US2172919A - Highway guardrail - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 12, 1939- M. w. WERTMAN 2,

HIGHWAY GUARDRAIL .Filed Dec. 23, 1936 Patented Sept. 12, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- HIGHWAY GUARDRAIL Millard W. Wertman, Allentown, Pa., assignor to Utilities Service Company, Allentown, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application December 23, 1936, Serial No. 117,395 9 Claims. Cl. 256-13.1)

This invention relates to highway guard rails. A further object is to provide an installation As is well known, highway guard rails are of this character wherein the structure is greatin common use as means of protection adjacent ly simplified and the number of parts and time curves and fills on highways, and it has become involved in the installation are minimized.

the increasing practice to use elongated steel A further object is to provide an installation plates in the making of such guard rails. Such which has a high degree of adaptability to plain plates usually are directly supported at their rope guards by a simple relocation of one or ends by spaced relatively heavy vertical posts, more of the old rop and while such a device is a substantial improve- Other objects and advantages of the invenment over the older method of connecting horition will become apparent during the course of 1'0 zontal wooden rails between. the posts, it is open the following description.

to several objections. For example, steel guard In the drawing I have shown one embodiment rails of the character referred to possess a suboi the invention. In this showing: stantial degree of resiliency between the sup- Figure 1 is a perspective. view of a portion of a.

porting posts and their resiliency decreases toguard rail installation, 15" ward the posts. The guard rails having their Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view on line ends directly connected to the supporting posts, 2-2 of Figure 1, it is apparent that they possess substantially no Figure 3 is a plan View showing the connecresiliency at their points of connection with the tion of a pair f j t buffer plate sections to posts. the supporting cables, 0

To overcome such difficulty, some steel guard Figure 4 s a ar elevation f t S rail installations are now made with the rails i e 5 s a r c d p i w of a p n spaced from the supporting posts, and connected f t e installation, with respect thereto by steel cushioning members. Figurefi is a detail horizontal sectional view While such construction is advantageous over the On e 'e'- of Figure 5 direct connection of the rails to the posts, the Referring o Figures 5 d it W l b noted cushion supporting members ossess avery greatthat the present invention p ys a p u ity 1y reduced resiliency as compared with the reof relativelir vy vertical upp p s 1 siliency of the guard rails intermediate the posts. of the usual yp e d in the ground in a A further disadvantage of many steel guard Cordehee With the customary practice A p u- 3o rail installations lies in the fact that they frerality f vertically spaced horizontal v ly quently present substantial projections or lndenheavy cables H t d between the pp rti tations which engage portions of a vehicle con- D In the drawing, two of the Cables ii are ta ti it th guard te Thus unnecesillustrated, and while two cables are preferably sary damage results to avehicle striking against y d. t wi l become appare t t at thr e 5 the guard rails and the latter are subjected to more Cables y he used if desired- These unnecessarily great destructive forces. are connected to the p s it? by means An important object of the present invention is Which permits quick and y installation, a d to provide a, steel guard rail installation made Which permits ready replacement Of a p s if a 40 up of a plurality of steel or similar sections arguard rail adjace t the P Should be subjected 40 ranged in end to end relation and presenting to such an impact as to break the post and rea substantially continuous and'unbroken surface quire its replacement such purposes, bolts throughout the length of the installation. l2 extend through the posts and are threaded A further object is to provide an installation at their outer ends for reception in nuts it. The

5 of this character wherein the guard rails possess inner ends of the bolts are provided with open substantially uniform resiliency throughout their hooks i l engageable with the cables to support length, thus minimizing the transmission of dethem in position with respect to the posts. Bestructive forces to the installation as a whole, yon'd the end posts, it will be apparent that the and particularly to the supporting posts thereof. cables may be anchored in any suitable manner.

A further object is to provide a guard rail in- A plurality of elongated buffer plates i5 are 5D stallation wherein steel buffer plates are suparranged in end to end relation inwardly of ported by relatively heavy cables extending bethe cables H. Each of these plates has its two tween the supporting posts, the plates being end portions extending outwardly as at IE5, to wholly free from the supporting posts to prevent space the body-of the plate from the cables II.

any reduction in the-resiliencyof the plates; The extremities of the plates are turned back 55 upon themselves to form attaching ends I 1 which are parallel to the bodies of the plates, as clearly shown in Figure 3.

It will be apparent that each spacing member I6 of each plate lies in contact with the adjacent spacing member I6 of the next adjacent plate, as also shown in Figure 3, and since these members are bent substantially at right angles to the bodies of the plates I5, the successive plates have their outer faces forming substantially a single continuous and unbroken buffer surface. The attaching ends I! of the plates are secured to each of the cables II by U-bolts I8. These U- bolts are angularly arranged as clearly shown in Figure 4 to straddle the respective cables II and to permit the ends of each U-bolt to extend through the respective adjacent attaching ends I 1. Each U-bolt is provided at its ends with nuts I9 engageable against the inner faces of the respective adjacent attaching ends II.

It will be apparent that the buffer plates are supported solely by the cables II, the points of connection of the plates with the cables being preferably spaced the posts II] to take advantage of the substantial lateral resiliency offered by the cables II. In

practice, it is preferred that the individual plates,

l5 be equal in length to one-half the distance between the centers of the posts ID. This proportion permits the connection of the ends of each adjacent pair of plates I5 to the pair of cables II at a point spaced one-quarter of the distance between the adjacent post I 0 and the next post, as shown in Figure 5.

The operation of the device is as follows:

As previously stated, the arrangement of the adjacent plates I5 with respect to each other provides a guard rail having a smooth unbroken surface throughout its length and accordingly there are no projections or substantial depressions in which parts of a motor vehicle can solidly engage when striking the buifer plates at an angle. When a vehicle, leaving the road, is impacted against the guard rail, the particular plate I5 which is struck possesses a substantial degree of resiliency intermediate its length to greatly cushion the force of the blow. While the resiliency of each plate decreases toward its ends, this reduction in resiliency is compensated for by the fact that the plates are resiliently supported at their ends by the cables I I. In an impact of given force, the cables II will be deflected laterally to a greater extent when the blow occurs adjacent the end of one of the plates I5, as will be apparent.

It will be apparent that no steel cushioning member of the type referred to is employed for supporting the individual plates I5, each of these plates having the integral spacer portions It which space them the desired distance away from the cables II. Instead of employing steel cushioning members for both spacing and cushioning the plates, the cushioning is provided by the supporting cables II The attachment of the plates I5 to the cables is accomplished by the use of standard U-bolts I8. Since the U-bolts are angularly arranged as shown in Figure 4, the attaching ends I! are provided with bolt receiving openings unequally spaced from the top and bottom edges of the attaching ends, as will be obvious. Each buffer plate is formed from a single sheet of flat metal, thus permitting them to be economically manufactured. Any suitable material may be employed in the manufacture of the plates, and it is desired lateral resiliency of the cables II.

a substantial distance from preferred that the plates be made of steel possessing a substantial degree of resiliency.

As previously stated, the length of each plate is preferably one-half the distance between centers of the posts I0, thus permitting the contacting ends of each pair of plates to be spaced from the adjacent posts a distance approximately equal to one-quarter the distance between the posts. This arrangement permits the ends of the plates to be connected to the cables II at suflicient distances from the posts to utilize the Moreover, each plate will have its ends connected the same distance from the adjacent posts, and it will be apparent that the cables II provide the same degree of lateral resiliency at the ends of all of the plates I5.

In the event the impact of a vehicle against the guard rail occurs adjacent one of the posts I0 and is sufiiciently great to deflect the center of the plate against the post and break the latter, the destroyed post may be quickly and easily replaced without destroying any of the other parts of the device. Upon the breaking of a post, the bolts I2 thereof are removed from the post, and the base of the post is removed from the ground. A new post is placed in position, whereupon bolts I 2, which may have been previously loosely inserted in the new post, may be tightened to engage the cables II.

Moreover, it will be apparent that in the event one of the plates should be broken or substantially deflected beyond its elastic limit so as to render it unsuitable for further use, it may be readily replaced. It merely is necessary to remove the nuts of the U-bolts by means of which the damaged plate is secured in position, whereupon the plate may be withdrawn inwardly, and a new plate placed in position. The nuts which have been removed from the U-bolts then may be replaced, and the original condition of the guard rail accordingly may be quickly and easily restored.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown anddescribed is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and that various changes in the shape, size and ar rangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the sub-joined claims.

I claim;

1. A guard rail comprising a plurality of fixed vertical posts, flexible means connected between said posts, and a plurality of buffer plates spaced from said flexible means, the adjacent ends of said plates being turned inwardly substantially at right angles thereto and then turned back in the direction of the bodies of the plates to provide attaching ends parallel thereto, and means for securing said attaching ends to said flexible means at points spaced from said posts.

2. A highway guard rail comprising a plurality of fixed vertical posts, a plurality of flexible cables connected between said posts and lying in a vertical plane, and a plurality of buffer plates arranged end to end in spaced parallel relation to said cables, each buffer plate having its end portions turned toward said cables substantially at right angles to the body of the plate to form spacing members, the extremity of each plate adjacent each spacing member extending parallel to the body of the corresponding buffer plate to form an attaching end, and means for securing adjacent pairs of attaching ends to said cables.

3. A highway guard rail comprising a-plurality .75

of fixed vertical posts, a plurality of cables extending between said pos and a pair of buffer plates arranged end to end in spaced parallel relation to said cables, the adjacent end portions of said plates being turned toward said cables, and means for securing such end portions directly to said cables.

4. A highway guard rail comprising a plurality of fixed vertical posts, a plurality of cables extending between said posts and secured thereto, a pair of buffer plates having their body portions arranged in contacting end to end relation parallel to said cables, the end portions of said plates being oiiset therefrom toward said cables and engaging the latter to provide spacing and attaching portions, and means for securing the latter portions of the plates to said cables.

5. A highway guard rail comprising a plurality of fixed vertical posts, a plurality of cables extending between said posts and secured thereto, and a pair of buffer plates having their body portions arranged in contacting end to end relation parallel to said cables, each plate having end portions offset toward and engaging said cables to space said plates from said cables, and common means for securing the adjacent end portions of said pair of plates to said cables.

6. A highway guard rail comprising a plurality of fixed vertical posts, a plurality of cables extending between said posts, hook bolts for attaching said cables to said posts, and a pair of buffer plates arranged end to end in spaced parallel relation to said cables, the adjacent end portions of said plates being turned toward said cables substantially at right angles to the bodies of the respective plates to form parallel spacing members contacting with each other, the extremities of the plates being turned away from each other in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of the bodies of the plates to form attaching ends, and means for securing said attaching ends to said cables.

'7. A highway guard rail comprising a plurality of fixed vertical posts, a plurality of cables extending between said posts and secured thereto, a pair of buffer plates having their body portions arranged in contacting end to end relation par allel to said cables, said plates having their adjacent extremities offset from the body portions of said plates parallel thereto and contacting with said cables, and a U-bolt for attaching said extremities of said plates to each of said cables, each U-bolt being angularly arranged to straddle one of said cables and to extend through the respective extremities of said plates.

8. A highway guard rail comprising a plurality of rigid posts, a plurality of vertically spaced flexible members connected between said posts, a plurality of flexible metallic bumper plates having their body portions arranged in contacting end to end relation parallel to and spaced from said flexible members, each buffer plate being of a length approximately equal to one-half the distance between the centers of said posts and each alternate plate having its ends equidistantly spaced on opposite sides of one of said posts, each buffer plate having its extremities extending toward said flexible members, and means for connecting the extremities of said plates to said flexible members.

9. A highway guard rail comprising a plurality of fixed vertical posts, a pair of flexible structures one formed of a plurality of cables and the other formed of a plurality of buffer plates having their body portions arranged in contacting end to end relation parallel to said cables, each plate having end portions ofiset toward and engaging said cables to space said plates from said cables, means for securing the offset portions of said plates to said cables, and means for connecting one of said flexible structures to said posts at points equidistantly spaced from the offset ends of alternate plates.

MLLARD W. WERTMAN.

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