Barrier for roadway

Abstract

A barrier for a roadway (e.g., a highway, bridge, or other road), which can be used to manage vehicular traffic, such as to establish lanes, protect motorists and other people (e.g., pedestrians, construction workers, etc.) against crashes or other impacts, and/or other purposes, and which may be configured to enhance its use and performance, such as by better protecting the motorists and others when impacted by vehicles (e.g., reducing deflection by deflecting less or substantially not deflecting and/or otherwise improving protection provided by the barrier), facilitating transportation, installation, removal, and/or transfer of the barrier at the roadway, and/or enhancing other aspects of the barrier. For example, the barrier may be designed for enhanced mobility such that components of the barrier may move relative to one another to allow the barrier to be transferred by a transfer vehicle from one location at the roadway to another rotation at the roadway as the components of the barrier remain connected.

1 . A barrier for a roadway, the barrier comprising a plurality of barrier modules hingedly connected to one another, wherein:
 the barrier comprises a hinge connecting a given one of the barrier modules to an adjacent one of the barrier modules, the hinge comprising:
 a connector of the given one of the barrier modules; 
 a connector of the adjacent one of the barrier modules; and 
 a pin to join the connector of the given one of the barrier modules and the connector of the adjacent one of the barrier modules, 
   wherein the connector of the given one of the barrier modules and the connector of the adjacent one of the barrier modules are configured such that the pin is movable relative to at least one of the connector of the given one of the barrier modules and the connector of the adjacent one of the barrier modules along a guided path of travel including a change of direction to allow the given one of the barrier modules to rotate with respect to the adjacent one of the barrier modules.   
     
     
         2 . The barrier of  claim 1 , wherein the guided path of travel comprises a first segment and a second segment transverse to the second segment. 
     
     
         3 . The barrier of  claim 1 , wherein the guided path of travel is at least partly curvilinear. 
     
     
         4 . The barrier of  claim 3 , wherein the guided path of travel is at least partly arcuate. 
     
     
         5 . The barrier of  claim 1 , wherein the guided path of travel is at least partly angular. 
     
     
         6 . The barrier of  claim 1 , wherein the guided path of travel includes an L-shaped portion. 
     
     
         7 . The barrier of  claim 1 , wherein: the barrier is a movable barrier configured to be transferred between different locations at the roadway by a transfer vehicle and the hinge is configured such that the given one of the barrier modules is rotatable with respect to the adjacent one of the barrier modules when the pin is received by the connector of the given one of the barrier modules and the connector of the adjacent one of the barrier modules and the barrier is being transferred between the different locations at the roadway. 
     
     
         8 . The barrier of  claim 1 , wherein the hinge is configured such that the given one of the barrier modules is rotatable with respect to the adjacent one of the barrier modules by at least  5  degrees when the pin is received by the connector of the given one of the barrier modules and the connector of the adjacent one of the barrier modules. 
     
     
         9 . The barrier of  claim 1 , wherein the connector of the given one of the barrier modules comprises a first opening, the connector of the adjacent one of the barrier modules comprises a second opening, the pin is received in the first opening and the second opening, and the first opening is shaped to define the guided path of travel. 
     
     
         10 . The barrier of  claim 9 , wherein the connector of the given one of the barrier modules comprises a first connecting member and the connector of the adjacent one of the barrier modules comprises a second connecting member; and the first connecting member comprises the first opening and the second connecting member comprises the second opening. 
     
     
         11 . (canceled) 
     
     
         12 . (canceled) 
     
     
         13 . (canceled) 
     
     
         14 . (canceled) 
     
     
         15 . (canceled) 
     
     
         16 . (canceled) 
     
     
         17 . (canceled) 
     
     
         18 . (canceled) 
     
     
         19 . The barrier of  claim 9 , wherein at least the first opening is an L-shaped opening when viewed in the heightwise direction of the barrier. 
     
     
         20 . The barrier of  claim 9 , wherein at least the first opening comprises a first segment and a second segment transverse to the first segment when viewed in the heightwise direction of the barrier. 
     
     
         21 . The barrier of  claim 20 , wherein the first segment and the second segments are joined at a vertex. 
     
     
         22 . The barrier of  claim 20 , wherein the first segment and the second segment define an angle when viewed in the heightwise direction of the barrier. 
     
     
         23 . The barrier of  claim 9 , wherein the first opening is curvilinear when viewed in the heightwise direction of the barrier. 
     
     
         24 . The barrier of  claim 9 , wherein the first opening is arcuate when viewed in the heightwise direction of the barrier. 
     
     
         25 . (canceled) 
     
     
         26 . (canceled) 
     
     
         27 . (canceled) 
     
     
         28 . The barrier of  claim 1 , wherein the barrier further comprises a front member configured to be connected to a body of a first one of the plurality of barrier modules. 
     
     
         29 . The barrier of  claim 28 , wherein the front member is configured to collapse about an impacting vehicle that impacts the front member of the barrier. 
     
     
         30 . (canceled) 
     
     
         31 . (canceled) 
     
     
         32 . The barrier of  claim 1 , wherein the given one of the barrier modules comprise a container configured to contain a substance. 
     
     
         33 . (canceled) 
     
     
         34 . (canceled) 
     
     
         35 . (canceled) 
     
     
         36 . (canceled) 
     
     
         37 . (canceled) 
     
     
         38 . The barrier of  claim 32 , wherein the container comprises at least one channel engageable by a forklift to transfer the given one of the barrier modules from a first location to a second location. 
     
     
         39 . The barrier of  claim 38 , wherein the adjacent one of the barrier modules comprises a container configured to contain a substance; and the container of the adjacent one of the barrier modules comprises at least one channel engageable by the forklift to simultaneously transfer the given one of the barrier modules and the adjacent one of the barrier modules from the first location to the second location. 
     
     
         40 . The barrier of  claim 1 , wherein the barrier modules implement a crash cushion. 
     
     
         41 . The barrier of  claim 40 , wherein the barrier modules comprise a body including polymeric material. 
     
     
         42 . The barrier of  claim 41 , wherein the polymeric material is configured to be deformable upon impact to limit an amount of debris produced upon impact. 
     
     
         43 . (canceled) 
     
     
         44 . (canceled) 
     
     
         45 . (canceled) 
     
     
         46 . (canceled) 
     
     
         47 . The barrier of  claim 1 , wherein the barrier is configured to deflect by no more than 1.6 meters according to MASH. 
     
     
         48 . (canceled) 
     
     
         49 . (canceled) 
     
     
         50 . (canceled) 
     
     
         51 . A barrier for a roadway, the barrier comprising a plurality of barrier modules hingedly connected to one another, the barrier being configured to be transferred between different locations at the roadway by a transfer vehicle, the barrier comprising a hinge connecting a given one of the barrier modules to an adjacent one of the barrier modules, the hinge comprising:
 a connector of the given one of the barrier modules;   a connector of the adjacent one of the barrier modules; and   a pin to join the connector of the given one of the barrier modules and the connector of the adjacent one of the barrier modules,   
       wherein the hinge is configured such that the given one of the barrier modules is rotatable with respect to the adjacent one of the barrier modules when the pin joins the connectors and the barrier is being transferred between the different locations at the roadway by the transfer vehicle. 
     
     
         52 . A barrier for a roadway, the barrier comprising a plurality of barrier modules hingedly connected to one another, the barrier comprising a hinge connecting a given one of the barrier modules to an adjacent one of the barrier modules, the hinge comprising:
 a connector of the given one of the barrier modules comprising a first opening;   a connector of the adjacent one of the barrier modules comprising a second opening; and   a pin that is receivable in the first opening and in the second opening to join the connector of the given one of the barrier modules and the connector of the adjacent one of the barrier modules,   
       wherein: the first opening comprises a first segment and a second segment oriented differently than the first segment; and the pin is configured to be translatable relative to the first segment and the second segment of the first opening to allow the given one of the barrier modules to rotate with respect to the adjacent one of the barrier modules. 
     
     
         53 . A barrier for a roadway, the barrier comprising a plurality of impact-attenuating modules hingedly connected to one another, each of the impact-attenuating modules including a container containing a substance, wherein the container of a leading one of the impact-attenuating modules is only partly filled with the substance.