Traffic signal column

[0001] The present invention relates to a signaling column consisting of light, acoustic or other type of signaling elements placed at different levels one above the other, and each of said elements has a body, consisting of a base and side walls, also has wires connecting the source energy with a signal member built-in inside the body.

[0002] Signal columns of this type are shown in FR 2 128 998. The power cords described herein are terminated with contact plates forming a male connector at one end of the cable and a female connector at the other end of the cable. Identical wires connecting the signaling elements, located at different levels of the column, are connected in series, which is done by introducing a male connector belonging to one level to a female connector belonging to another level. The production of such wires, which act as internal connections between individual levels of the column is complicated. In addition, in the old-type columns, each level is supplied with electricity through two separate wires, which multiplies the number of wires passing through the base of the column.

[0003] Document EP 755 494 describes a signal column in which the supply wires are arranged in such a way that they form a U-shaped bridge at one end and form a kind of elbow at the other end. In this way, identical wires located at each level of the column are connected in series, which is done by flexibly inserting the elbow belonging to one level into a U-shaped bridge located at the end of an identical pipe belonging to another level. However, this type of contact arrangement can cause malfunctions because the quality of the connection is closely related to the proper shape and flexibility of the wires. In addition, as it appears from the previous document, each of the levels of the column is powered by two wires, the number of these wires must be limited in some way.

[0004] In order to reduce the number of wires, a common wire is used at each of the levels of the column, connecting the individual levels of the column, extending from the lowest to the highest level, moreover, a separate wire is connected to each level, the beginning of which is at the lowest level and which does not need to be extended to the next, higher level. Connections between levels are made by using contact points offset by a certain angle to which individual wires reach, as described in FR 2 517 021. The disadvantage of this solution is that the individual levels of signaling must have the same angular position, and changing the setting requires the use of wires whose arrangement is different.

[0005] Document DE 100 41 202 describes a signaling column having a number of signaling elements that can be arranged at different levels one above the other. Each item

The signaling device is provided with a light source, powered by electrical wires, stretched along the side walls of the above column. One wire is common to all signaling elements and supplies each of these elements. Other cables are used to supply each level separately. Each wire has a first terminal formed in the form of a bridge for connecting an adjacent signaling element. A characteristic feature of the common wire is that it extends vertically, along the entire length of the column, while the angle of laying of other wires, supplying individual signaling elements, changes with each transition from one level to the next level. The connecting wire of the common conductor has the form of a node, which means that it can be positioned along the vertical axis. As in FR 2 517 021, this document proposes the use of a common conduit connecting individual column levels and the use of separate conduits arranged at each column level. Thus, the proposed solution allows to limit the number of wires, however, it requires the use of wires of various shapes, which significantly complicates the methods of their production and increases costs.

[0006] The object of the invention is to provide such a signaling column, the production of which will be simple and low-cost.

[0007] According to the present invention, the signaling column is constructed of signaling elements, in particular light signaling elements, which are arranged along the main axis of the column, at different levels thereof, and are connected to each other by means of rotary grips, each level comprising a body consisting of a base, a cylindrical wall, and said body also houses a signaling element and wires, which are distributed towards the perimeter of the body and that extend parallel to the axis of the column in such a way as to ensure electrical connection between the power source and the signaling member, said wires located at individual levels being in the form of conductive rods, and each level has common conductive rod and at least one conductive rod specific for this level. According to the present invention, the column has the following special features:

Common conductive rods and other conductive rods have an identical design, and on the sections between individual levels the common rods have the same angular orientation, while the level-specific rods associated with the individual signaling members of a given level are offset from each other by a fixed angle, on the sections between levels.

[0008] According to one of the special features of the invention, there are electric wires in the base of the column, each of them having two fastening points, aimed at securing the first end of the rod at a given level and the second end of the respective rod at adjacent level.

According to another special feature, each conductive rod has two ends, offset relative to each other by a certain angle.

-3 According to yet another special feature, the two attachment points of the joints are shifted relative to each other by an angle, the angular displacement being in accordance with the offset between the two ends of the rod.

According to one possible design, the conductive rods have a crank-like shape with straight ends, and with intermediate segments offset by a certain angle, the ends are arranged in parallel along the main axis of the column so that they can connect via their upper or lower parts with the corresponding wires.

According to one of the special features, the common bar placed at a given level is shaped in such a way that the angular displacement of the lower and upper part thereof has the opposite direction to the angular displacement of the lower and upper part of another bar placed at the same level. In this way, the common bars exhibit identical angular alignment when passing from one level to another level.

According to another special feature, the connectors located at the ends of common conductive rods, as well as at the ends of other conductive rods are identical, each of the connections extends between the point securing the upper part of the conductive rod, coming from the lower level, and the point securing the lower part of the conductive rod of the level , the length of the connection is equal to the distance between the lower and upper parts of the conductive rod. Thus, the joint can compensate for the angular displacement that occurs between the two ends of the conductive rods, thus allowing common conductive rods to run parallel to the column axis.

According to another special feature, each connector has a fastening element for connecting the first end of the conductive rod located at the level in question, and a flexible hook for connecting to the other end of the respective conductive rod located at the adjacent level. According to another special feature, the latch located on each of the connectors is arranged in such a way that it assumes a tangential position and directs its entrance opening towards the longitudinal channel formed in the peripheral part of the base of the body.

According to another special feature, the joints attached to the base cannot move.

According to another special feature, each of the connectors is fixed or latched inside the insulating bracket, having the form of a molded part, which is a joint whole with the body.

According to another special feature, the body of each level has brackets, placed circumferentially on the edge opposite to the base, equipped with holes, allowing rigid support for the upper parts of conductive rods belonging to this level.

[0009] According to a different peculiarity, each level includes two connectors, intended to cooperate with a signaling member located at a given level, each of the connectors has an opening, allowing the insertion of the bottom of the respective conductive rod. According to another special feature, the lower end of the conductive rod is equipped with a contact element and is with it

- permanently attached inside the cover, formed in the shape of the connector, matching the hole in the connector.

[0010] The detailed description below, with references to the accompanying drawings, explains the construction of an exemplary structure according to the invention.

Fig. 1 is a side view of the horizontally divided signal column.

Fig. 2 schematically shows an enlarged axial section of one column level in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 3 shows a fragment of a vertical projection of two joints and their associated bars.

Fig. 4 shows a fragmentary view of the cable ends and the mating connectors.

Figures 5 to 8 schematically show the vertical views of the connections formed at different levels of the column shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 9 is a fragment of a perspective view of two interconnected levels.

[0011] The signaling column C shown in the figures comprises a number of signaling elements or modules A, arranged one above the other, at different levels. As can be seen from Fig. 1 of the drawing, column C extends along the vertical axis X and has four levels A1-A4 attached to each other, the lowest level A1 is attached to the pedestal S, which allows electrical wiring, the highest level A4 is covered, on example, a special cover. Of course, the column may contain a different number of levels.

[0012] The level 10 body 10 comprises a number of conductive rods 20. For greater clarity, Fig. 2 of the drawing shows a single level 6 conductive rod. The body 10, which may have the shape of a cylinder or prism, with an axis X extending through its center, has a base 11 surrounding it (see fig. 3 and fig. 5 to 8), in which a number of curved guide channels 12 are cut out, and in which brackets 13 adjacent to said holes are attached, for inserting joints 30. On the opposite side of the base (in other words, upwards as depicted in of the drawing), the body 10 is provided with a bracket 14 in the shape of a lid or a frame intended to fix the base of the body 10 of the Ą level₊₁above. The frame 14 has fixing flaps 18, in each of which a retaining orifice 18a is provided for inserting the upper end of the respective level A conductive rod 20.

[0013] In the central part of the base 11 a signaling member 16 is located, which is fixed in the handle 17. The signaling member must be powered by two conductive rods 20, one of which is a conductive rod 20A, assigned to the signaling member 16 A, the other is a common conductive bar 20C connecting the signaling members 16 of each level. The above description shows that the "assigned" conductor rod 20A is not connected to the next (higher) level A_{i + 1}while the common conductive bar 20C is connected to the next level, the same applies to the other assigned conductor bars 20A cooperating with the higher levels. Section A_{i + 1} is attached to the underlying member A by partial rotation, using guides and locking mechanisms, not

- forming part of the present invention and not described herein.

[0014] Turning to the details, each of the conductive rods 20 has a crank-like shape and has an upper end 21, an intermediate segment 22 defining an angular displacement about the X axis, and a lower end 23. The angular displacement - or the corresponding circumferential distance - are shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 as ą. The upper and lower parts of the conductive rod are straight and extend along the X axis, while the intermediate segment 22 is somewhat horizontally and tangentially displaced so as to determine the proper angular displacement between the lower and upper parts of the conductive rod. The upper part of the conductive rod 21 is secured in the retaining flange 18a formed in the fastening flap 18 of the element frame A, while the lower part of the conductive rod 23 is placed and secured in the connector 30 located in the lower part of the element body 10. In addition, the upper part of the conductive rod 21 is inserted into the respective connector 30 belonging to the higher level A_{i + 1} in a way that ensures its support (see Fig. 4). In another variant, the location of the joints of the upper and lower parts of the conductive rod can be inverted, just as the functions of the base 11 and the bracket 14 can be reversed.

[0015] It should be noted that, according to the present invention, the common conductive rods 20C are identical to the associated rods 20A. However, while the conductive rods 20 A are directed in the same direction (for example, the upper part 21 is offset from the lower part 23 in an anti-clockwise direction), the conductive rod 20C is directed in the opposite direction (for example, the upper part bar 21 is shifted clockwise relative to the bottom of bar 23). This can be seen in Figs. 3 and 5 to 8.

[0016] The connector 30 is made of metal and shaped in such a way as to allow a permanent but detachable attachment of the lower part 23 of the rod belonging to the current level with the upper part 21 of the respective rod belonging to the lower level. The connector has a socket 31 intended for attaching the bottom part 23 of a suitable rod, the socket can be formed, for example, by cutting the attachment tip 32 with a suitable shape. The open part of the connector 30 is directed towards the channel 12 formed of flexible branches of the latch 33, forming a contact point 34 for the upper part of the rod 21, belonging to the lower level. Each of the rods is inserted or latched in a clamp 13 housed in the base housing 11 and is held in position by means of supports 35 placed in the holes located in the base.

[0017] As can be seen from the figures, the horizontal shift - measured between the cover of the top of the bar and the hole for fixing the bottom of the bar - is equal to or close to the length of the horizontal segment 22 of the bar 20. In other words, it is possible to neutralize this offset during making rotation associated with mounting the level A body_{i + 1} at the top of level Ą. In this way, the upper parts 21 of the common conductive rods 20C located at different levels have the same angular position. In contrast, the upper parts 21 of the "assigned" bars belonging to the subsequent levels are mutually offset by an angle corresponding to 2a.

[0018] To supply power to the member 16 located at level A | (see Figures 5 to 8) in

The body 10 belonging to this level has two contact elements 36, which are arranged radially between the connector 30 and the corresponding end of the member 16. The preferred solution to this problem is to make the contact element 36 in the form of a simple contact plate equipped with a shaped hole 37. The lower part 23 of the conductive rod passes through the shaped hole 37, providing an electrical connection between this rod and said contact plate. Said plate is located in the recess constituting the socket 31 of the connector 30, covering the lower end of the rod 23. Additional stiffening of the whole structure was obtained by tight fitting of the elements of the connector into the ear 19 constituting the base element 11 (see Fig. 9).

[0019] It should be emphasized that two contact elements 36A, 36C (see Figures 5 to 8) belonging to a given level are connected respectively to a bar 20A, also belonging to this level, and to a common bar 20C. Thus, level A1 (Fig. 5) contains one common connector and four other connectors (one for level A1 and the other three for levels A2, A3, A4), level A2 contains one common connector and three other connectors (one for level A2 and the other two for levels A3, A4 ), level A3 contains one common connector and two other connectors (for A3, A4 levels), level A4 contains one common connector and one dedicated for this level. The connectors associated with the 20A, 20C cables are identical.

[0020] The column elements described above are attached as follows. The connectors 30 are mounted on respective brackets 13 and fixed by means of supports 35, two contact elements 36A, 36C belonging to a given level are centrally mounted on washers 32 of respective connectors 30A, 30C. The lower portions 23 of the conductive rods 20 are force-inserted into the seats 31 to provide electrical connection to the connectors, while the upper portions of the conductive rods 21 are inserted into the retaining flanges 18a of the mounting flaps 18 to align them in the correct positions. Grade 11 higher grade A_{l + 1} is placed in a frame 14 of stage A, in such a way that the upper parts 21 of the conductive rods 20 are positioned in the respective guide holes 12, without their insertion into the latch 33. At this moment the upper stage is rotated around the axis X (vertical arrow in Fig. 2) so that the upper parts of the conductive rods 21 are moved along the guide holes 12 until they snap into the latches 33. In the final phase of rotation, each of the conductive rods is supported by a suitable cover 34, as a result of which an electrical connection is provided between the respective poles belonging to level A and the corresponding poles belonging to level A₊₁. Since the common conductive rod 20C is tangently deflected in the reverse direction than the other conductive rods 20A, and moreover the length of the connector 30 is equal to the tangent shift ą introduced by the conductive rod segment 22, the upper portion 21 of the common conductive rod 20C at level A has such same angular position as the upper part 21 of the common conductive rod 20C located at Am. In contrast to the above, the upper portion of the conductive rod 20A at level Ai is offset counterclockwise 2a from the upper part of the corresponding conductive rod 20A at level A1.

[0021] Figures 6 to 8 show that the rod associated with level A_M, is not extended to

Level A, so the upper parts of the conductive rods 21 going to the next level show a shift of 2a.