Adjustable Bollard With Sliding Legs For Flexible Installation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Bollards used to protect structures from collisions with heavy equipment and vehicles often require precise installation, which can be challenging due to the need for large or small diameter holes, and lack adjustability, leading to installation difficulties and hazards.
Innovation Solution
An adjustable bollard design featuring a rigid post body with legs that have an adjustable distance between them, utilizing a sliding and threaded mechanism to allow for flexible installation and precise positioning, enabling the bollard to be easily installed and removed without causing hazards.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a bollard is mounted using a single large diameter hole, then the bollard can be installed without precise positioning, but the large hole is difficult to make and presents a safety hazard when the bollard is removed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the single large diameter mounting hole into multiple smaller diameter holes. Specifically, the bollard uses two or more legs that fit into separate smaller holes in the floor or ground, eliminating the need for one large hazardous hole while reducing safety risks and making the holes easier to fill or cover when the bollard is removed.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a bollard is mounted using two or more smaller diameter legs, then the safety hazard is reduced and holes are easier to form, but the mounting holes must be precisely spaced for the legs to align
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates an adjustable support mechanism that allows the distance between the legs to be varied. This dynamic adjustment capability enables the bollard to accommodate minor variations in hole spacing, allowing installation even when the pre-drilled holes are not precisely spaced, thus reducing the stringency of the precision requirement while maintaining safety benefits.
3Reliability
If a bollard is permanently fixed in place with cement, then the bollard is secure, but it is not easily installed or removed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a modular leg-based mounting system where the bollard is divided into a post body and separate legs that fit into holes. This segmentation allows the bollard to be easily assembled and disassembled by simply removing the legs from the holes, providing both security during use and ease of removal when needed, unlike permanent cement fixation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an adjustable support as an intermediary mechanism between the legs and the post body. This intermediary component provides friction or mechanical interference to secure the bollard in place during normal use, yet allows for easy adjustment and removal when needed, bridging the gap between permanent security and temporary installability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The adjustable bollard effectively protects structures from collisions by allowing for flexible installation and removal, reducing the need for precise hole placement and minimizing installation hazards, while maintaining strength and impact resistance.
Implementation Method 1
The second leg is coupled with the rigid post body through an adjustable support configured to vary a distance between the first leg and the second leg upon adjustment
Data Source
AI summary
An adjustable bollard is formed of a rigid post body to absorb impact forces. At least two leg portions support the rigid post body. The distance dimension between the leg portions is adjustable to enable minor variations in the placement of the mounting holes into which the leg portions fit to install the bollard in the ground or floor.