BARRIER AND BARRIER POST THEREFOR
A barrier including a series of barrier posts arranged relative to one another to control the movement of people, animals and motor vehicles. The barrier herein disclosed has particular application for use at a golf course. A first end of a containment belt is attached to a spring that is located within a spring housing carried by a first barrier post. The opposite end of the containment belt has a tab to be releasably attached to a hook which projects from an adjacent barrier post so that the containment belt extends between the first and adjacent barrier posts. In one embodiment, the spring housing is located inside the first barrier post. In another embodiment, the spring housing is detachably connected to the barrier post.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a barrier post and to a containment belt having one end thereof attached to a spring located within a spring housing that is carried by the barrier post and an opposite end to be releasably attached to an adjacent barrier post. A series of such barrier posts are arranged to create a barrier for controlling the movement of people, animals and motor vehicles at, for example, a golf course.
2. Background Art
There is a continuous need for a portable, easy-to-use barrier by which to control the movement of people, animals and vehicles. In some cases, access to a restricted area is to be denied. In other cases, movement is intended to be limited to and directed along a particular pre-determined path. Such a barrier is necessary at both indoor and out-of-door venues, such as museums, airports, gardens and events.
By way of particular example, the operators of a golf course often wish to prevent players, gallery members, and golf carts from straying over and possibly damaging certain off-limits areas of the course. The ability of the operators to have access to adequate crowd control barrier means, especially during tournaments where large numbers of individuals are in attendance, can directly affect the condition of the golf course as well as the enjoyment of players and spectators alike.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn general terms, a barrier is disclosed having a series of barrier posts that are arranged relative to one another to control the movement of people, animals and motor vehicles at both indoor and out-of-door venues such as, for example, a golf course. Each barrier post includes a durable body having a mounting stake projecting from the bottom thereof to be pushed downwardly through grass or a dirt roadway to hold the post in place above the ground. One end of containment belt is connected to a (e.g., clock) spring within a spring housing. According to a first preferred embodiment, the spring housing is located inside the body of the barrier post. According to an alternate preferred embodiment, the spring housing is detachably connected to the outside of the body of the barrier post by means of a sliding member on the spring housing sliding into removable engagement with a catch on the post body.
A locking tab is located at the opposite end of the containment belt. A locking hook projects from the body of each barrier post. The containment belt is pulled outwardly from the spring housing of a first barrier post until the locking hook at the opposite end of the belt is moved into releasable attachment with the locking hook of an adjacent barrier post. Accordingly, the spring will hold the containment belt taut between the first and adjacent barrier posts. In this same regard, respective containment belts from the series of barrier posts can be stretched end-to-end to complete the barrier having a variable length depending upon the number of barrier posts being used.
A portable barrier 70 according to a first preferred embodiment of this invention is disclosed while referring concurrently to
To this end, each of the barrier posts 1 has a mounting stake 3 projecting from the bottom thereof. In the example of the golf course described above, the stakes 3 are pushed downwardly through grass or a dirt roadway to enable the barrier posts 1 to be held in place erect and above ground. In this same regard, the stakes 3 can be pulled upwardly from the grass or roadway when the portable barrier 70 is to be removed from or repositioned along the course as is needed.
Although the barrier posts 1 are shown in
As is best shown in
The cavity 9 at the top of the body 5 of barrier post 1 is sized to receive therewithin a spring housing 14. A conventional (e.g., ¼ inch clock) spring 15 is wound up and held in place inside clock housing 14. Because the spring 15 is well known, the details thereof will not be provided. One end of a containment belt 16 is wrapped around and attached to the spring 15 within housing 14 by way of a slot 18 through the body 5 of barrier post 1 (best shown in
Located at the opposite end of the containment belt 16 is locking tab 22. The locking tab 22 is manually accessible outside the body 5 of barrier post 1. As an important feature of this embodiment, a locking hook 24 (best shown in
Referring specifically to
Accordingly, the containment belt 16 is pulled through the slot 18 in the body 5 of a first barrier post 1 so that the locking tab 22 of belt 16 can be releasably attached to the locking hook 24 of the adjacent post. To this end, the locking tab 22 may include an opening 26 (of
A well-known snap-in clip 28 is located between the first and opposite ends of the containment belt 16. Snap-in ends of the clip 28 are adapted to be pulled apart should it become necessary to create a break in the belt 16. The clip 28 also provides a stop to limit the retraction of the containment belt 16 inwardly of the body 5 via slot 18.
By virtue of the retracting force exerted by the spring 15 inside the spring housing 14 and the energy stored when the containment belt 16 is pulled and the spring is stressed, the containment belt 16 will remain taut after it has been pulled outwardly and away from the first barrier post 1 and coupled to an adjacent post at the locking hook 24 which projects from the body 5 thereof towards the first post 1.
When the locking tab 22 of the containment belt 16 of the first barrier post 1 is detached from the locking hook 24 of the adjacent barrier post, the energy stored by the spring 15 under stress will cause the belt to be automatically retracted inwardly of the spring body 14 via the slot 18 formed in the body 5 of the first barrier post. It may thusly be appreciated that respective ones of the containment belts 16 from the series of barrier posts 1 can be pulled and stretched end-to-end one another as just explained and as shown in
A portable barrier according to an alternate preferred embodiment of this invention is now disclosed while referring to
A spring housing 36 within which a conventional (e.g., clock) spring 38 is wound (best shown in
One end of a containment belt 40 is wrapped around and attached to the spring 38 within the spring housing 36 by way of a slot 42 (of
As an important feature of this embodiment, a locking hook 48 (best shown in
Like the containment belt 16 of
The containment belt 40 is pulled outwardly through the slot 42 formed in the spring housing 36 at one side of the body 32 of the first barrier post 30. The locking tab 46 of belt 40 is then releasably attached to the locking hook 48 which projects towards the belt 40 from the opposite side of the body of the adjacent barrier post in order to establish a barrier between the first and adjacent barrier posts. The locking tab 46 may include an opening 50 (of
Because of the retracting force generated by the spring 38 which is wound up inside the spring housing 36, the containment belt 40 will remain taut after it has been pulled outwardly from its housing 36 and away from the first barrier post 30 and coupled to the locking hook 48 of the adjacent barrier post. In this same regard, when the locking hook 46 of the containment belt 40 of the first barrier post 30 is detached from the locking hook 48 of the adjacent barrier post, the force generated by the spring 38 will cause the belt 40 to be automatically retracted inwardly of the spring housing 36 via the slot 42 formed therein.
As explained earlier, the spring housing 36 is detachably connected to the outside of the body 32 of the barrier post 30. By virtue of the foregoing, the spring housing 36 can be separated from the body 32 to facilitate an easy transport and a compact storage, especially when a large number of barrier posts are employed to create a barrier. More particularly, a sliding member 54 is located at the exterior of the spring housing (best shown in
Claims
1. A barrier to restrict the movement therepast of people, animals and motorized vehicles, said barrier comprising a containment belt having first and opposite ends and at least first and second barrier posts, each of said first and second barrier posts having a body, the first end of said containment belt extending inwardly of the body of said first barrier post and the opposite end of said containment belt extending outwardly of the body of said first barrier post and having a first attachment element, the body of each of said first and second barrier posts including a second attachment clement, such that the first attachment element at the opposite end of said containment belt is releasably attached to the second attachment element at the body of said second barrier post, whereby the containment belt runs between the bodies of said first and second barrier posts to establish said barrier therebetween.
2. The barrier recited in claim 1, wherein each of said first and second barrier posts also has a mounting stake projecting downwardly from the body thereof to penetrate the ground and hold said body upright above the ground.
3. The barrier recited in claim 1, wherein each of said first and second barrier posts also has a spring located inside the body thereof, the first end of said containment belt connected to said spring inside the body of said first barrier post, such that said spring exerts a retracting force against said containment belt to urge said containment belt to move inwardly of the body of said first barrier post.
4. The barrier recited in claim 3, wherein the spring of each one of said first and second barrier posts is surrounded by a spring housing located inside a respective one of the bodies of said barrier posts.
5. The barrier recited in claim 4, wherein the body of each one of said first and second barrier posts has a cavity for receipt therewithin of said spring housing, whereby each spring housing and each spring surrounded by said spring housing is located inside a respective one of the bodies of said barrier posts.
6. The barrier recited in claim 4, wherein the bodies of said first and second barrier posts and each of the spring housings located inside said bodies has a slot formed therein, the first end of said containment belt extending outwardly from the body of said first barrier post by way of the slot formed in the spring housing and the slot formed in the body of said first barrier post.
7. The barrier recited in claim 4, wherein each of said first and second barrier posts also has an end cap attached to the body thereof so as to lie over top and cover the spring housing located inside said body.
8. The barrier recited in claim 7, wherein the end caps attached to the respective bodies of said first and second barrier posts are detachable from said bodies to permit access to the spring housings located inside said bodies.
9. The barrier recited in claim 1, wherein the first attachment element at the opposite end of said containment belt is a locking tab having an opening therethrough, and the second attachment element at the body of said Second barrier post is a locking hook to be captured by and releasably attached to said locking tab at the opening therethrough.
10. A barrier to restrict the movement therepast of people, animals and motorized vehicles, said barrier comprising at least first and second barrier posts and a containment belt having first and opposite ends, each of said first and second barrier posts having a body, the first end of said containment belt being coupled to said first barrier post at a location outside the body of said first barrier post, and the opposite end of said containment belt having a first attachment element, the body of each of said first and second barrier posts including a second attachment element, such that the first attachment element at the opposite end of said containment belt is releasably attached to the second attachment element at the body of said second barrier post, whereby said containment belt extends between the bodies of said first and second barrier posts to establish said barrier therebetween.
11. The barrier recited in claim 10, wherein each of said first and second barrier posts also has a mounting stake projecting downwardly from the body thereof to penetrate the ground and hold said body upright above the ground.
12. The barrier recited in claim 10, further comprising a spring housing and a spring located within and surrounded by said spring housing, the first end of said containment belt attached to said spring within said spring housing, and said spring housing connected to said first barrier post at the location outside the body of said first barrier post.
13. The barrier recited in claim 12, wherein said spring housing is detachably connected to the body of said first barrier post at the location outside said body.
14. The barrier recited in claim 13, further comprising a slide attached to said spring housing and a catch attached to the body of said first barrier post at the location outside said body, said slide moving into slidable and removable engagement with said catch, whereby said spring housing is detachably connected to the body of said first barrier post.
15. The barrier recited in claim 10, wherein the first attachment element at the opposite end of said containment belt is a locking tab having an opening therethrough, and the second attachment element at the body of said second barrier post is a locking hook to be captured by and releasably attached to said locking tab at the opening therethrough.
Type: Application
Filed: May 21, 2012
Publication Date: Nov 21, 2013
Inventor: Thomas Bock (Huntington Beach, CA)
Application Number: 13/476,228