BACKGROUND

Field

Example embodiments in general relate to a bollard cap system for efficiently capping a tubular bollard.

Related Art

Any discussion of the related art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such related art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field.

Recent years have shown the need for efficient systems and methods for installing barriers across a wide range of land. Such barriers often go by many names, such as walls, fences, and the like. Bollard walls, which are formed by a plurality of vertically-oriented bollards or steel slats, are becoming even more popular recently given their frequent mention in the news.

Barriers such as walls have been installed using a wide range of methods. One common method of wall installation involves bracing the wall with its lower end within a concrete fill area such as a trough dug into the ground surface. The wall is braced and supported by a wide range of different devices which often require a complicated set-up and removal process. The previous methods of installing barriers are fairly limited in the type of barrier to be installed. When bollard walls are installed, they are generally suspended over a trench, with the trench then being filled with concrete to form a base for the bollard wall. Alternatively, the bollard walls may be driven into the ground.

If the bollards installed are tubular, they are typically capped by cutting the upper end of the tubular bollard at a 45 degree angle and then welding (B) a flat- metal plate (A) to the upper end as shown in Figures 1A and 1B of the drawings. Capping the tubular bollards prevents the entry of water and debris into the interior of the tubular bollards. The tubular bollards may also be filled with concreate prior to capping to strengthen the tubular bollard. While the conventional method of capping tubular bollards is generally acceptable, it is very time intensive and costly when capping thousands of bollards. Furthermore, when the plate is welded to the upper end of the bollard, the area welded is prone to rusting. In additional, the conventional method of capping tubular bollards is not aesthetically pleasing.

SUMMARY

An example embodiment is directed to a bollard cap system. The bollard cap system includes a cap member having an interior, an upper end and a lower end. The upper end of the cap member is enclosed and the lower end of the cap member includes a lower opening. The lower opening of the cap member is adapted to receive the upper end of the tubular bollard. An anchor extends downwardly from the interior of the cap member past the lower end of the cap a distance sufficient to extend into concrete within an interior of the tubular bollard. The anchor may be straight or non-straight.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, some of the embodiments of the bollard cap system in order that the detailed description thereof may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional embodiments of the bollard cap system that will be described hereinafter and that will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the bollard cap system in detail, it is to be understood that the bollard cap system is not limited in its application to the details of construction or to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The bollard cap system is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of the description and should not be regarded as limiting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Example embodiments will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below and the accompanying drawings, wherein like elements are represented by like reference characters, which are given by way of illustration only and thus are not limitative of the example embodiments herein.

Figure 1A (PRIOR ART) is a perspective view of a prior art bollard fence capped using welded metal plates.

Figure 1B (PRIOR ART) is a magnified perspective view of a prior art bollard capped using welded metal plates.

Figure 2A is a perspective view of a plurality of tubular bollards installed without a cap.

Figure 2B is a cross sectional view taken along line 2B-2B of Figure 2A.

Figure 3A is a perspective view of the plurality of tubular bollards shown in FIG. 2A filled with concrete.

Figure 3B is a cross sectional view taken along line 3B-3B of Figure 3A.

Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the cap members positioned above the upper ends of the tubular bollards filled with concrete prior to installation in accordance with an example embodiment. Figure 5A is a perspective view of the cap members installed on the tubular bollards in accordance with an example embodiment.

FIG. 5B is a cross sectional view taken along line 5B-5B of Figure 5A.

FIG. 5C is a magnified view taken from Figure 5B showing the cap member installed on the upper end of the tubular bollard in accordance with an example embodiment.

Figure 6 is a front view of a plurality of tubular bollards with the cap members installed in accordance with an example embodiment.

Figure 7A is a lower perspective view of the cap member in accordance with an example embodiment.

Figure 7B is a lower perspective view of the cap member using deformed rebar for the extended member in accordance with an example embodiment.

Figure 7C is a side view of the cap member in accordance with an example embodiment.

Figure 7D is a bottom view of the cap member in accordance with an example embodiment.

Figure 7E is a top view of the cap member in accordance with an example embodiment. Figure 7F is a cross sectional view taken along line 7F-7F of Figure 7D.

Figure 8A is a lower perspective view of the cap member in accordance with an example embodiment.

Figure 8B is a front view of the cap member in accordance with an example embodiment.

Figure 8C is a bottom view of the cap member in accordance with an example embodiment.

Figure 8D is a cross sectional view taken along line 8D-8D of Figure 8B.

Figure 9 is a front view of the cap member in accordance with an example embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A. Overview.

An example bollard cap system generally comprises a cap member 20 having an interior, an upper end and a lower end. The upper end 26 of the cap member 20 is enclosed and the lower end of the cap member 20 includes a lower opening. The lower opening of the cap member 20 is adapted to receive the upper end 16 of the tubular bollard 10. An anchor 30 extends downwardly from the interior of the cap member 20 past the lower end of the cap a distance sufficient to extend into concrete within an interior of the tubular bollard 10. The anchor 30 may be straight or non-straight. The cap member 20 is preferably attached to the upper end 16 of the tubular bollard 10 without welding the cap member 20.

B. Tubular Bollards.

Tubular bollards are well known in the art of walls and other industries. The various embodiments illustrated herein may be used with various types of conventional tubular bollards 10. The cross sectional shape of the bollards 10 may vary (e.g. round, square, rectangular, polygonal, etc.). Although the figures illustrate the tubular bollards 10 as comprising a square-shaped cross-section, various other shapes may be utilized. The tubular bollards 10 may have any length required for the application.

The tubular bollards 10 may stand individually without being connected together directly or the tubular bollards 10 may be connected together by a horizontal member. The tubular bollards 10 are installed to form a wall structure as is well known and shown in Figures 3A, 4, 5A and 6 of the drawings. The wall structure may be linear or non-linear.

The tubular bollards 10 may be driven into a ground surface 11 or set in a base material 19 that hardens after installation such as concrete 70. There is no limit to the types of surfaces the lower ends 14 of the tubular bollards 10 may be installed within or the method of installation used.

The tubular bollards 10 include an interior 18, a lower end 14 and an upper end 16. The tubular bollards 10 are typically straight and have a constant width throughout their length, however, the tubular bollards 10 may not be straight and/or may have differing widths along the length of the tubular bollard 10. The tubular bollards 10 are typically constructed of metal (e.g. steel) that has been chemically treated to prevent corrosion and rust such as by galvanization of the exterior and interior 18 of the tubular bollard 10. However, the tubular bollards 10 may be constructed of various other types of materials other than metal.

C. Cap Member.

The various embodiments of the cap member 20 includes an interior cavity, an upper end 26 and a lower end 24 as illustrated in Figures 4 through 9 of the drawings. The upper end 26 of the cap member 20 is preferably enclosed and the lower end 24 of the cap member 20 includes a lower opening that is adapted to receive the upper end 16 of the tubular bollard 10. The cap member 20 is formed to cover the upper opening within the upper end 16 of the tubular bollard 10 and preferably overlaps the exterior surface of the tubular bollard 10 to help prevent the entry of water, chemicals and debris. The cap member 20 may be used upon various cross sectional shaped tubular bollards 10 (e.g. round shapes, oblong shapes, square shapes, rectangular shapes, polygonal shapes, etc.).

The cap member 20 may be comprised of various types of materials such as, but not limited to, metal (e.g. steel), plastic or composite. If a metal is used for the cap member 20, the cap member 20 is preferably treated to prevent rusting of the cap member 20 (e.g. galvanization, painting, etc.).

The cap member 20 may have various shapes and sizes to fit about the upper end 16 of the tubular bollard 10. For example, the upper end 26 of the cap member 20 may be flat, rounded or pyramid shaped in various embodiments. As another example, the upper end 26 of the cap member 20 may include a pointed center end as shown Figures 4 through 7C.

While the upper end 26 of the cap may be comprised of flat structure, the upper end 26 of the cap is preferably comprised of at least one upper sidewall that deflects rain. In one embodiment, the upper end 26 of the cap is comprised of a plurality of upper sidewalls 22. In another embodiment, the upper end 26 is comprised of a plurality of upper sidewalls 22 that may be angled downwardly from a central location of the upper end 26 of the cap member 20. The plurality of upper sidewalls 22 preferably equals the number of the plurality of lower sidewalls. The plurality of upper sidewalls 22 are preferably connected to the plurality of lower sidewalls. In another embodiment, the upper end 26 has a pyramid shaped structure as shown in Figures 4 through 9. The lower end 24 of the cap member 20 is preferably configured to snugly fit about the upper end 16 of the tubular bollard 10 as best illustrated in Figure 5B of the drawings. The lower end 24 of the cap member 20 preferably has the same shape and size as the upper end 16 of the tubular bollard 10. For example, if the tubular bollard 10 has a square shaped structure with 6 inch sides, the lower opening within the lower end 24 of the cap member 20 preferably will have a square shaped structure with sides slightly longer than 6 inches to snugly fit about the upper end 16 of the bollard tube. It should be noted that a snug fit between the cap member 20 and the upper end 16 of the tubular bollard 10 is not required and that the cap member 20 may be significantly larger than the upper end 16 of the tubular bollard 10.

The lower end 24 of the cap member 20 preferably includes at least one lower sidewall that extends downwardly from the upper end 26 of the cap member 20 and that has a shape similar to the upper end 26 of the tubular bollard 10. For example, if the tubular bollard 10 has a circular cross sectional shape, the lower end 24 and lower opening of the cap member 20 are preferably circular to fit about the upper end 26 of the tubular bollard 10. As another example, if the tubular bollard 10 has a square cross sectional shape, the lower end 24 and lower opening of the cap member 20 are preferably square to fit about the upper end 16 of the tubular bollard 10. There is no limit to the number of shapes the lower end

24 and lower opening of the cap member 20 may be comprised of and they do not need to depend upon the shape of the upper end 16 of the tubular bollard 10. The at least one lower sidewall 25 may comprised of a plurality of lower sidewalls

25 that extend downwardly from the upper end 26 of the cap member 20 forming the lower opening of the cap member 20. As best illustrated in Figures 7A, 7B, 7F, and 8D, the plurality of lower sidewalls 25 are preferably vertically orientated to align with the vertical bollard sidewalls 12.

D. Anchor.

One or more anchors 30 extend downwardly from the interior of the cap member 20 as shown in the various embodiments illustrated in Figures 5B, 5C through 7C, 7F through 8B, 8D and 9. The anchor 30 is preferably attached to an interior surface of the cap member 20 but may be attached to other locations of the cap member 20. The anchor 30 may be comprised of various types of materials such as, but not limited to, metal, plastic or composite material. If the anchor 30 is comprised of a metal material (e.g. steel), it is preferably chemically treated to prevent corrosion (e.g. galvanization, painting, etc.).

The anchor 30 is elongated and extends downwardly past the lower end 24 of the cap a distance sufficient to extend into concrete within an interior of the tubular bollard 10 as best illustrated in Figure 5C of the drawings. The anchor 30 preferably has a length of at least one foot but may be less than a foot in length. The anchor 30 has a structure that provides sufficient engagement with the concrete within the tubular bollard 10 to prevent removal of the cap member 20.

The anchor 30 may be comprised of various shapes and structures such as straight, curved, polygonal, angled segments, spiral and the like. In one embodiment, the anchor 30 is comprised of a straight structure as shown Figures 8A through 9 of the drawings. In another embodiment, the anchor 30 has a main portion that is straight and an angled portion 34 extending at an angle from a lower end 32 of the main portion. The angled portion 34 may be straight or a hook type of structure. The angled portion 34 may be comprised of any structure capable of increasing the bonding strength between the anchor 30 and the concrete within the tubular bollard 10.

The anchor 30 preferably extends downwardly at a vertical angle. However, the anchor 30 may extend downwardly from the cap member 20 at an angle and does not have to be perfectly vertical.

The exterior surface of the anchor 30 may be smooth (e.g. Figure 7A) or deformed (e.g. Figures 7B through 9). If the anchor 30 has a smooth exterior surface, it is preferable that the anchor 30 include the angled portion 34 to increase the bonding between the anchor 30 and the concrete. The exterior surface of the anchor 30 is preferably deformed to increase the bonding with the concrete (e.g. deformed rebar, ribs, various other deformations within the exterior surface to increase bonding with the concrete). In one example embodiment, the anchor 30 is comprised of deformed rebar. Various other surface structures may be used to increase the bonding with the concrete.

Figures 7A through 8D illustrate the usage of a single anchor 30. However, two or more anchors 30, 40 may be used as illustrated in Figure 9. As shown in Figure 9, a first anchor 30 having a lower end 32 and a second anchor 40 having a lower end 42 extend downwardly in a parallel vertical manner from the cap member 20. However, the first anchor 30 and the second anchor 40 may not be parallel to one another and they may not be perfectly vertical. E. Installation and Operation of an Embodiment.

The tubular bollards 10 are first positioned within the ground surface 11 or other type of base material 19 (e.g. concrete) to form a wall structure or other type of configuration as shown in Figure 2A. After the tubular bollards 10 are stationary, the interior 18 of the tubular bollards 10 is filled with concrete through the upper opening within the tubular bollards 10 so that the level of concrete is at or near the upper end 16 of the tubular bollards 10 as shown in Figure 3A.

After the tubular bollards 10 are filled with concrete, a cap member 20 is positioned above a tubular bollard 10 and then lowered upon the upper end 16 of the tubular bollard 10 so that the anchor 30 extends into the concrete within the tubular bollard 10 and the lower end 24 surrounds a portion of the upper end 16 of the tubular bollard 10 as shown in Figures 5A through 6 of the drawings. The anchor 30 preferably does not touch the tubular bollard 10 directly as shown in the embodiment illustrated in Figure 5C of the drawings, but the anchor 30 may touch the tubular bollard 10 in other embodiments. The concrete 70 within the tubular bollard 10 is allowed to cure and harden resulting in the anchor 30 being permanently connected to the tubular bollard 10.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Although methods and materials similar to or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the bollard cap system, suitable methods and materials are described above. All publications, patent applications, patents, and other references mentioned herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety to the extent allowed by applicable law and regulations. The bollard cap system may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and it is therefore desired that the present embodiment be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. Any headings utilized within the description are for convenience only and have no legal or limiting effect.