SPECIFICATIONInternally-illuminable bollardsThe present invention relates to bollards and in particular to the type of internally-illuminable bollards having a post located on top of a base that contains illuminating lamps.
Most of the internally-illuminable bollards currently in use have a post secured to a road surface or the top of a traffic island. The bollard post usually carries a light transmitting panel located near the top of the post which panel may show a traffic sign or it may just be a plain panel alerting drivers to the presence of the bollard. This type of bollard has illuminating lamps, usually fluorescent lamps, located within the post behind the panel. If the bollard is knocked over, the electrical connections for the illuminating lamps are exposed and often damaged. Not only is this a danger to passers-by, but also the bollard is extremely labour-intensive and expensive to repair.
A bollard that overcomes the problem outlined above has been proposed in BritishPatent Specifications Nos. 1,116,297 and 1,555,303. This bollard has a base in the form of an open-topped box at least partially embedded in the road or a traffic island. The box contains all the electrical components of the bollard, i.e. the lamps and the connections therefor, and a transparent, impact-resistant plate covers the box. A hollow post made of white plastics material and optionally having a light-transmitting panel located near the top of the post is secured on top of the box. Light from the lamps in the box passes into the hollow post and through the light-transmitting panel, which may include a road sign. If the bollard is struck by a car, the post may be knocked over but the electrical components are protected by the impact-resistant plate and usually escape unscathed.The main problem with this bollard, however, is that the road sign panel is not sufficiently illuminated to conform with British Standards. Attempts have been made to rectify this problem but all have so far met with failure.
The present invention provides a bollard that overcomes the problem of poor illumination of a light-transmitting panel located in a bollard.
According to the present invention, there is provided a bollard comprising a base that is adapted to contain a source of illumination and adapted to be set in the ground, a hollow post having a light-transmitting panel and being so located or so locatable on top of the base that light can pass from the base into the post, and a reflecting body located within the post for directing light towards the panel.
In operation of the bollard of the present invention, light from the light source enters the post, is reflected off the reflecting body and impinges on and passes through the light transmitting panel. By this simple expedient, the illumination of the panel is greatly improved.
The reflecting body is preferably made of plastics material and may be white, although preferably at least the reflecting surfaces are mirrored. The reflecting body is preferably free-standing within the bollard post and preferably fits snugly within the post so that it is unnecessary to fix the body to the post by means of bolts or other fixing means. The body may be secured within the post by a tongue and groove joint.
The bollard of the present invention may have more than one light-transmitting panel, in which case the reflecting surface(s) of the reflecting body is(are) such that light from the light source is directed onto all the panels that it is desired to illuminate.
The reflecting body may have a wide variety of shapes. It may be conical, frustoconical, pyramidal or frustopyramidal (with the number of sloping surfaces (reflecting surfaces) of the pyramid preferably being equal to the number of panels in the bollard). The horizontal cross-section of the body may be circular, oval or polygonal, e.g. square or rectangular.
The or each reflecting surface preferably slopes upwardly and laterally towards the panel to be illuminated. Preferably, the or each surface is more nearly vertical at the bottom of the body (nearest the light source) than it is higher up (nearest the panel), and more preferably the surface is such that, when viewed in vertical cross-section, it has the shape of part of a parabola. Thus, in the preferred embodiment, the reflecting body has an inverted horn or a funnel shape.
Four bollards in accordance with the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:Figures 1 to 4 are sectional elevational views of the bollards.
In each of Figs. 1 to 4, there is shown a bollard having a base 1 and a post 2. The base 1 is an internally reflective rectangular box made of galvanized steel or heavy plastics and is embedded in a road surface or a traffic island 3. The base 1 contains fluorescent lamps 4 or other low heat-producing light sources together with the customary electrical connections therefor (not shown) and is covered by an impact-resistant transparent plate 5 made of perspex or armour glass. The base 1 is fixed in the ground by tamper-resistant nuts 6 that engage a flange 7 that extends around the outside rim of the base.
The post 2 is generally cuboid in shape and is open at its base. It consists of a housing 8 having an opening 9 in each of its four side faces. Located behind, and and closing off, each opening 9 is a light-transmitting panel which may bear a road sign or other information or instruction or it may be plain. The housing 8 is made of impact-resistant plastics and may be translucent or opaque. The post 2 is held down by the tamper-proof nuts 6 engaging a flange 8a extending around the base of the housing 8. This method of securing the post 2 ensures that if the bollard is given a sharp blow, e.g. by a car, the post will give way and can be replaced merely by loosening the nuts 6 and fitting the flange 8a back under the nuts which are then re-tightened. The lamps 4 are protected from damage by plate 5 and will usually be unaffected by such an impact.
Centrally located within the housing 8 is a reflecting body 11. The bollards shown inFigs. 1 to 4 differ only in the size and shape of this body. In Fig. 1, the body is hornshaped with the sides, when viewed in vertical cross-section (as in Fig. 1), having a partparabola shape. The horizontal cross-section of body 11 may be circular, oval or polygonal, e.g. square or rectangular, although square is preferred. In Fig. 2, the body is funnel-shaped and again it may be square, rectangular, circular or oval in horizontal cross-section. InFig. 3 and Fig. 4, the body is square-pyramidal, although it could be conical, frustoconical or frustopyramidal.
The outer surfaces of the bodies 11 shown in Figs. 1 to 4 are reflective, preferably mirrored, and preferably made of plastics material. The bodies 11 in each of Figs. 1 to 3 are free-standing with the apex on the body resting on the plate 5 and the top of the body fitting snugly inside the housing 8 so that it cannot move.
In operation, a vertical beam of light from lamps 4 enters the housing 8, is reflected off the body 11 and passes through the panels 9.
The shapes of the bodies 11 shown in Figs. 1 and 2 are advantageous, with the shape shown in Fig. 1 being especially preferred.
These shapes are such that the reflecting surfaces are more vertical towards the bottom of the body 11 (nearest the lamps 4) than towards the top of the body (nearest the panels). Thus, light that hits the upper portion of the body is reflected almost horizontally towards the panels but light that hits thelower portion of thebody is reflected in a more upwardly direction. Much of the light reflected off the lower portion of the body 11, will pass through the panels 10 but some will impinge on the upper portion of the body and be reflected for a second time. In this way the panels are more strongly illuminated than in the case with the bodies 11 shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The illumination of the panels 9 in allFigs. 1 to 4 is very much greater than wouldbe the case if the bodies 11 were omitted.
The present invention also provides areflecting body as hereinbefore described andalso a bollard post containing such a reflectingbody for use in bollards according to thepresent invention.