Transferable Roadway Lane Divider

The present invention relates to a system of transferable roadway lane dividers and a method of transferring said dividers. Such a system is necessary due to the flapping of roadways on bridges and major roads during peak hours.

The existing method of moving lane markers consists of manually picking up the originally placed markers and manually placing the markers into the new positions. This particular job is somewhat dangerous for the people physically moving the lanes and also requires several people to successfully carry out the operation. Another method and apparatus for moving lane markers or dividers is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,958,890 wherein hoist cables, suspended from cross-beams mounted above a roadway, are adapted to lift and move cement divider sections across a roadway. U.S. Pat. No. 4,017,200 discloses still another apparatus and method wherein a mobile apparatus has ramps for engaging under a plurality of upstanding channel members for transferring them on a roadway. The above prior art methods and apparatus have numerous deficiencies, well known to those skilled in the arts relating hereto. The present invention overcomes these problems by providing a transferable lane divider which can be moved by an appropriate transfer mechanism located on a special vehicle.

In one broad form the invention comprises a transferable roadway lane divider comprising divider sections which are adapted to be hingedly connected to adjacent sections to form a divider separating traffic lanes, said sections each having means whereby they can be picked up by a transfer device and slid along the transfer device to be repositioned.

In another form the invention comprises a method of transferring road lane dividers which dividers comprise a plurality of individual sections pivotally joined together, said method comprising the steps of lifting at least one of said sections and feeding said sections along an elongated transfer device and depositing said lane divider sections in their new position.

Another aspect of this invention relates to a mobile transfer apparatus for carrying forth the above method.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows the lead divider section and adjacent section of a embodiment of the present invention and the position of the lead in end of a transfer device of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic representation of the roller assembly of one embodiment of the transfer device;

FIG. 3 shows schematic representation of the roller assembly of an aligning device for straightening up the lane dividers if they are accidentally knocked out of position; and

FIG. 4 illustrates schematically the position of a transfer device mounted on a trailer, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Each lane divider is made up of individual sections 1 which are hingedly joined together by connecting means, shown in the form of links 2. The required number of sections 1 are thus closely joined together in tandem relationship to form any suitable length of divider with each end containing a shaped section having only one hinge attachment and a substantially bullet shaped other end.

The free-standing divider sections 1 can be shaped as shown in FIG. 1 in which each section has two chamfered edges 3 to provide a smooth surface in case a motorist's tire accidentally runs onto the divider. It is desirable that the height of the divider be relatively short while using a wide base 4 to provide a solid large surface area of contact with the roadway, so as to resist lateral movement of the divider if accidentally bumped by a vehicle. Moulded shoes 5, made from any suitable material, such as polyurethane are secured on the generally flat bottom surface of base 4, to further enhance road holding.

The sections of the lane divider can be made of any suitable material such as concrete or plastics or sheet metal.

To facilitate in moving the lane divider, each section has an inverted T-shaped cross-section channel 6 running longitudinal along the upper face 7. To transfer the lane divider, a transfer mechanism as shown in FIG. 4 can be used. This consists of a roller conveyor 8 comprising a series of rollers as shown in FIG. 1.

Basically the transfer mechanism is s-shaped as shown schematically in FIG. 2 with its total width 9 corresponding with the distance between traffic lanes. It can preferably be mounted, as shown schematically in FIG. 4, from below a frame of a trailer. The front section 10 and the rear section 11 are preferably hinged at pivots 12 and 13 such that they can hinge back to the body of the trailer to keep within the allowable width for travel on the road. The straight centre section 14 can be telescoped in and out to achieve variable lane widths.

To move the lane divider from one side of the lane to the other, one simply drives a mobile road vehicle with the transfer mechanism mounted beneath or towed behind on a trailer, and engages the leading rollers 15 within the T-shaped channel 6 at a first position adjacent to a first end and a first lateral side of the transfer mechanism. As the transfer mechanism is moved along the lane the lane dividers are lifted, suspended and threaded serpentine-like along the roller conveyor 8 and are deposited by the rear section 11 at a second position on the other side of the lane adjacent to a second end and a second lateral side of the transfer mechanism. Three types of rollers are used for the roller conveyor to facilitate the movement of the sections along the rollers. These are the guide rollers 16 which engage within the cross arm of the T-shaped channel, lift rollers 17 which lift the sections off the road by engaging beneath and horizontally disposed undercut bearing surfaces 19 and restraining rollers 18 which stabilize the transfer. As shown in FIG. 1, bearing surfaces 19 are formed on the undersides of a pair of laterally spaced and horizontally aligned flanges, extending longitudinally throughout the entire length of divider section 1, to provide transfer means for receiving and engaging rollers 17 thereunder.

Preferably the vehicle or trailer carries the channel underneath the wheels with the mouth extending on one side of the vehicle with the outlet extending on the other side of the vehicle such that the vehicle can drive the center of the lane to reposition the lane divider. However in certain circumstances it may be necessary for the channel to be positioned in other relationships with respect to the vehicle.

FIG. 3 shows an aligning mechanism useable to straighten out the lane divider in cases where the lane divider is accidentally knocked out of position by a vehicle or other circumstances.

It should be apparent to people skilled in the art that the invention is not only limited to the specific disclosure detailed herein but is broad enough to cover obvious variations without departing from the spirit of the invention.