Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
GUARD RAIL SYSTEM AND COMPONENTS
FIELD
[0001] This specification relates to guard rail systems and components
and in particular to temporary reusable guard rail systems and components for
construction sites.
BACKGROUND
[0002] The following background discussion is not an admission that
anything discussed below is citable as prior art or common general knowledge.
The documents listed below are incorporated herein in their entirety by this
reference to them.
[0003] Temporary guard rail systems are well known for use at
construction sites. Such systems typically include a combination of posts and
rails that may be temporarily erected to guard dangerous areas.
[0004] A problem with current temporary guard rail systems is that the
systems, and in particular the posts, cannot be stored or transported in a
compact and cost-efficient manner. Furthermore, many of the systems are costly
to manufacture and have components that are not sufficiently durable to allow
the systems to be used multiple times. Also, many of the systems do not
conform
to local safety standards or are not adapted for different applications such
as flat
surfaces, stair rail, handrail and offsets from walls for drywall
installations.
[0005] There is a need for guard rail systems and components to
overcome one or more of the problems identified above.
SUMMARY
[0006] In one aspect the invention provides a post for a guard rail
system,
said post comprising:
a base, for securing to a surface;
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a body extending from said base;
a plurality of rail supports adapted for supporting rails; and
at least one stacking opening defined in said body for stacking a
corresponding
second post in an upside down orientation.
[0007] In another aspect, the invention provides a post for a guard
rail
system, said post comprising:
a base, for securing to a surface;
a body extending from said base; and
a plurality of rail supports adapted for supporting rails;
wherein said body and said rail supports are integrally formed from a single
piece
of material.
[0008] In another aspect, the invention provides a guard rail system,
said
system comprising at least two posts, each said post having:
a base, for securing to a surface;
a body extending from said base; and
a plurality of rail supports adapted for supporting rails between said at
least two
posts; and
at least one stacking opening defined in said body of each of said at least
two
posts for stacking a corresponding second post in an upside down orientation.
Other aspects and features of the teachings disclosed herein will become
apparent, to those ordinarily skilled in the art, upon review of the following
description of the specific examples of the specification.
DRAWINGS
[0009] The drawings included herewith are for illustrating various
examples of articles, methods, and apparatuses of the present specification
and
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are not intended to limit the scope of what is taught in any way. For
simplicity
and clarity of illustration, where considered appropriate, reference numerals
may
be repeated among the drawings to indicate corresponding or analogous
elements.
[0010] Figure 1 is a schematic view of a guard rail system in
accordance
with one aspect of the present invention disposed at a construction site;
[0011] Figure 2 is a top perspective view of a post for a guard rail
system
in accordance with one aspect of the present invention;
[0012] Figure 3 is a bottom perspective view of the post of Figure 2;
[0013] Figure 4 is a top view of the post of Figure 2;
[0014] Figure 5 is a top perspective view of the post of Figure 2 with
a
second identical post stacked in an upside-down orientation thereon;
[0015] Figure 6 is a top perspective of a post for a guard rail system
in
accordance with another aspect of the present invention;
[0016] Figure 7 is a top perspective view from a different angle of the
post
of Figure 6;
[0017] Figure 8 is a top view of the post of Figure 6;
[0018] Figure 9 is a top perspective view of the post of Figure 6 with
a
second identical post stacked in an upside-down orientation thereon; and
[0019] Figure 10 is a top perspective of a post for a guard rail system
in
accordance with another aspect of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS
[0020] Various apparatuses or methods will be described below to
provide
examples of the claimed invention. The claimed invention is not limited to
apparatuses or methods having all of the features of any one apparatus or
method described below or to features common to multiple or all of the
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apparatuses described below. The claimed invention may reside in a
combination or sub-combination of the apparatus elements or method steps
described below. It is possible that an apparatus or method described below is
not an example of the claimed invention. The applicant(s), inventor(s) and/or
owner(s) reserve all rights in any invention disclosed in an apparatus or
method
described below that is not claimed in this document and do not abandon,
disclaim or dedicate to the public any such invention by its disclosure in
this
document.
[0021] A guard rail system in accordance with the present invention is
shown generally at 10 Figure 1. System 10 includes posts 12 and rails 14.
System 10 may be temporarily installed at a construction site to provide guard
rails where desired or as required by local building codes. System 10 may then
be removed, stored and transported for reuse at another construction site in
future. Posts 12 are described in more detail below. Rails 14 are typically
formed
from lengths of 2x4 lumber that may be locally sourced and require no further
modifications. Alternatively, rails 14 may be formed of other suitable
materials,
such as lengths of metal or plastic provided that the materials meet the
applicable local building codes.
[0022] Posts 12 each include a base 16, body 18 and a plurality of rail
supports 20. Posts 12 are preferably formed of powder coated steel.
[0023] Base 16 is adapted to be secured to a surface 22 using fasteners
(not shown) extending through holes 26 defined in base 16. Fasteners may be
screws, bolts or other suitable fasteners that extend through holes 26.
Fasteners
could alternatively comprise clamps or the like that engage base 16 without
the
need to use holes 26.
[0024] Body 18 extends from base 16 to a desired height H. Body 18
extends at an angle A from base 16 that in most instances is 90 degrees. Angle
A could be less than 90 degrees however for use in securing base 18 to an
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inclined surface such as a ramp or roof line (not shown). Base 16 and body 18
may be permanently secured together with welds or may be removably and/or
adjustably attached through the use of bolts or other attachment mechanisms
(not shown).
[0025] Body 18 may be of tubular construction as shown in Figs 1-5.
Most
preferably, body 18 may be a hollow tube with a square cross section and a
plurality of outer faces 28a-d. Body 18 may further include a top portion 30
defining a stacking opening 32 for receiving a stacking fin 34 as described
further
below.
[0026] Rail supports 20 are disposed on posts 12 at desired locations
to
support rails 14. Most preferably, rail supports 20 include a toe rail support
20a, a
mid rail support 20b and a top rail support 20c. The distance of each rail
support
20 from surface 22 is determined by local building codes. In a preferred
embodiment, at least for the building codes of the North American market, top
rail
support 20c is spaced 35.5 inches from base 16 and mid rail support 20b is
spaced at the mid point between top rail support 20c and base 16. Preferably,
rail
supports 20 are disposed on adjacent orthogonal faces 28a and 28b of body 18.
This allows post to support rails 14 in two directions if desired to form a 90
degree corner.
[0027] Mid rail support 20b and top rail support 20c may each include
a
base portion 36, extending from body 18 parallel to base 16, and a side
portion
38, extending upwardly from base portion 36 parallel to body 18. Toe rail
portion
20a may simply include a side portion 38 extending upwardly from base 16 (as
shown for example in Fig 2) or may include a base portion 36, extending from
body 18 parallel to base 16, and a side portion 38, extending upwardly from
base
portion 36 parallel to body 18 (as shown for example with a different
embodiment
in Fig 6). Side portion 38 of rail supports is spaced sufficiently from body
18 to
allow a single rail 14 to be seated between body 18 and side portion 38. Holes
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are defined in side portion 38 of rail support 20 for receiving fasteners to
secure
rails 14 to rail supports 20.
[0028] Referring to Figs 3-5, stacking fin 34 extends upwardly from
base
16 parallel to body 18. Stacking fin 34 is sized to fit within stacking
opening 32 of
top portion 30 of a second post 12 that is stacked in an upside down
orientation
(as shown in Figure 5). As a result, stacking fins 34 of the adjacent posts 12
fit
within the corresponding stacking openings 32 to securely stack the posts 12
together for storage and transportation. Preferably, stacking fin 34 is
disposed at
a 45 degree angle relative to one of faces 28c or 28d of body 18 that oppose
one
of faces 28a or 28b where rail supports 20 are attached. Preferably, stacking
fin
34 is sized to fit diagonally within stacking openings 32. In this
configuration, it is
possible to stack numerous posts 12 closely together to fit on a pallet for
storage
or transportation.
[0029] Referring to Figs 6-9, another embodiment for post 12 is shown.
Similar reference numerals are used to refer to similar elements for the
embodiments described herein.
[0030] Post 12 includes base 16, body 18 and rail supports 20. In this
embodiment however body 18 and rail supports 20 are preferably integrally
formed from a single piece of material. Rail supports 20 include a toe rail
support
20a, a mid rail support 20b and a top rail support 20c. Rail supports 20 each
include a base portion 36 and a side portion 38.
[0031] Body 18 is preferably formed with two orthogonal faces 28a and
28b. Base portions 36 of each rail support extend in the same plane as the
respective faces 28a, 28b of body 18. Side portions 38 of each rail support
extend orthogonally to the respective base portions 36. As a result, side
portion
38 extending from face 28a is disposed parallel to face 28b and side portion
38
extending from face 28b is disposed parallel to face 28a.
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[0032] Body 18 further includes a plurality of first stacking openings
32a
and second stacking openings 32b that allows two posts 12 to be stacked
together in a reverse (upside down) orientation (as shown in Figure 9). First
stacking openings 32a are defined between the adjacent edges 44 of side
portions 38 and the edges 46 of their respective faces 28a and 28b. As shown
in
Figure 8, first stacking openings 32a have a width W that is wider than the
width
w of respective side portions 38 to allow side portions 38 to slidably fit
within first
stacking openings 32a when two posts 12 are being reverse stacked. Side
portions 38 are also inset a distance I from the plane of the respective
orthogonal
faces 28a and 28 b to allow side portions to slide along the inside face of
the
respective base portions 36 a desired distance D to achieve a locking
orientation
as shown in Figure 9. Second stacking openings 32b are defined between the
adjacent edges 48 of each adjacent pair of side portions 38. Second stacking
openings 32b define an imaginary right angle with sides having a width W' that
are wider than the width w' of each respective orthogonal face 28a and 28b to
allow the orthogonal faces 28a and 28b of a second post 12 to slidably fit
within
second stackable openings 32b when two posts 12 are being reverse stacked. In
this configuration, it is possible to stack numerous posts 12 closely together
to fit
on a pallet for storage or transportation.
[0033] Referring to Fig 10, another embodiment for post 12 is shown.
Similar reference numerals are used to refer to similar elements for the
embodiments described herein.
[0034] Post 12 includes base 16, body 18 and rail supports 20. In this
embodiment however rail supports 20 are defined through body 18 on all four
faces 28a-d.
[0035] While the above description provides examples of one or more
processes or apparatuses, it will be appreciated that other processes or
apparatuses may be within the scope of the accompanying claims.
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