Roadside delineator device
View Patent ↗A roadside delineator device that includes a breakaway shear pin feature that allows the upper portion of the device to break away from the lower portion of the device during a vehicular accident. The upper and lower halves can be reconnected by replacing the broken shear pins.
1. A breakaway roadside delineator device comprising:
an upper body fixedly attached to an upper post;
a lower body fixedly attached to a lower post, wherein the lower post is sunk into ground to hold the delineator device in place;
a pair of shear pins, wherein the shear pins include a plurality of V-shaped grooves that act as shear points when the upper post is struck by a vehicle;
the lower body further comprising four buttress-like longitudinal corners, each corner comprising a longitudinal aperture, the apertures being longitudinally aligned, wherein the four buttress-like corners form a longitudinal U-shaped channel and a crosswise U-shaped channel;
the upper body further comprising a hollow longitudinal body attached to the upper post, the upper hollow body shaped to fit into the lower body longitudinal U-shaped channel, the upper body further comprising side portions shaped to fit into the lower body crosswise U-shaped channel, the side portions further comprising longitudinal apertures aligned with the lower body longitudinal apertures;
the upper body removably attached to the lower body by the pair of shear pins inserted and spanning the longitudinally aligned lower and upper body apertures; and
whereby when a vehicle hits the upper post, the pair of shear pins breaks causing the upper body and the upper post to separate from the lower body and lower post.
2. The breakaway roadside delineator of claim 1 wherein the shear pins are made of approximately 50% fiberglass.
3. The breakaway roadside delineator of claim 1 wherein the upper post and the upper body can be reattached to the lower body and the lower post by replacing the shear pins with new shear pins.