Synthetic resins or natural rubbers -- part of the class 520 ser – Synthetic resins – Processes of preparing a desired or intentional composition...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-17
2001-05-01
Szekely, Peter (Department: 1714)
Synthetic resins or natural rubbers -- part of the class 520 ser
Synthetic resins
Processes of preparing a desired or intentional composition...
C106S281100, C106S284010, C106S284020, C106S284030, C523S214000, C524S494000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06225371
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the construction of thoroughfares such as roads, cycle tracks, walkways, etc. or the manufacture of safety and/or marking elements related to thoroughfares, such as concrete crash barriers, curbs of pedestrian pavements, marking bollards, etc. which possess enhanced reflective properties.
It relates more particularly to a composition for thoroughfare pavements or for related safety and/or marking elements allowing such properties to be obtained.
It also relates to the thoroughfare pavements and the related safety and/or marking elements obtained from these compositions.
Safety, particularly road safety, is a fundamental issue; certain thoroughfares or parts of thoroughfares, or elements that mark out or protect specific areas, must be clearly visible in order to draw the attention of a user, be he a motor-vehicle driver, cyclist or pedestrian, to a possible danger or merely just to guide him.
In order to distinguish between thoroughfares, it is general practice to exploit the various colours that can be obtained depending on the types of surface (bitumen, concrete, etc.) or the possibility of giving the surface a lighter appearance by the use of a particular aggregate, especially light-coloured chippings.
In the field of markings, particularly road markings, reflective paints or marking bands which contain glass microspheres are known.
It has also been proposed to incorporate glass microspheres into road pavements.
These microspheres must have specific characteristics, especially light-reflection characteristics, and must have, for example, a defined shape in order for light, such as that coming from motor-vehicle headlights, to be reflected satisfactorily.
These microspheres thus have to be manufactured using expensive specific processes, which limits their applications, in particular to small areas.
It has also been proposed to use recovered glass of the bottle type to construct road pavements, by incorporating it into the surface using compactor rollers after the construction proper of the pavement while it is still soft.
However, the glass debris thus applied does not allow satisfactory reflective properties to be achieved, particularly in very poorly lit areas.
In addition, there is a high risk of it being broken up,by the traffic and scattered in places where it can no longer produce the reflection effect.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide a means of improving the discernibility and visibility of thoroughfares.
The object of the present invention is also to provide pavements for thoroughfares or related safety and/or marking elements having enhanced photometric properties.
Another object is also to provide such pavements or related elements at a reduced cost.
For these purposes, a more specific object of the invention is to provide a composition for thoroughfare pavements and/or related safety and/or marking elements having enhanced reflective properties, characterized in that the composition comprises 10 to 80% by weight of glass debris which contains at least 10% by weight of essentially reflective glass debris less than 20 mm in size.
A further object of the invention is to provide thoroughfare pavements and/or related safety and/or marking elements having enhanced reflective properties, characterized in that they comprise 10 to 80% by weight of glass debris which contains at least 10% by weight of essentially reflective glass debris less than 20 mm in size.
The invention also relates to pavements and related safety and/or marking elements obtained from the aforementioned compositions.
According to the invention, the expression “essentially reflective glass debris” should be understood to mean special glass debris having essentially reflective properties as opposed to ordinary glass debris which is transparent or translucent and whose reflection properties are not of primary importance.
The special glass debris employed according to the invention generally comes from glass that has undergone a treatment, for example a metallization treatment, to heighten its reflective properties.
Among the types of glass that can be used according to the invention, mention may be made of conventional mirrors, metallized glass and enamelled glass.
Glass having at least one metallized surface, especially glass for the building industry such as Antélio® glass, can also be used according to the invention, as can glass with metal inclusions such as vehicle rear window glass containing a metal filament for defrosting.
As a variant, it may be envisaged to use ceramic glass or fired glass, or motor-vehicle glass such as “antidazzle” tinted window glass, or safety glass of the Securit® type.
The glass used according to the invention may come from manufacturing scrap or from the recovery of materials from vehicles, building demolition, etc.
When the term “glass” is used by itself it denotes any type of glass as a mixture, that is to say mixtures of different types of special glass or mixtures of ordinary glass, of the bottle or window type, with special glass, or else computer screen glass.
It is also possible to use other types of glass, especially computer screen glass, as a mixture with special glass.
The glass, whether new or scrap, is broken and crushed by any known means until debris having a size of less than 20 mm, preferably having a size ranging from 2 to 10 mm and even more preferably from 2 to 6 mm, are obtained.
According to the invention, the composition may contain mixtures of ordinary glass debris and special glass debris.
The composition preferably contains from 20 to 50% by weight of glass debris.
The glass debris preferably contains from 30 to 50% by weight of essentially reflective glass debris as defined above.
The proportions of the special glass debris will be adapted according to the reflectivity it is desired to obtain.
The relevant reflective properties according to the invention are the reflection of light in the visible range, especially illuminating light (for example, street lighting, tunnel lighting, etc.), vehicle lights (headlights, etc.) or natural light.
The invention relates to the pavements of substantially horizontal surfaces, such as thoroughfares, especially roadways, cycle tracks, pedestrian pavements and other walkways, car parks and parking lots.
The composition is therefore manufactured in a conventional manner, but with the additional incorporation of glass debris being provided.
The pavement composition may thus comprise a bituminous binder, especially for bituminous concretes, in which case the glass debris is coated, hot or cold, as is conventionally done to natural rock chippings.
For this type of pavement, it is advantageous to use thin bituminous concretes, for example with a thickness of about 2 to 4 centimetres, or else draining bituminous concretes.
In the case of a cold bituminous binder, the pavements may be of the cold poured mix (CPM) type, the glass debris being coated with bituminous emulsion and the liquid mix spread out over the thoroughfare.
Provision may also be made for the conventional cold-mix composition to be spread and then for the glass debris to be spread over the surface before the pavement has hardened.
Pavements may also be obtained by surface coatings. In this case, the bituminous base layer is partially or completely gritted with the glass debris, like those mentioned above, the latter complementing or replacing the usual chippings.
The composition may also comprise a hydraulic binder, as in the case of cement mortars and cement concretes. Some of the sand and/or aggregate is simply replaced with the grass debris provided according to the invention.
Provision may advantageously be made for the glass debris to be incorporated subsequently, especially by dispersion or spraying, after the concrete has been laid but before it has hardened.
The invention also applies to compositions having a binder of the polymer or synthetic-resin type which are able to be used for certain pavements, especially pedestrian pavements.
The
Colas
Sughrue Mion Zinn Macpeak & Seas, PLLC
Szekely Peter
LandOfFree
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