AU714291B3

AU714291B3 - An improved bollard

Info

Publication number: AU714291B3
Application number: AU39065/99A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Bozidar Klinsic
Original assignee: Klinsic Ivana
Current assignee: Klinsic Ivana
Priority date: 1999-07-07
Filing date: 1999-07-07
Publication date: 1999-12-23
Anticipated expiration: 2000-12-23

Description

P00012 Regulation 3.2 Revised 2/98

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act, 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION PETTY PATENT TO BE COMPLETED BY THE APPLICANT NAME OF APPLICANT: BOZIDAR KLINSIC and IVANA KLINSIC ACTUAL INVENTOR: BOZIDAR KLINSIC ADDRESS FOR SERVICE: Peter Maxwell Associates Level 6 Pitt Street SYDNEY NSW 2000 INVENTION TITLE: AN IMPROVED BOLLARD DETAILS OF ASSOCIATED PROVISIONAL APPLICATION NO(S): NIL The following statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to me:- IP Australia Documents received on.

0 7JUL 9 9 o satch No: The present invention relates to protective bollards and, in particular, to bollards that may be readily assembled and disassembled, as required, at any given location in a simple and tamper resistant manner.

Many protective bollards presently in use provide no inbuilt means of reusability at any given location, in that once installed they are a permanent fixture and can only be removed from the given location by damaging the bollard and/or surrounding ground surface or by applying extreme, and ultimately excessive, care in the removal process. Other protective bollards which are reusable at any given location generally provide a complex and damage prone system of assembly and disassembly.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a protective bollard that overcomes, or at least substantially ameliorates, the disadvantages and shortcomings of the prior art.

According to the invention there is provided a protective bollard comprising: mounting means adapted to be mounted securably into the ground, post means adapted to be removably locked to the mounting means, the post means including first and second locking means at least horizontally spaced apart from each other, and third locking means vertically and horizontally spaced apart from the first locking means and adapted to engage the receiving means before the first locking means, the second locking means including a key activated movable pin member, the mounting means including receiving means for sequentially engaging the first and second locking means and retaining means for retaining the post means to the mounting means when the first locking means is disengaged from the receiving means, the retaining means further retaining the 29/11/99 post means to the mounting means when the third locking means is disengaged from the receiving means, the arrangement being such that a user can lower the post means with respect to the mounting means so that the third locking means engages the receiving means and then, by lowering and rotating the post means with respect to the mounting means, the third locking means disengages the receiving means and the first locking means engages the receiving means, and then, by at least rotating the post means with respect to the mounting means, the first locking means disengages the receiving means and the second locking means engages the receiving means, whereafter the movable pin member of the second locking means is activated to prevent the post means from further rotating with respect to the mounting means, and whereby the disengagement of the first locking means from the receiving means prevents the post means from being raised with respect to the mounting means.

In a preferred form of the invention, the mounting means comprises a tubular vessel wherein the retaining means comprises an annular collar projecting inwardly from the top of the vessel and the receiving means comprises one or more slots formed in the collar, and the post means comprises a substantially cylindrical main body wherein the first and third locking means separately comprise one or more protuberances extending axially outwardly from the main body, the number of protuberances of each of the first and third locking means corresponding to the number of slots and, where the number of protuberances of each of the first and third locking means is two or more, the position of the protuberances of each of the first and third locking means corresponds to the position of the slots.

Preferably, the receiving means comprises two slots formed at opposed sides of the collar, and the first and third locking means separately comprise two protuberances, the two protuberances of the first locking means extending 29/11/99 axially outwardly at a first pair of opposed side locations of the substantially cylindrical main body and the two protuberances of the third locking means extending axially outwardly at a second pair of opposed side locations of the substantially cylindrical main body, the two protuberances of both the first and third locking means being formed of bars that diametrically span the substantially cylindrical main body at respective right angles to each other.

In order that the invention may be readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will be made to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig 1 is a perspective view of a protective bollard according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention which is mounted into the ground, Fig 2 is a perspective view of the protective bollard of Fig 1 removed from the ground and disassembled to show the interengagable post and mounting means, and Fig 3 is a sectional side view of the protective bollard shown in Fig 1.

The assembled bollard 10 shown in Fig 1 is formed of a hardened, weather resistant metal of the kind conventionally used to manufacture bollards, and consists of a mounting means or locking sleeve 12 and a post 14 which is adapted to be secured in an upright position by the locking sleeve 12 when it is sunk into the ground 13 as shown in Fig 1.

The locking sleeve 12 shown in Figs 1, 2 and 3 consists of a tube shaped vessel 15 with a floor 16 at its lower end and an inwardly projecting annular collar 18 at its upper end. The collar 18 is punctuated by a pair of slots 22 at opposite positions across the sleeve 12, and portions 24, 26 of the sleeve wall descending from each slot 20, 22 have 29/11/99 been cut away. Typically, the locking sleeve 12 will be about 0.5m in height and between about 0.2m to 0.3m in outer diameter.

The post 14 shown in Figs 1, 2 and 3 consists of a cylindrically shaped, hollow main body 17 and has a first pair of knobs or rounded protuberances 28, 30 extending axially outwardly therefrom at opposite positions to each other and adjacent to the base 32 of the post 14. There is a second pair of protuberances 34, 36 extending axially outwardly from the post 14 but at a higher position from the base 32 than the protuberances 28, 30. The maximum height of the protuberances 34, 36 from the base 32 is slightly lower than the minimum height of the collar 18 from the floor 16 of the sleeve 12 such that, when the post 14 is properly secured to the sleeve 12, the protuberances 34, 36 will fit snugly beneath collar 18. The protuberances 34, 36 are perpendicularly offset from the protuberances 28, 30 so that, when viewed from above, all four protuberances 28, 30, 34, 36 are evenly spaced around the cylindrical main body 17 of the post 14.

Each pair of protuberances 28, 30 and 34, 36 are formed by respective solid metal bars 38, 39 that diametrically span the hollow main body 17 and pass through holes formed therethrough. The bars are secured to the body 17 by welding 40, 42.

As shown in the Figures, there is a lock assembly 44 affixed to the outer surface of the main body 17 of the post 14. The lock assembly 44 includes a lock mechanism housed within a cover 46 that can be operated by the turning of a key engaging a key hole 48 to reciprocatingly move a pin or bolt 50. The position of the lock assembly 44 on the post 14 is such that, when the post 14 is properly secured to the sleeve 12, the bolt is able to be propelled by a first turning of the key into a selected one of the slots 20, 22 so that rotation of the post 14 about its longitudinal axis is restricted, and the bolt 50 is able to be withdrawn therefrom by a second turning of the key so that the post 14 can rotate freely about its longitudinal axis. In the embodiment shown, the bolt 50 has its line of reciprocating movement aligned with one of the lowermost protuberances 28.

In order to secure the post 14 in an upright position, the locking sleeve 12 is first sunk into a pre-excavated hole in the ground 13 that will provide a stable support environment for the assembled bollard. The hole is dug only so deep as to ensure that the collar 18 of the sleeve 12 is flush with or slightly raised from the ground surface.

The post 14 (with the bolt 50 withdrawn) is then held upright over the sleeve 12 and the lowermost protuberances 28, 30 are aligned vertically with the slots 20, 22. The post 14 is then lowered into the sleeve 12 so that the protuberances 28, 30 pass through the slots 22, respectively and enter the vessel 15. The post 14 is then rotated about its longitudinal axis so that the uppermost protuberances 34, 36 are aligned vertically over the slots 20, 22. Next, the post 14 is lowered further into the sleeve 12 so that the protuberances 34, 36 pass through the slots 20, 22 and enter the vessel until the base 32 of the post 14 rests upon the floor 16 of the sleeve 12. At this stage, the post 14 is again rotated about its longitudinal axis sufficiently (usually by a further 90") so that the uppermost protuberances 34, 36 do not block the slots 20, 22 and so that the bolt 50, although withdrawn, has its line of reciprocating movement aligned with one of the slots 20, 22. The bolt 50 of the lock assembly 44 can now be propelled by a first turning of the key into the slot as shown in Fig 3, whereafter the key is removed.

Is 7 The post 14 is now securely locked to the in-ground sleeve 12 and no amount of manipulating the post 14 by lifting, rotating, or both will detach it from the sleeve 12. Twisting or axial rotating movement of the post 14 is restricted by the engagement of the bolt 50 in the slot 22, and lifting or upward movement of the post 14 is restricted by the engagement of the uppermost protuberances 34, 36 against the collar 18.

Various other modifications may be made in details of design and construction without departing from the scope or ambit of the invention.

Claims

1. A protective bollard comprising: mounting means adapted to be mounted securably into the ground, post means adapted to be removably locked to the mounting means, the post means including first and second locking means at least horizontally spaced apart from each other, and third locking means vertically and horizontally spaced apart from the first locking means and adapted to engage the receiving means before the first locking means, the second locking means including a key activated movable pin member, the mounting means including receiving means for sequentially engaging the first and second locking means and retaining means for retaining the post means to the mounting means when the first locking means is disengaged from the receiving means, the retaining means further retaining the post means to the mounting means when the third locking means is disengaged from the receiving means, the arrangement being such that a user can lower the post means with respect to the mounting means so that the third locking means engages the receiving means and then, by lowering and rotating the post means with respect to the mounting means, the third locking means disengages the receiving means and the first locking means engages the receiving means, and then, by at least rotating the post means with respect to the mounting means, the first locking means disengages the receiving means and the second locking means engages the receiving means, whereafter the movable pin member of the second locking means is activated to prevent the post means from further rotating with respect to the mounting means, and whereby the disengagement 29/10/99 I of the first locking means from the receiving means prevents the post means from being raised with respect to the mounting means.

2. The protective bollard of claim 1 wherein the mounting means comprises a tubular vessel wherein the retaining means comprises an annular collar projecting inwardly from the top of the vessel and the receiving means comprises one or more slots formed in the collar, and the post means comprises a substantially cylindrical main body wherein the first and third locking means separately comprise one or more protuberances extending axially outwardly from the main body, the number of protuberances of each of the first and third locking means corresponding to the number of slots and, where the number of protuberances of each of the first and third locking means is two or more, the position of the protuberances of each of the first and third locking means corresponds to the position of the slots.

3. The protective bollard of claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the receiving means comprises two slots formed at opposed sides of the collar, and the first and third locking means separately comprise two protuberances, the two protuberances of the first locking means extending axially outwardly at a first pair of opposed side locations of the substantially cylindrical main body and the two protuberances of the third locking means extending axially outwardly at a second pair of opposed side locations of the substantially cylindrical main body, the two protuberances of both the first and third locking means being formed of bars that diametrically span the substantially cylindrical main body at respective right angles to each other. Dated this 29th day of October, 1999 BOZIDAR KLINSIC and IVANA KLINSIC Patent Attorneys for the Applicant PETER MAXWELL ASSOCIATES