Patent Publication Number: US-2021172135-A1

Title: Traffic Safety Device Placement Apparatus

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a device for placing and retrieving traffic safety barrels, cones or other objects used in association with road construction and maintenance projects. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Road construction companies use roadway markers in multiple applications that require a non-permanent direction of the traffic of vehicles on a roadway. For instance, roadway markers are utilized on road construction sites to direct the traffic of vehicles in alternative routes. Of critical importance, roadway markers, such as traffic barrels, are utilized to protect construction workers and to direct traffic safely away from construction zones. 
     One of the significant problems faced by construction workers that are working on highway and roadway construction projects is remaining safely separated from traffic. During such projects, safety barrels, cones or other objects are used to warn and alert drivers of the construction work and presence of construction workers and equipment, redirect traffic in the event of lane and ramp closures, and to protect workers. When active construction is not happening, the barrels used to separate a construction zone from the flow of traffic are placed out of the flow of traffic on the shoulder of the road. The barrels, or other roadway markers, are then moved out into the flow of traffic before construction work commences. 
     Historically, the job of moving barrels or other safety devices into or out of the road has been accomplished manually by one or more workers who walk along the highway and move the barrels from the shoulder to the highway or from the highway to the shoulder. The safety barrels weigh up to 30 pounds and moving them into or out of position manually can be a very time-consuming and labor-intensive task especially when the barrels need to be placed along miles of a highway. In addition, the individuals who are moving the barrels are exposed to vehicles moving at a high rate of speed and subject to an increased chance of injury occurring. Unfortunately, many individuals placing traffic safety devices have been injured or killed as they are doing their jobs. 
     In order to avoid some of the problems with manually moving the barrels, construction workers would drive a truck along the highway and other workers would move the barrels. This eliminated some of the problems with barrel placement taking so much time and increased the safety for the barrel movers. However, it still required a significant amount of labor and took a significant amount of time. Workers were required to operate out of the back of a moving vehicle raising safety concerns. 
     In U.S. Pat. No. 9,957,143 and U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2005/0196257, the applicants attempted to address the issues of labor and time consumption with a device that attaches to the front of a vehicle. It is essentially an angled boom that would make contact with a barrel that would then move along the boom to its desired placement location. The&#39;143 patent added rollers to the boom to aid with the movement of the barrels. Both devices require modification to an existing vehicle, must be driven at relatively slow speeds or the barrels would simply be crushed or moved in an undesired direction, and require that the driver move in a zigzag direction to properly capture and move the barrels. 
     There is a need for a more efficient device and method for placing traffic safety devices. There is a need for a device that minimizes the number of workers required to move the traffic safety devices, allows for quicker placement of the traffic safety devices, protects the safety of those placing the devices and can be attached to a vehicle without requiring modification of the vehicle. Others have attempted to address this problem with 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention has been accomplished to provide an improved traffic safety barrier placement device. 
     According to the present invention, there is provided traffic safety barrier placement apparatus, which is generally comprised of a device for attaching the apparatus to an existing hitch on the rear of a vehicle, a receiving end for capturing a traffic safety barrier, a channel for moving the traffic safety barrier and an exit for depositing the traffic safety barrier in a desired location. Upon movement of the vehicle to which the present invention is attached, the driver approaches, for example, a traffic barrel. The receiving end of the present invention captures the traffic barrel, which then enters the barrel channel and moves to the opposite side of the vehicle and the receiving end where it then encounters the barrel exit location and is deposited at the desired location along the highway. 
     In one aspect of the invention, it provides an apparatus that can be easily retrofitted to any vehicle with a hitch. 
     In another aspect of the invention, it provides an apparatus that allows a single worker to move traffic safety barrier to a desired location into or out of a roadway. 
     In another aspect of the invention, it provides increased safety to a worker who is placing traffic safety barriers as the worker can remain within the passenger space of the vehicle to which the present invention is attached while the traffic safety barriers are being placed. 
     In another aspect of the invention, the worker operating the vehicle placing traffic safety barriers can drive the vehicle parallel to the roadway while placing the barriers. 
     In another aspect of the invention, it provides an apparatus that minimizes the fatigue on construction workers and allows them to safely install and uninstall traffic control devices without being in the travel lanes of traffic. 
     In another aspect of the invention, it provides an apparatus that can be adjusted to control the exact point of placement of the traffic control devices to ensure placement accuracy. 
     To the accomplishment of the above and related aspects, the invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The drawings, however, are illustrative only. Variations are contemplated as being part of the invention, limited only by the scope of the claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a side perspective view of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is another side perspective view of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a top view of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a side perspective view of the present invention deployed on a vehicle. 
         FIG. 5  is a top view of the present invention deployed on a vehicle. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     As shown in the accompanying drawings, this is a traffic safety device placement apparatus.  FIG. 1  show a side perspective view of traffic safety device placement apparatus  10  and includes hitch attachment  11  and hitch attachment reinforcement plate  12 , which are used to connect traffic safety device placement apparatus  10  to the existing hitch on a vehicle. Hitch attachment  11  is connected to horizontal supports  19 , which attach to interior guide rail  15 . After traffic safety device placement apparatus  10  is attached to a vehicle, the driver would approach a traffic safety device, such as a traffic barrel, so that the traffic barrel would encounter intake guides  13 , which would direct the traffic barrel through entry gate  18  into guide chute  14 . Guide chute  14  is defined by interior guide rail  15  and exterior guide rail  16 . Interior support rails  17  help stabilize the traffic barrel when it passes through guide chute  14 . The traffic barrel then passes through exit gate  20  into ejection chute  21 . Ejection chute  21  is defined by exterior guide rail  16 , interior guide rail  15 , ejection guide support  22 , outer support rails  23 , and ejection guide  24 . Ejection chute guide  25  is adjustably attached to the outer end of exterior guide rail  16  and outer support rails  23  and can be adjusted according to the desired final placement of the traffic barrels. Ejection guide  24  can also be adjusted according to the desired final placement of the traffic barrels. Safety lights  26  are affixed to upper portions of traffic safety device placement apparatus  10 . Strap support hooks  27  are provided in case there is a need to attach straps between traffic safety device placement apparatus  10  and the vehicle to which it is attached for leveling or support purposes. Connection reinforcements  28  provide additional support to potential high stress areas of traffic safety device placement apparatus  10 . 
       FIG. 2  provides a perspective view opposite of the view provided in  FIG. 1 . Hitch attachment  11  and hitch reinforcement plate  12  attach to horizontal supports  19 , which attach to interior guide rail  15 . Entry gate support  29  attaches to horizontal support  19  and entry gate  18 . Exit gate support  30  attaches to horizontal support  19  and exit gate  20 . Intake guides  13  extend outward from entry gate  18  to enable the capture of a desired traffic safety device. Once the traffic safety device is captured, it passes through entry gate  18  into guide chute  14  through exit gate  20  into ejection  21  and past ejection guide  24  and ejection chute guide  25  to the desired final placement. A traffic safety device that is captured within guide chute  14  traffic safety device placement apparatus  10  is supported by entry gate  18 , interior guide rail  15 , exterior guide rail  16  and inner support rails  17 , which enables a worker to drive the vehicle to which traffic safety device placement apparatus  10  is attached at higher speed, thus enabling the placement of traffic safety devices to be completed more quickly than using previous known devices. It takes only two minutes to set one mile of barrels using the present invention. 
       FIG. 3  is a top view of traffic safety device placement apparatus  10 . When traffic safety device placement apparatus  10  is attached to the existing hitch on a vehicle, intake guides  13  extend outward from the vehicle so that the vehicle has adequate clearance to approach a traffic safety device without hitting the traffic safety device with the vehicle. A captured traffic safety device slides through entry gate  18  along guide chute  14  through exit gate  20  into ejection chute  21  and is placed precisely where desired using the adjustability of ejection guide  24  and ejection chute guide  25 . 
       FIG. 4  shows traffic safety device placement apparatus  10  attached to a vehicle  31 . Support straps  32  are connected between vehicle  31  and traffic safety device placement apparatus  10  using strap support hooks  27 .  FIG. 3  shows traffic safety device placement apparatus  10  being used for the initial placement of traffic barrels  33 . Hitch attachment  11  is inserted to existing hitch  34  on the back of vehicle  31 . In this case, worker  35  lowers traffic barrels  33  off of the side of vehicle  31  to the roadway. Once a traffic barrel  33  is on the ground, it enters traffic safety device placement apparatus  10  via intake guides  13  through entry gate  18 , where it impacts exterior guide rail  16 , inner support rails  17  and interior guide rail  15  as it enters guide chute  14 . Nylon or other suitable material may be affixed to the members that define guide chute  14  to assist with the smooth transition of traffic barrel  33  from entry gate  18  through guide chute  14  through exit gate  20  into ejection chute  21  and to final placement. Once the barrels have been initially placed, there is no longer a need for worker  35  to place the barrels. Instead, a single worker drives vehicle  31  along the roadway to capture the previously placed traffic barrels  33  and move the barrels into or out of the roadway. It is the subsequent moving of barrels at the start and each day of a project that is completed much more quickly and safely than it has ever been done before using previous devices. 
       FIG. 5  provides a top view of the configuration for the initial placement of traffic barrels. Worker  35  is located within the bed of vehicle  31  and lowers traffic barrels  33  onto the roadway. In this view, a traffic barrel  31  is entering traffic safety device placement apparatus  10  via the intake guides and entry gate  18 . Another traffic barrel  33  is located within guide chute  14 , while another traffic barrel is being precisely placed as it leaves ejection chute  21  past adjustable ejection chute guide  25  and ejection guide  24 . Traffic safety device placement apparatus  10  is attached to vehicle  31  by hitch attachment  11  and support straps  32 . Once the traffic barrels are initially placed, there is no longer a need for worker  35  to be present in the bed of vehicle  31 . A single worker can drive vehicle  31  with traffic safety device placement apparatus  10  attached to move the barrels into or out of the roadway. 
     The traffic safety device placement apparatus of the present invention can also be configured to attach to a vehicle in such a manner that it captures and moves traffic safety devices from the passenger side of a vehicle to the driver side of a vehicle. 
     The description of the invention above should not be interpreted as limiting the invention to the disclosed embodiment because those who are skilled in the art to which the invention relates will be able to devise other equivalent forms thereof within the scope of the invention. Variations and changes, which are obvious to one skilled in the art, are intended to be within the scope and nature of the present invention.