Patent ID: 6142701
Filing Date: 2000-11-07
Classification: E01F

Abstract:
A traffic management system comprising, in combination:a primary dispensing post including a disk-shaped base having a planar circular bottom face, a planar circular top face, and a thin peripheral side wall formed therebetween for housing weighted material therein, the primary dispensing post further including a vertically oriented cylindrical body with a diameter less than that of the base and coupled thereto in concentric relationship therewith and extending upwardly therefrom to define a hollow interior space, the body having a top face with a diameter greater than that of the cylindrical body thus defining a peripheral flange, a vertical slit formed in the body and extending along an entire height thereof, and a spool including a bottom end with a reduced diameter for being rotatably received within a recess formed in the top face of the base and a top end with a crank mounted thereon and extending through the top face of the body for allowing the manual rotation of the spool in coaxial relationship with the body;a bracket including a resilient C-shaped clip with a diameter equal to that of the body of the primary dispensing post for snappily receiving the body and an inverted J-shaped hook mounted on a central extent of the clip and extending upwardly and outwardly therefrom for being secured to a vehicle;a banner constructed from a brightly colored flexible meshed net material with an inboard edge mounted to the spool within the interior space of the body such that the banner may be dispensed and retracted through the slit of the body by way of the crank, wherein the banner has a plurality of arrows positioned thereon in tandem along a central horizontally oriented bisecting line such that the arrows point toward the inboard edge of the banner, the banner further including a reinforcing strip mounted along an outboard edge thereof, a plurality of linearly aligned apertures formed in the strip, and a plurality of snap hooks coupled to the apertures, the banner further including a plurality of pairs of vertically spaced loops, one loop of one said pair being formed on a top edge and another loop of one said pair being formed on a bottom edge of the banner;a plurality of intermediate posts each including a disk-shaped base including a planar circular bottom face, a planar circular top face, and a thin peripheral side wall formed therebetween for housing weighted material therein, the intermediate post further including a vertically oriented cylindrical body with a diameter less than that of the base and coupled thereto in concentric relationship therewith and extending upwardly therefrom with a top face including a concentric bore formed therein, wherein the body of each intermediate post is slidably and removably positioned within the vertically spaced pairs of loops of the banner for maintaining the banner in an upright orientation;a terminal post including a disk-shaped base having a planar circular bottom face, a planar circular top face, and a thin peripheral side wall formed therebetween for housing weighted material therein, the terminal post further including a vertically oriented cylindrical body with a diameter less than that of the base and coupled thereto in concentric relationship therewith and extending upwardly therefrom with a top face including a concentric bore formed therein, wherein the body of the terminal post includes a plurality of vertically spaced O-rings for releasably receiving the snap hooks of the banner for maintaining the banner in the upright orientation;a flag attachment including an upright member with a bottom end having a reduced diameter for being releasably received within the bore of the intermediate and terminal posts and a top end with a flexible sheet mounted thereon; anda light attachment including a battery, supply having a top face with a light mounted thereon and connected to the battery supply for illuminating intermittently and a bottom face with a coupling rod for being releasably received within the bore of the intermediate and terminal posts.