and/or the elongated solid member rotating. The weight of the unsupported upper section of an elongated solid member 17 may cause the blade to bind. If an elongated solid member 17 is severed, the upper section may fall spanning the opening that was cut in the bollard and presenting an additional element that must be removed to breach the bollard fence. While multiple elongated solid members 17 increase the number of members that have to be cut to breach the bollard fence, a single elongated solid member 17, such as in the embodiment of
The elongated tubular member 19 can be configured to rotate or spin relative to the bollard 14, for example in accordance with U.S. Pat. No. 7,736,085, which is incorporated in its entirety herein. The rotatable elongated tubular member 19 may be circular or square. In the illustrated example, the elongated tubular member 19 is round to aid in spinning relative to the square bollard 14 without having edges to bite on the square bollard 14. The elongated tubular member 19 may or may not be axially suspended in the bollard 14 from its upper end as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,736,085. The lower end of the elongated tubular member 19 may sit atop the concrete base that is inside of the bottom end of the bollards. A swivel or rotating mechanism 24 can be added to promote rotation of the elongated tubular member 19. For example, and without limitation, a rotating base 24 (turntable), illustrated in the right bollard of
In the various embodiments, one or more of the elongated members 15 may float relative to the bollard and/or the bollards may float relative to one another. “Float” is utilized herein to mean that at least a portion of the floating member is free to move axially in the direction of gravity if the floating member is severed. For example, with reference to
The exemplary floating header 20 illustrated in
The stops can be provided by various constructions including without limitation, collars, tabs, and tabs formed or connected (e.g., welding) to the outer surface of the bollard, and pins extending laterally through the bollard. The top ends of each of the bollards may serve as the stops, with the header suspended from the top ends of the bollards.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the bollards 14 are constructed out of square pipe and the bollards 14 in a bollard fence panel 3 are oriented in the same direction. For example, with reference in particular to
An additional top panel 38 may be located at the upper most end of the bollard fence 10, for example positioned on a header assembly 32, to provide an anti-climb feature. The top panel 38 may be formed of one or more elements, such as and without limitation, metal mesh fencing, barbed or razor wire, and concrete slabs. The vertical span and the construction of the top panel 38 can function as an anti-climb feature. The top panel 38 may have a mass, such as a concrete slab, to provide an anti-tampering deterrent to lifting a bollard 14 from a floating header to overcome the vertical collapsing and binding characteristics of the floating bollards.
The header assembly 32 includes the header 20 laterally interconnecting the adjacent bollards 14 in the bollard fence panel 3 to provide structural support to individual bollards against tipping. In the example of
The illustrated bollard fence 10 is configured to extend for example thirty feet above grade 7 and the concrete base extends about eight feet below grade 7. In an exemplary embodiment, all or a portion of the bollard fence panel 3 is pre-formed for installation in the ground and for connection to laterally adjacent fence sections to create an elongated continuous bollard fence 10. For example, a pre-formed bollard panel 3 may include a two or more bollards 14, a concrete base 12, and a header 20 or header assembly 32.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the base 12 is formed of concrete and extends about eight feet from top to bottom such that when installed the concrete base extends about eight-feet below grade 7 to prevent a person from digging or tunneling below the bollard fence 10 for at least six-feet below grade 7.
The bollards 14 extend axially parallel to one another with an open gap 40, for example about four inches, between the adjacent bollards. The gaps 40 allow water to flow through the lower portion of the bollard fence 10. The gaps 40 may also provide an anesthetically pleasing quality be blending the bollard fence 10 into the surrounding environment.
In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in
In
A top panel 38 is mounted on the top member 34 extending the total vertical height, relative to the adjacent grade, to thirty feet. In this example, the top panel 38 is a concrete panel. The top panel can be mounted atop the header assembly 32 prior to installation of the bollard fence panel 3 in the ground or post-installation. In accordance with one or more embodiments, the top panel 38 is placed in position after the lower section is installed. For example, with reference in particular to
In an example of constructing a bollard panel 3, a number of bollards 14 are arranged spaced lateral apart forming a gap 40 between adjacent bollards 14 and extending axially parallel to one another. A member 48 (
Conditional language used herein, such as, among others, “can,” “might,” “may,” “e.g.,” and the like, unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/or states. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements and/or states are in any way required for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarily include such elements or features. Further, the figures may illustrate exemplary embodiments that show features or combination of features that are not required in one or more embodiments and thus a specific figure may disclose one or more embodiments that have fewer features or different combination of features than those shown in the illustrated embodiment.
As used herein, the terms “connect,” “connection,” “connected,” “in connection with,” and “connecting” may be used to mean in direct connection with or in connection with via one or more elements. Similarly, the terms “couple,” “coupling,” and “coupled” may be used to mean directly couple or couple via one or more elements. Terms such as “up,” “down,” “top,” and “bottom” and other like terms indicating relative positions to a given point or element may be utilized to more clearly describe some elements. Commonly, these terms relate to a reference point such as ground level.
The foregoing outlines features of several embodiments so that those skilled in the art may better understand the aspects of the disclosure. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that they may readily use the disclosure as a basis for designing or modifying other processes and structures for carrying out the same purposes and/or achieving the same advantages of the embodiments introduced herein. Those skilled in the art should also realize that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the disclosure, and that they may make various changes, substitutions and alterations herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. The scope of the invention should be determined only by the language of the claims that follow. The term “comprising” within the claims is intended to mean “including at least” such that the recited listing of elements in a claim are an open group. The terms “a,” “an” and other singular terms are intended to include the plural forms thereof unless specifically excluded.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62512678 | May 2017 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 15992083 | May 2018 | US |
Child | 17688257 | US |