Guardrail Base

Abstract

A base for a guardrail includes a base body including a receptacle for receiving and securing a part of a railing and one or more wheels coupled to the base body. The one or more wheels are configured for transportation of the base.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a base for a temporary guardrail system.

Temporary guardrail systems are used in a variety of applications to prevent pedestrians and workers from traveling into dangerous areas. Examples of dangerous areas include areas with vehicle traffic (e.g., material handling vehicle traffic) or areas where fall hazards exist (e.g., rooftops in construction sites).

Conventional temporary guardrail systems often include railings and movable bases. To erect a guardrail, the bases are carried into place by workers and then the railings are attached to the bases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The bases of temporary guardrail systems are generally sufficiently heavy to ensure that a person cannot easily push a railing of a guardrail system over. But the weight of the bases poses its own danger in that workers are required to carry or otherwise move the bases, which can result in physical injuries such as back injuries. Aspects described herein are related to temporary guardrail bases that include wheels and a removable handle that encourage safe transport of the bases during assembly, disassembly, and storage of the bases. Some aspects are also configured for compact and stable storage of the bases when the bases are not in use.

In a general aspect, a base for a guardrail includes a base body including a receptacle for receiving and securing a part of a railing and one or more wheels coupled to the base body. The one or more wheels are configured for transportation of the base.

Aspects may include one or more of the following features.

The base body may further include a handle-receiving receptacle for receiving a handle. The handle may be configured to move the base from a first position where the base body lays on a surface to a second position where the base body is substantially off the surface and supported by the one or more wheels. The base may include the handle received in the handle-receiving receptacle. The one or more wheels may include two wheels and the handle-receiving receptacle may be disposed between the two wheels. The base body may include one or more slots configured to accommodate one or more wheels of a second, different base. The base body may include one or more slots for accommodating an end of a toeboard. The one or more slots may include a number of slots arranged about the base at 90-degree angles relative to one another. The base body may include one or more hand holds configured to accommodate a user's hand.

In another general aspect, a railing system includes one or more railings, each railing including a first leg and a second leg, and a number of bases, each base including: a base body including a one or more railing-receiving receptacles for receiving and securing a part of a railing and one or more wheels coupled to the base body, the one or more wheels configured for transportation of the base. An end of the first leg of a first railing of the one or more railings is received in a first railing-receiving receptacle of a first base and an end of the second leg of the first railing is received in a second railing-receiving receptacle of a second base.

Other features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following description, and from the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a temporary guardrail system.

FIG. 2 is a base of the temporary guardrail system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a storage configuration for bases of the temporary guardrail system of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a temporary guardrail system 100 is installed on a surface 102 (e.g., a rooftop) where it prevents pedestrians from moving into prohibited areas (e.g., an edge of the rooftop).

The temporary guardrail system 100 includes a number of railings 104 supported by a number of bases 106. Each of the bases 106 includes a number of railing receptacles 108, wheels 112, a handle 114, a handle receptacle 116, notches 118, hand-holds 120, and wheel-nesting slots 122.

The railing receptacles 108 are each sized and shaped to receive and hold a leg 110 of a railing 104. For example, the receptacles 108 are cylindrical tubes with an inner diameter sized to accommodate a cylindrical leg of a railing.

A proximal end 113 of the handle 114 is received in the handle receptacle 116. With the handle 114 installed, the wheels 112 and the handle 114 work together to provide a mechanism for safely moving the base 106. The handle has a length that provides leverage, helping a user tip the base 106 onto the wheels 112 with the wheels 112 holding the base off the surface 102. Once on the wheels 112, the user can pull on the handle 114 to move the base 106.

In general, the wheels 112 are received and held (e.g., by axles) in slots in the base 106. The wheel-nesting slots 122 are located diametrically opposed to the wheels 112, for and are configured to accommodate wheels of another base when the bases are stored, as is described in greater detail below.

The notches 118 are configured to receive toeboards (not shown), which extend between the bases 106 along the surface 102. The hand-holds 120 allow the user to grab the base 106 with their hands for rotating, moving, or carrying the base 106.

Referring to FIG. 3, in some examples the bases 106 are stacked in a nested configuration. In the nested configuration, each base 106, with the exception of a base resting on the ground, rests on a lower base and is rotated 180-degrees relative to the lower base 106. As a result of the 180-degree rotation, the wheels 112 of the lower base align with the wheel-nesting slots 122 of the base such that the bases are nested.

For example, in FIG. 3, a first base 106a rests on a second base 106b. The first base 106a is rotated 180-degrees relative to the second baes 106b such that the wheels 112b of the second base 106b extend into the wheel-nesting slots 122a of the first base 106a. As is illustrated in the figure, several bases 106 can be stacked in this nested configuration, which saves storage space and has an interlocking effect that increases stability of the stacked bases.

A number of embodiments of the invention have been described. Nevertheless, it is to be understood that the foregoing description is intended to illustrate and not to limit the scope of the invention, which is defined by the scope of the following claims. Accordingly, other embodiments are also within the scope of the following claims. For example, various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Additionally, some of the steps described above may be order independent, and thus can be performed in an order different from that described.

Claims

1. A base for a guardrail, the base comprising: a base body including a one or more railing-receiving receptacles for receiving and securing a part of a railing; andone or more wheels coupled to the base body, the one or more wheels configured for transportation of the base.

2. The base of claim 1 wherein the base body further includes a handle-receiving receptacle for receiving a handle.

3. The base of claim 2 wherein the handle is configured to move the base from a first position where the base body lays on a surface to a second position where the base body is substantially off the surface and supported by the one or more wheels.

4. The base of claim 2 further comprising the handle received in the handle-receiving receptacle.

5. The base of claim 2 wherein the one or more wheels includes two wheels and the handle-receiving receptacle is disposed between the two wheels.

6. The base of claim 1 wherein the base body includes one or more slots configured to accommodate one or more wheels of a second, different base.

7. The base of claim 1 wherein the base body includes one or more slots for accommodating an end of a toeboard.

8. The base of claim 7 wherein the one or more slots includes a plurality of slots arranged about the base at 90-degree angles relative to one another.

9. The base of claim 1 wherein the base body includes one or more hand holds configured to accommodate a user's hand.

10. A railing system comprising: one or more railings, each railing including a first leg and a second leg; anda plurality of bases, each base of the plurality of bases including: a base body including a one or more railing-receiving receptacles for receiving and securing a part of a railing, andone or more wheels coupled to the base body, the one or more wheels configured for transportation of the base;wherein an end of the first leg of a first railing of the one or more railings is received in a first railing-receiving receptacle of a first base of the plurality of bases and an end of the second leg of the first railing is received in a second railing-receiving receptacle of a second base of the plurality of bases.