Patent ID: 8162565
Filing Date: 2012-04-24
Classification: E01C,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A material anti-segregation device for a paving vehicle, the vehicle including a tractor, a screed towed from the tractor for forming a mat of paving material on a base surface, and an auger disposed between the tractor and the screed, the anti-segregation device comprising: a plurality of flexible, elongated barrier members each couplable with the tractor to collectively define a curtain, the curtain being configured to generally retain paving material between the curtain and the screed; and a plurality of reusable couplers, each coupler, in a first configuration, connecting at least a portion of a separate one of the barrier members with the tractor and, in a second configuration, disconnecting the at least a portion of the one barrier member from the tractor when tension in the connected member exceeds a predetermined value so as to prevent damage to the tractor, each coupler being bendable from the first configuration toward the second configuration, each coupler thereafter being bendable from the second configuration toward the first configuration to connect at least a portion of a separate one of the barrier members with the tractor.