Vehicle crash attenuator apparatus
Crash attenuator guardrail apparatus includes an impact head and a backstop having a cable and guardrails supported by guardrail supports located between the impact head and the backstop. Frictional forces are applied to the cable to control and resist movement of the impact head toward the backstop and provide lateral resistance. The backstop releasably supports the cable and guardrails.
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This invention relates to vehicle crash attenuator apparatus for positioning along roadways and at other locations for absorbing energy and providing lateral resistance upon impact by a vehicle to redirect the vehicle. More particularly, the invention relates to backstop structure for releasably supporting guardrail structure.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONU.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2007/0131918, published Jun. 14, 2007, relates to an impact head for a guardrail including cable routing means adapted to form a tortuous or convoluted path through which a cable is threaded. The convoluted path that the cable must follow through the impact head of the invention restricts movement of the cable through the head, thereby providing sufficient friction to slow down the movement of the impact head during a vehicle impact.
The above-identified U.S. patent application Publication discusses existing highway guardrail end treatment systems and deficiencies of such systems that the guardrail disclosed in the U.S. patent application Publication addresses.
As noted in the U.S. Patent Publication No. U.S. 2007/0131918, existing highway guardrail end treatment systems include the breakaway cable terminal (BCT), the eccentric loader terminal (ELT), the modified eccentric loader terminal (MELT), the vehicle attenuating terminal (VAT), the extruder terminal (ET 2000 and ET plus), the slotted rail terminal (SRT), the sequential kinking terminal (SKT) and the flared energy absorbing terminal (FLEAT).
Terminal ends (the ends facing oncoming traffic) generally consist of one or more guardrails having a W-shaped cross-section supported by a series of both controlled release terminal (CRT) or frangible posts and standard highway guardrail posts. A cable assembly arrangement may be utilized to anchor the end of the rail to the ground, transferring tensile load developed in a side-on impact by a vehicle to the ground anchor. Generally, the terminal ends have an impact head arrangement that will be the first structural member impacted by an errant vehicle during an end-on impact which is designed to spread or absorb some of the impact energy.
Some terminal ends (such as the ET, SKT and FLEAT) absorb the energy of the impacting vehicle during an end-on or head-on impact by having an impact head that slides down the W-shaped guardrails and breaks away the support posts as it travels down the rails. All of the other above-mentioned terminal ends work on the principal of various weakening devices in the posts and rails to allow an errant vehicle to penetrate the terminal end in a controlled manner and prevent the rails from spearing the vehicle or the vehicle from vaulting or jumping over a relatively stiff terminal end.
As indicated in the above-identified U.S. patent application Publication, all of the above-mentioned guardrail terminal ends are considered to be gating. That is, if the guardrail terminal ends are impacted between the impact head and the “length of need” (where the “length of need” is considered to be the distance from the terminal end to where the guardrail will direct a vehicle during an angled impact) during an angled impact, the terminal end will gate and allow the impacting vehicle to pass through the backside of the terminal end. However this gating effect may have undesirable or unsafe results. As noted above, the guardrail disclosed in the patent application publication 2007/0131918 addresses these problems.
These problems are also addressed by the crash attenuator apparatus disclosed and claimed herein, the apparatus incorporating a number of novel structural elements which cooperate in a unique manner to provide the desired results. The apparatus effectively absorbs and distributes forces caused by vehicular impact whether the vehicle strikes an end of the apparatus head-on or crashes into a side of the apparatus. It can also be utilized to protect or shield errant vehicles from roadside hazards, guardrail and barrier terminals, etc.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,022,782 discloses a vehicle crash barrier in which a wire cable extends along an elongated, collapsible frame. The wire cable extends generally parallel to the frame. Friction brakes are mounted on a front section of the frame to decelerate a vehicle axially striking the frame at the front section. U.S. Pat. No. 5,022,782 does not disclose the advantageous features described and claimed herein.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTIONThe present invention relates to a crash attenuator apparatus including impact head structure attached to the ground and including an impact head located above the ground.
Backstop structure is spaced from the impact head structure and is attached to the ground and extends upwardly from the ground.
Cable extends between the impact head structure and the backstop structure.
A plurality of guardrail supports extending upwardly from the ground are disposed between the impact head structure and the backstop structure, the guardrail supports being spaced from one another.
Guardrail structure is provided including a plurality of interconnected guardrail sections supported by the guardrail supports, at least some of the guardrail sections being slidably movable relative to one another responsive to movement of the impact head toward the backstop structure. The cable extends along the guardrail structure.
Cable engagement structure is in frictional engagement with the cable and in operative association with the impact head to exert frictional forces on the cable to control and resist movement of the impact head toward the backstop structure caused by a vehicle crashing into the impact head.
The backstop structure releasably supports the guardrail structure and the cable.
Other features, advantages and objects of the present invention will become apparent with reference to the following description and accompanying drawings.
Referring now to the drawings, crash attenuator apparatus constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention is designated by reference numeral 10. Apparatus 10 includes impact head structure 12 attached to the ground. Backstop structure 14 is attached to the ground and extends upwardly from the ground.
A plurality of guardrail supports 16 extend upwardly from the ground and are disposed between the impact head structure and the backstop structure. The guardrail supports 16 are spaced from one another.
Two guardrails 18, 20 extend between the impact head structure 12 and the backstop structure 14, the guardrails spaced from one another and substantially parallel to one another. The guardrails 18, 20 each include a plurality of interconnected guardrail sections 22 supported by the guardrail supports in a manner to be described in detail below. The guardrail sections 22 have overlapping ends. In the arrangement illustrated, each guardrail has two guardrail sections but greater numbers of sections may be employed in the guardrail as desired and depending upon the circumstances. The guardrails have a generally W-shaped cross-section which is a well known guardrail configuration per se.
Two cables 24 extend between the impact head structure and the backstop structure, one cable being disposed alongside guardrail 18 and one cable being disposed alongside guardrail 20.
Impact head structure 12 includes an impact head 30 and an impact head support 32 attached to the ground and supporting the impact head above the ground. Impact head 30 has a front or vehicle impact side 34. Impact head support 32 includes two support columns 36 and two cable anchors 38 which are spaced apart from one another and engage and support the support columns 36, the support columns being connected to the cable anchors by frangible connectors (not shown) or any other suitable structure that allows separation of the columns from the cable anchors upon application of forces of predetermined magnitude. The cable anchors 38 extend along the ground forwardly of the impact head and are suitably attached to the ground by threaded fasteners (not shown) screwed into place in threaded sockets (not shown) embedded in the ground. Other modes of attachment may be utilized, for example by chemical or mechanical bonding to a roadway or other foundation.
Impact head 30 has two separate and spaced impact head portions 40, one portion 40 disposed above an end of one of the cable anchors 38 and the other impact head portion 40 disposed over an end of the other cable anchor 38.
Each cable head portion defines an opening 42 through which a cable end portion of a cable 24 projects, the cable end portion projecting as shown in
A cable assembly is attached to each cable end portion and includes a cable protector 46 having one or more tubular elements surrounding the cable end portion for protecting the cable end portion from vehicular damage and a cable connector 48 connecting the cable end portion to the cable anchor associated therewith.
In the disclosed embodiment, the cable connectors 48 associated with cables 24 comprise enlargements disposed at the distal ends thereof. Each cable anchor defines an open ended slot or recess 50 which receives a cable end portion with the enlargement or cable connector 48 in frictional engagement with the associated cable anchor to releasably retain the cable anchor portion in the recess when the associated cables 24 is under tension. As will be seen below, the other ends of the cables 24 are attached to the backstop structure and the cables are generally always maintained under tension to at least some degree.
Welded or otherwise fixedly attached to each impact head portion at the innermost or non-impact side thereof is cable engagement structure in frictional engagement with the cable associated with the impact head portion and in operative association with the impact head to exert frictional forces on the cable to control and resist movement of the impact head toward the backstop structure caused by a vehicle crashing into the front or impact side of the impact head.
Referring now to
Rotatably positioned within the interior of the housing 54 is a cable engagement member 60 having an upwardly extending protrusion 62 defining a throughbore 64 through which the cable 24 is threaded. If throughbore 64 aligns with openings 42 and 56, the associated cable 24 can readily move through the housing 54 and cable engagement member 60. When, however, the cable engagement member 60 is rotated, a tortuous pathway for the cable is formed.
Slots 66 are formed at the outer corners of housing 54 which receive locking bars 68.
Welded or otherwise fixedly secured to the back sides of the impact head portions are gussets 72. A head support member 74 extends between the two gussets 72 and is secured thereto as by means of bolts. Projecting outwardly from the housings 54 and welded or otherwise secured thereto and to the gussets 72 are guardrail adaptors 76 which overlap and are attached to the adjacent ends of the guardrails, generally conforming to the shapes thereof.
Cables 24 extend along the full lengths of the guardrails 18, 20 and terminal ends of the cables are affixed to backstop structure 14 in a manner to be discussed below. The cables are suitably nested in the elongated inwardly curved surfaces of the guardrails and positioned between the guardrails and block outs 77, suitably formed of wood, which comprise elements of the apparatus guardrail supports 16. Note
Each guardrail support 16 also includes a guardrail support base 78, a guardrail support post 80 extending upwardly from the guardrail support base, and guardrail support brace structure bracing the guardrail support post to resist sideways tilting of the guardrail support post caused by vehicular impact on a side of the crash attenuator guardrail apparatus. The guardrails and the block outs are secured to the guardrail support post by frangible elongated bolts 81.
The guardrail support brace structure includes two double-ended brace members 82 disposed on opposed sides of the guardrail support post 80. Each double-ended brace member is secured at the ends thereof to the guardrail support base and to the guardrail support post at a location thereon spaced from the guardrail support base. Suitably this is accomplished by welding.
It will be noted that each brace member 82 has bends formed therein which create a depression or indent 84 therein between the ends of the brace members. The upper gap formed by the depression enables the brace member to deform and overall length of each double-ended brace member between the ends thereof to shorten in response to opposed compressive forces being exerted at the ends thereof or the overall length of the brace member between the ends thereof to lengthen in response to opposed tensional forces being exerted at the ends thereof. If a guardrail associated with the guardrail support post of a guardrail support 16 is struck from the side as shown for example by the arrows in
It will be noted that the left brace member as shown in
The guardrail support base 78 of each guardrail support 16 has opposed guardrail support base end portions 86. The guardrail support base is only attached to the ground at the guardrail support base end portions, suitably by mechanical fasteners 88 as shown for example in
Now, and with particular reference to
Distal ends of the cables 24 are attached to the backstop upper portion 102 by suitable hardware. More particularly, the cables are releasably connected to the backstop upper portion, the cable ends located in open-ended slots 108 formed at opposed ends of the backstop upper portion. Nuts 109 threaded to the cable ends maintain the tensioned cables located in the slots. The cables, as mentioned above, extend along and are encompassed by guardrails 18, 20. The guardrails (shown in phantom in
As indicated above, the crash attenuator apparatus of the present invention is highly effective as a crash attenuator or cushion whether impacted by a vehicle from the front or from the side.
Claims
1. Crash attenuator apparatus including a guardrail and backstop structure, said backstop structure comprising a backstop lower portion attached to and extending upwardly from the ground and a backstop upper portion supported by said backstop lower portion, said crash attenuator apparatus additionally including frangible connector structure connecting said guardrail to said backstop upper portion whereby said guardrail will separate from said backstop upper portion when forces of a predetermined magnitude are applied to the guardrail as a result of a vehicle colliding with said crash attenuator apparatus.
2. The crash attenuator apparatus according to claim 1 additionally including guide structure for directing movement of said guardrail caused by vehicular impact past said backstop structure and behind said backstop structure.
3. The crash attenuator apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said backstop upper portion is adapted to deflect rearwardly relative to said backstop lower portion as a result of vehicular impact on said crash attenuator apparatus.
4. The crash attenuator apparatus according to claim 1 additionally including a cable extending along said guardrail releasably connected to said backstop structure and released from said backstop structure responsive to vehicular impact on said crash attenuator apparatus.
5. The crash attenuator apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said backstop structure additionally includes an inclined brace member attached to the ground, extending upwardly therefrom and attached to said backstop lower portion to resist bending of said backstop lower portion.
6. The crash attenuator apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said guide structure comprises a guide connected to said backstop structure engageable by said guardrail upon breakage of said frangible connector structure and separation of said guardrail from said backstop upper portion to guide said guardrail past the backstop structure and behind the backstop structure.
7. The crash attenuator apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said guide comprises a wedge ramp connected to said backstop upper portion.
8. The crash attenuator apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said backstop upper portion defines an open-ended slot for releasably retaining said cable.
9. The crash attenuator apparatus according to claim 1 including a pair of guardrails, said guardrails being spaced from one another and connected to said backstop upper portion, said crash attenuator apparatus including guide structure for directing movement of said guardrails caused by vehicular impact past opposed sides of said backstop structure and behind said backstop structure.
10. The crash attenuator apparatus according to claim 9 wherein said guide structure comprises a pair of spaced guides connected to said backstop at spaced locations on said backstop engageable by said guardrails upon breakage of said frangible connector structure and separation of said guardrail from said backstop upper portion to guide said guardrail past the backstop structure and behind the backstop structure.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 27, 2009
Publication Date: Apr 28, 2011
Applicant:
Inventors: Gerrit Dyke (Stockton, CA), Alvaro E. Morales Flores (Vacaville, CA)
Application Number: 12/589,666