Road Safety Barrier Supports With Cavity Housings
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing road safety barriers face challenges in protecting sensors and light signalling sources from damage during vehicle impacts, leading to costly replacements and maintenance delays.
Innovation Solution
The road safety barrier assembly incorporates support elements with cavities to house electronic devices, providing protection from impacts and allowing for easy replacement and repair through accessible openings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sensors and light signalling sources are arranged on the road safety barrier to improve visibility and detection, then the functionality and reliability of the barrier is improved, but the vulnerability to impact damage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The support element is divided into distinct functional zones: an impact-absorbing portion that contacts vehicles and a protected cavity portion that houses electronic devices. This segmentation separates the vulnerable components from the hazard zone, allowing the barrier to maintain both sensing functionality and impact resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
Electronic devices are nested within the cavity of the support element, which itself is part of the larger barrier structure. This nested arrangement protects sensitive electronics within the robust structural framework, utilizing the barrier's own structure as protective housing.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If electronic devices are positioned further back and raised from the carriageway to avoid direct impact, then protection from damage is improved, but accessibility for maintenance and replacement deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The support element is pre-configured with a removable cover and accessible opening during manufacturing, enabling future maintenance operations. This preliminary preparation ensures that while devices are protected during operation, they remain easily accessible when maintenance is required, without needing complex disassembly procedures.
3Reliability
If sensors and light signalling sources are placed in raised positions away from the carriageway to reduce impact risk, then device survival rate is improved, but the cost and time for replacement increase
Solution Approach 1:
The support element separates protective functions (cavity housing) from maintenance functions (accessible opening with removable cover). This allows devices to be positioned in protected locations while maintaining easy access through the opening mechanism, reducing both replacement cost and time by enabling quick component swaps without moving entire barrier sections.
Data Source
AI summary
A road safety barrier assembly has a plurality of elements for re-directing a vehicle which impacts against the road safety barrier, a plurality of supports supporting the re-directing elements, sensors and/or light signaling sources. At least some of the supports each comprise a cavity and are distributed along the road safety barrier. Electronic devices distributed along the road safety barrier are each connected to a sensor and/or to a light signaling source and housed in a cavity of a support. Electric cables extend along the road safety barrier and electrically connect each of the electronic devices. Each cavity of the supports is accessible from outside in order to enable replacement or repair of an electronic device housed internally thereof.