GUARDRAIL

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not applicable.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of road safety and, in particular, to a guardrail.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Metal guardrails made of corrugated metal sheet supported by posts arranged at the edge of a road are known.

Wooden guardrails made of wooden bars supported by posts generally covered with wood, are also known.

However, mixed guardrails comprising a section of metal guardrail and a section of wooden guardrail are not known. In fact, the connection between the corrugated sheet metal of the metal guardrail and the wooden posts of the wooden guardrail is rather complex due to the transition between a corrugated profile consisting of the corrugated sheet metal of the metal guardrail and the wooden bars of the wooden guardrail that are perfectly straight and do not adjust to the corrugated profile of the metal guardrail.

EP2110479A1 discloses a transition and connection arrangement between two barriers of a vehicle safety barrier that are both made of metal.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The purpose of the present invention is to eliminate the drawbacks of the prior art by providing a mixed metal and wooden guardrail that is suitable for providing a connection between the metal guardrail and the wooden guardrail.

Another purpose of the present invention is to provide such a guardrail with a connection between the metal guardrail and the wooden guardrail that is efficient, reliable, versatile, practical, and easy to install.

Yet another purpose of the present invention is to provide such a guardrail with a connection between the metal guardrail and the wooden guardrail that is aesthetically pleasing and does not have a negative visual impact.

These purposes are achieved in accordance with the invention with the features of the attached independent claim 1.

Advantageous embodiments of the invention appear from the dependent claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Further features of the invention will become clearer from the detailed description below, referring to a purely exemplary and therefore non-limiting embodiment, illustrated in the attached drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front view illustrating the guardrail according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view illustrating the guardrail of FIG. 1, without the coupling system.

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view illustrating the guardrail of FIG. 1, without the coupling system.

FIG. 4 is a view as in FIG. 2, with the addition of the coupling system with the wooden transition element in mounted condition, and an exploded view of the front and rear plates of the metal transition element.

FIG. 5 is a view as in FIG. 3, with the addition of the coupling system with the wooden transition element in mounted condition, and an exploded view of the front and rear plates of the metal transition element.

FIG. 6 is a front perspective view, illustrating the coupling system in an exploded view.

FIG. 7 is a rear perspective view, illustrating the coupling system in an exploded view.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view, illustrating the metal transition element assembled on the corrugated sheet metal of the metal guardrail, and the wooden transition element in an exploded view.

FIG. 8A is view as in FIG. 8, illustrating broken lines that are not visible in the perspective view.

FIG. 9 is a front view of the coupling system assembled on a corrugated sheet of a metal guardrail.

FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the horizontal sectional plane X-X of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of a detail of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a rear view of the coupling system assembled on a corrugated sheet of a metal guardrail.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With the aid of the Figures, the guardrail according to the invention, which is generally indicated with reference numeral 100, is described.

The guardrail (100) comprises a metal guardrail (1), a wooden guardrail (2), and a coupling system (3) that connects the metal guardrail (1) to the wooden guardrail (2).

The metal guardrail (1) comprises corrugated iron sections (10) connected to each other and supported by posts (11).

The posts (11) are driven into the ground and the corrugated iron section (10) is supported by the posts (11) at a height (H) from the ground of generally 400-500 mm.

With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, each corrugated iron section (10) has a front face (10a) facing the road, and a rear face (10b) opposite the front face (10a).

The front face (10a) of the corrugated iron section comprises a lower rib (12), an upper rib (13), and a central channel (14) disposed between the lower rib and the upper rib. In the central channel (14) there is a central rib (14b) having a lower height than the lower and upper ribs (12, 13). The ribs (12, 13, 14a) of the front face of the corrugated iron section extend horizontally parallel to each other.

The rear face (10b) of the corrugated iron section comprises a central rib (15), a lower channel (16), and an upper channel (17) corresponding respectively to the central channel (14) and to the lower and upper ribs (12, 13) of the front face of the corrugated iron section.

Each post (11) of the metal guardrail comprises a metal profile with H-shaped section. A support (18) with a parallelepiped shape is mounted on the upper part of each post (11) to secure the corrugated iron section (10).

The wooden guardrail (2) comprises wooden rods (20, 21) connected to each other and supported by posts (22). The wooden rods comprise two front rods (20) and two rear rods (21).

The posts (22) of the wooden guardrail comprise a metal profile (23) driven into the ground (T) and a wooden covering (24) arranged on the part of the metal profile protruding from the ground (T). The wooden covering (24) is arranged on a rear part of the metal profile (23).

A support (25) in the shape of a corrugated sheet is mounted on an upper part of each post (22) of the wooden guardrail to secure the front rods (20) by means of bolts (26). The rear rods (21) are secured to the front rods (20) by means of bolts (27).

In view of the above, each section of the wooden guardrail has two front rods (20) arranged horizontally and parallel to each other, and two rear rods (21) arranged behind the front rods (20).

With reference to FIG. 1, the coupling system (3) comprises a metal transition element (4) suitable for being attached to one end of a corrugated iron section (10) of the metal guardrail, and a wooden transition element (5) suitable for being attached to a support (25) arranged in a post (22) of the wooden guardrail.

With reference to FIG. 8, the metal transition element (4) has a box shape that defines a seat (40) wherein the wooden transition element (5) is arranged.

With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, the metal transition element (4) comprises a front plate (6) and a rear plate (7) made of sheet metal.

The front plate (6) has a central portion (60) with isosceles trapezoidal shape having a major base (60a), a minor base (60b), and two oblique sides (60c, 60d).

A first side wing (61) protrudes from the central portion (60) to be engaged in the front face (10a) of the corrugated iron section (10). As shown in FIG. 8, the first side wing (61) of the front plate has a triangular shape and is arranged in the central channel (14) between the lower rib (12) and the upper rib (13) of the front face of the corrugated iron section (10). The first side wing (61) has a rounded tip with a recess (61a) that fits into the central rib (14a) of the front face of the corrugated iron section.

The first side wing (61) protrudes obliquely from the minor base (60b) of the central portion of the front plate at an angle of approximately 120°-160° with respect to the central portion (60).

A lower wing (62) and an upper wing (62) protrude from the central portion (60). Both the lower wing (62) and the upper wing (62) comprise a first portion (63a) and a second portion (63b) with different inclinations.

Two second side wings (64) protrude laterally from the major base (60a) of the central portion of the front plate in opposite direction to the first side wing (61). The central portion (60) of the front plate has a window (65) with U-shaped profile that starts centrally from the major base (60a) so as to divide the central portion into two portions from which the second side wings (64) protrude.

A central hole (66) is drilled in the central portion (60) and two side holes (67) are drilled in the second side wings (64).

The rear plate (7) comprises a first rectangular portion (70) that is arranged on the rear face (10b) of the corrugated iron section.

Two first side wings (71) protrude from the first portion (70) to be engaged in the lower channel (16) and in the upper channel (17) of the rear face of the corrugated iron section. The two first side wings (71) have a triangular shape. A space (72) is formed between the two first side wings (71), wherein the central rib (15) of the rear face of the corrugated iron section is arranged.

The first portion (70) is connected to a second portion (74) with isosceles trapezoidal shape by means of a connecting portion (73). The connecting portion (73) is step-shaped so that the second portion (74) is set back relative to the first portion (70).

Two second side wings (75) protrude from the second portion (74). A window (76) with U-shaped profile is provided between the second wings (75).

The second portion (74) of the rear plate comprises:

a plurality of holes (77) suitable for receiving self-tapping screws (V);

a central hole (78) suitable for receiving a central bolt (80);

two first peripheral holes (79) suitable for receiving first peripheral bolts (81); and

two second peripheral holes (79') for receiving first peripheral bolts (81).

The wooden transition element (5) comprises a body (50) having a substantially trapezoidal shape. Two blocks (51) having a rectangular section equal to the rectangular section of the front rods (20) of the wooden guardrail protrude from a major base of the body (50). The blocks (51) of the wooden transition element are arranged at a distance from each other that is equal to the distance between the front rods (20) of the wooden guardrail. In view of the above, the ends of the blocks (51) are arranged to abut against the ends of the front rods (20) of the wooden guardrail so as to give an impression of continuity of the wooden guardrail.

The wooden transition element (5) has a shaped front face (5a) and a flat rear face (5b).

The front face (5a) is shaped with a protruding profile (52) that defines a recessed seat (53) suitable for receiving the central portion (60) of the front plate. To this end, the protruding profile (52) defines two loops (54) that extend towards the blocks (51) to accommodate the second wings (64) of the front plate and a central protrusion (55) that is arranged in the window (65) of the front plate.

The body (50) of the wooden transition element has lower and upper edges comprising two portions (56, 57) that are inclined mutually so as to adjust to the different inclinations of the first portion (63a) and od the second portion (63b) of the lower wing (62) and of the upper wing (62) of the front plate which partially encloses the body (50) of the wooden transition element.

The second portion (74) of the rear plate rests on the rear face (5b) of the wooden transition element, which is flat. The self-tapping screws (V) are inserted into the holes (77) drilled in the second portion (74) of the rear plate and screwed into the body (50) of the wooden transition element.

The wooden transition element comprises:

a central through hole (58) disposed in the body (50) in central position;

two first peripheral through holes (59) disposed in the loops (54) of the recessed seat (53) and

two second peripheral through holes (59') disposed in the blocks (51).

With reference to FIG. 8A, in order to firmly secure the wooden transition element (5) to the metal transition element (4), in addition to the self-tapping screws (V), the following are used:

the central bolt (80) that enters the central holes (66, 58, 78) of the front plate, of the wooden transition element and of the rear plate, respectively and is screwed to a respective nut (80a) with washer (80b) arranged behind the rear plate (7);

the first two peripheral bolts (81) that are inserted into the peripheral holes (67) of the front plate and into the first peripheral holes (59, 79) of the wooden transition element and of the rear plate, respectively, and are screwed into respective nuts (81a) with washer (81b) disposed behind the rear plate (7); and

two second peripheral bolts (82) that are inserted into the second peripheral holes (59', 79') of the wooden transition element and of the rear plate, respectively, and are screwed to respective nuts (82a) with washer (82b) arranged behind the rear plate (7).

Together with the second peripheral bolts (82), tube-shaped spacers (9) with square section are inserted into the second peripheral holes (79') of the wooden transition element to prevent the wood from being crushed if the nut (82a) and the bolt (82) are excessively tightened, as well as to prevent the loosening of the bolt and the nut during the useful life of the guardrail in case of movements of the wood due to its hygroscopic nature. Furthermore, having a square cross-section, the spacer (9) acts as anti-rotation device for the bolt (82), which has a square neck, when the nut (82b) is tightened during the assembly on site.

Washers (82c) are arranged around the second peripheral bolts (82) in abutment with seats around the second peripheral holes (59') of the wooden transition element.

Numerous modifications can be made to the present embodiment of the invention, which are within the reach of an expert of the field and fall in any case within the scope of the invention as disclosed by the attached claims.