GB2303389A - Removably supporting guard rail - Google Patents

Description

"Support Assembly" The present invention relates to a support assembly.

In particular, but not exclusively, it relates to a pedestrian guard rail support assembly.

A pedestrian guard rail is a fence, often of galvanised metal, designed to be placed on street corners or near pedestrian crossings between the road and the pavement to protect pedestrians from the traffic. One type of conventional guard rail is constructed from a number of rail panels having at each end box-section upright posts which are set in the concrete. Once the panels have been positioned, adjacent posts are bolted together through their box-sections and the concrete foundations are allowed to set.

A problem associated with these guard rails is that if a panel is damaged, then the foundations must be dug up in order to remove the panel. Further, bolts through the box-section posts are visible and aesthetically poor, and sharp edges of the bolts protruding from the posts may be dangerous.

Another type of guard rail currently in use has supports in the form of vertical steel posts with welded-on flanges at their lower ends. The posts are secured by bolts or studs passing through the flanges into a concrete foundation. The bolts or studs project above the flanges thereby presenting a hazard, as well as being unsightly.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a support assembly for supporting an article at spaced apart locations on the article, the support assembly comprising a pair of mutually spacedapart support members, a respective article-engaging member associated with each support member, each said article-engaging member being extendable from and retractable into the respective support member, the article being adapted at said spaced-apart locations to interengage with said article-engaging members, a lock member associated with each support member and positionable with respect thereto in a manner to maintain the article-engaging members extended from the respective support member and to prevent the articleengaging members being retracted into the respective support members.

The article to be supported may be a section of guard rail, for example a rail panel, with each support member being a respective post which is substantially vertical in normal use. In the case of a guard rail, the spaced-apart locations on the rail section or rail panel which are intended to interengage with the article-engaging members are preferably at opposite ends of the rail section or rail panel and preferably adjacent the upper edge thereof. In the case of a guard rail, each post preferably has a respective fixed or detachable projection below and preferably aligned parallel to the respective article-engaging member when extended from the respective post, each said fixed or detachable projection being adapted to interengage the rail section or rail panel and preferably at or adjacent the lower edge thereof.Each rail section or rail panel may have a respective downwardly open recess for interengagement with the fixed or detachable projections on the posts, each recess preferably being adapted to saddle the respective projection. A respective saddle-form clip may be provided for each said recess, each said clip preferably having means to promote retention of the clip in the respective recess.

Each said post is preferably hollow from the top of the post down at least as far as the location on the post from where the respective article-engaging member is extendable, each said post more preferably being fabricated of RHS (rectangular hollow section metal tubing, usually steel). Each hollow post is preferably formed with a side aperture through which a respective article-engaging member extends, each member preferably being flanged at the inboard end thereof or otherwise adapted so as to be inhibited from detachment from the post by passing totally through the aperture but preferably not so as to be prevented from being withdrawn up the hollow of the post.

The support assembly of the first aspect of the present invention may be applied to the support of articles other than sections of guard rail, for example articles in the nature of shelving or scaffolding.

Whatever the nature of the article to be supported by the support assembly of the first aspect of the present invention, each article-engaging member is preferably externally ribbed to increase component fitting tolerances and/or to reduce vibration or other disturbances of the article being supported in use of the support assembly. Each externally ribbed articleengaging member may be formed with integral ribs, preferably as a unitary article, or alternatively the ribs may be formed on a sleeve fitted over a foundation component of the article-engaging member.

Each lock member is preferably shaped and dimensioned to be a snug fit in the respective support member, and to engage the inboard end of the article engaging member when extended. Where the support member is an at least partially hollow post as aforesaid, the lock member is preferably in the form of a plug for the top of the post, the plug having an upper end formed as a cap for the post, the upper surface of the cap preferably being shaped to form a rain shed. Each lock member is preferably formed with or provided with a respective detent means to inhibit unintended detachment of the lock member from the respective support member.Each detent means is preferably capable of being selectively disabled to allow the respective lock member to be withdrawn from the respective support member and thereupon to allow the respective article-engaging member to the retracted into the respective support member.

According to the second aspect of the present invention there is provided a guard rail assembly comprising alternating support posts and railing panels, each railing panel having opposite ends, a top edge, and a bottom edge, the assembly having a support post or other panel-supporting means at each end of the assembly, each support post being secured to the ground or the like in a substantially vertical position, each support post comprising a pair of apertures substantially at or just below the intended location of the top edges of panels adjacent the respective tube in the guard rail assembly, each support post (except possibly for the end support posts) being provided with two panel-engaging members for selective extension one through each of the apertures and into the top edge of the respective panel whereby each panel is supported at or adjacent its top corners, each support post further being provided with a cap plug adapted to fit into the top of the respective support post subsequent to the extension of the two panel-engaging members such that the cap plug baulks retraction of the panel-engaging members and thereby detains the members in engagement with its respective panels.

Preferably each post is provided with two panelsupporting projections below and aligned with the panel-engaging members when extended, the projections being substantially at the intended locations of the bottom edges of the panels adjacent the respective support post in the guard rail assembly, the panels and/or the projections being adapted for mutual interengagement to support the panels without movement of the projections relative to the support posts. At least the bottom edge of each panel may be formed of hollow tubular material having its lower side removed at each end of the panel such that the lower corners of the panel can straddle and be supported by the projections. The lower corners of each such panel may be fitted with respective clip members for selfretention in the projections, the clip members being preferably positively retained in or on the hollow tubular material of the lower edge of the respective panel.

Each cap plug is preferably provided with a respective detent means to inhibit unintended removal of the cap plug from the support post, such detent means preferably being selectively disengagable to allow the cap plug to be removed from the respective support post.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: - Fig 1 is an exploded perspective view of a support assembly in accordance with the invention; Fig 2 corresponds to Fig 1 and shows the separate components of Fig 1 partially assembled; Fig 3 and Fig 4 illustrate certain individual components of the assembly of Figs 1 and 2; Figs 5, 6 and 7 are respectively an underneath plan view, a side elevation, and an end elevation of a panel-engaging member for attaching a railing panel to a support post; Figs 8, 9 and 10 are respectively a plan view, a side elevation and an end elevation of a lower edge attachment clip; Figs 11 and 12 are respectively a plan view and an end elevation of a cap plug for locking the member of Figs 5-7 into its extended position; and Figs 13 and 14 are respectively a side elevation and an end elevation of a tool for disabling a detent mechanism in the cap plug of Figs 11 and 12, and for retracting the panel-engaging member of Figs 5-7 into its support post.

In Figs 1 and 2, one end of the support assembly is shown, the other end being identical.

As shown in Fig. 1, the support assembly of this embodiment includes a support member in the form of a post 10 which is positioned vertically and concreted into the ground 12. The post 10 is hollow and has rectangular cross section. At the lower end of the post are two projections 14 welded onto opposing faces of the post 10. The projections 14 extend horizontally from the post 10. On the same opposing faces and adjacent the top end of the post 10 are punched two rectangular holes 16.

Two guard rail panels 18 are shown in Fig. 1, each having a top horizontal rail 20, a bottom horizontal rail 22 and a number of bars 24 extending between them.

The rails 20, 22 have rectangular cross sections and their internal dimensions correspond to those of the rectangular holes 16. On the underside of each of the bottom rails 22 adjacent to the post 10 is a cut-out section 26.

Two engagement members in the form of rectangular boxsection slugs 28 are provided. These are completely removable from the post 10. Each slug 28 has a flange 30 at one end.

A lock member in the form of an end cap 32 fits into the top end of the post 10. The end cap 32 is made by injection moulding of a resilient plastic material and has a top flange 34 from which depend opposed walls 35 inclined towards each other and conjoined at their lower ends. The outer faces of the opposed walls 35 each have a detent 36 which projects at right angles from the face. The detent 36 has a flat top surface and a curved underside. The flange 34 of the end cap is sized so as to form a seal over the top of the post 10 when it is inserted, and has dimensions corresponding to the external dimensions of the post 10. Directly below the flange 34 is a small step 38 on each of the opposed walls 35. The steps 38 enable the end cap 32 to fit snugly into the interior dimensions of the post 10.

Two sleeves 40 fit one over each of the slugs 28. Each sleeve 40 is made from PVC and has a number of longitudinal ribs 42 on its outer surface.

Further sleeves 44 having trapezoidal cross sections fit one over each of the projections 14. The cut-out section 26 of each bottom rail 22 fits over a respective one of these sleeves 44 and the lower edge of the sleeve 44 is wide enough to seal the cut out section 26 when in place.

Fig. 2 shows how the panels 18 are connected to the post 10. The trapezoidal sleeves 44 are inserted onto the projections 14. Each panel 18 is then lowered so that the cut-out section 26 of the bottom rail 22 fits tightly over the sleeve-covered projection 46. The holes 16 at the top of the post 10 are then in alignment with the interior of the top rail 20. The slugs 28 are inserted into their ribbed sleeves 40 and then passed partially through the holes 16 and into the top rails 20. The slugs 28 are pushed into the top rails 20 until their flanges 30 prevent any further insertion.

To secure the connected panels 48 and seal the post 10, the end cap 32 is forced into the top of the post 10.

The detents 36 catch under the bottom edges of the slugs' flanges 30 and thus hold the end cap 32 in place. The step 38 on the end cap 32 holds the cap 32 in place even if a pair of slugs is not present, for example at an end portion of the guard rail.

An alternative to pushing the slugs 28 into the top rails 20 by hand is to insert them only by a small amount, then insert the end cap 32 into the top of the post 10 and drive it into the post 10, for example, with a hammer.

The wedge-shape of the end cap 32 then forces the slugs 28 into their fully extended position.

A significant advantage of this embodiment of the invention is that the support assembly can be easily disassembled by removing the end cap and simply disconnecting the panel from the post.

Attention is also drawn to Figs. 3 and 4 of the accompanying drawings, which are different views of individual parts of the support assembly of Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring now to Figs 5, 6 and 7 these show, respectively, an underneath plan view, a side elevation, and an end elevation of a unitary rail panel-engaging member 280 which is a preferred alternative to the slug 28 previously described. The member 280 comprises a hollow box-like part 282 with an end flange 284. The part 282 is formed with external ribs 286 on each face to facilitate tight fitting of the part 282 in the top rail 20 of the rail panel 18.

The bottom face of the box-like part 282 is provided with two slits 288 to form a resilient tongue 290. The outboard end of the tongue 290 is provided with a projecting ramp 292 such that the tongue 290 acts as a resilient latch, with the ramp 292 latching in a suitable hole (not shown) in the lower face of the top rail 20 when the member 280 is extended through the post hole 16.

The flange 284 restrains the member 280 from extending too far from the post 10, and prevents inadvertent loss of the member 280 during assembly of the guard rail (as does the flange 30 in the slag 28).

The middle of the flange 284 is provided with an aperture 294 (Fig 7) in the form of a central hole having a diametrally symmetrical pair of slots extending diagonally from the central hole. The purpose of the aperture 294 is to enable cooperation with a delatching and withdrawal tool subsequently to be described with reference to Figs 13 and 14.

The member 280 is preferably fabricated as a unitary moulding of plastics material, which may (for example) be nylon or another suitable high-strength polymer.

Referring now to Figs 8, 9 and 10 these show, respectively, a plan view, a side elevation, and an end elevation of an attachment clip 300 intended to replace the sleeve 44 previously described as fitting over the lower panel-engaging projection 14. Unlike the sleeve 44, the clip 300 is intended to be fitted in the end of bottom rail 22, in line with the cut-out 26. To this end, the clip 300 has two end-to-end slots 302 which engage matching ribs (not shown) inside the bottom rail 22 to prevent the clip 300 being vertically detached from the rail 22. The top face of the clip 300 is provided with a resilient tongue 304 having an upwardly projecting ramp 306 at its free end. The combination of the tongue 304 and the ramp 306 functions as a resilient latch engaging a suitable hole (not shown) in the upper face of the bottom rail 22 so as to prevent the clip 300 from sliding longitudinally out of the rail 22 unless the tongue 304 is intentionally depressed to bring the ramp 306 out of the hole and so free the clip 300.

The sides of the clip 300 are formed as resilient latches 308 which allow the clip 300 (and the rail panel to which the clip 300 is attached) to be firmly attached to the projection 14 when pushed down over it during assembly of the guard rail. The outer faces of the latches 308 are broadly chamfered to allow the latches 308 to spread sideways within the bottom rail 22 as the clip 300 is being fitted onto the projection 14.

The clip 300 includes a circular peg 310 (Fig 10) which is downwardly contiguous with the ramp 306. During and subsequent to engagement of the rail-mounted clip 300 with the projection 14, the peg 310 fits into a vertical hole (not shown) through the projection 14 to provide longitudinal restraint to the rail panel. The lower end of the peg 310 is conically tapered to facilitate insertion of the peg 310 into the hole in the projection 14.

The clip 300 is preferably fabricated as a unitary moulding of plastics material, which may (for example) be nylon or another suitable high-strength polymer.

Referring now to Figs 11 and 12 these show, respectively, a plan view and an end elevation of a cap plug 320 which is a preferred alternative to the end cap 32 previously described. (The cross-section of the plug 320 as shown in Fig 12 is uniform from end to end except for certain features detailed below.) Whereas the cap 32 had sides which were mutually integral at the bottom of the cap, the cap plug 320 has resilient sides 322 which are integral with the plug top 324 but which have respective free ends 326 at the bottom of the plug 320. The upper regions of the sides 322 are made relatively resilient in comparison to the lower regions of the sides 322 (towards the free ends 326) by having sections 328 of reduced lateral thickness immediately below the top 324.These sections 328 correspond to the flanges 284 of two members 280 fitted in and extended from the post 10 through respective apertures 16 such that the cap plug 320 serves as a retainer for holding these members 280 in their extended positions projecting from the post 10. At the same time outwardly directed ledges 330 at and defining the bottom edges of the sections 328 clip under the bottom edges of the flanges 284 to latch the cap plug 320 into the top of the post 10.

The top 332 of the cap plug 320 acts as a flange with respect to the plug top 324 so as to prevent overinsertion of the cap plug 320 into the post 10. The upper surface of the top 332 (Fig 11) is formed with a quadrilaterally symmetrical shallow slope to provide a rain shed and to improve the aesthetic appearance of the cap plug 320 when fitted in the top of the post 10.

The plug top 332 has a central slot-shaped aperture 334 for the passage of one end of the tool about to be described with reference to Figs 13 and 14. The aperture 334 may be closed by a knock-out in a new cap plug 320 to inhibit the ingress of rain and/or debris to the interior of the post 10, the knock-out being removable by impacts or pressure when passage of the tool is required for removal of the cap plug 320 from the top of the post 10.

The form of the cap plug 320, particularly as shown in Fig 12, makes the cap plug 320 inherently self-latching in an assembled guard rail. In order to de-latch the cap plug 320 as a prerequisite for its withdrawal from the post 10 to free the members 280 for inward movement to detach the tops of one or both rail panels supported by the post and its associated members and projections, the free ends 326 of the plug sides 322 must be drawn together sufficiently for the ledges 330 to unhook from the lower edges of the flanges 284 of the members 280 ultimately to be retracted and withdrawn as part of this dismantling procedure. Details of the tool and its operating procedure will now be given.

Referring to Figs 13 and 14, a dual-purpose tool 400 is shown for, firstly, unlatching and withdrawing the cap plug 320 from the top of the post 10, and, secondly, for coupling to each of the members 280 in turn such that they can be withdrawn into the hollow interior of the post 10 and thereafter lifted out of the post 10.

The tool 400 is based on an elongated L-shaped rod 402 having the first tool function at its upper end (as viewed in Figs 13 and 14) and the second tool function at its lower end.

The upper end of the rod 402 is formed with a double hook 404 which is wide from tip-to-tip but relatively narrow in width or thickness (compare the view in Fig 13 with the view in Fig 14). Use of the hook 404 in the first tool function requires the preliminary removal of the knock-out closing the aperture 334 in the plug top 320 (Fig 11), followed by lowering of the hook 404 through the now-open aperture 334 on the end of the rod upturned and vertical 402. Once the hook 404 is just inside the plug top 324 it is stated by 900 around the longitudinal axis of the rod 402 such that the long dimension of the hook 404 (see Fig 13) is aligned with the longitudinally extended and laterally narrow gap between the free ends 326 of the plug sides 328.The re-aligned hook 404 is then further lowered through the aperture 334 until the hook 404 is comfortably below the free ends 326, whereupon the rod 402 is turned through a further 900 about its longitudinal axis (or the previous quarter-turn is reversed) such that the bights of the double hook 404 underlie the free ends 326 at about their mid-length.

Next, the hook 404 is raised without further rotation, such that the double hook 404 catches both free ends 326 whereupon the interaction of the rising tapered hook bights and the tapered free ends 326 draws the free ends 326 towards one another. A semicircular recess (not shown) may be cut out of each of the facing edges of the free ends 326 to allow them to come together around the rod 402. Once the free ends 326 have been drawn together sufficiently for the ledges 330 to disengage from the lower edges of the flanges 284 of the members 280 and thereby unlatch the cap plug 320, continued lifting of the tool 400 pulls the cap plug 320 upwards and eventually out of the top of the post 10.

The hollow interior of the post 10 is now exposed, together with flanges 284 where they are retained in the interior of the post 10. The tool 400 is now reversed in order to perform its second function. The short L-shaped end 406 of the tool 400 (formed by a bend in the rod 402) is lowered down the post 10 until it is aligned with the aperture 294 (Fig 7) in one of the two newly exposed flanges 284. Next the free end 408 of the L-shaped end 406 of the tool 400 there are two laterally projecting stubs 410. The rod 402 is turned off vertical until the stubs 410 align with the diagonal slots in the aperture 292 whereupon the tool 400 is manipulated to cause the end 408 and its associated stubs 410 to pass through the aperture 294 and into the interior of the box-like part 282 of the selected panel-engaging member 280.The rod 402 is now returned to vertical so that while the end part 406 of the rod 402 still passes through the central hole in the aperture 294, the stubs 410 no longer align with the slots of the aperture 294 and the tool 400 is thereby temporarily locked to the selected member 280.

The tongue 290 of the selected member 280 is bent by upward pressure on the ramp 294 so as to lift the ramp 294 out of the hole in the lower face of the top rail 20 thereby to de-latch the member 280 from the respective rail panel. Horizontal blows or horizontal pressure on the rod 402 transmit to the member 280 through the temporarily coupled tool end 406 and the member 208 is withdrawn into the interior of the post 10 from where it can be extracted by lifting the tool 400 clear of the post 10. Finally, the tool 400 is uncoupled from the member 280 for re-use on another member.

When a given rail panel is uncoupled (as described above) at both top corners, the bottom corners can be freed by forcing apart the resilient latches 308 (see Fig 10) in the clips 300 at each end of the bottom rail 22 and the panel can then be lifted free.

While certain modifications and variations have been described above, the invention is not restricted thereto, and other modifications and variations can be adopted without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended Claims.

Claims (21)

1A support assembly for supporting an article at spaced apart locations on the article, the support assembly comprising a pair of mutually spaced apart support members, a respective article engaging member associated with each support member, each said article-engaging member being extendable from and retractable into the respective support member, the article being adapted at said spaced-apart locations to interengage with said article-engaging members, a lock member associated with each support member and positionable with respect thereto in a manner to maintain the article-engaging members extended from the respective support member and to prevent the article-engaging members being retracted into the respective support members.

2 A support assembly as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the article to be supported is a section of guard rail with each support member being a respective post which is substantially vertical in normal use.

3 A support assembly as claimed in Claim 2 wherein spaced-apart locations on the guard rail which are intended to interengage with the article-engaging members are at opposite ends of the rail.

4 A support assembly as claimed in Claim 2 or Claim

3 wherein each post has a respective fixed or detachable projection below and aligned parallel to the respective article-engaging member when extended from the respective post, each said fixed or detachable projection being adapted to interengage the rail at or adjacent a lower edge thereof.

5 A support assembly as claimed in Claim 4 wherein the rail has downwardly open recesses for interengagement with respective fixed or detachable projections on the posts, each recess being adapted to saddle the respective projection.

6 A support assembly as claimed in Claim 5 wherein a respective saddle-form clip is provided for each said recess, each said clip having means to promote retention of the clip in the respective recess.

7 A support assembly as claimed in any of Claims 2 to 6 wherein each said post is hollow from the top of the post down at least as far as the location on the post from where the respective article engaging member is extendable.

8 A support assembly as claimed in Claim 7 wherein each hollow post is formed with a side aperture through which a respective article-engaging member extends.

9 A support assembly as claimed in Claim 8 wherein each member is flanged at the inboard end thereof or otherwise adapted so as to be inhibited from detachment from the post by passing totally through the aperture but not so as to be prevented from being withdrawn up the hollow interior of the post.

10 A support assembly as claimed in any preceding Claim wherein each article-engaging member is externally ribbed.

11 A support assembly as claimed in any preceding Claim wherein each lock member is shaped and dimensioned to be a plug fit in the respective support member, and to engage the inboard end of the article-engaging member when extended.

12 A support assembly as claimed in Claim 11 when dependent on any of Claims 7, 8 or 9 wherein the lock member is in the form of a plug for the top of the post the plug having an upper end formed as a cup for the post.

13 A support assembly as claimed in Claim 12 wherein each lock member has a respective detent means to inhibit unintended detachment of the lock member from the respective support member.

14 A support assembly as claimed in Claim 13 wherein each detent means is capable of being selectively disabled to allow the respective lock member to be withdrawn from the respective support member and thereupon to allow the respective article-engaging member to the retracted into the respective support member.

15 A guard rail assembly comprising alternating support posts and railing panels, each railing panel having opposite ends, a top edge, and a bottom edge, the assembly having a support post or other panel-supporting means at each end of the assembly, each support post being secured in a substantially vertical position, each support post having a pair of apertures substantially at or just below the intended location of the top edges of panels adjacent the respective tube in the guard rail assembly, at least one of the support posts being provided with two panel-engaging members for selective extension one through each of the apertures and into the top edge of the respective panel whereby each panel is supported at or adjacent its top corners, each support post further being provided with a cap plug adapted to fit into the top of the support post subsequent to the extension of the two panel-engaging members such that the cap plug baulks retraction of the panel-engaging members and thereby detains the members in engagement with its respective panels.

16 A guard rail assembly as claimed in Claim 15 wherein each post is provided with two panel supporting projections below and aligned with the panel-engaging members when extended, the projections being substantially at the intended locations of the bottom edges of the panels adjacent the respective support post in the guard rail assembly, the panels and/or the projections being adapted for mutual interengagement to support the panels without movement of the projections relative to the support posts.

17 A guard rail assembly as claimed in Claim 16 where at least the bottom edge of each panel is formed of hollow tubular material having its lower side removed at each end of the panel such that the lower corners of the panel can straddle and be supported by the projections.

18 A guard rail assembly as claimed in Claim 17 wherein the lower corners of each such panel are fitted with clip members for self-retention in the projections, the clip members being positively retained in or on the hollow tubular material of the lower edge of the panel.

19 A guard rail assembly as claimed in any of Claims

15 to 18 wherein each cap plug is provided with a respective detent means to inhibit unintended removal of the cap plug from the support post, such detent means being selectively disengagable to allow the cap plug to be removed from the support post.

20 A support assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

21 A guard rail assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.