U.S. patent application number 14/016354 was filed with the patent office on 2014-01-09 for highway guardrail assembly.
This patent application is currently assigned to Samuel, Son & Co., Limited. The applicant listed for this patent is Samuel, Son & Co., Limited. Invention is credited to Tamo P. Bianchi.
Application Number | 20140008594 14/016354 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 44340812 |
Filed Date | 2014-01-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140008594 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Bianchi; Tamo P. |
January 9, 2014 |
HIGHWAY GUARDRAIL ASSEMBLY
Abstract
A highway guardrail post comprises an elongated one-piece
roll-formed metal body including a front wall defining an
attachment face, a pair of opposing side walls orthogonal to the
front wall, a first pair of inverted corners respectively
connecting the pair of side walls to the front wall, and a second
pair of inverted corners respectively extending from the pair of
side walls and terminating in a pair of spaced rear edges to define
a rear access opening opposite the front wall. The guardrail posts
may be manufactured by roll-forming a metal sheet or coil and
cutting the roll-formed metal sheet or coil into lengths.
Inventors: |
Bianchi; Tamo P.; (Oakville,
CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Samuel, Son & Co., Limited |
Mississauga |
|
CA |
|
|
Assignee: |
Samuel, Son & Co.,
Limited
Mississauga
CA
|
Family ID: |
44340812 |
Appl. No.: |
14/016354 |
Filed: |
September 3, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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13450585 |
Apr 19, 2012 |
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14016354 |
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12700474 |
Feb 4, 2010 |
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13450585 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
256/13.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E01F 15/0461 20130101;
E01F 15/02 20130101; B21D 31/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
256/13.1 |
International
Class: |
E01F 15/04 20060101
E01F015/04 |
Claims
1-5. (canceled)
6. A guardrail assembly comprising: first and second vertical
guardrail posts spaced from one another, each guardrail post
comprising an elongated one-piece roll-formed metal body including
a front wall defining an attachment face, a pair of opposing side
walls orthogonal to the front wall, a first pair of inverted
corners respectively connecting the pair of side walls to the front
wall, and a second pair of inverted corners respectively extending
from the pair of side walls to define a rear access opening
opposite the front wall; and a horizontal rail connected to the
front wall of each of the first and second guardrail posts.
7. The guardrail assembly according to claim 6, wherein the
horizontal rail is a substantially rigid section fastened directly
against the attachment face of at least one of the vertical
guardrail posts.
8. The guardrail assembly according to claim 6, wherein the
horizontal rail is a flexible cable connected to the front wall of
each of the first and second guardrail posts by a respective U-bolt
or eye-bolt extending through the front wall.
9. The guardrail assembly according to claim 6, further comprising
a spacer block fastened directly against the attachment face of at
least one of the first and second guardrail posts, wherein the
horizontal rail is connected to the front wall of the at least one
guardrail post by way of the spacer block.
10. The guardrail assembly according to claim 9, wherein the
horizontal rail is a substantially rigid section fastened directly
against a surface of the spacer block.
11. The guardrail assembly according to claim 9, wherein the
horizontal rail includes a flexible cable connected to the spacer
block by a U-bolt or an eye-bolt extending into the spacer
block.
12-15. (canceled)
16. The guardrail assembly according to claim 6, wherein the first
and second guardrail posts are supported by ground.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates generally to guardrails (also referred
to as fences or barriers) placed alongside roads and highways to
stop errant vehicles, and more particularly to an improved support
post for use in constructing such guardrails.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Safety barriers and guardrails are installed alongside
highways and roads as a means of stopping out-of-control vehicles.
They may be strategically located alongside curves and in zones
where a steep drop, oncoming traffic, or other hazard awaits. A
primary consideration in constructing prior art barriers and
guardrails is the ability to withstand vehicle impact, including
impact from large trucks and buses which may be travelling at
speed, to stop the vehicle.
[0003] Concrete safety barriers are quite strong, but do not yield
to absorb vehicle kinetic energy. Consequently, they can be unsafe
to passengers in a vehicle hitting the barrier, particularly if the
vehicle is a small vehicle or a heavy truck. Also, they are
expensive to make and transport.
[0004] Guardrails constructed by driving a plurality of vertical
posts into the ground at spaced intervals and connecting horizontal
rails to the vertical posts are also known. The horizontal rails
are typically a series of W-beams bolted to the posts, or cables
arranged to extend through U-bolts or eye-bolts connected to the
posts. The rails are commonly offset from the vertical posts by
spacer blocks respectively fastened to the posts, wherein the
W-beams or U-bolts or eye-bolts are fastened to the spacer
blocks.
[0005] Vertical guardrail posts in widespread use include
hot-formed steel I-beams, shown in FIG. 1, and solid wooden posts.
These tend to be heavy and require significant force to drive into
the ground, especially where rocks protrude into pre-dug post
holes. Where steel I-beams are used, the I-beams will sometimes
bend if they hit an obstruction such as a rock while being driven
into the ground. When this occurs, the bent I-beam may no longer be
suitable for use, and may be quite difficult to remove from the
ground because it is no longer straight.
[0006] Cold-formed steel posts are also known, particularly in
Europe. These include C-channel, U-channel, and sigma channel
cross-sections as depicted in FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C, respectively.
These posts are cold-formed from steel sheet or coil of suitable
thickness, e.g. 5 mm, and subsequently treated (e.g. galvanized) to
improve weathering.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] A highway guardrail post of the present invention generally
comprises an elongated one-piece roll-formed metal body including a
front wall defining an attachment face, a pair of opposing side
walls orthogonal to the front wall, a first pair of inverted
corners respectively connecting the pair of side walls to the front
wall, and a second pair of inverted corners respectively extending
from the pair of side walls and terminating in a pair of spaced
rear edges to define a rear access opening opposite the front wall.
The guardrail posts may be manufactured by roll-forming a metal
sheet or coil and cutting the roll-formed metal sheet or coil into
lengths.
[0008] The invention also encompasses a guardrail assembly
generally comprising a plurality of guardrail posts as summarized
above, and a horizontal rail connected to the front wall of each of
the plurality of guardrail posts.
[0009] The invention further provides a method of making a
plurality of guardrail posts generally comprising the steps of (i)
providing an elongated rectangular sheet or coil of metal having a
longitudinal central axis and a pair of lateral edges parallel to
and equidistant from the central axis; (ii) feeding the sheet or
coil of metal lengthwise into a roll-forming machine, wherein the
roll-forming machine is configured to form a plurality of
right-angle bend pairs, each bend pair being arranged symmetrically
about the central axis, wherein the plurality of bend pairs
includes, in order of progression from the central axis toward the
pair of lateral edges, a first pair of internal bends, a first pair
of external bends, a second pair of internal bends, a third pair of
internal bends, and a second pair of external bends; and (iii)
cutting the roll-formed sheet or coil of metal into lengths.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING VIEWS
[0010] The invention will be explained further with reference to
drawing figures in which:
[0011] FIG. 1 is an orthogonal view showing a hot-rolled I-beam
guardrail post of the prior art;
[0012] FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C are cross-sectional views showing
cold-formed guardrail posts of the prior art;
[0013] FIG. 3 is an orthogonal view of a cold-formed guardrail post
of the present invention;
[0014] FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the guardrail post shown in
FIG. 3;
[0015] FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of a guardrail assembly
made using cold-formed guardrail posts in accordance with the
present invention;
[0016] FIG. 6 is an elevational view, partially sectioned, showing
nested W-beams fastened directly to the top portion of a guardrail
post of the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 7 is a view similar to that of FIG. 6, however the
W-beams are shown connected to the guardrail post by way of a
spacer block;
[0018] FIG. 8 is an orthogonal view showing a plurality of cables
connected directly to a guardrail post of the present invention by
U-bolts (eye-bolts may be substituted for the depicted
U-bolts);
[0019] FIG. 9 is a view similar to that of FIG. 8, however the
cables are shown connected to the guardrail post by way of a spacer
block;
[0020] FIG. 10 is a plan view showing various roll-forming bend
locations on a rectangular piece of sheet or coil stock from which
guardrail posts in accordance with FIGS. 3 and 4 may be cold formed
by a roll-forming machine; and
[0021] FIG. 11 is an end view of the rectangular piece of sheet or
coil stock, schematically showing which side of the sheet or coil
stock is contacted by forming rollers to form the various bends as
the sheet or coil stock is passed through a roll-forming
machine.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0022] FIGS. 3-4 show a roll-formed metal guardrail post 10
configured in accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention. Guardrail post 10 comprises an elongated one-piece body
that includes a front wall 12 defining an attachment face 12A, a
pair of opposing side walls 14 and 16 orthogonal to the front wall
12, a first pair of inverted corners 18 respectively connecting the
pair of side walls to the front wall, and a second pair of inverted
corners 20 respectively extending from the pair of side walls and
terminating in a pair of spaced rear edges 22 to define a rear
access opening 24 opposite front wall 12.
[0023] In the present specification, the term "inverted corner"
refers to a junction between two adjacent walls (e.g. front wall 12
and side wall 14) wherein each wall includes a respective bend
(e.g. bends 26 and 28) such that a corner bend where the walls meet
(e.g. bend 30) points toward an interior region of guardrail post
10. In the embodiment shown, bends 26, 28 and 30 are right-angle
bends, however other angles may be used, so long as the corner bend
30 points inward rather than outward.
[0024] As seen in FIG. 3, front wall 12 includes a through-hole 32
near a top end of post 10 for receiving a fastener used to attach a
rail member or spacer block to the post as described in greater
detail below. One or more through-holes 32 may be provided
depending on attachment requirements. Through-hole 32 may be
elongated for easier alignment with a corresponding hole in a rail
member or spacer block.
[0025] In one embodiment, a distance D1 between attachment face 12A
and a plane P1 containing rear edges 22 may be equal to a distance
D2 between respective external faces 14A and 16A of side walls 14
and 16. In this way, the overall dimension of guardrail post 10
front-to-rear may be the same as its overall dimension
side-to-side. In the same embodiment, or in an independent
embodiment, the width W1 of each of the pair of side walls 14, 16
may be greater than the width W2 of front wall 12. In the same
embodiment, or in an independent embodiment, the rear access
opening 24 may have a width W3 equal to the width W2 of front wall
12.
[0026] FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate a guardrail assembly 40 made using
cold-formed guardrail posts 10 in accordance with the present
invention. Guardrail assembly 40 generally comprises a plurality of
vertical guardrail posts 10 spaced from one another, and a
horizontal rail 50 connected to the front wall 12 of each of the
guardrail posts 10. As best seen in FIG. 6, horizontal rail 50 may
be constructed of overlapping, substantially rigid "W-beams" 52
known in the art of highway guardrails. One W-beam 52, or two
overlapping W-beams 52, may be fastened directly against the
attachment face 12A of a post 10 by a threaded fastener 54 and a
nut 56 mated with fastener 54. Fastener 54 may be arranged to
extend through aligned holes in the W-beams and also through
through-hole 32 to the interior of guardrail post 10. A washer 57
may be provided between nut 56 and an internal face of front wall
12. Where two W-beams overlap at a guardrail post 10, as shown in
FIG. 6, additional fasteners 58 and nuts 60 may be used to fasten
the W-beams to one another. As depicted in FIG. 5, the length of
W-beams 52 and the spacing between guardrail posts 10 may be chosen
such that adjacent W-beams 52 overlap at every other guardrail post
10.
[0027] As shown in FIG. 7, guardrail assembly 40 may further
comprise a spacer block 64 fastened directly against the attachment
face 12A of each guardrail post 10, wherein the horizontal rail 50
is connected to the front wall 12 of the guardrail post by way of
the spacer block. Spacer block 64, itself known in the guardrail
art, is typically made of wood, plastic, or steel. Spacer block 64
and W-beams 52 may be fastened to a post 10 by one elongated
fastener 54 and mating nut 56, similar to the arrangement shown in
FIG. 6. Alternatively, a pair of fasteners may be used, one through
the W-beams 52 and into a front portion of spacer block 64, and the
other in an opposite direction through through-hole 32 and into a
rear portion of spacer block 64.
[0028] Reference is made now to FIGS. 8 and 9, which illustrate
that horizontal rail 50 may be embodied as a flexible cable 70 or
plurality of flexible cables 70 connected to the front wall 12 of
each guardrail post 10 by a respective U-bolt 72 through which the
cable extends. Eye-bolts may be substituted for U-bolts 72. As
shown in FIG. 9, a spacer block 64 may be installed between cables
70 and guardrail post 10.
[0029] Methods of making guardrail posts 10, and constructing
guardrail assemblies 40, will now be described.
[0030] Reference is made now to FIGS. 10 and 11. To make guardrail
posts 10, an elongated rectangular sheet or coil of metal 80 is
provided having a longitudinal central axis and a pair of lateral
edges 22 parallel to and equidistant from the central axis. The
sheet or coil of metal is fed lengthwise into a conventional
roll-forming machine of a type having a series of stations with
rollers set up to progressively form bends in the sheet or coil of
metal. To manufacture the embodiment depicted in FIGS. 3 and 4, the
roll-forming machine is configured to form a plurality of
right-angle bend pairs, each bend pair being arranged symmetrically
about the central axis. The plurality of bend pairs includes, in
order of progression from the central axis toward the pair of
lateral edges, a first pair of internal bends 26, a first pair of
external bends 30, a second pair of internal bends 28, a third pair
of internal bends 29, and a second pair of external bends 31. The
location of the bends is indicated schematically in
[0031] FIGS. 10 and 11. FIG. 11 also indicates which side of sheet
or coil 80 is contacted by rollers of the roll-forming machine to
form the various bends. In FIG. 11, internal bends are made by
contacting what is initially a top surface of sheet or coil 80,
while external bends are made by contacting what is initially a
bottom surface of sheet or coil 80. As will be understood, this
roll-forming arrangement may be inverted.
[0032] The method of making guardrail posts 10 also comprises the
step of cutting the roll-formed sheet or coil of metal 80 into
lengths corresponding to the height of each guardrail post. By way
of example, sheet or coil 80 may be an initial length of material
that is cut into a plurality of 75-inch (1.91 meter) or 72-inch
(1.83meter) lengths after roll-forming. If the roll-forming machine
is equipped with a cut-off mechanism, then the lengths may be cut
as the roll-formed sheet or coil is discharged from the
roll-forming machine.
[0033] Holes 32 may be formed by a drilling, milling, or punching
operation performed at spaced intervals along sheet or coil 80
prior to, during, or after roll-forming. Each of the plurality of
holes is located between the first pair of internal bends 26, such
as along the central axis.
[0034] With respect to moisture-proofing, it is advantageous that
sheet or coil 80 be pre-galvanized before roll-forming, thereby
obviating the need for the finished posts to be dipped after
roll-forming. Sheet or coil 80 may be cold-rolled steel, 3 mm
thick, and may be hot dip galvanized. Of course, other materials
and treatments may be used.
[0035] Guardrail assembly 40 is constructed by driving guardrail
posts 10 vertically into the ground at spaced intervals, and then
connecting horizontal rail 50 to the posts as described above.
Guardrail posts 10 may be driven the same way guardrail posts of
the prior art are driven, which typically involves the use of an
automated post driver. Pilot holes may be provided in the ground to
locate each post prior to engagement by the automated post driver.
Guardrail posts 10 of the present invention have improved
performance during installation over prior art guardrail posts
because front wall 12 and side walls 14, 16 will deflect inward
when a large rock or other obstacle is encountered, but the overall
post will remain straight, making it easier to pull the post out of
the ground than a prior art post, which will bend under the same
circumstances and become difficult to extract.
[0036] It will be appreciated that access opening 24 in each post
10 gives an installer easy access to the interior of the post so
that the installer may tighten nut 56 onto threaded fastener 54, or
drive a fastener to attach spacer block 64, as the case may be. In
a current embodiment, the access opening is at least 2.75 inches
(70 mm) wide.
* * * * *