Pyramidal Bollard with Overhanging Lip for Efficient Transport
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing traffic barriers, such as bollards and Jersey barriers, are either too heavy and cumbersome to move efficiently or too light and ineffective in controlling pedestrian and vehicular traffic flow, often requiring specialized equipment and causing bottlenecks at entry points.
Innovation Solution
A pyramidal bollard design featuring a dense, heavy material with an overhanging edge or lip, allowing for easier handling and movement using a grapple boom truck, and a mold system for uniform production, along with a hand cart configuration to accommodate the unique geometry of the bollards for safe and efficient transport.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If bollards are made of heavier material such as concrete or steel, then the barrier provides a sturdy structure that effectively controls pedestrian and vehicular traffic flow, but the bollard becomes cumbersome and difficult to move
Solution Approach 1:
The bollard is divided into two main segments: a heavy base portion made of concrete or steel that provides stability and traffic control effectiveness, and a lighter upper portion that reduces overall weight. This segmentation allows the bollard to maintain its deterrent function while improving movability for repositioning during events.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the bollard have different material properties and weights. The base portion uses heavy concrete or steel material localized at the bottom to provide anchoring and stability, while the upper portions use lighter materials. This local quality differentiation ensures the bollard remains effective at ground level while being easier to move overall.
2Reliability
If Jersey barriers are used to control traffic flow, then the barrier provides significant length and weight for effectiveness, but the excess length creates a bottleneck at entry points causing long wait time
Solution Approach 1:
The barrier system uses multiple shorter modular bollards instead of one or two long Jersey barriers. These segmented units can be arranged in configurations that control traffic flow effectively without creating long bottlenecks at entry points, reducing wait time while maintaining security.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of extending barriers horizontally in long linear configurations that block entry points, the design uses vertically-oriented bollards with significant height. This dimensional change allows traffic control to be achieved through vertical presence rather than horizontal extension, opening up entry points while maintaining effectiveness.
3Ease of operation
If plastic barriers are used as alternatives to heavy material barriers, then the barriers can be moved easily, but they are ineffective in controlling vehicular and pedestrian traffic flow as people can easily move them out of their way
Solution Approach 1:
The bollard incorporates a composite structure combining heavy concrete or steel base material with lighter upper portions. This composite material approach provides the weight and sturdiness needed to deter vehicles and prevent easy movement by pedestrians, while the overall design maintains reasonable movability for legitimate repositioning needs during events.
Data Source
AI summary
A barrier system is used to direct and block a travel path of pedestrians and vehicles. The barriers may be shaped substantially as a truncated pyramid with a base surface and planar sides extending from the edges of the base surface to a top portion, where the cross-sectional area of the base surface is larger than the cross-sectional area of the top portion. The angles of inclination between the planar sides and the interior of the base surface are acute angles. The bollard can be cast from heavy dense materials. The bollard includes at least two overhanging lips on the planar sides of the barrier between the base surface and the top portion. The configurations of the bollards provide improved placement, such as with cranes, hand carts, and other devices. Molds to cast the barriers and hand carts to move the barriers are also disclosed.