INDICATOR POST

Abstract

An indicator post comprising an elongate sheet of stainless steel is disclosed. The elongate sheet is configured to be resiliency bendable to enable the indicator post to revert upright after an application of a bending force. In other examples, the stainless steel indicator post may be semi-flexible or rigid.

Description

PRIORITY DOCUMENTS

The present application claims priority from Australian Provisional Patent Application No. 2015901427 titled “INDICATOR POST” and filed on 21 Apr. 2015, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to an indicator post. In one form, the present disclosure relates to a flexible indicator post suitable for indicating the position of an object or delineating a road, lane way or the like.

BACKGROUND

Description of the Related Art

Indicator posts are commonly employed by road traffic authorities to visually indicate or delineate the location of roads, paths and lanes. Furthermore, indicator posts are often utilized by entities such as water authorities, fire protection authorities and mining companies as an asset or utility marker post to indicate the position or location of important assets such as pipelines, valves and drains.

Flexible indicator posts are used in those situations where a post is likely to suffer from numerous impacts from either vehicles or other objects. The principle behind these flexible posts is that upon impact they are able to flex and then subsequently return to a substantially upright position. In this manner, a flexible post is able to survive an impact unlike a standard rigid post which will either fracture or bend permanently. As such, flexible posts will tend to have a greater lifetime when compared to standard rigid posts or semi-flexible posts resulting in reduced maintenance costs.

One example of a flexible indicator post is a roadside post that is formed of a single elongate sheet of spring steel. Spring steel, however, corrodes readily in the general environment. Accordingly, any post formed of sheet spring steel will necessarily require a coating such as powder or dip coating to prevent corrosion.

Unfortunately, coatings of this type will wear. In the case of indicator posts that are driven into the ground, often the installation of a post will cause deep scratches in the powder coating from stones and rocks and the like. Similarly, if a post has been subjected to one or more impacts from a vehicle then this will also cause degradation in the coating. This will result in the spring steel post corroding and then eventually requiring replacement. In one attempt to address this problem, the spring steel post may be first galvanized. However, this results in another manufacturing step with its attendant increases in cost of production and additional process control issues associated with the galvanizing process.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In a first aspect, there is disclosed an indicator post comprising an elongate sheet of stainless steel, the elongate sheet configured to be resiliently bendable to enable the indicator post to revert upright after an application of a bending force.

In another form, the stainless steel is an austenitic stainless steel.

In another form, the austenitic stainless steel is 301 type.

In another form, the austenitic stainless steel is 304 type.

In another form, the hardness of stainless steel is selected from a range of any one of:

less than 310 HV

310-360 HV; or

370-430 HV.

In another form, the elongate sheet has a substantially arcuate sectional profile.

In another form, the arcuate sectional profile has a radius of curvature between 80 mm and 250 mm.

In another form, the width of the elongate sheet is approximately between 40 mm and 140 mm.

In another form, the thickness of the elongate sheet is approximately between 0.8 mm and 3.0 mm.

In another form, one end of the elongate sheet is tapered to be driven into the ground.

In another form, the indicator post further includes ground engaging means to resist upward movement of the post after installation into the ground.

In another form, the indicator post further includes an installation depth indicator.

In another form, the indicator post further includes a driveable base portion attached to the elongate sheet.

In another form, the driveable base portion includes a star picket section.

In another form, the indicator post includes a white reflective coating and a retro-reflective sheet portion for configuration as a roadside post.

In another form, the indicator post includes a reflective coating for configuration as a utility marker post.

In a second aspect, there is disclosed an indicator post comprising an elongate sheet of stainless steel, the elongate sheet configured to be bendable to enable the indicator post to bend on application of a bending force and then be manually restraightened to a substantially upright position.

In another form, the indicator post has a sectional profile selected from any one of the following:

C-section,

angle,

box,

top hat,

oval,

trigonal; or

channel.

In a third aspect, there is disclosed an indicator post comprising an elongate sheet of stainless steel, the elongate sheet configured to substantially prevent bending of the indicator post on the application of a bending force.

In another form, the indicator post has a sectional profile selected from any one of the following:

C-section,

angle,

box,

top hat,

oval,

trigonal; or

channel.

In another form, the bending force is from a vehicle impact.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Illustrative embodiments will be discussed with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front view of an indicator post according to a first illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the indicator post as illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the indicator post as illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the indicator post as illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a rear view of the indicator post as illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a side view of the indicator post illustrated in FIG. 1 as installed in the ground;

FIG. 7 is a front view of an indicator post according to a second illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the indicator post as illustrated in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a top view of the indicator post as illustrated in FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a side view of the indicator post as illustrated in FIG. 7;

FIG. 11 is a rear view of the indicator post as illustrated in FIG. 7;

FIG. 12 is a side view of the indicator post illustrated in FIG. 7 as installed in the ground;

FIG. 13 is a series of sectional views of indicator posts in accordance with further embodiments; and

FIG. 14 is a series of sectional views of further indicator posts in accordance with yet further embodiments.

In the following description, like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to FIGS. 1 to 5, there is shown an indicator post 100 in accordance with a first illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure. Indicator post 100 is formed as an elongate sheet 110 of stainless steel. In this illustrative embodiment, indicator post is intended to function as a roadside post with elongate sheet 110 formed of an austenitic stainless steel and in particular 304 type stainless steel having a hardness in the range of 370-430 Vickers Pyramid Number (HV).

Throughout the specification, the term “stainless steel” is taken to mean a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5% chromium content by mass.

Elongate sheet 110 has a generally arcuate shaped cross sectional profile (as best seen in FIG. 3) and includes a stamped flattened portion 120 that provides a planar area for the attachment of retro-reflective sheet portion 150.

Indicator post 100 includes a tapered end 140 coming to a point 141 which aids in the driving of the post 100 into the ground.

In the example of where indicator post 100 is to be used as a roadside post that is installed into the ground typically on the side of the road, elongate sheet 110 is coated with a white reflective coating in accordance with the applicable road safety standards prior to the attachment of the retro-reflective sheet portion or decal 150. In other examples, where indicator post 100 may be used to indicate the position or location of important assets such as pipelines, valves and drains, elongate sheet may be coated with a suitable reflective coating of an appropriate color.

The lower portion of indicator post 100 further includes an upwardly extending tongue 160 formed by punching a slot in elongate sheet 110 which upon installation of the post 100 into the ground functions to resists upward movement of the post 100. Other ground engaging means that may be employed include a retention rod which extends horizontally through an aperture in the post and anchoring devices which may be attached or fastened to post 100 which extend either horizontally or upwardly and functions to resist upward movement of post 100.

Post 100 further includes a depth marker line 130 extending horizontally across the front face of elongate sheet 110 which functions as an installation depth indicator. In another illustrative embodiment, a second depth marker line is placed at the corresponding location on the rear of post 100, thereby facilitating installation of post 100 to the correct depth from either direction. Other examples of installation depth indicators include, but are not limited to, a depth marker hole comprising a single centrally located aperture located on the post at the height corresponding to the depth that the indicator post 100 is to be installed into the ground or a depth marker sticker or tag that is secured to the elongate sheet 110 by mechanical means and/or by an appropriate adhesive.

In this illustrative embodiment post 100 has a height of 1400 mm, a width of 104 mm and a thickness of 1.2 mm. However, depending on the intended location and requirements, post 100 may range in height, thickness, width and arcuate radius of curvature as required.

Some illustrative height ranges include, but are not limited to, less than 400 mm, 400 mm to 600 mm, 600 mm to 800 mm, 800 mm to 1000 mm, 1000 mm to 1200 mm, 1200 mm to 1400 mm, 1400 mm to 1600 mm, 1600 mm to 1800 mm, 1800 mm to 2000 mm and greater than 2000 mm.

Some illustrative thickness ranges include, but are not limited to, 0.8 mm to 1.0 mm, 1.0 mm to 1.1 mm, 1.1 mm to 1.2 mm, 1.2 mm to 1.4 mm, 1.4 mm to 1.6 mm, 1.6 mm to 1.8 mm, 1.8 mm to 2.0 mm, 2.0 mm to 2.2 mm, 2.2 mm to 2.4 mm, 2.4 mm to 2.6 mm and greater than 2.6 mm.

Some illustrative width ranges include, but are not limited to, less than 40 mm, 40 mm to 60 mm, 60 mm to 80 mm, 80 mm to 100 mm, 100 mm to 120 mm, 120 mm to 140 mm and greater than 140 mm.

Some illustrative radii of curvature include, but are not limited to, less than 100 mm, 100 mm to 120 mm, 120 mm to 140 mm, 140 mm to 160 mm, 160 mm to 180 mm, 180 mm to 200 mm, 200 mm to 220 mm, 220 mm to 240 mm and greater than 240 mm degrees.

While in this illustrative embodiment, where indicator post 100 is designed to function as a roadside post, a full hardness 304 type stainless steel has been employed, in other applications other types of stainless steels may be appropriate for the conditions. In one non-limiting example, where bending forces are expected to be less, such as in the case of an indicator post which is not likely to be impacted or driven over by vehicles, a lower hardness stainless steel may be employed such as 304 stainless steel having a hardness in the range of 310-370 HV.

In yet other examples where indicator post 100 is used to delineate a pathway or and is only expected to suffer low impact forces from pedestrians, then a 304 stainless steel having a hardness below 310 HV may be employed. In other examples, where the expected corrosion environment is not expected to be harsh, a 301 type stainless steel may provide adequate corrosion resistance, noting that 301 type stainless steel is available in a range of hardness similar to that of 304 type stainless steel.

In other embodiments, other types of stainless steel are suitable depending on the expected physical and environmental conditions that the post must withstand. In one example, a martensitic type stainless steel such as 410 or 416 type stainless steel may be utilized in those circumstances where the relevant bending forces are expected to be less and/or the environmental conditions are not expected to be as harsh. In another example, a martensitic precipitation hardening stainless steel such as 630 type stainless steel may be employed. In yet another example, a semi-austenitic precipitation hardening stainless steel such as 631 type stainless steel may employed. In a further example, a super duplex grade stainless steel such as 2507 type stainless steel may be utilized.

Referring now to FIG. 6, there is shown indicator post 100 in operation. Indicator post 100 is installed in the ground 800 to the level of depth line marker 130. This installation may be accomplished in a number of different ways. In a first method of installing indicator post 100, a hole of larger size than the post may be dug or drilled to the suitable depth, post 100 is then deposited in the hole and the hole then refilled. In a second method of installing indicator post 100, a small pilot or lead hole is drilled into the ground 800 and post 100 may then be driven into the ground 800 either manually or by use of suitable pneumatic driving equipment. In a third method of installing indicator post 100, the post may be driven into the ground 800 either manually or by pneumatic means without the use of a pilot hole.

In both the second and third methods of installation, the presence of tapered end 140 facilitates the installation of indicator post 100. In a fourth method of installing indicator post 100, a section of the ground 800 may be excavated and filled with a settable material such as concrete. Before the settable material sets, indicator post is deposited into the settable material in the upright position. As shown in FIG. 6, indicator post 100 when subject to a bending force such as an impact will resiliently bend and recover to revert upright after application of the bending force. In those circumstances where indicator post 100 may subject to a tight right angle bend, such as where the bending force is as a result of direct wheel over by a vehicle, then a recess may be formed in the ground immediately adjacent to the post to increase the bend radius at ground level.

Referring now to FIGS. 7 to 11, there is shown an indicator post 200 in accordance with a second illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure. As with the first embodiment, indicator post 200 is for use as a roadside post and includes an elongate sheet 110 of stainless steel material which in this illustrative embodiment is formed from 301 type stainless having a hardness in the range of 310-370 HV.

Indicator post 200 also includes a driveable base portion 210 including a base attachment plate 241 welded to a star picket section 230 having a tapered end 240 and coming to a point 242. Star picket section 230 functions as a rigid insertion portion which is driven into the ground. In other embodiments, drivable base portion 210 may include a sharpened stake or a piece of a suitable rigid material having a channel or box section that may or may not include a tapered end.

Base attachment plate 241 is attached to the bottom end of elongate sheet 110 by a series of rivets 220 but equally, driveable base portion 210 may be attached to elongate sheet 110 by other suitable attachments means such as by the use of an adhesive or other mechanical attachment means.

Referring now to FIG. 12, there is shown an indicator post 200 in operation. In this illustrative embodiment, indicator post 200 is installed in the ground to the level of the top edge of attachment plate 241 which forms an installation depth indicator. As with indicator post 100 of the first illustrative embodiment, indicator post 200 may be installed in a number of different ways. However, the presence of driveable base portion 210 ensures that post 200 is more suitable to be directly driven into the ground 800. In one illustrative mode of installation, a jackhammer is employed to drive driveable base portion 210 by locating the end of a complementary tool inserted into the jackhammer into the notch 231 located at the top of star picket section 230. In this method of installation, the jackhammer is aligned substantially parallel and against the indicator post 200 as an installer drives star picket section 230 into the ground 800. Depending on the type of jackhammer, the indicator post 200 may be inserted through the handle of the jackhammer which will function to align and retain post 200 to the jackhammer to facilitate the installation process.

Referring now to FIG. 13, there is shown a number of different indicator post cross sectional profiles that are contemplated to be within the scope of the present disclosure. Cross sectional profiles 510, 520 and 530 show reducing radii curvature which in turn results in a stiffer post for a given thickness. When an indicator post having an arcuate cross section is subject to a bending force, the post will substantially flatten at the bending point and then resiliently return to its original profile on removal of the bending force. Cross sectional profiles 540 and 550 have a sectional profile consisting of a series of flat segments 541, 551 that together form an arcuate ribbed profile. For a given radius of curvature, reducing the number of flat segments will increase the stiffness of the indicator post but may form crease points where the post may plastically deform should a substantial bending force be applied.

The elongate sheet 110 of stainless steel is in one embodiment formed from slit coils of the required grade of stainless steel having the appropriate thickness and width. The stainless steel material is then de-coiled and formed in a 250 ton press to provide an elongate sheet having the required arcuate sectional profile and shape. In subsequent steps, a barb may be formed at one end of the sheet if required and the elongate sheet may then be powder coated for visibility purposes and to meet the relevant standards. Finally, in the case of a roadside post a retro-reflective decal is applied.

As would be appreciated, the use of stainless steel provides a resiliently bendable indicator post having inherent corrosion resistant capability as compared to roadside posts formed of sheet spring steel which must rely on coating or galvanizing post treatments for their corrosion resistance. As a result, indicator posts in accordance with the above described embodiments will have greater wearability and are less likely to fail because of a corrosion induced defect.

Additionally, stainless steel may be used for indicator posts that are not required to be resiliently bendable but still have enhanced corrosion resistant capabilities over standard metal posts formed of mild steel or the like.

Referring now to FIG. 14, in one example, a stainless steel indicator post may have a sectional profile adapted to increase the rigidity of the post such as a C-section 650, angle 630, box 610, top hat 620, oval 660, trigonal 670 or channel 640 profile. In the case of the top hat 620 and channel 640 profiles the angle θ between the side walls 621, 641 and the respective front wall of the post may be varied from 90° to an angle greater than 90° to reduce the structural rigidity of the post as required.

In other examples, as well as, or in addition to changing the sectional profile, the rigidity of the post may be enhanced by increasing the thickness of the elongate sheet of stainless steel as required. In this manner, the same stainless steel materials that are employed for resiliently bendable posts may also be formed into rigid or alternatively semi-flexible posts that are capable of being manually restraightened after being bent following an impact with a vehicle.

In one non-limiting example, a semi-flexible indicator post may comprise an elongate sheet of stainless steel having a thickness of about 1.2 mm and having a C-section profile or a top hat profile. In the case of a top hat profile, the angle between the side walls and the front wall may be about 135°. In another example, the angle between the side walls and the front wall may be about 120°. In yet another example, the angle between the side walls and the front wall may be about 150°. In the case of rigid indicator post, an example of a non-limiting embodiment is an indicator post comprised of an elongate sheet of stainless steel having a thickness of about 1.8 mm and having a channel or box profile.

Throughout the specification and the claims that follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the words “comprise” and “include” and variations such as “comprising” and “including” will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers, but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers.

The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgement of any form of suggestion that such prior art forms part of the common general knowledge.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the disclosure is not restricted in its use to the particular application described. Neither is the present disclosure restricted in its preferred embodiment with regard to the particular elements and/or features described or depicted herein. It will be appreciated that the disclosure is not limited to the embodiment or embodiments disclosed, but is capable of numerous rearrangements, modifications and substitutions without departing from the scope of the disclosure as set forth and defined by the following claims.

The various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments. All of the U.S. patents, U.S. patent application publications, U.S. patent applications, foreign patents, foreign patent applications and non-patent publications referred to in this specification and/or listed in the Application Data Sheet are incorporated herein by reference, in their entirety. Aspects of the embodiments can be modified, if necessary to employ concepts of the various patents, applications and publications to provide yet further embodiments.

These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of the above-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should be construed to include all possible embodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, the claims are not limited by the disclosure.

Claims

1. An indicator post comprising an elongate sheet of stainless steel, the elongate sheet configured to be resiliently bendable to enable the indicator post to revert upright after an application of a bending force.

2. The indicator post of claim 1, wherein the stainless steel is an austenitic stainless steel.

3. The indicator post of claim 2, wherein the austenitic stainless steel is 301 type.

4. The indicator post of claim 2, wherein the austenitic stainless steel is 304 type.

5. The indicator post of claim 1, wherein the hardness of stainless steel is selected from a range of any one of:

less than 310 HV

310-360 HV; or

370-430 HV.

6. The indicator post of claim 1, wherein the elongate sheet has a substantially arcuate sectional profile.

7. The indicator post of claim 6, wherein the arcuate sectional profile has a radius of curvature between 80 mm and 250 mm.

8. The indicator post of claim 1, wherein the width of the elongate sheet is approximately between 40 mm and 140 mm.

9. The indicator post of claim 1 wherein the thickness of the elongate sheet is approximately between 0.8 mm and 3.0 mm.

10. The indicator post of claim 1, wherein one end of the elongate sheet is tapered to be driven into the ground.

11. The indicator post of claim 10, further including ground engaging means to resist upward movement of the post after installation into the ground.

12. The indicator post of claim 10, further including an installation depth indicator.

13. The indicator post of claim 1, further including a driveable base portion attached to the elongate sheet.

14. The indicator post of claim 13, wherein the driveable base portion includes a star picket section.

15. The indicator post of claim 1, wherein the indicator post includes a white reflective coating and a retro- reflective sheet portion for configuration as a roadside post.

16. The indicator post of claim 1, wherein the indicator post includes a reflective coating for configuration as a utility marker post.

17. An indicator post comprising an elongate sheet of stainless steel, the elongate sheet configured to be bendable to enable the indicator post to bend on application of a bending force and then be manually restraightened to a substantially upright position.

18. The indicator post of claim 17, wherein the indicator post has a sectional profile selected from any one of the following:

C-section,

angle,

box,

top hat,

oval,

trigonal; or

channel.

19. An indicator post comprising an elongate sheet of stainless steel, the elongate sheet configured to substantially prevent bending of the indicator post on the application of a bending force.

20. The indicator post of claim 19, wherein the indicator post has a sectional profile selected from any one of the following:

C-section,

angle,

box,

top hat,

oval,

trigonal; or

channel.

21. The indicator post of claim 19, wherein the bending force is from a vehicle impact.