US2693044A - Wind-driven highway marker - Google Patents

Description

1954 H. s. ROEMISCH WIND-DRIVEN HIGHWAY MARKER Filed July 29, 194

2 Sheets-Sheet l INVEN TOR.

ATTORNEY.

'QQEMIScH WIND-DRIVEN HIGHWAY MARKER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 29, 1949 ATTORNEY.

INVENTOR.

WIND-DRIVEN HIGHWAY MARKER Harry S. Roemisch, Breclrsville, Ohio, assignor to Reconstruction Finance orporation, a corporation of the United States Application July 2%, 1949, Serial No. 107,465

2 Claims. ((13. 40-39) This invention relates generally to highway markers such as are used on roadways to inform approaching traffic of construction work ahead, school crossings, intersections or other hazardous situations. More specifically, the present invention relates to a rotatable highway marker which is actuated by the prevailing air currents.

It is customary to use warning signs of various types on roadways, however, it is expected that the highway marker which forms the subject of the present invention will have its greatest utility as a mobile device, that is, one which is carried from place to place and set up temporarily.

I have found that a motorists attention is attracted more readily by a moving object than a stationary one, and this feature is of particular importance in the case of temporary markers, the location of which the motorist is entirely unfamiliar with.

It is therefore a primary object of my invention to provide a highway marker which will rotate in response to air currents and the like.

Another object of my invention is to provide a marker of the character described, which is especially adapted for use as a temporary, mobile marker, in that it is collapsible or foldable for transportation or storage.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a temporary highway marker which is so constructed as to withstand high wind velocities without being blown over.

A further object of my invention is to provide a highway marker which will be able to carry a plurality of warnings or messages which will be visible in a predetermined sequence to an oncoming motorist.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a wind-driven highway marker embodying the features of my invention.

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of the same.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2, showing the function of the latch member when the blades of the marker are in operative position.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but showing the blades in folded position.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on line 66 of Fig. 2 showing details of the blade support.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on line 7-'7 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary elevational view showing a modified form of blade structure.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on line 99 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken on line ill-10 of Fig. 9.

Referring more specifically to Figs. 1 and 7 inclusive of the drawings, 1 have shown a post or standard 1 formed of pipe or tubing, the lower end of which is sealed by a hexagonal plug 2 which is suitably secured thereto. The plug 2 is provided with a central vertically extending opening 3 for a purpose which will be described hereinafter.

A hexagonal sleeve member 4 is slidably mounted on the standard 1 for longitudinal movement relatively thereto.

1 atom O Ears 5 project from alternate faces of the sleeve 4, and to each of the ears is pivotally secured a leg 6 formed of angle iron or the like, so as to form a tripod.

Ears 7 project from corresponding faces of the plug 2 and to each of the ears 7 is pivotally secured one end of a link 8, the other end of which is pivotally connected, as at 9, to a leg 6. Inasmuch as the sleeve 4 is movable, the legs 6 can be moved radially inwardly or outwardly to vary the height at which the standard is supported above ground level. The sleeve 4 can be locked in any selected position by means of a thumb screw it) which threadedly engages the sleeve and which can be turned into frictional engagement with the standard 1, as best seen in Fig. 7.

As is apparent from the foregoing description, the tripod assembly can be collapsed so that the legs 6 are substantially parallel to each other and to the standard ll.

As best seen in Fig. 3, a spindle assembly is mounted in the upper end of the standard 1 and comprises a shaft or spindle 11 on which are mounted two anti-friction bearings 12 and 13 which are substantially spaced one from the other. The bearing 12 may be a ball hearing or a radial thrust bearing, as desired, and has an outside diameter which is greater than the inside diameter at the standard 1. The bearing 13, which may also be a ball bearing, has an outside diameter which is slightly less than the inside diameter of the standard 1. Thus the bearing 12 rests on the upper edge 14 of the standard l and the bearing 13 is slidable into the interior of the standard. The clearance between bearing 13 and the standard 1, as shown in Fig. 3, is exaggerated for purposes of clarity. In actual practice, this clearance is on the order of .002 inches and is provided solely to permit ready assembly or disassembly of the spindle unit. From a manufacturing standpoint, a tight press fit between the bearing 13 and standard 1 is undesirable, and the drawing merely attempts to illustrate this distinction in what must necessarily be an exaggerated manner.

The upper end of the shaft 11 is in the form of a slightly tapered or frustro-conical extension 15 which surmounts a portion 16 of enlarged diameter thereby forming a circumferential shoulder 17.

From the portion 16 depends a portion 18 of reduced diameter thereby forming an annular shoulder 19.

From the portion 18 depends another portion 26 of reduced diameter, this portion being of substantial length and terminating in an extension 21 of reduced diameter, thereby forming an annular shoulder 22.

The bearing 12 is secured to the shaft 11 by a press fit onto the portion 18 thereof, the bearing being in abutment with the shoulder 19.

The bearing 13 is secured by pressing it onto the extzeznsion 21 of the shaft 11 into abutment with the shoulder The upper end of the standard 1 is threaded as at 23 and threadedly secured thereto is a hearing retaining nut 24 which is especially adapted to encompass the bearing 12 and hold it securely against the edge 14 of the standard. The nut 24 is provided with a central opening 25 which is slightly greater in diameter than the portion 16 of the shaft 11, and the shaft portion 16 projects therethrough. The nut is also provided with a small covered oiler opening 26 which permits the lubrication of the bearings.

The spindle assembly is thus firmly secured to the standard 1 and the shaft is accurately positioned and retained by the spaced bearings 12 and 13 and the nut 24 so that it is freely rotatable about its own longitudinal axis.

The shaft 11 serves to support a vane assembly which comprises a fixed blade 27 of rectangular form having oppositely curved ends 28 and 29, and two folding blades 30 and 31 each having a curved end 32 and 33, respecti vely.

The blade 39 is secured as by spot welding to one leaf of a hinge 34 which extends the full length of the blade, and the other leaf of the hinge is secured to one face or side of the fixed blade 27 thereby hingedly securing the blade 39 to the blade 27 and permitting pivotal movement thereof relatively thereto in a horizontal plane.

The blade 31 is similarly hingedly secured to the opposite face of the blade 27.

Each of the blades and 31 has a right-angled flange portion 35 formed thereon which limits pivotal movement of the blades relatively to the fixed blade 27, the lower portion of. the flange 35 being cut away as at 36 to provide clearance for a blade support 37 which is secured, as by welding, to the lower portion of the blade 27.

The blade support 37 comprises two like halves 38 and 39 having wing portions 40 which are symmetrically disposed and secured to opposite sides of the blade 27. Each support element has a laterally extending portion 41 which overlap each other and each portion 41 is embossed to provide a semi-cylindrical portion 42, the combination of the two portions 42 being adapted to fit over and embrace the tapered extension 15 of shaft 11.

In addition to being welded to opposite faces of blade 27, the blade support halves 38 and 39 are additionally connected by a bolt and nut 43 which join the portions 41 and by a bolt and wing nut 44, the latter permitting the distance to be adjusted somewhat between the halves 38 and 39.

The vane assembly also includes two latch members 45 which are disposed on opposite sides of the fixed blade 27 and are pivotally secured thereto as by rivets 46, near the upper edge thereof. Each latch member 45 has a hooked flange 47 struck therefrom to one side thereof, and another hooked flange 48 struck therefrom on the opposite side thereof and spaced from the flange 47. As will hereinafter appear, the latch members 45 permit the blades 30 and 31 to be locked in the operative or the folded positions.

As will be apparent from the foregoing description, the vane assembly may be placed on the tapered extension 15 of shaft 11 and may be frictionally secured to the shaft by drawing up on the wing nut 44. The shoulder 17 on shaft 11 serves as a rest for the blade support 37. The blades 30 and 31 are then moved from the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1 to the solid line position there shown. This movement brings the flanges 35 into parallelism With the blade 27 and the latch members 45 are then moved downwardly so that the flanges 47 overlie the flanges 35 and thereby lock the blades 30 and 31 in position.

The tripod assembly can be adjusted in the manner heretofore described so as to obtain the desired height of the standard 1 above ground level, the thumb screw 10 being utilized to lock the tripod in selected position.

As thus arranged, the vane assembly is exposed to air currents and the curved ends 28, 29, 32 and 33 of the blades are effective to translate the slight pressures of such air currents into a rotary motion of the vane assembly.

Due to the novel manner in which the shaft 11 is mounted in the standard 1, the frictional resistance to rotative movement of the shaft is extremely low and therefore the vane assembly will rotate in response to the slightest movement of air. I have found that even when the air is absolutely still, the breeze created by the passing of highway traffic is suflicient to actuate the vane assembly.

On the other hand, when wind velocity is quite high, there is no tendency for the marker to be blown over, as the whirling blades offer far less resistance to the wind than do the non-rotatable markers which are currently being used. I have found that a marker embodying the construction herein disclosed, will stay upright in the face of winds having velocities up to one hundred miles per hour.

It will be noted that the clearance between the portion 16 of shaft 11 and the opening 25 in retainer nut 24 is small enough to prevent any large amount of dirt or foreign matter from entering the interior of standard 1. However, in the event rainwater or the like does succeed in entering the tube 1, it quickly drains out through the opening 3 in plug 2, heretofore described.

In Fig. 2 I have illustrated the manner in which a legend or warning 49 appears on the blades. On a four-bladed vane assembly, such as is herein described, such a legend would appear eight times for each complete revolution of the vane, each blade having its opposite sides imprinted with the legend.

The legends may be such as School Crossing, Go Slow, Cross Roads," No Parking, Men Working, or, as illustrated.

The legend need-not bethe same on all the blades of the vane assembly. For example, the legendillu-strated in Fig. 2 might be alternated with a Go Slow warning 4 so that two blades would carry one message and the other two blades would carry another related message.

The blades 27, 3t) and 31 may be of metal such as steel, aluminum, etc., or they may be formed of molded plastic resins or rubber.

It is recommended that the blades be coated with a light reflecting covering or paint so that it is easily visible both night and day.

When it is desired to disassemble the marker for storage or the like, the latch members 45 are raised thereby releasing the flanges 35 of blades 30 and 31. The blades are then pivoted to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1 thereby forming a relatively flat, compact assembly. The blades are locked in the folded position by the flanges 48 of the latch members 45, as illustrated in Fig. 5.

Referring now to Figs. 8 to 10 of the drawings, I have shown a modified form of the invention which may be utilized in those cases where it is not required that the vane assembly be collapsible. In this instance, the vane assembly comprises two fixed blades 56 and 51 each having oppositely curved ends 52 and 53. Each blade has a vertical median slot 54 extending for half its length so that one blade may be interlocked with the other as illustrated in Fig. 9.

The blades are held in properly spaced relationship at their upper edges by a finial 55 having suitable transverse slots provided therein. The lower portions of the blades are secured to a unitary blade support 56 having a central body portion 57 which is adapted to fit on the shaft extension 15 and having four circumferentiallyspaced wings 58 which are secured to the blades as by welding.

This modified form of vane assembly utilizes the form of standard and tripod assembly which has heretofore been fully described.

In some vicinities, it is customary for merchants or other businessmen to pay for such highway markers, as at school crossings or the like. In such case, the businessmen usually desire some advertising matter on the marker which will indicate their contribution. Such an advertising message can be provided on a separate piece of metal which may be secured to the upper edge of one of the blades of the marker of Fig. l or of Fig. 8.

It will thus be apparent that I have provided an attention-attracting highway marker which is highly efficient for the purpose intended and which can be folded or collapsed into a compact, space-saving unit.

It is to be understood that the forms of my invention,

herewith shown and described, are to be taken as preferred examples of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A wind-driven vane assembly comprising a fixed blade secured to a spindle for coaxial rotation therewith, a second blade hingedly secured to said fixed blade medianly thereof for pivotal movement into and out of parallelism with said fixed blade, stop means provided on saidsecond blade for limiting pivotal movement thereof to a position of predetermined angularity relatively to said fixed blade and movable latch means are provided on said fixed blade engageable with said second blade when said second blade is parallel with said fixed blade, and engageable with said stop means when said second blade is pivoted to said position of predetermined angularity.

2. In a highway marker, the combination of a hollow tubular standard, a spindle assembly mounted in said standard and having a portion thereof extending upwardly therefrom, a fixed blade removably secured to the end of said spindle assembly for coaxial rotation therewith, foldable blades hingedly secured to opposite sides of said 'fixed blade for pivotal movement from a position of parallelism with said fixed blade to an operative position of predetermined angularity relatively to said fixed blade, and a latch member pivotally secured to said fixed blade, said latch member comprising a hooked flange extending to one side of said fixed blade and en gageable with one of said foldable blades when it is in said position of parallelism, and a second hooked flange extending to the other side of said fixed blade and engageable with the other of said foldable blades whenit is in said operative position, whereby said foldable blades may be releasably secured in one or the other of said po- Number sitions. 647,884 917,988 References Cited in the file of this patent 1,571,790 5 1,801,274 UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,956,190 Number Name Date 2,094,942 574,411 Gassett Jan. 5, 1897 2,165,562 588,060 Fruit Aug. 10, 1897 6 Name Date Silvey Apr. 17, 1900 Barratt Apr. 13, 1909 Camden Feb. 2, 1926 Hinks Apr. 21, 1931 Brautigan' Apr. 24, 1934 Frye Oct. 5, 1937 Mack July 11, 1939

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