CABLE BARRIER DELINEATOR

Abstract

A cable barrier delineator has a cylindrical mid-section, a flattened top, and a flattened bottom indexed 90 degrees from the top when viewed from the end, and is attached to the flanges of a cable barrier post.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO PROVISIONAL APPLICATION

The benefit of U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 61/095,460 filed Sep. 9, 2008 is claimed.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates in general to cable barrier systems and traffic delineators. More specifically, but without restriction to the particular use which is shown and described, this invention relates to a delineator configured for mounting on the posts of a cable barrier system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A cable barrier system is a type of roadside or median barrier. It consists of steel wire ropes mounted on weak posts. As is the case with any roadside barrier, its primary purpose is to prevent a vehicle from leaving the traveled way and striking opposite direction traffic or a fixed object or terrain feature that is less forgiving than itself. Also similar to most roadside barriers, cable barriers function by capturing and/or redirecting the errant vehicle.

Because these barriers are relatively inexpensive to install and very effective at capturing vehicles, their use is becoming increasingly prevalent among states' departments of transportation in the United States. By far, the most popular use of the cable barrier system occurs in the medians of divided highways. Given the opposing directions of traffic on divided highways, cross median crashes are particularly severe. While median width plays a large role in the occurrence of these crashes, increased width alone does not eliminate them and quite often, the median must be shielded with a barrier. Cable barriers provide a cost-effective solution to the shielding issue.

The cable barrier system is more forgiving than traditional concrete (Jersey) barriers or steel barriers used today and remains effective when installed on sloping terrain. The flexibility of the system absorbs impact energy and dissipates it laterally, which reduces the forces transmitted to the vehicle occupants.

Although cable barriers have been used since the 1960s it wasn't until the mid 1990s that many departments of transportation began to deploy them with any regularity.

A drawback of median-installed cable barrier systems is that they are very difficult to see when the grass and weeds in the medians have grown tall, in dim light scenarios, and in bad weather conditions. In many situations emergency vehicles need to cross a median to change direction of travel, and gaps in the cable barrier must be used. The location of the barrier and its gaps must be readily visible. Another hazard of tall grass over the barrier is to operators of grass mowing equipment in the medians. By necessity, median grass mowers are typically fast-moving and cut wide swaths, and mowings are infrequently scheduled so the grass grows high above the cable barrier. The combination of high speed and tall grass has lead to incidents where the mowers and cable systems are accidentally damaged by collisions. Thus a need exists for a visual position indicator for a cable barrier post that extends above tall grass and weeds, but is inexpensive, relatively flexible for traffic safety, and impact damage resistant.

A traffic delineator is a conventional device used upon many highways to indicate to the driver the edge of the road or, in the alternative, an upcoming division or revision in traffic lanes. Modern traffic delineators formed primarily of thermoplastic resin and are cylindrical in cross-section for ease of manufacture, such as the ones disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,003,919 and 7,179,016. Cylindrical delineators are typically mounted on the road surface at the tubular bottom and formed of a plastic material that is permanently thermally flattened at the top to receive reflective material.

A solution to the problem of cable barrier visibility would be to mount a modified form of a cylindrical traffic delineator to the cable barrier post.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A modified form of a cylindrical traffic delineator is mounted to a cable barrier post, and extends above the post for visibility in tall grass.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the invention and its advantages will be apparent from the Detailed Description taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the cable barrier delineator of the present invention used in a cable barrier system, only a portion of the cable barrier system being shown;

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of the mounting structure for the cable barrier delineator of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, where like numerals refer to like and corresponding parts, a cable barrier system 10 includes cables 12 and post 14. Post 14 includes flanges 16,18. It will be understood that the complete system 10 includes many posts 14 and very long cables 12, and that only a small portion of an overall system is illustrated. Post 14 is vertical with an upper end 20, and the upper end 20 has at least one surface 22.

According to the present invention, a delineator 26 is combined with the cable barrier post 14. The delineator 26 has a bottom 28 and a top 30. At least one fastener 32 connects the delineator bottom 28 to the cable barrier post upper end surface 22, such that the delineator top 30 extends above and is vertically located higher than the cable barrier post upper end 20.

In one embodiment of the invention, illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, the upper end surface 22 is continuous along the length of the upper end 20 of the post 14 and is located on flange 18 of the post 14. The fastener is a conventional beam clamp, such as a Caddy #3000037EG, used in pairs as shown. Screws 33 through holes (not shown) in the delineator bottom 28 complete the connections between the delineator, beam clamps and post. The use of beam clamps along the continuous vertical flange surface of the post permits precise location of the delineator and easy retrofit of delineators to existing barrier installations.

In detail, the delineator 26 has a mid-section 34 between the bottom 28 and the top 30. Mid-section 34 is cylindrical, in contrast to the bottom 28 and top 30 which are flattened. In one possible embodiment of the invention, the delineator 26 is of tubular plastic material, and bottom 28 and top 30 are permanently thermally flattened, while the mid-section 34 remains tubular with cylindrical cross-sections. In order to mount delineator 26 to post 14

It is preferable to fix a planar sheet of reflective material 36 to the flattened top 30, and in that instance flattened top 30 and flattened bottom 28 are indexed 90 degrees apart when viewed from an end 38 of the delineator. This enables flattened bottom 28 to face the mounting surface 22 of the post 14, and flattened top 30 to face parallel to the cables and in the direction of traffic.

In operation, the cable barrier delineator may be constructed as modification of the previously known thermoplastic, tubular, pavement delineator. The cable barrier delineator has the flattened top and cylindrical mid-section of the pavement delineator, but unlike the pavement delineator the cable barrier delineator has been shortened and has a flattened bottom. Preferably flattened top and flattened bottom are indexed 90 degrees apart when viewed from the end of the delineator or from the top, as shown in FIG. 1, so that when the bottom is mounted parallel to the flange of the post, the flattened top is perpendicular to the flange and faces in the direction of traffic and in a direction facing parallel to the cables.

The flattened bottom is mounted to the flange by a combination of beam clamps and screws. The clamps tighten on the flange by way of threaded members and lock nuts, while the screws extend through holes in the flattened bottom of the delineator into threaded holes in the beam clamps.

An alternative method of attachment (not shown) is to use self-tapping screws through the bottom of the delineator directly into holes in the flange.

The cable barrier delineators of the present invention allow emergency and public safety vehicles to now see cable barrier systems in high grass, dim light scenarios, and bad weather conditions. The cable barrier delineators are easy to use, with secure flange-clamp attachment to the post or direct, self-tapping screw attachment. The delineators result in fewer hits of the cable system because of poor visibility

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the type described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a particular delineator mounting system, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention.

Claims

1. A delineator in combination with a cable barrier post, comprising:

a vertical cable barrier post with an upper end, the upper end having at least one surface;

a delineator having a bottom and top; and

at least one fastener connecting the delineator bottom to the cable barrier post upper end surface, with the delineator top extending above and being vertically located higher than the cable barrier post upper end.

2. The combination of claim 1 with the upper end surface being continuous along the length of the upper end of the post and on a flange of the post.

3. The combination of claim 1 with the fastener being a beam clamp.

4. The combination of claim 2 with the fastener being a beam clamp.

5. The combination of claim 1 with the delineator having a mid-section between the bottom and the top, and with the mid-section being cylindrical and the bottom being flattened.

6. The combination of claim 5 with the delineator being of plastic material, where the bottom is permanently thermally flattened.

7. The combination of claim 5 with the top being flattened.

8. The combination of claim 7 with the delineator being of plastic material, where the bottom and top are permanently thermally flattened.

9. The combination of claim 5 with the delineator being of plastic material, where the bottom and top are permanently thermally flattened, and where the mid-section is tubular.

10. The combination of claim 7 with reflective material fixed to the flattened top.

11. The combination of claim 7 with the delineator flattened top and flattened bottom being indexed 90 degrees apart when viewed from the end.

12. The combination of claim 9 with the delineator flattened top and flattened bottom being indexed 90 degrees apart when viewed from an end of the delineator.

13. A delineator in combination with a cable barrier post, comprising:

a vertical cable barrier post with an upper end, the upper end having at least one surface;

a delineator having a bottom and top;

at least one fastener connecting the delineator bottom to the cable barrier post upper end surface, with the delineator top extending above and being vertically located higher than the cable barrier post upper end;

with the upper end surface being continuous along the length of the upper end of the post and on a flange of the post;

with the fastener being a beam clamp;

with the delineator having a mid-section between the bottom and the top, and with the mid-section being cylindrical;

with the delineator being of plastic material, where the bottom and top are permanently thermally flattened, and where the mid-section is tubular;

with reflective material fixed to the flattened top; and

with the delineator flattened top and flattened bottom being indexed 90 degrees apart when viewed from an end of the delineator.

14. A delineator, comprising:

the delineator having a flattened bottom and flattened top; and

with the delineator flattened top and flattened bottom being indexed 90 degrees apart when viewed from an end of the delineator.

15. The delineator of claim 14 with the delineator having a mid-section between the bottom and the top, and with the mid-section being cylindrical.

16. The delineator of claim 14 with the delineator being of plastic material, where the bottom and top are permanently thermally flattened.

17. The delineator of claim 16 where the mid-section is tubular.

18. The delineator of claim 17 with reflective material fixed to the flattened top.