Patent ID: 7798473

Claim:
A spacer block for attaching a guard rail to a post, comprising: a pair of spaced apart opposing side walls having respective first ends and second ends; a top panel extending between said first ends of said side walls; a bottom panel extending between said second ends of said side walls; said top panel, said bottom panel and said side walls forming a block member having a front face for cooperatively engaging said post and a rear face for cooperatively engaging said guard rail; an engagement mechanism comprising at least one tab operably coupled to said top panel, said tab extending from said rear face of said spacer block for engaging said post and said tab including means operably coupled proximate a distal end of said tab and projecting downwardly for engaging a flange of said post; at least one mounting bore extending there through said spacer block from said front face to said rear face for receiving a fastener to attach said spacer block to said guard rail; an alignment mechanism comprising at least one tab operably coupled to and extending from said rear face of at least one side wall of said spacer block for maintaining lateral alignment of said spacer block on said post; a resting mechanism comprising a tab projecting from said front face of said bottom panel for supporting a bottom edge of said guard rail thereon; a notch formed in said rear face of said bottom panel and shaped to correspond to said tab of said resting mechanism for cooperative engagement of said resting mechanism of another said spacer block such that said spacer blocks may be positioned upon one another for storage; and wherein said spacer block is composed of a polymeric material.