US1927303A - Highway guard - Google Patents

Description

E. L. BENEDICT HIGHWAY GUARD Sept. 19, 1933.

Filed July 22, 1952 I ll! Fatented gent. 19, 1933 1 units earner @FFEQE 2 Claims.

My invention relates to highway guards, such as are employed as fences or deflectors to prevent vehicles leaving the roadway, on bridges, on embankments, or at curves.

One object of my invention is to provide a guard structure that possesses a maximum capacity of resistance for a given weight of material.

Another object ofmy invention is to provide a guard structure that is highly yieldable, and can be deflected to a greater extent than various types of guards heretofore employed, without permanent deformation of the guard strip.

Another object of my invention is to provide a guard band or strip of improved form, and an improved manner of connecting the same to supporting posts or the like.

Some of the forms which my invention may take are shown in the accompanying drawing wherein Figure 1 is a face view of a portion of the guard structure; Fig. 2 is a face view of a portion thereof, on an enlarged scale; Fig. 3 is a sectional end view of the structure of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a sectional plan view of Fig. 2, and Fig. 5 shows a modification of the structure of Fig. 4.

The structure is shown as composed of a bandlike strip of mesh 7 that is supported by a pair of end posts 8, only one of which is shown, and by intermediate posts 9. The posts may be anchored in concrete bases, or otherwise supported, and anchor rods 10 or the like may be provided for the end posts.

The band 7 may be of thin sheet metal or wire mesh. The mesh may be of any suitable form, such for example, as any of those shown in my copending application, Serial No. 603,383, filed April 5, 1932, and is here shown as composed of longitudinal or strand wires 11 preferably of steel so that they will have considerable elasticity or spring. The wires are maintained in unitary relation by stay wires 12 which have bends formed therein to form seats for supporting the strand wires.

The strand wires alternately pass in front or formed in dies.

When formed of sheet metal,

(Cl. 256l3.1)

the posts may be rolled to approximately channel shape, and then bent to approximately the contour shown by suitable dies, or the entire forming operation may be performed by the use of dies.

A vertical depression 13 is formed in the face of each post to produce, in effect, outstanding vertical ribs 14, while the top of the post may be closed by bending in the upper end thereof,

.or by the use of a cap plate as indicated at 1%.

In assembling the structure, the band 7 is stretched across the faces of the posts and secured to the end posts. Thereupon bars 15 are positioned against the band at points opposite to the z posts 9, and bolts 16 inserted through these bars 40 and perforations in the depressions 13. Springs 1'7 are placed around the bolts and then washers. 18 and nuts 19 are placed thereon. Tightening of the nuts 19 will draw the clamping bars 15 inp wardly, thus forcing the band into the depression 55 13 and increasing the longitudinal tension on the band, the ribs 14 serving as spacing members for maintaining adjacent portions'of the band in horizontally-spaced planes. The springs 17 will yield sufficiently to permit the bolts and the clamping 8% bars to be drawn out slightly under stresses imposed on the band, arid will automatically draw the band inwardly when such stresses are removed, thereby constantly maintaining the band under tension. The said stresses may occur either through the impacts of vehicles against the band, or through shrinkage of the band in cold weather.

The band may have slight sliding movement with respect to the posts 9, so that any impact or stresses imparted to the band at one location will be transmitted to posts remote therefrom, thereby relieving the posts in the immediate vicinity of excessive strains. Furthermore, the band willbe prevented from becoming too slack between certain posts, and too taut between other posts.

The rear sides of the posts 9 are open to provide convenient access to the bolts and the nuts, and it is therefore not necessary to have the bolts protruding from the rear sides of the posts. Of course, if desired, tubular or solid posts could be employed, and the bolts extended completely therethrough. Also, the springs 17 could be omitted without sacrifice of various advantageous features of my invention.

If a vehicle hits the band a glancing blow at a 10 point adjacent to one of the posts 9, the band 7 will ordinarily so deflect the vehicle that it will not directly engage the post, but if the impact should be so great as to overcome the resistance of the band, the hub or bumper bar of the vehicle would engage an angular face 20 of the post, an be deflected outwardly.

Referring now to Fig. 5, I show the band applied to a wood post 21, which is grooved or recessed in its outer side, the band being drawn into such recess by a clamping bar 22 and a bolt 23. Springs corresponding to the springs 17 may be placed at the inner end of the bolt as in Fig. 4, to provide for yieldability. In the structure of Fig. 5, the drawing in of the bolt, of course, places the band under tension, as above-explained, and the band may have sliding movement longitudinally of itself with respect to the clamping plate 22 and the post 21.

I claim as my invention:-

1. A guard fence comprising a post, a flexible impact-receiving member, means for anchoring said member adjacent to its ends, a pair of vertically-extending rib-like projections on said post, means for drawing the adjacent portion of the band into the space between said projections, and means for yieldably maintaining the band in said positions.

2. A guard fence comprising a flexible impactreceiving member, means for anchoring the ends of said member, a post having a vertical depression in its face, clamping bolts extending through the mesh and said depression into the posts, and means for yieldably maintaining the bolts in said position.

EDWARD L. BENEDICT.

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