WO1998014666A1

WO1998014666A1 - Position lights

Info

Publication number: WO1998014666A1
Application number: PCT/SE1997/001413
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ingemar Hertzman
Original assignee: C4 Energi Ab
Priority date: 1996-09-30
Filing date: 1997-08-27
Publication date: 1998-04-09
Also published as: SE9603559L; SE9603559D0; SE505432C2

Abstract

The invention describes a position light post (1, 2, 3, 4) and an arrangement of position light posts for enhancing traffic safety. The position light posts comprise lighting lenses capable of generating position light of an arbitrary colour in an arbitrary direction, for the guidance of traffic. The position light posts are furthermore detachably anchored in macadam (6) in the ground, adjacent to a road, in such a way as to come loose easily in case of a collision with a vehicle.

Description

TITLE OF INVENTION: POSITION LIGHTS

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a position light device and to an arrangement of position light devices for enhancing traffic safety.

STATE OF THE ART

One problem with today's street light installations is that they are relatively energy- wasting. The lamp posts consume a large amount of energy in order to illuminate the roads in an appropriate manner.

Another problem is that the construction of the lamp posts is too stable, making them a lethal danger in collisions at speeds above 50 km/h.

Furthermore, the maintenance of today's illumination installations demands special vehicles and protection vehicles, which is very costly. For example, a sky- lift vehicle may be necessary for replacing a bulb in a lamp post, etc.

In order to reduce the energy consumption of street light installations for roads, the state and the municipalities have simply removed a number of lighting appliances. This has of course impaired the road lighting and must be considered as a danger to traffic.

Thus, the purpose of the present invention is to resolve the problems discussed above. Another purpose is to provide an arrangement of position light devices for roads, in order to enhance traffic safety.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above purposes are achieved by providing a position light device and an arrangement of position light devices as described in the accompanying Claims 1 and 8, respectively.

The present invention provides numerous advantages compared to today's lighting installations.

Building an installation with position lights according to the present inven- tion costs about ^X of the cost of a conventional street lighting installation. Furthermore, the maintenance costs are calculated at 1/10 of normal maintenance. All installation maintenance is performed without vehicles. The service crew can, in accordance with the present invention, walk along the road, i.e. there is no need for any vehicle or protection vehicle during the maintenance. Another advantage is that the operating cost for energy, using a 5 W fluorescent lamp, will be between 80-90 % lower.

Still another advantage of the present invention is that the position lights are designed in such a manner that the post is compliant. The post will fold down horizontally, below the vehicle, if run into. The structure is deemed as a "soft object on the roadside".

Further advantages of the present invention are stated in the dependent claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Below, a detailed description is given of an embodiment form of the invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

Fig. 1 shows, schematically, how a position light post is designed and anchored in the ground, and what happens when a vehicle runs into said post;

Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5 show various road arrangements of position light posts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

The position light post will now be described with reference to Fig. 1. The post 1, 2, 3, 4 is preferably made of thin, hot-zinced steel (epoxy-painted white) and is about 1.5 m high. When the post is anchored in the ground, about 1 m of the post extends above ground level; the rest of the post (about 0.5 m) is anchored below ground level in macadam. It is however to be understood that the height of the post may be arbitrarily varied, as necessary. The top part of the post 1, 2, 3, 4 comprises a 5 W fluorescent lamp 7, and may be equipped with a black oblique marking and a reflex, 5. The post has a large internal connection space 8 and is equipped with a demountable block terminal 9 for easy maintenance on the post, e.g. when replacing a lamp. etc. ,

Furthermore, the post is anchored in macadam 6 (i.e. there is no base, as on present light posts) so as to come loose easily in case of a collision with a vehicle.

The post is further fastened to a pressure-creosoted wooden plate with screws 10. The wooden plate is firmly anchored in the ground. In case of a vehicle colliding with the post, the screws are pulled out from the plate, whereupon the post will come loose, as is clearly seen in Fig. 1. The electrical lighting cables run inside the posts and in piping/channels below ground. Compared to traditional road lighting, the positions lights according to the present invention have an extremely low operating cost and may be connected to an ordinary cable network. The posts, made of hot-zinced steel, are designed to yield upon an eventual impact, and may therefore be placed about 0.5 m to 1.5 m from the asphalt edge of the road, see Figs. 2 and 3.

Fig. 2 shows a bi-directional road, whereby the lens colour of the post is yellow 11 in the travelling direction of the car 12 and white 14 in the opposite direction. Preferably, the post also has a notice area 15. When using a white post with a notice area, the road edge markings may probably be dispensed with. The left hand side posts in Fig. 2 of course have reversed lens colours compared to the right hand side posts; the lens colour is white 14 in the travelling direction of the car 12.

Fig. 3 shows a dual lane motorway where the posts 1, 2, 3, 4 on the right hand driving side are located 0.5 m from the asphalt edge of the road and are 0.8 m high. The lens colour of these posts 1, 2, 3, 4 is preferably yellow in the travelling direction of the car 12. The posts at the centre verge or partition 13 have a white or yellow lens colour on both sides. For a centre verge 13 wider than 2 m, it is preferable to use single lens posts, erected in pairs.

The position lights are intended for marking out the outer edges of the road or street. In this way, driving will be safer and more secure. With a white light in the driving direction of the left hand side and a yellow light in the driving direction of the right hand side, the car drivers will know, in darkness, rain and fog, that they are on the right side of the road.

On a motorway, a single-sided position light may be used, only marking the lanes you are travelling in. As the lenses are not emitting any light towards the rear, the position lights will not be seen in the opposite lanes.

The installation cost for the position lights is very low. Besides the feeder cable, no foundations, high posts or electric fittings are necessary. The position lights comprise everything to make up a complete assembly. Thanks to the lighting lenses and the low-energy solutions, the operating and maintenance costs will be extremely low. Compared to a traditional, "efficient" street lighting, an energy saving in excess of 80 % is achieved.

The basic position light posts come in four different models, which may be provided with various optional combinations. Paint, lens and reflex colours may be adapted to the situation.

Light apertures having yellow lenses are standard. White and orange lenses are optional. For the reflexes, all Scotch Diamond Grade colours are available for selection. Black daylight ribbons are also available upon demand. The four basic variants are as follows: -Single lens, for ground location -Dual lens, for ground location -Half lens, for ground location

-Single lens, for fitting on bridge rails, noise barriers or similar. Reflex arrangements on present-day edge marking posts will cease to func- tion due to dirt and precipitation. The position light according to the present invention, however, will shine through the contamination and will function during all road conditions.

In order to enhance traffic safety for the driver, the lighting lenses have different colours (front and rear sides, respectively). The light of the right hand road side is yellow and that of the left hand side is white, thereby telling the vehicle driver his exact position on the road during bad visibility conditions, e.g. in haze and fog. The colouring principle applies for a normal road without a centre verge.

For roads having a centre verge, single, uniformly coloured, yellow position lights are fitted in the direction of travel, and a white colour system will then occur only at exits and entrances. Oncoming traffic have the lighting lenses aimed counter to their direction of travel. The vehicle driver will then see only the position lights for his own direction of travel.

Before an exit, an entrance or a road crossing, the post spacing will be halved in order to alert the drivers about a change of traffic situation.

Using a 5 W fluorescent lamp and a fully electronic, high frequency powered operating device, the energy saving, as discussed above, is 80-85 % compared to a conventional lighting installation, which is of importance for the overall energy economising. In the normal case, the posts show yellow or white light. It should however be appreciated that the post position light may show an arbitrary colour, in dependence of a certain traffic situation. For example, the posts at an exit may show a blue light, to notify the driver of the upcoming exit. In another case, the post position lights may have a turquoise colour, to announce an upcoming level crossing, etc. This is, of course, presupposing that the drivers know the various colour codes.

An important difference between the position lights according to the present invention and the present-day lamp posts is that the position lights are not intended for illuminating the whole road. The position lights are intended to mark the outer borders of the road or street; possibly also a centre verge. Through the position lights, drivers will know the location of the road, the outer verges and of any centre verge, and the drivers themselves are illuminating the road with their headlights.

Figs. 2-5 show different ways of arranging the position light posts. The cars in Fig. 2 will see a strong yellow light from each post on the right hand side road verge and a white light from the post on the left hand side of the road. For a dual lane motorway, as shown in Fig. 3, posts are also provided at the centre verge barrier. Fig. 4 shows a position light post arrangement where posts 1 are provided at the centre verge only. Fig. 5 shows another arrangement where position light posts 2, 3, 4 are arranged at both the left and right hand sides of the road (street) as well as at the centre verge. It should be appreciated that the posts 1 of Fig. 4 utilise a double-sided position light, as can be seen from the arrows extending from the posts in said figure. In Fig. 5, posts 2, 4 at the road verges, having a singe-sided position light, as well as posts 3 at the centre verge, having a double-sided position light, are used, as may be seen from the arrows extending from said posts. What has been described above is only to be regarded as an embodiment of the invention, and the scope of the invention is only limited by what is stated in the accompanying patent claims.

Claims

1. A position light device (1, 2, 3, 4) for enhancing traffic safety, characterised by comprising lighting lenses capable of generating position lights of an arbitrary colour in an arbitrary direction for the guidance of traffic, and by being detachably anchored by means of macadam (6) in the ground, so as to be easily detached if hit by a vehicle.

2. The position light device according to claim 1, characterised by being designed like a post (1, 2, 3, 4), said lighting lenses being arranged in the upper part of said post, and the lower part of said post being anchored belo ground in said macadam (6).

3. The position light device according to claim 2, characterised by said post having a large internal connection space (8) and a detachable block terminal (9) allowing easy maintenance of said post from ground level.

4. The position light device according to claim 3, characterised by the lowermost part of said pole being attached to a pressure-creosoted wooden plate (10), said wooden plate being firmly anchored in the ground.

5. The position light device according to claim 4, characterised by said pole having a length of about 1,5 m and being made of thin, hot-zinced steel.

6. The position light device according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterised by said lighting lenses being single lenses for position light in one direction and dual lenses for position lights in two directions.

7. The position light device according to claim 6, characterised by said lighting lenses being capable of showing position light of an arbitrary colour, in dependence of a certain traffic situation.

8. An arrangement of position light devices (1, 2, 3, 4) for enhancing traffic safety, characterised by said position light devices comprising lighting lenses being able to generate position lights of arbitrary colour in an arbitrary direction for the guidance of traffic, said position light devices being detachably anchored in macadam (6) in the ground, preferably adjacent to roads, streets and bridges, in such a way as to come loose easily in case of a collision with a vehicle.

9. The arrangement according to claim 8, characterised by said position light devices being designed like posts (1, 2, 3, 4), said lighting lenses being arranged in the upper part of said posts, the lower part of said posts being anchored below ground in said macadam (6), and by said posts (1, 2, 3, 4) being placed along at least one side verge and/or centre verge of an arbitrary road.

10. The arrangement according to claim 9, characterised by said lighting lenses being single lenses for position light in one direction and dual lenses for position lights in two directions, said dual lenses being able to emit position light of different colours in said directions.

11. The arrangement according to claim 10, characterised by said posts (2, 4) utilising single-sided position lights and being located along the verges of an arbitrary road in such a manner that said single-sided position lights are directed towards the oncoming vehicle traffic.

12. The arrangement according to claim 10, characterised by said posts (1, 3) being located along a centre verge of an arbitrary road, said double-sided position lights marking both lanes of said road.

13. The arrangement according to claim 10, characterised by said posts (1, 3) with double-sided position lights being arranged along an outside verge of an arbitrary road.

14. The arrangement according to any one of claims 10-13, characterised by posts (2, 4) with single-sided position lights being located along both verges of an arbitrary road, each array of single-sided position lights marking out one lane, respectively, and posts with double-sided position lights (1, 3) being located along the centre verge of said road, said double-sided position lights marking out both of said lanes.

15. The arrangement according to any one of claims 9-14, characterised by the spacing of posts being reduced in order to forewarn about a different traffic situation.

16. The arrangement according to any one of claims 9-15, characterised by the position lights of the posts being able to show different colours, preferably yellow, white, orange, blue, turquoise, in order to forewarn about a different traffic situation.