Emergency Response Barrier With Rotating Impact Attenuator
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing emergency response barriers lack effective mechanisms to redirect and absorb the kinetic energy of impacting vehicles while ensuring safety for emergency responders and equipment, particularly in multiple-lane traffic scenarios.
Innovation Solution
A mobile emergency response barrier equipped with a frame, impact attenuator, hydraulic cylinders, and a planar skin that allows for adjustable positioning and energy absorption, combined with a water tank and warning systems, to redirect vehicles and provide safety during emergencies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the barrier uses a fixed rigid structure to stop vehicles, then it provides simple and reliable protection, but it cannot effectively absorb and redirect kinetic energy from impacting vehicles
Solution Approach 1:
The barrier employs a dynamic impact attenuator assembly that can rotate about a vertical pin and be positioned at different angles relative to the frame. This dynamic positioning capability allows the barrier to optimize its orientation for absorbing and redirecting vehicle impacts effectively, transforming a static structure into an adaptable protective system that responds to different impact scenarios
Solution Approach 2:
The barrier system changes the parameter of impact force direction and magnitude through the adjustable positioning of the impact attenuator. By modifying the angle and orientation of the attenuator assembly, the system alters how kinetic energy is absorbed and redirected, providing variable protection characteristics based on the specific threat scenario
2Adaptability or versatility
If the barrier is designed as a mobile unit with wheels and axles, then it can be transported to accident scenes, but it increases the complexity of the structure and reduces stability during operation
Solution Approach 1:
The barrier is divided into modular components including a frame structure, impact attenuator assembly, hydraulic positioning system, and transport wheels. This segmentation allows the barrier to function as a mobile unit that can be easily transported to accident scenes while maintaining structural integrity and operational stability when deployed
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a trailer hitch coupling mechanism as an intermediary element that connects the mobile barrier frame to external towing vehicles. This intermediary component enables easy transport and deployment without requiring complex integrated propulsion systems, thereby reducing overall structural complexity while maintaining mobility
3Device complexity
If the impact attenuator is fixed in position, then the structure is simpler and more stable, but it cannot be optimally positioned to redirect vehicle impacts in multi-lane traffic scenarios
Solution Approach 1:
The impact attenuator assembly is designed with rotational capability about a vertical pin, allowing it to dynamically adjust its angular position. This dynamic positioning enables the barrier to optimize its orientation for redirecting vehicle impacts in multi-lane traffic scenarios, transforming a static structure into an adaptable protective system that responds to different impact scenarios
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs hydraulic cylinders to actuate the impact attenuator assembly, enabling precise and controlled positioning at various angles. The hydraulic system provides powerful yet compact actuation capability, allowing the barrier to achieve optimal positioning for impact redirection without requiring complex mechanical linkages or manual adjustment mechanisms
Data Source
AI summary
An emergency response barrier is shown and described, the barrier having a frame with reinforcing bracing; two axles coupled to the frame with wheels attached thereto; a king pin coupled to the frame; wherein the frame is covered with a substantially planar skin that extends along the right and left sides of the frame, from a top of the frame down to a lower edge and covers a majority of the wheels on each side of the barrier; an impact attenuator coupling on the frame, having a vertical pin received in a bore disposed on an impact attenuator, and configured for rotation about the vertical axis of the pin; and a hydraulic cylinder connected between the frame and the impact attenuator, wherein retraction and extension of the hydraulic cylinder moves the impact attenuator through an arc of rotation about the vertical pin.