GB2263122A

GB2263122A - Post assembly for a hazard warning barrier

Info

Publication number: GB2263122A
Application number: GB9200614A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David John Morgan
Original assignee: COOK PETER INT PLC
Current assignee: COOK PETER INT PLC
Priority date: 1992-01-10
Filing date: 1992-01-10
Publication date: 1993-07-14
Anticipated expiration: 2012-01-10
Also published as: GB2263122B; GB9200614D0

Abstract

A post assembly for a hazard warning barrier has a base 1 with an upstanding conical post 2, an upper end of which is in the form of a four-way adaptor 4 having slots 6 to which can be fitted boards 5 for forming pedestrian hand rails in the erection of a barrier. Received on the post 2 is a sleeve 3 having slots 13 within which can be received ends of boards 14 forming lower rails in the erection of the barrier. The bore of the sleeve 3 is frusto conical complementary to that of the post 2 so that the engagement between the complementary surfaces determines the height of the sleeve 3 on the post and thereby the height of the boards 14 above the base 1. <IMAGE>

Description

TITLE "A post assembly and a sleeve for such an assembly" TECHNICAL FIELD & BACKGROUND ART The present invention relates to a post assembly and a sleeve for such an assembly. It particularly concerns post assemblies for use in a barrier construction which may temporarily be erected as a warning or indication of pedestrian hazards, for example around building or road works. Barriers of the kind mentioned are well known and are generally erected from plastics moulded components comprising two or more posts upstanding from stable bases and disposed in a spaced array. Rails or boards extend between the posts with the ends of the rails or boards being secured at predetermined heights to the respective posts.In conventional structures the rails or boards are located at a convenient height to be readily visible to a pedestrian so that a barrier to impede access is apparent and such height is usually consistent with the rail or boards presenting a pedestrian hand rail. The rails or boards are usually shallow in depth as compared with the height of the posts and it is frequently desirable that a pair of upper and lower parallel rails is provided to extend between each pair of adjacent posts and it is an object of the present invention to provide a post assembly by which a lower rail may be incorporated in a barrier system in a simple, efficient and inexpensive manner.

STATEMENT OF INVENTION & ADVANTAGES According to the present invention there is provided a post assembly for a hazard warning barrier comprising a post upstanding from a stable base, an upper region of the post carrying first means for attachment thereto of an upper rail for erecting the barrier and a lower region of the post presenting a locating profile which increases in width as it approaches the base, and a sleeve having second means for attachment thereto of a lower rail in erecting the barrier, said sleeve being received on the post and cooperating in firm seating engagement with said locating profile to position the second attachment means for the lower rail at a predetermined height above the base.

By the present invention it is envisaged that an upstanding post for a hazard warning barrier and which is provided, usually at its upper end, with attachment means for locating an upper rail in the barrier may be adapted to locate a lower rail in the barrier simply by sliding the sleeve over and down the post until it firmly seats in frictional engagement on the locating profile region of the post to locate the lower rail at a predetermined height above the base. The sleeve and post will usually be plastics moulded components as is conventional for pedestrian hazard warning barriers. The base may be integrally moulded with the post but if not it too will usually be moulded in plastics or rubber.

A conventional post for a hazard warning barrier has a generally conical profile which tapers to increase in width as it approaches its base. Preferably the sleeve is formed with a bore which tapers and is similarly profiled to be complementary to a lower end region of such a known post so that the sleeve can simply be slipped onto the post to fall to a position where its bore sits in substantially complementary engagement with the lower end region of the post and thereby firmly locate the second attachment means for the lower rail at the predetermined height above the base. With such a simple arrangement it will be appreciated that it is only necessary to provide appropriately profiled sleeves for;fitting to conventional barrier posts as aforementioned for those posts to be convertible for the erection of double rail barriers.

With the aforegoing in mind the invention also provides a sleeve for an upstanding post of a hazard warning barrier and which comprises a bore within which the post is to be received, said bore having a restricted profile which will determine the height at which the sleeve will be located on the post, and wherein the sleeve has on its periphery means for attachment thereto of a rail in erecting the barrier.

Preferably the means provided on the sleeve for the attachment thereto of a rail comprises an array of at least two rail locators spaced about the periphery of the sleeve.

With this preference and when the sleeve is located on the post, the ends of two or more rails can be attached to a common sleeve (depending upon the number of rail locators provided) for example, to permit the post assembly to form a corner post in an angled barrier or an intermediate post in a rectilinear barrier thereby permitting the barrier to be erected in various configurations. Usually the aforementioned rail locators will be in a common horizontal plane when the sleeve is located on the post.

Conveniently the means for attaching rails to the sleeve will be in the form of one or more upwardly and outwardly opening slots on the periphery of the sleeve within each of which slot an end of a barrier rail can be seated.

As previously mentioned, the locating profile presented at the lower end region of the post will usually be of generally frusto conical shape and desirably this profile is stepped to provide an upwardly directed external shoulder. The bore of the sleeve may be provided with a complementary profile so that the external shoulder on the lower region of the post abuts an internal downwardly directed shoulder of the sleeve to provide a firm seating when the sleeve is fitted.

DRAWINGS One embodiment of a post assembly constructed in accordance with the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying illustrative drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the post assembly and shows upper and lower barrier boards fitted thereto, and Figure 2 is a scrap section of the assembly taken on the line II - II of Figure 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The post assembly illustrated is for a pedestrian hazard warning barrier and has its components formed as plastics mouldings. The components of the assembly comprise a substantially flat rectangular base 1, a post 2 upstanding from the base 1 and a sleeve 3 which is received on the post 2. The base 1 provides a stable stand for the post and this together with the post can be of known structure, either separately or integrally formed. The post 2 has a generally conical profile which tapers to diverge as it approaches the base 1. The upper end region 4 of the post carries means for attaching thereto ends of reflective plastics barrier boards 5 which are to form upper rails (conveniently pedestrian hand rails) in a barrier system. The upper end region 4 of the post is shown as a known four-way adaptor having four vertical slots 6 peripherally spaced about the post and opening upwardly. Each slot 6 opens upwardly and outwardly of the post and can receive, as a close sliding fit, and retain an end of a barrier board 5. An upwardly extending projection 7 on the adaptor 4 is provided for the convenience of attaching, say, a hazard warning lamp to the top of the post assembly. The adaptor 4 may be integral with, or formed as a separate component from, the remaining part of the post 2.

As will be seen from the section shown in Figure 2, the lower end region of the generally frusto conical post 2 is provided with a stepped profile to form an upwardly directed annular shoulder 8 which presents a smooth transition between adjacent upper and lower frusto conical faces 9 and 10 respectively of the post and this step forms a locating region on the post 2 for the sleeve 3. The sleeve 3 has a bore 11 which is profiled to correspond with and be complementary to the aforementioned locating region of the post 2 so that upper and lower part lengths of the bore 11 are frusto conical complementary to the faces 9 and 10 respectively and are interconnected by a downwardly directed annular shoulder 12.With this arrangement the post 2 can be inserted with its upper end leading into the sleeve 3 for the sleeve to drop onto the locating region at which the bore 11 of the sleeve engages as a firm friction fit with the surface of the post and the sleeve shoulder 12 is seated on the post shoulder 8. The aforementioned engagement of the sleeve 3 with the post 2 ensures that the height of the sleeve above the base 1 is accurately determined.

Moulded in the sleeve 3 is an array of four peripherally spaced and vertically extending slots 13.

The slots 13 open outwardly and upwardly of the sleeve 3 and provide locations within which can be received, as a close sliding fit, ends of reflective plastics barrier boards 14 that are to provide lower rails in the erection of the hazard warning barrier. The slots 13 are in a common plane which is parallel to the plane of the base 1 when the sleeve 3 is firmly fitted to the post 2 for the annular shoulders 8 and 12 to abut each other so that the barrier boards 14 fitted to the slots 13 will be at the same predetermined height with respect to the base 1.

By appropriately manoeuvring the sleeve 3 during its fitment to the post 2 it will be appreciated that the slots 13 can be arranged to co-incide vertically with the slots 6 whereby upper 5 and lower 14 barrier boards can extend in parallel overlying relationship from various sides of the post assembly as may be required for various configurations of the barrier system. Although the adaptor 4 and sleeve 3 are shown having four slots in their respective arrays for locating the barrier boards, it will be appreciated that the number of these slots can be varied by interchanging various sleeves and adaptors to permit appropriate barrier systems to be erected.

Claims

1. A post assembly for a hazard warning barrier comprising a post upstanding from a stable base, an upper region of the post carrying first means for attachment thereto of an upper rail for erecting the barrier and a lower region of the post presenting a locating profile which increases in width as it approaches the base, and a sleeve having second means for attachment thereto of a lower rail in erecting the barrier, said sleeve being received on the post and co-operating in firm seating engagement with said locating profile to position the second attachment means for the lower rail at a predetermined height above the base.

2. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the second attachment means comprises an array of at least two rail locators on the sleeve spaced about the periphery of the post.

3. An assembly as claimed in claim 2 in which the array of rail locators are in a common plane.

4. An assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the second attachment means comprises at least one slot opening upwardly and outwardly on. the periphery of the sleeve and within which slot an end of a barrier rail is to be received.

5. An assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the locating profile of the post comprises a frusto conical surface and the sleeve is provided with a bore having a frusto conical surface complementary to that of the locating profile and which frusto conical surfaces co-operate with each other to provide firm seating engagement between the sleeve and the post.

6. An assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the locating profile of the post presents an upwardly directed shoulder and the sleeve has its bore provided with a downwardly directed shoulder which abuts the shoulder of the locating profile when the sleeve is in firm seated engagement with the post.

7. An assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the post and sleeve are plastics moulded components.

8. A sleeve for an upstanding post of a hazard warning barrier and which comprises a bore within which the post is to be received, said bore having a restricted profile which will determine the height at which the sleeve will be located on the post and wherein the sleeve has on its periphery means for attachment thereto of a rail in erecting the barrier.

9. A sleeve as claimed in claim 8 and substantially as herein described.

10. A post assembly substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying illustrative drawings.

11. A hazard warning barrier comprising two post assemblies as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7 and 10, an upper rail carried by and interconnecting the first attachment means of the two post assemblies, and a lower rail carried by and interconnecting the second attachment means of the sleeves of the two post assemblies.