Patent Application
20160369460
The present invention generally relates to crash cushions. More particularly, the present invention relates to a crash cushion that is installed on a road and can effectively absorb a shock caused by a collision of a vehicle, thus reducing damage to the vehicle, and minimizing loss of life.
As use of vehicles is becoming more common, the volume of traffic is rapidly increasing. In proportion to this, the number of traffic accidents is also increasing. Furthermore, as a high-speed travel resulting from the improvement in performance of vehicles has become widespread, the number of large accidents causing large loss of life and property is also increasing.
Of vehicle accidents, a collision of a vehicle with road safety facilities is an accident in which only a single vehicle is involved. Inexperience, carelessness, or drowsiness is known as the primary reasons for single-vehicle accidents.
To prevent collision accidents with road facilities, various efforts including maintenance of road safety facilities, campaigns for increasing driving safety, etc. must be made. However, such efforts alone to prevent single vehicle accidents are not sufficient. Therefore, safety facilities for shock absorption have been installed at places where there are possibilities of single-vehicle accidents.
Guardrails and crash cushions installed ahead of the guardrails are representative examples of safety facilities for shock absorption. Guardrails function to absorb shocks mainly caused by side collisions. Crash cushions function to absorb shocks caused by frontal collisions. An example of such crash cushions was proposed in Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1267446 (May 31, 2013), entitled “CRASH CUSHION FOR ABSORBING SHOCK IN COLLISION OF VEHICLE WITH FRONT PART OF GUARDRAIL.”
Such a crash cushion must have the capability to absorb shock transmitted from a high-speed traveling vehicle and to minimize damage. Therefore, a structure that can effectively absorb shock is essentially required for the crash cushion.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a crash cushion that can effectively absorb a shock caused by a collision of a vehicle, thus minimizing loss of life and property in a vehicle accident.
In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a crash cushion including a shock absorber that absorbs a shock in such a way that a punch expands the diameter of a pipe, whereby the shock can be effectively absorbed.
A crash cushion according to the present invention is installed on a road and is able to effectively absorb shock caused by a vehicle collision, thus enhancing the safety for passengers, thereby minimizing loss of life, reducing damage to a vehicle, and also minimizing property damage.
The present invention provides a crash cushion that can effectively absorb shock caused by a vehicle collision and thus minimize loss of life. The crash cushion includes: a rail installed on the ground surface; a front support that is installed on a front end of the rail and is pushed backward along the rail when a shock is applied to the front support; a rear support installed on a rear end of the rail; and a shock absorber that is installed extending from the front support to the rear support and disposed at a predetermined height from the ground surface. The shock absorber includes a punch and a pipe and absorbs the shock in such a way that the pipe is expanded in diameter by the punch.
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to
As shown in the drawings, the crash cushion according to the present invention includes a rail 110, a front support 120a, a rear support 120b, and a shock absorber having a punch 142 and a pipe 144.
The rail 110 comprises a pair of rails 110 that are installed on a ground surface. The rails 110 are provided parallel to each other at positions spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance. A typical flat-bottom rail, which is widely used as a rail for railways track, may be used as each rail 110. The rails 110 are reliably fastened to the ground surface by a fastening means such as an anchor bolt such that even when a shock is applied to the crash cushion of the present invention, the rails 110 cannot be prevented from being removed from the ground surface. The number of rails 110 may be changed as needed, for example, one or three rails may be provided.
The front support 120a is installed on front ends of the rails 110 in such a way that the front support 120a is coupled at a lower end thereof to the rail 110 and thus placed upright. The front support 120a is configured such that it can move along the rail 110 without being removed from the rails 110. In this embodiment of the present invention, the above coupling of the front support 120a to the rails 110 can be achieved by sliders 126, each of which is slidably fitted over the corresponding rail 110. As needed, a roller may be provided in each slider 126 so that the slider 126 can smoothly move along the rail 110.
Embedding protrusions 130 are provided on a front surface of the front support 120a. Each embedding protrusion 130 protrudes from the front support 120a by a predetermined distance. When a vehicle collides with the front support 120a, the embedding protrusions 130 are embedded into a front part, for example, a bumper, of the vehicle, thus preventing the vehicle from undesirably slipping. That is, the embedding protrusions 130 can prevent secondary accident, which may occur because of a slip of the vehicle. In order to prevent the exposure of the embedding protrusions 130 to the outside and thus prevent deterioration in the appearance of the crash cushion, a thin cover plate 150 made of metal or plastic may be coupled to the front support 120a.
The rear support 120b is installed on rear ends of the rails 110. The rear support 120b supports a rear end of the shock absorber and functions to prevent the shock absorber from being pushed rearward. Thereby, the shock absorber can be reliably fixed in place.
Each of the front and rear supports 120a and 120b is quadrangular and may be formed of a support frame F that is made of a metal beam. As shown in
For the front support 120a, sliders 126 are provided under a lower end of the support frame F. Each slider 126 has a depression that has a shape corresponding to the cross-sectional shape of the rail 110 and has a cross-sectional area larger than that of the rail 110. The support frame F is installed on the rail 110 in such a way that the rail 110 is inserted into the depression of the slider 126 so that the support frame F can move along the rail 110.
As shown in
The number of sliders 126 and the installation positions thereof are determined depending on the number of rails 100 and the installation positions thereof. For example, if only a single rail 100 is provided, as shown in
Meanwhile, in the above-mentioned construction in which the front support 120a and the intermediate support 120c can be tilted to the left or right, the angle by which they can tilted can be limited by anchor bolts 190, each of which is embedded in the ground and is brought into contact with either of the opposite edges of the lower end of the support frame F. It is preferable that the angle by which the front support 120a and the intermediate support 120c can be tilted be about 6°.
The shock absorber includes a pipe 144 that extends from the front support 120a to the rear support 120b and is disposed at a predetermined height from the ground, and a punch 142 that expands the diameter of the pipe 144. It is preferable that the height at which the shock absorber is disposed be set to be similar to a height of a bumper of a vehicle that may collide with the crash cushion.
The pipe 144 is made of metal and has a cylindrical shape. The punch 142 is disposed on a rear end of the pipe 144 and configured such that when a vehicle collides with the crash cushion, the punch 142 can expand the diameter of the pipe 144 that is pushed by the front support 120a pressed backward by the vehicle. The punch 142 can be fixed to the front support 120a or the rear support 120b. In this embodiment, the punch 142 is fixed to the rear support 120b and expands the diameter of the rear end of the pipe 144. Thereby, even when the front support 120a is tilted in some degree and pushed backward by the vehicle colliding with the front support 120a, the punch 142 can reliably expand the diameter of the pipe 144 without being removed from the pipe 144. The punch 142 having the above-mentioned structure may be fixed by a bolt, but it is not limited thereto.
As shown in
The crash cushion according to the present invention may further include the intermediate support 120c that is installed between the front support 120a and the rear support 120b. The intermediate support 120c is installed on the rail 110 and supports the pipe 144. The intermediate support 120c is made of a support frame F in the same manner as that of the front support 120a or the rear support 120b. A hole through which the pipe 144 passes is formed in the intermediate support 120c so that the pipe 144 is supported by the intermediate support 120c. When a vehicle collides with the crash cushion, the intermediate support 120c is pushed backward along the rail 110 while overlapping the front support 120a that is pushed backward by the collision of the vehicle.
In the present invention, at least one intermediate support 120c is provided. The number of intermediate supports 120c can be changed depending on the length of the pipe 144. If a plurality of intermediate supports 120c are provided, they are spaced apart from each other at regular intervals between the front support 120a and the rear support 120b. The intervals at which the intermediate supports 120c are spaced apart from each other can be adjusted as needed.
A space between the front support 120a and the rear support 120b is filled with a buffer (not shown). The buffer is configured to effectively absorb a shock. Given the fact that the present invention is provided to absorb a shock transmitted from a vehicle, a buffer that can effectively absorb a shock is used. For instance, the buffer may have a honeycomb structure in which bent metal plates are connected to each other in such a way that bent parts of the metal plates make contact with each other. As needed, the buffer may be made of a waste tire or a plastic tank filled with water.
The crash cushion according to the present invention further includes a sliding panel 160 that extends from the front support 120a to the rear support 120b and covers both the front support 120a and the rear support 120b to form the outer surface of the crash cushion.
The sliding panel 160 has a planar shape. If the intermediate support 120c exists, a plurality of sliding panels 160 is provided. Each sliding panel 160 is fixed at a front end thereof to the front support 120a or the intermediate support 120c and is installed such that a rear end of each preceding sliding panel 160 partially overlaps a front end of a following sliding panel 160.
The sliding panel 160 may separately comprise a panel that covers the side surfaces of the front and rear supports 120a and 120b, and a panel that covers the upper surfaces of the front and rear supports 120a and 120b. Alternatively, the sliding panel 160 may have an integrated structure covering both the side surfaces and the upper surfaces of the front and rear supports 120a and 120b (in the drawings, a structure covering the side surfaces is illustrated). When the front support 120a is pushed backward by a shock, the sliding panel 160 is pushed backward along with the front support 120a. In the case where the intermediate support 120c is provided, when the intermediate support 120c is pushed backward, the sliding panel 160 is also pushed backward along with the intermediate support 120c.
In an embodiment, as shown in
Alternatively, as shown in
In the present invention, a plurality of shock absorbers may be provided. In this case, as shown in
As such, in the structure in which the shock absorbers are arranged in a row, the shock absorbers must be supported at appropriate positions to ensure reliable operation. Preferably, the shock absorbers are supported at the junctions between the shock absorbers. In the present invention, the above purpose can be achieved by the intermediate supports 120c. In detail, the punches 142 are respectively fastened to the rear support 120b and the intermediate supports 120c, and the front end of each punch 142 is inserted into the rear end of the corresponding pipe 144. In this construction, when a shock is applied to the front support 120a, the pipes 144 of the shock absorbers are pushed toward the corresponding punches 142, and the diameters of the pipes 144 are expanded. Thereby, the shock can be more effectively absorbed.
Meanwhile, when a plurality of shock absorbers is provided, the shock absorbers may be arranged parallel to each other. Alternatively, as shown in
When a shock occurs due to a vehicle collision, the front support 120a is pushed backward along the rail 110. The sliding panel 160 that is fastened at the front end thereof to the front support 120a is pushed backward along with the front support 120a and overlaps the sliding panel 160 that is fastened at the front end thereof to the intermediate support 120c. If an impulse is comparatively large and the front support 120a is thus pushed to the intermediate support 120c, the front support 120a and the intermediate support 120c overlap each other and are pushed backward together. Furthermore, the sliding panel 160 that is fastened at the front end thereof to the intermediate support 120c is also pushed backward along with the intermediate support 120c. During this process, the portion of the sliding panel 160 in which the holes 162 are formed is broken by the bolt 144, whereby the shock can be more effectively absorbed. The sliding panel 160 thereafter overlaps the following sliding panel 160.
When a shock is applied to the front support 120a by a vehicle collision, the front support 120a is pushed backward along the rail 110, and the pipe 144 is also pushed backward. At this time, the rear end of the pipe 144 is torn into several parts by the punch 142 and thus expanded in diameter. As such, the pipe 144 made of metal is moved depending on the impulse and is expanded in diameter by the punch 142 so as to absorb the shock.
When a vehicle collides with the front support 120a, the embedding protrusions 130 are embedded into the bumper of the vehicle. If the cover plate 150 is present, the embedding protrusions 130 penetrate through the cover plate 150 and then are embedded into the bumper of the vehicle. Thereby, the vehicle that has collided with the crash cushion of the present invention can be prevented from undesirably slipping and bouncing. Consequently, the possibility of a secondary accident can be reduced.
Hereinafter, a process of installing the crash cushion according to the present invention having the above-mentioned construction will be explained. An example of direct installation of the crash cushion on a road will be described.
First, as shown in
Thereafter, as shown in
Subsequently, as shown in
Finally, as shown in
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2013-0133698 | Nov 2013 | KR | national |
| 10-2014-0057896 | May 2014 | KR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/KR2014/010349 | 10/31/2014 | WO | 00 |
