POST INSTALLATION

Abstract: A post housing is provided for ground installation of a post. The post housing (2) has a first portion (4) for housing the post (10) and a second portion (6) for housing ancillary equipment. The first portion is adjustable in a vertical direction with respect to the second portion. The first portion may be fixed in a desired vertical position relative the second portion. Both portions may have hollow interior chambers which communicate in any desired position of the first portion relative the second portion.

Description: POST INSTALLATION The invention relates to the field of post or pole installation, particularly, though not exclusively, to the installation of posts for street furniture, for example traffic light posts, pedestrian rail posts or the like. A common method of installing a conventional post is to dig a hole in the ground at an installation site of the post, insert a base of the post into the hole and fill the space between the post and the side walls of the hole with concrete. The concrete when set rigidly fixes the post in the hole at the installation site. However, this method of post installation has the problem that the post is permanently fixed. Removal and replacement of the post can take three to four hours and involves digging out the concrete . There have therefore been developed post housings which are permanently installed by fixing with concrete or cement and which serve to hold a post but allow removal of the post when desired, for example, when the post is damaged or is to be exchanged with a different post. One example of a known post housing for ground installation of a post is described in International Patent Application No. PCT/GB95/01648. A further post housing has now been developed which has additional advantages over the prior art. According to the invention a post housing is provided for ground installation of a post, the post housing having a first portion for housing the post, and a second portion for housing ancillary equipment, the first portion being adjustable in a vertical direction with respect to the second portion. The first portion may comprise a sleeve to receive the post . The second portion may comprise a chamber, for example to house electrical equipment associated with traffic lights to be mounted on the post. The two portions may be connectable together by cooperating formations which permit relative movement in the vertical direction but restrain movement in other directions. The housing may be such that the interior of the first portion communicates with the interior of the second portion so that, for example, wiring from traffic lights mounted on a post can pass from the first portion to ancillary equipment housed within the second portion. There may for example be an elongate slot in each portion such that even when the first portion moves to the extremes of its position relative to the second portion, at least a portion of each slot is in communication with each other. There may for example be an enlarged head on one portion, slidably insertable into a channel having a narrow mouth such that the head can move up and down along the length of the channel, but cannot pass out through the mouth of the channel in a transverse direction. The head and channel may have a dovetail cross- section. The first portion may be adjustable incrementally with respect to the second portion, for example by inter- engagement of at least one projection with at least one recess. There may for example be a plurality of grooves on the first portion into which can be snap fitted a plurality of ribs on the second portion. The invention includes a post housing as defined above, with a post fitted into the first portion of the housing. By way of example, specific embodiments of the invention will now be described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a post housing according to the invention; Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view of a portion of the housing of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a view in the direction of arrow A of Figure 2; Figure 4 is an underplan of a second portion of the housing of Figure 1; Figure 5 is a view in the direction of arrow B of Figure 4; and Figure 6 is a view in the direction of arrow C of Figure 4 but showing a modified form of the second portion. The pole housing 2 shown in the drawings comprises a first portion 4 and a second portion 6. The first portion 4 comprises a sleeve or "wrap around" arm 8 which, in use, receives a pole 10 and an integrally formed connector 12. The sleeve 8 is sized to securely attach the pole 10 and hold it in place. As best shown in Figure 2, the connector 12 comprises a generally rectangular portion formed with a dovetail cross-section slot 14 having a narrow mouth 16. The connector 12 is hollow as illustrated by dotted lines 17 in Figure 2. Figures 2 and 3 illustrate how the pole housing portion 4 can be moulded from plastics material but after moulding the base of the slot may be cut away at 18 to form either an elongate slot 20 or plural cable holes 21 which provide access between the slot 14 and hollow interior of connector 12. The second portion 6 comprises a generally rectangular box shown in detail in Figures 4, 5 and 6. One side of the box is provided with a vertically extending rib 22 which, as best seen in Figure 4, has a dovetail cross- section, corresponding to the slot 14 of the first portion 4. This box portion 6 may also be moulded from plastics material and after the box has been moulded, a forwards protrusion 24 of the rib 22 is cut away at 26 to form a vertically extending slot 28 (see Figure 5) similar in size and shape to the slot 20 of the housing portion 4 of the housing 2. Alternatively the rib 22 may simply have a flat face as shown in Figure 6 and then be machined after moulding to form the slot 28. The two portions 4 , 6 of the housing 2 are connected together by engaging one end of the slot 14 with the rib 22 and then sliding the portion 4 downwardly. Once the two portions have been slid together, for example to the position shown in Figure 1, the components are securely held together, because of the inter-engagement of the dovetail cross-section components. The enlarged head of the rib 22 cannot move out of the slot 14 through the narrow mouth 16. To provide for positive location of the housing portion 4 in a plurality of positions with respect to the box portion 6, one side of the box portion 6 may be provided with a plurality of transverse ribs 30, adjacent the vertical rib 22, for example as shown in Figure 5. The housing portion 4 may be provided with a plurality of corresponding transverse grooves 32 either side of the dovetail slot 14 as shown in Figure 3. The resilience of the plastics material means that the housing portion 4 can be pushed from one position to another relative the box portion 6, each position being defined by snap fitting of the transverse ribs 30 into the transverse grooves 32. A box portion 6 containing ancillary equipment, for example, control equipment for traffic lights, can therefore first be mounted in the ground, and a pole can then be mounted adjacent thereto and the vertical position of the pole adjusted to the optimum requirement by movement of the housing portion 4, without the need to reposition the box portion 6. The length of the elongate slot 28 means that at least one portion of the slot 28 is always in register with either at least one portion of the other elongate slot 20, or at least one cable hole 21, whichever is employed, regardless of the position of the housing portion 4 with respect to the box portion 6. This means that there is no difficulty in passing electrical cables from the interior of the box portion 6 into the housing portion 4 and into the pole. The box portion 6 can be provided at its upper end with ribs 34, as shown in Figure 5. The ribs 34 may strengthen the box portion 6 and/or may provide a relatively large outside surface area for contact with a hole infill material such as a dry sand/cement mixture, such that once the post housing 2 is installed in a hole at a post installation site, the bonding or friction between the external surface of the post housing 2 and the infill material prevents movement of the post housing in an axial direction as well as rotation movement of the post housing. The box portion 6 may also be provided with strengthening ribs 36, as shown in Figure 4, at the closed lower end of the box portion 6. The top end of the box portion 6 can be closed with a cover as desired. The box portion 6 may also be provided with circular indents 38 defining points of weakness which can be cut through or punched out to provide access to the box portion, for example, for electrical cables or for ducting. Many known ducting systems include chamber units for providing access to the ends of ducts. Chamber units are usually in the form of an open ended box, the walls of which are shaped such that portions can be cut or punched out to allow for connection of ducting. As shown in Figure 6, the pole housing 2 can be used in conjunction with one or more chamber units 40 (illustrated in dotted outline) . The lower end of the box portion is modified such that it sits in the open upper end of the chamber unit 40. The chamber unit 40 then provides an access for ducting further below ground level which may be necessary to meet the requirement of a minimum of 450 mm coverage between the outer uppermost wall of any surface ducting pipe laid in a footway and the surface of the footway.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A post housing for ground installation of a post, having a first portion for housing the post and a second portion for housing ancillary equipment, the first portion being adjustable in a vertical direction with respect to the second portion. 2. A post housing as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the first and second portions are connectable together by cooperating formations which permit relative movement in a vertical direction but restrained movement in other directions . 3. A post housing as claimed in Claim 2 wherein one portion has an enlarged head, slidably received in a channel defined by the other portion, the channel having a narrow mouth such that the head can move up and down along the length of the channel but cannot pass out through the mouth of the channel in a transverse direction. 4. A post housing as claimed in Claim 3 wherein the head and the channel have a dovetail cross-section. 5. A post housing as claimed in any preceding Claim wherein locking means are provided for securing the first portion against vertical adjustment with respect to the second portion. 6. A post housing as claimed in any preceding Claim wherein the first portion is adjustable incrementally with respect to the second portion. 7. A post housing as claimed in either Claim 5 or Claim 6 wherein one of the portions has a plurality of ribs spaced one above the other in a vertical direction and the other portion has a plurality of grooves spaced one above the other in a vertical direction and wherein the ribs can be snap fit into the grooves. 8. A post housing as claimed in any preceding Claim wherein the first and second portions have hollow interior chambers and include means which communicate between the chambers in at least one position of the first portion relative the second portion. 9. A post housing as claimed in Claim 8 wherein the communicating means comprises an elongate slot in each portion, arranged such that at all positions of the first portion relative the second portion, at least a part of each slot is in communication with the other. 10. A post housing as claimed in any preceding Claim wherein the second portion has duct access apertures formed therein or includes lines of weakness which allow part of the walls to be removed to form duct access apertures .

Inventors: HODGES DAVID, HODGES, DAVID
Applicants: HODGES DAVID, JESSE HODGES & CO LIMITED, HODGES, DAVID, JESSE HODGES & CO. LIMITED
Application year: 1997
Main classification: E01F9
IPC codes: E01F9