CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Canadian Application No. 184271, filed Oct. 23, 2018, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

This specification relates to guard rail systems and components and in particular to temporary reusable guard rail systems and components for construction sites.

BACKGROUND

The following background discussion is not an admission that anything discussed below is citable as prior art or common general knowledge. The documents listed below are incorporated herein in their entirety by this reference to them.

Temporary guard rail systems are well known for use at construction sites. Such systems typically include a combination of posts and rails that may be temporarily erected to guard dangerous areas.

A problem with current temporary guard rail systems is that the systems, and in particular the posts, cannot be stored or transported in a compact and cost-efficient manner. Furthermore, many of the systems are costly to manufacture and have components that are not sufficiently durable to allow the systems to be used multiple times. Also, many of the systems do not conform to local safety standards or are not adapted for different applications such as flat surfaces, stair rail, handrail and offsets from walls for drywall installations.

There is a need for guard rail systems and components to overcome one or more of the problems identified above.

SUMMARY

In one aspect the invention provides a post for a guard rail system, said post comprising:

a base, for securing to a surface;

a body extending from said base;

a plurality of rail supports adapted for supporting rails; and

at least one stacking opening defined in said body for stacking a corresponding second post in an upside down orientation.

In another aspect, the invention provides a post for a guard rail system, said post comprising:

a base, for securing to a surface;

a body extending from said base; and

a plurality of rail supports adapted for supporting rails;

wherein said body and said rail supports are integrally formed from a single piece of material.

In another aspect, the invention provides a guard rail system, said system comprising at least two posts, each said post having:

a base, for securing to a surface;

a body extending from said base; and

a plurality of rail supports adapted for supporting rails between said at least two posts; and

at least one stacking opening defined in said body of each of said at least two posts for stacking a corresponding second post in an upside down orientation. Other aspects and features of the teachings disclosed herein will become apparent, to those ordinarily skilled in the art, upon review of the following description of the specific examples of the specification.

