AU598403B2

AU598403B2 - Improved road marker

Info

Publication number: AU598403B2
Application number: AU24650/88A
Authority: AU
Inventors: John Gartlacher
Original assignee: Hardman Safety Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Hardman Safety Pty Ltd
Priority date: 1987-11-11
Filing date: 1988-11-02
Publication date: 1990-06-21
Anticipated expiration: 2008-11-02
Also published as: AU2465088A

Description

111 fi rJ R. G.Halliday COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA PATENTS ACT 1952 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

(ORIGINAL)

Class Int. Class Application Number: Lodged: 1:Complete Specification-Lodged: ,Accepted: t t Related Art: N o A Reatedo Apic: t Published: TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT JOHN GARTLACHER Address of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for Service: 87 Fennell Street, Parramatta North, New South Wales, Australia JOHN GARTLACHER HLLIDAYS, Patent Attorneys, of 44 Ashley Street, Hornsby, New South Wales, 2077.

Complete Specification for the invention entitled: IMPROVED ROAD MARKER The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me:-* S003353 02/11/88 This invention relates to road markers, that is devices incorporating light reflecting material or members and used to indicate a division between road lanes. The markers can of course ha-e other uses, on the edges of culverts and other locations where an indication needs to be given to the driver of a vehicle as to safe and/or non-safe areas for vehicular traffic. Such markers are usually affixed by adhesive to a support, e.g. a road or a post.

The invention is primarily concerned with road markers of the type which go on the carriageway and which are subjected fee to surface contact with the wheels of vehicles. In the past road markers for this purpose have comprised a body of robust design manufactured from an abrasive resistant plastics material or metal.

In one form of such marker the reflective medium to pick up light from the headlights of vehicles and reflect it back at the driver comprised a plurality of glass prisms of particular design. The manufacture of this type of marker involved the moulding of the body as a substantially rectangular block of shallow height with prism recesses in the body edges and then the mounting of the prisms in the recesses. The prisms projected a small distance from the edges of the body but not so far as to be engaged by the wheel of a vehicle riding over the body. However in their extended exposed position the prisms were subjected to deposition of road grime and other materials as might be dropped from vehicles and accordingly their efficiency 2 quickly deteriorated.

In another form of road marker a body was provided with two opposite edge faces which were at a shallow angle to the base of the body. The angled faces provided a smooth path for a wheel travelling along-the carriageway to pass up and over the road marker. The angle faces were provided with a moulded pattern of prismatic angles or corner cubes on the inside, generally with a mirrored coating, to provide an effective array of point sources of light when exposed to 10 vehicle headlights. These markers, which usually had an o 0 outer shell made of an acrylic material, had an effective 04o 014 life which was quite limited because the inclined exterior o* surfaces over which the road wheels of vehicles frequently passed soon scratched and marked and this inhibited the o passaje of light through the surface to the reflective members, and necessarily the amount of light available for reflection back at the driver. It is to be noted that this j c type of road marker was also manufactured in body forms having other than two sides.

This invention provides a simple and efficient road marker which utilizes a highly reflective inexpensive sheet material housed within a body so as to have the light absorbing and retransmitting surfaces protected from the road wheels of vehicles and so as to be isolated from shock.

In a preferred form of the road marker according to the invention the reflective member is housed in a manner which discourages the deposition of road grime on light 3

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transmitting surfaces. The manner in which the reflective member is installed results in a road marker which is simple and economical to manufacture.

Broadly stated the invention can be said to comprise a road marker including a body with a slot recess extending into the body from an underface of the body and located adjacent an edge of the body, said recess comprising a retainer housing first portion immediately adjacent the body 1 underface and a second portion extending into the body from 10 the first recess portin, the second recess portion has a length greater than the length of a panel having light reflecting properties housed in the second recess portion so ft as to provide an end buffer zone at each end of the panel Iand the second recess portion has a depth greater than the width of the panel to provide an edge buffer zone for an 11 edge of the panel remote from the first recess portion and SW 4 Lt the second recess portion has a width substantially equal to 'P t but less than the thickness of the panel so as to permit the I panel to be entered with sliding clearance into the second recess portion, a panel retaining means in the first recess portion and an aperture in the edge of the body communicating with the second recess portion to expose a portion of the panel to view.

44 A presently preferred form of the invention will now be Sdescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:- Fig.l is a perspective view of a road marker according to 4

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i II~L 1-1 the invention fitted with a single reflective member, Fig.2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view on the section line 2r2 of Fig.l and Fig.3 is an enlarged sectional view on the section line 3-3 of Fig.2.

In Fig.l the road marker has a body 1 which is generally square in shape with angled leading and trailing edges 2 and 3 with the edges and the underface of the maker having an trt U acute angle therebetween. It will be understood that the 10 road marker can have reflecting means associated with one or r t "other of the edges 2 or 3. It will also be understood that V the road marker may have one, three, four or more angled edges and the reflecting means may be associated with one or e t ,more of those edges. In other words the general configuration of the road marker is not important.

U The reflective means is housed within the body adjacent the edge 2 in a recess to be described in detail later. An aperture is provided in the edge 2 between two abutment U faces 4 and 5 and, as will be best seen from Fig.2 the aperture in the preferred form of the invention has several parts. There is an inwardly inclined upper face 6, an upwardly inclined lower apron 7 terminating in a face 8 parallel to the underface 9 of the body i. The face 8 is preferred but not essential. The aperture communicates with the recess within the body which is in the form of a slot open to the underface 9 of the body 1. In the preferred arrangement there is a central reinforcement rib 5a, but it 5 is to be understood that in some designs the rib may not be required or there may be more than one rib needed to provide the strength demanded by the use location of the marker.

The slot 10 is long enough in the lateral direction of the body and deep enough between its bottom 11 and a retaining lip 12 (to be described later) to house a reflective panel comprised of a transparent support 13 (preferably made of glass) to the rear face of which is adhered sheet reflective material 14.- The width of the slot between its back face r 10 and the portions 16 and 17 is such as to receive the panel S13/14 as a firm sliding fit. The difference in depth of the slot 10 and the width of the panel exceeds the length of the lip 12 for reasons to be explained later.

As will be seen from Figs.2 and 3 there is a buffer zone at each end of the panel and above the panel for reasons to be explained. It is also to be noted that the length of the aperture is less than the length of the panel by an amount in excess of the difference in length between the panel and the slot 10, this ensures that if the panel moves lengthwise in the slot the ends of the panel will not enter the aperture, for reasons to be explained later. For similar "reasons the breadth of the aperture is less than the width of the panel by an amount in excess of the difference between the panel width and the depth of the slot The buffer zones allow cushioning of shocks appli, i to the road marker, as by blows from passing vehicle wheels. The 6 buffer zones can be utilized as air space, any movement of the insert is cushioned by compression of the air trapped in the spaces or the spaces can be filled with a shock absorbing material, e.g. a resiliently deformable plastics material. As glass is the preferred material for the transparent support 13 it is-desirable that a shock absorbing medium, e.g. air under compression or yielding of resilient plastic, be provided to isolate the support as efficiently as possible from road shocks.

S 10 O The reflective panel is introduced into the slot 10 from the r r underface 9 of the body. The panel is forced passed the lip 12 which is resiliently deflectable and which will be able, because of the buffer zone 18 allowing the panel to be pushed well passed the lip, to spring out below the bottom edge of the panel and retain it in the slot 10. The portion of the slot below the lip 12 is wider than the slot r above the lip 12 and is adapted to resiliently receive a sealing rod and retaining rod 21. The rod 21 is preferably made of a plastics material and is forced into the slot portion 20 so as to seal against the sides and ends of the slot portion 20 thereby effectively sealing the slot against the ingress of foreign materials, for example the adhesive may be used to secure the road marker to a surface.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the reflective panel is simply and safely mounted within the road marker in a manner substantially isolating it from shocks. The exposed surface of the support part of the reflective panel is 7

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-I housed in a manner such that it is not exposed to abrasion by vehicle wheels. The form of the aperture has been designed to create an air circulation path within the aperture which will, with the passage of a wheel over the road marker, create a current of air into and out of the aperture to prevent deposition of moisture and road dust on the exposed surface of the support 13. Accordingly, it will be seen that the present invention provides a road marker having substantial advantages over road markers now in use both from economical, manufacturing, durability and service viewpoints.

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Claims

1. A road marker including a body with a slot recess extending into the body from an underface of the body and i located adjacent an edge of the body, said recess comprising a retainer housing first portion immediately adjacent the body underface and a second portion extending into the body from the first recess portion, the second recess portion has a length greater than the length of a panel having light reflecting properties housed in the second recess portion so as to provide an end buffer zone at each end of the panel and the second recess portion has a depth greater than the width of the panel to provide an edge buffer zone for an edge of the panel remote from the first recess portion and the second recess portion has a width substantially equal to Sbut less than the thickness of the panel so as to permit the panel to be entered with sliding clearance into the second i recess portion, a panel retaining means in the first recess portion and an aperture in the edge of the body communicating with the second recess portion to expose a portion of the panel to view.

2. A road marker as claimed in claim 1 wherein the first i recess portion is separated from the second recess portion WA by a flexible member having a projection in the width direction into the second recess portion which is less than the difference between the width of the panel and the depth of the second recess portion. 9

3. A road marker as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 including a resiliently deformable panel retainer housed Under deforming pressure in the first recess portion.

4. A road marker as claimed in anyone of claims 1 to 3 wherein the edge of the body is in a plane with an acute j included angle between the plane and the underface of the body. S

5 A road maiker as claimed in anyone of claims 1 to 4 ;r wherein the aperture in the edge of the body is elo-igated and extends in the length direction of the recess and has a length less than the length of the panel by an amount in excess of the difference in length between the panel and the second recess portion and the aperture has a breadth less than the width of the panel by an amount in excess of the difference between the panel width and the depth of the second recess portion.

6. A road marker as claimed in claim 5 wherein the aperture has an upper face and a lower face with the faces angled one relative to the other and divergent in the direction away from the panel.

7. A road marker as claimed in anyone of claims 1 to 6 including resiliently deformable packing occupying the end and edge buffer zones.

8. A road marker as claimed in anyone of claims 1 to 7 10 including recesses adjacent other edges of the body to house further panels to thereby form a multi-sided marker.

9. A road marker as claimed in anyone of claims 1 to 8 wherein the panel is comprised of a sheet of transparent glass and a sheet of light reflective material bonded to the glass with the glass adjacent the body aperture. A road marker as claimed in anyone of claims 1 to 9 i i including divider means to divide the aperture in the body r edge into at least two parts in the length direction of the S panel.

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11.. A road marker as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 31st day of October, 1988 SJOHN GARTLACHER 3 By his Patent Attorneys, HALLIDAYS. V~ 11