Design of occupant arm protection cage 9

[ExtraSalty]

Hi all,

I am working on a job where the client has asked for a protection cage against on-coming traffic. More specifically, the cage is to be mounted to a line marking truck whereby the occupant reaches out from the side of the truck in order to place road markers. The client wants a cage to protect the arm of the occupant in the event of on-coming vehicles passing too close. The maximum speed of all on-coming traffic will be limited to 40 km/hr (25 mph) while the truck will be moving at walking speed.

I was wondering if there are any available standards/guides to design the cage to. I am aware that there are multiple standards for direct impact protection, however, they do not give anything relating to side swipe actions.

Cheers,

 

[drawoh]

ExtraSalty,

How about applying something like Scotch VHB structural tapes to the bottoms of the cones? The worker peels away the backing while looking forwards for oncoming vehicles, and places the cone.

--
JHG

 

[handleman]

I would think the ergonomics of reaching out and down all the way to the road would be terrible... RSI waiting to happen.

If the glue could be applied to the bottom of the reflector, the operator could put the reflector onto some sort of gripper or vacuum pad at a comfortable work height, then push the arm out and down to position the reflector on the road.

-handleman, CSWP (The new, easy test)

 

[tomwalz]

Has anyone talked to the people who actually place the cones, dots, etc.?

Thomas J. Walz
Carbide Processors, Inc.

http://www.carbideprocessors.com

Good engineering starts with a Grainger Catalog.

 

[ornerynorsk]

I don't think cones are glued or otherwise attached to the road surface. A lot of reading between the lines is being done here. Anyone who has ever handled traffic cones can tell you that they have sufficient weight and proper weight distribution to stand on their own without worry of draft from passing vehicles displacing them.

It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.

 

[handleman]

Actually, a lot of not reading the actual lines is being done.

The OP actually outlined the process in question pretty clearly. This is not cones. It's reflectors glued to the road.

The occupant placing the reflector markers are facing the oncoming vehicles. Problem is that they need to look down at where they want to place the reflector marker, eject a glob of glue onto that spot, then place the marker over the glue. This needs to be repeated every few metres over a good 50 km stretch of road.

-handleman, CSWP (The new, easy test)

 

[MintJulep]

There's already at least some development on an automated system for this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_635Xt3We4E

 

[mcgyvr]

There's already at least some development on an automated system for this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_635Xt3We4E

Can't see why anyone would attempt to do build a cage when a solution like that is so simple (and safe). Of course now you've just put another person out of a job (but a dangerous job obviously).
One could easily build a system like that for a few thousand dollars.

 

[mcgyvr]

Heck.. keep the person employed but just sitting in the back of a truck watching a camera, loading more reflectors into a tray and pressing the green button. No need to distract the driver which poses more of a danger than anything in my opinion..

 

[dhengr]

MintJulep:
RE: your 4SEP13, 10:52 post.... I like the plows and the big truck. But, there seems to be a bit of a scale problem with the picture. Notice that the circle sawn pine board fence behind the truck must have about 4' +/- wide boards, 20' + high, or there is something fishy about that truck. That’s one hell of a snow fence.

 

[MintJulep]

Obviously it snows a lot there

 

[ornerynorsk]

Good on ya, Handleman! Thanks for pointing that out. My bad.

It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.