Road structure – process – or apparatus – Traffic steering device or barrier
Patent
1994-07-29
1996-06-18
Neuder, William P.
Road structure, process, or apparatus
Traffic steering device or barrier
856 131, A01K 300
Patent
active
055271278
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
During road construction, especially in working areas of highways and Interstates, the traffic flow frequently has to be guided past the usual traffic lanes on deviating or detouring routes. Oftentimes, the width of the remaining traffic is too narrow to successfully separate the oppositely moving traffic flows by means of wide lane strips using traffic lane dividers of some greater height or using barricades. Mostly, guidance installations of a reduced height construction are being used. On the other hand, even when lane dividers or barricades of greater height can be erected, very often guidance installations of lower height are being preferred because the tunnel-vision effect on the vehicle operator caused by high lane dividers or a series of barricades closely following each other, is substantially reduced.
In a known guidance installation of medium height (DE-U-89 15 305.0), longitudinally extending traffic barriers having quad-like or prismatic shaped base bodies are prevalent and having on each of their upper sides a hood-like guide body installed thereon by means of coupling device. These traffic barriers can be connected to each other in an uninterrupted row by means of a further coupling device whose parts are subdivided into two groups with one group each being provided at each of the end faces of the traffic barriers. Thereby, the traffic barriers can be coupled to each other in a longitudinal direction in a form-locked manner. This type of guidance installation is being erected in a two-way traffic mode as a dividing line between the two lanes. Experience has shown that only sharply curved deviated traffic road stretches require that the traffic barriers each must have a guidance hood. With road stretches extending in a straight line, it is generally sufficient to arrange the guide bodies at intervals of three to five meters, that is, every third of fifth guide barrier is supplied with a top guide body.
The traffic barriers have a length of about one meter, a height of 70 to 100 mm, and on their under sides, generally, a width of about 250 mm. In the area of their upper sides, the traffic barriers are narrower than in the area of their under sides. Therefore, the cross-sectional shapes of the traffic barriers in the area of their side walls show an outline getting narrower from the bottom to the top and toward the center line. At a point of a transition toward the under side, there is located a vertically extending section having within an outline of its cross-section a height of about 15-25mm. Thereafter follows a convexly curved section having a relatively small radius of curvature. "Thereafter follows a concavely curved section having a reduced curvature which again is followed by a convexly curved section having unincreased curvature which then will merge into a straight and horizontal section of the upper side".
The relative low height of the traffic barrier makes it possible that a rolling vehicle wheel approaching the traffic barrier in a not too acute angle can relatively easy roll onto the traffic barrier and over the same without causing the vehicle to deviate from its direction of travel to a noticeable extent. The above described outline of the cross-section in the area of the side walls, additionally facilitates the act of rolling onto and over the traffic barrier of the vehicle wheel involved. Thereby, the wheels on one side of a vehicle rolling over a traffic barrier, because of inattention of the driver, can easily be controlled by the driver being able to steer the vehicle back to the correct side of the traffic barrier without fear of inducing a skidding just because of the process of rolling over the barrier.
In a scenario when the wheels on one side of a vehicle roll toward the traffic barrier in a very acute angle, to thereby side-swipe the same to a certain extent, it can happen that because of an elastic deformation of the cross-section of the tire a thus created bulge in the sidewall of the tire is already running against the cross-sectional concavely curved middle and
REFERENCES:
patent: 4463934 (1984-08-01), Ochoa et al.
LandOfFree
Traffic barrier for guidance installations does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Traffic barrier for guidance installations, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Traffic barrier for guidance installations will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-218359