Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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TRANSPORTABLE SUPPORT BASE
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a transportable support base of the type
typically utilized in road construction for supporting vertical posts to which
are secured
road signs or other members associated with road security such as barriers,
rails, etc.
BACKGROUND ART
A problem that exists with transportable support bases of the above type is
that these bases are usually constructed as rectangular bases with a slot
extending
longitudinally therein and terminating substantially at the center of the
support base.
There is provided a through hole which constitutes a handle. In order to
transport these
weighted platforms which can weigh between 30 and 50 lbs, a worker person must
grasp
the platform from above the handle hole and hinge the platform outwardly with
the arm
triceps displaced 90 , or substantially parallel to the ground, to lift it,
thus applying the
weight of the platform to the triceps arm muscle and the elbow region. During
a day, a
worker can lift several of these support bases whereby to move them or to
remove them
from a construction site. Such manipulation causes muscle, bone and even back
injury.
Another disadvantage of these transportable support bases is that they are
usually improperly stacked particularly during transport where the stack may
be subjected
to all sorts of disturbances as a transport vehicle travels over rough terrain
and they are
usually strewn all over the surface area of the box of the vehicle carrying
these support
bases. Still further, when these support bases are stacked one on top of the
other, a user
person can only grab the handle of the uppermost support base of the stack as
the handle
holes of the bases under the top one are not accessible.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
It is a feature of the present invention to provide a transportable support
base.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a transportable
support base wherein, in one embodiment, handle holes are provided on opposed
longitudinal sides of the support base to make it easy to lift with one or two
arms without
having to raise the arm high whereby the load is better distributed along the
arm and
wherein these bases can be carried with the arms extending downwards.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide, in one embodiment, a
transportable support base wherein several bases may be stacked one on top of
the other
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and resist to transverse forces during transportation in a vehicle to prevent
disconnection
of the stack of support bases during transportation.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide, in one embodiment, a
support base having handle holes which may be grasped from under the hole when
the
bases are stacked one on top of the other whereby two or more of the bases can
be lifted
at the same time by engaging handle holes of support bases under the top
support base of
a stack.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a transportable
support base for supporting road signs secured to upright posts provided with
foot plates.
According to the above features, from a broad aspect, the present invention
provides a transportable support base, comprising: a weighted platform having
a bottom
wall, the platform having a plurality of interconnected side walls and a
through slot
extending inwardly from one of the side walls of the platform and terminating
in a central
region of the platform, at least the bottom wall having a high coefficient of
friction for
frictional adherence to a surface for resisting to forces applied thereto, and
at least one
handle hole disposed adjacent a corresponding one of the side walls of the
weighted
platform for manipulating and transporting the support base.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with
reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the support base of the
present
invention disposed over the foot plate of a vertical post supporting a roadway
sign;
FIG. 2 is a top view of the transportable support base of the
present
invention;
FIG. 3 is an end view of Figure 2;
FIG. 4 is a side view of Figure 1; and
FIG. 5 is a side view showing a stack of transportable support
bases
illustrating the undercut cavity extending to the handle holes.
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DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to Figure 1, there is
shown generally at 10, in phantom lines, the transportable support base of the
present
invention for supporting a road sign 11 which is connected to a vertical
support post 12
provided with a transverse foot plate 13 at a lower end thereof. The
transportable
support base 10 is disposed over the foot plate whereby to anchor it on a
support
surface 14 such as road pavement or any other support surface.
Referring now to Figures 2 to 4, there is shown the construction of the
support base 10 of the present invention. As hereinshown, the support base is
comprised of a weighted platform 15 constructed of rubber material, or other
suitable
material, and may weigh between 30 and 50 lbs. The platform is shaped as a
rectangular platform having opposed longitudinal side walls 16 and opposed
parallel
transverse end walls 17 and 17. A through slot 18 extends mid-length of one of
the end
walls, here end wall 17' and disposed parallel to the opposed side walls 16.
The through
slot 18 defines opposed parallel side walls 19 and 19' and a concavely shaped
end wall
20. The end wall 20 is disposed substantially at the center of the
transportable support
base 10. Typically these support bases have a length of about 28 inches and a
width of
inches with the through slot having a length of about 121/2 inches and a width
of
20 approximately 3% inches.
The flat bottom wall 21 has a high co-efficient of friction for frictional
adherence to a surface, such as the pavement surface 14 illustrated in Figure
1,
whereby to resist the lateral or uplifting forces applied thereto. These
forces are usually
transferred from road signs which are subjected to wind and transmitted to the
bottom
plate of the sign disposed under the support base, as shown in Figure 1. A
handle hole
22 is disposed adjacent two opposed sides, herein the longitudinal side walls
16 of the
support base and provided for manipulating and transporting the support base
by a
person inserting his fingers and/or hand through the opposed handle holes 22
whereby
to lift the support base upright. In a particular embodiment, the handle hole
22 is
disposed along the side wall 16.
As hereinshown there is optionally provided a third handle hole 23
adjacent the end wall 17 in a mid-length region thereof. The handle holes 22
are also
disposed at substantially mid-length of the two opposed longitudinal side
walls 16 for
weight distribution. In a particular embodiment, a cavity is defined in an
inner side
surface of the handle hole 22, 23 to facilitate a user to grasp the support
base 10 from
the top wall via the handle hole 22, 23.
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As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the handle holes 22 and 23 are all provided with
an
undercut cavity 22' for the handle holes 22 and 23 for the handle hole 23.
These
40 undercut permits a user person to introduce his fingers therein to grasp
the
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handle hole from thereunder to lift the sign support base. This is
particularly useful, as
shown in Figure 5, when support bases are stacked one on top of the other.
Otherwise,
only the top support base 10' may be lifted and the hand has to be introduced
from the
top wall 25 of the top support base 10' for grasping one support base at a
time. This
undercut 22' makes it possible for a worker person to lift two or more of the
support
bases stacked one on top of the other at the same time.
Referring again to Figures 1 to 4, it can be seen that the flat top wall 25
of the platform 10 has a projecting form 26 or plateau protruding above the
top wall and
recessed from the outer periphery of the support base. A cavity 27 (see Figure
4) is
also provided in the flat bottom wall 21 to receive the projecting form 26
therein in close
fit when two of these support bases are stacked one on top of the other to
interconnect
several stacked support bases to resist to lateral forces whereby to prevent
the bases
from falling off the stack. The projecting form 26 has a flat top surface 26'
which
extends parallel to the flat bottom wall 21. The cavity 27 has a depth which
is greater
than the thickness of the projecting form 26.
Although Figure 1 illustrates the support base as used for supporting a
road sign, it may be used for supporting any post which is provided with a
flat
transverse foot plate or flat arm(s) at a lower end thereof such as to form
barriers or a
multitude of other temporary structures. The support post 12 has at least a
bottom
portion thereof dimensioned to be received in the through slot 18 of the
support base.
It is within the ambit of the present invention to cover any other obvious
modifications of the preferred embodiment as described herein, provided such
modifications fall within the scope of the appended claims.