Traffic delineator post

Abstract

A traffic delineator post (10) comprises a pole body (11) extending in the vertical direction and a base (12) that supports the pole body (11). The pole body (11) has grooved parts (30) on the sides of the pole body (11). The grooved parts (30) have a groove shape which becomes narrower in width towards a bottom (31) and extend in the vertical direction. The bottom walls of the grooved parts (30) have a reflective structure which reflects incident radio waves from a radio wave radar device.

Description

Lane separation sign

[0001] The present disclosure relates to lane dividing markers.

[0002] Lane separators have come into practical use in recent years. A lane separator has a cylindrical pole body that extends vertically and a base that supports the pole body from below. Lane separators are erected at the edges of lanes, parking areas, etc. Vehicle occupants can visually recognize the edges of lanes, parking areas, etc.

[0003] Also, a reflective member that reflects radio waves, such as millimeter waves, transmitted from an onboard radio wave radar device is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In Patent Document 1, the reflective member is made of a metal material and has a flat plate shape. The reflective member is supported by a support member. Radio waves reflected by the reflective member (hereinafter, "reflected waves") are received by the radio wave radar device. The received reflected waves are then used for driving control of the vehicle, such as by determining the relative distance and relative speed to other vehicles based on the reflected waves.

[0004] JP 2009-133682 A

[0005] One possible solution is to provide lane dividing markers with the ability to reflect radio waves transmitted from a radio wave radar device. However, simply providing such functionality to lane dividing markers would cause the reflected waves to diffuse almost entirely around the lane dividing marker when reflected from the outer surface, because the outer surface of the lane dividing marker is cylindrical. This reduces the radio wave intensity of the waves reflected by the lane dividing marker and heading toward the radio wave radar device, making it impossible for the radio wave radar device to properly receive the reflected waves.

[0006] A lane dividing marker according to one aspect of the present disclosure comprises a pole body extending in an up-down direction and a base supporting the pole body, wherein the pole body has a groove-like portion on the side thereof, the groove-like portion extending in an up-down direction in a groove shape whose width narrows toward the bottom, and the bottom wall of the groove-like portion has a reflective structure that reflects radio waves incident from a radio wave radar device.

[0007] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a lane dividing sign of one embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the lane dividing sign. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the structure of a wall portion of the lane dividing sign. FIG. 4 is a bottom cross-sectional view of the lane dividing sign taken along line 4-4 in FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is an action diagram for explaining the action of the lane dividing sign. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a lane dividing sign of another embodiment. FIG. 7 is a bottom cross-sectional view of the lane dividing sign taken along line 7-7 in FIG. 6.

[0008] A lane dividing marker 10 according to one embodiment will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 5. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the lane dividing marker 10 includes a pole body 11 extending in the vertical direction and a base 12 that supports the pole body 11.

[0009] <Pole body> The pole body 11 forms the upper part of the lane division marker 10. The pole body 11 has an elongated shape in the vertical direction. The pole body 11 has four substantially flat wall portions 20. The four wall portions 20 are arranged at 90-degree intervals around the center line L of the pole body 11 so as to form an X-shaped cross section.

[0010] Four groove-like portions 30 are provided on the side of the pole body 11 so as to line up in the circumferential direction of the pole body 11 (hereinafter simply referred to as the circumferential direction). That is, the pole body 11 has four groove-like portions 30 on the side of the pole body 11, positioned so as to line up in the circumferential direction. Each groove-like portion 30 extends in the up-down direction in a groove shape whose groove width narrows toward the bottom 31. Each groove-like portion 30 is composed of two wall portions 20 adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction. More specifically, each groove-like portion 30 has a V-shaped groove shape with the bottom 31 bent at a right angle. In this embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the pole body 11 is X-shaped, in which four groove-like portions 30 are lined up at equal intervals in the circumferential direction.

[0011] In this embodiment, the wall portion 20 corresponds to the bottom wall of the groove portion 30. The wall portion 20 has a reflective structure that reflects radio waves incident from the radio wave radar device in a predetermined direction (in this embodiment, the same direction as the incident direction). More specifically, as shown in Fig. 3 , the wall portion 20 has a base material 21, a first reflective layer 22, a second reflective layer 23, and a protective layer 24. Specifically, the wall portion 20 has a layered structure in which the base material 21, the first reflective layer 22, the second reflective layer 23, and the protective layer 24 are layered in this order from the bottom layer to the surface layer.

[0012] The substrate 21 is a base for providing the first reflective layer 22, the second reflective layer 23, and the protective layer 24. In this embodiment, the first reflective layer 22, the second reflective layer 23, and the protective layer 24 are laminated on the substrate 21. The substrate 21 is formed in a flat plate shape from a soft resin material such as a polyurethane-based thermoplastic elastomer. The substrate 21 is colored orange. In this embodiment, four substrates 21 are arranged at 90-degree intervals around the center line L of the pole body 11 so as to form an X-shaped cross section.

[0013] The first reflective layer 22 is laminated on the substrate 21 so as to cover substantially the entire surface of the substrate 21 on the surface side. The first reflective layer 22 is formed in a sheet shape from a soft resin material. The first reflective layer 22 is made of a reflective material that reflects visible light, a so-called retroreflective sheet. The first reflective layer 22 is provided on the substrate 21 so as to reflect visible light incident from the surface side.

[0014] The second reflective layer 23 is laminated on the first reflective layer 22 so as to cover substantially the entire surface of the first reflective layer 22 on the front side. The second reflective layer 23 is formed of a wire mesh. In this embodiment, the openings of the wire mesh that constitutes the second reflective layer 23 are set to a size (e.g., several millimeters) that allows visible light to pass through the wire mesh and that allows radio waves transmitted from the radio wave radar device to be reflected by the wire mesh.

[0015] The protective layer 24 is formed in a sheet shape from a transparent soft resin material. The protective layer 24 is laminated on the second reflective layer 23 so as to cover the entire surface of the surface side of the second reflective layer 23. The protective layer 24 constitutes the surface layer of the wall portion 20 and serves to protect the base material 21, the first reflective layer 22, and the second reflective layer 23.

[0016] In this embodiment, both side portions in the thickness direction of the wall portion 20 each form the bottom wall of the groove-shaped portion 30, and have a reflective structure. More specifically, the wall portion 20 has a seven-layer structure in which a protective layer 24, a second reflective layer 23, a first reflective layer 22, a base material 21, a first reflective layer 22, a second reflective layer 23, and a protective layer 24 are laminated in this order from one outer surface to the other outer surface in the thickness direction.

[0017] As shown in Figures 1 and 4, the pole body 11 is provided with two through holes 13, 14. The through holes 13, 14 are cross-shaped in plan view, with the intermediate portions in the extension direction connected to each other. Each of the through holes 13, 14 penetrates the pole body 11 in a direction intersecting the center line L of the pole body 11 so as to connect the bottoms 31 of a pair of groove portions 30 that are arranged back to back among the four groove portions 30. At the bottom 31 of the four groove portions 30, one end of the through holes 13, 14 is open.

[0018] <Base> As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the base 12 supports the pole body 11 from below. The base 12 is made of a soft resin material and is integrally formed with the pole body 11. The base 12 is colored orange. The outer surface of the base 12 is cylindrical with five steps. The base 12 and the pole body 11 are formed so that the center line of the base 12 coincides with the center line L of the pole body 11. When installing the lane dividing marker 10, the base 12 is fixed to the ground. As a result, the lane dividing marker 10 is installed with the pole body 11 extending in the vertical direction. The lane dividing marker 10 of this embodiment is installed on roadways, sidewalks, parking lots, etc., for the purpose of clearly indicating lane boundaries, boundaries between roadways and sidewalks, parking areas, etc.

[0019] <Operation of this embodiment> The operation of this embodiment will be described. As shown in Fig. 5, when radio waves are transmitted from the radio radar device R toward the lane dividing marker 10, the radio waves are incident on the groove portion 30 that is groove-shaped on the side of the pole body 11. The incident radio waves (hereinafter referred to as incident waves IW) are then reflected by the wall portion 20 that forms the bottom wall of the groove portion 30, more specifically, by the second reflective layer 23 (see Fig. 3).

[0020] Here, the groove portion 30 has a V-shaped groove shape with its bottom 31 bent at a right angle. Therefore, the incident wave IW is retroreflected from the wall portion 20 so that the incident direction and the reflected direction are the same. Therefore, unlike when radio waves are reflected on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical pole body 11, the reflected wave RW is prevented from diffusing when reflected on the wall portion 20 of the lane dividing marker 10, and therefore the diffusion of the reflected wave RW in directions other than the predetermined direction toward the radio wave radar device R is prevented. This prevents a decrease in the radio wave intensity of the reflected wave RW reflected by the wall portion 20 and toward the radio wave radar device R, so that the reflected wave RW can be suitably received by the radio wave radar device R.

[0021] Furthermore, when visible light, which is the light from vehicle headlights, is irradiated toward the lane dividing marker 10, the visible light enters the groove portion 30. The visible light incident on the groove portion 30 (hereinafter, incident light IL) passes through the second reflective layer 23 of the wall portion 20, more specifically, the mesh of the wire mesh, and is reflected by the reflective material that constitutes the first reflective layer 22. The incident light IL is retroreflected by the first reflective layer 22 so that the incident direction and the reflected direction are the same. The light reflected by the first reflective layer 22 (hereinafter, reflected light RL) passes through the second reflective layer 23 and heads toward the vehicle that is irradiating the lane dividing marker 10 with its headlights. The vehicle occupants can visually recognize the lane dividing marker 10 by looking at this reflected light RL.

[0022] In this embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the pole body 11 is an X-shape in which four groove portions 30 are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. Therefore, radio waves transmitted from the radio radar device R and light irradiated from headlights toward the lane dividing marker 10 are incident on one of the four groove portions 30 regardless of the angle from which they are transmitted or irradiated around the pole body 11. The incident waves IW and incident light IL incident on the groove portions 30 are retroreflected by the wall portions 20 that form the bottom walls of the groove portions 30. According to this embodiment, by adopting a simple structure such as an X-shaped cross section, it is possible to impart the function of reflecting the incident waves IW and incident light IL in a predetermined direction by the wall portions 20 around substantially the entire circumference of the side of the pole body 11.

[0023] As shown in Figure 4, the pole body 11 is provided with through-holes 13, 14 that open at the bottom 31 of the groove-shaped portion 30 and penetrate the pole body 11 in a direction intersecting the center line L of the pole body 11. Therefore, part of the wind received by the groove-shaped portion 30 of the pole body 11 can be released to the back side of the pole body 11, more specifically, to the groove-shaped portion 30 located on the back side of the groove-shaped portion 30 that received the wind, by passing through the through-holes 13, 14. This suppresses deformation and vibration of the lane division marker 10 due to wind pressure, thereby improving the durability of the lane division marker 10.

[0024] <Effects of this embodiment> The effects of this embodiment will be described. (1) The lane division marker 10 includes a pole body 11 extending in the vertical direction and a base 12 supporting the pole body 11. The pole body 11 has a groove-shaped portion 30 on the side of the pole body 11. The groove-shaped portion 30 extends in the vertical direction in a groove shape whose width narrows toward the bottom 31. The bottom wall of the groove-shaped portion 30 has a reflective structure that reflects radio waves incident from a radio wave radar device in a predetermined direction. With this configuration, the effects of the above-described embodiment are achieved, and the reflected waves RW reflected by the lane division marker 10 can be suitably received by the radio wave radar device.

[0025] (2) The cross-sectional shape of the pole body 11 is an X-shape in which four groove portions 30 are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. With this configuration, by adopting a simple structure such as an X-shaped cross section, it is possible to impart the function of reflecting the incident wave IW in a predetermined direction by the wall portion 20 over approximately the entire circumference of the side portion of the pole body 11.

[0026] (3) The groove 30 has a V-shaped groove shape with a bottom 31 bent at a right angle. This configuration can suppress a decrease in the radio wave intensity of the reflected wave RW that is reflected by the wall 20 and travels toward the radio wave radar device, thereby enabling the reflected wave RW to be received appropriately by the radio wave radar device.

[0027] (4) The reflective structure that reflects the incident wave IW includes a base material 21, a first reflective layer 22, and a second reflective layer 23. The first reflective layer 22 is laminated on the base material 21 and is made of a reflective material that reflects visible light. The second reflective layer 23 is laminated on the first reflective layer 22 and is made of a wire mesh that reflects radio waves. With this configuration, the first reflective layer 22 and the second reflective layer 23 that constitute the wall portion 20 can be used to reflect both the incident wave IW and the incident light IL that are incident on the groove portion 30 of the pole body 11 in predetermined directions.

[0028] (5) The pole body 11 is provided with through holes 13, 14 that open at the bottom 31 of the groove portion 30 and penetrate the pole body 11 in a direction intersecting the center line L of the pole body 11. This configuration can improve the durability of the lane division marker 10.

[0029] <Modifications> The above embodiment can be modified as follows: The above embodiment and the following modifications can be combined and implemented within the scope of technical compatibility.

[0030] The shape of the base 12 can be changed as desired. For example, the outer surface shape of the base 12 can be a truncated cone, a truncated square pyramid, or a disk. One of the through holes 13, 14 can be omitted, or both of the through holes 13, 14 can be omitted.

[0031] The cross-sectional shape of the pole body 11 may be L-shaped, in which only one groove portion 30 is provided on the side of the pole body 11. Specifically, the two wall portions 20 may be arranged at 90-degree intervals around the center line L of the pole body 11, and may be arranged to form an L-shaped cross section.

[0032] Furthermore, the cross-sectional shape of the pole body 11 may be T-shaped, in which two groove-shaped portions 30 are lined up in the circumferential direction. Specifically, three wall portions 20 may be arranged so as to be lined up at 90-degree intervals around the center line L of the pole body 11 and to form a T-shaped cross section. According to this configuration, compared to when only one groove-shaped portion 30 is provided, the groove-shaped portion 30 can be provided over a wider range in the circumferential direction on the side of the pole body 11. Therefore, the function of reflecting the incident wave IW in a predetermined direction by the bottom wall of the groove-shaped portion 30, more specifically the wall portion 20, can be imparted to a wider range in the circumferential direction on the side of the pole body 11.

[0033] The pole body 11 may be hollow instead of solid. This configuration allows the pole body 11 to be formed using a smaller amount of resin material than when the pole body 11 is solid, thereby reducing the weight of the pole body 11 and keeping manufacturing costs low.

[0034] 6 and 7 show an example of a diagonal separation mark 110 having a hollow pole body 111. In Fig. 6 and Fig. 7, the same components as those in the above embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and corresponding components are given the reference numeral "1**" which is obtained by adding 100 to the reference numeral ** of the components in the above embodiment, thereby omitting redundant explanation below.

[0035] In the example shown in Figures 6 and 7, the outer surface of the pole body 111 has a rectangular prism shape elongated in the vertical direction. Of the four side walls 101 of the pole body 111, two opposing side walls 101 have central portions (hereinafter referred to as central portions 102) that are concave toward the inside of the pole body 111. The outer surface of the central portion 102 has a groove shape with a triangular cross section that extends in the vertical direction. In the diagonal line separation marker 110, the outer surface of the central portion 102 forms a groove-like portion 130. More specifically, the groove-like portion 130 has a V-groove shape with a bottom 131 bent at a right angle. The central portion 102 has a reflective structure that reflects radio waves incident from a radio wave radar device in a predetermined direction. Specifically, the central portion 102 has a layered structure in which, from the bottom to the top, a base material 121, a first reflective layer 122, a second reflective layer 123, and a protective layer 124 are layered in this order. The pole body 111 can be formed by, for example, blow molding.

[0036] In the above-mentioned diagonal line separation mark 110, the groove-shaped portions 130 may be provided on two circumferentially adjacent side walls 101 of the four side walls 101 of the pole body 111. Alternatively, the groove-shaped portions 130 may be provided on only one of the four side walls 101, only three of the four side walls 101, or all four side walls 101. By providing a plurality of groove-shaped portions 130, the groove-shaped portions 130 can be provided over a wider range in the circumferential direction on the side of the pole body 111 than when only one groove-shaped portion 130 is provided. Therefore, the function of reflecting the incident wave IW in a predetermined direction by the bottom wall of the groove-shaped portion 130 can be imparted to a wider range in the circumferential direction on the side of the pole body 111.

[0037] The base material 21 of the pole body 11 and the base 12 may be made of a hard resin material. The pole body 11 and the base 12 may not necessarily be integrally formed, but may be formed separately and then assembled to the base 12.

[0038] The protective layer 24 may be made of a translucent resin material instead of a transparent resin material. The protective layer 24 may be omitted.

[0039] The base material 21 and the base 12 are not limited to being colored orange, and can be colored any color such as green or brown. The first reflective layer 22 may be laminated on the base material 21 so as to cover only a portion of the surface of the base material 21 on the front side. For example, the first reflective layer 22 may be a layer in which a plurality of strips of reflective material extending in the width direction of the base material 21 are provided at intervals in the vertical direction.

[0040] The first reflective layer 22 may be omitted. The second reflective layer 23 may be laminated on the first reflective layer 22 so as to cover only a portion of the surface of the first reflective layer 22 on the outer side. For example, the second reflective layer 23 may be a plurality of wire meshes extending in strips in the width direction of the base material 21 and spaced apart in the vertical direction.

[0041] The first reflective layer 22 and the second reflective layer 23 may be provided so that they do not entirely overlap each other. The second reflective layer 23 may be formed integrally by inserting it into the base material 21 during resin molding.

[0042] The second reflective layer 23 may be made of a wire mesh, or may be made of punched metal, a resin mesh made of a conductive resin material, or a structure in which multiple wavy metal wires are spaced apart.

[0043] The base material 21 may be formed of a conductive resin material. With this configuration, the base material 21 can reflect the incident wave IW in a predetermined direction. In the above configuration, the second reflective layer 23 can be omitted.

[0044] The predetermined direction in which the incident wave IW is reflected does not necessarily have to be the same as the incident direction, but may be set to a direction slightly offset from the incident direction. Specifically, instead of the reflecting structure of the bottom wall of the groove portion 30 being a structure that reflects the incident wave IW in the same direction as the incident direction, it may be a structure that reflects part or all of the incident wave IW in a direction slightly offset from the incident direction. Such a reflecting structure can be realized by changing the shape of the wall portion 20 that constitutes the bottom wall of the groove portion 30, or by providing the wall portion 20 with a radio wave reflector (e.g., a reflect array) that can set the angle at which the radio waves are reflected.

[0045] The groove portion 30 can have any shape as long as it is a groove-like shape that extends in the vertical direction and whose groove width narrows toward the bottom 31. For example, the groove portion 30 can be a V-shaped groove whose bottom 31 bends at an angle slightly smaller than a right angle, or a V-shaped groove whose bottom 31 bends at an angle slightly larger than a right angle. In addition, the groove portion 30 can also be shaped like a groove whose bottom surface is partially or entirely curved.

Claims

1. A lane dividing sign comprising a pole body extending in the vertical direction and a base supporting the pole body, wherein the pole body has a groove-like portion on the side thereof, the groove-like portion extending in the vertical direction in a groove shape whose width narrows toward the bottom, and the bottom wall of the groove-like portion has a reflective structure that reflects radio waves incident from a radio wave radar device.

2. A lane division marker according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the groove-like portions are provided so as to be aligned in the circumferential direction of the pole body.

3. A lane division sign according to claim 1, wherein the cross-sectional shape of the pole body is an X-shape in which four of the groove-like portions are arranged at equal intervals around the circumferential direction of the pole body.

4. A lane division sign according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the groove-like portion has a V-shaped groove shape with a bottom that bends at a right angle.

5. A lane division sign according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the reflective structure comprises: a base material; a first reflective layer laminated on the base material and made of a reflective material that reflects visible light; and a second reflective layer laminated on the first reflective layer and made of a wire mesh that reflects the radio waves.

6. A lane division sign as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the pole body is provided with a through-hole that opens at the bottom and penetrates the pole body in a direction intersecting the center line of the pole body.

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