GB2489228A

GB2489228A - Improvements in or relating to shock absorbing members or safety barriers

Info

Publication number: GB2489228A
Application number: GB1104679.4A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Neil Stephen Callow
Original assignee: CENPART Ltd
Current assignee: CENPART Ltd
Priority date: 2011-03-21
Filing date: 2011-03-21
Publication date: 2012-09-26
Also published as: GB201104679D0; GB2489228A8

Abstract

The impact absorbing buffer, primarily for use in multi-storey car parks, comprises a post portion 2 arranged in a first, generally upright position in normal use, the post being mounted to a supporting structure 4 and operatively connected to a replaceable resilient element 5 that permits movement from the first position to a second, displaced position and, under low impact conditions, a return movement to the first position upon release of the impact force. The movement of the post is preferably a pivotal movement. The resilient element may comprise a spring acting in compression or tension on the base of the post. Alternatively, a spring may extend up the inside of the post, and may then extend out of an opening in the post and back to the supporting structure. A resilient element, preferably a coil spring, may encircle the base of the post. Alternatively the resilient element may comprise a torsion bar.

Description

I

1MPROVFMINJ$ IN OR RELAf[NCJ TO SHOCK ABSORBfNG MEMBERS OR SAFETY *BflRRiER' I his invention relatcs to nnpro ernents in oi telating to shock absorbing members or safety bamcr more parhuilarty but not exciusisely including rnpact absotbmg members in the form of buffers intended for intdIation m mulu-storey car parks oi the like, in order to alIe tate or nb's tate damage that might otherwise he caused by ehicles collidmg with boundary walls or other strnctuial members of the muln-storey cat park and/or to act as a harriet to restrict s chides from cntenng a potcnnally dangerous area.

The impact absorbing hulks will usuaih be in the torm of an upright post utibsed in conjunction with and spaced from, other such upright posts in order to form a ci ash or safety barricr when used with a horizontal tonneeung rail or rails bridging the gap or gaps in between the posts Suth impact absorbing buffers have been preiouslv pioposed which will absorb the encrg' from an impact with a vehicle by mo ernem of the buffer relative to a supporting structureë.g, of the muhi-storey car park. Insuch an impiu, the impact absorbing buffer may he resiliently deformed1 possibh returning to its onginal shape after the impact Whei e the impact Is much greater and the impact absorbrng post is permmently deformed, it may be replaced, albet hasmg preenfed or allesiated damage to the s chide and possibly the o cupanvs) and/or the supporting sinicturt of c g the multi stores' car park (38 Patent Specification Nos 211942\ 2112040 and 2148353 all show lmp4ct absorbing buffers for installation in muiti-stórey car parks it is believed that all of 2 * . these prior praposthstend to have certain disadvantages when used in particular *appiication& For example. such impact absorbing buffers aredesigned to absorb eurgs co1tiiion forces ofup to about I SOKN, ssFneh equates generally to the unpact 01 a I S fonne ehcW such as a Ford Mondec tras cllrng at I 0MPH ft is believed that a design of impact absorbing butler ahlt to withstand loads ot up to about 250-450 KN would be advantageous bearing in mind the pioliferation of larget 4X4 iehieles now in use not previousb? catch d tor an the design of impact absorbing buffers Jo. the past, accidents ha e occuued where a biowa uash or safety banter on a multi-stoa ey.ar park has been msuffieient to prevent a sehicle breaching the ban ier and phmgrrig to the ground from a high storev of the car park F%en for this reason alone it would seem desirable to des..elop a crash safety barrier I or a multi-storcy car park which is capable of withstanding energy collisions nnol tug forces gi eater than i.SOKN. ... . .. . .. . .. . Additionalh, it tends to be thsadvantageou that, an scwre impacts the upnght post portion of theimpact absorbing buffer may be damaged re4uiring the complete replacement of stud uptight post member thereby increang the rep'acement Lost of the impact absorbing buffer than might otherwise be the case There ma also be other disadvantages associated with known inipact absorbing buffea s such as unneccssary cost andior unnecssaniv complex or inconsenient installation of the impact ahsoibmg buftcrs in tht required location Mso, some impact absorbing buffers need to he fixed at upper and lower ends of the upright post portion c g as in 082119423 tather than e g only at a lower end) in order to be positioned cornxtly to absorb impacts from vehicles and the like.

Fixing ofthe.upright*post portions ofthe impact absorbingbuffërs. at such vertically spated Iocatwns may pro'wdc fbi an unnecessanl\ Lomptex arrangernnt restricted by thc parameters and rdans c dimensions of the supporting structure and thus the design of su1..h impact absorbing butters may be e g as shown in 0B21 19423 unnecessarIly iestiieted in their overall seisat'htv of use It i to he appreciated that the design of such impact absorbing buffers needs to he such that hkeh impact fences caused by coit act with x chides will he absorbed dissipated foi example by ielatise mc' ement ot the upright post portions of the impact absorbing buffers ithout dislodgement of the post itself from the supporting stiutture (for example horizontal deck) to which it Day be mounted by appropriate fixing means such as locanng boit' or hc like Certainly, there tend to be problems where the supporting structure has a horizontal mounting deck of about 2 50mm thick ii sufficient energy absoiption/dissipation characteristics of the impact absorbing butThr are not pro ided lithe impact absorbing buffer is not pros ided with sufficient impact o.r shock absorbing parameters,. the connection between the pOst portion and the supporting structure ina simph he bioken in a. manner that may not prevent a i ehiele from entering a potentially dangerous inca isueh as plunging into a sheer chop area outside the boundary of c g i high floor of a multi-storey car park) Equally if the fixing of the post portion to the supporting structure is broken it may hi much more difficult and troublesome to replace the impact absorbing butter than if only the post portion itself were damaged Even so it ma' be disathantageous in known arrangement that all to often the post portion itself will he damaged necessitating the complete replacement of the post portion5 involving release of the . . fixing m%wS (fbr: example bolts) ofthepost portion to the supponing structure; wjch process may be unnecessarily difticult or cuxn.hersonie to aec.ompiish Furthermore it tLnds to be disathanLageoub in cime rnstailatonc, ha ing rnpact ab»=oibmg buffers consisting of upnght resilient spring steel posts that multiple posts may undergo tracktng and'or bieakmg undcr impact Such cracking and or breaking niav be due to mconsistcnc icS in th metallurgical qualities m diffeient lots of steel used and the consequential inconsistent results in properties of the huffcrs manufactured in the aine heat treatment hatch piocess It would bc neccssary to uIn'asonicail tat each produtioñ batch of PoS in order to asertthn a bad pr anomalous batch it is not possible to ascertain a bad hatch purely by visual instia H. It is an object of the present invention to at least alleviate one or more, of the aforementioned, oi othet, thsach antages associated with shock absothing members or s ifctv barriers \ecoi ding to the present in entwn therc is provided a shock absorbing memhei or impact absorbmg buffcr ha' mg a post portion arranged in a first generally upright position in normal use, sad past portion being mounted, m use to a supporting structure, Lot example disposed in a multi-stoics ar park, said post portion being opei atis ely connected to a replaceable or nonin1gral resilient means fat example in the form of a helical coil spring or tor»=ion bar perrnrttmg movement of the post portion rclau e to the 1⁄4upportuig structure on impact fbi example, with a motor vehicle5.fronrsáid first, generally upright position to a second, displaced position and under low impact conditions peimitung a return movemcnt from said second pusitIOfl back to sai.d.irst position. an ** release ofsaidimpactforce, said rçsulicnt* means pieferably providmg ik. maw or principal resthent1 impact absorbmg means of thc shock ahsoibmg member or impact absorbing buffer Further accord*ng to the present insertion there is provided a safety or crash bmir having a plurality of shock absorbmg mcmbcrs ot impact absorbing buffers as defined in the immediately pieceding paragraph spaced apart tram one another, in use by a connecting rail means Further accoiding to the present tin totion there is pros ided a multi-stores car park pros ided with at least one satets or crash harrier as described in the immediately preceding paragraph B the present tnsentton in relati civ sev ix collisions v ith the shock absorbing member or safety bainet the teplaceable/non-mtegral resilient means may he damaged by the impact*before. any damage oëcurs to the upright post. In such a scenario embodiments of the present ins cnnon may pros. ide for the removal of the tesihent means horn the shock absorbing means satety battier and replacement thereof., ohs. iating the need for replacement of the upright post portion, in a highly ads antageouc and cost efleetne manner It is behesed that other proposals for such shock absorbing rncmbeis,safets barrier employed, for example in muiti-storey car parks would require the replacement of the : * . . * . . (1.

complete uptight post pomon ifany damage has occurred to the shock ab'orbing member.

Of eours, in practice, a pluraht ot shock absorbing members ma' be piovided spaced apart trom one another with a conneting rail or rail means being proided spanning the gaps in between the upright post portion to provide a crash safety barrier Therefore, where there s a severe impact with a motor sehide, in practice with known chock ahswhmg member/safety barnet s, more than one upright post portion may well be damaged and requite replacement Thus. it is believed with enibothnit nts of the present ifl\ union there mas be a significant savmg in costs since it may only be necessary to replace a plurality of resilient means associated with each post portion rather than teplacing a pluiahty of post portions Preferably mosiment of the post portion between said fist and second positions is a prsotal mosement Thus, ads antageously the upper end or part of the post portion can remain free of connection to a supporting ttraetw e 1 he post portion may be of hollocs tubular Lonstruction (possibly of square oi citeular sect on) and the resilient means may extend or be contained within the hollow post portion Ii' one crubodmieni of the piesent invention, the resilient means is ananged to act on a lower part of the post portion in order to resist pivotal mosement of the post portion due to an impact Said resilient mean' may he a compression spring preterably positioned in front of the post portion and/or preferably arranged generally in the expecLd impact dnecuon) oi a tension spring preferahy positioned behind the post portion).t in either.easethe pt andior resilient means may be received in a locating structure (possibly of box formi i\dble to a support structure such as a deck of a muitistorey car paiL Where said post portion pnots between said fIr$ and se end positions thc post portion ma be arranged to pivot about a generath horizontal axia in a torwardreCirward plane of mo%ement In an akernau'cc embodiment, the resilient means ma extend upwarcth vvithm the post portion and out through an opening in the post poruori ( said opcrung possibly being in a rear watt of the. post. portion): an:d:pteferably downwardly t.owards:a*.support stnaxure whete it is attached thereto In a further embodiment, the post poPion is eonnuted to a torsion bar (possibly of steel or the like and or of solid, cylmdrical form) with thc post portion being pi'otable on impact in a forward/iearw aid plane agarnst the resilient action of the torsion bar Said torsion bar will usually provide the pivot axis fbi the post portion Said post portion maybe coirnected to the torsion bar by any convenient means.such a welding Said torsion bar will usualh be pased through receiving holts in the post portion with the ends of the toision bar berng Ihed to a locating structure In an aIrernatn e emhodnieni hollow post portion is provided with the resilient means being a tension spring extending axially withm the post portion dud being fKtd to a locating structure at a lower end of the post portion * .. . . In yet a furthei embuthrnent, the post portion may not be restricted to pisotai mcrenient on impact, in a forwazdireanaid piane instead the post portion may be mc>s ableipivotablc in different vertical planes at an angle to one anothei depending upon the angle of impact Thus the post portion may respond in a directionally variable manner to <in impact Vu prowde the directionath sariable response ot the post portion the shock absorbing member ma base a resilient means encircling the post portion (preferably in flit form of a helical coiled tension spring) I he post portion may ha e a hail member received in a six Lu in a locating structure to allow virtually omnidirectionaI mos ement of the pot portion Further aeLordmg to the present invention thete is pros tiled a shock absorbing member basing arty I eatuic or combination of features denvabie from this patent specn'kation and drawings Man) ads antages of shock ahsoibmg members or crash safety barriers of the present in'kcnlion will hi. apparent from the following description and drawings Enthodinients of shock absorbing means in the form of impact absorbing butlers will now be described by was of example only with ieference to the fbllowwg much simplified generally schematic diagrammatic diawings. in which FIGURES Ia lb show horn ekvatior and patha plan uews respectively of an mpact absorbing. buffer in accorthince with a first. embodiment of the. present mv entiori FIGURES 2a and 2h show a second embodiment of an impact absorbmg buffer in accoi dance with the present ins enuon m normal, upright and displaced impact absoibmg positions respectn clv FEGIRES 3a and 3b show rear and side elevations of a third embodiment of an impact absofl jug buffer in accordance with:the present. invention, a resiliert means of the nnpact ab'orhmng butler being omitted from FIGURE 3a for eaac of illustration FIGURES 4a and 4b show side and front views of a fourth embodiment of an impad absorbing buffer in accordance with the piesent invention FIGURE 5 shows a side view of a fifth embodiment of an impad absorbing buffer in accordance with the present invention: FlOE RE 6a showc a front view of a sixth embodiment of an impact absorbing buffer in accordance with the piesent msention and FItURF bb shows a plan view of the impact absoibing buffer shown in FIOGRE 6a Refen mug to FIGURE S I a, lb of the drawings, an impaLt absorbing butler I onists of an upright:post portion: 2 of hollow square-sectkn. tubular form pivotai.ly *: * . * . . . . . . . 10. * * * * * connected via pi ot pm 3 to open-topped locaung box structure 4 Pna't pin extends through epposed circular hoIes**4a. and**4b in.associated vertical side walls 4c and 4d of the hxaung bO\ structure 4, in which is mounted replaceable or rernovabk resilient nieans in the form ot horizonta1I orientated heliLal coi1ed coniptession spring S acting between the lovei end 2a ofthe upnght post 2 and the inside ertical end wall surface 4e of end wail 4t of box structure 4 in a manner which should be self explanatory from 116CR! S It lb of the drawings FIGURE Ia shows a bi-lobtxl horizontally oriented crash rail R qnounted at right angles to compression spring S) which may be generalk of a form known per se and which in use may connect ses era! upright posts 2 together with gaps thetebetween, in a generally known format should an impact occur geneially in the directior of arrow A in FIGURE Ia on ciash rail R, for example, 1w being hit by a motor schick, imnally, the upright post portion 2 will pisot about pivot pm 3 generally in the direction of anow H in HuCRE Ia against the tesilieru ation of the compiession spring S in a manner which should be genei ally self explanatory On release of the impact force,: the displaced post portion 2 maybe retunied to the original pre-inipact, upright position as shown in FIGURI I a by the action of spnng S In the case of a sesete impact the coinplession spring S will usually be damaged before the post portion 2 is damaged and thus, ads antageously in ordei to restore the impact absorbing butler I to its fulls operanond condthoa it may 3ds aniageousis only he necessary to replace the hehcal coil compression spring S with a. new compression spimg (tathei than has tug to repEace the upright post portion I and/rn the complete impact absoibing buffet I with a new post portion9 buffei) HH. . . . : * Ii * * * . . . . The locathig hw sfructure 4 may he fixed to a sóp&ate support stmctthre (not sFowñ) such as a fiat:horizontàideck ofc.*g. a*niul*ti-store*y car.pavk.(not shown) by any convenient means Four holes (not shown in FIGURES 1 a flY) ma be prinided at the corners of bottom wall or plate 4g (not shown in 1 ICiURI lb tor ease of illustration) of the box structure 4 to receis e such means in the term of e g locatmg or fixing boks scre\ked lastened into the supporting structw c Thus, ad antageoush the uppei end of post portion 2 is tree of connection to a supporting structuie as c g rcquircd in the arrangement shown in GB Patent

Specificationk.GW2iI9423.

FIGURES 2a and 2b chow a ceeond embodiment of the impact absorbing buffer I in which the icsihent means S has been replaced by a hehea! coiled tension spnng S provided at the rear of the post portion 2 rather than at the front ot the post portion 2 as shown in I IGURES Ia. lb of the drawings Spring S is connected to end stop F of locating structure 4 and to the rear face of the loter post roiiion 2a id: IRJ S 2a and 2h show the impact absorbing hufiei 1 having the upright post portion 2 generally of the same lonnat as the upright post portion 2 shown in FIGLRE Ia lb of the drawings winch post portion 2 is pivotally mounted by pr ot pm 3 to locating structure 4, in a manner which should he generally evident from FIGURES 2a, 2h of the drawings FiCit. RE 2a shows the tmpact absorbing buffet I with post portion 2 in a first, pre-hn$et upright position and FIGURE 2b shows. the impact absorbing buffer.!' with . . . 12 * .. ..

the post portion 2 pnotally moved about pivot pin to a second, displaced impact absorbed position in Wuch tension spring S vili K. extcndcd (being dttached to the lower end ot the upright posi 2 j although not shown as such in FIGURE 2b, for ease of illustration the se&ond embodiment of the impact absorbing buffer! in a similar manner to the impact absorbing huftei I may provide for the resilient means S to he damaged bcforc the post portion 2 is damaged thereb) allowing for replacement of the spring S under certarn impact conditions (to restor the impact absorbing buffer I to an operational condition without necessarth necessitating the replacement of the upright post portion 2 itself) Bottom plate 4 g of structure 4 ma be fixed to a supporting structure hi' any convenient means as explained in relation to wall 4g of the box structure 4 of butler I FIGURES 3a and 3b show an alternative arrangement for mounting or opcratnely connecting an upnght post portion 2 of a butler I to a locating structure 4 md mcIude'. a generalls li-shaped helial coil tension spring S which e\terids inside post portion 2 (which is again of hollow tubular square section hai'mg a rectangular opening X in a rear wall 2 b of the upright post portion 2 Spring S extends through opining X to be curved downwudly in a Ushape as shown in iKrURI 3h, to the bottom wall of the locating structure 4 where it is fixed thereto I ower end 2 h of Post portion 2 is pivotally mounted in locating structure 4 b means of poot pin 3 oth shown in FIGURE 3a of tht. diawings for ease of illustration.

FIGLRE 3b stxws thc post porticm 2 and crash rail Ft in an upright pre-impact position and it should be cieai from I RrURFS 3a and 3b how thc spring S will resiliently support post portion 2 for pivotal movemint about the pin 3 3⁄4hen an impact is received on the ci ash tail R e g in the direction of the arrow A in FIGURE 3b Athantageouslv, once again the ariangement provided by the impact absoibing buffu I shown in FIGURES 3a, 3b should allow the spung S to he damaged hefbxe ptist �rtion 2. is *damaged fiowin: I the.rphieemcnt al' the spdng.S' rathei than ieplacement of the whole impact absorbing butler I tinder çertam impact conditions I ocaung structure 4 ma be fixed as in previous embodiments to a supporting stiuctuie by any con ement means FIGURES *4a and 4b show a fourth embodiment of an impact absurhing buffer 101 ha ing an upright post portion 102 of similar fot mat to post portions 2, 2 2 connected at a lowei end 102a to a locating struuure ItM, bs means of a solid c Iindncal torsion bar B (nonintegral with post portion 102) fixably or ngidh mounted at the end thereof for example 1w welds Vv * to upright membets 104a and 104b of the locating structure 104 The upnght post portion 102 has tccning hoRs (flOt shown) foi the torsion bar B to be passcd therethrough said upright post portion 102 being welded to the toision hat B by welds WI The torsion bar B may be made of an cons enient or sunable rnatenè s such as stainless steel and should the upnght post portion 102 receive an impact generally in the direction of arrow Y (see FIGURE 4a) it will pivot with torsional. displacement Of the torsion bar B, in the direction of arrow 4 and be teturned to the premipact position on rckase of the rnpac1 force, pros ided the impact is not grtcn tuough to damage the torsion bar B Should the torsion bat B break undu impact, it may be netssar) to provide another post portion 102 to be welded to a new torsion bar or it nia' be posibk to destroy the welds \\ I and replace the torsion bar B usrng the original upright post portion 102 Locating structure 104 may be fixt d to a support structure by air,' con's cnient means in a sumlar mannei to that as at oicdescnbed in relation to pre-vious embodiments of the buffer I I, I FIGURE 5 shows a fifth ernbodimcnt of an impact absoibing buffer 1001 comprising a post portion 1002 ot MmlJar square section format to post portions 2, 2, 2 or haung a Lyhndncal tubular section containing or encasing an axially positioned helical coiled tension spring 1003. Buffet 1:00:1 has a locating strUcture 1004 (to which spring 1003 is fixed b fastenLis f) fixabk to a support structute (not shown) b\ any convenient means It should be appreciated that on impact with a vehicle generally in the direction ot arrow ioo, post portion 1002 is piotable in the direction ot*anow 1006 about a low ci end thereof, and the resilient minus 1003 will act to absorb the energy of the impact and is ictplaceable in iL post portion 1002 if broken, * 15 FIGURES óa and 6b show a sixth embodiment of an impact absorbing buffer 2001 having an upright post portion2002 ofcyiindrical design with an integral ball member * 200T eta iowerend received in amounting socket.2003' of locating structure 2003.

1 he ot.er end of post portion 2002 is surrounded b) a helical coded tension spring 2004 which tiseif encircles the loAer end of post portion 2002 in a toroidal manner as should he evident more particu1arly from I It rIJRE h of the drawings ThL spring 2004 is mounted in a c linoncal upright portion 200i of locating structure 2003 and tour locating hoks 2005 arc provided at associated corners of lower plate. portion p of the locating structure 2003 hr fastening to a support: structure I has, a4,hantageously, in wntrast to prcwouslv dcscnbed embodiments in this embodiment, no set pi%otlng axis or pivoung plane is provided for movement of the post portion 2002 to a thspl&ed post impact position Rather the post portion 2002 is arrangd to iespond pis otally in a directionalh vaiuable manner (in an almost omm-directional manner) to impacts from differentdirections in different pivoting planes (alhei in angularly dispthced ernLa plan& It is to be understood that the scope of the present invention is not to be unduJ limited by the particular choice of terminology and that a sptcific term may be replaced or supplemented by an equivalent or generic term e g nonintegraJ could be replaced by non-integrally formed. Any particular term as use4 herein may be replaced by. that term and the. additional word *means: Further, it is toW understood that individual features, method or fictions relating to the impact absorbing buffer or H. to safety barrier.or part thereef or combinations thereof might be indivIdually patentably inventive. Use of the terms Itont', rear', forwards'. rearwards', vertical.

honzontal, upright are usca to refer to noirnal (or possible) in use orientations and are not to be interpreted in an unneccssanly hmiting or restnctn e manner The singular may inelude the phiral and tee versa Addmonall any range mentioned herein br any parameter or satiable shall he taken to include a disclosure of any dens able sub-range vothin that range or of am parnuilar vahie of the sariable or parameter airanged scahin oi at n end of, be range or subiangc

Claims

CLAIMS1. A shock absorbing member or impact absorbing buffer having a post portion arranged in a first, generally upright position in normal use, said post portion being mounted, in use, to a supporting structure, for example disposed in a multi-storey car park, said past portion being operatively connected to a replaceable or non-integral resilient means, for example in the form of a helical coil spring or torsion bar, permitting movement of the post portion relative to the supporting structure on impact, for example, with a motor vehicle, from said first, generally upright position to a second, displaced position and under low impact conditions, pennitting a return movement from said second position back to said first position, on release of said impact force, said resilient means preferably providing the main or principal (resilient) impact absorbing means of the shock absorbing member or impact * absorbing buffer. S. * * S S * S*
2. A shock absorbing member or impact absorbing buffer as claimed in claim 1 in *: .: which movement of the post portion between said first and second positions is a * pivotal movement.
3. A shock absorbing member or impact absorbing buffer as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 in which the post portion is of hollow, tubular construction.
4. A shock absorbing member or impact absorbing buffer as claimed in claim 3 in which the resilient means extends or is contained within the hollow post portion.
5. A shock absorbingmember of impact absorbingbuffer as claimed in claim 2 or any claim dependent therefrom in which the resilient means is arranged to act on a lower part of the post portion in order to resist pivotal movement of the post portion due to an impact.
6. A shock absorbing member or impact absorbing buffer as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which said resilient means is a compression spring.
7. A shock absorbing member or impact absorbing buffer as claimed in claim 6 in which the compression spring is positioned in front of the post portion and/or arranged generally in the expected impact direction.

*
8. A shock absorbing member or impact absorbing buffer as claimed in any one of * . claims I to 5 in which the resilient means is a tension spring. S. * * S S * 5*
9. A shock absorbing member or impact absorbing buffer as claimed in claim 8 in *: : which the tension spring is positioned behind the post portion.S S..S
10. A shock absorbing member or impact absorbing buffer as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the post and/or resilient means is received in a locating structure fixable to a support structure such as a deck of a multi-storey car park.
11. A shock absorbing member or impact absorbing buffer as claimed in claim 10 in which the locating structure is of box form.
12. A shock absorbing member or impact absorbing buffer as claimed in claim 2 or any claim dependent therefrom in which said post portion pivots between said first and second positions and the post portion is arranged to pivot about a generally horizontal axis in a forward/rearward plane of movement.
13. A shock absorbing member or impact absorbing buffer as claimed in claim 4 in which the resilient means extends upwardly within the post portion and out through an opening in the post portion.
14. A shock absorbing member or impact absorbing buffer as claimed in claim 13 in which said opening is in a rear wall of the post portion.*
15. A shock absorbing member or impact absorbing buffer as claimed in claim 13 or * * claim 14 in which the opening extends downwardly towards a support structure where it is attached thereto.S

S.,...

: .:
16. A shock absorbing member or impact absorbing buffer as claimed in claim 2 in *: which the post portion is connected to a torsion bar with the post portion being pivotable on impact in a forward/rearward plane against the resilient action of the torsion bar.
17. A shock absorbing member or impact absorbing buffer as claimed in claim 16 in which the torsion bar is of steel or the like and/or of solid, cylindrical form.
18. A shock absorbing member or impact absorbing buffer as claimed in claim 16 or 17 in which said torsion bar provides the pivot axis for the post portion.
19. A shock absorbing member or impact absorbing buffer as claimed in any one of claims 16 to 18 in which said post portion is connected to the torsion bar by welding.
20. A shock absorbing member or impact absorbing buffer as claimed in any one of claims 16 to 19 in which said torsion bar is passed through receiving holes in the post portion with the ends of the torsion bar being fixed to a locating structure.
21. A shock absorbing member or impact absorbing buffer as claimed in claim 1 in which the post portion is hollow and provided with the resilient means being a tension * spring extending axially within the post portion and being fixed to a locating structure at a lower end of the post portion. ** . * S S * *S* :
22. A shock absorbing member or impact absorbing buffer as claimed in claim 1 in * which the post portion is movable/çvivotable in different vertical planes at an angle toS *

* one another depending upon the angle of impact.
23. A shock absorbing member or impact absorbing buffer as claimed in claim 22 having a resilient means encircling the post portion.
24. A shock absorbing member or impact absorbing buffer as claimed in claim 23 in which the resilient means is in the form of a helical coiled tension spring.
25. A shock absorbing member or impact absorbing buffer as claimed in claim 24 in which the post portion has a ball member received in a socket in a locating structure to allow virtually omni-directional movement of the post portion.
26. A shock absorbing member or impact absorbing buffer substantially as herein described with reference to FIGURES Ia, lb or FIGURES 2a, 2b or FIGURES 3a, 3b or FIGURES 4a, 4b or FIGURES 5a, Sb or FIGURES 6a, 6b of the accompanying drawings.
27. A safety or crash bather having a plurality of shock absorbing members or impact absorbing buffers as claimed in any one of the preceding claims being spaced apart from one another, in use, by a connecting rail means.S*Ss S.S * . *
28. A niulti-storey car park provided with at least one safety or crash bather as claimed in claim 27.S55*555 * S ** SS S S * 55 S..S