Guardrail

Aug 31, 1937. f. o. heltzel 2,091,925

GUARDRAIL

Filed Nov. 28, 1936

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Patented Aug. 31, 1937

2,091,925

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

2,091,925

GUARDRAIL

Francis O. Heltzel, Youngstown, Ohio

Application November 28, 1936, Serial No. 113,205 (Cl. 256—13.1) . . .

nt 12 nassing through a horizontally disposed ί slot n centrally located in the bracket and. of ’ slightly .^^eate^ may pensate for any slight error in g anTlower edge portions 16, the free edges of 20 which are preferably curved outward as at 17.

^he flared portions referred to may be of substantially narrow width and at a slight,angle tup horizontal as indicated at IB m rig. , thev may be of relatively greater width and at a angle to the horizontal as indicated ^atTte Site indicated generally at 19 are formed of sheet metal of considerably lighter gauge tha toe brackets and each rail, as shown in Mgs. 1 ₃₀

SsSSs

4. wHaiiv rpvprse curve as indicated at

S tnd then upward and downward respectively, ₃₃n’ me sEantially narrow vertical portions^ nf the sheet terminating in the arcuate rea andSw’K »£ S bra'St ' X ends Of adjacent rails are overlapped as x. ttonwn in Figs 3 and 4 and these overlapped ₄₅ through the vertical portions 22 of the rails °^fln OTderto compensate for expansion and con- ₅₀posed ‘

Claims. (

The invention relates to guardrails for use alo?g highways to prevent vehicles.fromrunning off of the road at sharp turns or at the edges of steep grades or precipices, and more particu?arlv to a semi-rigid sheet metal guardrail com- &lt;

⁵ Sng formed sheet metal rails having then end portions overlapped and connected together and their brackets mounted upon supporting ₁₀^P°An object of the invention is to provide guardrail of this character in which the rails are KXed and mounted as to provide . construction sufficiently strong and durable to withstand the shocks incident to the ™P£g °^f, r vehicle while at the same time affording sufficient “ SEee to properly cushion the stlocka monaet so as to avoid serious damage to the con taetlng vehicle and Injury to the occupants ^thA further object Is to provide such a guardrail ²⁰ i are not _ot

Another object is to provide a guardrail oi this character in which the separate rails are so mounted that they will individually compensate „₃ for expansion and contraction due to changes in ^The^bove objects together with others which will be apparent from the drawing and following description or which may be hereinafter referred , to, may be attained by “ guardrail in the manner illustrated in the ac companying drawing, in which _n0rtion

Figure 1 is a front elevation of one end portion of the improved guardrail embodying, the m^3a a plan view of the portion of the guard^ra^ig^hO3⁷ⁿaⁱⁿverticai sectional view through a bracket upon one of the supporting posts showing the manner in which the adjoining ends o ⁴⁰ adjacentrails, are connected to the bracket and ^t0Fte^C14, a front elevation of the connected ad₄₃ ^S^iScScSiarSw through a modi/ view of another modification °^fM^hg^e vertical sectional view through a modi-r fipd form of the bracket· . ___ , ' similar numerals refer to similar parts Invention posts .. of any suitable “^d Id,™s’Z&lt;

“ XI™ «i «>’ ^lef^h °' ΐ rniis A bracket indicated generally at fl, formedtf a heavy sheet or plate of steel, is con^f T eePh Post This connection is prefer„0 Sy made by menus of a single bolt indicated

2,091,925 may move longitudinally upon said collars as the rails expand and contract.

central portions 20 of the overlapped ends . ί ax

S 2X?£^{5 J5}“ ‘°

As shown in Fig. 5, the rail 19α may have the n ah ^Pel'^an^ ^lower vertical portions and the arcuate ° with the*^{10118 22α} Τ'^{3 23a respec}tively, identical ^cori-esP^onding portions above described

Sent Xidth^trt^{1 P}°^{rtiOn 2}°^{a may be of only suf}hnitTfb ^dt^ u ^acc°mmodate the connecting bolts, the rail being flared rearwardly above and lo below said central portion to the portions 22 α as indicated at 21α. ’ x ^{In 6 tbe rail} may be of exactly the conexcepS- thTth^{ed in}/^igS' ^{3 and 4 with the}exception that the central portion 20b is rear ^{20 aS at} SreX me central attaching bolts.

_o,,^E?,^{cb p0St of the} guardrail may be set Rightly further back from the road than the remaining posts as indicated at 10α in Figs 1 and 2 25 and a short, rearwardly curved rafllection 2?

to^athe^e nZ^eCted?° ^{the bracket of} said Post and in the ^yerlapP®^{d end} °^{f fche} adjacent rail 19 n the manner above described and the forms in aid curved guardrail section may die out to ” X ' «Ϊ1Χ.Μ

From the above it will be seen that a semirigid guardrail is produced which need not be 35 resflienreio ^tension,^{ln order to} Provide sufficient ³ whM Λ, * ^properJy cushion the impact of a h ^her^e°ⁿ· ^{The fl}ared portions 18 and 21 bracket and rails respectively will provide ^ntrt^SPb?^{g ln the entire str}ucture to permit

X^{gUardrad to} absorb or cushion the impact and ⁴⁰ rarved^Pend^gs ^ba5^k to jts normal position and the strenithPnlL I rt ^{the bracket} will support the strengthening beads or ribs 23 at the upper and lower edges of the rails.

rails ^Wd!srln^^e b^be ®^{een that any of the form}s of ⁴⁵ form S hrTv XT ^{may be Used} cither ,, ™ °^{f bracket} without requiring any change in the construction or assembling of either guai-d^Vr_ai1tbPr^{n tha}l^{When a vehicle} strikes this hide wfl ’not b ^Wtb ^{be n}° deflection and the ve50 ^b® thrown back into the line of

Λ ^{the ba}cklash which is produced are he Ju nd °^{f metal} guardraflswMch is reauffPd fn ^N° ^{dead end} anchorage is required for this type of guardrail and there ηΧΤι ^c°^stIy intermediate or end connections to get out of order

The entire guardrail is easier to erect there are fewer parts and a damaged rail cln be re! Piaced without disturbing any other rail.

η * ^e curved upper and lower edges of the rail not only assist in strengthening the same but Pievent serious injury to a person thrown clear of a vehicle striking the rail and also reduce the chances of damage to the vehicle _VPXb ^anne1'^{in Whlch the raiIs are} felled preIbSat^{thelr warpmg or} sagging so that they will ST™ ^{m &amp; trUe line}’^{thuS making a safer}