Crash attenuator with a row of compressible hoops
First Claim
1. A crash attenuator system, comprising:
- a row of two or more hoops, said row of hoops being compressible along a row axis, the row having a row front and a row back intersecting the row axis, and a left side and a right side extending between the row front and the row back, each hoop in said row of hoops being comprised of a right curved outwardly bowing portion and a left curved outwardly bowing portion;
adjacent hoops in said row of hoops being attached together at respective ends thereof;
a left border member extending along at least a portion of the left side of said row of hoops;
a right border member extending along at least a portion of the right side of said row of hoops, wherein the left and right border members are spaced a predetermined distance apart;
wherein the border member structure has been structurally weakened at a weakness location on each of said bending portions to facilitate outward bending of said left and right border members when a hoop enclosed by said border members is compressed;
connection structure which restricts opposing portion pairs of the left and right border members from moving apart any further than said predetermined distance upon compression of one or more of said hoops; and
wherein the right curved outwardly bowing portion and the left curved outwardly bowing portion of each hoop bows outwardly a substantially increased amount upon compression of that hoop due to an impact.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An energy absorbing guardrail crash attenuator system comprises a row of compressible hoops with left and right border panels extending along at least a portion of the row. Adjacent hoops in the row are attached, with the proximate portions of adjacent hoops defining connection regions. The border panels extend along the left and right sides of the row of hoops, with the panels being separated by a panel distance. The left and right border panels have opposing portion pairs that are restricted in their movement such that the pairs do not move more than the panel distance apart during compression of one or more of the hoops. At least one of the opposing portion pairs is disposed about one of the connection regions. In an aspect of the attenuation system, the hoops have left and right outwardly bowing curved panels having front ends oriented toward the row front and back ends oriented toward the row back. Adjacent hoops are connected to each other with flexible joints that also connect the curved panels front ends and the curved panels back ends, respectively. In an aspect of the attenuation system, the front end of the row of compressible hoops extends into an array of containers of particulate mass, such that the attenuation system performs gating and redirecting functions.
67 Citations
44 Claims
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1. A crash attenuator system, comprising:
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a row of two or more hoops, said row of hoops being compressible along a row axis, the row having a row front and a row back intersecting the row axis, and a left side and a right side extending between the row front and the row back, each hoop in said row of hoops being comprised of a right curved outwardly bowing portion and a left curved outwardly bowing portion; adjacent hoops in said row of hoops being attached together at respective ends thereof; a left border member extending along at least a portion of the left side of said row of hoops; a right border member extending along at least a portion of the right side of said row of hoops, wherein the left and right border members are spaced a predetermined distance apart; wherein the border member structure has been structurally weakened at a weakness location on each of said bending portions to facilitate outward bending of said left and right border members when a hoop enclosed by said border members is compressed; connection structure which restricts opposing portion pairs of the left and right border members from moving apart any further than said predetermined distance upon compression of one or more of said hoops; and wherein the right curved outwardly bowing portion and the left curved outwardly bowing portion of each hoop bows outwardly a substantially increased amount upon compression of that hoop due to an impact. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A crash ATTENUATOR system, comprising:
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a row of two or more hoops, said row of hoops being compressible along a row axis, the row having a row front and a row back intersecting the row axis, and a left side and a right side extending between the row front and the row back, each hoop in said row of hoops being comprised of a right curved outwardly bowing portion and a left curved outwardly bowing portion; adjacent hoops in said row of hoops being attached together at respective ends thereof; a left border member extending along at least a portion of the left side of said row of hoops; a right border member extending along at least a portion of the right side of said row of hoops, wherein the left and right border members are spaced a predetermined distance apart;
each of said left and right border members including a bending portion disposed outwardly of respective left and right curved outwardly bowing hoop portions and having a location thereon which is structurally weakened to facilitate outward bending thereof under compression;wherein the right curved outwardly bowing portion and the left curved outwardly bowing portion of each hoop bows outwardly a substantially increased amount upon compression of that hoop due to an impact. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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Specification