1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to walls, barriers, and the like, and particularly to a portable traffic safety barrier having resilient mechanical and electrical connections between sections to maintain their connectivity in the event of displacement.
2. Description of the Related Art
Heavy traffic safety barriers have been known and used for some time to separate lanes of vehicle traffic in construction zones and other areas. These barriers have been conventionally formed of concrete. It has generally been felt that the sheer mass of such a barrier is sufficient to prevent its movement to any substantial degree in the event of vehicle impact. Accordingly, little or no effort has been expended to link such barriers to one another when they are placed to form an elongate assembly.
Moreover, it appears that there has been little or no interest in providing mobility for such barriers, again due to the need for the barrier to remain substantially in position in the event of a vehicle impact. Such heavy barriers are generally offloaded from a large flatbed trailer by a crane, and placed in position by the crane. While this technique certainly accomplishes the general goal of barrier installation at a site, it does not allow any “fine tuning” of the position(s) of the barrier(s) afterwards.
Some form of lighting and signage is essential in most traffic barrier installations, as they are often located in congested areas of heavy traffic flow and result in the temporary relocation of entrance and exit ramps and traffic lanes. The conventional concrete traffic barrier has no provision for lighting or signage, so that the installation of sign posts and lighting requires separate wiring runs and supports.
Thus, a portable traffic safety barrier solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
The portable traffic safety barrier is preferably formed of recycled rubber from tires or other sources, or plastic material, to provide both resilience and the mass desired for such a barrier. The barrier is preferably tapered from a relatively wide base to a narrower upper portion, and has a wider head extending across the narrow upper portion to form a mushroom-shaped cross section. Wheels or rollers may be provided for each barrier section, the axles of the rollers being oriented parallel to the lengths of the barrier sections to allow the barriers to be moved laterally in the event of impact or for repositioning the barrier. Alternatively, the barriers may be staked or anchored to the underlying surface.
Each barrier section includes a plurality of hollow longitudinal passages therethrough. At least one of the passages, and preferably two such passages, includes a resilient spring extending therethrough. The spring has an end extending to each end of the barrier section. The ends of the springs of adjacent barrier sections may be linked together by connectors that may be opened to release and closed to connect the spring ends of the barriers to one another. A flexible electrical cord or cable extends through another longitudinal passage of the barrier, preferably near the top of the barrier section. The cord or cable is preferably formed as a spiral to allow elongation in the event of separation of connected barrier sections. The cord or cable includes electrical connectors on each end thereof. A series of lights is provided atop each barrier. The lights are connected to the electrical cord or cable.
The tapered cross section of the barrier sections results in a lateral gap between adjacent barriers when they are arranged as a double row. This gap may be used to contain planters for decorative or ornamental purposes, and/or for the installation of various light poles, signage, and/or other purposes. The barrier sections may be anchored into the underlying surface in such semi-permanent installations.
These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.
Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.
The portable traffic safety barrier is a barrier having advantages over the conventional “Jersey Wall” or “Jersey Barrier” often seen along roadways and highways to separate traffic in congested areas and/or in construction zones. A plurality of the portable traffic safety barriers may be linked or connected end-to-end to form a continuous barrier, so that the individual barrier sections of the continuous barrier communicate resiliently with one another, both mechanically and electrically, to ensure an unbroken wall in the event of a vehicle impact against one or more of the barrier sections.
A first spring 24 is installed in the first spring passage 18, as shown in
End connectors are installed upon each of the spring ends 26, 28, 32, and 34 adjacent the respective wall ends 14 and 16 for releasably connecting the springs 24 and 30, and thus a plurality of walls 12, to one another.
Each of the electrical cord passages 22 shown in
The electrical cord passage 22 is preferably located relatively high in each wall 12 and above the spring passages 18 and 20 to facilitate electrical connection to a plurality of electrically powered lights 54 disposed atop or elsewhere along the wall 12. The lights are preferably LED type, to provide good durability and longevity and relatively low current draw. Other lighting types or principles may be used in lieu of LEDs, however. The lights 54 may receive electrical power from a storage battery module 56 that, in turn, receives its charge from a solar panel 58 (as shown in
The individual barriers 10 or wall units 12 are preferably cast or otherwise formed of recycled rubber recovered from used tires, or from a dense plastic material. The use of such materials precludes cracking, shattering, or other significant damage due to vehicle impact, unlike relatively brittle concrete commonly used in the construction of conventional traffic barriers. Each of the walls 12 is configured with a specific cross-sectional shape, as shown in
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.
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