Quick re-install bumper guard system and method

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6435760
  • Patent Number
    6,435,760
  • Date Filed
    Tuesday, October 12, 1999
    25 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, August 20, 2002
    22 years ago
Abstract
A U-shaped bumper guard system for gas stations, parking and other vehicular areas and the like that enables easy removal of a damaged bumper guard and re-installation of a replacement guard without the need to cut or dig the concrete around the damaged guard legs that are secured in the foundation concrete. Features include securing tubular base members positioned upright in the concrete foundation layer, applying a liner within each base member, positioning one leg of the U-shaped guard into each base, and pouring concrete or the like into the liner and in contact with the leg outer surface. The liner prevents adherence between the concrete and the inner surface of the base member so that if damaged, the unit and base member concrete can be easily raised free from the base member and replaced with a new bumper guard, liner, and securing concrete since neither the foundation layer nor the base members are damaged or moved. If desired, the tubular bases can be pre-secured to the guard legs with the liner and base concrete in place prior to the bases being secured in the foundation concrete for initial installation.
Description




BACKGROUND




The present invention relates to U-shaped bumper guards and systems, more particularly to concrete imbedded U-shaped bumper guard for fueling stations, parking areas, and other vehicular areas and methods of installing and reinstalling such guards.




A vast variety of post footing designs have existed since the Roman Empire invention of concrete about 1800 years ago. Today, post footing designs are about the same as then, i.e. a rock bed of various sized layered stone is established, a post is set upright on the bed surface, concrete is poured to a predetermined roadway or foundation height. The concrete binds to the post during curing thus locking the post upright in the concrete foundation. Some posts are provided with flanges, vertical ribs, spiral ribs, horizontal plates, or other features designed to aid in holding the post upright, enhancing the concrete to metal or concrete-to-wood bond, or resisting the loosening or movement of the post after installation due to thermal expansion and contraction.




Although these systems work satisfactory for a permanent post installation, a problem exists in the event the post is damaged or otherwise needs replacement by a new or replacement post of the same or different horizontal cross section size and shape.




For example, if a concrete mounted post is damaged, the present conventional practice includes using diamond circular saws to cut into the concrete a closed groove, commonly in a square shape, about the post location. Jack hammers or manual sledges are used to break-up the concrete within the groove loci. The post and broken concrete parts are removed. The resulting hole is cleaned and bedrock adjusted or augmented as necessary. Then, a new concrete setting is mixed, the new post positioned, measured and aligned with the post installed upright with temporary supports holding the post aright. Then the new concrete is poured and top surface smoothed. In addition, the new concrete material must be tended by the installer, particularly on hot summer days, to water as necessary so that the concrete does not dry too quickly. Good practice includes covering the surface of the setting concrete to retard this drying process. Usually, the installer must return the following day to remove support forms and coverings. This process is grossly consuming in person power, time, materials, and tools. In the event the post is damaged again, the entire process must be repeated, and it is well known that posts are frequently damaged in areas where vehicles maneuver such as above and below ground parking lots, gas stations, industrial fueling stations, etc. In the case of gas stations, the U-shaped concrete imbedded bumper guards are particularly troublesome because each bumper guard includes two legs that must be reinstalled in the manner described.




SUMMARY OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS




The present invention has as its main objective the provision of a system that avoids all the aforementioned problems and that provides for the quick, efficient installation and reinstallation of U-shaped bumper guards without the need to cut and break-up concrete.




One exemplary embodiment according to the principles of the present invention includes securing tubular base members positioned upright in the concrete foundation layering, applying liner within each base member, positioning one leg of the U-shaped guard into each base, and pouring concrete or the like into the liner and in adhering contact with the leg outer surface. The liner prevents adherence between the concrete and the inner surface if the base member. Once the concrete within the base sets, the installation is complete. It will be understood that the liner prevents the base concrete from binding to the base inner side walls.




After installation, if the bumper guard is damaged or needs replacement, a single person can simply raise the post footing and the small amount of base concrete adhering to the legs. Advantageously, the damaged upper part of the leg can be cut-away at a point, E.G., one foot above the support to enable better handling of the post footing. The liner will exit along with the base concrete. The foundation concrete remains undisturbed.




Since the base remains undamaged and remains installed in the foundation concrete, reinstallation of a new post simply involves the following;




1. install a new replacement liner,




2. install a replacement guard leg in each liner and base which has not moved,




3. mix and pour new base concrete into each liner/base.











DRAWINGS




Various other objects, features, and benefits of the present invention shall become apparent with the following detailed description when taken in view of the appended drawings in which:





FIG. 1

is a side elevation of one exemplary embodiment of the bumper guard system according to the principles of the present invention.





FIG. 2

is a bottom view of the system of FIG.


1


.





FIG. 3

is an enlarged partial view of the leg


13


and base


14


region of FIG.


1


.





FIG. 4

is a vertical view taken along line


4





4


of FIG.


1


and showing the system after initial installation on a stone bed and within a foundation concrete layer.





FIG. 5

is a perspective view of the system of

FIG. 1

with the foundation concrete partially broken away.





FIG. 6

is similar to

FIG. 2

showing an alternate system embodiment according to the present invention.





FIG. 7

is similar to

FIG. 1

showing yet another alternate system embodiment according to the present invention.





FIG. 8

is similar to

FIG. 4

for the system embodiment of FIG.


7


.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION




With reference to

FIGS. 1 through 5

a bumper guard system


10


according to the principles of the present invention includes a U-shaped steel bumper guard


12


having a pair of vertically disposed legs


13


,


15


and a central horizontal section


11


, generally as shown. Guard


12


can be made of any suitable material such as steel, aluminum, or heavy plastic and can have any suitable cross section such as round, oval, square, etc. Typically, guard


12


comprises 3½″ or 4″ steel pipe with circular cross section.




System


10


further includes a bumper guard tubular base


14


,


16


mounted at the distal ends of jegs


13


and


15


, respectively. Each base


14


,


16


has a vertical height equal to or slightly greater than the design thickness of the concrete foundation


100


onto which it is to be secured. The bottom of the base


14


,


16


can be opened, as shown, or closed with an end-plate or foot (e.g., FIG.


8


), as desired. Base


14


,


16


can have any suitable cross section such as circular (

FIG. 2

) or oval (

FIG. 6

) or other provided that the inside dimension permits some lateral positioning of a replacement bumper guard and affords a concrete cavity on pour space between the substantially entire circumference of legs


13


,


15


and base


14


,


16


inner surface. Base


14


,


16


can be made of any suitable material such as steel, cast iron, cast or extruded aluminum. If desired, base


14


,


16


can be formed with upstanding ribs on fins


18


to better secure with the concrete foundation or roadway. One preferred embodiment of base


14


,


16


includes a 7″ inside diameter, circular cross section, one-eighth inch thick steel pipe section having four vertical steel fins, welded to the pipe generally as shown. Also, if desired, the inner walls of base


14


,


16


can slope upward and outward to assure clean removal of hardened concrete


22


as described below.




According to a further feature of the present invention, concrete


22


is not allowed to adhere to the leg


13


,


15


outer surface. In one embodiment, each base


14


,


16


is first fitted with a liner or sock


20


. Liner


20


is dimensioned to contact the substantially entire inner surface of base


14


,


16


when concrete


22


is poured therein. Liner


20


is preferably tubular in shape and initially preferably has an upper end (represented by dashed lines


24


) that extends above the upper end of base


14


,


16


. After concrete


22


is poured to fill the spaces between leg


13


,


15


and base


14


,


16


, respectively, thus pressing liner


20


outward to the position best seen in

FIG. 3

, the upper end


24


of liner


20


can be cut or torn off or folded down below and outside the top edge of base


14


,


16


. Liner


20


can be made of any suitable material that will prevent concrete


22


from adhering to base


14


,


16


, such as polymer plastics, Nylon, canvas, etc. As seen below, liner


20


exits base


14


,


16


with the withdrawal of hardened concrete


22


as described below.




System


10


in this condition can be held upright in a predetermined position on the foundation stone bed in the standard manner. Concrete forming the roadway, tarmac, or other vehicular driving surface or foundation


100


can be poured to a predetermined height equal to or slightly under the height of base


14


,


16


. See

FIGS. 4 and 5

.




If slightly under, the height dimension of base


14


,


16


above the driving surface should be less than that in which impact to the bumper section that causes the legs


13


,


15


to give way or bend would result in damage to the exposed part of base


14


,


16


.




In operation, System


10


can be factory assembled as shown in

FIGS. 1 and 3

and shipped to the installation site as a unit. Or if preferred, the various parts can be shipped to the site for assembly at the installation site. In this latter case base


14


,


16


is pre-positioned and concrete


100


poured to form the driving surface or foundation. Once concrete


100


is cured, liner


20


is placed into each base


14


,


16


and bumper guard


12


installed with legs


13


,


15


inserted into liners


20


. Because base


14


,


16


inner dimension, in this example, is greater than legs


13


,


15


outer dimension, some horizontal lateral and fore-aft positioning of each leg


13


,


15


is provided for. Once legs


13


,


15


are properly positioned, concrete


22


is poured into liner


24


,


20


to fill the space within base


14


,


16


preferably surrounding leg


13


,


15


. If leg


13


,


15


happens to touch the liner surface within base


14


,


16


due to desired positioning, the system shall still function properly because impact forces shall be transmitted to and through base


14


,


16


in the same manner as if concrete


20


were between base


14


,


16


and leg


13


,


15


. Once concrete


22


fills to the top of base


14


,


16


, liner


24


portion can be cut or torn away to leave an appealing finish. Once all concrete sets, the installation is complete.




In the event of impact and damage to bumper


12


after installation, the operator can simply use a jack or tow-truck winch to lift bumper


12


straight up. Legs


13


,


15


and concrete


22


simply lift out because concrete


22


had adhered to legs


13


,


15


but, because of liner


20


, had not adhered to base


14


,


16


which base members remain secured within concrete


100


. Once the damaged bumper and concrete


22


and liner


20


are removed, replacement liners


20


can be inserted in bases


14


,


16


and a replacement bumper


12


with legs


13


,


15


installs into liners


20


and bases


14


,


16


. Fore-aft and transverse leg


13


,


14


positioning to proper location is followed by pouring new concrete


22


to secure the parts together as mentioned above.




Some of the advantages of the present System


10


include a quick and easy initial installation, a quick removal of the damaged bumper guard without disturbing the primary or foundation concrete


100


outside bases


14


,


16


, a rapid and efficient re-install of a new guard


12


with legs


13


,


15


imbedded in replacement concrete


22


with bases


14


,


16


, and replacement liner


20


preventing concrete


22


from adhering to the base


14


,


16


inside surface. Note bases


14


,


16


function as permanent receptacles for replacement guards and parts, thereby avoiding the need to dig out or cut the foundation concrete


100


to achieve replacement.




With reference to

FIGS. 7-8

, an alternate embodiment includes bases


30


,


32


, each including a bottom plate


34


extending beyond the base profile to form a footing and reinforcing ribs


36


to strengthen the base and transversely aligned through-holes


36


located a predetermined distance above the design level of the surrounding concrete foundation


100


. For example, if the deigned height of the primary concrete is


12


inches, each base can be


14


inches in height with the through holes located there between corresponding holes


38


are drilled or formed in bumper guard legs


40


,


42


and align with holes


36


when the parts are assembled. Bases


30


,


32


are secured to legs


40


,


42


by releasable bolt assemblies


44


before or after pouring concrete


22


within liner


20


as described above. However, in this embodiment, concrete


22


is poured to a level below assemblies


44


so that these assemblies can be released to permit withdrawal of legs


40


,


42


following damage to bumper


12


. Note, also that cavity walls of bases


30


,


32


have a slight upward and outward extension to facilitate withdrawal of legs


40


,


42


and concrete


22


that adheres to legs


40


,


42


. Operation of this embodiment is the same as that mentioned above except for the additional steps of securing and releasing bolt assemblies


44


.




It will be understood that various changes and modifications can be made to the herein disclosed exemplary embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.



Claims
  • 1. A bumper guard system having a U-shaped guard with two spaced apart legs, each having an outer surface with an outer circumferential dimension at its distal end, and an interconnecting mid-section, the system comprising:two, laterally spaced tubular base members being secured upright within a concrete or bituminous layer which layer defines a vehicular driving surface and has a predetermined height or thickness, each said base member inner surface surrounding the distal end of each respective leg, each said base member inner surface having an inside circumferential dimension greater than the outer dimension of its respective leg for forming a cavity substantially about each said distal end, and hardened, compression resistant material filling at least a portion of each said cavity to secure the respective leg within the respective base member, said material adhering to said outer surface of the respective one of said distal ends and not adhering to the inner surface of the respective one of said base members, each said material being separated from said layer by its respective base member, and wherein after installation in the layer, said legs can be lifted by applying vertical force thereto and said legs and said hardened material will rise out of the base members in response thereto.
  • 2. A system as set forth in claim 1, wherein a liner is positioned between said hardened material and each said inner surface.
  • 3. A system as set forth in claim 2, wherein said liner is made of a material that will not adhere to the hardened material.
  • 4. A system as set forth in claim 3, wherein said hardened material is the type that can be poured into said cavities and allowed to set to become hardened.
  • 5. A system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the vertical dimension of each base member approximates the designed thickness or vertical dimension of the layer in which it is secured.
  • 6. A system as set forth in claim 1, wherein each base member includes ribs to assist in the securing of the base member within the layer.
  • 7. A system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the circumferential dimension of the inner surface of each said base member increases toward the upward direction.
  • 8. A system as set forth in claim 2, wherein after withdrawal of said hardened material and said legs from said base members, a new liner can be positioned within the cavity of each base member, the legs of a new U-shaped bumper guard can be placed within said cavities and said inner surface dimension being sufficiently greater than the outer surface dimension to enable each leg to be properly positioned transversely and fore-and-aft within the base member, and new material to be poured into the liner and cavity to harden and secure the respective new leg within the respective base member.
  • 9. A system as set forth in claim 1, wherein a fastener secures each said leg to its respective base member.
  • 10. A method of installing a U-shaped bumper guard within a layer of driving surface material, said method comprising,securing a pair of tubular shaped spaced base members within the layer, each said base member being secured in an upright position, before, during, or after said first securing step, positioning the distal end of one leg of the U-shaped bumper guard in each of the base members, and pouring material into the base member and in contact with the outer surface of the respective leg within each base member which material is of the type that can set, harden and adhere to the outer surface of such leg to secure the leg within the respective base member, and preventing the material from adhering to the inner surface of the base member.
  • 11. A method of claim 10, wherein said preventing step includes lining the inner wall of the base members with a liner material that prevents the poured material from contacting the inner wall surfaces of the base members.
  • 12. A method of installing an initial U-shaped bumper guard within a layer of driving surface material, withdrawing the initial guard from the layer, and re-installing a replacement guard within the layer, said method comprising,securing a pair of tubular shaped spaced base members within the layer, each said base member being secured in an upright position, before, during, or after said first securing step, positioning the distal end of one leg of the initial U-shaped bumper guard in each of the base members, and pouring material into the base member and in contact with the outer surface of the respective leg within each base member which material is of the type that can set, harden, and adhere to the outer surface of such leg to secure the leg within the respective base member, and preventing the material from adhering to the inner surface of the base member, said preventing step including lining the inner wall of the base members with an initial liner material that prevents the poured material from contacting the inner wall surfaces of the base members, after the material hardens, withdrawing the legs and the adhering material from the base members by applying upward forces thereto sufficient to lift the legs and hardened material free from the base members, positioning a replacement liner within each base member, positioning the legs of a replacement U-shaped bumper guard within the base members, pouring replacement compression resistant material that can harden into the base members so that the replacement material is in contact with and adheres to the outer surface of the replacement legs and the liner is positioned between the replacement material and the inner surfaces of the base members.
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