Safety rail for roads and motorways

Claim 2

A safety rail structure for roads and motorways comprising in combination a continuous composite element comprising means defining a continuous tube of thin steel, said tube defining an inner cavity in which there is disposed solely a filling material comprising particles and substantially completely filling said cavity, and supports supported on the ground and on which said element rests in spaced relation to the ground, said tube having end portions of tube anchored in the ground and the element having an engagement with said supports which is such as to be sufficient to normally hold said element stationary relative to the ground and yet allow said element to readily disengage from said supports upon impact of a motor vehicle on said element.

Claim 3

A safety rail structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein said element has a linear-mass of 100 kg/m-150 kg/m, a modulus of inertia of 100 cm3-150 cm3, said filling material being of concrete.

Claim 4

A safety rail structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein said end portions are bent and extend obliquely into the ground where each end portion is anchored in a concrete block wholly embedded in the ground so as to leave no projection above ground level.

Claim 5

A safety rail structure as claimed in claIm 3, wherein said tube is substantially filled with said filling material in said bent end portions.

Claim 6

A safety rail structure for roads and motorways comprising in combination a continuous composite element comprising means defining a tube of metal, said tube defining a cavity extending throughout the length of said tube, said cavity containing exclusively a filling material comprising particles and substantially completely filling said cavity, and supports supported on the ground and on which said element rests in spaced relation to the ground, said element comprising two aligned sections and an expansion joint interconnecting said sections, said joint including a dashpot structure which is operative in a direction parallel to said sections and said joint being so adapted that the joint affords a transverse connection between the two sections whereas in the longitudinal direction the dashpot allows low relative longitudinal movements between the two sections but opposes rapid movements thereof liable to result from the impact of a vehicle on the element.

Claim 7

A safety rail structure for roads and motorways comprising in combination a continuous composite element comprising means defining a tube of metal, said tube defining a cavity extending throughout the length of said tube, said cavity containing exclusively a filling material comprising particles and substantially completely filling said cavity, and supports supported on the ground and on which said element rests in spaced relation to the ground, said element comprising two aligned sections and an expansion joint interconnecting said sections, said joint including a dashpot structure which is operative in a direction parallel to said sections and said joint being so adapted that the joint affords a transverse connection between the two sections whereas in the longitudinal direction the dashpot allows low relative longitudinal movements between the two sections but opposes rapid movements thereof liable to result from the impact of a vehicle on the element.

Claim 8

Safety rail structure as claimed in claim 5, wherein said joint comprises two cylindrical tubular sleeves interengaged to be relatively slidable, one of said sleeves being fixed to one of said sections and having two end walls, a piston disposed inside said first sleeve with a radial clearance, said end walls defining with said piston two volumes on each side of said piston, a viscous product filling said volumes, and a piston rod connecting said piston to the other of said sections through one of said end walls, the other of said sleeves being fixed to said other of said sections.

Claim 9

A safety rail structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein each support comprises a post capped by a cap carrying a transverse wall having a substantially crescent shape and an upper concave edge serving as a support for said element.

Claim 10

A safety rail structure as claimed in claim 7, wherein said cap and transverse wall are removable from said post but loosely connected to the post by a slack flexible tie whose function is solely to prevent the cap from being thrown across the road upon impact.

Claim 11

A safety rail structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein each support comprises a concrete bolster freely resting on the ground through a plane base, said bolster having an upper concave face in which said element is supported.

Claim 12

A safety rail structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein said filling material consists of particles completely filling the cavity of said tube.

Claim 13

A safety rail structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein said composite element has a section having a modulus of inertia expressed in cubic centimeters which has substantially the same numerical value as the linear mass of said composite element which is at least 100 kg/meter.

Claim 14

A safety rail structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein said filling material is concrete and said supports comprise means defining shallow upwardly facing recesses in which said composite element is freely engaged the depth of said recesses being less than one-half of the vertical extent to said tube so as to normally retain said composite element in substantially correct position laterally of said composite element but allow said composite element to leave said recesses upon impact of a motor vehicle on said composite element.

Claim 15

A safety rail structure as claimed in claim 5, wherein said tube has end portions of tube anchored in the ground.