Patent Application
20240068186
The present application claims convention priority from Australian Provisional Patent Application No. 2022902453, filed Aug. 26, 2022, the contents of which are incorporated herein in their entirety by reference thereto.
The present invention relates to the field of traffic control systems and in particular to deployable barriers such as boom gates working in cooperation with a second barrier and/or traffic control device.
Boom gates are typically used to either permanently or temporarily block off access to one or more lanes on a road, parking station or area of vehicular movement. Boom gates are typically designed to be lightweight and safe, so that if it is impacted by a vehicle, the vehicle is not overly damaged, and the occupants are not at risk.
Existing boom gates have a pedestal locatable on a ground surface and an elongate arm to extend across a lane to be blocked. The arm having a free end and a fixed end. The fixed end being pivotably attached to the pedestal to permit the arm to move between a generally horizontal position and a generally vertical position, allowing or preventing access past the gate. To operate effectively and safely, the arm must be located at a certain height above a ground surface, typically approximately 95 centimeters above ground.
Often boom gates are used temporarily in high traffic areas such as highways. In such locations, the boom gate is also often used in combination with an array of other traffic control devices such as jersey barriers, water or sand filled barriers, barrier boards, precast concrete barriers, longitudinal channeling devices or the like.
Use of such barriers in combination with a boom gate creates a complicated traffic management system as the boom gate arm, being horizontal, can't extend over the barriers increasing the area required to be taken on the highway for use by the traffic control system.
There is a need for a boom gate that can be used in close proximity with barriers to reduce the area required for the traffic management system.
It is an object of the present invention to substantially overcome, or at least ameliorate, one or more of the disadvantages of the above boom gates, or at least provide a useful alternative to previously discussed boom gates.
There is disclosed a boom gate including:
Preferably, the first and second axes are parallel to each other.
Preferably, said first elongate portion is located adjacent said fixed end and said second elongate portion is located adjacent said free end.
Preferably, said elongate portions are connected by way of an angled portion extending between said axes.
Preferably, the first elongate portion is connected to the drive mechanism by a second angled portion extending back towards the second horizontal axis.
Preferably, said second portion is located further away from said surface than said first portion to permit said arm to be extended over said barrier.
Preferably, said pedestal is locatable adjacent said barrier.
Preferably, said pedestal is adapted to be attached to said barrier.
Preferably, the first portion is manufactured from a carbon fibre composite.
Preferably, the second portion is manufactured from a material other than carbon fibre composite.
Preferably, the second portion includes a coupling to receive the first portion.
Preferably, the coupling includes fasteners for removably receiving the first portion.
For a more complete understanding of the present invention, exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail in the following description with reference to the accompanying drawing FIGS., in which like reference signs designate like parts and in which:
a, b, c, d depict an embodiment of a boom gate of the present invention.
a, b, c, d depict an embodiment of a boom gate of the present invention.
a, b, c, d depict an embodiment of a boom gate of the present invention.
Referring to the FIGS., there is depicted a boom gate 1 including a pedestal 2 locatable on a surface and an elongate arm 7 to extend across an area to be temporarily blocked. The pedestal 2 has a base 4 and a top surface 5. The elongate arm 7 has a free end 8 and a fixed end 9. The fixed end 8 being pivotably attached to the pedestal 2 and driven by a drive mechanism [not shown] to permit the arm 7 to move between a generally horizontal (or deployed) position as shown in
The boom gate 1 may be made of various materials to suit the conditions of use. However, Carbon fibre is considered to be a particularly suitable material due to it having a very low density (1.75-2.00 g/cm3), as well as significant internal strength (3-7 GPa) and an extremely high modulus of elasticity (˜225 GPa), resulting in a lightweight but incredibly stiff and strong material.
The drive mechanism may include, but not limited to, a motor and driver that is engaged with a pivot shaft 10 which drives the arm 7 to pivot about the pivot axis XX. Typically, engagement of the driver with the pivot shaft 10 inhibits pivoting of the arm 7 by external forces (such as wind, pedestrians, or the like), such that the boom gate 1 cannot be manually opened from a closed position. In an embodiment, the driver and/or pivot shaft 10 are configured such that a vehicular impact to the boom gate 1, or wind having a velocity above a predetermined threshold velocity acting upon the boom gate 1, induces at least partial disengagement between the driver and pivot shaft 10, so that the boom gate 1 can be freed to pivot about the pivot shaft 10 and axis XX.
Referring to
The spacing 25 of the first and second portions 12,14 is provided by a plurality of angled portions 15 extending between said axes AA and BB. In some embodiments, the portions 12,14,15 are welded together in other embodiments the portions 12,14,15 are removably connectable by way of snap locking, screw threads or the like to permit a user to change the shape of the arm 7 and height above the area to be blocked on site depending upon the type of barrier 20 being used in the traffic management system. The spacing 25 is typically about 25 centimeters. In one embodiment, there is a single angled portion 15 connecting the first portion 12 to the second portion 14. In another embodiment, there is a second angled portion 15 connecting the second portion 14 to the pivot shaft 20, the second angled portion 15 descending back towards the horizontal axis AA.
The embodiment shown in
A further embodiment is shown in
Advantageously, the embodiments of the present invention provide a boom gate 1 that can be installed in cooperation with a barrier 20 at such close proximity that a significant space saving can be provided in the traffic management system.
The embodiment of
This arrangement has the advantage that the first portion 12 may be manufactured to the length required for individual applications. Since the first portion 12 is manufactured from carbon fibre it is the more expensive portion of the assembly and there is a commercial benefit in avoiding wastage. Meanwhile, the second portion 14 may be mass manufactured to common specifications for most applications, reducing manufacturing costs and lead times.
Although specific embodiments of the invention are illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that a variety of alternative and/or equivalent implementations exist. In particular the features of the embodiments shown may be combined in various permutations to create other embodiments that the person skilled in the art would also understand to be part of the present disclosure.
It should be appreciated that the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments are examples only and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration in any way. Rather, the foregoing summary and detailed description will provide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map for implementing at least one exemplary embodiment, it being understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements described in an exemplary embodiment without departing from the scope as set forth in the appended claims and their legal equivalents. Generally, this application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the specific embodiments discussed herein.
It will also be appreciated that in this document the terms “comprise”, “comprising”, “include”, “including”, “contain”, “containing”, “have”, “having”, and any variations thereof, are intended to be understood in an inclusive (i.e. non-exclusive) sense, such that the process, method, device, apparatus or system described herein is not limited to those features or parts or elements or steps recited but may include other elements, features, parts or steps not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Furthermore, the terms “a” and “an” used herein are intended to be understood as meaning one or more unless explicitly stated otherwise. Moreover, the terms “first”, “second”, etc. are used merely as labels, and are not intended to impose numerical requirements on or to establish a certain ranking of importance of their objects.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022902453 | Aug 2022 | AU | national |
