The Development History of Retractable Bollards

The lifting column was originally described as a short vertical column, which is often used by large ships in ports when berthing. But now its meaning has been expanded to describe various facilities and institutions that manage pedestrian, protect key infrastructure, set perimeter and distinguish roads.

1. The history of retractable bollards

It is said that street bollards began in the 17th century with the shape of inverted cannons. They were used as city's boundary and symbols. Since then, they have become ubiquitous in our daily life, such as in supermarkets, restaurants, hotels, shops and stadiums. We can often see automatic bollards of different shapes, which are used to indicate the way forward, protect us from injury or tell us whether we can park here. These beautiful bollards beautify the environment, distinguish sidewalks from carriageways, and sometimes even serve as chairs for us to sit down and enjoy lunch.

Fixed metal bollards are the most common. Generally, they are painted steel bollards with a height of about 36cm, internally poured with cement and installed on the ground. Some are square, but most of them are cylindrical, with angled or smooth brim. The size, color, texture, shape and function of retractable bollards are numerous. They can be fixed, movable, or retractable, and can also be used as an ornament to decorate the original steel pipes.

Many lifting columns have aesthetic functions, especially metal bollards, which are used to prevent the damage of vehicles to pedestrians and buildings.

They can be used as the simplest way to control access and can also be used as guardrails to delimit specific areas. They can be individually fixed on the ground and can also be arranged in a line to circle the road and prevent vehicles from entering or leaving, thus ensuring safety. Metal guardrails fixed on the ground serve as the function of long-term fences, while retractable bollards can ensure the entry of certified vehicles.

2. Types of automatic bollards

(1) Pneumatic automatic bollards: air is used as the medium to drive the automatic bollards to ascend and descend through the external pneumatic power.

(2) Hydraulic automatic bollards: hydraulic oil is used as driving medium. There are two control modes, that is, the external hydraulic power (the driving part is separated from the cylinder) or the internal hydraulic power (the driving part is placed in the cylinder) drives the cylinder to rise and fall.

(3) Electromechanical automatic bollards: the motor inside the bollards drives the bollards to rise and fall.

(4) Semi-automatic bollards: the ascending process is driven by the power unit built in the bollard, and the descending process is completed by manpower.

(5) Pulling-type automatic bollards: the lifting process needs manual lifting, and the lowering depends on the weight of the bollard itself.