Improved belisha beacon

Abstract

The belisha beacon assembly comprises a globe light having an outer shell with a cylindrical base locatable in a base housing 14 for mounting on a pole, and a halo 20 mounted to the base housing and h

Description

The present invention relates to an improved belisha beacon, which is a piece of roadside furniture and in particular the portion of the beacon mounted, in use, upon a pole and installed as a piece of road furniture. Background The belisha beacon is a well-established piece of roadside furniture and comprises a yellow-coloured globe lamp mounted on the top of a tall black-and-white pole used for marking pedestrian crossings. A number of developments and improvements of the basic beacon have been developed over the years. GB 2436477B discloses a globe suitable for use as part of a belisha beacon, the blocked globe having two mating halves encompassing a light source and a ringshaped member for facing towards ongoing traffic. GB 2423145B further discloses that the ring-shaped member itself further incorporates a light source for providing light facing towards ongoing traffic. GB2569100B discloses a belisha beacon with the aforementioned ring -shaped member in which the ring members disconnect ball from the globe without removing a lamp and provides a single arcuate LED strip attachable to the ring member. GB2579003B discloses a beach belisha beacon with the aforementioned ring-shaped member, termed a gallery and associated with a recess for accommodating a spotlight. GB2567557B discloses a belisha beacon in which the central globe and further lights external to the central low are alternately illuminated. GB2497767B discloses a form of belisha beacon comprising a cylindrical, rather than its globe light source and mounted upon a pole upon which a conduit with lighting means is provided. GB2515216B discloses a retrofit for a belisha beacon with a globe light source which enables the poll on which the light source is mounted to have lighting means attached by means of a tube the housing. As can be seen the belisha beacon is and has been gradually adapted to provide incremental improvements. However, a number of issues remain, in particular, the ease and practicality of maintenance, efficiency of action as a beacon for the purposes of both traffic and pedestrians and the effectiveness of action as a beacon for the purposes of both traffic and pedestrians. The present invention The present invention in its various aspects is as set out in the appended claims. The present invention is directed towards an improved belisha beacon. For the purposes of the present invention a belisha beacon refers to the construction placed upon the top of a pole and used as a piece of roadside furniture. The whole assembly when in place may also be termed a belisha beacon in everyday language. The present invention provides a belisha beacon assembly comprising: a base housing for mounting upon a pole suitable for constituting a belisha beacon as road furniture; a globe light comprising an outer shell having a cylindrical base for locating in the base housing; and a halo mounted to the base housing and, together with the base housing surrounding the globe light; the halo comprising: a. a, halo, frame being an arcuate structure having a face and an edge, the face being wider than the edge, the face comprising a plurality of apertures for housing above each of a plurality of corresponding recesses; i. a plurality of illumination panels; and ii. for each face a corresponding transparent, halo, window. As is evident, the belisha beacon type that comprises the central illumination globe and the surrounding halo provides a significant space for the central light but limited space for the light in the halo which is relatively speaking more intense. Hence, there is typically considerable heat generation in the halo portion and this reduces the lifespan of the illumination in that portion. The present invention in providing a plurality of illumination panels enables those panels to be readily and selectively replaced so as to facilitate maintenance. In addition, those panels are preferably wired in parallel such that should one panel fail then the other panels continue to work. This enables continued operation even after failure of illumination panel. The wiring and the individual panels are protected by the covering transparent window. The panels and the window are typically and preferably detachably attached to the halo frame to facilitate the placement. In the present invention illumination panels may be present both on a front and a rear side of the face and an air gap may be present between pairs of panels. This enables the panels to be populated on one side with illumination means, such as LEDs and in doubling the number of panels further reduces the potential for individual failure to be impactful on the operation of the overall unit, while still retaining the ability for easy maintenance. In the present invention an air gap may be present between said illumination panels and the halo windows. This enables more efficient cooling of the illumination panels of the halo, which is a significant contributor towards the reduced lifetime of these panels. It also provides convenient space for wiring to communicate between the power supply and each individual element whether configured in the preferred parallel format or evening series. In the present invention the plurality of illumination panels may be located on a ledge surrounding each corresponding recess in the halo frame. This enables ready location of the individual illumination panels to facilitate location, such in manual onsite repair of the apparatus. In the present invention the halo windows may be mounted in a recess in the halo frame and may be recessed within that frame or planar with the surface of that frame, so as to prevent the lateral emission of light from the edges of the windows. This has the additional benefit that lateral illumination from the Windows is avoided and gives more control over the light emitted as any laterally emitted light can be more effectively controlled by other means, such as the globe light and any rim illumination. In the present invention the illumination panels may be separately replaceable and including a plug and socket type electrical connection. This configuration reduces the mechanical interconnectedness of the illumination panels. It may, for example, be achieved by making sure that the wires do not extend, such as in parallel, underneath all the panels on the ring of the halo but are only plugged in at the location of any individual panel. The plug and socket connection facilitates manual replacement. In the present invention one or more of the plurality of illumination panels may be electroluminescent panels. These are more space efficient, generate less heat and are particularly amenable to presentation as elongate flat sections, thus making more efficient and reliable apparatus. In the present invention the air gaps between illumination panels may be in communication between the apertures, such as by means of a channel. Whilst air circulation between panels ineffective this is enhanced if the air circulation is permitted between pairs of panels, i.e. between apertures about which pairs of panels are located. This further improves the longevity and reliability of the apparatus. In the present invention the air gaps between illumination panels may be in communication with the air gap between at least one halo window and a corresponding adjacent illumination panel. By enabling the air gap to communicate with one or more of the windows then the warm air from the illumination panels is more able to dissipate heat to the external environment. Thus, improving the effectiveness of the present invention. In the present invention a rim illumination may be mounted upon the edge of the halo frame. This provides an independent lateral illumination of the apparatus and is particularly useful since the wide faces as opposed to the narrow thickness of the halo is intended to be directed towards oncoming traffic whereas the lateral presentation is typically directed towards the pedestrian. This lateral illumination is intended to be perceived over a much shorter distance than is required to be perceived by vehicular traffic, which is travelling at a higher speed and the driver looking far out further ahead than the ambulatory pedestrian. For the same reason it is preferential that the halo facing the traffic is continually illuminated. Further the independent rim illumination being laterally external, i.e., circumferentially presented on the halo frame is also readily replaceable. This feature is particularly amenable for provision using an electroluminescent strip or panel. In the present invention the rim illumination may be mounted within a channel and the edge of the halo frame. This enables ready manual location of the rim illumination, such as during manual maintenance. The belisha beacon of present invention may further comprising said pole. Said pole may be tubular. The belisha beacon the present invention is typically mounted upon a pole but would normally be sold independently but may be sold in combination with the pole. The pole is preferably tubular. In the present invention at least one of the assembly air gaps may be configured when assembly mounted upon the pole to be in communication with an internal cavity, such as the internal tube, of said pole. This is beneficial since whilst in principle communicating the air gap within the halo, as described directly external to the poll may in principle be the most efficient it in practice it’s difficult since this provides a route for the ingress of moisture and is more effective to communicate the air gap with a protected air gap, i.e. the internal cavity of said pole. In a further variation of the present invention the illumination means of the globe light, typically a high intensity LED source located in the base housing may similarly communicate with the internal volume of the poll to further facilitate cooling. Similarly, the internal volume of the globe light may alternatively or in addition in communication with one or more of said air gaps, again, to facilitate airflow and cooling. It has been noted in the present invention forced air cooling is not required the simple convective flow may be sufficient to greatly increase the longevity of the apparatus. The present invention may further comprise a controller or controllers for controlling the illumination of one or more of the globe light and each or any of the illumination panels or the rim illumination. The belisha beacon typically comprises some form of control for the illumination means of the globe light so that it flashes on and off at a sedate pace so as not to be unduly distracting but still to attract attention. For this reason, the longevity of the illumination means of the globe light, or more generally said the globe light itself, is generally not an issue not least as large internal volume of the globe light produces adequate cooling. However, controlling of the other portions of the illumination means of the invention is important. The controller may be configured to operate the illumination panels and optionally the rim illumination for continuous or substantially continuous operation. The substantially continuous operation is dawn till dusk. The present invention includes an illumination panel configured for use in the apparatus of any preceding claim. Here it is noted that continuous illumination mitigates against longevity of the illumination means of the apparatus but is necessary since the apparatus, the belisha beacon, is there to provide a safety and information and not simply just to last a long time. The important aspect of this is that whilst the globe light, by convention flashes on and off it does so at sufficiently slow rate that there are significant periods of time, one or two seconds, when the light is dark or effectively dark. This means that oncoming traffic particularly in poor visibility conditions may lose track of the beacon. Continuous illumination is therefore important, particularly of the halo portion which is typically oriented towards the oncoming traffic. Hence, the present invention is important as it permits the reliable long-term operation of continuous operation of the halo portion of the belisha beacon. Detailed description A detailed description of one means for carrying out the present invention is now provided: Drawings The present invention is illustrated by means of the following drawings in which like features are designated with like numerals. Like features in the drawings may be designated by like numerals. The figures provide: figure 1 a belisha beacon of the present invention, mounted upon a pole in partial perspective view; figure 2 shows components of the belisha beacon of the present invention comprising a base housing and halo in the form of the underlying halo frame; figure 3 shows components of the belisha beacon of the present invention comprising a plurality of illumination sources for mounting within and on one side of the halo; figure 4 shows a pair of the plurality of illumination sources juxtaposed to show the relative mounting on either side of the halo; figure 5 shows the pair of illumination sources of figure 4 further comprising a number of individual light sources; figure 6 shows components of the belisha beacon in the form of the halo comprising all component parts of the halo; figure 7 shows an inverted side view of the belisha beacon of figure 1 in which a cross section A-A is indicated; figure 8 shows the cross section of the belisha beacon of the present invention of A- A of figure 7; and figure 9 shows the cross section of the halo, on one side corresponding to that of the overall belisha beacon of figure 8. Features of the drawings: 10 belisha beacon mounted on pole 12 globe light 14 base housing 16 mounting pole 18 construction line used to illustrate the globe nature of the globe light when represented as a black and white line drawing 20 halo 22 halo frame 24 mounting aperture (one of five on each side of the halo) 26 ledge forming recess for mounting illumination panel (source) - duplicated on remote side 28 further ledge forming recess for mounting halo window - duplicated on remote side 30 set of illumination panels for mounting on one side of halo frame 32 illumination panel 34 companion illumination panel shown in relative proximity (as mounted on halo frame) 36 individual light source 38 channel for electrical connection 122 halo window 122’ halo window on other side of halo frame 126 rim illumination 140 cross-section through one side of halo 142, 146 air gap between illumination panel and halo window 144 air gap between illumination panels figure 1 a belisha beacon of the present invention, mounted upon a pole in partial perspective view; figure 2 shows components of the belisha beacon of the present invention comprising a base housing and halo in the form of the underlying halo frame; figure 3 shows components of the belisha beacon of the present invention comprising a plurality of illumination sources for mounting within and on one side of the halo; figure 4 shows a pair of the plurality of illumination sources juxtaposed to show the relative mounting on either side of the halo; figure 5 shows the pair of illumination sources of figure 4 further comprising a number of individual light sources; figure 6 shows components of the belisha beacon in the form of the halo comprising all component parts of the halo; figure 7 shows an inverted side view of the belisha beacon of figure 1 in which a cross-section A-A is indicated; figure 8 shows the cross section of the belisha beacon of the present invention of A-A of figure 7; and figure 9 shows the cross section of the halo, on one side corresponding to that of the overall belisha beacon of figure 8. Detailed of the drawings Figure 1 a belisha beacon 10 of the present invention, mounted upon a pole 16 in partial perspective view. The beacon comprises a globe light 12 which is typically a spherical Perspex or acrylic sphere moulded from yellow or amber plastics material within which is located in illumination means such as an incandescent light or a high-power LED source. This is typically configured, such as by means of a controller, to turn the light source on and off to provide a low-speed flashing effect. Globe light 12 is surrounded by a halo 20 which is itself eliminated and the globe light 12 and the halo 20 amounted to a base housing 14 which comprises electrical control means, electrical junction means for providing electrical power. The base housing comprises a number of radial apertures shown as points on the diagram but not numbered, and through these machine screws are inserted and used to laterally confine the base housing to the poll 16 upon which the beacon 10 is mounted as regards the lower apertures and for the upper apertures is configured to retain the globe light 12 in place. The diagrammatic illustration of the length of the pole is only schematic, the poll is typically 2 m or more high. This is significant in that it makes maintenance more difficult and fiddlier and otherwise dexterous operations, particularly in outside work conditions in all weathers and more problematic, thus enhancing the need for reducing maintenance and to make maintenance simpler. figure 2 shows components of the belisha beacon of the present invention comprising a base housing and halo in the form of the underlying halo frame. The halo 20 (partly constructed) has an underlying halo frame 22 which is mounted to the base housing 14 at its lower edge, at an inner side. Halo frame 22 comprises a plurality of apertures 24. Each aperture 24 comprises a peripheral ledge 26 for mounting and illumination panel 32 (not shown). Corresponding ledges 26 are also present on the remote side of the frame not visible in this view. Over all of apertures 24, of which there are five, is a further ledge 28 for accommodating a halo window 122. This is also symmetric about both sides of the frame. Between the apertures 24 are present channels 38 for permitting electrical wiring between illumination panels 32 mounted in ledges 26 over apertures 24 and beneath ledge 28 and respective halo windows 122. Upon each corner of the arcuate apertures 24 and placed upon ledge 26 are a plurality securing means for securing the illumination panels 32 into the aperture 24 upon the ledge 26. figure 3 shows components of the belisha beacon of the present invention comprising a plurality of illumination sources for mounting within and on one side of the halo. The illumination sources are present in the form of a plurality of illumination panels 32, specifically five panels 32 are present to make up the set 30. A corresponding set of panels 34 is placed in part is placed in parallel in the corresponding recess, i.e. the aperture 24 bounded by the ledge 26 and the other side of the halo frame 22. figure 4 shows a pair of the plurality of illumination sources juxtaposed to show the relative mounting on either side of the halo, as described immediately above. figure 5 shows the pair of illumination sources of figure 4 further comprising a number of individual light sources; in one form of the devised illumination source may be a plurality of or supplemented with a plurality of individual illumination sources 36 mounted upon the panels 32 / 34. However, in the drawings presented the illumination source is an electroluminescent panel. Individual light sources depicted schematic only and typically an array covering the surface of the illumination panel will be provided. This typically gives rise to high level of heat and hence reduce reliability and diminished lifetime figure 6 shows components of the belisha beacon in the form of the halo comprising all component parts of the halo 20. Those component parts include the panels 32, 34 not visible in this drawing together with the halo window 122 covering those panels and the corresponding halo window 122 prime on the other side of the frame. Both being housed in the recess formed by further ledges 28 such that the windows are substantially planar with the outer rim of the halo frame 22. Around the rim of the halo frame 22 is rim illumination 126 providing a separate lateral elimination perpendicular to the panels 32, 34. The rim illumination 126 is located in a recess in the halo frame 22. The rim illumination is in electrical communication with power / the controller at the ends of the halo i.e. those parts of the halo frame which are in communication with the base housing 14. The configuration of the halo is illustrated by means of a cross-section shown in figure 7 which shows an inverted side view of the belisha beacon of figure 1 in which a cross-section A-A is indicated; this cross-section is shown in figure 8. Figure 8 shows the cross section of the belisha beacon of the present invention of A-A of figure 7; shows the walls of the globe light 12 and sections through the halo 20 lateral to the globe. The globe does not contact the inner walls of the halo 20. One illustration of the section through the halo 20 is shown in a large form in figure 9 which shows the cross section of the halo, on one side corresponding to that of the overall belisha beacon of figure 8. Figure 9 shows the halo frame 22 which serves to carry illumination panels 32, 34. These are supported by ledges 26 such that an air gap 144 is present between the two panels, 32, 34 and this is present throughout the halo corresponding with each individual recess 26. Outside the panels 32, 34 are halo windows 122, 122’, separated by further air gaps 142, 146. The halo windows being located in the recess is formed by further ledges 28. On the outer edge of the halo frame 22 is present rim illumination 126. Within are gap 144 is present electrical wiring for the purposes of communicating power to the panels 32, 34 and that wiring communicates between mounting apertures 24 by means of channels 38. An aperture, not shown is present at the base of the lowermost mounting apertures 24 to allow electrical communication with the controller / power supply mounted in base housing 14.

Claims

1. A belisha beacon assembly comprising: a base housing for mounting upon a pole suitable for constituting a belisha beacon as road furniture; a globe light comprising an outer shell having a cylindrical base located in the base housing; and a halo mounted to the base housing and, together with the base housing, surrounding the globe light; the halo comprising:a. a halo frame being an arcuate structure having front and rear faces, connected by inner and outer edges, the faces being wider than the edges, the faces comprising a plurality of common apertures for housing, above each of a plurality of corresponding recesses formed by the apertures;b. a plurality of illumination panels; andc. over each face a corresponding transparent halo window; wherein illumination panels are present in pairs on the front and rear faces, with an air gap present between the front and rear panel of each pair of panels and wherein another air gap is present between said illumination panels and the halo windows, this second air gap includes channels located between the pairs of illumination panels.

2. The assembly of any preceding claim wherein the plurality of illumination panels are located on corresponding ledges surrounding each corresponding recess in the halo frame.

3. The assembly of any preceding claim wherein the halo windows are mounted in a recess in the halo frame and are recessed within that frame or are planar with the surface of that frame so as to prevent the lateral emission of light from the edges of the windows.

4. The assembly of any preceding claim wherein the illumination panels are separately replaceable including a plug and socket type electrical connection.

5. The assembly of any preceding claim wherein one or more of the plurality of illumination panels are electroluminescent panels.27 06 256. The assembly of any preceding claim wherein the air gaps between illumination panels are in communication between the apertures, such as by means of a channel.

7. The assembly of claim 3 wherein the air gaps between illumination panels are in communication with the air gap between at least one halo window and a corresponding adjacent illumination panel.

8. The belisha beacon assembly of any preceding claim further comprising said pole.

9. The belisha beacon assembly of claim 8 wherein said pole is tubular.

10. The belisha beacon of any preceding claim wherein at least one of the assembly air gaps is configured when mounted upon the pole to be in communication with an internal cavity such as the internal tube of said pole.

11. The belisha beacon assembly of any preceding claim further comprising a controller or controllers for controlling the illumination of one or more of the globe light and each or any of the illumination panels or a rim illumination.

12. The belisha beacon assembly of claim 11 wherein said controller is configured to operate the illumination panels and optionally the rim illumination for continuous or substantially continuous operation.

13. The belisha beacon assembly of claim 12 wherein the controller is configured to operate in substantially continuous operation, and the substantially continuous operation is dawn till dusk.

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