Road safety barrier installer, system and related methods

A road safety barrier installer for installing an array of ground screw supported spaced apart posts that in concert support at least one barrier strap that extends along the array, the road safety barrier installer comprising:

• a. a prime mover able to travel along a road adjacent to the location of the array,
• b. a work station, towed by or part of or otherwise able to move with and by the prime mover, along the road adjacent to the location of the array,
• c. a product supporter, towed by or part of or otherwise able to move with and by the prime mover and/or the work station, along the road adjacent to the location of the array, wherein the product supporter is adapted to receive one of
• a. a single store of a plurality of product comprising of one of
• i. barrier strap and ground screws, and
• ii. barrier strap and posts,
• b. a plurality of stores, individually, of a plurality of product comprising of one of:
• i. barrier strap and ground screws, and
• ii. barrier strap and posts, and
• wherein the work station comprises:
• i) a base, towed by or part of or otherwise able to move with and by the prime mover, and
• ii) at least one placement robot able move relative to the base, the robot able to receive and manipulate a plurality of tools each selected to receive and hold a respective said product, and position the so received and held product in location as part of the array, wherein one of said plurality of tools is a barrier strap connection tool able to receive a continuous feed of barrier strap and able to move the barrier strap to position and secure the barrier strap at a predetermined height to each post of the array.

A road safety barrier installation system for installing an array of ground penetrating anchor supported spaced apart posts that in concert support at least one barrier strap that extends along the array, the road safety barrier installation system comprising:

• a. a work station, able to be guided for movement along the road adjacent to the location of the array,
• b. at least one product supporter able to be guided for movement along the road adjacent to the location of the array, coupled to or integrally formed or connected with the work station, wherein the product supporter is adapted to receive one of
• a. a single store of a plurality of product comprising of one of
• i. barrier strap and ground screws, and
• ii. barrier strap and posts,
• b. a plurality of stores, individually, of a plurality of product comprising of one of:
• i. barrier strap and ground screws, and
• ii. barrier strap and posts,
• and
• wherein the work station comprises of at least one placement robot able move relative to the base, the robot able to receive and manipulate a plurality of tools each selected to receive and hold a respective said product and position the so received and held product in location as part of the array, wherein one of said plurality of tools is a barrier strap connection tool able to receive a continuous feed of barrier strap and able to move the barrier strap to position and secure the barrier strap at a predetermined height to each post of the array.

A method for installing a road safety barrier that when installed, comprises of an array of a plurality of ground screws supported in ground adjacent a road and a plurality of posts supported by said plurality of ground screws and at least one flexible barrier strap secured to the plurality of posts and extending along the array parallel to the road to define at least part of a road safety barrier, the method comprising:

• i. together guiding:
• (i) a product supporter and (ii) at least one placement robot, along the road adjacent to the location of the array in a sequence of passes, wherein:
• a. in a first pass along the road, the product supporter comprises a plurality of ground screws and the at least one placement robot is adapted for positioning and installation of the plurality of ground screws during said first pass,
• b. in a second pass along the road in the same or opposite direction as the first pass, the product supporter comprises a plurality of posts and the at least one placement robot is adapted for positioning and installation of the plurality of posts to the installed plurality of ground screws, during said second pass, and
• c. in a third pass along the road in the same or opposite direction as the first and/or second pass, the product supporter comprises at least one barrier strap and the at least one placement robot is adapted for positioning and installation of the at least one barrier strap to the installed plurality of posts, during said third pass.

A road safety barrier installation system for installing an array of ground penetrating anchor supported spaced apart posts that in concert are able to support at least one barrier strap or cable that extends along the array, the road safety barrier installer system comprises:

• a) a work station, able to be guided for movement along the road adjacent to the location of the array,
• b) at least one product supporter able to be guided for movement along the road adjacent to the location of the array, coupled to or integrally formed or connected with the work station,
• i. wherein the product supporter is adapted to be able to support a store of a plurality of ground penetrating anchors and posts, and
• ii. wherein the work station comprises at least one placement robot that comprises and arm and a tool at the end of the arm and is able to individually
• a. receive and hold a said ground penetrating anchors and posts using tool, and
• b. position the so received and held ground penetrating anchors and posts in location as part of the array.