Electric guardrail device, protection zone system and equipment, and method for managing access to and from a protection zone

Abstract

The invention relates to an electric guardrail device, an access management system for managing access to a protected area, and equipment for protecting a protected area. The electric guardrail device comprises a housing (11), a horizontal rigid beam (21) having a storage position and a guardrail position elevated relative to the storage position, a pair of folding arms (29, 39) located between the housing and the horizontal rigid beam, and an electric gear device (28, 39) for raising the horizontal rigid beam from its storage position to its guardrail position and lowering the horizontal rigid beam from its guardrail position to its storage position.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to an electric guardrail device. Background Art

[0002] Electric guardrail devices are designed to raise and lower guardrails in cycles. Guardrails can be in the form of bollards, booms, etc. Electric guardrail devices can be set up as permanent fixtures or portable fixtures. Electric guardrail devices can also be used as standalone devices that are manually operated. In addition, electric guardrail devices can be operated by remote controls, smartphone applications, etc. Summary of the invention

[0003] The present invention relates to an electric guardrail device, an access management system for managing access to a protected area, and a device for protecting a protected area. The electric guardrail device includes a housing, a horizontal rigid beam, the horizontal rigid beam having a storage position and a guardrail position elevated relative to the storage position, a pair of folding arms located between the housing and the horizontal rigid beam, and an electric gear device for raising the horizontal rigid beam from the storage position to the guardrail position and lowering the horizontal rigid beam from the guardrail position to the storage position. The electric gear device includes a horizontal shaft, a motor for rotating the horizontal shaft in one direction and in an opposite direction, and a pair of worm gears located at opposite shaft ends, for driving the folding arm from a substantially horizontal folding position to a substantially vertical extended position when the horizontal shaft rotates in one direction, and from a substantially vertical extended position of the folding arm to a substantially horizontal folding position of the folding arm when the horizontal shaft rotates in the opposite direction. The left worm gear and the right worm gear respectively rotate the left folding arm and the right folding arm between their folding positions and their extended positions at approximately right angles. The electric guardrail device forms a rigid frame at its guardrail position and includes an automatically reeling flexible guardrail assembly that is initially stored in a housing and raised to form a guardrail supported on its rigid frame at its guardrail position. The flexible guardrail assembly is capable of lifting a horizontal rigid beam until the flexible guardrail assembly is tensioned (stretched) heightwise (tretched heightwise tautly), thereby determining the guardrail position of the horizontal rigid beam. When the horizontal rigid beam is lowered from the guardrail position to the storage position, the flexible guardrail assembly automatically reels. The flexible guardrail assembly preferably also includes a spring-biased automatically reeling left cable and a spring-biased automatically reeling right cable to ensure that the flexible guardrail assembly is also tensioned in the width direction.

[0004] The electric guardrail device of the present invention can provide flexible guardrail accessories of different lengths and / or different heights for different applications. The maximum height of the flexible guardrail accessory is limited by its length, because each folding arm must be shorter than half the length of the electric guardrail device in the folded state. Depending on the expected application in terms of the weight of the flexible guardrail accessory, the duration of lifting and lowering the flexible guardrail, etc., the electric guardrail device is designed to have a suitable gear ratio.

[0005] The electric guardrail device of the present invention can be arranged end-to-end to completely surround a protected area, such as a construction site, a swimming pool, etc. For convenience and / or aesthetic purposes, the electric guardrail device can be arranged in a groove so that the electric guardrail device is flush with the boundary of the adjacent protected area. For different applications, the electric guardrail device can be arranged to meet national technical standards for different application areas in terms of robustness, guardrail height, etc. For example, the electric guardrail device of the present invention can be arranged to comply with swimming pool fence regulations.

[0006] An access management system for managing access to a protected area may employ one or more of the electric barrier devices of the present invention to prevent physical access for reasons of security, safety, etc. Such an access management system may automatically control access to a protected area by employing commercially available data recognition functions, including barcode readers, biometrics, vehicle registration recognition, etc. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] In order to understand the invention and see how it may be carried out in practice, preferred embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like parts are numbered alike, and in which:

[0008] Figure 1 is a combined front perspective and schematic view of an electric guardrail apparatus having a flexible guardrail assembly comprised of a sheet material installed in a storage position;

[0009] Figure 2A is a partial front perspective view of the electric guardrail device in a storage position;

[0010] Figure 2B is a partial rear perspective view of the electric guardrail device in the storage position;

[0011] Figure 3 It is an exploded view of the electric guardrail device;

[0012] Figure 4A It is a front exploded view of the electric guardrail device when it is in the guardrail position;

[0013] Figure 4B This is the rear exploded view of the electric guardrail device when it is in the guardrail position;

[0014] Figure 5A is a close-up of the left worm gear of the electric guardrail device in the storage position;

[0015] Figure 5B is a close-up of the right worm gear of the electric guardrail device in the storage position;

[0016] Fig. 6A It is a close-up of the left worm gear of the electric guardrail device in its guardrail position;

[0017] Figure 6B It is a close-up of the right worm gear of the electric guardrail device in its guardrail position;

[0018] Fig. 7A is a partial exploded view of the front of an electric guardrail device, which has a flexible guardrail fitting composed of horizontal wires at the guardrail position;

[0019] Figure 7B yes Fig. 7A A partially exploded view of the rear of the electric guardrail device in its guardrail position;

[0020] Fig. 8A is a schematic diagram of an access management system that allows access to a swimming pool;

[0021] Figure 8B is along Fig. 8A Transverse section view along line AA;

[0022] Fig. 9A is a schematic diagram of the access management system that prohibits entry into the swimming pool; and

[0023] Fig. 9B is along Fig. 9A Transverse section along line BB. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] Figure 1 Figure 6 shows an electric guardrail device 10 having a substantially parallelepiped housing 11, the housing 11 having a front panel 12, a rear panel 13, a top panel 14, a bottom panel 16, a left end panel 17 and a right end panel 18. A longitudinal groove 19 extending along its length direction to the uppermost end is formed on the top panel 14. The housing 11 has the following external dimensions: length L, width W and height H. The length L can be within a length range, such as a length from 1m to 3m. The width W can be within a width range, such as a width from 20cm to 40cm. The height H can be within a height range, such as a height from 15cm to 35cm. The electric guardrail device 10 can be powered by a power supply, a rechargeable battery, or the like.

[0025] The electric guardrail device 10 includes a horizontal rigid beam 21 having a left beam end 21A and a right beam end 21B, the horizontal rigid beam 21 having a storage position and a guardrail position elevated relative to the storage position. The horizontal rigid beam 21 is preferably flush with the top panel 14 in its storage position. The electric guardrail device 10 includes a spring-biased automatic winding flexible guardrail accessory 22 installed in the housing 11. The flexible guardrail accessory 22 includes a flexible guardrail accessory leading edge 22A connected to the horizontal rigid beam 21. The flexible guardrail accessory 22 can be composed of a sheet material, a mesh material, etc. The flexible guardrail accessory 22 can be composed of cloth, plastic, metal, etc.

[0026] The electric guardrail device 10 includes a horizontal shaft 23 having a left shaft end 23A and a right shaft end 23B, and the horizontal shaft 23 is coextensive with the horizontal rigid beam 21. The electric guardrail device 10 includes an electric motor 24 for rotating the horizontal shaft 23 clockwise and counterclockwise through a gear transmission 26. The electric motor 24 is preferably a low profile tubular motor available on the market. The electric motor 24 preferably includes an automatic closing function for automatically closing when the electric guardrail device 10 is in the storage position and the guardrail position.

[0027] The electric guardrail device 10 includes a left worm gear 28 located at the left shaft end 23A, which is used to drive the left folding arm 29 to move between the folded position and the extended position. The left folding arm 29 includes a left upper arm 31 and a left lower arm 32. The left upper arm 31 includes a left upper arm front end 31A pivotally connected to the horizontal rigid beam 21, and a left upper arm rear end 31B with a left upper arm gear 33. The left lower arm 32 includes a left lower arm front end 32A with a left lower arm gear 34 and a left lower arm rear end 32B driven by the left worm gear 28, and the left lower arm gear 34 is meshed with the left upper arm gear 33. The electric guardrail device 10 also includes a left support arm 36, which includes a left support arm front end 36A and a left support arm rear end 36B. The left support arm front end 36A has a pivot connection bracket 37 pivotally connected to the left upper arm rear end 31B and the left lower arm front end 32A. The left support arm rear end 36B is rotatably connected to the shell 11, so that the left support arm 36 moves in coordination with the left folding arm 29.

[0028] The electric guardrail device 10 includes a right worm gear 38 located at the right shaft end 23B, which is used to drive the right folding arm 39 to move between the folded position and the extended position. The right folding arm 39 includes a right upper arm 41 and a right lower arm 42. The right upper arm 41 includes a right upper arm front end 41A pivotally connected to the horizontal rigid beam 21, and a right upper arm rear end 41B with a right upper arm gear 43. The right lower arm 42 includes a right lower arm front end 42A and a right lower arm gear 44 meshed with the right upper arm gear 43, and a right lower arm rear end 42B driven by the right worm gear 38. The electric guardrail device 10 also includes a right support arm 46, which includes a right support arm front end 46A with a pivotally connected bracket 47, and the bracket 47 pivotally connects the right upper arm rear end 41B and the right lower arm front end 42A, so that the right support arm 46 moves in coordination with the right folding arm 39.

[0029] The flexible guardrail accessory 22 preferably includes a spring-biased, automatically winding left cable 48 located on the left side of the electric guardrail device 10 and a spring-biased, automatically winding right cable 49 located on the right side of the electric guardrail device 10. The left and right hems of the flexible guardrail accessory 22 are preferably sewn with the left cable 48 and the right cable 49, respectively. The left cable 48 has a cable end 48A installed in the housing 11 and an opposite cable end 48B connected to the horizontal rigid beam 21 or the left upper arm front end 31A. The right cable 49 has a cable end 49A installed in the housing 11 and an opposite cable end 49B connected to the horizontal rigid beam 21 or the right upper arm end 41A.

[0030] The flexible guardrail assembly 22, the left folding arm 29 and the right folding arm 39 are sized so that the flexible guardrail assembly 22 can limit the full extension of the left folding arm 29 and the right folding arm 39. In other words, the horizontal rigid beam 21 is raised until the flexible guardrail assembly 22 is tensioned in the height direction to limit further raising of the horizontal rigid beam 21, so that the flexible guardrail assembly 22 determines the guardrail position of the horizontal rigid beam 21. The housing 11, the horizontal rigid beam 21 and the left folding arm 29 and the right folding arm 39 in their substantially upright extended positions form a rigid frame 50 for supporting the flexible guardrail assembly 22. The left cable 48 and the right cable 49 are tensioned in the height direction to tighten the guardrail material between the left cable 48 and the right cable 49. The left worm gear 28 and the right worm gear 38 are effectively self-locking devices, and the electric guardrail device 10 remains in the guardrail position without operating the electric motor 24.

[0031] The electric guardrail device 10 can be operated by a manual up / down switch 51, an up / down remote control 52, a smartphone application 53, etc. The electric guardrail device 10 can sound an alarm in the event of a malfunction, etc. The electric guardrail device 10 can be operated by a controller 54 having a user interface 56. The electric guardrail device 10 can be automatically operated according to its settings. For example, the electric guardrail device 10 can be automatically operated according to a predetermined schedule. Optionally, the electric guardrail device 10 can automatically operate according to ambient light conditions, for example, in a storage position during the day and in a guardrail position at night, or vice versa. Similarly, the electric guardrail device 10 can be automatically operated by using a commercially available access management system 57 with data recognition functions, wherein the data recognition function includes a barcode reader, biometrics, vehicle registration recognition, etc.

[0032] The operation of the electric guardrail device 10 between the storage position and the guardrail position is as follows:

[0033] In the storage position, the horizontal rigid beam 21 is in a storage position flush with the top panel 14, the flexible guardrail assembly 22 is fully self-rolled (self-wound into a roll), and the left folding arm 29 and the right folding arm 39 are folded inwardly toward each other. The left bracket 37 enables the left upper arm 31 to cover (lie) on the left lower arm 32 (on), and the right bracket 47 enables the right upper arm 41 to cover (lie) on the right lower arm 42 (on), so as to reduce the height H of the electric guardrail device 10. The left folding arm 29 and the right folding arm 39 are preferably substantially horizontal in the storage position of the electric guardrail device 10.

[0034] like Figure 5A As shown, when the left worm gear 28 is viewed from the gear transmission device 26, the clockwise rotation of the horizontal shaft 23 causes the left worm gear 28 to rotate the left lower arm 32 upward by nearly a quarter turn, so that the left upper arm 31 rotates upward relative to the left lower arm 32 to extend the left folding arm 29. Figure 5B As shown, the right worm gear 38 simultaneously rotates the right lower arm 42 upward by a quarter turn to rotate the right upper arm 41 upward relative to the right lower arm 42 to extend the right folding arm 39. Thus, the horizontal rigid beam 21 is raised from the storage position to the guardrail position until it is restrained by the full extension of the flexible guardrail accessory 22 to form a rigid frame 50.

[0035] like Fig. 6A As shown, when the left worm gear 28 is viewed from the gear transmission device 26, the counterclockwise rotation of the horizontal shaft 23 causes the left worm gear 28 to rotate the left lower arm 32 downward by nearly a quarter of a turn, so that the left upper arm 31 rotates downward relative to the left lower arm 32, so that the left upper arm 31 lies (covers) on the left lower arm 32. Figure 6BAs shown, the right worm gear 38 simultaneously rotates the right lower arm 42 downwardly by nearly a quarter of a turn to rotate the left upper arm 31 downwardly relative to the left lower arm 32, so that the left upper arm 31 lies (covers) on the left lower arm 32. Thus, the rigid frame 50 is controllably folded, allowing the flexible guardrail accessory 22 to automatically rewind in preparation for subsequent raising.

[0036] Fig. 7A and Figure 7B An electric guardrail arrangement 10 is shown including a flexible guardrail fitting 61 consisting of a horizontal wire 62 extending between a left cable 48 and a right cable 49. Tensioning the left cable 48 and the right cable 49 in the height direction in turn causes the horizontal wire 62 therebetween to be tensioned.

[0037] FIG. 8A to FIG. 9B An apparatus 100 is shown including a swimming pool 101 forming a protected area. The apparatus 100 includes a pool deck 102 forming a boundary around the swimming pool 101. The apparatus 100 includes a groove 103 formed in the pool deck 102. The groove 103 preferably has the same height and width as the guardrail device 10 so that the guardrail device 10 can be tightly accommodated. Fig. 8A and Fig. 9A An access management system 200 for managing access to a swimming pool 101 is shown. The access management system 200 includes 12 guardrail devices 201 surrounding the swimming pool 101 and a controller 202 for controlling the operation thereof. The guardrail devices 201 are disposed in the grooves 103 so that the guardrail devices 201 fit flush with the pool deck 102 in the storage position (see FIG. 2 ). Fig. 8A and Figure 8B ). Adjacent guardrail devices 201 are placed side by side close enough to prevent a path between them. Guardrail devices 201 preferably include flexible guardrail fittings 203 so that swimming pool 101 can be seen through them when in a no-entry position (see Fig. 9A and Fig. 9B ).

[0038] While the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, it will be appreciated that numerous variations, modifications and other applications of the invention are possible within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. An electric guardrail device, comprising: a) housing; b) a horizontal shaft mounted in the housing, the horizontal shaft having a left shaft end and a right shaft end; c) a horizontal rigid beam having a left beam end and a right beam end, the horizontal rigid beam having a storage position and a guardrail position elevated relative to the storage position; d) Left folding arm, including: A left upper arm, the left upper arm having a left upper arm front end pivotally connected to the horizontal rigid beam and a left upper arm rear end with a left upper arm gear, A left lower arm, wherein the left lower arm has a left lower arm front end and a left lower arm rear end, and the left lower arm front end is provided with a left lower arm gear meshing with the left upper arm gear, The left support arm comprises a front end of the left support arm and a rear end of the left support arm, wherein the front end of the left support arm has a pivot connection bracket pivotally connected to the rear end of the left upper arm and the front end of the left lower arm, and the rear end of the left support arm is pivotally connected to the housing. The left folding arm is rotatable between a substantially horizontal folded position covering the horizontal axis and a substantially vertical extended position; e) Right folding arm, including: a right upper arm, the right upper arm having a front right upper arm end pivotally connected to the horizontal rigid beam and a rear right upper arm end with a right upper arm gear, a right lower arm, wherein the right lower arm has a right lower arm front end and a right lower arm rear end, and the right lower arm front end is provided with a right lower arm gear meshing with the right upper arm gear, The right support arm comprises a front end of the right support arm and a rear end of the right support arm, wherein the front end of the right support arm has a pivot connection bracket pivotally connected to the front end of the right upper arm and the rear end of the right lower arm, and the rear end of the right support arm is pivotally connected to the housing. The right folding arm is rotatable between a substantially horizontal folded position covering the horizontal axis and a substantially vertical extended position, said right folding arm and said left folding arm being folded toward each other in their said substantially horizontal folded position, and said right folding arm and said left folding arm being substantially parallel in their said substantially vertical extended position; f) a left worm gear at the left shaft end, for driving the left folding arm between the folded position and the extended position; g) a right worm gear at the right shaft end for driving the right folding arm between the folded position and the extended position; h) a motor for rotating the horizontal shaft in one direction to drive the left worm gear and the right worm gear to lift the horizontal rigid beam from the storage position to the guardrail position, at which time the housing, the left folding arm, the right folding arm and the horizontal rigid beam form a rigid frame, and The motor rotates the horizontal shaft in opposite directions to drive the left worm gear and the right worm gear to lower the horizontal rigid beam from the guardrail position to the storage position; and i) a self-winding flexible guardrail assembly that is initially stored in the housing in the storage position and that is raised in the guardrail position to form a guardrail supported on the rigid frame, The flexible guardrail assembly is capable of raising the horizontal rigid beam from the storage position until it is tensioned in the height direction, thereby determining the guardrail position of the horizontal rigid beam, and The flexible guardrail assembly automatically reels when the horizontal rigid beam is lowered from the guardrail position to the storage position.

2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The flexible guardrail accessory comprises an automatically winding left cable located on the left side of the guardrail device and an automatically winding right cable located on the right side of the guardrail device.

3. An access management system for managing access to a protected area, the access management system comprising: (a) at least one electric guardrail device according to claim 1 or 2; and (b) A controller for controlling at least one electric guardrail device.

4. A device for protecting a protected area, comprising at least one electric guardrail device according to claim 1 or 2, for managing entry and exit of the protected area.

5. The device according to claim 4, characterized in that The apparatus includes a border adjacent to the protected area and a groove in the border for deploying the at least one electric barrier device therein, wherein the horizontal rigid beam in the stored position is flush with the border.

6. The device according to claim 5, characterized in that The trench surrounds the protection zone, and the at least one electric guardrail device is deployed in the trench to surround the protection zone.

7. The device according to any one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that The protected area can be seen through the at least one electric guardrail device.

8. The device according to any one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that The protected area is a swimming pool.

9. The device according to any one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that Also included is an access management system for controlling the at least one electric guardrail device.

10. A method for managing access to a protected area, the method comprising the following steps: (a) providing at least one electric guardrail device according to claim 1 or 2; and (b) controlling at least one electric guardrail device.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The apparatus comprises a border adjacent to the protected area and a trench in the border for deploying the at least one electric barrier device in the trench with its horizontal rigid beam flush with the border in its stored position.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The trench surrounds the protection zone, and the at least one electric guardrail device is deployed in the trench to surround the protection zone.

13. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that The protected area can be seen through the at least one electric guardrail device.

14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that The protected area is a swimming pool.

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