Abstract:
A traffic barricade includes a base which supports an upright member. The base includes two removably interlocking sections, each having an enlarged portion. The enlarged portions defines a socket for closely receiving a tab extending from the upright member. A deformably resilient material surrounds the socket, permitting the upright member to deflect slightly and return to a substantially perpendicular orientation relative to the base. The upright member incorporates integral structural supports which permit the barricade upright member to maintain an upright member orientation without additional external support mechanisms.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims the priority of U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 60/269,465, filed Feb. 16, 2001. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The present invention relates to traffic barricades generally. It finds particular application in conjunction with molded plastic barricades and will be described with particular reference thereto.  
           [0003]    A traffic barricade is typically a portable or fixed device having from one to three rails with appropriate markings. It is used to control traffic by closing, restricting, or delineating all or a portion of the right-of-way.  
           [0004]    The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) classifies barricades as belonging to one of three types: Type I, Type II, or Type III.  
           [0005]    Type I or Type II barricades are intended for use in situations where traffic is maintained through the temporary traffic control zone. They may be used singly or in groups to mark a specific condition, or they may be used in a series for channelizing traffic. Type I barricades normally would be used on conventional roads or urban streets and arterials. Type II barricades have more retroreflective area and are intended for use on expressways and freeways or other high-speed roadways.  
           [0006]    Type III barricades are used at a road closure. They may extend completely across a roadway or from curb to curb. Where provision is made for access of authorized equipment, vehicles, and/or local traffic, it is often necessary to move the barricade between a position blocking traffic and a position permitting traffic.  
           [0007]    Barricades are often heavy and cumbersome to erect and move. Moreover, once erected, barricades manufactured from wood and metal are often completely destroyed when impacted by a vehicle. They can also heavily damage the vehicle striking them. More importantly, they can injure the vehicle&#39;s occupants or a road worker in the vicinity. On the other hand, the known lightweight plastic barricades, which would cause less damage to a vehicle or passengers, are disadvantageous because they are destroyed by impact of a vehicle.  
           [0008]    The present invention contemplates a new, improved barricade which overcomes the above mentioned difficulties and others while providing better and more advantageous results.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0009]    In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a barricade is provided. The barricade includes a base including first and second elongate support members which define sockets and a ridge adjacent the first socket. An upright member is supported in a substantially upright position by the base, the upright member including a first leg member which is supported adjacent a first end by the first socket, and a second leg member which is supported adjacent a first end by the second socket. The ridge allows the upright member to deflect upon impact by a vehicle. Signaling means are attached to the barricade member for providing an instruction or warning to vehicular traffic.  
           [0010]    In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a barricade is provided. The barricade includes a base which supports an upright member in a generally vertical orientation. The base includes two removably interlocking sections. Each interlocking section includes a socket for closely receiving a distal end of the upright member and a resilient, deformable area adjacent the socket, the deformable area deforming when the barricade is subjected to an impact, permitting the upright member to deflect somewhat and then return to a generally vertical orientation when the impact is removed.  
           [0011]    One aspect of the present invention resides in an easily erected, portable barricade which resists damage upon impact with a vehicle.  
           [0012]    Another aspect of the present invention is the provision of a traffic barricade which reduces the hazard posed to vehicle occupants or road workers if the barricade is hit by a vehicle.  
           [0013]    Still another aspect of the present invention resides in a lightweight barricade upright which does not require external bracing and resists toppling.  
           [0014]    Other aspects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0015]    The invention may take physical form in certain parts and arrangements of parts, and in various steps and arrangements of steps. The drawings are only for purposes of illustrating the preferred embodiments and are not to be construed as limiting the invention.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a molded traffic barricade according to the present invention;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 2 is an enlarged elevational view of an upright of the barricade of FIG. 1;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 2;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the barricade of FIG. 1;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken along line V-V of FIG. 4;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 5A is an enlarged cross sectional view taken along line V-V of FIG. 4 showing the leg member deflected;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 6 is enlarged cross sectional view taken along line VI-VI of FIG. 4;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of the barricade of FIG. 1; and  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a molded barricade with reflective panels. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0025]    With reference to FIG. 1, a traffic barricade A includes a base  10  and an upright member  12  supportively engaged with the base  10 , which extends generally perpendicular from the base. The base  10  in the illustrated embodiment includes two interlocking sections  10 A,  10 B, allowing the barricade A to be assembled and disassembled quickly. The base is placed on the ground or other generally horizontal surface on which the barricade is to be positioned. The sections  10 A and  10 B together form a generally rectangular-shaped member having four interconnected sides, which each contact the ground and support the upright member from tipping forwardly, rearwardly or to the sides. It is to be appreciated that the interlocking sections may be replaced by a single section which defines a rectangle, or by 3, 4, or more sections which interlock together. Additionally, the base may be circular, oval, or square-shaped, or the like.  
         [0026]    As will become apparent in the discussion below, base  10  also includes a pair of opposed enlarged areas  16 A,  16 B. Preferably, as shown in FIG. 1, the generally U-shaped section  10 A includes a central portion or he elongate support member  17 A and two legs  18 A,  19 A, attached one at either end of the central portion, leg  18 A being slightly longer than leg  19 A. Correspondingly, the generally U-shaped section  10 B includes a central portion or elongate support member  17 B and two legs  18 B,  19 B, attached one at either end of the central portion, leg  18 B being slightly longer than leg  19 B. The central portion  17 A,  17 B and optionally the legs  18 A,  18 B are hollow tubes.  
         [0027]    The enlarged areas  16  are formed in each of central portions  17 ,  17 ′ of interlocking sections  10 A and  10 B, respectively, on opposite sides of the base. The enlarged areas are thus of increased cross sectional area relative to the adjoining portions of the central portion  17 A,  17 B. The enlarged areas preferably each define a socket (discussed below) for receiving a respective distal end of the upright member  12 . Additionally, enlarged areas  16  further include integral surface undulations or ridges  20  which permit upright member  12  to deflect slightly in the x direction. The sections  10 A and  10 B of the base are hollow tubular members, made of a suitable conventional thermoplastic material, such as by blow molding. However, the thickness of the tubular wall remains the same in the undulating regions. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that enlarged areas  16  may alternately be comprised of other materials permitting the upright member  12  to deflect, such as rubber, resilient plastics, and the like.  
         [0028]    With reference now to FIG. 2, upright member  12  is shown as a substantially continuous, U-shaped, piece having a pair of legs  21 ,  22  a central portion  24 , which interconnects legs  21 ,  22 , and opposed ends  26 . The opposed ends are shaped to be closely received by corresponding sockets  28  (FIG. 5) disposed in the enlarged areas  16  of the base  10 . Upright member  12  is preferably of a relatively rigid construction so that it does not bend significantly in the wind or upon slight impact. The upright member may include protrusions and indentations functioning as integrally formed structural supports. As best shown in FIG. 3, these structural supports can include a pair of spaced ribs  30  separated by a channel-shaped groove  32 . The structural supports  30 ,  32  run substantially the length of upright member  12 . As illustrated in FIG. 2, structural supports  30 ,  32  do not extend to the opposed ends  28  of the upright member  12 . This allows the lower end of the leg members to flex slightly, upon a substantial impact, such as that of a vehicle. However, alternate embodiments could include shaped upright ends. In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that structural support can be functionally provided by other means such as a channel receiving a steel bar or other rigidity enhancing mechanism without departing from the spirit of the invention.  
         [0029]    With reference now to FIG. 3, a cross section taken along line III-III of FIG. 2 is illustrated. A rigid light unit mount  36  extends away from an upper portion  24  of the upright member  12 . The mount  36  is preferably formed by compression molding the front and back walls of a flange atop the upright member. As is evident, the light unit mount  36  includes an attachment point  38  for fixing a light, reflector, or other device (not shown). In the illustrated embodiment, the attachment point  38  is an eye for receiving an attachment mechanism or bolt (not shown). Further, the attachment mechanism or bolt is preferably protected or recessed within a housing  40  defined within the mount  36 . When the bolt head is located within the housing  40 , unauthorized removal of the bolt, and hence the light unit, is more difficult.  
         [0030]    As noted, FIG. 3 illustrates ribs  30  and separating channel indentation  32 . Additional longitudinal strength is added by applying a different compression mold to opposite sides of upright member  12 . Thus, ribs  30 ′ and channel indentation  32 ′ do not necessarily constitute a mirror image to ribs  30  and channel  32 .  
         [0031]    In one embodiment, the upright member can be blow molded and then compression formed to assume the shape illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3.  
         [0032]    With reference now to FIG. 4, the top plan view illustrates interconnecting joints  44  between base sections  10 A,  10 B. Additionally, it should now be apparent that enlarged portions  16  slightly increase the overall width of the base  10 .  
         [0033]    With reference now to FIG. 5, a cross sectional view along the line V-V of FIG. 4 further illustrates the interface between the upright member  12  and the base  10 . End  26  extending from the upright member  12  seats firmly within socket  28  defined by enlarged portion  16 . The socket  28  includes an opening  46 , formed in an upper surface  47  of the wall of the enlarged area  16 . The base of the socket  28  may be defined by a lower surface  48  of the wall of the enlarged area  16 . The base of the socket defines a seat  50  bordered by an annular ridge  52  integrally formed into the socket  28 . Tapered corners  56  of ridge  52  permit end  26  to deflect in the direction of arrows A and B while maintaining contact with seat  50 , as shown in FIG. 5A. In the process, the undulations  20  on one side become compressed, while those on the other side open out slightly to accommodate the movement of the end  26 . Thus, the undulations  20  in the top surface  47  of the enlarged area  16  advantageously provide support for the upright member ends  26  while allowing slight deflections in the x direction. This construction also allows the upright member to slide out of the base  10  upon impact with a vehicle. Desirably, the ends  26  cooperating in the resilient enlarged area  16  permit the upright member  12  to deflect, rather than to fail, in response to, for example, wind gusts. Moreover, it is believed that the undulations  20  allow the upright member  12  to be pushed out of or ejected from the sockets  28  while resisting tearing of the surrounding wall of the base  10  as by a sudden impact of a vehicle. The undulations  20  create a bellows effect in the material of the base. They also facilitate the elimination of an additional support for the upright member which would otherwise be required to prevent damage around the sockets.  
         [0034]    With reference now to FIG. 6, a cross sectional view along the lines VI-VI of FIG. 4 illustrates the connection between the base sections  10 A.  10 B which permit assembly and disassembly of the base  10 . In the illustrated embodiment, base section  10 B includes and end  60  with locking indentations  62 . Upon urging end  60  into opening  64  of base section  10 A, end  60  deflects a cooperatively shaped projection  66  which seats closely with the locking indentation  62  on the end  60 . Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the illustrated interlocking mechanism is but one of many available to achieve the desirable goals of permitting the base  10  to be assembled and disassembled repeatedly.  
         [0035]    Referring now to FIG. 7, it can now be appreciated that the upright member  12  is displaced on the base  10  in the x direction. In other words, the upright member  12 , hence the enlarged portions  16  are offset from the center of the base  10 . Thus, the barricade has a front end  68  and a rear end  69 . As is also now apparent, upright member  12  is configured to be supported only by the sockets  28  (FIG. 5) within enlarged areas  16 , thus no angled supports or braces are required to support the upright member  12  perpendicularly as is typical in the art.  
         [0036]    With reference now to FIG. 8, cross members or reflective panels  70  may be attached to the barricade A as desired. The panels  70  signal an instruction or warning to vehicular traffic, such as arrows indicating that the traffic should turn to the left or right, or a written warning, such as ROAD CLOSED. It is within the skill of those of ordinary skill in the art to affix panels  70  to the upright member  12  at desired locations with suitable conventional fasteners, such as screws, bolts, jacknuts, and the like. Moreover, additional resistance to inadvertent deflection or toppling can be provided by filling a blow molded void or cavity defined by the base  10  with sand or other ballast. Alternately or in addition, sand bags or the like may be placed over base  10  to increase stability.  
         [0037]    In yet another alternative embodiment, sections  10 A and  10 B are not interlocked but are spaced from each other at ends  60 .  
         [0038]    The invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment. Modifications and alterations will occur to others upon a reading and understanding of the preceding detailed description. These modifications and alterations include continued variety in the size of the illustrated components, both in width and height, presence or absence of a light fixture, manufacturing techniques used, and attachment devices employed between various components as illustrated. It is intended that the invention be construed as including all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.