US2969604A - School crossing guard rail - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 31, 1961 Filed Dec. 10, 1958 M. BURTON; SR

SCHOOL CROSSING GUARD RAIL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig v Fig. 4

Mutual Burton, 8;.

INVENTOR.

BY gum I ecu Wu; 12m

Jan. 31,1961 M. BURTON, sR 2,969,604

SCHOOL CROSSING GUARD RAIL Filed-Dec. 10, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 36 32 Mutual Bur/0n, 5r. U INVENTOR.

I k 72 BY 4o non Wavy 19M United States Patent '0 SCHOOL CROSSING GUARD RAIL Mutual Burton, Sr., 2258 Dartmouth Ave, Columbus, Ohio Filed Dec. 10, 1958, Ser. No. 779,437

6 Claims. (CI. 39-92) The present invention generally relates to a safety device and moreparticularly to a guard rail or gate for school crossings such as those used by students in order to prevent pedestrian traific across the street until such time as the crossing of such a street is safe.

There is a continuous problem in areas adjacent to schools of controlling the flow of pedestrian traflic. School children are notoriously careless and usually do not heed normal trafiic signals. There has been some accomplishment made by employing the use of certain students as patrol boys for controlling the flow of such traflic. There has also been employed adults for the purpose of controlling the traflic and especially pedestrian traffic. While this has been effective to a certain meas ure, it also fails in a certain measure inasmuch as there is still the possibility of human failure and the possibility of the children not heeding the individuals involved. Therefore, it is the primary object of the present invention to provide a guard rail for street intersections and particularly for the street intersections adjacent schools which may be elfectively employed for stopping vehicular traflic and also stopping pedestrian traflic.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such a guard rail which is rotatable about a vertical axis and which is foldable to a collapsed condition for ease of portability and also for retraction of the signal device.

Another important feature of the present invention is to provide a guard rail in accordance with the preceding object in which a spring device is provided for partially counter-balancing the device.

Yet another feature of the present invention is to provide a school guard crossing rail which is simple in construction, easy to use, easy to mount, effective in operation and generally inexpensive to manufacture.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure l is a side elevation of the school crossing guard rail of the present invention illustrating the same in extended position;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the construction of Figure 1 illustrating the device in retracted position;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the device removed from the supporting standard and illustrating the construction thereof;

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the construction of Figure 3 illustrating further details thereof;

Figure 5 is an enlarged plan view of the construction of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a longitudinal, vertical sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 66 of Figure 5 illustrating further structural details of the guard rail; and

Figure 7 is a detailed sectionalvview taken substantially ice 2 upon a plane passing along section line 77 of Figure 6 illustrating further structural details of the device.

Referring now particularly to the drawings, the numeral 10 generally designates the school crossing guard rail of the present invention which includes a vertically disposed standard 12 which may be of hollow construction and which may be rigidly mounted in the sidewalk construction 14 such as by insertion into a socket 16. The standard 12 may be in the form of a tubular post and may be permanently disposed or mounted in a suitable socket 16 in the side wall 14.

Mounted alongside of the standard 12 is a vertically disposed hollow supporting member 18 which is of rectangular cross-sectional configuration and which is provided with closed ends 20. Spaced from the top end 26 is a downwardly opening cylindrical socket 22 welded to or otherwise rigidly secured to the support member 18. The welding is designated by the numeral 24. Supported from the same surface of the support member 18 and spaced vertically below and in alignment with the cylindrical socket 22 is a cylindrical ring 26 welded to the member 18 and by welding 28. The internal diameter of the ring 26 and the socket 22 is only slightly more than the vertical standard or post 12 whereby the device is slid vertically onto the post and removed therefrom by moving vertically and is thus rotatably journaled on the post or standard 12. A spring plunger 30 of any conventional construction may be provided in the standard 12 so that it is disposed immediately above and in engagement with the upper edge of the ring 26 to retain the support member 18 on the stand-ard 12 until such time as the plunger 30 is forced inwardly.

Slidably disposed in the hollow support member 18 is a generally rectangular block 32 having the projecting mounting lug 34 thereon with the mounting lug 34 being received within a socket 36 and secured therein by fastening elements 38. The outer end of the lug 34 projects through a longitudinal slot 40 in the surface of the support member 18 opposite to the socket 22 and ring 26. The slot 40 is elongated for permitting reciprocation of the block 32. Pivotally connected to the outer end of the lug 34 is an elongated tubular member or arm 42 which is connected to the lug 34 by pivot pin 44. A.

flagstaif 46 having a signal flag 48 on the outer end thereof is inserted into the open outer end of the hollow arm 42.

Slidably disposed on the hollow arm 42 is a split cylindrical sleeve 50 having depending plates 52 integral therewith with each of the plates 52 having a spacer block 54 engaged therewith with a pair of connecting links 56 pivotally connected thereto by a pivot bolt 58 which extends through the end of the pair of links 56, through the spacer blocks 54 and through the plates 52. The other ends of the links 56 are connected to the support member 18 adjacent the upper end thereof by pivot bolt 60.

A coil spring 62 encircles the hollow arm 42 and has one end abutting the outer edge of the split sleeve 50. A transverse pin 64 extends through the arm 42 and forms an abutment for the other end of the spring 62. There is also a transverse pin 66 extending through the hollow arm 42 for engaging the inner edge of the sleeve 50 for limiting the inward movement thereof.

Also connected to the block 32 is a laterally extending crank 68 generally in the form of a handle having a horizontal hand grip 70 thereon. The handle 68 extends laterally outwardly through an elongated slot 72 in the side of the support member 18 for raising and lowering the block 32 in the tubular support member 18 thus causing the support arm 42 to swing about the pivot pin 66 whereby the links 56 will cause swinging movement of the arm 42 from the horizontal position shown in Figures 1 and 6 to the vertical position shown in Figures 2-4. The spring 62 engaging the sleeve 50 will tend to hold the sleeve 50 against the pin 66 thus holding the arm 4-2 in a horizontal position. Whenthe arm moves to a vertical position, the spring 62. is partially compressed as illustrated in Figure 2 thus counterbalancing somewhat the load that has to be lifted when the handle 68 is raised vertically. The device may be easily removed for storage or transportation to another area and if desired, a signal hell or signal light may be incorporated into the device for giving audible as well as visual warnings to pedestrians and vehicular traffic.

A loop handle 74- is provided on the support member 18 between the socket 22' and ring 26. The handle member 74 may be of a flexible member and connected to the support member 18 by brackets 76 to facilitate the transport of the device from a stored condition to the position of use or between different positions of use in that the same support member and related structure may be used on a number of difierent standards.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling Within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A school crossing guard rail comprising a stationary upright standard, a vertically disposed support member, means rotatably and detachably connecting the support member to said standard for rotation about the longitudinal axis of the standard, an arm extending laterally from said standard for supporting a signal device in the path of movement of traflic for controlling the movement of such trafiic, a block s-lidably disposed on said support member and being pivotally connected to the inner end of said arm, link means pivotally connected to said arm in longitudinally spaced relation to the block and connected to the support member whereby vertical movement of the block will cause movement of the arm from a laterally extending horizontal position to a vertical position alongside of the support member, and a handle connected to said block for vertically reciprocating the same.

2. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said arm is hollow and provided with an open end for removably receiving a signal flagstaff.

3. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said support member is hollow and provided with a pair of longi-' tudinal slots with one of said slots slidably receiving the handle attached to the block, a lug attached to said block and extending through the other of said longitudinal slots, and a pivot member interconnecting the inner end of the arm and the lug.

4. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said means mounting the support member to the standard includes a downwardly opening cylindrical socket rigidly connected to the support member adjacent the upper end thereof, and a cylindrical ring rigidly connected to the support member in spaced relation to the socket for sliding and rotatable engagement with the standard, said standard having a spring urged pin for engagement with the upper edge of the ring for detachably holding the support member on the standard.

5. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein a slidable sleeve is mounted on said arm with the outer ends of the link means being connected to the sliding sleeve, 2

compression spring engaging the outer edge of said sleeve, a transverse pin forming an abutment for the other end of the compression spring whereby the compression spring will urge the arm outwardly in relation to the sleeve thereby normally urging the arm to a horizontal position, said spring being partially compressed when the arm is moved to a vertical position thereby counterbalancing' a part of the weight of the arm for facilitating the movement of the arm to the horizontal position, a transverse pin in said arm disposed inwardly of the sleeve for limiting the inward movement thereof thereby assuring that the arm will be disposed in horizontal position when the sleeve engages the inner pin.

6; The structure as defined incla'im 1 wherein said sup-port member is provided with a carryinghandle' ad-- jac'ent the center of gravity thereot for facilitating the transport of the support member and arm to a new location ina compact manner.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 698,720 Lowe Apr. 29, 1902 1,517,316 Rodgers Dec. 2, 1924 2,109,286 Cubby Feb. 22, 1938 2,137,193 Statford Nov. 13, 1938 2,458.316 Swertlow Jan. 4, 1949

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