Abstract:
A traffic control drum is disclosed as an upright member having upper and lower ends, a support base adapted to rest on a support surface and an operator releasable mechanism for attaching the lower end of the member to the support base, so that the member is oriented in an upright relation to the support surface. The support base has an element exposed to be stepped on by the operator to hold the support base still on the support surface. The member has a mechanism disposed to be manually grasped by the operator, whereby the operator may urge the member away from the support base, while the operator holds the support base still with respect to the support surface to thereby effect release of the upright member from the support base.

Description:
This application is a continuation, of application Ser. No. 680,972, filed 12/12/84 now abandoned. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Description of the Prior Art 
     This invention relates to traffic control elements and, more particularly, to those elements in the form of a drum having a support base and an upright member releasably connected to the support base. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Traffic control elements are used in the prior art to warn a vehicle operator of a road hazard or, otherwise, to guide the vehicle along a desired path. Typically, drums, set on one of their ends, have been used as such traffic control elements. These traffic drums are normally made of metal in the shape of an oil drum and of large capacity typically in the order of 30 to 55 gallons. 
     Such metal drums are typically quite heavy. The weight and bulk of such metal drums make them difficult for highway control personnel to move and position. To avoid such handling problems, plastic drums have been developed and are presently in wide use. However, such plastic drums provide less structural integrity and weight than metal drums. The weight reduction of such plastic drums makes them more desirable from the standpoint of handling, storage and transportation purposes. In addition, impact with plastic drums results in less motor vehicle damage or loss of control as compared to when a metal drum is impacted. 
     However, the light weight of a plastic drum requires that some means be provided to stabilize such drums from being toppled by high winds, minor vehicle impacts or the like so that drums will remain in their upright visible position. In the prior art, a weight or ballast typically in the form of a sand bag is disposed in the bottom of such plastic drums so that the drums will remain in an upright position or will return to their original position upon impact. Such prior art drums have also been designed to allow them to be readily stacked in a nested relationship for storage and transportation purposes. For nighttime use, plastic drums have been adapted to receive warning lights. 
     The plastic drum described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,083,033 of Kulp et al. is an example of such a plastic drum. In particular, the Kulp et al. drum comprises a hollow barrel-like control element, and a base interfitted with one end of the control element to mount its control element in a vertical position. Upon impact, the barrel-like control element is separated from its base, to minimize damage to the vehicle and to the traffic control drum itself. 
     In order to move or store an assembled two piece drum, it is necessary to disassemble the upright hollow element from its base, before removing the ballast. Otherwise, the assembled two piece drum and ballast is relatively heavy and difficult to move. The two piece drum as described in the Kulp et al. Patent &#39;033 does not provide any means for permitting the quick and easy disassembly of its hollow upright element from its base. The Kulp et al. Patent &#39;033 describes male, locking elements disposed about the periphery of the base, configured as a wedge and adapted to fit within openings cut or punched within the bottommost portion of the upright element. The two piece construction of Kulp et al. has proved difficult to disassemble in that traffic control personnel have a difficult time grasping the base and upright element to effect disassembly. Experience has shown that repeated assembly and disassembly of the Kulp et al. drum has tended to tear the unprotected openings in the upright element. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a new and improved traffic control drum of a two piece assembly, wherein the base and upright element are readily assembled and disassembled. 
     It is a more particular object of this invention to provide a new and improved traffic control drum of two piece construction, wherein there is provided improved means of increased durability for permitting repeated attaching and disconnecting of the two pieces. 
     In accordance with these and other objects of this invention, there is provided a traffic control drum comprising an upright member having upper and lower ends, a support base adapted to rest on a support surface and an operator releasable mechanism for attaching the lower end of the member to the support base, so that the member is oriented in an upright relation to the support surface. The support base has an element exposed to be stepped on by the operator to hold the support base still on the support surface. The member has a mechanism disposed to be manually grasped by the operator, whereby the operator may urge the member away from the support base, while the operator holds the support base still with respect to the support surface to thereby effect release of the upright member from the support base. 
     In an illustrative embodiment of this invention, the upright member is constructed to be essentially hollow having adjacent its lower end an inside wall formed in a given configuration. The support base has a member for defining an outside wall of a configuration matching that of the inside wall. The operator releasable mechanism comprises at least one detent affixed to and extending from the inside wall, and a slot formed in the outside wall for receiving the detent, whereby the upright member is releasably attached to the support base. 
     In a further aspect of this invention, the upright member and the support base is made of an elastic material so that when the operator grasps the manually graspable mechanism, steps on the exposed element and urges the upright member from the support base, the inside wall of the hollow member engages the outside wall of the support base, deforming the support base and enlarging the slot to facilitate release of the detent from the slot. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     While the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter of the invention, it is believed that the invention will be better understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a traffic control drum in accordance with the teachings of this invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the traffic control drum of FIG. 1, illustrating the two piece construction thereof and showing its support base and hollow member in a separated condition; 
     FIG. 3 is a top, plan view of the traffic control drum illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2; 
     FIG. 4 is a side, sectioned view of the traffic control drum taken through line 4--4 of FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 5 is a partial, sectioned view of the traffic control drum taken through line 5--5 of FIG. 4; and 
     FIG. 6 is partial, sectioned view of the traffic control drum taken through line 6--6 of FIG. 3. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a traffic control drum 10 in accordance with the teachings of this invention. The traffic control drum 10 includes a support base 14 and a hollow member 12 normally disposed in an upright orientation as shown in FIG. 1 and designed to be releasably attached to its base 14. The releasable, hollow member 12 includes a plurality of sections 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d and 16e. The sections 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d and 16e are successively of greater dimension, section 16a being of the smallest dimension and section 16e being of the largest dimension. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, each of the sections 16a, 16b, 16cand 16d is of generally circular configuration, whereas section 16e is made of a plurality of sides or facets arranged next to each other to define a closed configuration such as an octagon having eight sides. 
     The hollow member 12 is enclosed by a top portion 18 in which there is inset a pair of wells 24a and 24b for respectively receiving warning light 72a and 72b as shown in dotted line in FIG. 5. The warning lights 72a and 72b are releasably secured within the wells 24a and 24b, respectively, by bolts not shown. As particularly illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3, well 24a is associated with recesses 28a and 28b. A bolt is inserted through a bolt receiving passage 32 so as to pass through a threaded opening within its warning light 72a before coming to rest in recess 28b, whereby the warning light 72a is retained in its well 24a. Similarly, the well 24b is associated with recesses 30a and 30b for receiving a bolt through its threaded, bolt receiving passage 34. 
     As required by various state and federal regulations, reflective strips 20a and 20b are, illustratively, disposed about sections 16b and 16c, to make the traffic control drum 10 more visible at night. It is understood that the reflective strips 20a and 20b may be made of selected colored materials to meet various regulations. Each of the sections 16a, 16b, 16c and 16d has a corresponding bumper 17 disposed at its topmost part and raised to protect the strips 20 from damage and/or removal when the hollow member 12 has been released by vehicle impact. 
     The support base 14 is more fully shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. The support base 14 comprises a platform 36, which rests on a support surface, typically a road or road edge. The platform is shaped illustratively as an octagon, similar to the configuration of section 16e. A plurality, illustratively four, of footpads 60a, 60b, 60c and 60d extends from respective sides of the platform 36 to facilitate, as will be explained in detail below, the release of the hollow member 12 from the support base 14. In addition, a pair of inset handles 22a and 22b is provided in the section 16a to facilitate the release of the hollow member 12 from the support base 14. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the topmost surface of each of the footpads 60a, 60b, 60c and 60d is provided with a roughened surface or grid to effect a sure grip when a traffic controller places his/her foot thereon to release the hollow member 12 from the support base 14. 
     Further, the support base 14 includes an annularly shaped, releasing locking member 38 disposed and extending upwardly, as shown in FIG. 2, from the platform 36. The releasing locking member 38 is illustratively shaped as an octagon, in a manner similar to the configuration of section 16e. More specifically, the releasing locking member 38 has eight sides 40a, 40b, 40c, 40d, 40e, 40f, 40g and 40h. Each of the sides 40b, 40d, 40f and 40h has a corresponding slot 42, there being a total of four slots 42a, 42b, 42c and 42d. Each slot 42 is disposed at the bottom point of its side 40, where that side 40 meets the platform 38. 
     Further, each side 40 of the releasing locking member 38 has a channel 48 disposed through the center thereof, there being eight channels 48a, 48b, 48c, 48d, 48e, 48f, 48g and 48h. The channels 48 serve to strengthen the releasing locking member 38 to better withstand vehicle impact. As particularly shown in FIG. 4, each channel 48 has side walls 50a and 50b, which are integrally formed with an outside wall 54 and an inside wall 56. A bottom wall 52 is disposed at the bottom of each channel 48 to form with the side walls 50a and 50b its channel 48. 
     A conically shaped bottom 62 extends from the inside walls 56 of the releasing locking member 38 and extends downwardly toward a water release opening 68, as best shown in FIG. 4. The opening 68 is disposed centrally of the platform 36 and aligned with the center axis of the releasable hollow member 12, when it is attached to its support base 14. The opening 68 is disposed at the bottom of a recess 64 and permits the release of water as may collect within the traffic control drum 10. Further, a plurality, illustratively four, of support feet 70a, 70b, 70c and 70d is disposed equally spaced about the bottom 62 and rest on the road or support surface to receive the weight or ballast (not shown) whereby the ballast is supported. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 2, 4 and 6, the means for releasing the releasable hollow member 12 from its support base 14 will be described in detail. As best shown in FIG. 2, the bottom portion of the releasable hollow member 12 is formed with an annularly shaped lip 46. A plurality, illustratively eight, of detents 44a, 44b, 44c, 44d, 44e, 44f, 44g and 44h is formed integrally with the lip 46 and extends radially inward toward the center axis of the releasable hollow member 12. Each detent 44 is aligned centrally of its side or facet 58 of the bottommost section 16e. As a result when the releasable hollow member 14 is placed upon its support base 14 and the outside walls 54 are aligned with the corresponding inside sides or facets 58 (58d, 58e and 58f are illustrated in FIG. 4), the corresponding detents 44 are then aligned with and are insertable within the slots 42. In a preferred embodiment of this invention, there are only four slots 42. Eight detents 44 are provided so that regardless of the alignment between the hollow member 12 and the base 14, alternate ones of the detents 44 can be inserted into the aligned slots 42 without further adjustment or rotation of the hollow member 12. After alignment, the releasable hollow member 12 is pushed downward by a traffic controller, as seen in FIG. 4, whereby the detents 44 are inserted and secured within the slots 42; see particularly the relationship of detent 44h to slot 42h, as shown in FIG. 6. At this point, the releasable hollow member 12 is releasably attached to its support base 14. 
     If the traffic control drum 10 is to be moved, it is normally desired to release the hollow member 12 from its support base 14, whereby the ballast may be removed before moving the support base 14 and hollow member 12. If desired, a number of the releasable hollow members 12 may be stacked one upon the other for storage and/or transportation. To facilitate release of the hollow member 12, the traffic controller stands on one or more of the footpads 60 and grasps one of the inset handles 22a and 22b. The inset handles 22 are disposed in the topmost section 16a at a height that facilitates ready grasping by the traffic controller. In one illustrative embodiment of the invention, the top portion 18 has a height of 371/2 inches. Referring to FIG. 4, the traffic controller would for example grasp the handle 22b, while placing his/her foot on one of the pedals 60d or 60c and, thereafter, pull the releasable hollow member 12 upward with a counter clockwise motion, whereby the detent 44g is released from the slot 42g. 
     As particularly illustrated in FIG. 6, each of the slots 42 is of a U-shaped configuration and is recessed into the side of the support base 14. Further, the slots 42 are integral with the remaining portions of the support base 14. In one illustrative embodiment of this invention, each of the releasable hollow member 12 and its support base 14 is manufactured by molding of a suitable resilient, impact resistant material such as polyethylene. As the releasable hollow member 12 is raised upward and rotated counter clockwise as seen in FIG. 4, its inside facet 58h is directed against the outside wall 54f disposing it to the right, whereby the slot 42c as formed of a flexible material tends to open, thus permitting the detent 44f to be pulled therefrom. It is understood that while the releasable hollow member 12 is being pulled upward and in a counter clockwise direction, the support base 14 is being held securely to the ground by the foot of the traffic controller. In this manner, the releasable hollow member 12 may be readily attached and released from its support base 14. 
     In addition, the integrally formed slots 42 are not subject to relative tearing as has occurred with recesses or openings of the prior art that are cut through their support bases. Field experience has indicated that the described structure and relationship of the detents 44 and slots 42 of this invention to provide an easy, durable means for releasably securing the hollow member 12 to its support base 14. 
     In considering this invention, it should be remembered that the present disclosure is illustrative only and the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims.