Portable barricade system

Abstract

A barrier kit for forming a portable barricade system. The barrier kit includes a first pylon, a second pylon, and only one belt assembly. The belt assembly is fixable to a sidewall of at least one of the first and second pylons. The belt assembly comprises a retractable belt and a connection assembly attached to the retractable belt for connection of the retractable belt to the other one of the first and second pylons. To form the portable barricade system, the first and second pylons are positioned a distance apart, and the retractable belt is extended to the first pylon. In this position, the connection assembly is connected to the first pylon.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] Not applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY-SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

[0002] Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Portable barricade systems are commonly used to divide areas in various manners. For example, portable barricade systems are used in restaurants, movie theaters and airports to form aisles for individuals waiting in line. Portable barricade systems are also used for forming barricades around 1) cleaning (wet/waxed floors, etc.), 2) hazardous material spill areas (contained), 3) hazardous work areas, and 4) hazardous conditions.

[0004] Typical portable barricade systems include a stand having a belt cassette connected to the top of a post. Two or more of the stands having the belt cassettes must be used to form the portable barricade system.

[0005] A portable barricade system is currently being sold by Rubbermaid® Commercial Products under a part number 6287. The portable barricade system is provided with 1) a 36 inch tall safety cone, 2) a weight ring, and 3) a belt cassette. The belt cassette is mounted on the top of the safety cone. The belt cassette includes a retractable belt which is designed to connect to another belt cassette. To form a portable barricade with Rubbermaid's system, one must purchase two of the portable barricade systems identified by part number 6287 because each safety cone must be provided with a belt cassette. This substantially raises the cost of the portable barricade.

[0006] The present invention relates to a portable barricade system which functions in a similar manner as the portable barricade system offered by Rubbermaid® Commercial products, but at a substantially lower cost. It is to such an improved portable barricade system that the present invention is directed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

[0007] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portable barricade system, constructed in accordance with the present invention.

[0008] FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of a belt assembly mounted to a second pylon in accordance with the present invention.

[0009] FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of a connection assembly connected to a retractable belt of the belt assembly.

[0010] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the second pylon, generally opposite that shown in FIG. 2.

[0011] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a barrier kit, constructed in accordance with the present invention.

[0012] FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view of another embodiment of the belt assembly mounted to the second pylon in accordance with the present invention.

[0013] FIG. 7 is a partial perspective view of a clip-shaped member attached to a housing of the belt assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] Referring now to the drawing, and in particular to FIG. 1, shown therein and designated by reference numeral 10 is a portable barricade system constructed in accordance with the present invention. The portable barricade system 10 is provided with a first pylon 12, a second pylon 14, a belt assembly 16, a first weight 18 and a second weight 20. The first weight 18 and the second weight 20 can be shipped either with the first pylon 12, the second pylon 14, and the belt assembly 16 or separately from the first pylon 12, the second pylon 14, and the belt assembly 16.

[0015] The first and second pylons 12 and 14 are preferably portable structures. The first and second pylons 12 and 14 are substantially identical in construction. Thus, only the first pylon 12 will be described in detail hereinafter. However, like parts on the second pylon 14 will be designated with similar reference numerals having an alphabetic suffix “a”.

[0016] The first pylon 12 is provided with an upper end 24, a lower end 26 and a sidewall 28 extending therebetween. Preferably the lower end 26 is open and cooperates with the sidewall 28 to define an internal cavity 32 (shown by way of dashed lines) such that the internal cavity 32 is capable of matingly receiving the second pylon 14. In other words, preferably, the first and second pylons 12 and 14 can be stacked, one on top of the other when not in use or when packaged so as to provide a compact arrangement (see FIG. 5). The first pylon 12 also includes a base 34 positioned adjacent to the lower end 26 of the sidewall 28. The base 34 extends outwardly from the sidewall 28 so as to provide additional stability for the first pylon 12.

[0017] The first weight 18 is associated with the first pylon 12 for restricting movement of the first pylon 12. For example, the first weight 18 can be a powder-coated steel ring positioned about the sidewall 28 near the lower end 26. The first weight 18 can be supported by the sidewall 28 or the base 34. For example, the first weight 18 can be supported by frictional engagement with the sidewall 28. Although the first weight 18 has been shown and described herein in a preferred embodiment as a steel ring, it should be understood that the first weight 18 can be implemented in any form capable of engaging at least a portion of the first pylon 12 so as to provide weight to the first pylon 12 and thereby restrict the movement or potential movement of the first pylon 12. For example, the first weight 18 can be implemented as a lead bar connected to the sidewall 28 or the base 34.

[0018] The first pylon 12 can have any suitable height, such as 24 inches or 36 inches. The first pylon 12 can be constructed of any material capable of forming the first pylon 12. For example, the first pylon 12 can be constructed of a plastic or polymer, such as polyethylene, polypropylene or polyurethane. Further, it should be understood that the first pylon 12 can be constructed by any suitable process, such as milling, injection molding, thermal forming, meltblowing, casting, bending or the like.

[0019] In a preferred embodiment, a sidewall 28 of the first pylon 12 can be in the form of a truncated pyramid or polyhedron, having a substantially square configuration at the base 34 of the pylon 12. Although in a preferred embodiment, the sidewall 28 of the first pylon 12 is shaped as a 4-sided truncated pyramid, it should be understood that the sidewall 28 can be provided with any suitable shape, such as a conical shape, a frustro-conical shape, a polyhedral shape, a fanciful shape, or the like.

[0020] The sidewall 28a defines a mounting surface 36. In one preferred embodiment, the mounting surface 36 is defined by an exterior portion of the sidewall 28a. The belt assembly 16 is fixed or otherwise connected to the mounting surface 36 of the sidewall 28a of the second pylon 14, preferably near the upper end 24a thereof. The belt assembly 16 can be connected to the mounting surface 36 by any suitable manner, such as one or more bolt, rivet, flange, bracket, weld, screw, nut or combinations thereof. For example, the belt assembly 16 can be provided with an L-shaped bracket 37 (shown in FIG. 2). The L-shaped bracket 37 has a first leg 38a and a second leg 38b. The first leg 38a is connected to the mounting surface 36 via a first bolt 39a. The second leg 38b is connected to the belt assembly 16 via a second bolt 39b.

[0021] In another embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the belt assembly 16 is connected to the sidewall 28a of the second pylon 14 by a clip-shaped member 43. The clip-shaped member 43 is attached to the belt assembly 16 and is positioned through an opening 44 formed in the sidewall 28a such that the clip-shaped member 43 engages or is otherwise supported by the sidewall 28a of the second pylon 14.

[0022] With respect to the second pylon 14, the opening 44 is preferably provided about level with the mounting surface 36 so that other pylons having belt assemblies (not shown) which are constructed in a similar manner as the second pylon 14 can be connected (see FIG. 4) to the second pylon 14 to extend the length of the portable barricade system 10.

[0023] The belt assembly 16 is provided with a retractable belt 40, a housing 41, and a connection assembly 42 (FIG. 3) attached to the retractable belt 40. The retractable belt 40 can be withdrawn from the housing 41 to an extended position as shown in FIG. 1. The retractable belt 40 is maintained in the extended position by connection of the connection assembly 42 to the first pylon 12 such that the retractable belt 40 extends between the first pylon 12 and the sidewall 28a of the second pylon 14. Upon removal of the retractable belt 40 from the first pylon 12, the retractable belt 40 is automatically or manually retracted within the housing 41.

[0024] The connection assembly 42 can be connected to the first pylon 12 by any suitable manner. In a preferred embodiment, one or more slit or opening 44 (as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4) is formed in the sidewalls 28 and 28a or the upper ends 24 and 24a. In this embodiment, the connection assembly 42 can be in the form of a hook positioned through the opening 44 such that the connection assembly 42 engages, or is otherwise supported by the upper end 24 or the sidewall 28 of the first pylon 12. The opening 44 in the sidewall 28 of the first pylon 12 is preferably provided about level with the mounting surface 36 of the second pylon 14 so that the retractable belt 40 extends about parallel with a supporting surface, such as a floor.

[0025] The belt assembly 16 can be formed by any device having a spring-loaded or otherwise retractable belt. For example, suitable belt assemblies can be obtained from Visiontron Corporation, located at 720 Old Willits Path, in Hauppauge, N.Y. 11788. The retractable belt 40 is typically formed of a relatively narrow strip of flexible material, such as canvas or material used for forming seat belts. Although the width of the retractable belt 40 can vary, the retractable belt typically has a width in a range from about 1.5 inches to about 4 inches.

[0026] Optionally, the portable barricade system 10 includes one or more light assembly 50 for emitting a warning light. The light assembly 50 is connected to the first pylon 12 or the second pylon 14 so that light emitted from the light assembly 50 extends away from the second pylon 14. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the light assembly 50 is connected to the upper end 24a of the second pylon 14. However, it should be understood that the light assembly 50 can be connected to the upper end 24 of the first pylon 12, or respective light assemblies 50 can be connected to each of the first and second pylons 12 and 14. The construction of light assemblies, such as the light assembly 50 are well known in the art. Thus, no further description of the light assembly 50 is deemed necessary to teach one skilled in the art to make and use the light assembly 50.

[0027] Referring now to FIG. 5, shown therein is a barrier kit 60 for forming the portable barricade system 10. The barrier kit 60 includes the first pylon 12, the second pylon 14, only one belt assembly 16 (in other words the barrier kit 60 includes one less belt assembly 16 than pylons), the first weight 18, the second weight 20 and one, two or more of the light assemblies 50. The first weight 18 and the second weight 20 can be shipped either with the first pylon 12, the second pylon 14, and the belt assembly 16 or separately from the first pylon 12, the second pylon 14, and the belt assembly 16. The barrier kit 60 can be positioned in a package 62 such that the first pylon 12, the second pylon 14, only one belt assembly 16, the first weight 18, the second weight 20 and one or more of the light assemblies 50 are positioned in close proximity to one another. For example, the second pylon 14 can be stacked on the first pylon 12, and the first and second weights 18 and 20 can be positioned on the second pylon 14. Although the package 62 is shown in FIG. 5 as a box, it should be understood that the package 62 can be provided in other forms. For example, the package 62 can be implemented as a bag, a band, a heat shrinkable material, plastic wrap or the like.

[0028] To form the portable barricade system 10, the first and second pylons 12 and 14 are positioned a distance apart. The first and second weights 18 and 20 are then positioned about the first and second pylons 12 and 14 as discussed above to help retain the first and second pylons 12 and 14 in their respective positions. Then, the retractable belt 40 is extended to the first pylon 12 and the connection assembly 42 is connected to the first pylon 12. For example, when the first pylon 12 includes the opening 44, and the connection assembly 42 has a hook shape, the connection assembly 42 is positioned through the opening 44 to connect the retractable belt 40 to the first pylon 12. To disassemble the portable barricade system 10, the process discussed above is generally reversed.

[0029] In view thereof, it can be seen that only one of the barrier kit 60 is necessary to construct the portable barricade system 10 and is thus an improvement over the portable barricade system offered by Rubbermaid® Commercial products in that only one belt assembly 16 need be used to implement the portable barricade system 10. This substantially lowers the cost of the barrier kit 60. Other advantages of the portable barricade system 10 will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a review of the foregoing written description, the attached drawings and the appended claims.

[0030] Changes may be made in the construction and the operation of the various components, elements and assemblies described herein or in the steps or the sequence of steps of the methods described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

Claims

1. A portable barricade system, comprising:

a first pylon;

a second pylon having an upper end, an open lower end and a sidewall extending there between;

a belt assembly fixed to the sidewall of the second pylon, the belt assembly comprising a retractable belt and a connection assembly attached to the retractable belt, the connection assembly being attached to the first pylon such that the retractable belt extends between the first pylon and the sidewall of the second pylon;

a first weight associated with the first pylon for restricting movement of the first pylon; and

a second weight associated with the second pylon for restricting movement of the second pylon.

2. The portable barricade system of claim 1, wherein the first pylon does not support a belt assembly.

3. The portable barricade system of claim 1, wherein the first pylon includes a mounting surface on a portion of the sidewall thereof for mounting the belt assembly to the first pylon, and an opening spaced a distance from the mounting surface.

4. The portable barricade system of claim 3, wherein the opening and the mounting surface are provided on opposite portions of the sidewall.

5. The portable barricade system of claim 1, wherein the first and second pylons have a shape of a truncated pyramid.

6. The portable barricade system of claim 1, wherein the belt assembly extends outwardly from the sidewall of the second pylon.

7. The portable barricade system of claim 1, wherein the belt assembly further comprises an L-shaped connection assembly for connecting the belt assembly to an exterior mounting surface of the second pylon.

8. The portable barricade system of claim 1, wherein the second pylon defines an internal cavity in communication with the open lower end such that the internal cavity is capable of matingly receiving the first pylon.

9. A barrier kit for forming a portable barricade system, comprising:

a first pylon;

a second pylon; and

only one belt assembly, the belt assembly fixable to a sidewall of at least one of the first and second pylons, the belt assembly comprising a retractable belt and a connection assembly attached to the retractable belt for connection of the retractable belt to the other one of the first and second pylons.

10. The barrier kit of claim 9, further comprising a first weight associated with the first pylon, and a second weight associated with the second pylon.

11. The barrier kit of claim 9, further comprising at least one light assembly connectable to at least one of the first and second pylons.

12. The barrier kit of claim 9, wherein the first pylon includes a mounting surface on a portion of the sidewall thereof for mounting the belt assembly to the first pylon, and an opening spaced a distance from the mounting surface.

13. The barrier kit of claim 12, wherein the opening and the mounting surface are provided on opposite portions of the sidewall.

14. A method for forming a portable barricade system, comprising the steps of:

providing a barrier kit having:

a first pylon;

a second pylon; and

only one belt assembly, the belt assembly fixable to a sidewall of the second pylons, the belt assembly comprising a retractable belt and a connection assembly attached to the retractable belt;

extending the retractable belt to the first pylon;

connecting the connection assembly to the first pylon.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the second pylon includes a mounting surface on a portion of the sidewall thereof and the method further comprises the step of mounting the belt assembly to the second pylon.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the second pylon includes an opening spaced a distance from the mounting surface and the method further comprises the step of disposing a connection assembly of a retractable belt through the opening.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the first and second pylons have a shape of a truncated pyramid.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the belt assembly extends outwardly from the sidewall of the second pylon.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the belt assembly further comprises an L-shaped connection assembly and the method further comprises the step of connecting the connection assembly to an exterior mounting surface of the second pylon.