Road structure – process – or apparatus – Apparatus – Block laying
Reexamination Certificate
2002-12-17
2004-06-22
Hartmann, Gary S. (Department: 3671)
Road structure, process, or apparatus
Apparatus
Block laying
Reexamination Certificate
active
06752568
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a device for placing temporary pavement markers used as short-term temporary road markers during road resurfacing, and more particularly relates to a device for placing temporary pavement markers in a desired location from a moving vehicle.
2. Background Information
Periodic road maintenance normally includes pavement resurfacing using either a chip, slurry, or road seal compound that is applied over the original surface in order to restore and protect it. When this is done, the existing painted traffic lines, be they centerlines, passing lines, no passing lines, turn lane lines, or any other traffic painted line will be covered and thereby obliterated and no longer visible.
In order to preserve the accurate location and type designation of these lines, temporary pavement markers are first installed on the road surface prior to any road coating operation. These temporary pavement markers are typically formed of a resilient plastic material and have a base portion and an upwardly extending standing reflective portion that will extend up through each and every layer of coating applied to the road surface during the resurfacing operation. Typically, the base portion of the marker has affixed to it an adhesive that holds the temporary pavement marker to the road. The material from which temporary pavement markers are made is not intended to withstand permanent road traffic conditions, and will either be manually torn off, break off because of weather exposure, or will be pulverized by traffic on the resurfaced road. However, they are designed to last long enough for the entire resurfacing project to be completed, and up to and including the repainting of the various traffic lines upon the new surface.
Placement of these temporary pavement markers are usually done either manually, where they are set in position by someone walking along the road and placing them on a surface, or they are put in place by some type of mechanical apparatus, which may be towed or driven along the road. The placement of these devices along the roadway requires that the adhesive flat backing portion be activated so as to allow the marker to interact with the surface of the road upon which it is placed. These pavement markers must also be placed in correct locations so as to provide for safe operation of motor vehicles in roads that are under construction. This requires that the placement of these reflective devices is done in a way that is both quick and precise.
For purposes of illustration in this specification, a chip sealing operation will be described, including the three stages thereof so as to fully understand the prior art and present invention.
FIG. 1
shows a typical temporary road pavement marker. These markers have a base portion to which an adhesive is applied, and an upwardly extending standing portion that has one or more reflectors attached thereto. For convenience this portion will be referred to as the standing portion throughout the specification. Covering the reflective standing portion of the temporary marker are layers of clear protective covers. The purpose of these clear protective covers is to enable the maintenance crew to renew the reflective properties of the temporary road marker between the various coatings that are applied to the road during the chip sealing operation.
In practice a crew of laborers, prior to any chip sealing work, lays down temporary pavement markers over the top of the existing traffic lines. These markers signal the location of the traffic lines and are necessary both for safety reasons as well as to designate the location for permanent road marker placement which will be placed after the road resurfacing operation is completed. After the markers are placed, the remainder of the chip seal operation can continue. Typically, this would include a coating of oil being applied to the pavement which will coat the pavement and the reflective surfaces of the temporary road marker. This is followed by the deposit and compaction of a layer of chips or gravel, which would seal to the original surface through the base coat of oil. After this has been done the reflective portions of the markers are often covered with this mixture of oil, rock chips and gravel. In order for the reflective portions of the road marker to be seen, one of the protective covers is removed and the reflective portions of the marker are then visible. After the rock chips are deposited and compacted, a third sealing coat of oil may be applied to the road surface. In as much as this step would again cover the reflective standing portion of the device, another protective covering must be removed in order to reveal the reflective standing portion of the road marker.
After this is done a paint truck will follow along the road and repaint the lines using the temporary markers as a guide for the type and position of the lines to be painted. If markers have come loose or are placed inappropriately, it is possible that the road could be marked incorrectly thus resulting in a dangerous situation for drivers on the road.
Typically, placement of the road markers is done in a coded fashion to indicate the existence of solid and broken traffic lines, turn lanes, and fog lines. As discussed previously, this placement must be done both quickly and correctly. Misplaced markers can result in traffic accidents and misplaced permanent traffic indicators. Since the markers must be placed both correctly and quickly, a variety of prior art means have been developed.
The prior art describes both manual placement of these temporary marking devices, which is very time consuming, as well as automated placement devices which allow the markers to be placed more quickly. In the manual method, an adhesive is placed upon the base portion of the marker, or a preexisting portion of the base marker is exposed and the marker is placed manually in a desired location upon the road surface. Usually the persons who place these markers either walk or drive from location to location. When these persons arrive at a desired location they stop, apply an adhesive and place the base portion of the marker upon the road. This process is both time consuming and labor intensive.
Some automated devices also exist which place pavement markers in desired locations. Most of these devices have a feeder means which feed markers into a position for placement, an adhesive means is then either placed upon the roadway or the base of the marker and the marker is placed upon the road surface. One significant drawback to most of these pieces of machinery is cost. Many of these pieces of machinery, while useful, are also expensive and therefore inaccessible by a variety of smaller companies. Another drawback of many of these automated devices is that they lack the ability to place marks in complicated patterns or to account for other modifications in road surfaces or traffic pattern layout.
Accordingly, what is needed is a device for placing temporary pavement markers on road surfaces that allows these markers to be placed quickly and correctly in proper locations. Another object of the present invention is to provide a device for placing road markers upon a road surface which is economically accessible to a greater variety of persons than present devices. Another object of the invention is to provide a device for placing road markers which can be used in conjunction with a motorized vehicle to place road markers in desired locations in a way that is quicker than manual placement and more accurate than traditional prior art mechanical placement devices. Another object of the invention is to provide a device for placement of temporary road marker in complex patterns that is more efficient than placing such markers manually.
Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned by
Dykas Frank J.
Dykas, Shaver & Nipper
Hartmann Gary S.
Maughan Derek H.
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